1780, A Winter's Ball

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Hello! It's been forever since I posted one of these! This is actually a narrative version of a play I had to write for my Creative Writing class. It took me way too long to write, but I've been overloaded on work for a while, so that's my excuse. It's an AU I've written, where, instead of the canon timeline, where Anastasia saves Lafayette from being shot, she saves Alexander instead. It's a bit of a love triangle between Ana, Peggy, and Alexander (with a side of lams). 

Reminder that I never proofread my oneshots, so forgive me if there's any mistakes in my writing. I also kinda didn't know where to go with the ending, so...Yeah. Anyway! Enjoy! 

Much Love, Krissy

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Peggy settles next to me at the elegantly set table, but I don't look up at her. The ball has exhausted me, and I've been here only about two hours. I dread the rest of the night, listening to the mindless idle chatter of the people around me. My hand grows tired of holding up my chin, but I do not relieve it of its duty.

"Oh, Ana, what's wrong?" Peggy asks, tilting her head at me. I sigh in dejection.

"The world is so nasty to people like us. Women," I say, stressing the final word. She pats my shoulder in sympathy.

"I know, but there's little we can do as the silent sex," she replies, giving me the answer she always does. She isn't wrong. Our opinions and voices are squashed, simply "not informed enough" to make reasonable suggestions. It is complete and utter idiocy. I groan in frustration, looking over at Peggy.

"But we're of a higher class, and we've been educated! Men without an education get a higher say than we!" I rant, finding the injustice of it all outrageous. Peggy's hand is still on my shoulder, and now she squeezes it slightly.

"That may be so, but as I've asked every time we converse this way, what can we do about it all?" she questions. It's not meant to deflate me as it does, but alas, it does. Really, there isn't much we can do. Even so, I smirk, a familiar idea coming to mind.

"Well, for starters, we could pose as men and change the system for ourselves?" I suggest. She grins at me, knowing of my previous escapades as Anthony Maer.

"Did you not already do that when you joined the army for almost three years, only to get shot for a man you'd come to have affections for?" she asks playfully. I scoff and look away from her. Why did she have to bring up Alexander?

"That was different! We could be Congressmen! Make real changes for our country!" I protest. She reaches over to rest her hand atop mine on the table, and I can't help but turn to look toward her again. She's staring at me, looking so affectionate. I love that look on her.

"Come now, I was merely joking. You know I quite admire you for what you did for our army. What was it that General Washington said about you?" she asks, prodding me for a detail she already knows, but is also aware that repeating the words makes me grin. As I always do when I quote the General's words, I grin slightly.

"He said I was a 'prized lieutenant colonel' and he was 'sorry to lose [me]'" I say, reminiscing briefly about when General Washington had said that to me. I'd felt pride then, like a daughter having made her father proud, and that feeling returns every time I speak the words again. Peggy smiles at me, giggling at how proudly I repeat the words.

"Exactly! You make changes even without being a man! The General said those wonderful things to you even though you're a woman," she says. I hold my smile, before it slowly drops.

"Then..." I look around the room for a moment, before shaking my head in dejection and looking back at her, "what are we doing here?" Her smile drops as well, and she sighs, sounding exhausted and defeated.

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⏰ Last updated: Mar 19, 2021 ⏰

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