She refused to unpack her trunk if she were to travel to Scotland soon. Curling up on the bed, she closed her eyes and breathed. The sensation of air flowing through her body became the sole focus of her attention. Savoring the mortal experience and hoping to immortalize it in her memory, she opened her eyes and sat up slowly. Flexing her hands, she wondered how this would feel as an immortal.
A knock at the door interrupted the exploratory investigation.
Miss Boording bounced on her toes, a toothy smile turning her from shy recluse to the average lady. "May I help you unpack?"
Elizabeth stepped aside. "I am not unpacking but you are welcome to sit with me."
"I must have you know that everyone is eager for you to join us." Miss Boording skipped into the room and dropped onto an armchair dramatically. "Including Mr. Darcy."
She doubted the words spoken. "He does not act it."
"He is afraid of commitment. Immortals are infamous for shattering hearts and ending decades of marriage on a whim." Miss Boording stated matter-of-factly and gave her an odd look.
"I am not demanding he marry me. He could smile at the very least." Elizabeth grumbled. "He ran from the room immediately after learning I was joining the coven."
Miss Boording chuckled.
"Was he this uneasy about Jane joining?" Elizabeth demanded, the stinging insult attacking her pride. She thought she knew where she stood with him, and now she wasn't so certain anymore.
The younger lady shrugged. "He accepted because Mr. Bingley is his friend. Mr. Bingley loved Jane. Jane declared that she loved Mr. Bingley. Forgive me, but to speak the truth, no one truly believes that she loves him."
Unable to sit still, Elizabeth needed a distraction. Rummaging in her trunk, Elizabeth produced a damaged copy of one of Shakespeare's plays. She sat on her bed and faced Miss Boording, a portrait of youth and barely spoiled innocence. A few years likely separated them, maybe half a decade. "Mr. Bingley annoys me." She confessed.
"He is not every lady's sort of gentleman."
"He is respectable. I just find his constant need for company and irresponsibility grating. He needs a governess." Elizabeth snorted and cleared her mind.
"An older Lydia Bennet?"
"Older and wealthier." Elizabeth realized exactly why Mr. Bingley rubbed her the wrong way. Cracking open the book, she fanned through the treasured pages. She hoped Mr. Bingley matured as an adult, otherwise Jane's happiness would wear.
Miss Boording fiddled with her hands. "When you rejoin us after a couple years, will you attend a season in London?"
Sensing the nervous energy, Elizabeth folded her legs underneath her skirt. "I do not know." She did not know if Mr. Darcy would offer marriage. She intended to live in Scotland for nearly a decade before trusting herself around mortals. "Are you asking for an escort?"
"Maybe?" Miss Boording practically pleaded.
"Elizabeth, please." Elizabeth smiled in an attempt to make the lady comfortable. "I will gladly escort you if I am able."
Miss Boording grinned ear to ear. Bracing for a flying ambush hug, Elizabeth pushed away disappointment when no hug came. "Are you ready?" She whispered.
Elizabeth thought she knew what the younger lady referred to, but to be certain she asked for clarification.
The lady cleared her throat nervously and glanced at the closed door. "For immortality."
Ready? No. No one was ready to die, but to be happy? A small sacrifice. The rules of the supernatural world lured her in more than any potential for a wonderful mortal husband.
"I am as ready as any person. I do not wish to experience the pain, but it is part of the transition, I am guessing." She opened to the first page. "Would you like to read with me?"
Miss Boording joined her on the bed. "I'm a fast reader." She radiated positive energy, and Elizabeth welcomed all of it. They lost themselves in Hamlet and time slipped past them. A servant broke their immersion, and Mrs. Ariti playfully lectured them on being late to dinner at the dinner table sans Saji-san.
"A lady is never late." Miss Boording stated confidently. "Only fashionably timed."
Elizabeth laughed heartily. "True. It's the gentlemen who are late."
"Always." Mrs. Ariti smirked at her husband. Julian shook his head at the foolishness, a smile revealing his approval of the bonding. "I'm glad you're eating dinner with us, Annabeth."
Mrs. Boording blushed. "I needed company."
"We are pleased to welcome the new voice of reason." Mr. Darcy said, avoiding Elizabeth's steady gaze. "Are your studies current?"
"I have the best tutors. Father will be most pleased when he returns from business." She glowed.
"You always have a home with us." Mr. Archwood assured her. "Even if you do not marry."
"I may need a companion when Selene-" Elizabeth cringed at the familiar use of Cleopatra's chosen given name. "-chooses to travel. I am not Mr. Bingley, but I do long for company occasionally."
Mr. Darcy frowned. "We all have faults."
"Indeed, Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth said. She stilled as a servant placed a plate of delectable food in front of her. "Yours is the ability to trust another." Why did she expect him to love her after a short acquaintance? What a foolish notion worthy of Lydia!
"And yours is to be stubbornly uninformed."
"Communication is like a street, sir. Traffic flows both ways." Elizabeth stated firmly.
Mrs. Ariti and Mr. Archwood leaned out of the stalemate. Miss Boording leaned in, eyes flashing between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.
"You are correct, Miss Bennet."
"Thank you." She bowed her head to pray and cocked and ear to any following replies. No one dared to add or pull from the subject and when Elizabeth looked up, Mr. Darcy almost appeared to regret his words.
Inhaling the scent of dinner, she added it to the growing ledger of experiences to be compared when she became immortal. A part of her hoped she never lost the ability to taste food as it was meant to be. Miss Boording looked at her as if her mind ran off, and an embarrassed Elizabeth said nothing. No one would understand.
Several minutes passed before Mr. Archwood tapped his fork to a glass. Every gaze turned to the co-leader of the coven.
"We are all aware of Miss Bennet gracing us with her eternal company, and I wish to be the responsible leader and answer any questions. Afterwards, Miss Bennet, if you would join us in the library, we can inform you of the schedule and required actions.
Elizabeth measured her words. "Selene answered all my questions."
"Are you aware of what to expect in Scotland?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Jane is there. That is all I need to know."
"The regulations and laws of Scotland differ. You are familiar with the broad laws, not the specifics." Mr. Archwood said and nodded to Mr. Darcy. "Mr. Darcy agreed to escort you and be your adviser."
"Oh?" She faced the man who toyed with her heart, whether he was aware or not. "Quite the surprise. Thank you, sir."
He nodded to her. "We all deserve the equal footing."
Holding her tongue, she reverted her attention back to Mr. Archwood.
"I would sacrifice my wife-"
Elizabeth held up her hand. "I understand, sir."
Smiles passed between them.
Mr. Archwood raised his glass of bloodwine. "To family."
"To the coven." Mrs. Ariti raised her own.
Miss Boording and Elizabeth raised the cups of tea. Mr. Darcy nodded to Elizabeth and added his glass of bloodwine to the party.
Talk of Scotland dominated the table talk and well into the music room where Mr. Darcy and Miss Boording listened to Mr. Cull play. Elizabeth joined the leaders of the coven in the library and expected censure for being direct with Mr. Darcy. Settling in, she waited for them to speak or present her with books or gifts.
Mrs. Ariti perused the shelves while Mr. Archwood crossed his arms and faced her.
A cornered cat. She was a cornered cat.
"We do not doubt your intentions. We trust you wish to join us." He started. She shifted nervously in the seat. "We cannot inform you why Mr. Darcy defies his attraction to you. We can speculate, and I do not want to speculate on his personal emotional affairs."
Elizabeth shrugged. "My heart may yearn but it will heal."
"I am glad to hear that. It brings me comfort to know you will consider other gentlemen." Mr. Archwood uncrossed his arms. "When would you wish to be made? By who?"
Taken back, she nodded slowly. "It is not intended to offend, but I do not want it to be a seemingly 'indifferent' gentleman. I would want Mrs. Ariti to."
Mrs. Ariti turned around. A mutinous scowl overtook Mr. Archwood temporarily before he faced Elizabeth again.
"My wife has a tradition. A red gown for the ceremony. No shoes. Hair tied up. Prayers. And then everyone but the creator to witness the act." He explained quickly. "She's a superstitious woman who takes her self-created traditions seriously."
"When are you willing to-"
"Make you an immortal?" Mrs. Ariti said. "We need a day to prepare."
Elizabeth blinked. "One day? So soon."
"Cold feet." They studied her.
"No." Jane dragged out the turning date. Jane wanted Mr. Bingley and/or his money. Why was she surprised by this? "May we schedule for the day after tomorrow?"
They exchanged glances and then nodded.
She sighed. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy acted like a stranger, and nothing Miss Boording said changed the regret she suffered for opening up to his small attentions. If the gentleman wished to distance himself she would grant him his space and give him six months of her time. If he failed to show increased interest she would reject him as a suitor and hope to meet a gentleman who wanted her without hesitation.
"Midnight after tomorrow you are to become immortal." Mr. Archwood announced with finality that struck Elizabeth at the core.
She stood and brushed her skirts. Her head hurt and she needed personal space from everyone. "Thank you." She bowed to them and stumbled out of the library too wrapped in her own thoughts to notice Saji-san watching her discreetly.
True to her word, Elizabeth spent the majority of the next morning and afternoon alone – much to Miss Boording's disappointment. She wrote her final, several paged letters to her sisters, preferring to address each separately as they pursued a different future through choice of spouse. She wrote a letter to her mother and father, feeling none too charitable to her mother and increasingly detached from her father as she reflected on what he lead them into and how he never bothered to be the father they sorely needed.
Charlotte and Maria Lucas earned a one page letter promising future communications. She wrote to Miss Long out of obligation, not particularly close with the lady but a friendly acquaintance she would oddly miss. Her second to last meal as an immortal disappointed her, not because it was poorly cooked, but because the end of mortality drew near she cherished the small details.
Clung to them, in fact, like a babe's mouth to its mother's breast
Her last day as a mortal she squandered away walking the grounds alone with her own thoughts. Surprisingly no second thoughts haunted her. She embraced the peace of the decision. To reach death's door but not lose herself entirely in the darkness. No heaven or hell for her, not until she met her immortal mortal end.
She skipped dinner, instead choosing a witty end to a dreary one.
Mrs. Ariti delivered the ankle length, one size fits all, red gown personally. She brushed out Elizabeth's hair like a mother to a child. They said nothing for an extended period of time. Tension built up around them with each stroke of the brush through stubborn thick hair.
"It will be painful." Mrs. Ariti warned her. "Do you still wish to proceed?"
She shivered, the cold the room sneaking through the thin gown. "Yes."
"Fitzwilliam Darcy is no part of your final decision?" Critical eyes peered back at her from the mirror.
"No."
She decided to ignore the emotional ties. They were worthless at this moment. She chose freedom. "He is not a factor."
Mrs. Ariti cupped her chin. "I hope so. Becoming an immortal for someone else is the worst reason." She dropped her hands and motioned for Elizabeth to stand. "Have you prayed?"
She appreciated the thoughtfulness. Nodding, words stuck in her throat.
Mrs. Ariti clasped her hands behind her back. "One last chance."
Elizabeth stepped toward her. "I am ready."
Her heart beat wildly. Gentle, soft hands cupped Elizabeth's face. No words exchanged. The world turned black the moment she blinked, and Selene Ariti held the unconscious Elizabeth Bennet in her arms.
Fangs protruded from parted lips and the immortal effortlessly positioned the mortal for the first taste.
*Author's Note* Thank you for those that have made it this far. I hope you have enjoyed it, and if you didn't, that you find a fic that makes you happy. For those that are interested, this is 'Book 1'. Elizabeth and Darcy will have another 'Book' to bring them to a happy ending. I will also be writing a separate fic for Kitty and Mr. Barnett, an extension of the supernatural world. I will not be detailing Mary and Mr. Brook's life, but we can all rest assured Mrs. Brook will eventually cross swords with Mrs. Bennet.
I will be taking a three month hiatus to focus on a personal writing project, a sequel to a novel I self published (this is not advertising or asking you to buy my book. Only an explanation so people aren't left without background.).
I may or may not be posting one shots during this time, to grant myself the creative headspace I will occasionally need for my original work. When I return to fully writing, it will be either Kitty or Elizabeth that I pick up with.
I have two AUs for Pride and Prejudice that struck me as the next grand project after the planned arc is complete. The first is a modern AU. Each new fic must feel different to me, and I am constantly looking for different ways to stretch my creative writing ability. The second is a fairy tale type of setting with the roles of power reversed. It may not be solely focused on EB/FD but that would be the setting. I still plan on writing the crossover with the Purge universe. I also plan on pairing Elizabeth Bennet and Caroline Bingley, but I am not ready to tackle that in a fic.
Thank you for all the reviews, good and bad. Thank you for taking the time to read this fic. I will likely never rewrite it, attempt to publish it, etc. I do this for fun, and I'm happy you can enjoy it too. Be safe and enjoy the free time the best you can. Sincerely, The Unpredictable Muse
