I hugged my brother and sighed. He still had yet to get a job. I let go and bent to his level. "Are you alright?" I asked gently. He merely shrugged. "Relatively. I mean, two out of six sisters are engaged to wonderful men, but father is only staying home a day before leaving for weeks."
I sighed and nodded. "Well, we will make do with our situation." I said optimistically. He stood again and swept his dark brown hair to the side. He swatted my hand away with a laugh. "Hey, grab Jeremiah and Ren, the four of us will go for a walk." I said.
John immediately ran out, shouting his brother's names. I laughed and got my hat and gloves. As the boys lined up by my door, I slid my gloves onto my delicate hands. "Ready boys?" I asked. "Yup!" "Yes!" "Always!" I chuckled at the last answer, which Jeremiah gave, and walked past them. They followed me downstairs and to the door.
"I am taking the boys for a walk! We will be back soon!" I shouted before leaving the house.
The four of us jogged down the steps and onto the sidewalk. I faced my brothers. "Where would you like to go first?" I asked as they looked around. Rensselaer spoke first. "Let's meet Monsieur Lafayette, I heard father talking about him!"
The boys nodded their heads and I grinned. "I have met him. He is very nice. He speaks mostly French so if you need me to translate, I will." I offered. They gave slight gasps at the fact I knew Monsieur Lafayette. "How do you know him?" Jeremiah asked as we started walking.
"Well, he danced with me at a ball. We've spoken a few times since. He is very nice. You best behave!" I warned. They nodded in unison.
Judging on whenever I bumped into the Frenchman, he should be in the market place. We walked in silence around the market. I scanned the crowd for a tall, red haired man. I spotted him talking to a store clerk. He seemed to be in an awkward situation, so I decided to intervene.
"Monsieur!" I said, jogging over. He turned to me and smiled. "Mademoiselle! Bonjour!" He looked past me at my eager brothers, who stepped forward.
"Monsieur Lafayette, my frères, brothers." I said, explaining the word. He nodded and extended a hand. "Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette." He said in his handsome French accent. "John Bradstreet Schuyler!" "Philip Jeremiah Schuyler!" "Rensselaer Schuyler!"
"They speak français?" He asked me. I shook my head and he just shrugged. "Your father is good man." He said to the boys. His accent made his English, though it was choppy, sound very attractive. It was quite contradictory.
The boys beamed with pride. "Our other sister, Elizabeth, is engaged to Alexander Hamilton!" Rensselaer said happily. Monsieur Lafayette chuckled nervously and gave me a pleading look. "Notre autre sœur, Elizabeth, est fiancée à Alexander Hamilton." I explained with a laugh.
His face lit up. "Wonderful! Alexander is good friend of moi!" He said. "It's an honor to meet you." John said, over-annunciating his words for the man to understand.
"And you, John." Monsieur Lafayette said. With his accent, my brother's name sounded beautiful! "Well, we will leave you to your shopping." I said. "Wait!" He said. He dug into his uniform pocket and pulled out three small French flags, each about the size of my palm, and handed one to each of the boys.
"Thank you!!" Jeremiah said. "It's Merci." I corrected. "Merci!!" They said in unison. Monsieur Lafayette smiled and gave us a bow. "Pleasure to meet with you." He said. He kissed both my cheeks and I curtsied. "Adieu!" I said, the boys mimicking my words, as we passed him.
"He is amazing!" Rensselaer said excitedly. "His accent is so interesting! And how he learned English so fast!" John complimented. "And you danced with him, Y/N?" Jeremiah asked. I nodded and they seemed to radiate happiness.
I laughed and we continued our walk. We strode down the path, politely dodging innocent bystanders. "I need to buy Christmas gifts still." I said to myself. I could buy everyone's but the boys. But I don't have any money.
I pushed the thought away when someone tugged at my sleeve. I turned around to find the boys pointing behind. I looked past them and my heart dropped. Several, fifteen or so, Redcoats were shoving and threatening people, heading our way.
"Boys, run! To the shipping docks!" I whispered. "What about you?" John asked. "I'll be fine. Watch you brothers. Keep them safe. Go! Now!" I snapped. They joined hands, keeping Rensselaer in front, and ran off.
Everyone squished against the storefronts as the Redcoats passed. They occasionally stopped to scold someone. I held my breath when they neared me, exhaling when they passed. One stopped and walked back to me.
"Lovely color." He cooed crudely, looking over my dress, eyes resting on my upper torso. Rude! Why was red always my color?! Ugh! I held back a whimper as he roughly grabbed my arm, yanking me forward. "Oi! Boys!" He shouted.
The Redcoats ahead stopped and turned. My blood turned cold as they walked closer. They grinned evilly as they looked me up and down.
"There there you beauty, what's your name?" The one gripping my arm asked. He had dark brown hair that was messy. Ew. "I asked, what is your name?" He snapped, tightening the grip on my arm. I winced and hissed.
"Y/F/N Eldara!" I shouted, a random last name coming to my mind. If they knew I was a Schuyler, I would be dead. "Well Y/F/N Eldara, care to have a little fun?" Another one said slyly. I extended a leg and kicked his crotch, the man doubling over. I heard a few cheers from the crowd.
"Oh you are going to pay for that you bitch!" A different Redcoat hissed. Oh dear. The one holding me dragged me away, the others following. I heard murmurs and the occasional, "Who is going to tell Philip?" Oh no. At least they know my real parents so they can tell them what happened.
I was dragged kicking and screaming to a British household. I screamed as they shut the door and locked it.
Potential trigger warning! Attempted rape, fire and others!
They locked the door and walked over, throwing me to the floor. I screamed again and one slapped me. They gagged me and bound my hands behind my back. I gave another muffled scream.
"Shut the hell up!" The ugly brunet snapped. They walked over and started untying my over skirts. NO!! I squirmed and thrashed. I looked around for a way to escape. It was no us- THERE!! A lit lamp beside some parchment! Just barely out of reach.
"Dammit why are these so difficult to untie!" He snapped as he fiddled with the strings. I slid just a bit and felt my shoe hit the lamp, just as he undid the knot. I kicked it over and the parchment lit. They screamed and he got off me.
I got up as the desk nearby the fire was consumed in flames. The only thing keeping my over skirts up was a simple knot against my back. I always add an extra knot as superstition and it finally payed off.
They were blocking the door.
Within minutes, the entire house went into flames and I could barely breathe. The men coughed and fled, leaving the door open. I tried to run but tripped and fell, hitting my head. I was out cold.