"Eliza, hurry!"
Peggy was spinning in the grass, her hair coming undone from the pins that held it, and Angelica was scolding her, chasing after her in the already-dimming sunlight.
Eliza sighed, peering at her sisters through her masquerade mask and followed them.
Candles flickered like stars on the front porches of the houses lined down the street, soon to be lined with laughing children seeking something sweet.
For a minute, time seemed to slow, the chirps of the crickets fell silent, and she remembered when she herself was that young and innocent.
Then Angelica was huffing, "-really, Eliza, can you for once interact with society without half of you in a dream?" and it was over.
She gave herself a small shake, nodded, and quickened her pace a bit.
"Look, Betsey, everyone attends the Hallow's Eve ball," her sister continued, using her pet name for her, "And you're just the age that you're is expected to find a husband. I know you'd rather be home singing in Father's study, but for once, be sociable! And anyways…"
Angelica's voice slowly faded away, Eliza humming absentmindedly every now and then, concentrating more on the many stairs she found herself climbing and the sheer amount of effort it took not to trip. She on the verge of losing all interest whatsoever when she glanced up and let out a gasp -
They had arrived.
The building itself was magnificent, but what really shocked her was the sheer amount of people all filtering into the same great doors she had entered through. All those people she might have to greet - and talk to, and hold conversation with, and…
"Worried, Betsey?" chirped Peggy, happily skipping in behind her, eager to meet others her age. "I'm not! I'm going to get a man to dance with me!"
"Lucky fellow," she laughed, and ruffled the girl's hair. "Don't worry about me. Go, have fun."
She skipped off into the crowd, and was replaced with Angelica shortly thereafter, who murmured into her ear, "Now, remember, Eliza, straight posture, winning smile. Talk amiably with all who address you."
Before she could respond, someone called Angelica's name, and she yelled, "Wait here! I'll be back," and melted into the crowd as well.
Eliza had no intention of waiting.
She looked around, made sure nobody was trying to hold her attention, and made her way to the nearest corner she could find, anywhere she could simply stand and go unnoticed…
Ah! There!
She spotted a small space between a windowsill and a piano, and there she rushed towards, anxious for some quiet-
Until a firm grip on her arm held her back, and Angelica was dragging her back into the stir of people.
"Elizabeth Schuyler, if I'm going to be pressured to find a partner tonight, then so will you. Come, and don't slip away this time. It's not as daunting as it seems, I promise."
Young men and woman swirled around them, exchanging banter, laughing, clinking their glasses together. Eliza curiously observed one dashingly-dressed man flirtatiously interrupt a group of ladies' conversation, eliciting a chorus of gasps and high-pitched giggles from them.
She cocked her head. It seemed like fun, but who would want to needlessly be teased like that?
Another group of people caught her eye, but this time it was just two; a man and a woman dancing together, obviously enamored with each other.
Her pace slowed, and she craned her neck to see better, ignoring her sister's impatient tug on her arm.
The man held his partner close, and she looked up to meet his eyes, the love for him visible in them. A smile started to tug on the corners of Eliza's mouth. If anything, that was what she wanted. Someone who would love her, and only her, the way these two loved each other…
"Eliza?"
Angelica's voice broke her out of her reverie, and she blinked.
"Hm?"
"Don't stall. There are some people I want to introduce you to."
With a rather distracted nod she followed Angelica once more, until an older couple, vaguely familiar, waved them over. They exchanged the usual pleasantries, Eliza curtsying politely before stepping back to dawdle at her sister's side.
Angelica had begun to chat in her usual effortless way about topics that no women would dare to mention under normal circumstances - politics, the War, that "bastard Jefferson" - and judging from speed she was continuing at and the stunned expression on her recipients' faces, Eliza figured she had some time to spare.
She scanned the crowd once more. Someone was shouting very loudly in French (did she catch the word turtle?) and she traced the sound to the door, where a crowd of soldiers were making their grand entrance. There was the French one, directing his tirade on his embarrassed comrade, presumably the turtle-lover. A stocky soldier lumbered behind them, and ending the procession was a serious-gazed man whispering something to -
Boom.
Nobody around her seemed to notice the explosion that had just detonated in her heart, but she did, and she staggered backwards as he broke off from his conversation, sizing up the room with a confident twinkle in his eyes.
His eyes…
She barely knew him - didn't know him - but she was pulled back to the dancing couple, and the love they shared, and immediately she knew that she needed this, with him.
Angelica hadn't yet noticed Eliza's revelation, and turned to her annoyedly when she tapped her on the shoulder.
"What now? And really, you should be partaking in this conversation instead of skulking about…"
Eliza said nothing, only pointed to where he still stood.
"What, Eliza? I can't single out for the life of me one person out of this many -"
A bit more detail on her sister's part, and Angelica was able to locate a blurry figure on the other side of the ballroom.
"Who's he?"
"Mine, Angie," Eliza breathed, turning to face her, eyes shimmering with feverish excitement.
"This one's mine."