!!Warning!!

°~15th October, 1781~°

°~11:51p.m.~°

(Y/N POV)

I looked up to the stars. The one thing that he promised we would see tonight. And truth be told, they were spectacular. Each one told the story of another's past, a story that would never be revealed.

With all honesty, I missed the future. Of course, people nowadays were more refined and proper, but I once lived in a moral society that didn't necessarily care what gender you were. You could declare your sexuality without the threat of certain death. You could find out anything you wanted through the click of a few buttons on a screen.

The temptation to replicate this future here in the past was strong. To make these people live carefree lives, with enough food, enough water, better hygiene, better health... It was all I could ever want for them. Seeing children on the street barely clothed and soldiers withering away at the hand of disease... You could say that it was almost traumatizing. It demonstrates how much that I, how much that Emily, took for granted once.

Alas one thing that never changed were the stars. For hundreds of years onwards, humanity would gaze at those same stars in the same awe that has ever been. I wished to know why I was here, and if my presence in the past took its toll on my existence in the future. If not, then... I would someday be inspecting each individual star as I had 200 years ago.

From the collision of thought enshrouding my mind, I hadn't noticed that Alexander had came over to sit beside me. "Beautiful night."
I quietly hummed, holding my legs closer to my chest.
"I'm sorry... about-"
"He didn't die." I grunted.
"...Oh."

He was looking for an answer. Although he hadn't indicated to it, Alexander always looked for an answer. "He... He left." Cornelius didn't want me to reveal what had happened, and I shouldn't defy his wishes, as terrible as my excuse sounded.
"Left... from this worl-?"
"He. Left."

I flinched as he touched my shoulder, deciding to turn away. He drew his hand back. "Try to get some sleep, alright?"
I didn't respond, tilting my head further to avoid him. Alexander twisted his body around and heaved the blanket up to his chest. I had no desire for warmth; I was bitter enough and anticipated that I would stay that way.

For minutes upon minutes on end, I leaned against the wall of the trench and stared into nothing. Cornelius never wanted me to call him a friend, and therefore I never did. Though that didn't mean that I didn't regard him as one. He strived to protect me from any incident that was thrown in my direction, which I tended to find quite unusual. Nevertheless, wherever he went, he did it to keep me safe. I couldn't feel guilty enough: I was in denial of it all.

Through my ears, I'd sworn that I'd heard murmurs of voices at a distance. I put the blame upon my inability to sleep, but the noises became progressively louder.

"Push on my brave boys, and skin the bastards!" a man declared in a hushed tone. Soldiers were marching for us; practically everyone was sleeping at this moment, including Alexander who had dozed off in the most uncomfortable position. His head was upright against the wall and his left arm trapped beneath his shoulder.

I didn't want to attract any attention so kept my head held low. "Alexander-!" I fiercely shook his knee, yet he was overcome by a deep sleep. My heart raced as footsteps trudged towards us, although only a singular pair. A rush of adrenaline flowed through my body and forced me to a fight or flight decision.

I scampered away using my feet, shielding my left hand over my head whilst my right assisted the shuffle. A Redcoat dropped into the trench, instantaneously distracted by me. I kicked him away and prepared to scream for help; he covered his hand over my mouth, digging his nails into the sides of my cheeks to prevent me from wailing out loud.

Once more, I used my hands and shoved his chest away; the Redcoat lunged for me, spinning me around so that I faced outwards and at Alexander. I tried to scream, to struggle, to do anything but I hadn't any energy left within me. All I could muster were inaudible sobs and feeble hits to his stomach.

"Stop resisting." he whispered, although it wasn't sharp or remorseless. It acted as a warning to keep us both secure. I couldn't identify the Redcoat from the enclosing darkness, but my senses were refined to know that he was dragging me off to the far left end of the trench. Meanwhile, the other soldiers marched to the right.

Once we were clear, not a single person in sight, the Redcoat let go. I saw this as my opportunity to escape and manoeuvre through the darkness: yet again, my tactics were proven incompatible. He grabbed both of my shoulders. "LET GO OF ME!!" I cried.
"Miss Hamilton, Miss Hamilton, it's me!!"

My eyes adapted to the darkness, focusing on the face that presented itself in front of me. "...C- Cornelius?!!"
"I told you that I would return."
"But- But how?!!" I inspected his thigh- the blood still remained. "Oh my- Are you ok--"
"Please, don't." He lead my extended hand away from the mahogany stain. "It is still very much excruciating."

I glanced at him. This couldn't be the man shrivelled from the pain of a bullet wound a mere day ago, could it? Had the time gone by so past that I couldn't keep up? "My God, you're alive." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. To check that this wasn't some strange phantom, I embraced him. No. This was Cornelius in flesh and blood. He did not hug back, making me certain that this was him.

"Why- Why are you in that?" I questioned, indicating to the Redcoat uniform.
"I needed a disguise." Cornelius admitted. "To put a long story in short, I found the assistance that I required and had to find a path back here without being detected."
"You got yourself involved with the Redcoats?!"
"Partially."
"Partially?!"

"HEY!!"

General Wilson emerged with a group of four others, aiming their muskets and bayonets at us.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!"
"General, it's Captain Miller!" I exclaimed. "And this is Lieutenant Colonel Jackson!"
"Doesn't seem like Lieutenant Colonel Jackson." Wilson grew in suspicion.

"Sir, there were complications to which I was required to dress as a Redcoat to escape the British and return to the Allies." Cornelius admitted.
"And what does Miss Hamilton have to do with this ordeal, Lieutenant Colonel?"
He sighed. "The British are here. Their plans are to spike our guns and I wanted to prevent them from harming S- Miss Hamilton. Isn't that what I was assigned to do, Sir?"

"You say that they are here?" Wilson asked.
"Yes, Sir. Over 300 of them."
"Shit." He slapped his musket to his side. "Follow me. Jackson, watch over Hamilton." They climbed up from the trench, charging toward the redoubt.

...He was alive.

Alive and well.

...How?

~~~~~~~~~~

(hAPPY (now late) BIRTHDAY GEORGE WASHINGTON!!)

QnA time wHOOP.

Thank you for all of your questions! I've never successfully carried out a QnA so it was nice to see people cooperating lol.

I'm sorry to the one question that I didn't answer as it was highly possible that it would bring about spoilers.

But let's just get straight into it!

How many chapters do you think you're going to make?

A helluva lot of em. Originally, this book was going to be Act 1 and 2 combined... but then I realised that you could only have 200 chapters per book. So I split them in two. Of terms of Act 1, I'd guess that we have approximately 10ish chapters left. Maybe not even that. We're very close to the end and it's rather exciting 😂

Act 2 may be shorter than Act 1 but I am not entirely sure. There is lots and lots of drama just piled on top of each other and with every new problem brings another. So for Act 2, I'd estimate a rough 130-50. So in total, that's about 140-60 chapters left 😂😭

What's your favourite song from 'Hamilton' and why?

Dear Theodosia, oh my gosh. It's just such an absolutely heartwarming song after all this war war death battle war business. I guess it connects with many people in terms of a fatherly figure: some may be thankful for the one that they have, and some may even envy this devoting relationship portrayed in the song. It's... reassuring, I suppose.

Nevertheless, it contrasts immensely with all of the other songs in the soundtrack. You got My Shot which is just RAPRAPRAP then you've got What'd I Miss which is just JAZZJAZZJAZZ then there's Dear Theodosia. It's so beautiful and the way it starts off like a lil lullaby tune at the beginning, I just-

I love it.

So much.

Who's your favourite character in the book?

Cornelius :)

Do you think you'll give up by the time that you finish Act 1 and not write Act 2?

That's 100% no. As I said previously, we only have around 10ish chapters left of Act 1. And, if I'm entirely honest, I've been more excited over writing Act 2 then I was Act 1. Although it has been fun, I can't wait for the ultimate drama. We even get a BUNCH of new characters which I am so so excited to introduce, you have no idea.

[For Alex] It seems that Cornelius may have a crushy wushy on Sophie/me. What do you think of this?

(This was written before this and the Delusions chapter by the way)

I would sincerely hope not. Although Y/N... appears to adore him, I do not think it well of her. I would naturally suspect that he is at least ten years older than I, based upon his appearance. He is well built, refined, benevolent... Prosperous, I would not know. He's as though an oyster that hides its pearl from society. Secretive. And for that, I would never allow him to court her in the slightest.

[For Alex] What's your honest opinion on Charles and I/Sophie?

In comparison to Mr Jackson, I believe that Mr Fernández would make a fine suitor for Y/N. A penniless immigrant, alike such of myself. He may suffer from that terrible condition, which I hear that he is making a recovery from, but he is everything that I could ever see for Y/N. He has survived a life centred around raising young children, making him compatible to be a father someday, and Y/N feels most secure around him. I have no doubts in the boy whatsoever and it would be an honour to call him my son.

How are you doing?

Despite falling ill, I'm doing fan-freaking-tastic, thank you!