Dear, Hamilton

Ten Duel Commandments

ALEXANDER HAMILTON'S POV

Laurens and I are waiting.

It's six o' clock in the morning, and we're standing at the edge of a clearing in the woods on the outskirts of Philadelphia. One side of the sky is dark blue from the night, while the other side of the sky grows lighter in hues of gold and pink from the rising sun. The landscape is misty and foggy, casting a sense of mystery and suspense in the air. 

Laurens fiddles discreetly with the pistol in his hand, and it's this tiny action that tells me he's nervous. I don't think he's ever been in a duel before.

Not that I have either.

I've witnessed plenty of duels, especially in the Caribbean, but never have I ever participated in one. I don't ever plan to participate in a duel, either. Not until someone irreversibly damages my honor. 

I focus on the way the misty fog hanging in the air sparkles from a beam of sunlight that filters through the forest canopy because it's better than thinking about the danger Laurens is putting himself in by partaking in this duel.

Even if it's to defend Washington's honor.

"They know where we're meeting, right?" Laurens asks me, twisting slightly to face me because I'm standing beside him.

I nod before answering, "General Lee was the one who picked the spot. Besides, it's not like this place is far. It's right outside Philadelphia."

Laurens nods his agreement. There's a moment of silence before he asks, "Is the doctor coming?" 

I realize, then, that this is his nervous tendency. He asks a lot of questions, as if to distract himself from whatever is making him nervous. In this case, the duel with General Lee is making him anxious.

Again, I nod in confirmation. "He should be on his way, as well."

This is how duels go.

There's a doctor, two Seconds, and two duelers. The doctor always turns his back to the duel to give himself deniability. One dueler picks the weapons, and the other picks the spot where the duel is to take place. Before the duel can commence, the Seconds meet to try and negotiate a peace. They can usually negotiate a peace, but sometimes it doesn't work out. 

Something tells me this duel isn't going to end peacefully. There are going to be pistols fired today, and there may be some bloodshed, too. 

If the peace talk doesn't work between the Seconds, the duelers take ten paces away from each other, facing away from one another. On the count of ten, they turn and fire their pistols.

Simple as that.

"Alexander-" Laurens begins to say questioningly, but the sound of a horse stops him short. 

We both turn to our left and stare into the trees where the sound of the horse had come from, and a moment later, two horses emerge from the brush. General Lee sits proudly atop the first horse with his chin held high as it trots forward into the clearing. He eyes us down his nose with a disdainful, arrogant look. 

A moment later, General Lee's Second comes into view, sitting atop the second horse. I recognize the Second as Major Evan Edwards, one of General Lee's aides.

They ride to the opposite side of the clearing, where they dismount from their horses. Judging by General Lee's stiff posture, I can tell he's annoyed. I can only assume his annoyance is directed towards having to participate in the duel in the first place. Well, in that case, he should've thought about his words first before publishing them.