History Has Its Eyes On You ~ A Hamilton Fanfiction (Book 1, Act 1)

Arguments

(Y/N POV)

I saddled my horse, noticing how it scratched the dry ground with its hoove impatiently. I ignored its plea, but as I began to make my way around to the other side of the saddle, it nudged its muzzle between my armpit. I carefully removed it, stroking the top of its head. "Not now." I tried to move again, but the horse blocked me with another nudge. "No!" I ordered sternly.

The horse grunted every time I made an attempt to pass, and successfully blocked my way every time. Eventually, I tried shoving it out of the way, but it got up onto its hind knees in frustration. I stepped backwards frantically to avoid being trampled, but the horse was stopped by a distant, "Hey!"

I turned in the voice's direction, Cornelius jogging towards the horse with a bag in his hand. The horse was tempted to charge, but Cornelius held his hand out. As soon as he did, the horse was immediately at ease, relaxing like it once had before. "Good boy." He took a treat from the bag, tossing it at the horse; it easily caught it in its mouth.

"You have a way with horses?" I questioned in surprise.
"You can control anything if you put your mind into it. You just need to bond with their emotions." he said, stroking the horse's muzzle.
"I... don't understand..."
"Here." He tossed me the bag, and the horse stared back at me. It trotted towards me, nodding its head as it went.

"Don't be afraid. It'll only make you feel vulnerable to him." Cornelius advised. I took a deep breath, grabbing a treat from the bag. I held it shakily in the air in front of me, but the horse backed away. "It's alright, he'll be wary to start off." To not intimidate the horse, I turned away, but my arm still outstretched towards it. I persuaded myself to remain calm, and soon enough, I felt its wet nose against my hand.

Tilting my head, I saw the horse devouring the treat from my hand. I smiled, feeling safe enough to be able to scratch it behind its ear. "You can keep that, I don't need it." Cornelius said, implying the bag.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll find myself some more."

Since the horse was now relaxed, I carefully tread around to the other side of the saddle. He stayed still, as for the moment, he trusted me. For the moment. I'd have to keep feeding him to keep that bond between us. But I can't fault him; we're all starving.

"Well, I'm going to get the tent down, s--"
"I'll come with you!" I interrupted Cornelius.
He ruffled his eyebrows, nodding for me to follow behind. I slipped the reins of the horse into my palm, guiding him along the field.

Cornelius had always seemed a little off from everybody else. Things just didn't add up. How he passionately volunteered to allow me to share a tent with him, how he managed to put it up so quickly when he knocked it down... But most importantly, how he knew when me, Lafayette and Hercules were going to find John. But... he didn't tell anybody. If at any point Cornelius was going to ruin my cover, he would've done it already.

But he hadn't.

Even the way he speaks to me is rather unusual.

"Hey, um... Can I ask you a weird question?" I asked him.
"No question is 'weird', Mr Miller. Questions are what reinforce our idea of things."
"Right... But... Why do you act so... Y'know..."
He tilted his head. "I'm afraid I do not."

I pulled myself together, deciding to blurt it all out at once. "Look, how can you do all these things?! You've never spoken to anyone else as much as me, and believe me, I know. You laze around in that tent all day. But even a few months ago, when we left to find John, you knew. How?"
Cornelius sighed, stopping in his tracks. "Someday Miller you'll find that all your answers are right in front of you. You just need to have the patience to see it."

"Wh-- So you're not going to tell me?? Y'know, you're really starting to freak me out with all this 'I'm not giving you any answers' stuff. I deserve to know, Cornelius, because I can't cope with this anym--"
"I'VE KEPT YOU SAFE, HAVEN'T I?!" he yelled out of nowhere, evoking a new emotion that I'd never seem him express. The horse galloped onto his hind legs anxiously. My hands trembled, and taking notice, Cornelius stepped back.

"I've... I've kept you safe. I've trained you, and I've offered you a place to sleep. It's all I can do." He appeared... emotional. It's something I'd never thought I'd see. "All you have to do is wait. It's all I beg of you, kid. Can you do that for me?"
I nodded, disgusting myself for making him act this way.
"Good... I'm sorry that had to happen."
"I'm sorry I made you angry..." I whimpered.

"...Now let's get that tent down."

~

It had to be past midnight by now. The stars were hidden beneath the awakening of clouds, blocking me from reaching any happiness. We'd left for the South hours ago, with no stopping. Alexander, as sleep deprived as he already was, was almost falling off of his horse with exhaustion.

Being a right hand man wasn't a necessary specialty, so I wasn't up front; I was just behind the Generals, with the other aide-de-camps.

Suddenly, John and Hercules trotted up to me, lively as usual. It seemed that nothing was affecting them. "Hey." John greeted me.
"Hey." I replied.
"We came here to cheer you up." Hercules admitted.
"Oh... There's nothing wrong, I'm just tired."

"Well, you'll need a little enlightening." John suggested. "My siblings and I made up songs when we were children."
"A song? No, I--"
"Oh!" Hercules interrupted enthusiastically, "Remember that song we made with Alex years ago? Tonight's Story, or... something like that..."
"The Story Of Tonight, yeah!!" John squealed, disturbing the half-asleep soldiers.

"How did it go again? I... I may..."
"I may not live to see our glory." Lafayette emerged, correcting John. By that, I knew that I'd heard that song before. Yet it had been 4 years since I'd listened to Hamilton, that I'd now forgotten every word.

"But I will gladly join the fight!" John chanted.
"And when the children tell our story--"
"Wasn't it our children?" John cut Hercules off. They were like a bunch of kids rambling at this point.
"Whatever..." Hercules grunted.
"They'll tell the story of tonight!" Lafayette sang.

"Raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away, no matter what they tell you!" I released out of nowhere, covering my mouth in shock.
The three laughed, continuing on with the song.

"Raise a glass to the four of us,
Tomorrow there'll be more of us
Telling the story of tonight
They'll tell the story of tonight..."