Fic: A Bargain at Any Price (1/?)
Apr. 20th, 2006 03:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
honoratBy Honorat
Rating: G
Disclaimer: From what I hear tell of Disney, it’s not a corporation to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one
Summary: Elizabeth reflects on her interrupted marriage proposal. Sequel to Worthy of His Steel. We’ve met Will. Now it’s time to meet Elizabeth. More movie novelization and escaped plot bunnies. This fits with the “Suit” challenge at Black Pearl Sails.
Thank you,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
geek_mama_2, for editing this. I’d have had a hard time of it without you.
* * * * *
Ch. 1 The Gilded Cage
She was finally alone. Finally the hordes of fussing servants and maids and fathers had left her in peace for a moment. Yes, her father could be a fussing horde all on his own. She was fine, she’d insisted. Just a little swim that was all. She’d been swimming before. She’d never drowned before, but she saw no point in dwelling on the finer points of her adventure. She just wanted them to go away. And so she’d pretended she needed to rest. After an increased frenzy of flurrying, the desired result had been acheived. She had a few moments by herself before Estrella would be up to stir the fire and tuck her in with a warming pan—in spite of the afternoon heat trapped in the house. Feeling suffocated, as though she were still wearing that wretched corset, Elizabeth flew to the window.
Brushing the gossamer curtains aside, she threw open the glass and leant out over the sill as far as she could, as though to escape from the stifling confines of her room. The old childhood ache tugged at her soul—the desire to push out from the warm stone into the cool evening air, to soar out across the jeweled glow of windows in the town below, over the glimmering waters of the bay, beyond the sunset to freedom. Although Elizabeth tried to summon the discipline that allowed her to return to her prescribed life, tonight it wasn’t working.
Whirling away from the spectacular view, which only seemed to taunt her with its futility, she paced her luxurious room like a caged beast. Exactly like, she thought bitterly. Kept in this gilded cage, performing the acceptable, polite social tricks, always padding with velveted paws. Elizabeth flexed her fingers, staring at their claw-like silhouettes in the last twilight. Estrella is right, she thought. I have too much imagination.
Of course, she knew what was troubling her. She’d been brought up expecting to be bartered off as a bride to the highest bidder—the heiress to her father’s wealth was a great prize in this limited marriage mart. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Now that her father had given James Norrington permission to press his suit, it appeared that Elizabeth Swann, governor’s daughter was about to become Elizabeth Norrington, commodore’s wife. Her sudden dunking in the Port Royal Harbour had only delayed what was surely inevitable.
Would such a fate be so terrible? Commodore Norrington was without doubt the most eligible bachelor in Port Royal. The middle son of an old and noble family, he had the ability to command life’s elegancies above and beyond what the pay of a naval officer could support. In the Royal Navy, his star seemed likely to rise to the Admiralty. In her father’s eyes, James Norrington was the ideal husband for his daughter.
He was much older than she, but such an age difference was considered beneficial. A woman was expected to look up to and be guided by her husband—a situation best fostered if he were several years her senior. A leader of men, a courageous warrior, a skilled commander of great ships, James Norrington was all of these things—she should have had no trouble falling in love with him.
Not only that, he was a man of good conversation and impeccable manners. He graced a ballroom with as much elegance as he did a salle d’armes. All the matchmaking mamas had tried in vain to bring the handsome officer up to scratch. All her friends had set their caps for him, to no avail. She should be gratified that such a man had singled her out as the object of his affections.
Above all, Commodore Norrington was a friend, someone she had known since they’d met on the crossing from England when she was a child.
So why, then, was she feeling so trapped? Why did the thought that she would be giving her life to James Norrington make her shiver? Why did she not even understand her own heart?
Pausing in front of her dressing table, Elizabeth gazed into her mirror. In the gathering darkness, her reflection stared back at her, pale and dark-eyed. “Who are you?” she asked, stabbing a finger at the face in the glass. Elizabeth, the governor’s daughter, was a role in a play with which she was familiar. Walk this way. Smile that way. Don’t run like a hoyden, miss. Don’t frown. You are too familiar with the help, dear. Don’t yawn at the table. You’re a young lady now. Elizabeth, the commodore’s wife, could only be more of the same. Must she go from one to the other before she discovered who the stranger in the mirror was?
She glared at her reflection gradually disappearing in the gloom. “If you’re ever going to introduce yourself,” she addressed the fading image, “you’d better do it soon. I don’t have much time left.” The face in the mirror only quirked one dark brow at her and twisted a cynical smile.
TBC
Rating: G
Disclaimer: From what I hear tell of Disney, it’s not a corporation to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one
Summary: Elizabeth reflects on her interrupted marriage proposal. Sequel to Worthy of His Steel. We’ve met Will. Now it’s time to meet Elizabeth. More movie novelization and escaped plot bunnies. This fits with the “Suit” challenge at Black Pearl Sails.
Thank you,
geek_mama_2, for editing this. I’d have had a hard time of it without you.* * * * *
Ch. 1 The Gilded Cage
She was finally alone. Finally the hordes of fussing servants and maids and fathers had left her in peace for a moment. Yes, her father could be a fussing horde all on his own. She was fine, she’d insisted. Just a little swim that was all. She’d been swimming before. She’d never drowned before, but she saw no point in dwelling on the finer points of her adventure. She just wanted them to go away. And so she’d pretended she needed to rest. After an increased frenzy of flurrying, the desired result had been acheived. She had a few moments by herself before Estrella would be up to stir the fire and tuck her in with a warming pan—in spite of the afternoon heat trapped in the house. Feeling suffocated, as though she were still wearing that wretched corset, Elizabeth flew to the window.
Brushing the gossamer curtains aside, she threw open the glass and leant out over the sill as far as she could, as though to escape from the stifling confines of her room. The old childhood ache tugged at her soul—the desire to push out from the warm stone into the cool evening air, to soar out across the jeweled glow of windows in the town below, over the glimmering waters of the bay, beyond the sunset to freedom. Although Elizabeth tried to summon the discipline that allowed her to return to her prescribed life, tonight it wasn’t working.
Whirling away from the spectacular view, which only seemed to taunt her with its futility, she paced her luxurious room like a caged beast. Exactly like, she thought bitterly. Kept in this gilded cage, performing the acceptable, polite social tricks, always padding with velveted paws. Elizabeth flexed her fingers, staring at their claw-like silhouettes in the last twilight. Estrella is right, she thought. I have too much imagination.
Of course, she knew what was troubling her. She’d been brought up expecting to be bartered off as a bride to the highest bidder—the heiress to her father’s wealth was a great prize in this limited marriage mart. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Now that her father had given James Norrington permission to press his suit, it appeared that Elizabeth Swann, governor’s daughter was about to become Elizabeth Norrington, commodore’s wife. Her sudden dunking in the Port Royal Harbour had only delayed what was surely inevitable.
Would such a fate be so terrible? Commodore Norrington was without doubt the most eligible bachelor in Port Royal. The middle son of an old and noble family, he had the ability to command life’s elegancies above and beyond what the pay of a naval officer could support. In the Royal Navy, his star seemed likely to rise to the Admiralty. In her father’s eyes, James Norrington was the ideal husband for his daughter.
He was much older than she, but such an age difference was considered beneficial. A woman was expected to look up to and be guided by her husband—a situation best fostered if he were several years her senior. A leader of men, a courageous warrior, a skilled commander of great ships, James Norrington was all of these things—she should have had no trouble falling in love with him.
Not only that, he was a man of good conversation and impeccable manners. He graced a ballroom with as much elegance as he did a salle d’armes. All the matchmaking mamas had tried in vain to bring the handsome officer up to scratch. All her friends had set their caps for him, to no avail. She should be gratified that such a man had singled her out as the object of his affections.
Above all, Commodore Norrington was a friend, someone she had known since they’d met on the crossing from England when she was a child.
So why, then, was she feeling so trapped? Why did the thought that she would be giving her life to James Norrington make her shiver? Why did she not even understand her own heart?
Pausing in front of her dressing table, Elizabeth gazed into her mirror. In the gathering darkness, her reflection stared back at her, pale and dark-eyed. “Who are you?” she asked, stabbing a finger at the face in the glass. Elizabeth, the governor’s daughter, was a role in a play with which she was familiar. Walk this way. Smile that way. Don’t run like a hoyden, miss. Don’t frown. You are too familiar with the help, dear. Don’t yawn at the table. You’re a young lady now. Elizabeth, the commodore’s wife, could only be more of the same. Must she go from one to the other before she discovered who the stranger in the mirror was?
She glared at her reflection gradually disappearing in the gloom. “If you’re ever going to introduce yourself,” she addressed the fading image, “you’d better do it soon. I don’t have much time left.” The face in the mirror only quirked one dark brow at her and twisted a cynical smile.
TBC
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-20 05:43 pm (UTC)The ending here is really nice. The listing of Elizabeth's faults works well with her '21st century girl trapped in a 17th century world' character: you can just see the litany of corrections and criticisms by her father (and others) running through her head on a constant stream. You've created a really trapped atmosphere here.
Can't wait to see more of this!
no subject
Date: 2006-04-20 06:41 pm (UTC)Elizabeth's world dismisses her. As a young woman, she carries no political weight, her voice has no sound. In this movie, she has to find the place to stand where the only leverage she has been handed can move the universe. She has to find the frequency on which her voice can be heard. She has to decide whether she will stay in this gilded and safe cage, or whether she will break out of it and fly. I love her character and am looking forward to exploring it more myself. I'm so glad you enjoyed this.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-20 09:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-20 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-24 04:51 pm (UTC)Hooray that she's busy listing Norrington's positive attributes to herself, that she really does know what an excellent catch he is even in the midst of her ambivalence, and though she is the chasee rather than the chaser. And I like very much that she doesn't really know what she wants except for that unattainable freedom.
Elizabeth, the governor's daughter, was a role in a play with which she was familiar.
Oh, the litany of admonitions! She must be sick to death of hearing them all.
Lovely ending!
no subject
Date: 2006-04-24 06:20 pm (UTC)That list of Norriington's sterling qualities seemed obvious to me. Elizabeth does not reject James because she is too young to appreciate him. She repeatedly says what a fine man he is and how he is just what a girl should want. The trouble is she doesn't want him. I know just what she feels like. When I was 16 a slightly older young man wanted to date me. I had no idea how to say I wasn't interested (late bloomer!). He was a lovely person. Nothing wrong with him at all, but there was a guy in my class who practically set me on fire by walking by. Where's the contest people? I still know that first young man. He has a lovely wife and family. I have a lovely husband. We're both happy and hey! we didn't have to get together in order to be so. Trust me James. You're better off without a woman who doesn't love you like you deserve. And she is better off without being tied to a man she doesn't love.
Oh, the litany of admonitions! She must be sick to death of hearing them all.
Yes, Elizabeth did seem to be a hawk straining at her jesses at the beginning of the movie--heartsick of restraint, longing for the free heavens.
I'm glad you liked the ending. Elizabeth is still finding out who she is, what she really wants, and what it is worth paying to get it. Thank you so much for your comments.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-25 10:02 am (UTC)Oh, very yes. What I didn't have time to mention was how much I liked how you played with the lighting, the way twilight and creeping night are obscuring her reflection in the mirror even as she's searching the image.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-25 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-25 04:55 am (UTC)You capture Elizabeth's sense of being trapped wonderfully here. The metaphor of a cage (or an aviary) works very well. It's not the chains of later as she doesn't feel quite as trapped by her role and station as she does later in the film, after she's had a taste of freedom instead of the pipe dream of it. The more she learns of herself and of the world she's being forced to conform to the more the bars press in on her. Very subtle, but a lovely thru-line for her character.
I also love Elizabeth's--well rationalization doesn't quite fit, though it's the first word that came to mind--of Norrington's proposal and how fortunate she should feel. It rather mirrored his thoughts on her in Aboard the Dauntless, the only catch being that she doesn't feel as strongly for him as he does for her. The thought is there though that she could learn to love him, which is an interesting angle to take and fits with how you've written the two throughout your novelization. I like the thought that Elizabeth doesn't know what she wants. It lends more depth to her character development over the course of the film and, IMHO, is a more natural choice than to have her secretly pining over Will, which is the norm in this fandom as far as I've read.
I have to wonder how far you're going to take this one, as it stands on its own just fine. Natural assumption leads me to believe you'd take this through Elizabeth finally going to bed, incorporating novelization/missing scene work with Estrella because you "foreshadowed" it, but I have to wonder if you're going to backstory her the way you did Will. Time will only tell eh?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-05 09:09 pm (UTC)The metaphor of a cage (or an aviary) works very well. It's not the chains of later as she doesn't feel quite as trapped by her role and station as she does later in the film
You're right about that. At this stage, she still doesn't seem sure what she really wants or who she wants to be. There are things about the life she leads that she enjoys, but they may also be things that constrain her into being things she doesn't want. I'm glad that comes through, here.
a more natural choice than to have her secretly pining over Will
Elizabeth's natural, open, child-like delight in seeing Will in the sword-delivery scene didn't look like a woman viewing her secret love. They've just got this marvelous friendship from her point of view. Will's awkward, self-consciousness--now that's a secret love. He's trying to protect her from an ineligible connection and himself from heartbreak.
I'd really like to take this further--including Elizabeth's young-lady training and social debut and her memories of that night on the beach with Will, but we'll see if I get the time.
Thank you so much for your insightful commentary. I always learn something about the characters from your observations.