Hello, all. There isn't much to this, but I hope you enjoy this little piece just the same. Thanks for reading!

The Newlywed

The few townspeople still out and about stared at the young woman as she trudged into town. Her shoulders slumped, the woman kept her head down, concentrating on every step she took.

For her part, Elizabeth was oblivious to the people around her. She had stood on shore, staring at the horizon until long after sunset. At some point, she decided to walk to town, but she had no memory of how she arrived or how long ago she had set out.

The men and women of this seafaring town recognized the signs of her distress. Her feet were bare and bleeding. There were scratches up and down her legs. A dark bruise stood out strongly on her cheek and there was sea grass tangled in her hair. And even without these signals, the haunted look in her eyes told them everything they needed to know: shipwreck.

It was an older woman who finally stepped forward. Gently she took Elizabeth's elbow. Meeting no resistance, she led Elizabeth into the small inn run by her husband. Others in the street stared after them before finally crowding into the small room themselves.

Elizabeth sat heavily in a chair, staring at her hands. The innkeeper looked up from his ledger as the crowd shuffled in. He took in the whole scene calmly, his gaze lighting on the ghost of a girl before locking eyes with his wife. Without a word, he left the room in search of blankets and sent a maid to ready a bath.

In the meantime, the old woman had rushed to re-stoke the fire. She sharply ordered the cleaning boy to bring bread and set some water boiling for tea. Whatever this young woman's story, she was in no shape to tell it. Best to get her warm and fed. Once she could give them more information, a search party would set out for survivors.

Awareness was slowly creeping back into Elizabeth's eyes. Dully she watched the woman bustle around the room, and saw the young boy shyly place a plate of bread in front of her. The other townspeople had not moved, simply watching. Her eye caught her reflection in a mirror and cringed. In her mind, she looked even worse than she had the day this second pirate adventure began. The day Will was arrested, the day they were supposed---. Her thoughts suddenly broke off.

"What is the date today?"

She spoke so softly no one heard her. Elizabeth braced herself to try again.

"Please, what is the date today?"

There was silence as everyone looked to the innkeeper's wife. She swept over to Elizabeth and softly patted her shoulder. "Don't fret over anything, my dear. You're safe here."

But Elizabeth would have none of it. She stood frantically. "The date, the date! I have to know."

The old woman clucked in pity and tried to make the distraught woman sit down. In panic she backed up. "The date. Please. Someone tell me today's date!"

The boy spoke up timidly. "August twenty-first, miss." He ignored the glare from his mistress and kept his eyes on the pretty woman, who gave him a tight smile.

"Now don't you worry, child. We'll get you cleaned up and you can tell your story. This is a horrible day for you, and I'm sure you'll not want to think of it again."

But Elizabeth turned toward her once more, her back against the wall. "You don't understand," she said, her voice breaking. "It's my wedding day."

And she burst into tears and sank to the floor.

--fin