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

Shakespearean Tragedies

°~1 Week Later~°

(Y/N POV)

"Eyes, look your last.
Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death.
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide.
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy seasick, weary bark.
Here’s to my love!"

"And he drinks it." I finished.
"Huh?" Alexander questioned.
"He drinks it and he dies. Juliet wakes up, sees that Romeo has drank the poison, and stabs herself with his dagger. They die. The end."
"That's very... explicit."
"Do you know how many times we had to read that in school?"

He closed the playwright, setting it upon his lap. "Seriously, what is it with everyone and Shakespearean tragedies?" I questioned.
"They're a work of genius, nothing more." he protested.
"If only you'd have seen Harry Potter. Or Twilight. They were the true classics."
"What were they about?"

"Harry Potter was about witchcraft and wizardry, and Twi--"
"Excuse me, witchcraft?" Alexander interrupted with surprise.
"...Yeah, witchcraft. But Tw--"
"Couldn't the use of magical power result in imprisonment?"
"Wh- No, it's a fictional story. Witchcraft doesn't exist."

Alexander looked around, like everything he had been told in life was a lie.

I was recovering steadily, which was a relief. The wound in my chest was healing instead of rotting away, which I was grateful for. But the more I was stuck behind these curtains, the more I criticised myself. What was I even thinking, going to war and knowing that Emily was deserted, praying for my arrival? The more I criticised, the more I'd let her down.

I noticed a shadow loom beyond the curtain, recognising instantly the figure. "Pardon me, may I come in?" Washington asked, digging his hand around the curtain.
"Yes, you may." Alexander responded.

Washington passed swiftly in, kneading his hands on the sides of his thighs, as though he were nervous. "Miss Hamilton... Do you feel secure enough that you can make your way over to my tent? We... need to have a talk, if you accept."
"Yeah, um-- Yes, sir." I obliged.
"Good... I'll meet you there. Take your time." Washington left, tilting the tip of his cap with respect to Alexander.

"Would you like me to escort you over there?" Alexander offered.
"I've been hiding as a man for months. I've got it, Alexander, don't worry." I reassured, hanging my lifeless legs over the bedside. To put it bluntly, they were numb. I couldn't feel my feet at all. So as soon as I touched the grass with my toes, I shuddered in surprise that I was sensitive to nothing.

I swiftly slotted my boots on, but still, I didn't want to let Alexander worry, so I brought myself up. "See? EasyYY--" My knees buckled, but he caught me before I gave in.
"You were saying?" he teased.
"I'm fine, I--"
"Stop pretending that you are. You don't have to pretend anymore." He lodged his arm around my waist, and I hung my left arm over his shoulder for support.

"We'll take a walk to the exit; see how you are from there." he concluded. I nodded, straightening my legs and dragging myself along. The numbness started to clear up as we went, but instead felt like thousands of pins were being stabbed into my feet all at once. I bared with the pain, and we emerged into the dim sunlight.

"Are you well?" I wriggled my toes about, beginning to get a sense of the rough material of the boot.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I responded.
"Alright." Alexander gradually let go of me, allowing me to hold myself together.

"Right, well... I'll be right here when you need me." he consoled.
"...Thanks..." I carefully carried myself away, attentive of my balance.

"Miss!" The voice that I hadn't heard in over a week, Cornelius, called. For some odd reason, he also appeared relatively tense. I folded my arms, waiting for him to answer himself. "I'm aware that this is a dreadful time, but I'd just like to say that I'm sorry."
"That's sweet, Cornelius-"
"For everything!" he remarked. "Everything, it's my fault..."

"Cornelius, what are you talking about?" I stressed.
This wasn't Cornelius. No, it didn't seem like him. Just like a week and so ago, he'd acted in a similar fashion. Cornelius wasn't emotional. He'd be in his tent, reading a book whilst smoking his papelate.

But no.

He pushed his hand against his chest, respectfully giving a slight bow. "Good day to you, Miss." He strutted off in the opposite direction.
"Cornelius!" I shouted to him, but it only provoked him to move away quicker. It disturbed me that I may never get to find out more of him; we may never meet each other's gaze again. I sighed heavily, stopping outside of Washington's tent.

"Sir? Can I come in?" I asked, hovering my hand over the entrance.
"Yes, come in." Washington allowed. I entered the tent, Washington lumbered behind his desk. He scanned through a pile of documents, laughing to himself. "I understand now why we didn't have any records of you."
"Yes, sir." I awkwardly joked.

"You were very precise on how you disguised yourself, and it's impressive that you kept it up." -He stood up, wandering to the front of the desk- "But unfortunately, it ended with you feeling inclined to risk your life for the sake of your loved ones."
"I understand that... it was a cowardly thing to do, sir, but-"
"Not at all." he corrected. "You served your country."

"So you're not... going to imprison me...?" I questioned.
Washington sat on his desk, hands held in his lap. "Kid, I put all of my trust into you. And you know what?"
"What?"
"We won that battle. Because of you. So why should you be imprisoned?"

"But people will think that I--"
"I know." he interrupted. "They will criticise. But you're far better than any of them could ever be. A fairly young woman, willing to join the war. I could even say that you're braver than the likes of me." he complimented, grinning at me.

"But I'm afraid that's not what we're here to discuss." He slid off of the table, pacing towards me.

"We've come to the conclusion that you are to be sent home."

~~~~~~~~~~

Holla.

So I've made a separate book entitled Important Notices + Tags, which will notify you if there's going to be anything major that results in me stopping this for a while, as I hate blocking stories up with A/Ns lol. So please go and check that out when you can, but I'll put a reminder at the bottom of every chapter in case I have published something important over there.