#andith4ever

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HAPPY ANDITH FEST SHIPPERS!!!

Let the fan-festivity commence! Today through Monday, it's a time for all things Anthony & Edith!

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Heart of Stone - A Modern Fairy Tale

There is a park in London, humble and neat, with many fine paths and generous trees. In the center of the park there is a small courtyard with a pedestal, and atop the pedestal stands The Lady.

Or so Anthony Strallan thinks of her. Every day on his way to work he walks past the statue of the classically clad woman, looking proud and strong clasping a tablet and a pen, calling all to intellectual achievement. From his office far above he can see her as well--standing in her shady grove. Sometimes he daydreams, imagining who she might've been; a scientist studying the stars, or a historian charting the victories of Caesar. Did she travel the ancient world drawing maps, was she a trader or healer or poet? Did she ever have a lover--and was that lover male or female? He spends far too much time wondering about her, inventing a story for her. And he comes to think of her as a peculiar sort of companion. On hard days, he'll walk down and take his lunch on a bench near her; and it seems to him on those days that the determined lines of her face are softer, sympathetic; that she hears his anguish and frustration and gives comfort in her stalwart, silent way. He takes to muttering a small "good morning Lady" as he passes in the morning and a "good night, Lady" as he leaves nights.

Then one night he leaves the offices late, the night so dark he can barely see the Lady's face as he approaches her stone pedestal. As he gazes up at her, he does not hear the footsteps approaching him, and he does not see the attack until the swift blows rain pain down upon him.

When he wakes, dim lamplight filters through leaves and a lithe, beautiful woman bends over him, using a cloth to clean his face. She is striking, with an unearthly grace, and curiously familiar to him. She tells him her name is Edith, and binds his wounds. She talks to him of ancient times as she helps him to his home, and stays by his side and nurses him until he regains his health. As Anthony is a generous man, he bids her stay as thanks for the help she has offered. By and by he comes to realize he’s in love with her, and together they tumble into a passionate affair.

So dazzled is he by his love for Edith that he never looks up to see that the pedestal in the park is empty. Nor does he notice that as the weeks pass Edith becomes more lively, more earthbound. He only knows that he loves her and that he can't wait to return to her side whenever they are parted.

One day he comes to her and finds her standing still and silent, tears streaming down her face. She tells him that the time has come for her to leave him; that she is not of this world and her time in it has come to an end. For she is a maiden with a heart of stone, who has been given a real heart so that she might come to his aid. She has watched him for years, traveling to and fro with his briefcase and his coffee, his lunches and his sorrows, and has fallen in love with him. When he was injured she pleaded to go to him, and so was granted a human body, and a heart of flesh that will last only four months, one for each of the seasons, and then melt. She must then retake her place as a form of stone.

At midnight on her final day, Anthony walks with her to the park and curses his own mortal heart as it breaks when he bids her adieu. But when she slips from his embrace and walks towards her fate, a soldier is waiting to meet her at her pedestal. He tells her she can no longer return to the world of stone, as she now carries a human heart within her. She realizes with joy that she is pregnant, that her love for Anthony has created a life for them both. She runs to Anthony to take him in her arms, to brush the tears from his cheeks, and to ask him to marry her. As he kisses her she feels a hot brand in her chest as her borrowed heart melts. But as the moments pass, the cold weight of her stone heart heats and is forged into a living organ, pulsing with love and happiness.

Together they leave the park, and live HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

A/N: Getting this in just before midnight so it’s technically still Andith Fest right? I’m sorry that I wasn’t more punctual or abundant with my fics; this last week was swallowed by an unexpected loss and the residual grief and turmoil is still with us, so writing was not as frequent as I’d hoped.

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Hey Shippers--Let’s make an Andith Playlist to enjoy for our OTP extravaganza! Reblog with a song (or two) that makes you think Andith--I’ll make a youtube playlist and post over the holiday weekend.

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My friend is getting into Downton Abbey for the first time and talking with her about it just reminds me how bitterly disappointed I am for the lost potential with so many of the plot lines. And, of course, the top of the list for me is Andith. That could have been a very interesting and fresh plot line without putting Edith through baby agony.

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New Forum on FF.net!

I really do want YOU to come join the new Andith Forum I created on Fanfiction.net!

I'm trying to bridge the gap between the tumblr ficcers and ff.net ficcers. This will hopefully mean that no one gets left out of Andith Fest announcements and that we can all better enjoy this ship! Check it out:

Forum: Andith Tea Party

https://www.fanfiction.net/forum/Andith-Tea-Party/217298/

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@lizzywhimsy was having a portrait sale and I was lucky enough to snag a spot and look at this fabulous Strallan family portrait! Could you melt?! Thanks, Lizzy!

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A gifset of shippy feels, since none of the things I’ve been scribbling at lately are finished for posting. 

Long Live Andith! 

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Happy Andith Fest Eve, shippers!