Becoming Mrs. Darcy

Little Falcon: Soooo, yes, I am so late. Apologies as reality demanded my attention. This update came in a timely coincidence as it is also my anniversary writing as Little Falcon. Also, the next chapter will be the last. It has been quite a pleasure to write about my version of a good 'what if' for PPZ.

Disclaimer: The characters were based on the PPZ franchise. However, this storyline is my idea.

Chapter 13: Persistent Loose Ends

There he was, standing at the edge of the sparkling lake as dawn broke through the horizon. Even from a distance, she saw a warm smile that reached his slanted eyes. Then, she remembered this moment. It was just a few hours before she and her sisters were to leave China as their training was finally completed. That was the last moment Elizabeth Bennet saw Xiao Ran's smile. Her heart feels like its being torn apart as she relived that moment of her life- when everything was as it should be. Then she clearly heard someone call her name, so she turned towards the general direction it came from. There was no one present, not for miles. However when she turned back towards Xiao, someone lunged at her. Upon reflex, she drew her blade and defended herself. At closer inspection, she saw that it was Xiao, when he was no longer 'himself'. Her cold sword was at his decaying throat as she tried to push him away. "Not…over…" she thought she heard him saw through his growls. Then, he repeated it more clearly as he can. "Not over!" He started to overpower her and then finally pushed her to the ground. But before his bloody teeth can bite her neck, she found herself awake and drenched in sweat.

"What happened, Love? Are you alright?" Her worried husband immediately asked as he blinked rapidly to banish the traces of sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?" His vision darted from her face to her growing midsection.

When her heart had finally slowed down a bit, Lizzie grabbed her frantic husband's arm to keep him calm. "I'm fine, husband. Both of us are fine," she said with a tired smile as Mr. Darcy tenderly wiped the sweat off her face.

Mr. Darcy wanted to asked more questions but it was still too early for conversations and according to the physician's advice- his wife will need all the rest she can manage as she was exposed to so much stress for the past few weeks. He watched her fall asleep nestled at his side as he also drifted off.

"I dreamt of Xiao," that morning over breakfast, he didn't even have to bring up the topic as Lizzie was the one to volunteer it. "It started as a memory then it faded into something else,"

Mr. Darcy sat at the edge of his seat as he waited for her to continue.

"I think he was giving me a warning," Lizzie met her husband's questioning gaze. "He told me it wasn't over,"

Whether it was foreshadowing or just her guilt creeping into her dreams, Mr. Darcy didn't want her stressing over something that may not mean anything at all. They delayed their departure for a few weeks just so Lizzie can regain her strength before they embark in a month-long rough journey by sea. They cannot delay anymore otherwise she can't travel anymore until she gives birth. No sane husband would want to expose his already vulnerable wife to this zombie-infested country. By the next day, they were set to depart for home. "Try not to think about it too much, darling. The vaccine against the infected is already being reproduced. In a few months, the world will start to feel a bit safer for everyone," the reassurance her but inwardly, he was also reassuring himself. The world needed to be better for the sake of their unborn child.

The servants then entered the room, carrying their after meal tea. "I suppose you're right," Lizzie sighed as she picked up her tea. Moments after the tea cup crashed on the wooden floor.

His grimy fingers held his battered metal cup like he was holding fine China, he sipped the water inside like it was expensive tea. A smirk split his lips as he starred at the wall. It widened as he heard footsteps rushing towards his directions.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Mr. Darcy gripped the cold iron bars separating him and the fallen monarch.

"Ah, Mr. Darcy? I'm quite honored for your surprise visit,"

"Don't play your tricks on me, Count. It was you wasn't it?!" he gritted his teeth as he watched him smile innocently at him. "You did that to Lizzie!"

"Surely," the prisoner dusted off his already dirty clothes as he stood and faced him. "You didn't think I'll go easy on you, did you?"

"Where's the cure?"

"Oh don't worry too much, Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth won't die quickly. All it takes is one drop. At first, she'll loose her balance then her stomach will hurt so bad, her bones will feel like its melting, her skin will feel like its on fire. By this time, she of course, would've lost the thing growing in her," the Count relished in the misery he was giving his captor. "She can't eat and her heart will start beating too fast that she won't be able to breathe…" he wanted to talk more and further his suffering but his knees began to buckle and somehow the ground seemed to have turned into rough waves. He fell on his back as his vision kept spinning. "What did you do to me?!"

Mr. Darcy glared at him as he gripped the bars so hard his knuckles turned white. "You said one drop was all it took," it was Mr. Darcy's turn to smirk. "You just drank an entire bottle,"

"No, no, no. Not like this," the count crawled towards a loose stone underneath his cot. Despite his pain, he was able to pull the slab of stone away and retrieve something underneath it. "Not like this," he uncorked the vial and was about to put it to his lips when a hand prevented him from doing so.

Mr. Darcy gripped the prisoner's wrist as he whispered something to the drying man's ear. "You didn't think I'll make it that easy, did you?" he pried the antidote from his hands and left his cell without turning back.

Lizzie waited outside the dungeons as her husband dealt with their final loose end. It was Mr. Darcy who noticed the change in the staff that served them tea. It was him who pushed the tea cup away from her hands before she even got a sip. From there, it was easy to find out who ordered who. As it turned out, there were still factions loyal to the Count. But they know who they were now, they can't stop them now but they will keep an eye on them for sure. For now, there are more important things to focus on.

With a relieved sigh, they got on their ship, sailed away and did not look back.

Little Falcon: As always, read and review please.