Unbreakable

Elizabeth hummed as she waltzed her way to her cabin. She was in a wonderful mood, decidedly because of her morning chat with Will. It had indeed been a marvelous idea on her part to spend the night down in the cargo hold. She had already decided that she would do it again.

Finally reaching her door, she was surprised to find that it was partly open. She was sure she had closed it all the way last night. Perhaps someone had come in since? Pushing the thought aside, she opened the door all the way and stepped inside.

She had been right. Someone had come into her room, and he was still there. And he did not look pleased.

"Good morning Father," Elizabeth said a little nervously.

Governor Swann continued to stare at his daughter for a minute before responding somewhat coldly, "Good morning Eliza."

Eliza? Her heart skipped a beat. He never called her that unless she was in trouble. Big trouble. She gulped. Good Lord…

He patted the spot next to him on the bed, and it suddenly began obvious to her how strange her bed looked when missing a pillow and the comforter. She stared at her father, terrified.

"Come here Eliza," he ordered.

She gulped again slowly walked over to where he pointed, knowing there was no way she could avoid this. Rash and foolish thinking on her part had led to this, and she knew she would pay for it.

Once she was seated, she looked up at her father with scared eyes. He would never do anything to hurt her, but he still presented quite an imposing figure with great authority. She knew she shouldn't fear him, and she normally didn't, but when he was angry all she wanted was to shrink away and disappear.

"Now, do you know what you have done wrong?" His voice was a little softer, as he had seen how truly frightened his daughter was.

She nodded quickly, not willing to say a word. But it seemed she would have to.

"What?" He wasn't demanding, but she knew she must give an answer.

She was silent for a long while, desperately trying to phrase her answer. Finally, she said, "I did not spend the night in my room, as I should have."

He nodded. "You were with the boy, weren't you?"

She didn't respond.

"Eliza."

"Yes," she said quickly. She understood now why her father was so angry. She had not thought of what others would think. Her motives had simply been that she wanted to see her friend and give him company, but the world did not know that.

Her father could see that she was thinking hard. When her eyes finally lit up, he continued. "You know why that was wrong?"

She nodded again. "Please forgive me Father; I was not thinking at all last night. I was determined, and that clouded all my other thoughts."

"I will forgive you Elizabeth," he said, his voice now considerably softer and kind. "You must understand though the position you stand at. You are the governor's daughter, and you will be looked upon by many people. At your age right now, you are lucky enough to get away with certain things, such as last night, but in a few years you will not be able to. The world has a mind of its own, darling, and you are at its mercy. People will judge, they will spread rumors, and they could damage you forever." He sighed. "I am so sorry to have to put you through this. You will be forced to grow up far too quickly. It was too much for your mother, the pressure. That is why she was always going away for long periods of time to visit your aunt in the far away countryside. I regret so much ever dragging her into the despicable upper-class world. She was a free bird that loved to fly, and I locked her in a cage."

Elizabeth was speechless. She had never once actually listened to the words her father spoke, but this time she was. And they were affecting her far more than she would have expected. She remained silent and listened as he continued.

"I am afraid that you are like her in that sense. I have been watching you lately. It is quite obvious that you love your freedom just as she loved hers. I do not wish to take that away, but I'm afraid society will sooner or later. I'm telling you all of this now for a reason. Elizabeth, I want you to promise me something." He looked at her with a sense of urgency.

"Anything," she replied quickly.

He smiled. "Promise me that you will never lose your wings, no matter how much the world may try to take them away."

She smiled as a single tear rolled down her face. "I promise."

(A/N:) Yay! Her father's not so cruel and heartless after all. But he still has a good firm point...wonder how Liz will handle this new take on her life. One can only wait and see...Reviews are very much appreciated and I promise I'll try and write back ASAP!!! Thanks. ;)