Did you guys see Deadpool and wolverine? And Matthew McFadyen is in it? Chee, he was having so much Fun! Who knew he could be an over acting villain, but I was so happy for him. He's not the Darcy I have in my head, but he was a great Darcy anyways.
Also, are these chapters getting too long? I get so into it that I forget, like, the reading perspective
"God damn it!" Will shouted at the sky, seeing the hawk fly away. He had just missed her again. He fought so hard through the shackles in his mind to come to consciousness to see her just for a moment. But his waking disorience prevented him again!
They had two moments each day to see each other and he was ruining both of them! His violent change to a wolf at sunset and his disoriented waking to a man at sunrise! He cried out in anger, kicking a rock for good measure.
He marched back to camp and sat down to eat the breakfast she had made him. He felt bad about not making her dinner, but Georgiana was a handful.
The girl!
Will left his half eaten food and jogged off to where he had left her.
But there was no one. His guiding angel had vanished.
"God damn it!" he shouted again.
He spied Elizabeths' footprints near the tree. He was worried she would like her. He sighed, shoulders slumping, and felt his anger melt into sadness. That the girl received Elizabeth's touch and help, while he, her husband, could not even get a glimpse of her. His heart squeezed itself excruciatingly, forcing his eyes closed and his hand to press on his heart.
He must kill the bishop. That was the only thing he could do and he clung to it like a man adrift in a violent sea. Wills plan was to march into the cathedral and kill the bishop before the guard killed Will.
But, then Elizabeth would be alone. Could he leave Elizabeth alone in this curse? Condemned to live half a life, trapped in the darkness without even the wolf for company. He wished for death, surely she was of the same mind. How could he ask her? Lining up sticks or rocks?
He shoved those thoughts deep down and turned around to go back to camp. Elizabeth had cleaned and packed camp, so all he had to do was put out the fire and throw Goliaths saddle on. His grief was so deep he couldn't even finish his food.
He jumped up on his horse and pushed onwards. They had to find Georgiana, he had to kill the Bishop. He chanted this within himself, like a mantra to keep him sane. Elizabeth phantom would occasionally whisper his dark thoughts aloud.
When they emerged from the forest he heard Elizabeths call. He stopped Goliath and held out his hand for her. The hawk flew down, chirping as if trying to explain herself.
"Good morning," he said to her, "let's go find Georgiana." The hawk flapped her wings carefully as Goliath started moving towards the road. When they got to the road, he decided to turn south, towards Aquila.
The girl would try to hide from his captors, both Aquila and Will. And both would assume she would put distance between them. But Will already knew the girl was clever, and so decided that she would actually try to hide right under their nose.
They rode down the road for over half the short autumn day. Will was growing more and more worried they would never find Georgiana.
But when he asked people passing if they'd seen a yellow haired adolescent peasant in a brown, hooded tunic they said yes. He'd even let Elizabeth go out to fly ahead and saw her swoop down a few miles ahead. The girl must be exhausted, but she had stamina.
She might have gotten away had Will been a little less desperate.
He pushed Goliath along, noticing Fitzwilliams run down castle up on the tall cliffs a few miles off the road.
Betrayal ran hot through Will. All the love he once held for the priest flipped to a burning hatred. He might kill the priest as well, for what he'd done to Elizabeth. Will would kill anyone who had hurt his wife before he died. His heart clenched and skipped a beat, Will brought a hand up to the offending organ, as if a gloved hand to a padded chest could do anything. But the action seemed involuntary.
Goliath trotted along a handful more miles. The rocky cliffs and jagged mountains fell behind as they entered the valley. Wide open fields lay on both sides of the road. The sun was starting to set. He would need to make camp at the next glen he found.
As they were passing a peasant camp, the hawk came down to land on his hand. The hawk chirped repeatedly, as if telling him things she'd seen. She liked to give him reports as if sharing her day. He let her chirp and call, letting the noises fill his aching soul.
Then, from behind the peasant huts he heard a repressed shout of pain. Will noticed that everything here was suspiciously quiet, artificially so.
Will threw his hand up, launching Elizabeth away to the safety of the sky. He heard a horse whinny and a body hit the ground with a cry.
Suddenly, a handful of the Guard swarmed from behind the huts.
An ambush.
Goliath reared up, as if hyping himself for a fight. Will whipped around to pull out his crossbow, moving his leg to dodge a bolt from a guard. He loaded his bow and aimed, piercing the man's neck. He didn't win archery so long ago on luck.
He loaded and shot down another guard coming from behind a tent. Goliath turned around, causing Will to have to change his attention to a man riding up on them from the side. With no time to draw a sword, Will slammed his crossbow into the man, toppling the gaurd from his horse.
Goliath scittered and reared again, making Will drop his crossbow. His horse was a little out of practice from battles. Two men aimed at him from a distance. How he was going to disarm them was a question he had little time to consider.
But as they released the bolts, rocks were hurled at them, striking with surprising accuracy. One bolt buried itself in Will's arm, rocking him back. A painful place, but one he would live through. He let out a hiss at the pain of it.
Elizabeth's screech ripped the air above him. His stomach dropped at the sound. Where had the second bolt gone?
He looked up and found her. She was drifting down from the sky. He shouted, not for pain, but for her. She hadn't moved her wings yet.
"No!" he breathed, his heart stopped its beat altogether. He had to get to her.
He sat up, leaning forward over his saddle, and watched a guard run on him. He yanked the bolt from his arm, grunting at the rip. Will flipped the arrow around and stabbed the man in the stomach as his sword was up to cut Will down.
Will needed to get to Elizabeth. Maybe she could be saved! His heart seized within him, sawing at his ribs. Dots danced in the corners of his sight.
There was one last man. Goliath danced around as Will pulled his sword out, staring the man down. He pushed Goliath towards the last man, his fathers sword ready to cut him down. But the guard turned his own horse and fled.
Will noticed Georgiana standing with rocks in her hands and shredded, disconnected ropes around her wrists. The guard must have caught her first and laid a trap for him. She looked around herself in a jumpy manner, but Will had no time for that.
He jerked Goliath around to the spot Elizabeth had fallen. When he was about ten feet away, he jumped off his horse, not noticing that he still had an iron grip on his sword. She was crying, but she was breathing. She was still alive!
He stabbed his sword into the ground and crawled to her little panicked form. She warbled in obvious pain and his mind cracked at the sight of the arrow protruding from her little body.
"Easy," he whispered, "you'll be alright." But the location of the bolt filled him with dread.
Not now! Not Elizabeth! He started to fall apart, until he noticed her moving in pain. He had to stop her from doing more damage to herself. He pushed back his fears and called to Georgiana, who had wandered over to Goliath, to bring him a cloth.
He continued to talk to the hawk, hoping the sound of his voice would calm her. She continued to cry.
Georgiana walked over with a large cloth. Will could barely thank her before swaddling Elizabeth. He spoke softly to her, but the overcast day was turning dark, and he knew the change was coming.
Elizabeth had to go through the change with an arrow stuck in her. He winced at the thoughts. If he changed now, with her like this, he would surely kill her before he realized it.
His nightmares were coming true.
Will stood up, cradling Elizabeth, looking around with desperation. He looked at the girl– his sister! His last hope in many ways.
"Take her!" he said, rushing to Georgiana, who backed up, looking startled, "find help!"
"Me sir?"
"You're the only one I have!" he growled, losing time and reason, as he marched towards the girl who continued to back up towards Goliath.
"But the poor thing is done for–!" she said. Will exploded with this statement.
"Don't you say that!" he shouted, grabbing Georgiana by the front of her shirt and shoving her against Goliath. One look at her wide, startled eyes, made Will try to push his anger down. He didn't want Georgiana to steal his horse and leave the useless hawk of a man she hated to die.
"Follow that road," he said, unable to keep the pleading from his voice, "you'll find a ruined castle. There's a priest named Fitzwilliam. Give him the hawk, he'll know what to do," Will voice started to break at the mention of his hawk. His cherished one.
"Sir, I don't think you understand–!" Georgiana started.
"Get on my horse," Will commanded, running out of time for both Elizabeth and his change.
"You're the only one who can ride him!" she argued. Will's voice lowered in anger.
"You will do what I tell you. Get on my horse, Now!" He ended with a shout. Couldn't she see? Elizabeth was in so much pain. They needed to act quickly for her, and the foolish child was arguing. The girl ground her teeth and glared at Will, before hauling herself up onto Goliath.
Will looked down at Elizabeth, whose bird eyes were filled with pain and she chirped as though crying. It tore his soul to hand her off to someone else, but he couldn't trust himself with the change. He was so violent after sunset.
They were a half an hour's hard ride to Fitzwilliams, and the sun was setting soon. Goliath would run faster with the lighter girl.
"Careful," he begged Georgiana as he handed Elizabeth to her. Will's heart jolted painfully and he changed his tone to one of violence. "And know this, if you fail, I will follow you the length of my days! And I will find you," he said glaring at the now very concerned girl. Maybe she did understand, a little.
"Go!" Will said, throwing his hand in the right direction, "Go on!" he said, slapping Goliath to push him faster with his precious load. "Go!" he cried, willing them to fly. His horse followed his will, and quickly built up to a steady gallop. Geogiana crouched in the saddle, with an arm bent up, carrying Elizabeth.
Will paced a few steps until he was back next to his fathers sword. He watched them for a time, a part of him impressed how quickly the girl found her seat. When they had turned to the correct path, Will fell to his knees and let out a yell that ripped the air. What if Elizabeth died?
He had been nothing but trouble to her. The curse and now this? He had failed. He could not even trust himself around her long enough to help. He had to pass her off to an adolescent stranger. He could do nothing! He shouted at the cloudy sky again.
He brought his hands together from something he had not done since he had lost hope.
"Please God please. Save her," he prayed harder than he ever had. He didn't pray this hard even when he prayed for his mother to return. His feelings crushed his voice and he felt tears flow freely down his face. "Please," he begged.
The frosty autumn wind gust past him and he watched the sun slip below the horizon. He closed his eyes for one last beseeching and felt his mind ripped into blackness.
The wolf jumped up and snarled and barked. He was angry and hungry. He saw a rabbit and shot towards it. He snapped it up and shook his head violently. It made for good food.
Soon after, he felt a strange impression that he needed to find the woman. He trotted along the fields, looking for her, trying to smell for her.
He howled for her, not knowing where she was. He couldn't smell her. Where could she be?
He kept running, howling and whining. He kept sniffing and searching for the woman. He eventually came to a castle, and smelled her faintly in the wind. She must be inside.
But he was outside. He howled for her to come outside. He didn't want to be alone.
Oxoxoxoxox
Elizabeth gasped with her return. Why was there an arrow in her? Why was she inside? She lay on a cot in an old stone room. There was a table on the other side full of medicines. She had one blanket to cover her nakedness, but she didn't know where from.
She was alone.
She shook, but from cold or the bolt she couldn't tell. She grit her teeth.
"No one is coming to help you," she repeated like a mantra. She needed the bolt out. She was alone. She must pull it out herself. She must fix herself.
She sucked in a breath. Her face turned red as she held it. She gushed it out with a frustrated sigh. "Just do it. No one will do it for you!" She chastised her weakness. She sucked in another breath and bit her lips.
She grabbed the arrow. It was just below her collar bone, goring in between two of her ribs. The second she touched it, she whistled like a teapot. She pulled harder, and squeezed her eyes shut. Her brain ripped her own hand away.
She gasped again and rolled a little onto her uninjured side. Tears rolled down her face as she glared at the stone wall. She ground her teeth stubbornly.
"It's ok, you can try again. Take a breath and try again. No one is going to do this for you," she scolded herself.
She lay back to look at the ceiling. But, tears of a different sort sprung into her eyes, rolling back into her short hair.
What happened to Will? It must have been a terrible fight. Did he live through it?
She waited quietly before trying to pull the arrow out again. She let out a high pitched squeal and pulled it out half way out. She fell back to the cot with a gush of air. Sweat dotted her forehead.
She noticed couldn't hear the wolf's howl. He'd never left her alone for this long. That must mean Will was… was… elsewhere. Yes, elsewhere was the word she would use.
She turned to look at the wall to hide her tears. She didn't even know where to look for him. She wondered if the curse extended to… to bodies. Which one should she look for? The man or the wolf?
She thought about how she should go about his burial. What to do afterwards? She didn't want to continue if Will was gone. Could she slip off a cliff? Would that count as her just being foolish or still as a suicide? The door sounded with scratches and picks at the lock.
Elizabeth lifted her head to see the girl. The girl moved quickly over to her and Wills' things, her hands outstretched, before she noticed Elizabeth. When the girl did, she gasped and fell backwards, scrambling to the door to escape again. Her hands clutched at the handle of the door.
"Will!" Elizabeth burst, "is he…?" she couldn't bring herself to say the awful word.
"He's-he's fine," the girl said, her shoulders hunched up around her. She didn't look back at Elizabeth and she seemed to quake.
Relief flooded Elizabeth and she forgot about the bolt as she lay her head back down. He was still alive! She wouldn't be alone in this curse!
After a few moments she thought maybe it would have been better if they both had died. They would meet again in heaven. Will said they would still carry on as husband and wife there.
"There was a terrible fight," the girl finally said, turning around to look at her. "He fought like a lion." Elizabeth turned her head to look at the girl when she heard this. The vision of Will during the siege appeared in her mind. He was soot covered and bloodied, but aglow with joy to see her. Yes, her husband could fight. "The hawk," the girl continued, "the hawk was struck." Elizabeth brought her hand up to the bolt.
"You know that, don't you?" the girl said, concerned for her. The girl was as collected as she was smart. Elizabeth didn't know how she would handle finding cursed ones, if she wasn't cursed. The girl was handling all this very well.
"Yes," Elizabeth answered her softly. The girl took a few steps towards Elizabeth, a question on her lips. Elizabeth waited for whatever she came up with.
"Are you flesh? Or are you spirit?" she asked. Elizabeth felt like neither. She was hardly a woman, but hardly not. She wasn't a spirit, but she wasn't a creature. What was she?
"I'm not sure," Elizabeth said finally, her voice thick with confusion and grief. She heard the girl move backwards and the door open. She was surprised to hear Fitzwilliams voice, but not enough to stem her tears or make her look at them again. How much longer could she continue like this?
"How…?" Fitzwilliam demanded from the girl, before dwindling in his accusation. He shuffled a few steps towards Elizabeth, as if confused she was awake. "Get out," Fitzwilliam told the girl softly, "out, out. This time stay out!" He finished a little gruff and shut the door.
Fitzwilliam sat down heavily at the table and began to work. He ripped cloths and put them in boiling water. He snipped herbs and crushed them. He got out bottles and bowls. He seemed stressed. She felt stressed. Everything was happening so quickly. Why was Fitzwilliam here?
Was she going to die? It brought her relief to think about it, but then she heard a howl.
Will! He sounded so forlorn and lost. He cried and howled for her. She couldn't die and leave him alone. As much as she hated the loneliness, Will must feel it just as deeply. He was lonely in a crowded room. Having people around didn't cure him of isolation, like it did for Elizabeth.
The wolf howled.
Fitzwilliam came next to her with a dish of poultice and a spoon. He piled the crushed herbs all around the bolt. He went to grab the bolt, but withdrew. He came back with a stack of clothes, using one to dab his forehead.
She grabbed one with her good arm and did the same. Fitzwilliam tried to smile with encouragement, but looked like he was closer to crying. Then, he tried to cover her eyes with his hand, maybe to shield himself from the pain he would see. While she was sympathetic to that feeling, she moved his hand off her eyes. She put her hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him. Outside, the wolf cried.
Fitzwilliam took a few steadying breaths himself, before mouthing "ready?" She could hardly nod, but it needed to be done. They both knew that. He nodded, trying to sooth them both, as he tightened his hand on the bolt. He closed his eyes tightly and yanked.
She screamed loudly. The fire of it! She hardly kept conscious through the pain of a bolt ripped backward. Then, she wondered why she was trying to stay conscious?
She allowed the walls of darkness to envelope her, shielding her from the pain of living. The last thing she heard was Wills howl.
Oxoxoxoxoxox
Elizabeth woke sometime later, dressed in a white formless gown. She could still feel the injury with piercing clarity, but it had lost its fire.
She tossed her head, wanting to sleep some more. She felt like she rarely got any sleep. But, the pain was radiating too harshly for comfort. Maybe if she sat up for water she would feel better.
"Don't," the girl said from her side, "don't. You might start bleeding again." That seemed sensible. But she needed some distraction from the pain. Elizabeth lay still and watched the girl fidgeting in a nest of blankets. She looked so much like Will, and yet not at all like him.
Her glacial eyes watched things fearfully, instead of Will's observant, confidant, icy gaze. They were both prone to frowning, although Elizabeth remembered the frequency of smiles from Will. They even had the same nose.
"Tell me your name," Elizabeth sighed tiredly.
"Georgiana," she said quietly . Elizabeth liked the name. She smiled a little at Georgiana. Now she wanted news of Will. She wanted it more than relief from the pain.
"You travel with him, don't you?" Elizabeth asked Georgiana
"Yes," she said. Elizabeth smiled, sure he had left a message for her this time. They could finally speak again. But with Georgiana's continued silence, she started to lose hope. Tears pricked at her eyes, not from pain but the disappointment to hear nothing from him. She turned her head away, not wanting to be seen crying. Suddenly, she heard the girl's voice.
"You must save this hawk, he said," Georgiana told her bluntly, "for she is my life, my last and best reason for living." Elizabeth stared, unseeing, at the stone wall. Yes, Will had told her something like that many times. He must have been frantic.
"And then he said," Georgiana continued, "One day we will know all the happiness that people can dream of." Elizabeth turned her face to the sadly smiling girl.
"He said that?" Elizabeth asked. How was it possible that Will still carried such powerful hope, while she was wishing for death? Of course Will would fight for them. He had worked tirelessly for two years for them.
"I swear it on my life," Georgiana said. Elizabeth smiled softly at that. Georgiana was right, Will wouldn't give up on them. He would find a way for them to be together if it took all their lives. She reignited her own hope to help her love.
Georgiana grabbed a blanket and went outside to leave Elizabeth to her solitude. Elizabeth turned her head to reevaluate all the things she had learned over their time in the curse. She heard the muffled voice of Fitzwilliam talking to Georgiana. The wolf howled as well.
The sun rises and the sun sets dictated their change. As the seasons hastened or delayed the sun, so did their changes hasten or delay. Summers were hard on Will as winters were hard on her. She wondered about this for quite some time.
She noticed some tea Fitzwilliam must have left out for her. She drank it.
Georgiana had asked if she was flesh or spirit. But Elizabeth didn't know because she was both at once and neither at the same time. She was an enigma, an anomaly. Could the heavens have anomalies too? How would that affect her and Will? What anomalies happened to the sun?
By now she realized the tea was a strong sedative and her eyes began to seal themselves. She was grateful, as the pain in her chest grew weaker. She curled on her good side and fell into a drugged sleep. It was a blank, deep sleep——
"Miss," Georgiana whispered through the heaviness of her mind, "miss, come with me."
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, groggy with the tea and groaning with her wound. It was still dulled, but so were her senses.
"Don't talk, come with me," Georgiana whispered. In the midst of her confusion, she spied Will standing behind the girl. Tall, strong, with a twinkle in his icy eye, and a smirk on his lips. He reached towards her with both hands. The fire light danced across his face. She jolted up and reached out for him.
"Careful, careful," Georgiana gasped, "you'll open the wound again."
Did she not see Will? Will was standing right next to her. Did Elizabeth have a fever again? She put her hand to her head and stumbled under the strength of Fitzwilliam medicines. She reached again towards Will, but Georgiana walked through him. The girl pulled Elizabeth's arm around her slender shoulder, hustling them forward. Will must be a figment of her imagination then.
But he was so vivid.
Georgiana helped her rush down halls and stairs, but the medicine was protesting her movement. Elizabeth felt hot and her mouth watered as her stomach rolled dangerously. She panted to try and breathe through the sickness.
"Over here," Will called her, standing next to a crumbling, high ledge. Elizabeth shuffled over to him, but Georgiana caught her and turned them away. She took no notice of Will.
"In here, miss," Georgiana whispered, guiding her away from the ledge and into a tower. Elizabeth felt her chest start to throb as the pierce grew hot. What was Georgiana doing?
Georgiana muttered encouragement to her, leading her across a little bridge to a door. It was locked. Georgiana crouched down and started to pick the lock, looking around anxiously. Elizabeth leaned on the rail with violently shaking hands and took deep breaths. Why was Georgiana so panicked?
Elizabeth heard a shout, and looked up to see a red guardsman climbing through the ruined castle after them. Georgiana also saw, and leapt up, abandoning the door. She pushed Elizabeth back over the little walkway and into the tower.
"Back! Back, back, back," Georgiana said, frantically pushing her up the stairs.
Elizabeth rushed up the stairs, but it stole all her energy and balance. When faced with the ladder through the tower's ceiling, she felt atrocious. Were there two ladders? Three? She grabbed for one and clutched only air. She sucked air in ineffective pants.
Georgiana tried to pick her up and shove her through the top, but that made it worse. Elizabeth pulled herself about half way out, when she heard Georgiana's panicked shouts below her.
"Get off!" Georgiana shrieked, kicking at a guardsman. Georgiana kicked so hard that she kicked herself out of her shoes. It also kicked the guardsman down the stairs.
Elizabeth heaved herself onto the tower roof, staying on her hands and knees to keep her stomach, her head, her chest– oh! Everything!
Georgiana closed the trap door and began looking for a way down. But they were on a tiny circle of a roof, no more than three of the girls jittery strides in any direction. Elizabeth felt she had to tell Georgiana why they were being chased.
"Georgiana, it's me they're after," she gasped, looking at the yellowing horizon of the dawn.
"I know!" Georgiana squeaked, rushing about barefoot. If Elizabeth were herself, she would've laughed at the noise. But as she was, she was far from fine. A guardsman exploded up from the trap door. Elizabeth shouted, struggling to her feet.
Georgiana jumped on the trap door, smashing the guard back down. The guardsman crashed back up, nearly sending Georgiana flying from the tower. But the girl held her balance, and the guardsman disappeared again.
The world whirled and shook around Elizabeth as she watched Georgiana slide the latch in place on the door.
A sword was thrust up through the spaces between the door planks. Georgiana sprang up like a spooked cat and screamed. She launched herself away from the door and smashed into Elizabeth.
Elizabeth slipped off the tower.
Somehow she caught herself before falling all the way. Her hands gripped the old scaffolding of the tower. Her nails dug into the wood like talons. She screamed Georgiana's name. The yellow haired girl jumped down onto the scaffolding after her and grabbed her wrists in a frenzied and desperate manner.
All of Elizabeth's body weight seemed to rest on that pierced muscle. It shredded and ripped itself back open. She felt the blood trickling down her chest and down her stomach. That arm seemed to jerk itself back down to prevent more damage. She held onto Georgiana's hand, praying she could hold her.
She didn't want to leave Will yet!
"Hold me!" Elizabeth screamed. Just a few more moments! The sun was rising!
Georgiana's face was red. The girl was gritting her teeth as the wind whipped her blonde hair around. She was trying her best but Elizabeth was still slipping! A cry ripped out of Georgiana, almost unbidden.
Elizabeth's hand slipped from Georgiana's and Elizabeth screamed, horrified.
Then her consciousness was sucked into blankness.
She screeched as the wind picked her up and floated her away.
It was a good day for flying, she just wondered why her breast hurt so much. She could barely flap her wing for the pain of it.
She would go find the man and spend the day on his hand.