The Meryton War

by Deborah E Pearson

  The young boys who had been singing on the way to the field yesterday knew now that they had not been told the truth about the horrors of war. The wounds that the injured received were horrendous and the smell was unpleasant. It was the energy drain the Empty used that made the wounds smell like rotting flesh. The day was long and all involved were fatigued by lunchtime, without their shields of love the blessed would not have lasted the day. Darcy and Elizabeth kept their shields strong. As more of the Blessed fell either to injury or to the few deaths Darcy had found himself moving forward amongst the ranks.

  The moment Darcy reached the front rank disaster struck! Elizabeth had become distracted as her sister Kitty had been hit by an errant energy bolt and needed her attention, this left a slight vulnerability in Darcy’s shield as the telepathic link of love was temporarily broken. Mr Smith saw his chance. He quickly formed a funnel shaped energy bolt and sent it straight towards Darcy, who immediately slumped to the floor. Fortunately, Darcy had turned to aid his neighbour as the bolt was sent. It had hit his shoulder and now the top of his arm felt broken, and his shoulder dislocated. The pain had blinded him, and he didn’t see who carried him back to Netherfield where Elizabeth tenderly cared for him and nursed him back to full health. Darcy had been lucky.

  A month after Darcy was injured Mrs Philips rushed up the drive to Netherfield. Mrs Philips was Elizabeth’s Aunt on her mother’s side and a notorious gossip. She and her husband were both pure blood of the Blessed. Mr Philips had desired to remain impartial and not take part in the war due to his profession as a lawyer. Elizabeth smiled as she watched the Gossip stop to catch her breath, aunt Philips always ran the distance between Meryton and Longbourne whenever there was juicy gossip to be told. The rest of the family was out on the field fighting the war so Elizabeth would entertain aunt Philips on her own. It was better than allowing her to see the injured, it just would not do! Therefore Elizabeth waited in one of the few rooms of Netherfield in which the Blessed relaxed. She barely had time to offer Mrs Philips the obligatory refreshments before Aunt Philips launched into her monologue.

  “What a to do there is in Meryton, Lizzy! If I hadn’t seen it all with my own eyes I surely wouldn’t believe it. The energy field has shifted dramatically across the whole of England! Why my friends in Brighton and in both Land’s End and John O’Groats have all written to me about the massive energy shift, although they are all Children of the Past and only describe the effects that the energy shift is having on everyone. Lizzy, it is truly terrible! I am guessing it must be affecting as far as France and Germany, possibly even further! If this war doesn’t end soon the whole world will be affected.

  It all started three days after the war officially started. The militia were the first ones affected. Why the energy shift affected them we are not sure as they have no skills such as we or the Empty have. They started bullying the children and brawling in the tavern morning, noon and night. I quite despaired as Colonel Forster has turned out to be just as bad as his men and he only randomly orders a flogging of his men, and not for any good reason either! I’d rather deal with the Empty than I would the militia!

  It gets worse every day! I cannot tell you all of the crimes that are being committed! You just wouldn’t believe that so much evil can be done! Cold blooded murder! SIX people have already been murdered! SIX! Here in Meryton, can you imagine it, Lizzy? Anyway, it’s not just the murders either, unspeakable things have been done, nobody is safe Lizzy, neither young nor old. Beatings, oh it truly is awful some of the men have started to beat their wives non-stop! Can you believe it, duels are even being fought in the streets! Nobody fixes the houses when they are damaged, as more damage will just be done. Some of the shops are already badly damaged, and each day another one gets damaged. Every day it just gets worse and worse,” Mrs Philips burst into tears and the fear that showed on her face in her mannerisms left Elizabeth lost for words. “Oh Lizzy, Mr Philips didn’t want me to come here today, and will be quite distraught until I am safely returned home, but I just had to come and tell you the news. We simply must find a way to end this dreadful war, we really do not know what the dreadful consequences will be for mankind.

  It’s not entirely doom and gloom though, There have been many random acts of kindness done also. Many of the poor are being given better housing and higher wages. Random gifts of necessities and money’s that have left everyone wondering what is happening. Many of the gifts have been so substantial that once this war is over there will be many new businesses open up and the futures of everyone will be a lot brighter than they were before the war. That is as long as this war is over within the year. I have seen random strangers on the street helping the injured and just giving random hugs and showing all sorts of love and kindness.

  I have often heard the children of the past bemoaning that their emotions are all over the place, what we need is to educate them in our ways. The world is devolving into a polarised chaos. The good are getting nicer and better Lizzy, but the others are becoming worse than the Empty ever were.”

  Elizabeth was unsure as to how to respond and was forming a response in her mind when Mrs Philips looked at the clock “Is that the time already? Goodness, I really must dash home. I’ve stayed too long. Mr Philips will be quite distraught that I will not be home by the time we agreed. Stay safe my dear” with that Mrs Philips was gone, leaving a very confused Elizabeth in her wake.

  Mrs Phillips was very surprised when she entered the borders of Meryton. The town felt almost like a ghost town. Something was very wrong. Her particular gift was to not just organise chaos, but also to predict the collective mood. Today she could not feel the mood at all. Where was everybody? What had happened? She flew into her rooms above the shop where Mr Phillips worked and came to a complete stand still. There in her place was a very angry Mr Phillips.

  It was rare that Mrs Phillips had seen her husband looking so angry, and did not venture to do anything other than to sit next to him and wait for him to explain. The soft voice which came out of him, seemed to belie the appearance of his anger for a moment until she realised that the source of his irritation was not herself, but a visitor that had just left the house. “Well, my dear, It seems that Mr Green has managed to enrage the townsfolk. The war has unbalanced the energy of the world too much. Every day more people arrive to aid the war effort on both sides, and our town has had enough. They are on their way now to Netherfield to try and stop the war.”

  “We both know that is not possible for children of the past to do, what can we do?”

  “Nothing more, dear. I’ve sent a warning to Elizabeth and the rest of the family, but nothing more can be done by us. The course of history is now set. We just have to hope that we live long enough for the war to end, and peace to be restored.”

  Within five minutes of Mrs Phillips leaving Elizabeth had heard the warning. This eventuality was by no means unexpected and a makeshift school room had been set up so that the children of the past would be able to learn about what was happening straight away. It would not do to allow any to go away without as full an explanation as could be given. The job had been designated to some of the injured and the nurses to fill this important task, while the rest of the Blessed were engaged out on the fields. Elizabeth quickly mobilised those who would be doing the teaching.

  The angry noise was what alerted Elizabeth to the fact that the mob had arrived. Strangely to Elizabeth’s mind, about half of the mob walked straight towards the house, while the other half walked off in pursuit of the Empty. It was as if they already knew which side they were most attracted to. Elizabeth moved quickly through the room prepared and was surprised to see that all of those who would be involved in teaching others were already there waiting. The mob had expected to be treated in a very uncivil manner and were prepared to cause mischief for those who were the perceived cause of all their woes. Therefore they were shocked to be ushered into the school room. The shock continued when Elizabeth proceeded to treat them as if they w
ere just on a normal morning call. They saw nothing different to what they considered to be ordinary.

  Once the shock of finding nothing amiss had worn off, the mob seemed to become even more enraged and determined to get some answers. Somehow they knew that the recent spate of crime and violence could be traced back to what was happening at Netherfield, and they wanted answers. Answers that the Blessed were happy to provide. Elizabeth requested that they take their seats, and then proceeded to request for them to listen with open minds. Then she followed by the rest of the members of the blessed in their turn explained the history of the blessed and how the blessed had their abilities. Initially, there were rumblings amongst the children of the past about witchcraft, but gradually as the Blessed continued to patiently explain only a small percentage left Netherfield to go home after the Blessed offered to take the children of the past and train them in the ways of the Blessed.

  All while that had gone on those of the children of the past that had gone to seek the Empty, found themselves in a much more aggressive situation. And although accepted amongst the empty they were instructed to just sit and watch, as that would be the way that they would learn and see what was happening. Many of these felt that this was proof of witchcraft being practised and left very quickly. However, those who stayed learnt enough that they soon found themselves in a situation where They were more anxious to take part in the war and support their chosen side, even though they did not know why they had chosen that side. To many, it just seemed right that they should align themselves with the group called the Empty. It was not until that evening when they would learn about why the conflict had happened and who and what the Blessed and the Empty were.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Georgiana's wedding

  Day after day and week after week the war raged on. Despite how thick the energy field was the Blessed and the Empty continued to engage. It started in the Westernmost field where the war began. Initially, Nature would shiver around the Blessed or the Empty, then water began to retreat away from the field. Animals fled. Eventually, the Earth could no longer sustain life in the area. Wild animals had fled the area by the end of August and domesticated animals were dead across the whole of Hertfordshire by the end beginning of November. Water would flee the area and the fields looked parched and dry. A few of the Blessed tried to correct the energy imbalance at the end of each day, sending love to the earth, however, this was not enough to aid the earth to maintain its balance. Earth would not heal itself until years after the war was over, although water would return within a few months of the end of the war. Energy bolts from both sides went astray. These particularly damaged the trees, many of which looked like nothing recognisable by the end of the war.

  Summer turned into autumn; eventually, winter was in full swing and December had arrived, cold, miserable and grey. More and more the younger generation of the Blessed were understanding what Lord Matlock had meant when he had said that there would be no winners in this war. The longer the war went on the more demoralised they all felt. The Empty would not admit that their lust for war had long been sated, and the Blessed had longed for peace before the war began. Three months ago the Children of the Past had joined the Blessed and the Empty and those who were learning the new ways of warfare were becoming frustrated. On both sides, they wanted to take part. It was, however, those amongst the Blessed who forced the issue. They had seen more and more of the Blessed becoming exhausted and injured, in a mistaken sense of loyalty, they made their way out onto the fields.

  The Children of the past walked onto the field, with their cannons and firearms. The war had now become a lot worse. By the end of the first day, after the children of the past truly joined the fight, the number of the dead would have doubled. The injuries that were suffered now would be grotesque and the suffering unbearable. The smell of gunpowder was unpleasant, but when mixed with the metallic smell of blood the Blessed became overwhelmed. It seemed to the Blessed that their method of warfare was by far superior and that the well-meaning efforts of the children of the past, had plunged them into the very pits of hell. Surely Hell could not be any worse than the battlefields of the children of the past? The Blessed were thankful that their healing powers would alleviate the majority of the suffering, but it was a cold comfort as friends and family members sustained horrible injuries. There was not a family that was free of this trauma that was being caused. Truly no side would win, yet these skirmishes continued to rage throughout December.

  A temporary truce formed around Christmas, in order that all could celebrate the holiday. Careful plans had been made for soulmates to marry over the few days of Christmas, in which there was to be a break. Georgiana and Anne would have a double ceremony on Christmas Eve. This would be immediately following Colonel Fitzwilliam marrying his soulmate on Christmas Eve.

  Christmas was not to be the quiet evening that everyone hoped it would be. Since their arrest in July, Wickham and Collins had been using each other to gain better privileges in Newgate. Each of them had a small amount of money they had secreted on their persons and they used this money to gain privileges and make their lives easier. Their case was yet to be heard by the assizes and did not appear to be coming up before the judges anytime soon. News had been slow to reach the inside of the prison, but once the two men had made friends with the washer woman that came to wash the clothes of those with the money to pay, they heard about the imbalance that was happening in the world. It seemed that there were no cases going to be heard until after the imbalance was sorted. Every day both Wickham and Collins would work their charming magic on the washer woman until finally, she agreed to help them escape.

  On the morning of the escape, the washer woman arrived as usual at the gates, with a few extra coins, and a basket of clean laundry that she was returning to her customers. Buried at the bottom of this basket was two spare women’s outfits. These she gave to Wickham and Collins and waited for them to change into the outfits. This they did with a speed that surprised the woman, and then the three of them left the prison together with the washer woman paying the guard to release her ‘daughters’. They remained in each others company until they arrived at Whitechapel. Whitechapel was an overcrowded cesspool of humanity which had become the haven of criminals since the imbalance. This is where the two men disappeared into the crowd, thanking the washer woman for her help.

  A couple of days later, Mr Wickham arrived at Bedlam, wondering if what he was about to do was truly going to aid their cause. However, the dastardly trio must reunite for one more attempt to right the perceived wrongs that all of them had made. This must be done. So Wickham entered the doors of that horrible place. Identifying himself as Miss Bingley’s husband, Wickham asked to see his ‘wife’. He was shown to where Miss Bingley was sitting morosely in a cage, occasionally shouting out for Darcy. Her pregnancy was now clear to see. His ruse would work. In whispered tones, they set an escape plan. Wickham now went in search of those operating this place and passed an impressive amount of money across the table for him to take his ‘wife’ home. When questioned as to why she was screaming about a different man being her husband, Wickham smoothly lied “I had married her the day before, and unfortunately I and the other gentleman concerned look sufficiently alike that she thought that the other gentleman was her husband, rather than myself who actually is”. Not having any reason to doubt Wickham's word, the warden more concerned about Wickham’s money sent Miss Bingley with her ‘husband’.

  From there the Dastardly Trio returned to Hertfordshire to once more attempt an attack on those at Longbourne and Netherfield.

  Georgiana was excited and nervous all at once. Christmas Eve finally arrived; today she would marry Matthew. A few days ago Jane had a vision and informed everyone that the Dastardly trio had returned and were returning to make trouble. Last night Georgiana and Lydia Bennet had plotted together after the rest had gone to bed. They were determined to once and for all foil the attempts of the dastardly trio to cause trouble. They
knew that inside the house there would be a plan to catch them in the act, however, Georgiana and Lydia had thought up a particularly interesting plan to foil Wickham’s plans. In order to carry out their plan, Georgiana had gifted Lydia a dress and Bonnet. Georgiana’s only regret was that the war has prevented her shopping for a whole new wardrobe for following her marriage.

  Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Wedding was beautiful and all that was to be expected. However, Georgiana’s and Anne’s weddings stole the day and the minds of everyone present. The two brides looked absolutely radiant as Darcy walked them up the aisle one on each arm. For Darcy, it was a bitter sweet day, a day when he would see his sister gain the same happiness he had found with Elizabeth, yet it was a day that he was reminded how much he would miss his little sister. The baby he had cared for and guided to become a mature woman was leaving his protection and starting a brand new life. His thoughts turned to his unborn child and he wondered how it would feel when the day came that it was his daughter and not his sister that he was giving away in marriage.

  George Wickham watched the marriage from where he had hidden in the vestry. The other members of the Dastardly trio had remained outside when they had noticed the wedding carriages approaching Longbourne Church. This wedding complicated things, but he could still wreak havoc in Georgiana’s marriage and harm the Darcy’s that way. He would have to change his plans, that is all.

  That night Anne surprised everyone. She told them that in celebration of her marriage she would now tell the secret of how she had been able to develop such an incredibly rare gift as that which she had displayed at the beginning of the war.