Hamilton Oneshots

Twirl and Twist // Kinglee

"Sir, I believe you're in the wrong place, the party is downstairs," Charles said, holding a polite and soft smile.

"The party doesn't matter, it's quieter up here," the man said. He swirled a liquid in his cup before taking a slow, calculated sip. The man grimaced at the flavor, seemingly displeased by the taste, yet almost satisfied by the feeling.

Charles stood helplessly in the doorway, patient to lay the news upon the young man that the room was his own. The man looked at the bookshelves, judging each spine with a simple face gesture, nothing more than a slight frown or a simple lift of his eyebrows.

"Do you know who's room this is? I would like to ask him about his choice of literature. It's rather... unique," the man said. Charles took a breath and put on a straight face.

"This is my room, some of those books were my father's," Charles said. The man only offered him an eyebrow raise before focusing back on the books.

"This one... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Doesn't this one seem a bit cliché? Or even Jane Eyre. There seems to be at least a little fondness to female writers. Do you believe in women's rights, by chance?" the man asked, standing up straigher.

"Of course I do, I believe some of the greatest minds could be women's. We just need to let them have a voice as men," Charles said, slightly offended by the question.

"Certainly explains the two copies of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," the man said. Another slow sip, this time, the man grimaced less and enjoyed the beverage more.

"When did I invite you to judge my taste in politics and literature?" Charles asked.

"The same time I had asked for you to walk up here and tell me to go downstairs," the man said, smiling innocently.

"Alright then, I still wish to be alone in my room," Charles said, taking a seat at his desk.

"I thought this whole party was to help you find a suitable wife," the man said. Charles chuckled lowly and moved his gaze to the floor.

"If I were to be married, it wouldn't be to any of the women downstairs," Charles said. The man laughed and took a seat on Charles' bed, making it creak.

"Then to who would it be?" he asked, taking another grimaced sip of his drink.

"That is not something I am comfortable sh-"

"To a man, isn't it? Illegal sodomy?" the man cut Charles off.

"No! Well, I mean, yes, to a man, but we wouldn't be doing anything sodomitical," Charles said, blushing darkly.

"Really? What would be the point of a marriage if you wish not to swive with him. Would it not be like a marriage to a woman? Just without all the children?" the man asked.

"You have a twisted view of love. I will marry who I love, the kind of love where I wish to spend long nights talk with him and going on walks with. Mayhaps we would adopt a child, one to gain my inheritance and to take care of as if our own, perhaps even his inheritance if he has one. Mayhaps neither of us would ever wish to swive, as you put it, and we will spend our nights clothed and merely holding each other close. And that's alright, that's all I ever want in life," Charles said.

"But, there's more than just a partner and little things, what about work? Continuing your blood line and last name lineage?" the man asked. Charles made an annoyed groan and turned in his chair.

"My family's rich, I would never need to work a day in my life, if I wished. Besides, I have plenty of brothers to do that. I know what I want in my life, you sound like my parents trying to convince me otherwise," Charles said.

"So, you're just going for that? And your parents are alright with it?" the man asked.

"Lord, no, I'm going to try a few other things, mayhaps I would love working. But, the idea my parents just... support without question? Absolutely not, do you see the party downstairs?" Charles said.

"Ah, my mistake. But I don't see why you just... Don't get over your wishes like most other people," the man said.

"Well, there's a way to go about wishes, and sometimes you have to force them to happen, otherwise, the opportunity may never come," Charles said.

"...How did we end up on this topic?" the man asked with a slight laugh.

"Jane Eyre. Speaking of, do you see any of my copies of Sense and Sensibility by A. Lady?" Charles asked.

"I believe you mean Jane Austen," the man said, scanning the bookshelves. He took a book off the third shelf and looked at its cover.

"Afraid not, I prefer to collect original copies, and Austen used A. Lady as her pen name then," Charles said.

"...Ann Radcliffe? You really enjoy collecting books. Do you happen to have any of Catherine Parr's books or psalms?" the man asked.

"Unfortunately not, I couldn't find any original copies. Apparently the 16th century was so difficult to find mass printers and anything publicly made by a woman," Charles said, adding a laugh.

"Like how it's difficult to find a husband willing to marry you in the 19th century?" the man asked.

"Absolutely. This is discrimination, and I demand a husband out of this," Charles said, taking his book.

"I wouldn't mind being that husband," the man muttered. Charles didn't hear as he opened his book to read.

"I never caught your name," the man said after a moment. He said it louder than what he had muttered.

"Well, I didn't throw it," Charles said with a smile. He placed his finger between the pages of his book and rested it on his desk.

"Oh, don't be a jest," the man said.

"How did you get into a party without knowing the host's name?" Charles asked.

"I escorted my sister," the man said. Charles spun in his chair and chuckled softly.

"You left your sister downstairs, alone no less, in a room filled with older men and women just as defenseless as she is?" he asked, waving his book around.

"I believe I left her with my brother, who is a better protector than myself," the man said. Charles offered another chuckle and spun back to face his desk.

"My name's Charles, Charles Lee," Charles said with a smile.

"Ah, well, I would like to know how you live in a kingdom without knowing who the prince and the current 2nd in line for throne is," the man said with a wink. Charles let his hand slip out of the book, in pure shock. He formed words with his mouth, yet nothing left. His hands moved up, yet didn't make any sensible movements.

"There's no way," he said softly. All he could've said, how else was he supposed to react to a prince sitting on his bed.

"Better believe it, because I would never lie," George said. He left the room, leaving Charles speechless and with the inability to continue his book. Charles just stared at the door George left, wondering how he could've missed that whole fact.