Don't forget, another update will come in the next week, because I'm so unorganized and have to come up with a plan for writing and posting...that made sense.
ENJOY THE UPDATE!
A Debutante's Mindset
Elizabeth was certain she should have felt more excited. This was her debut into society, her first party, the beginning of her life as a woman. But as the festivities of the night progressed, Elizabeth was certain she looked bored.
The night had begun well. She had dried her tears when her maids came to dress her. Her father had collected her around seven. At seven thirty they entered the main parlor, and after a few moments, Governor Swann passed off his youngest daughter to Captain Norrington.
To Elizabeth, this was all a blur.
When she had raised her eyelids to scan the gathered people around her, and spotted Will's head bobbing a small distance behind a group of women, the only smile of the night had appeared.
But James wouldn't let her go. He was always around, even when she was talking to some young ladies; he was nearby chatting away merrily with some person of some significance, glancing in her direction regularly.
Finally the night had come to an end – an early one however for Elizabeth, who felt incredibly fatigued as she was falling asleep in the middle of conversations at nine.
Alone in her room, she had undressed quietly, silent tears of yearning spilling. She didn't realize how close she had come to William Turner in the few days she had known him, and now, knowing that he would be refused by her father if he made any attempts at courting her, was such a foreign pain in her chest.
She blew out the few candles, collapsing onto the bed, stretching her arms and legs. But sleep didn't come.
From the window, the noises of the party downstairs could be heard; the laughter and general murmurings of people below rising up high. Elizabeth lifted herself from the bed and headed to the doorway leading to her small balcony.
In the fresh night air, she sat down, leaning against the railings and watching the movement beyond the glass windows, within the bright orange room.
"Lizbeth?" Thomas's voice seemed to echo throughout the room.
Elizabeth didn't realize she had been crying as she wiped her eyes of moisture before her brother found her. "You startled me." She sniffed.
Thomas smiled, sitting down beside her, his back against the rails. "I know about Turner." He said. "Arthur told me."
Elizabeth sighed. "What does it matter? His father abandoned his family to become a pirate and thus I cannot receive affection from a man my own age."
Thomas sighed in response. "You know society is flawed when a man is judged by his father's actions."
Elizabeth laughed throatily; bitterly. "I've spent less than two hours in society and I already know that."
Thomas laid his arms across his sister's shoulders, pulling her towards him into a hug. As he did so, she began to cry again. Thomas merely cooed to her, rubbing his hand across her back comfortingly.
She didn't cry for very long, and after about ten minutes, escaped his grasp. "I'm sorry Thomas, but I would like some sleep." She sighed, standing.
Thomas nodded, following her to his feet. "Good night, little sister." He smiled, kissing her hands.
Elizabeth watched him leave, moving to the bed, and falling into a troublesome slumber.
--§--
This is becoming a bad habit.
The early morning glow was once again radiating through Elizabeth's room as she awoke that morning. Initially she tried falling back asleep again, pulling a pillow over her face to block the light.
But sleep didn't come.
She sat up in her bed and looked around her room. She had no intention of heading for the point as she was still rather tired, and she was aware she would get there too late. Instead, she decided to head down to the beach.
She dressed with no real effort of maintaining silence, and when she was ready to be seen by others eyes, she left the house, forgetting that most of the house would still be asleep and she would wake them.
The air outside was crisp and cool as she heavily walked down to the beach. As she drew closer to the trade centre of the town, the smithy especially, she half hoped Will would appear.
At the door to the smithy she paused, and rested her hand against the rough wood frame. The sight of her long nails, her delicate feminine fingers against the splintering darkness, she observed as an almost perfect metaphor for her relationship with Will: incorrect.
She felt a tear begin in her eye, but wiped it away before it could spill.
She continued heading for the docks.
There was little action at the pier. The fleet's newest ship, the Interceptor, supposedly to become the fastest ship in the Caribbean, rocked gently at the far end of the pier.
Elizabeth walked along the stone road to the meeting of sand and wood. She continued up the pier, rolling her eyes as she observed the ships two guards sound asleep against a barrel.
"Sailors!" She exclaimed to herself quietly.
She listened to the sounds: the sea lapping at the wooden poles, the gulls above beginning their morning chorus, the distant sounds of the town centre, trumpets playing up at the fort.
As she neared the Interceptor she heard the unrivaled sound of soldiers marching down to the docks.
"What are you doing?" she heard behind her. "You were meant to be awake!"
"I was awake! I was resting my eyes."
"If you were resting your eyes, as you so claim, you wouldn't have slept throughout the break of dawn!"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the sense the two sailors were making as they continued arguing beyond her, getting to their feet and rubbing out the signs of sleep from their uniforms.
"You!" One of them noticed her.
"It's Miss. Swann, thank you." Elizabeth not-so-politely reminded him.
The other elbowed the man who had seen her. "Apologies Miss Swann, but this dock is out of bounds for civilians." He smiled at her, bowing awkwardly. Elizabeth noticed the man he had elbowed rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize." Elizabeth hurried away from the docks, realizing at that point that James Norrington would be leading the soldiers leaving the fort. "It shan't happen again."
She quickly walked along the beach, constantly looking over her shoulder. When she saw the soldiers appear, she quickly ran up into the line of trees beyond the beach, and from there headed back up to the house.
Seeing the sunrise was no longer appealing when James Norrington was attempting to court her. No, no matter what her family thought, she could never think herself capable of falling in love with a 40ish naval Captain. Elizabeth wanted romance and adventure to come from a man who was interested in her, and possibly to marry her, and she was certain Captain Norrington only wanted to marry her so that children could be borne to him.
So she continued to run up the hill, all the way, until she felt the hot Caribbean sun belting her sweat-stained dress. She was relieved to find the house still moving silently, only the servants awake.
She dashed into her room, shutting the door and leaning heavily against it as her chest heaved.
"Miss. Elizabeth, thank heavens. Come, I have your bath ready." Elizabeth turned to see Esther looking weakly down her nose at her charge.
Elizabeth allowed the woman to drag her behind the screen and undress her, before pushing her into a bath filled with warm water. At this point, the older woman left Elizabeth, allowing her to relax.
It was at this point that Elizabeth made a point of ignoring everything Arthur had told her about William Turner. He was young, handsome, and a respectable man. Elizabeth was the youngest of six, the eldest were already married, occupied with a job, or were nearing marital bliss. Elizabeth was set as Esther returned to wash her properly, then pulled her out of the bath and prepared her for the day. She wanted Will Turner.
Remember to Review!