Interstitial drabble - Longbourn

[anghraine]

I've always wished there was more fic of this period. So, um, yes - angsty!sleepless!Elizabeth.

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Title: One Sleepless Night

Fandom: Austen (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE)

Fanverse: N/A (interstitial)

Blurb:  Had she known nothing of Darcy, she could have borne the dread of Lydia's infamy somewhat better.  It would have spared her, she thought, one sleepless night out of two.

Major Characters: Elizabeth Bennet

Pairings/Warnings: Fitzwilliam Darcy/Elizabeth Bennet; canonical angst

Length: drabble

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At Longbourn, Elizabeth spent hours with Jane, hearing of all that had happened, and hours more trying to manage the household. They had entered the kitchen for the first time in their lives, received Mr Bennet's correspondence, directed the servants and attempted to calm their mother and sisters.

By the end of the first night, she was exhausted. Her eyelids heavy and her mind full, Elizabeth crawled into bed and closed her eyes.

She slept, fitfully, for an hour, then tossed and turned for another two. Everything she had been too busy and too anxious to think about earlier, returned tenfold to her now.

Somehow, that everything seemed to consist mainly of remembering Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Comments

[sixbeforelunch]

Ooh, I'm really liking these. :)

[anghraine]

thanks! there really isn't enough sleepless!Elizabeth out there.

[hl]

Aww, &hearts. I'm loving these interstitial moments in time. The ending is lovely, but I like the description of the first time--you manage to give a very good idea of the busy mess their life is in so very few words!

[anghraine]

I was going to skip past that first bit, but it was kind of - necessary, you know? I mean, things are so awful for her at that point because it's - well, things. Not just Lydia, or just Darcy, or - well, yes.

and short interstitial fic is fun! also, easy. *loves*

[tree]

this just occurred to me (and forgive the impertinence, but) is it odd writing about someone who has your name?

[anghraine]

A little, yes! It happens often enough that I don't usually think about it, but Elizabeth Bennet is a kind of peculiar case, because I almost identify with her. I mean, she's the heroine, she's my age, she has my initials, and she's rather hard and sharp. So I'll instinctively align myself with her, but after five seconds of . . . well, in MBTI terms, of trying to see things like an SP - an SFP! - my brain hurts and I suddenly need to make charts.

So, um, mostly it's just surreal.