The Warring Woman

By Katherine

Chapter 1

Posted on Sunday, 12 May 2002

Once upon a time, in the country of England and county of Hertfortshire, Count Bennet lived in his large estate surrounded by his happy family. His family was very well situated without any reason to complain. Well, perhaps just one. While Count Bennet had been blessed with five daughters, he alas had no son and heir to his mighty fortune. This had never really been a large problem to anyone in the family except for the Countess Bennet, who was fearful of her family being turned out after her husband's death, despite her daughters' large dowries.

The French had often looked upon England with greedy eyes, looking for a way to make the prosperous country theirs. However, the French had been too cowardly to try a military advance on England, and had just sat back thinking of how England would one day be theirs. This was until the new King ascended the throne and decided that the French would be able to win a war against the mighty English. With this thought, France declared war on England and began their approach.

The King of England was frightfully worried, but knew that the country could pull together and defeat these foreign enemies. He issued a mandate, ordering that each noble man must provide one son to serve as a general in the army. Count Bennet knew that this task was impossible for he had no sons, and did not known of any male relations.

His second eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who at the time was nineteen, had come up with a plan. She knew what mortification and cost that her father would bear if he did not send a son to become a general, and Elizabeth could not tolerate it to see her father suffer that way.

"Father," Elizabeth said. "I know what I must do. I will accept the King's mandate and go to the battlefield."

"You, Elizabeth?" Count Bennet questioned in surprise. "But you will be easily recognized as a woman!"

"Papa..."

"Your hands are much too white and smooth to be a man's, your skin is not tanned, and your eyes too bright and beautiful to be a man's," Count Bennet insisted. "You will be easily recognized!"

Count Bennet was quite determined that his favorite daughter would not be subjected to such a horrible fate where she could be possibly killed, and tried the best that he could to discourage her from entering the war. Elizabeth, who was quite brilliant, knew that her plan would work and, with a determinant nature, shot down all of her father's pleas.

"I will disguise myself as a man, with a coat of armor and everything else necessary," Elizabeth replied confidently. "I will not be recognized for who I am." Count Bennet just sighed.

"Very well, my dear," Count Bennet hesitantly agreed.

Count Bennet furnished his daughter with all of the necessary equipment, including armor, a helmet, a lance, and a sword, and bitterly said goodbye to his most beloved child. Elizabeth rode on towards the bloody battle, not quite knowing what she was in for or what she would face on the road ahead. She checked in under the name of Lord Ethan, the distant nephew of Count Bennet, and was immediately accepted without any further questions.

Elizabeth proved to be quite brave and valiant in the war, leading her troops to many victories and courageous battles. Being light and limber, Elizabeth was able to easily maneuver through the enemy, and owned a fighting spirit that impressed everyone that met her. However, each night in her own tent, Elizabeth would cry to herself, feeling lonely and forgotten as she saw things no person should ever see.

One day on the battlefield during a particularly bloody and malicious battle with the French, Elizabeth noticed a young man off to the side of a group of French soldiers. With the loud cry of "Long live the King!", the young man dove into the group, and Elizabeth and the her troops gasped in horror. They instantly raced over to provide assistance, and succeeded in saving the young man from what would have been a bloody, painful end.

Elizabeth had the young man brought into her tent where she proceeded to care for him and tend to his wounds. Luckily, the man's injuries were neither serious nor deadly, and were quickly mended so that the young man could be back on his feet. To Elizabeth's surprise, the young man turned out to be Prince Fitzwilliam Darcy Phillip Arthur, the eldest son of the King of England.

Prince Fitzwilliam, however, was quite confused had what had just passed. He remembered being in Lord Ethan's tent, but was disturbed about what he remember of the brave soldier. He had remembered the brilliant fine eyes that Lord Ethan possessed, shimmering as though laughing at the world. Prince Fitzwilliam knew did not belong to a man but a woman, but could Lord Ethan really be so?

Prince Fitzwilliam racked his brain long and hard, trying to think of a solution to his problem. Finally, at length, he thought of a perfect plan to test if Lord Ethan was a man or a woman. He would take Lord Ethan out to the local market, and observe his behavior. If Lord Ethan looked at any dresses, it would mean that 'he' was a she. However, if Lord Ethan only looked at armor, it would mean that Prince Fitzwilliam was imagining things if he believed that he was not a man.

Elizabeth was quite surprised by the Prince's offer, but hesitantly agreed to join him on the outing. Upon entering the market, Elizabeth was careful not to look at anything that would be considered 'feminine' and soon located a fine sword made of elegant silver in one of the nearby shops.

"Look at this, your Highness. Would this not be the perfect weapon to fight the French with?" Elizabeth asked as she noticed the Prince nod slowly and quite sadly.

Prince Fitzwilliam was even more confused after returning to his tent that afternoon, and knew that he would have to try again to know once and for all who Lord Ethan really was. Prince Fitzwilliam thought long and hard again, until finally coming up with a foolproof idea. He would invite Lord Ethan to bathe with him and the officers in the nearby river, which would surely tell who the soldier really was.

Prince Fitzwilliam was only met with rejection. Elizabeth gave her apologizes, but confessed that she had served her full commission of two years and was to go immediately home to her ill father. Prince Fitzwilliam only nodded unhappily, and walked back towards his residence. Out of the corner of his eye, Prince Fitzwilliam noticed Lord Ethan hurriedly enter the tent of his father, and decided to listen in on the conversation.

"Your Majesty," Elizabeth began. "I have served my full two years in your commission, fighting to save the fair country of England from French pollution. I am to leave for home now to see my gravely ill father. But before I go, I would like to confess to you that for the past two years, you have had a woman as a general for my father has no sons nor I any brothers that could have served in your army. Long live the King."

Elizabeth turned on her heel and quickly exited the tent, leaving a confused King inside the tent and a shocked Prince outside. The Prince was determined that he would not let her get away, and followed her towards Longbourn Estate. Elizabeth, however, rode long and hard, and arrived at the estate before the Prince could. Her father was overjoyed to see his daughter again, as he had been worried that she would not live through the war. Elizabeth had quickly changed into a beautiful gown, and was about to see her sisters again when a servant's entrance startled both Elizabeth and her father.

"Sir, his highness, Prince Fitzwilliam, demands to meet with a Lord Ethan," the servant said with a confused look. "Shall I show him in?"

"I will go and meet with him, Papa," Elizabeth said softly as she made her way to the entrance of the estate where the Prince was.

At first, Prince Fitzwilliam was confused at the girl who was standing before him, radiating with beauty, until he saw her eyes. The girl's eyes were the exact ones that he had seen when he had looked into Lord Ethan's eyes. Instantly, the Prince fell in love with Elizabeth, as Elizabeth realized that she was in love with him as well.

The two were married within the week, and nowhere was there a happier couple than those two.

The End

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