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

Not Who You Think

Warnings: Just. Prepare yourselves.

(Y/N POV)

Washington had advised us earlier in the day to bathe in the river, despite the fact that it could be contaminated with disease. As long as I didn't somehow manage to swallow the water, I should be fine.

It was murky. A light brown, tinted with spots of blue; you couldn't see through it whatsoever. A large oak tree hung over the river, and I hid myself behind it. I checked that nobody was insight, and quickly removed my clothing. The cold air pummelled at my bare skin, causing me to shiver bitterly. I untied the bandage around my breasts, treading towards the water.

I dipped my toe in to check the temperature, and as I'd suspected, it was freezing. I balled my fists, gathering up to courage and running straight into the river.

BACK OFF, HYPOTHERMIA!

I adjusted myself to the sudden temperature change, ducking myself underneath the water so that only my head was popping out. My mouth was tightly shut to prevent the intake of water, and I grazed my hands over the surface of the river. The current wasn't too strong, and the water not too deep, so I hopefully wasn't going to die from bathing in a river.

I hated the fact that I had to put up with the stench of sweat day-by-day, not just from myself, but from others around me. We were starved, dehydrated, some even falling to their deaths. I hadn't fell under factor 3 (yet), though I was slowly dying on the inside.

I cupped water into my hands, washing my hair thoroughly with it. I kept my eyes closed, taking in the sounds of the environment around me. Nothing could compare to this; the most tranquil and relaxing situation I'd been in for a long wh--

"Oh hey Charlie!!" I heard John call, watching his head pop out through over a bush. Lafayette and Hercules followed, trailing towards the river. Thankfully, the bush stopped my from seeing anything more... explicit... and I sunk myself down into the river. I fiercely turned my head away before they were in full sights, hopping into the river also.

"Yeah, uh, I was actually just about to leave..." I told them, covering the palm of my hand over my eyes.
"Aren't you going to stay, Monsieur?" Lafayette questioned.
"No, no, I've been in for long enough."

"Aww, c'mon, Charlie! Just a little while longer!" John begged, swimming over. I refrained from looking down, despite the fact that you couldn't see anything submerged within the water it was that dirty. Therefore I glanced over to the tree where my clothes were.
"No, thanks, I'd really prefer not to..."
"Fine! Then I'll just drag you!"

John tried lunging towards my shoulders to drag me further into the river, but I dodged him, covering my chest with my arms. "N- No, don't do that!" I stuttered.
"Why not...?" John asked.
"Because I... don't like being physically contacted by others." I lied.

Man, how was I supposed to escape this? The cold was quickly getting to me, so I needed to get out without them seeing me. I couldn't just wait for them to leave, for I'd likely freeze. So, I thought of an idea. "How about we play a game?"
John's face lit up, but Lafayette and Hercules sighed. "I think we've had enough of games for one day, mon ami."
"Trust me, it's fun. Ever heard of Marco Polo?"

They expressed faces of confusion, shaking their heads innocently. "Okay so..." I decided to edit the game slightly, as a way to distract them. "One person is 'It'. The other members of the game will have to close their eyes and shout 'Marco'. The person who is 'It' will respond with 'Polo', and the ones with their eyes closed will have to locate the person through a call and response. The 'It' can roam around wherever they want, and the objective is for the others to find them."