History Has Its Eyes On You ~ A Hamilton Fanfiction (Book 1, Act 1)

The Great Escape

(Y/N POV)

I straddled the horse, trying my utter hardest not to fall off and die. Hercules was truly experienced with these creatures, so I took advice from him. The horse shook its head in alarm, neighing out anxiously. "Ssh, ssh, it's alright!" I comforted, stroking its muzzle affectionately. I kept my hand away from its mouth, afraid that it might gouge my hand off. To earn its trust, I pulled out a packet of nuts that I had packed for the travel.

"Hungry?" I pulled one out, offering it with an outstretched hand. The horse sniffed it, before gently devouring it from my hand. It sheltered its head under my hand, a sign of thankfulness, I assumed. "Heh, you're welcome, buddy."

The horses Hercules picked out were rather strong. We'd made sure they weren't any of the Generals' horses, considering their posture, but surprisingly, they were not. Mine bared a brown coat, with a few patches of white scattered across:

The one Lafayette picked thrived with sophistication, immediately catching his eye from the instant we had to choose:

And finally, Hercules was almost soulbound to his. Then again, he'd fall in love with any horse. It was covered in darkness, striking a feeling of terror:

"Okay I have no idea how to ride one of these." I thought to myself. Everyone else was joyfully galloping around, whereas I just remained silent and still with Hercules and Lafayette.
"Alright there, Monsieur?" Lafayette asked, trotting over.
"Sure, I just..." I didn't want to admit the truth, afraid that my standards would be lowered.
"You've never rode a horse before, have you?"
"How did you guess?" I chuckled sarcastically.

"I could just tell. You are from a poorer family, I assumed, and you've therefore never encountered one up close."
I smiled, stroking the horse's mane. Poor family? Yes. Never came up close to one? No. That day Alexander and I rode home from the trenches, I almost fainted from the sight of one. Seriously. I adore them, they were just huge compared to my size. "And you are correct."

"Then allow me to educate you on les merveilles de l'équitation." Lafayette implored, bowing his head and holding out his arm.
I laughed in response, shrugging my shoulders. "Sure, why not. What could go wrong?"

~

Everything went horribly wrong.

Every single time I nudged the horse for it to move, its stubbornness took over and it stayed put. "Alright, men, we're moving out!" Alexander declared, following orders from Washington. Everyone else began to leave, forcing me to try and move the horse. "This! Damn! Thing!!" I gritted under my teeth inbetween kicks.
"You're too soft, mon ami!" Lafayette exclaimed. He slapped the horse on its backside, and it frantically took flight.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT??!!" I screeched, my real voice leaking out. The Frenchman merely laughed, covering his bright red face with his hands.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Hercules tackled the reins, tugging them back and ceasing my horse to a halt. "Lafayette!!"
"Désolé, désolé, désolé, it was too funny!" He was still cracking up into his hand, his horse growing impatient.

"Well, at least you know it works now." Hercules joked. "Let's get going, we can't get sidetracked."

~

"And so I said, 'Come, mon cher, we can all take a walk through the park together!' Mind you, my Georges was ecstatic for the day ahead! And would you believe it?! She blamed 'that time of the month' for not wanting to take a family walk through the park!!" Lafayette ranted, protesting about his life back at home.
"Map." Hercules reminded.
"Yes, yes..."

"So, Hercules, what's your family like?" I asked.
His face perked around in excitement, like he'd been willing to tell this for years. "Before the war, I worked as a tailor's apprentice to my father. I... I haven't really seen him much since..." he sighed, trying not to show his sorrow. "Anyway, moving to North America might've been the best decision in my life. It's where I met my one and only... We share two sons and two daughters, and honestly, they're the only reason I stick around anymore."
"That's so sweet!" I enlightened.
"What about you? What's your family like?"

"W- Well..." I decided to recreate my life currently, changing it up a bit. "After the death of my mother, my father took my sister and I to live in New York. He figured it wasn't safe living in England any longer. We didn't have much money, as most of it was spent on the voyage, so we settled in a pretty messed up house. I never really had the chance to experience things like this: riding a horse, meeting new people. It's why I find it hard to settle here."

"Gentlemen, I refrain from saying this, but I'm afraid that this is the place where we part." Lafayette informed, putting his finger on the mark we'd circled yesterday.
"Seriously?!" Hercules questioned.
"Yes, l--!"
"Lafayette!" Alexander galloped over, pacing alongside. "General Washington requests to see you."
"Tell him I'll catch up, I need to pull aside for a few moments." Lafayette replied.
"And why might that be?"
"I need to... dispose... of... my... urine."
"...Alright..."

Alexander returned back to Washington, raising his eyebrows on Lafayette's specific answer. He led the way out of the line, and me and Hercules were inclined to follow. "Watch where you're going, asshats!" a man going by the name of Charles Lee yelled. Burr mouthed me a 'sorry', staying on Lee's side. I held my hand up in acknowledgement, riding onwards.

"And now we wait." Lafayette sighed, slouching back and admiring the line of hundreds of men flocking down. We all did the same, and I tried my very best not to catch anyone's eye.

Once the line had ended, that's when we seized our moment. "This way." We retreated from the forces, making our escape in the direction of the camp of the Redcoats.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

And suddenly I like horse now

Wow

Talking about horses, it's the Grand Nationals today, around 5:15pm British time

Let's hope my horse wins for once