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

Ship To France

(Y/N POV)

Summer was finally dying down, as we brought ourselves into the autumn. The trees still thrived with life, however the leaves grew dimmer. My hair had barely even started growing back yet, but it had matured to look a formal hairstyle. No mess, nothing. A woman with short hair was looked upon in shame, but I kept my head held high.

The streets weren't as crowded as usual, which Emily seemed to notice also. As we drew nearer to the tailor's store, a loud eruption of cheers burst out from towards the docks. As I peered over the buildings, a tall ship was docked, a flag waving wildly in the air. "Y/N, look!" Emily pointed out a group of women scrambling over towards the commotion, giggling to themselves.
"What is going on...?" I wondered.
"We should go and have a look!" Emily suggested, excited by the rupture of noise.

I glanced at the store, desperate to see Charles. But then again, with this much chaos, something important was bound to be happening. And I didn't want to miss out on it. "Fine, c'mon."

Emily skipped ahead infront, her old self finally coming to light once again. Grinning, I tried to catch up with her, but she was off. She dodged through a small alleyway. "Emily, wait!" I chuckled, finding it hard not to trip over my dress. She stopped at the edge, breathing heavily. She restlessly pointed out to her left, waiting for me to catch up.

I panted, grabbing onto her shoulder to ensure I didn't collapse. "Look!" I followed where her finger pointed, weaving my eyesight through the crowd. On the other side, I saw a flash of magenta. It glowed brighter than the sunlight, moving towards the ship. Then there was hair...

...Really poofy hair.

"Oh my God..." I stepped forward to get a better look of the man. "Is that...?"
"Thomas Jefferson." That voice. I turned around and our eyes met. I wanted to cry, but was muffled by his chest pressing against my face.

"It's good to see you." Charles croaked, pulling me into the hug tighter.
"You really have no idea how much I worried about you." I commented.
"And yet you were the one in the war." he reminded. "I'm certain that I was more worried about you."
I was delighted to hear that Emily wasn't making any gagging sounds at this point.

"Here." Charles took the clothes away from me, smiling as I wiped a tear away from my eye. "Why are you back?"
"I purposefully got shot."
"You purposefully got shot?"
"Yeah."
"...What?"
"I took a bullet for someone, got caught out, and was sent home."

Charles sighed, crossing his arms. "You felt complied to take a bullet for someone?"
"Yes, and I'm sorry because I didn't think about the effects it would've had on Emily, you, if I'd have... y'know..."

He thought for a moment, but then engrossed me into another hug. "I suppose that the Lord thought you were too worthy to be sent away from this world." he theorized.
"...Yeah..."

Charles inspected around, raising his head in confusion.

"...Where's Emily?"

I berserkly spun myself around, finding that she had indeed gone missing. "Goddammit. Emily??!" I heaved myself away from Charles, and we both motioned towards the crowd. "Emily??" The noises of the crowd turned to wild laughter. "EMILY!!" I reached the front of the crowd, Charles to my left.

"Look!" He pointed over to my right, where the crowd trailed down towards the ship. Only a dozen metres away was Jefferson, talking to someone within the cluster of people. I barged people out of my way, eyeing down my sister.

"But really, your outfit is sooooo cool!! Can I touch it?!!" Emily probed. I shoved another man out of the way, fury raging in my eyes.
"I mean... uhh..." I tackled Emily's arm, dragging her aside. Jefferson's eyes widened, certainly confused on what to say.

"I'm s- so sorry for the inconvenience, sir!" I apologised on Emily's behalf. "She's just really sick, and--"
"Hey!!" Emily snapped.
"And we should probably get her home." I curtsied before him. "It's an honour to meet you, but seriously I'm so sorry." I whispered.
"That's... alright...?"
"Mr Jefferson!" A man called to him from the ship. He left within a second.

Prepared for what was coming, Emily flinched as I turned around to face her. Charles stepped back. I stormed forward, and woman or not, I gripped her arm. "Don't you ever do that to me again, alright?!" I lectured.
"Alright mom!!" She squirmed away from me. "You don't have to babysit me; I've got a life, you know!"

I directed my fury over to Charles, hoping that he'd somewhat agree with me. But he just shrugged. The crowd diverted themselves to the edge of the docks, waving as Jefferson boarded the ship. "He's leaving for France." Charles changed the conversation. "Some say we won't be seeing him for some time."

The ship prepared for its leave, departing from the docks. Emily huddled in the middle of Charles and I, to assure that she didn't go running off again. It wasn't long before the ship was out of view, and the crowd broke up, resuming to their daily routine. "We could head back to the store...?" Charles suggested. "There's just... something I need to ask you about."

Emily smiled at me innocently as I looked upon her.

"Sure."

~

"Mr Mulligan isn't in for today. He's off doing errands or... something of that kind." Charles informed me. The three of us made our way into the back room of the store, but Charles stopped Emily before she could enter. "My deepest apologies, but could your sister and I have some time alone?" he appealed.
Emily groaned, turning her back from the door.
"Thanks." He closed the door on her, sitting himself down.

"So... How have you been?" he asked.
"A lot worse than fine." I joked.
"Is... Is the war really that bad...?"
"Yeah. It's that bad. The heat, the lack of food, hygiene- it's unbearable."
"You must be glad to be back."
"I... I guess..."

It was although he kept hesitating, shifting around in his chair. "I just wanted to ask you... um... about that letter you sent before you left."
"What letter was that?" I tried to refresh my memory.
"You said you... you weren't Sophie Hamilton. Uh, Y/N L/N, I think it was..." He shook his head. "I still don't... understand why..."

I made him look at me, tilting his head upwards. I recognised the anxious look he bared, the one I'd see in him as kids. "There's nothing for you to worry about. All there is to know is that Sophie Hamilton protects my identity."
"Are... Are you in trouble...?" Charles pondered nervously.
"No. But I could be if anyone found my name.

Just know that you can trust me. Alexander isn't my uncle, and Emily is my biological sister."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. And using the names Y/N L/N or Emily L/N will both get us hurt. And it might get you hurt, too." I warned him. "I love you, Charles, and I don't want you or anyone else I hold close to me to get hurt--"

Abruptly, he smacked his lips onto mine. But the second he realised what he was doing, he pulled himself away. He stood up behind the chair, a terrified look drowning him. "I- I- I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I..." His breath hitched.

"I'm sorry."

He sprinted out of the room, leaving me in a bliss.