The Lost Princess [Hamliza Anastasia AU]

Chapter Fifteen: Lee Provokes Outrage

Wednesday, March 9, 1927. Georgetown, New York. 

Warning: Very very vague reference to sexual assault. Like I-was-on-the-fence-about-putting-a-warning vague.

Beth grabbed Alexander's coat sleeve, desperate to get her message across to him. She had spent all day at work trying to fight the fear that the redcoats would have arrested all of the boys while she was gone. Thankfully, she had seen Alex on her way home and hurried over to tell him the dire news. 

"They know where we're living. They know our names. They know everything, Alex!" she told him. Needing comfort, Beth slid her hand down on impulse until it was entwined with Alexander's. 

He blushed, swallowed, and tried to keep his face calm, but Beth could see the emotions swirling beneath. "Howe?" He said finally, making an effort to be nonchalant. "The man can barely remember his own name, let alone other people's."

"Alexander, that's not funny!" Beth dug her nails into his hand for emphasis and he winced. "They probably keep files. And I didn't meet Howe, I met one of his new deputies. His name is John Andre."

"We were already going to leave soon, this doesn't change anything," Alex told her. "It might be a bit more expensive though."

Beth opened her mouth, about to tell him that maybe she could solve that problem, but before she could, Alex steered her to the other side of the street. "Watch out," He whispered, pointing to a group of laughing men holding drinks. "That's Charles Lee and his buddies. They hate me."

"Now the king's drinking his whisky in hell!" One of the men yelled, leaping onto a bench and thrusting his fist into the air like the revolutionaries used to do. 

"Look who's here," Another one of them, a tall young man with blue eyes and brown hair trimmed short on the sides pointed at them. "It's Alexander Hamilton himself. Thought you were going to Philadelphia. Did you miss your old friends."

"Shut up Lee," Alex told him. "I have places to be and things to do that don't involve you," Normally, Beth might have scolded Alex for being rude, but with the way some of them were looking at her, she didn't mind. In fact, she decided it might be a good idea to take a step or two closer to him. 

Lee clearly noticed, because a sly grin spread across his face. "I see you've got yourself a new girlfriend," He commented, gesturing to Beth.

"She's not my girlfriend," Alex snapped, and Beth blushed and looked down, trying to tell herself that she was not disappointed that he was offended.

"It's Elizabeth herself then," Lee decided. "You taking her to Philadelphia? It's not worth it, you know. The Dowager Countess has stopped seeing girls."

Alex shook his head. "That's not true."

"Yes it is," he argued. "Stop messing around with her and come have a drink with us instead."

Tired of this, Beth squared her shoulders, took a firmer grip on Alex's hand, and began to pull him away from the crowd. "Come on, Alex." She said. "I don't like these people."

"What a shame," Lee said, cutting her off and sauntering up to them. "Because we just wanted to have a little talk with Alex about some things he borrowed from us."

"Come on sweetheart," Another man grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. "You don't want to be around for this." 

Lee swung a punch at Alex's head, and Beth decided she was done playing nice. She kicked the man between the legs, then dropped to her knees to avoid his furious punch. Her right hand landed on something long and metal, and Beth picked it up. When another man came at her, she swung the mystery object at his knees, surprised to discover that it was a fire poker. 

It connected hard, and the man stumbled and fell with a cry of pain. Ignoring that man, who proceeded to get up and run, she glanced over at Alex. Lee was bent double, groaning and clutching his side while Alex punched another man in the face. Seeing the last of Lee's friends sneaking up behind him, Beth dashed over and struck him across the back with her weapon. He jumped and turned and Beth whacked him in the stomach. 

Before anyone could do anything else, Lee straightened up. "Leave it," He said hoarsely. "I need you on your feet to get me to a hospital. That-" He swore so colorfully that Beth shivered uncomfortably and all the men turned to stare at him. "just stabbed me in the side."

Several of Lee's friends cast hate filled looks at Alex, but they obeyed Lee's wishes. One came over to help him stand and they limped off down the street. 

When they were out of earshot, Beth turned to Alex. "Why Alex!"She asked him, watching him wipe the blade of the small knife on his shirt. "He could die now!"

Alex shrugged. "I hate Lee, and I could never beat him in a fair fight. And don't worry about him dying. The blade isn't long enough to hit anything vital from the angle I stabbed him at. I should have got him in the mouth. That would have shut him up."

Beth sighed and shook her head. She didn't know what was between Alex and Lee, but it must have been bad. It was probably best that she didn't question it. 

"Where did you learn that?" Alex asked her. "The stuff you did with the fire poker?"

Beth sat down on the bench, placing the poker on the ground beside her. "I didn't walk halfway across New York without learning how to take care of myself. It isn't exactly safe to be a woman alone on a road at night. I had to learn how to defend myself."

"That makes two of us," Alex agreed, and Beth raised an eyebrow. Realizing, he laughed and added, "Well maybe not the first part, but the learning to defend yourself part, I understand that."

With a sigh, Beth rested her chin in her hands. "There has to be more to life than this. More than just fighting every day to survive."

Alex joined her on the bench. "Maybe one day there will be, but right now, it's a dog-eat-dog world. Even the days of the king weren't all glamour and glory. The poor could barely pay for their food and a roof over their heads, and they had to watch the rich attend parties every day and have banquets without a thought to where their money was coming from or how their servants were actually living. New York needed a revolution, no doubt about that.I'm just not sure we got the right one."

"Is that why you act so tough sometimes?" Beth asked him.  "To survive?"

Alex smiled a little. "I am tough. Do you think I'd be here if I wasn't?

She smiled back at him. "I don't know, you're pretty smart."

"Smarts don't do much for a boy alone on the streets of Albany."