Author's Note: Go back and re-read the prologue and chapter 1 if you haven't already. Please let me know what you think of this version; I hope that the changes will make the events later in the story make more sense.

Chapter 2

The morning after the assembly, Elizabeth rose early to walk toward Oakham Mount as was her habit most fine mornings. The encounter with Mr Darcy left Elizabeth flummoxed—she could swear she had met him before. It was a vague memory, and she wanted to laugh at the dreams his voice had caused. She knew they could not be real memories, as they were far too fanciful—memories of fighting dragons with him as a child or playing the "damsel in distress" to his Sir Galahad and lying beside him in the grass, watching the stars as he made up stories. The memory that caused her to blush was him carrying her in his arms while calling him "Dearest Will" and kissing his cheek as explosions of light burst around them. These memories caused Elizabeth to blush before she laughed at herself, determining she would never dance at an assembly again if it caused her to have such wild imaginings.

Still, there was something so familiar about him. It was more than his looks, although he was quite the most handsome man she had ever met, and just thinking about his person made her blush. He was tall and well-formed, and while they had not danced, she felt confident there was no padding under his jacket. He had been kind when he spoke to her, and while he had not spoken to anyone else at the assembly, she had known it was because of his headache. He was a little proud, to be sure, but he had confessed to feeling awkward when he heard his wealth and status bandied about the room nearly as soon as he entered it.

His voice, too, was familiar. It was quite a bit deeper and more resonant now than in her dreams. He was much younger in her dreams—she guessed he was twelve or thirteen in those. It seemed odd to dream of a boy when she had met the man the night before, but as she walked, she recalled she had dreamt of him before that night. Somehow, he was connected to the Will and Jon of her dreams, although it made no sense. Other vague memories—a long journey by carriage, a large estate, mountain peaks, and the grandparents she was told she had never met—that Elizabeth knew were more accurate than her family would admit.

In the middle of these musings, Mr Darcy arrived. He was riding his rather tall stallion, tall, at least, from Elizabeth's perspective, as she was a little frightened of horses.

"Good morning, Miss Bennet, oh, pardon me; good morning, Miss Elizabeth," Darcy greeted the lady he had dreamed about as he dismounted his horse. It was strange, he thought, to encounter her so soon after such a strange dream. When he finally found sleep the night before, he dreamed of laying beside a much younger version of Elizabeth in the grass, telling her stories about the stars. In his dreams, he called her Ellie, and she called him Will. It had been years—before his mother died—that anyone had called him by that name.

Darcy had vague memories of a young girl, only three or four years old, who had called him "dearest" one summer when his family visited Briarwood, an estate about fifty miles from Pemberley. He still visited the estate on occasion, as he had inherited the role of trustee over it when his father died. His father's friend was also a trustee, and he had contact with the girl and her family, although Darcy had not heard the girl's name in years and did not recall it. He was only responsible for the property and the investments; as he understood matters from his father's will, it was Mr Elliott's job to superintend the girl's care.

Darcy exchanged a few words that morning with Miss Elizabeth before separating; however, they continued to meet this way several mornings, and each day, their conversations grew longer.

After several mornings of meeting this way, Darcy noticed how Miss Bennet seemed to shy away from his horse. "Might I introduce you to Bucephalus, Miss Bennet?" he asked.

Elizabeth appeared uncertain about his request. "Horses and I do not seem to get along, sir," she stated after a moment. "I have always been a little afraid of them; my uncle attempted to teach me once when I was seven or eight, but I was unable to conquer my fear to ride successfully. I have a vague memory of riding a horse as a young child with someone named 'Jon', and in that memory, I fell from the horse and injured my leg. My aunt and uncle claim it is a false memory since we do not know anyone named Jon or Jonathan, but still, it has prevented me from riding."

"How old were you in this memory?" Darcy asked, intrigued as her 'memory' made him recall a similar event. "Do you remember anything else?"

"The horse seemed enormous, but as I was only four or five in my dream, I believe most horses would have appeared that way to me. Jon was not a boy, perhaps a young man nine or ten years older than I, and I recall a discussion of slaying a dragon with him and another boy. Jon dismounted first, but something distracted him for a moment, and before he could help me down, I fell off the other side. The other boy rescued me, carrying me to the house and my nurse. It was a slight injury, I think, but the memory of it has stuck with me."

Darcy started, remembering a similar event at Pemberley the summer his sister was born. "Do you remember the name of the other boy?" he asked, his voice betraying his interest in the matter.

Elizabeth trilled a laugh. "I believe called him 'dearest', although I cannot remember the rest of the name. I feel fairly certain it is a dream; my relations have told me often enough that I have a fanciful imagination," she finished when he appeared shocked at her revelations.

Darcy was becoming more certain this was not a dream and his impression that Elizabeth Bennet was someone other than she claimed grew stronger. He had written a letter to his father's friend Mr Elliott to learn what he could about the Tomlinson family. Since his father's death, he had communicated occasionally about Briarwood, the Tomlinson estate held in trust for the heir. He knew little about the heir though meeting Elizabeth brought those memories of little Ellie Tomlinson to his mind frequently.

At other times during these meetings, Mr Darcy spoke passionately about his estate, relishing the opportunity to share his knowledge with Elizabeth. His descriptions of the area around his home piqued her interest. As she was always curious about travel and genuinely interested in Darcy's estate, could not resist the urge to inquire about the sights he mentioned. "Mr Darcy," she began one morning, her eyes fixed on the distant horizons, "would you describe those Peaks you have seen? I am intrigued by your descriptions as something about them niggles at my memory."

Mr Darcy's eyes softened as he recounted the majestic scenery. "The Peaks are remarkable, Miss Bennet," he replied. "The rugged beauty of the landscape, the rolling hills, and the commanding peaks that seem to touch the sky—it is a sight that takes one's breath away. My home, Pemberley, is in the middle of this area, and I delight that I have the ability to visit there frequently."

Elizabeth nodded, her mind racing to connect these descriptions with her vague memories. "You know, Mr Darcy," she confessed with a playful smile, "I have had some rather peculiar impressions of seeing similar sights in my past. However, I have always dismissed them as the imaginings of a fervent reader. You see, I have frequently devoured many books with vivid descriptions of such places, and I long to visit someday."

He regarded her with a thoughtful expression. "Could it be that you have a deeper connection to such landscapes than you realise, Miss Bennet? Perhaps your heart has journeyed through these terrains long before we met."

She laughed as he had intended. "Yes, perhaps I have visited them in a past life," she replied, not guessing how true these words would prove to be.

A few days later, the two families were in company again, and since he had begun meeting with Miss Elizabeth in the mornings, he observed the family dynamic more closely. At the assembly, it appeared something was not quite right with them, and, given his conversations with the enchanting Miss Elizabeth, had wondered about her family.

They were all gathered at Lucas Lodge, and Darcy noted that Elizabeth looked very different than her relations. Granted, they were cousins, and she was not related by blood to her aunt, but there was something about her that struck him as familiar though he could recall no Bennets. An off-handed comment by Charlotte Lucas had also revealed Elizabeth's birthday—August 14, 1791—only a few days before his own birthday and hearing that date stirred another memory. He was determined to ask her about it and did the next morning.

After they exchanged greetings, Elizabeth fed Bucephalus an apple she had brought just for him. Elizabeth had become familiar with his horse over the course of the last fortnight and had begun bringing him a treat, along with something for herself and Darcy to eat as they spoke. "I heard Miss Lucas mention your birthday is only a few days before my own on August 20. It brought to mind a memory that I wanted to mention to you. On my eleventh birthday, we celebrated at the estate of a friend of my father's, Mr Tomlinson. The estate is called Briarwood, and I was there this past year on my birthday, as I am the trustee of the estate until the heir comes of age.

"Anyway, that birthday stands out because my birthday coincided with the birthday of the estate owner's granddaughter, who was turning four. Mr Tomlinson purchased fireworks to be shot off that night. The little girl, Ellie, I think, and I had been friendly over the summer, and she was initially frightened by the fireworks. She did not want either of her grandparents to comfort her, so she came to me and insisted I hold her during the rest of the display. When it was over, she patted my cheek, called me her dearest, and then kissed my cheek. My cousin, who is now an Army Colonel and a couple of years older than I, teased me mercilessly the next day.

"The following summer, I saw Ellie again on our next birthdays, but my mother had just given birth to my sister and was still rather weak. Before that year was out, Ellie was sent to live with a relative as both her grandparents died. My father was her guardian, though my mother was too ill for her to live with us. I still am the trustee of her estate, although I have not seen her since."

Elizabeth sighed. "It is a lovely memory. It is odd—I have always had a vague memory of a knight protecting me from bright lights in the sky one night when I was small. He, like your Ellie did, allowed me to kiss his cheek when they were done, but as I have been told I have never seen fireworks, determined it was merely a dream," she whispered.

"How do you know it was a dream and not a memory?" Darcy asked.

"Other than a brief trip to London, I have lived all my life at Longbourn, or so I have been told," Elizabeth stated. "My aunt and uncle have told me on more than one occasion that I am too fanciful as I often have dreams of things they say could not have happened. I was told I had a rather active imagination when I was young and was constantly making up stories about dragon-slaying knights named Will and Jon. When I have tried to tell others about these memories, they have teased me for lying, as there are no boys in our family of the proper age to have been my playmates—they seemed so much older than I when I was small, but they would have been boys, perhaps ten to thirteen in my imagination—and none of my cousins have similar memories. I am quite convinced I made them up, although I do not know why. Perhaps they are memories of things I read at some time, or they came from stories someone made up and told me."

Darcy started at her recollections. "Miss Bennet, are you certain you have always lived at Longbourn."

Elizabeth laughed. "My aunt and uncle say it is so. When I was young, I insisted I had another family than those at Longbourn, though when I claimed it, I was told I was being very hateful to imagine a life without my family. There is no one named Will or Jon in our family, and while there is a John in our neighbourhood, he is not the one from my dreams."

"How do you know?" Darcy asked.

"He is only a couple of years older than me—the Jon in my dreams was quite a bit older, perhaps ten years or more. John also does not have the same memories or dreams as I do, and he does not know anyone named Will," Elizabeth replied. "Do not trouble yourself, Mr Darcy. I am convinced it is something that will never be solved. Why would my relations not be honest with me? I believe I would feel equally annoyed with a child if she insisted she had a different family somewhere. I think it would be rather hurtful, so once I realised that, I quit making those statements. I suppose I may have these memories from when my uncle still lived before Aunt Franny and Uncle Thomas came to Longbourn, but it seems better not to speak of them."

As Darcy considered this, he realised that everything about Miss Elizabeth captured his attention. Each morning he met with her, he liked her more and had begun to contemplate how to call on her or to request a courtship. However, something about her family made him hold back and wait before he asked. He felt that something was off at Longbourn and wanted to find out more, especially as Elizabeth revealed more about her "imaginings" that coincided with his own memories. To that end, he had begun to ask Elizabeth more questions about her family as they met in their mornings, and those questions were returned until the two knew quite a bit about the other and were in a fair way toward falling in love.