This story was written for the Gender Reversals Playground. It was my first time writing Regency, and English is not my first language even as a modern language, so I apologize in advance for the numerous typos and grammar errors I have here. It's unbetad, per the playground rules.

I also apologize for the overuse of the words: Odd, Rather, Corridor and Lever.

The inspiration to this piece came from many sources, to name a few: Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, Being John Malkovich, The Secret Garden, The Bible, the trailer to the new Pixar movie Inside Out, and many others I probably forgot.

The story was meant to be Louisa's story, but then Bingley wanted his opinions known, and then I had to write my beloved Elizabeth too. When I posted it I was asked to do Darcy's POV as well, and so I did and it turned out to be my favorite part. So there you have it.

The Door on the Wall

Part 1

Louisa smoothed the fabric of her skirt nervously. Why did Caroline have to say this? Why?

"Hurst married you for your money, Louisa. Don't lie to yourself."

She still heard her sister's taunts as she paced back and forth along the corridor on the second landing in Netherfield.

"Was it too much to ask for a little affection?" she asked the portrait on the wall. The severe monk kept looking at her, rather severely, she thought.

She did not marry for love, that's for sure, but when she met Eugene Hurst she hoped for companionship. He was round around the middle even as they courted, and she rather liked that. She liked his enthusiasm for food, though he didn't drink so much back then. And they had rather interesting talks about clothing and food and archery. Louisa rather liked archery. From afar, of course. Their first nights as a married couple were lovely. Both of them were of like minds in the bedroom as well. Nothing too intense, not too long, not too many times. Sometimes he stayed the night, but never hugged her. His palm sometimes met hers fleetingly and it was just as she wanted it to be. And then, a few months ago, he stopped coming to her bedroom and started drinking. The more he drank the less he had contact with her. She rather missed him.

"I need to know." She muttered as she paced in circles near the monk's portrait. "Why does he ignore me every evening?"

It happened around the seventh circle. At least that's what she thought anyway. She didn't really bother to count, she was very agitated, thank you very much!

A door suddenly appeared on the wall, right next to the monk. Above the iron door, beautifully decorated with iron cakes and fruits, was written 'I will seek him whom my soul loves', in big iron letters.

Her shock was so great she nearly stumbled on her skirts. With a weary look she glanced around her, no one was about. Just her and a magical door. Magical! Insanity!

Gingerly she lifted her hand and touched the handle. Nothing happened. Well, that was anticlimactic, she thought. She turned the handle and the door opened, revealing a long tunnel, lit with handsome candelabras. The sweet smell of treacle tart beckoned her to enter, and as soon as her legs touched the tunnel's floor, the door closed with a big thud. Louisa turned around in panic, but there was no door there anymore, instead she saw a solid wall.

"Breathe," she told herself. "It would not do to faint where no one can save you." She lifted her skirts and moved along the narrow, lit corridor. The floor was uneven and covered with dirt, it was a tedious walk and she might have been grateful when it ended, had it not ended with a sudden fall into a pit. She felt like she was falling for hours, she was fighting to keep her skirts from hovering and revealing what no one but Gisele, her maid since she was young, and Eugene have ever seen. Not that it mattered, it was pitch black, no one could see anything anyway. But one should always be cautious.

Finally, she landed on a large soft pillow. The soft light was back and she noticed that the pillow was burgundy colored, Eugene's favorite color. Now that she thought about it, treacle tart was her husband's favorite pudding. She looked around her and found herself standing in a large room. Five small strawberry-like creatures were standing next to some odd machinery, and in the middle of the room was some kind of a screen. She was just thinking how odd the screen looked when it was suddenly lifted, revealing a huge apparition of... Mr. Darcy?

"Damn tedious waste of an evening." She heard her husband's familiar voice vibrating about the room.

The huge Mr. Darcy looked at her and said, "Hurst, care for some port?"

Louisa felt a grunt shaking the floor. Then Mr. Darcy disappeared and instead she got a long look of the port's crystal glass. It was then that it downed on her. Somehow, God knows how, she was in her dear Eugene's head!

The little creatures didn't seem to notice her, and just moved about, fiddling with the levers and clocks and what not. It was all rather odd.

Charles said something about an archery contest he read about in the morning's paper and a heated debate developed between the three gentlemen. Louisa felt a stab of jealousy, why can't Eugene talk to her like that anymore?

"Well, time to get back to the ladies, don't you think?" Charles said.

"Oh no, I think we need another drink before I can face the damn shrew," said one of the strawberries. And true enough, Eugene asked for a refill, sans the cuss words, before they all clambered out of the study.

Louisa clutched at her bosom with her hand and tried to hold back tears. Is that what her husband thought of her? A shrew? She was inclined to angrily walk back the way she came from, but then remembered that she had no way to go up the chute and the door up there turned back into a wall.

"Miss Bennet, how is your sister?"

Louisa quickly ascertained that what she saw was the after dinner's entertainment in the drawing room. Louisa herself begged off her hosting duties and claimed a headache, after hearing her sister's thoughtless remark. It was actually how she found herself in the second floor alone, she was distraught! After a bit of watching the tedious scene of Mr. Darcy looking at Miss Elizabeth and Caroline fuming and interrupting, Louisa had enough and decided to take notice of the room she was in and its inhabitant.

"It's funny how Darcy thinks no one notice how much he looks at Miss Elizabeth," a strawberry sneered while he was working on the levers on his machine.

"No one but the lady herself," laughed another strawberry.

"The shrew sees right through it, unfortunately. Poor Mr. Darcy, if I was him I'd lock the door when I sleep."

Louisa startled when her husband's eyes narrowed at her sister's face. He was speaking of her sister when he referred to 'the shrew'? Why? What had she ever done to him?

"Where is Louisa?" asked a strawberry at the other side of room.

"She looked beautiful during dinner, did she not?" said another one. "Did you see the way she ate her ragout? Her hand is so delicate and fine."

"Perhaps we should ask where she went to. We long to see her."

"What would it help with? I think it's time we take a nap before the longing gets too much."

"Remind me why we are not doing anything about it? I think Louisa would like to-"

"Don't be silly, you remember what the shrew said. Louisa doesn't want you, she cares only for your status and connections. Better sleep it off, I can't stand all this agony..."

A fog descended and the strawberries fell asleep. Louisa walked backwards, trying to keep herself from the dense fog when she felt her legs give way and she fell again, screaming all the way down.

She found herself in her bed, a wet cloth on her forehead.

"I must be dreaming," she weakly said to herself. What are the odds?

"Mrs. Hurst, what happened to your shoes?"

Louisa looked at Gisele with surprise. Her maid held her slippers high to show the bottom caked with dirt. She gasped, her hand on her mouth.

"If you will, Gisele, I have something of great importance to speak with Mr. Hurst."