First of all, I want to thank you for even opening this story. It's my first one, and so its pretty exciting! And also, since it is my first story, I would really like constructive feedback and of course, tons and tons of reviews!
Summary: Basically this story is set at the time of the Titanic on the Titanic. Its about Darcy, who plays the Rose character, and Elizabeth (Lizzy), who plays the Jack character meeting and falling in love, etc. It will generally follow the plot of the Titanic, but will also be completely different. I really hope you all like the story, I'll try to do it as much justice as i can muster for it being my first.
Characters: As I already mentioned, Darcy is going to be the depressed/crappy life character (Rose) and Lizzy is going to be the free/artsy character (Jack). Also, I tried to use as many characters from Pride and Prejudice as possible, but I also use some characters from The Titanic (The captain, ship designer, and other people). The only outstanding Oop character I have is Anne de Bourgh, who instead of being sickly and quiet, is incredibly annoying and, in the future, a verbal abuser. However, Bingley is also slightly Oop, he is just a little more...boisterous, than he was in the movie.
More about this story: It's based on the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, the one with Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. I've read the book and seen the HBO version...but nothing chocks up to the movie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pride and Prejudice or The Titanic and characters, trust me, you'd know if i did because these movies would not have been nearly as good.
His body was going numb. He had closed his eyes and blocked out everything, the reprimanding voice of his Aunt Catherine, the high-pitched wine of his fiancé, Anne, and the monotonous sound of hooves beating on the road. The blackness surrounded him like a blanket, the most relaxed he's been since his parents died. He knew it wouldn't last long, he could already hear the loud whistles of nearby ships. They were to arrive very soon. However, he tried to hold on to this last bit of comfort before he would be boarding a ship that would take him to a place that would forever make him miserable. He tried to imagine his life, married to his vexatious Aunt's daughter. No doubt it would be filled with tedious parties and frivolous dinners. He would spend his time catering to his wife and making unintelligent conversations with people he despises...
"Fitzwilliam! Fitzwilliam Darcy, are you listening?" The voice of his impatient Aunt penetrated his day dreaming. He looked up and was met with a warning stare. "What on earth are you doing? I say, you should be listening to dear Anne, she is describing the Titanic from what she heard of her acquaintances. It might interest you." She scolded.
"Of Course. Please accept my apologies. I beg you continue." He directed half heartily towards his fiancé. The truth was, he had absolutely no interest in the dreary details of the Titanic. He had heard quite enough about it from the papers and people buzzing about it.
Anne was nearly about to finish her sentence about the Titanic being the largest movable object made by humans when a particularly obnoxious whistle sounded and the carriage came to a stop. The next moment, the carriage door was opened and he was received by the valet.
"Hello Sir, Welcome to the White Star Dock and home of the R.M.S. Titanic." The valet greeted in a rehearsed tone. Darcy acknowledged him and climbed out of the carriage, offering his hand to Anne and his Aunt Catherine. He found a bell boy lingering nearby and heavily tipped him to take their bags to their suite. The carriage pulled away and it was then that they were able to take in the size and appearance of entire ship. The ladies gasped and started admiring the ship right away.
"Oh my, look how lovely. It looks so handsome and well groomed. But oh, look how high up it is and goodness gracious, how tall! I shall be lost every minute of the day." Anne commented.
"Yes, I quite agree. However it is splendid. I shall be looking foreword to settling in and inspecting our company." Declared Aunt Catherine.
Feeling he needed to add something out of politeness, Darcy contributed a "Yes, quite magnificent," and went back to staring at the back of Anne's hat. It was purple and white, adorned with several feathers and a bow to match her white pinstripe dress. His eyes shifted over to his Aunt, taking in her somewhat smaller polka dotted blue hat and summery green dress. He then took in his own apparel, bleached white lapels, crisp suit, top hat, he felt ridiculous. The thought of it all made him feel nauseous and he stifled vomit.
"Sir, are you feeling alright?" A helping man had noticed his change in color.
"Yes, yes, I'm quite fine." Darcy replied, not wanting to cause a scene and end up being interrogated by Catherine and Anne. "Kind sir, I trust you wouldn't mind helping these ladies to their suites? I need to away. I'll only be just a moment." He said as he slipped a more than adequate tip in his pocket. Before the ladies could inquire where he was going, Darcy had already escaped and the helping man was escorting them away.
Darcy meandered his way through the crowd, pushing his way through, getting a lot of stern glairs and "The nerve!" thrown at him. However he didn't care. He just wanted to get away, away from his Aunt Catherine, away from Anne, away from the ship. He couldn't bear it any longer. He kept walking at a steady pace until he came to a deserted piece of dock, overlooking the clear water. Putting his elbows on the rail, he cradled his head in his hands. He was rejoicing in his escape and the soothing quiet, it was something he wasn't able to have often. Darcy sighed, he heard footsteps coming. He knew this quiet could only last for a short while, it always does in his life. The footsteps stopped and he felt gentle eyes on him. He felt his breath being taken away as a sweet smell of flowers drifted his way.
There was a captivating garden that held a quaint meandering brick path, a few benches, and the most lovely flowers Lizzy Bennet had ever seen. It was there that she decided to pass her time until the departure of the Titanic. She found a patch of purple and white flowers that were slightly overgrown and grew together. They laced themselves about a simple rustic looking bench which the sun was shining down on. The flowers gave off such a sweet soft smell that Lizzy couldn't resist picking a few and tucking them in her hair. She made herself comfortable on the bench and took out her writing pad and quill.
Writing was her way of relief, and she dearly loved it. Lizzy had started it ever since she had learned to write the alphabet. It was something so natural to her and she seemed to always have something to write about. It allowed her to escape from the boring life of a typical English daughter.
However, her writing came at a cost to her. The Bennet family, consisting of five daughters, were at a struggle for money. That is not to say that they couldn't afford anything, but they didn't have the largest house, or the most recent fashions from London, the most luxurious carriages, or the most servants. On top of her already low status, being a female writer was unheard of, and greatly frowned upon, especially in high class company. In fact, it was extremely lucky of the Bennet family to be able to contact their far richer relatives, the Gardner's, to arrange tickets for them on the Titanic. The Bennet's wanted to start a new life in America in hopes of coming across fortune, and to drop Jane off at the Gardner's house to start her new job as a nanny to Mrs. Gardner's newborn son.
Everything was settled to start their voyage to America. Lizzy was set to meet the rest of the Bennet's when they got on the Titanic, as she was currently living in London to further her writing career. So when she arrived at the dock a few hours early she wandering around trying to find a place to start her new story about her trip to America.
As the time passed, Lizzy became restless, too excited to sit and write. She picked her supplies up and went to the dock. It was unusually quiet, and the ocean was perfectly calm. The sun landed on the water in such a way that it looked as though she was dreaming, it was so breathtaking. However, she was still a little ways from the Titanic, so she slowly started to make her way towards it, hand on the rail, taking in the scenery.
Elizabeth kept walking, admiring the birds, and the growing size of the Titanic. She was so consumed by her thoughts, that she didn't notice when she nearly bumped into a very depressed looking gentlemen. He had is head cradled in his hands, leaning on the dock rail. She was about to politely excuse herself, when he turned around to face her.
His eyes were green with a hint of blue and they met her with such a power that Lizzy parted her lips in surprise. They seemed to stare right into her, as if they were exploring her deepest thoughts and feelings. She blushed and looked down, ashamed for her sudden thoughts of affection towards the man. He turned his head to stare back out towards the ocean. She silently cleared her throat to try to rid herself of her embarrassment that perhaps she had been standing here much too long for proper decency.
"Excuse me." She said, try to falsely convey that she was calm and nonchalant. He glanced at her, inclining his head as if to pardon himself as well. Lizzy continued a little farther down the dock, trying to clear her head of her embarrassment. She hadn't gotten very far at all when she heard a ripping noise. Startled, she looked down at her hem from where the sound was coming from. The bottom part of her skirt had caught in a loose nail on the dock. She bent down to try to pry it loose without ripping anymore of her skirt when she heard a loud voice from behind her.
Darcy watched her leave. His breeding told him that he should have greeted her properly, but his insides told him that it didn't matter, he was sick of being a gentlemen. He was about to turn back for the Titanic when a booming voice met his ears.
"Darcy? I thought that was you. I've been looking all over for you when Lady Catherine de Bourgh told me you had disappeared suddenly." His longtime friend, Bingley greeted as he grew closer. "Have you seen so many fine women in one place? They are all magnificent. How about the one you were just talking to?" Bingley pried. He was the type of person to be loud and personal, and sometimes it would drive Darcy mad.
"She was barely tolerable, at the most. Now shall we board the titanic? The growing rush of people is agitating." Darcy lied. The truth was, he found it hard to stop staring at the woman. She was quite beautiful, but not in the obvious way that most men go for. He had been mesmerized by her shining blue eyes and the way her mouth parted when he stared at her.
Darcy and Bingley continued walking when he noticed the women standing back up from the dock. Guilt filled him as he realized that she was close enough to have heard their conversation. Darcy glanced at her to confirm, and she met him with hurt and angry eyes. He turned foreword again and tried to become involved in what Bingley was saying, but it was no use. That women had made him lose his focus. He couldn't help but hope that he would get a change to explain himself, and that she could forgive him for lying and saying such a hurtful thing.
Well, you made it through the story. I'm sure you have lots of things to say about it (good and bad, hopefully), so before you forget or are distracted, push the button just below and tell me what you thought! I can only get better through feedback.
So...I'll try not to make a habit of doing teasers at the end of my stories, but since this is only the first chapter, I'd love for you guys to want to come back and read some more of it. So...next chapter will include another encounter between Lizzy and Darcy, and if you think really hard, I bet you can guess what this encounter will be like, and a love interest will spark between two others...hmm. ;) Plus you'll find out a little more about the characters and their circumstances.