Fic: The Life we Lead

Rating: G
Characters: Elizabeth
Title: The Life we Lead
Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney does, no money being made off this.
Summary: Takes places at beginning of Dead Man's Chest. A slightly dark look at Elizabeth as she thinks about her wedding day ruined. Marriage Interrupted? Or fate intervenes? Her thoughts about her wedding day that was ruined by Beckett..
First posted: Mar. 2nd, 2007

It didn't matter you see. That was how she viewed it. The weather was dismal, the rain was falling down. Her wedding dress was ruined, and for what? Clemency was temporary. A governor's daughter knew that. But why today? Why her wedding day of all days?

She sat numb and cold, searching for the answer. Perhaps the wedding invitations to England hadn't been a good idea. It just gave all the details out. Perhaps that was all they needed. Somewhere to find him on a particular day. God, her Will – the pirate hearted one. She loved him for what he did. He saved her Jack Sparrow, her fantasy pirate. He showed his true heart and now what? Her father granted him clemency. Everyone knew that clemency was just mercy, that it was just a lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. It wasn't the equivalent of a pardon.

She was numb, her soul was not feeling. The rain fell down around her and yet she could not feel it. She could only think of how her life was falling apart. How could this be happening? Why today of all days?

Today would have been the day she was granted her freedom, her freedom into Will's care. She would have been free to pursue whatever she wanted as Will did not care about society's obligations, about society's welfare. She wouldn't have had those damned tea parties, those damned obligation to pay calls on women who were gullible and stupid. She would not have had those silly garden afternoons watching some silly men parade around and play croquet, trying to best one another to favour a particular lady. The imbecilic games.

Now all she had was the life she was born with.

She watched at dawn as those sails were spotted. She watched as they drew nearer the flag apparent. The East India Trading Company. She had heard of them. Her father had written about them, discussed them with Commodore Norrington prior to his resignation.

Perhaps she had been hasty in turning down the Commodore's proposal, but really she had thought she was exchanging one cell for another in that marriage. With Will she though a different life would have been held.

As she sat there in the rain, the pouring rain, she contemplated the life she may have led.

A blacksmith's wife. Would she have borne that? Would she have survived a life of eternal servitude? Listening to her husband grovel to other men as he did the work for them? She thought not.

A noise came from behind her. Boots! She heard boots! A familiar sound. Excited she quickly turned. Alas, it wasn't whom she was expecting, but there in the background she saw her fiancé, her supposed husband-to-be…. She held herself together and ran to support him….