Hamilton One Shots

Pretty Hurts

Requested by: multie_fandom64

Eliza heard the constant insults enough to know she wasn't equivalent to the standards of the era she lived in. Men rarely flattered her with their lined up compliments, and their stares ended up looking down on her dignity as opposed to her chest. To her, it seemed that no amount of alcohol could wash away the pain she felt at every occasion.

The clenching of ribbons around her waist became the plainest form of torture and beauty there could possibly be. Her sisters assured that a deep breath in beforehand would cure the oncoming headache. Their bodies were more accustomed to the tight clutch of the stay compared to their petite sister's one.

She tried to avoid the concept of cosmetics for her clear, peachy skin couldn't be bothered with, but reluctantly listened to her eldest sister's advice. Men wouldn't adore a woman with at least some accent to her cheekbone she would say. Men were attracted to elegant women. It always came back to the subject of appealing the opposite sex.

"Elizabeth, breath in now."

Gasping as she felt the corset wrap around her waist and upper body, Eliza caught herself in the mirror. Puffy eyes, chapped lips, and dangling legs painted the unpleasant, but realistic picture that any man would have turned away from. Yet she did it all in an effort to please them and only them.

"Pucker those lips, dear, and finish up. I'll wait for you downstairs." Angelica heaved herself up from the floor and beamed at her little sister. She couldn't help but feel proud of how far the tomboy girl had come. From skipping stones to twirling in circles, her sister was a delight.

However, she wasn't delighted. Pulling on her skirt, Eliza grumbled to herself. She hadn't ever dreamed for this misery to come. "It'll be like every other night in which it'll end with myself being alone once more in this grim world." Her shoes scraped across the floor as she shoved them on.

Angelica paused at the door. "You think not one man in this place would blink if given the chance to charm you?" The patience she had for her sister was slipping away.

"None of them would go far enough to be wed to me or even proceed into my bedchamber," she snapped back. Men flocked to her, but they often stopped after conversing with her for a while. Heaven only knew how they would react if they became romantically attached.

"Is that your concern? If you can plea-"

"Yes, yes," Eliza impatiently replied, tripping over various gowns strewn all over. She did this to ignore her sister's growing curiosity and act as though she wanted to attend the ball. But deep down her heart was swelling in fear.

To an extent her sister wouldn't know, she feared the appearance not only in the daylight, but in the silence of night as well. She cowered at the thought of any man manipulating her for only pleasure and then leaving her vulnerable.

"You haven't to worry about that yet," Angelica reassured her little sister from the doorway. "It will come in time, but once he arrives, all your moaning about the elaborate measures you went through will turn into relieving pleasure, dear." Little did she know, only a few months later would her sister reflect on that advice.

With her hands trembling, heels thrown to a corner, and heart pounding uncontrollably, Eliza found herself poised in the bedchamber she once complained to her sister in. She recalled the time in which she hadn't ever seen this day coming; her wedding. To her upmost efforts, the ceremony went smoothly.

For most of the guests, the evening would be time for them to arrive home. But the task of fulfilling everything wasn't complete for the bride, since her groom would be attending to her in only a few minutes in their time alone.

She tried to compose herself and inhale to make her chest expand more to what she assumed would be his liking, but it lasted for two seconds at most. Nervously playing with her hair, she bit her lip and glanced at the looming door from where a knock came.

You're good enough, she reminded herself as she opened the door to reveal her newly pronounced husband. His eyes gave clue to all the thoughts in his brain, and she stepped back to let him in eagerly. The pulse on her neck increased, and she fumbled with the knob to only be interrupted by his lips brushing against that spot on her neck.

Door slamming as she gave in, fingers weaving into the buttons of his shirt, and his hands teasing with the sleeves of her wedding dress made her stomach knot harder. Flat chest, chapped lips, flabby legs, her brain screamed as the two of them toppled onto the bed.

Each piece of fabric was discarded from their bodies within a minute, but he certainly took time to not only admire every part, but for her mind to simply explode at the assumptions he could be making. She felt like moaning whenever his hands touched her, but she didn't know what to feel beyond her insecurities.

Still wearing his pants and nothing more, he paused above her in their moment of passion to utter something she would never forget for the rest of her days. "Your beauty is divine, my love." His lips caressed her chest, and she let out an involuntary sigh that sounded heavenly to his ears.

Alexander loved her. For the uneven portions, her bright eyes, the measurement of her waist, and all in between. He loved her. Not for her name or the forced looks, but for being the twenty three old woman she truly was.

The self esteem that had been shattered for years suddenly built itself up again, and she let herself become invincible that night. Despite the costs of being the attractive woman she was forced to be, she had finally found someone who accepted her beauty within her, and that was all that possibly mattered to her.

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A/N: Thank you multie_fandom64 for this request! It's probably been long enough that you've completely changed your username, my most sincere apologizes for the wait. This one shot reached the maximum number of words I typically write for one, so I'm planning to do a part two for you as well to go more into depth of what happened after their marriage, which you directly requested, but this intro fit fairly well into the plot line you have me to work with! I can't really apologize at this point more than I have for my absence, as it's on me. I do have to remind you all in case you weren't aware, I'm currently in high school and with all the clubs and work I've gotten it's difficult to update consistently. Now, that doesn't make up for the months of requests I'm behind, but it's just an explanation for the summer that went by without a word on my part. More to be discussed in my rants book, thanks for reading!