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

The Factory

!!Warning!!

°~3 Years Later, 1780~°

(A/N Yes I know it's long but don't worry, another time skip won't be for a verrrrrry long time)

(Y/N POV)

"Keep up the good work, Becky! Verrrrrry nice, Edith! ...Hey! Sophie! Sitting flat on your arse isn't going to buy you any bread!" Mr Cogswell, our boss, informed me.
"Sir, don't you think working day-by-day sewing up clothes gets tiring?"
"Don't answer me back, young lady! I run a factory, not a circus. It does not require you to act like a clown! Now get back on it!"
"...Yes, sir."

He'd never been fond of me. Then again, I don't think any of my co-workers were fond of me. At 16, I'd volunteered to get a job in order to earn money for the dame, though I didn't have to if I didn't want to. Charles, on the other hand, was forced to enter a job, to which I persuaded Hugh to hire him as a tailor's apprentice. I figured that with Hercules out at war almost all the time, Hugh would need an extra pair of hands. Emily, after a few days of her arrival, finally came to get senses. It took a lot of getting used to, but she soon grasped the lifestyle.

Though, unlike me, Alexander did not change Emily's name. As he'd said to me, "It'd be too risky repeating the same event exactly one year later; people would become sceptical." and so the name Emily Hamilton was adopted. He'd made out that Emily had no memory of where she appeared from so that no one would need to question her. Though, some were suspicious, as you could imagine. They thought she was some kind of witch or sorcerer, but being Emily, she brushed them off.

As an outcome, concern about me was raised, but not so much to Emily's level. Society theorized and guessed how we could be related in some way, as nobody knew where we came from. We just... appeared one day. They came to the conclusion to refer to us as sisters to the most part, as we both technically were taken in by the same man. To make matters worse, Emily started suffering from a terrible flu just before she turned 16. It seemed incurable at first, but with the help of our family doctor, David Hosack, her health gradually improved for the better.

"In a dreamland there, Hamilton?" Edith snickered. Despite being 20 years older than me, she sure did like to irritate me. The women working here evolved from a lower class, so they tended to take advantage of others to gain popularity. "Like he said, you're never going to get anywhere living like that!"
"Just concentrate, Edith. I don't have time for you rambling on." I blurted out.
"Excuse me?"

An eerie silence made its way across the factory hall. I tensed my shoulders as everyone faced me. "I just... need to... focus." I stumbled over my words.
"Focus, huh?" She unravelled the string I had set upon my table. "Maybe you should focus on your pay, rather than fantasizing about you and Cogswell in a bed together."
"Perhaps I would," -I picked the string back up- "If you would just wake up and see that, for a start, I couldn't care less about any man! I would rather fulfil my duty on Earth by sewing up some useless clothing!"
"Oh, we've heard the same old story hundreds of times! Just give up already!"

Sure, the same old story of Emily's condition? The one that I hardly ever spoke of as it hit too close to home? Yeah, sure, it's just the flu, but taking into account that 2 of my biological family members had passed away, I couldn't bear to lose another. Not only that, she was one of my only friends. "N... No."
"What was that?"
"I said n--" Edith tugged at a strand of my hair aggressively. Everyone gasped, not expecting that turn of events.

"Would you like me to tell everyone your little secret?" she grunted, "Because I'm sure the boss would love to find out that you've been wasting your money on some worthless pig!"
I pulled away from her furiously. "You call her that one more time."
"Alright then. An wor--" Before she could even finish, I slapped her hard across the cheek. My senses were starting to take over.

I backed away, holding my hands together to restrict any more aggression. "...You bitch!" She launched herself at me, but from the corner of my eye, I could see the boss racing towards us.
"What is this fighting all about?!!" He tore Edith away from me: the entire factory was shaken. "Now someone please tell me what is going on here!"
"Girl's using her pay to provide for her 'sister', rather than spending the money for her own use." The way she'd said 'sister' infuriated me.
"Is this true, Sophie?"

"Yes, but please, you have to understand! She was on the verge of death, and it was all we had!"
"I give you money to satisfy your needs, not someone else's!" he argued. "Tell me, Sophie, who is doing all of the work here?"
"Me..."
"And who should be responsible for their own pay?"
"M- Me..."
"Exactly. Now get out of my factory. I don't ever want to see you in my sights again."
"B- But sir--!"
"You heard me! You've always been a disgrace since day one. I should've known that this would happen to be the turn of events. Now leave!"

Edith waved her hand, smirking in victory. I solemnly left, ignoring the stares I received.

So you could say that all was going well. The summer sun bolted down upon me- a great time to go downtown. For most people, anyway. Carriages hurled about the streets, and all sorts of people occupied the ground. Some were street urchins, inspecting the shops and richer parts town. Some were ordinary civilians, treading along with their family to merely have some fun. And even some were aristocrats, glamorous in the way they moved around.

Particularly, everyone was attracted to one carriage: the most gorgeous carriage among them all. But only then did I notice why everyone was engaged with the vehicle. Out stepped three alluring young women, the first in a red dress, then a green, then a yellow. From what I could scratch out, these were the Schuyler Sisters, minding their own business. I smiled cheekily, but all of that was gone when I remembered my situation. I had to get back home before I was discovered alone.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

So many references :0