Growing up, Elizabeth Fox had become recognized as unusually intelligent. No one could debate her smarts and mental abilities. She was different from what people wanted her to be. Especially her mother.
Elizabeth never defied Jane directly, not wanting conflict with the family. However, she didn't agree with their morals. She absolutely hated the way her family viewed the rest of the population, specifically the less fortunate. She hated the way her father idolized a man who was no less than a blood thirsty prick.
Captain Lucien Gaines. The name itself made Elizabeth nauseous. The man was a kind, approachable person on the outside, but Elizabeth had learned of his true character when he expressed his interest in killing the poor for even the slightest of infractions. Her mother and father were brainwashed, even her younger sister Fanny found him inspiring. The mere thought made Elizabeth scoff. Luckily, there were people who agreed.
First of all, her older sister, Belle. Belle was very similar to her. Not as smart, but still very similar. They both specifically expressed interest in medicine. Belle shared the need to help people, but Elizabeth's passion for healing was unmatched. So much so, that she believed in the impossible. That women could be surgeons. While Belle was fine with nursing, the middle Fox sister wanted to break the stereotype that women were incompetent when it came to performing surgery.
The two sisters started studying when they were ten, and by the time that Belle turned 22, they knew every study and surgery that had ever been performed, and every name of every successful and unsuccessful doctor.
Next was her connection to a guard. Edward Williams was a guard that was assigned to defend the Fox estate. He did it to support his family when they had been suffering from cholera. Unfortunately, he lost them. However, Elizabeth personally made him feel like he was her brother. They met as soon as he was hired, and although Gaines was his boss, Edward shared Elizabeth and Belle's distaste.
Edward and Elizabeth's relationship could be confusing. They never crossed the line of friends. They were very platonic, almost siblings. However, Belle was immediately taken to him. She would never admit it, but he made her feel loved and wanted. She never knew that he felt the same way. Whenever a suitor for Belle was brought up, Edward would be visibly upset. Belle never caught on. Elizabeth had to suffer through this, knowing both of their feelings as they had both confided in her separately.
Elizabeth had never felt love. She wanted to find it, but none of the suitors she had met had satisfied her. To be fair, they were all prissy, boring snobs, which was a turn-off, of course.
She wanted the person she met to be different. She decided she would wait until she found the right person to marry, no matter their social status.
If only she had the time.
It was a beautiful early Spring morning. Belle and Elizabeth were reading together when Elizabeth collapsed. Belle screamed and kneeled beside her before grabbing a stethoscope. She heard it and gasped. Her younger sister's heart was throbbing. She was having an aortic aneurysm.
She woke up to a crying Belle. She was told of her condition and studied everything about it. As time went on, she got used to the pain in her chest. Belle tried to get her seen by a doctor, only to be examined by Professor Alistair McGregor. A drunk, old, run down man, Professor McGregor, or 'Prof', was too afraid to get his diagnosis wrong, so he never helped her.
Months went by. Elizabeth would have random attacks, having a searing pain in her chest, and moments of breathlessness. Only Belle knew. She tried to help her sister, but Elizabeth had somewhat accepted her fate. No surgeon had ever performed an aortic litigation procedure and successfully. Astley Cooper had gotten the closest, but had still killed the patient. That was over 40 years ago. Even the best surgeon of the century could do it, so why try?
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Sorry if any medical terminology is wrong. Im trying my best to get it right.
Thx!
Date: 1/30/24
Word Count: 708
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Hold My Hand
FanfictionLady Elizabeth Fox, daughter of the Governor of Port Victory, was a keen spirit, a character of sorts. She loved her family, but didn't live by their ideals. Their sexist ones, especially. She was going to prove them wrong. All of them. With th...
