Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The beginning

Hingham Bridge

It took almost two days for Colonel Bennet's regiment to reach the outskirts of where Hingham Bridge lies. In those two days much had happened, Mister Samuel of the Post died from the wounds that were inflicted on him.

Word from London had reached them that the stricken were becoming innumerable and King George was cautioning many to stay away while summoning the Hertfordshire regiments to help strike the stricken down. He was ordering all surrounding provinces to fortify their defenses. Elizabeth's regiment was called on to be in three places at once, she was forced to send a message to the king informing him that the recovery of the post was her first priority but that she and Darcy would assist when able.

Once Darcy was informed of what was happening in London, he urged his friend Charles Bingley to take Georgiana and his sisters to Pemberely where they'd be safe. Jane's heart was shattered when she received the note from Caroline, convinced that she'd never see the man she was falling for again.

Darcy rode alongside Elizabeth in silence, the two taking in their surroundings with caution. In the distance they could see soldiers moving to and fro, scouts rushing off into the nearby forests and in the center of it all stood Colonel Fitzwilliam. The poor Colonel looked worn down in the five days since they had last seen him.

Elizabeth gestured for half of her regiment to set up camp where they are while the other half continued on with Darcy and herself. As soon as they began to weave their way through the encampment Colonel Fitzwilliam noticed them. "Ah Colonel Bennet... Darcy! You have no idea how thrilled I am to know that you guys are here. I must say my men have been spread quite thin and are in need of some rest." he said as they dismounted.

Elizabeth smiled slightly and instantly spun around to Captain Denny "Captain! Get your men and relieve the perimeter scouts, then have Lieutenant Wickham and yourself personally relive the stables men." she ordered with a voice full of authority. Darcy and Richard stared at her with looks of pride in their eyes and watched in amusement as the Captain began protesting. "But ma'am, surely someone else can help Wickham in the stables? I have other things to do and being a stable hand is beneath my station."

Richard watched as Elizabeth rose one eyebrow and replied "Beneath your station Captain? And what possible title do you have that makes you better than the stable hands? Are you a duke perhaps? No maybe a son of an earl? Or no..... perhaps you are the King himself? But you are not any of these.... You aren't even a landed gentleman."

Captain Denny began to fume and tried to cut her off "Colonel Bennet I have-" he started only for her to silence him with a glare and continue. "Colonel Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam come from high upstanding and titled families yet they are here beneath their stations and serving his majesty. Tell me Captain... If a son of an earl and a man so prominently known throughout the country can go beneath their station to serve. Why can't you? You who have no land ... No title , No wealth and No connections." she finished with pursed lips and a demeaning tone.

Darcy hid a smirk at the audacity that this woman had, the way she stripped his superiority down was quite amusing. Captain Denny frowned clenching his fists and through gritted teeth said "Excuse me, ma'am!" he all but spat. Richard stood in awe as Elizabeth stopped the captain misstep and said "Captain.... Don't ever presume to think you are above anyone else. If you do, I will write to his majesty and personally ask that he strips you of your title. There is no crime in being proud of your rank, but you must balance pride with humility or it will be your downfall."

As soon as the captain left Elizabeth sighed and turned around to see both Richard and Darcy staring at her with flabbergasted expressions. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked "What did I do?" Richard shook himself from his thoughts and quickly replied "You just gave him the best mental strip down I have ever had the pleasure to witness and I have seen many." Elizabeth shrugged "He was getting on my nerves and was being appallingly rude." she said before gesturing for Richard to show them the way to his public tent.

As soon as the tree were inside Richard pulled out a large map of the area on draped it on his empty desk. "Scouts have reported large zombie hordes here, here, and here. But the largest is this other one that completely surrounds the post. I have led men in and each time we are beaten back, we haven't had the numbers until now." he said pointing to various locations just past the bridge.

Darcy studied the map before stating "They must be getting reinforcements from the various hordes around them." Elizabeth looked at the map before replying "I agree, if we want to take back the post we should take out the nearby hordes first. Once we do the zombies at the post will have no help nearby to fortify it." Darcy and Richard hummed in agreement before Richard rubbed his chin "It is odd, recently these zombies have begun to strategize, I dare say organize even. I fear the future of this continues."

Meanwhile

King George stood looking out the four story window of his palace with a look of sorrow, in the distance small fires consumed various buildings. The undead were popping up everywhere, whole households were being burned within their houses to keep the plague at bay. Various attacks on the palace have been thwarted but not without complications, half the routes to the palace have been utterly destroyed. "Your majesty! A messenger from the Hertfordshire regiments has arrived. He was dispatched by Colonel Bennet herself." says one of the kings infamous red guards.

A second later a soldier entered the room with a letter in his hand, he handed it over and left the room with a bow. The king opened it and after a few minutes of reading it his face changed to utter horror. "We are doomed." he said before running a trembling hand through his hair. How were they to hold off the zombie advance without the assistance of the Hartfordshire regiments? To this he had no answer, all he could do was pray that Colonel Bennet handled the problem with the post quickly and that she arrived swiftly with the regiment.... Or all would surely be lost.

-Authors Note- Thank you all for following, favoriting and commenting. You guys are truly amazing and I truly look forward to hearing from all of you. Stay tuned for the next chapter!