Fic: Freedom for Felicity
Nov. 25th, 2012 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerThis, like many things, is all ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
carmarthen's fault. "Felicity and Ben, minuetting and debating!" she said, and...
Well, I've always wanted to write an American Girl book. Here's chapter one!
Title: A More Perfect Union
Fandom: American Girl - Felicity
Rating: G
Pairing: Felicity/Ben
Warnings: Wildly unresearched!
Summary: Felicity hasn't seen Elizabeth or Ben for years, but in 1787, they both return to Williamsburg. But will this be the last time that Elizabeth comes to Virginia? And can Felicity mend her quarrel with Ben?
“Steady, my girl,” Felicity’s father told her, a hand on her shoulder as they stood on the dock, watching the sailors tie up the Sea Sprite. “You know Elizabeth might not even be on this ship.”
“I know,” said Felicity. But she could hardly stand still. Four long years ago, when the Coles had left Williamsburg after the Treaty of Paris was signed, Felicity had thought she would never see her best friend again. But now Elizabeth was coming back – on this very ship, her letter had said!
The gangplank banged on the dock. Felicity bunched her hands together in her skirts. “You’re getting in a shipment of tea, aren’t you, Father?” she asked, trying to sound calm and natural.
“Coffee,” said her father. “People seem to have gotten out of the habit of – ”
But Felicity wasn’t listening anymore. Elizabeth was coming down the gangplank! Forgetting entirely that she was twenty-one and quite a young lady, Felicity raced down the dock. Her hat flew off her head and her hair burst from its pins, streaming down her back like she was a little girl again. “Elizabeth!” she shouted, raising her hand.
Elizabeth, always more ladylike, nonetheless leaped the last few steps off the gangplank and rushed to her. “Lissie! Lissie!” she cried.
Felicity gave Elizabeth a fierce hug. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “When the storm blew in a few days ago, I was so sure your ship would go down.”
“I almost wished it had,” Elizabeth said, laughing. “I was so sick! But Papa and I made it in all right.”
She stepped back to look at Felicity. Elizabeth, who had been so tiny they called her Bitsy, had grown so tall – taller than Felicity now! And she looked so elegant! But her grin said that she was the same old Elizabeth.
Mr. Cole came down the gangplank. “Miss Merriman,” he said, bowing gravely to Felicity. She dropped him a curtsey in return. “Would you mind if Elizabeth stays at your home for a few days? I’m afraid I must go directly to our plantation, and an empty house would be a cold welcome for Elizabeth.”
“Of course we would be delighted!” Felicity cried. “Will she be here until next Saturday? The Lees are having a ball, and it would be so wonderful if she could come?”
“I don’t think I could drag her away,” said Mr. Cole, with a smile.
Felicity and Elizabeth hurried through the streets of Williamsburg, arm in arm. “I’m sorry Annabelle couldn’t come too,” she said, more out of politeness as real desire to see Annabelle. Felicity and Annabelle had come to a truce when they nursed Elizabeth during an outbreak of scarlet fever; but they were simply too different to ever terribly fond of each other.
“Well, she’s busy with her husband. And she never did like Virginia as much as I do,” Elizabeth said, and squeezed Felicity’s elbow. “Almost October and still so warm! Why, in England I would be absolutely mummified with shawls at this time of year.” She took a deep breath as they passed a bank of flowers. “Annabelle met her husband at a mummy party we went to last year. They unwrapped a mummy, and all the most peculiar gold jewelry fell out.”
Felicity felt a stab of envy. She loved Virginia, of course; but oh, how provincial it seemed when she compared it to Elizabeth’s life!
“Oh, I’m so glad there’s to be a ball!” Elizabeth said. “I love to dance.”
“Our ball won’t be quite as exciting as a mummy party,” Felicity said.
“But you will be there,” said Elizabeth. She gave Felicity’s elbow another squeeze, to say that she was better than any mummy, and Felicity felt warm all through.
“What did bring you here?” she asked – for she knew, much as Elizabeth might want to see her, that alone would not be reason enough to make a perilous and expensive voyage.
Unhappiness flitted over Elizabeth’s face. “I don’t know if you recall that my father owns a plantation?” she said. “That’s what brought us here in the first place. He has decided to sell it.”
“Oh no!” said Felicity. “So you’ll never come back to Virginia again?”
“Probably not,” said Elizabeth, miserable. “But it seemed – well – ”
She glanced at Felicity, hesitantly, and suddenly Felicity understood. “You’re freeing your slaves, aren’t you?” Felicity cried, and felt a rush of pride, but also a little pierce of sorrow in her heart. Without their plantation, the Coles would have no reason to come back to Virginia.
But there Felicity went, thinking only of herself again. She remembered her last quarrel with Ben. You talk about freeing his slaves, but you’re never going to do it, are you?
He had left not long after Elizabeth. And he, unlike Elizabeth, had not written.
Felicity closed her eyes, pushing back the memory, and forced them open. Elizabeth was still looking at her anxiously. “Oh, but that’s wonderful!” Felicity cried, and Elizabeth gasped with relief.
“Oh, I’m so glad you see it that way,” she said. “Annabelle’s husband thinks Papa’s quite mad to even contemplate freeing his slaves. But we felt – ”
She paused, as if searching for words. Felicity jumped in, “Yes, we felt the same. It just seemed ridiculous to be fighting for our own freedom, and remain petty tyrants on our own plantation.”
“Well, not exactly that,” Elizabeth said, and the two friends looked at each other and started to laugh. Of course Elizabeth’s Loyalist family wouldn’t think there was any similarity between the King’s rule and a slave owners’.
But Felicity quickly grew sober. “But you’ll have no reason to come to Virginia after this,” she said.
“I know,” Elizabeth said. “It is the right thing to do, but – sometimes it is terribly hard to do right.”
Felicity thought of Ben – how could thinking of Ben three years after their last quarrel still hit her like a punch in the stomach? – who had lost two fingers at Valley Forge. And she thought of her grandfather, who had caught his fatal illness saving Elizabeth’s father from jail. Her stomach clenched tighter still. No matter what Ben said, her grandfather had been a hero.
She had gotten good at pushing such thoughts aside. “If this is your last time in Virginia, we simply must make the most of it,” she said. Impulsively she grabbed Elizabeth’s hands and spun her in a circle. They almost careened into a passing cart. “We’re going to a ball in three days! We have so much to prepare!”
carmarthen's fault. "Felicity and Ben, minuetting and debating!" she said, and...Well, I've always wanted to write an American Girl book. Here's chapter one!
Title: A More Perfect Union
Fandom: American Girl - Felicity
Rating: G
Pairing: Felicity/Ben
Warnings: Wildly unresearched!
Summary: Felicity hasn't seen Elizabeth or Ben for years, but in 1787, they both return to Williamsburg. But will this be the last time that Elizabeth comes to Virginia? And can Felicity mend her quarrel with Ben?
“Steady, my girl,” Felicity’s father told her, a hand on her shoulder as they stood on the dock, watching the sailors tie up the Sea Sprite. “You know Elizabeth might not even be on this ship.”
“I know,” said Felicity. But she could hardly stand still. Four long years ago, when the Coles had left Williamsburg after the Treaty of Paris was signed, Felicity had thought she would never see her best friend again. But now Elizabeth was coming back – on this very ship, her letter had said!
The gangplank banged on the dock. Felicity bunched her hands together in her skirts. “You’re getting in a shipment of tea, aren’t you, Father?” she asked, trying to sound calm and natural.
“Coffee,” said her father. “People seem to have gotten out of the habit of – ”
But Felicity wasn’t listening anymore. Elizabeth was coming down the gangplank! Forgetting entirely that she was twenty-one and quite a young lady, Felicity raced down the dock. Her hat flew off her head and her hair burst from its pins, streaming down her back like she was a little girl again. “Elizabeth!” she shouted, raising her hand.
Elizabeth, always more ladylike, nonetheless leaped the last few steps off the gangplank and rushed to her. “Lissie! Lissie!” she cried.
Felicity gave Elizabeth a fierce hug. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “When the storm blew in a few days ago, I was so sure your ship would go down.”
“I almost wished it had,” Elizabeth said, laughing. “I was so sick! But Papa and I made it in all right.”
She stepped back to look at Felicity. Elizabeth, who had been so tiny they called her Bitsy, had grown so tall – taller than Felicity now! And she looked so elegant! But her grin said that she was the same old Elizabeth.
Mr. Cole came down the gangplank. “Miss Merriman,” he said, bowing gravely to Felicity. She dropped him a curtsey in return. “Would you mind if Elizabeth stays at your home for a few days? I’m afraid I must go directly to our plantation, and an empty house would be a cold welcome for Elizabeth.”
“Of course we would be delighted!” Felicity cried. “Will she be here until next Saturday? The Lees are having a ball, and it would be so wonderful if she could come?”
“I don’t think I could drag her away,” said Mr. Cole, with a smile.
Felicity and Elizabeth hurried through the streets of Williamsburg, arm in arm. “I’m sorry Annabelle couldn’t come too,” she said, more out of politeness as real desire to see Annabelle. Felicity and Annabelle had come to a truce when they nursed Elizabeth during an outbreak of scarlet fever; but they were simply too different to ever terribly fond of each other.
“Well, she’s busy with her husband. And she never did like Virginia as much as I do,” Elizabeth said, and squeezed Felicity’s elbow. “Almost October and still so warm! Why, in England I would be absolutely mummified with shawls at this time of year.” She took a deep breath as they passed a bank of flowers. “Annabelle met her husband at a mummy party we went to last year. They unwrapped a mummy, and all the most peculiar gold jewelry fell out.”
Felicity felt a stab of envy. She loved Virginia, of course; but oh, how provincial it seemed when she compared it to Elizabeth’s life!
“Oh, I’m so glad there’s to be a ball!” Elizabeth said. “I love to dance.”
“Our ball won’t be quite as exciting as a mummy party,” Felicity said.
“But you will be there,” said Elizabeth. She gave Felicity’s elbow another squeeze, to say that she was better than any mummy, and Felicity felt warm all through.
“What did bring you here?” she asked – for she knew, much as Elizabeth might want to see her, that alone would not be reason enough to make a perilous and expensive voyage.
Unhappiness flitted over Elizabeth’s face. “I don’t know if you recall that my father owns a plantation?” she said. “That’s what brought us here in the first place. He has decided to sell it.”
“Oh no!” said Felicity. “So you’ll never come back to Virginia again?”
“Probably not,” said Elizabeth, miserable. “But it seemed – well – ”
She glanced at Felicity, hesitantly, and suddenly Felicity understood. “You’re freeing your slaves, aren’t you?” Felicity cried, and felt a rush of pride, but also a little pierce of sorrow in her heart. Without their plantation, the Coles would have no reason to come back to Virginia.
But there Felicity went, thinking only of herself again. She remembered her last quarrel with Ben. You talk about freeing his slaves, but you’re never going to do it, are you?
He had left not long after Elizabeth. And he, unlike Elizabeth, had not written.
Felicity closed her eyes, pushing back the memory, and forced them open. Elizabeth was still looking at her anxiously. “Oh, but that’s wonderful!” Felicity cried, and Elizabeth gasped with relief.
“Oh, I’m so glad you see it that way,” she said. “Annabelle’s husband thinks Papa’s quite mad to even contemplate freeing his slaves. But we felt – ”
She paused, as if searching for words. Felicity jumped in, “Yes, we felt the same. It just seemed ridiculous to be fighting for our own freedom, and remain petty tyrants on our own plantation.”
“Well, not exactly that,” Elizabeth said, and the two friends looked at each other and started to laugh. Of course Elizabeth’s Loyalist family wouldn’t think there was any similarity between the King’s rule and a slave owners’.
But Felicity quickly grew sober. “But you’ll have no reason to come to Virginia after this,” she said.
“I know,” Elizabeth said. “It is the right thing to do, but – sometimes it is terribly hard to do right.”
Felicity thought of Ben – how could thinking of Ben three years after their last quarrel still hit her like a punch in the stomach? – who had lost two fingers at Valley Forge. And she thought of her grandfather, who had caught his fatal illness saving Elizabeth’s father from jail. Her stomach clenched tighter still. No matter what Ben said, her grandfather had been a hero.
She had gotten good at pushing such thoughts aside. “If this is your last time in Virginia, we simply must make the most of it,” she said. Impulsively she grabbed Elizabeth’s hands and spun her in a circle. They almost careened into a passing cart. “We’re going to a ball in three days! We have so much to prepare!”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-11-26 06:18 am (UTC)(Dammit, now I kind of want to see Felicity/Elizabeth/Ben OT3. Cuuuuurse youuuuu.)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-26 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-27 03:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-01 02:11 pm (UTC)How much of the backstory details are from the actual Felicity books, and how much is your invention (Valley Forge, Felicity's grandfather, etc.)?
no subject
Date: 2013-01-01 04:34 pm (UTC)Felicity's grandfather is from the books. Valley Forge (pretty much anything during and after the war, really) is my invention.