One-shot. About how during the War of 1812, the British troops occupied Washington D.C. This is one of my old fanfics, please enjoy.
Burning of Washington
England and America
August 24, 1814
The nerve of those Americans! The American's firing upon his men carrying the flag of truce, killing one, along with the General's horse1. Arthur Kirkland could feel the anger in his men, what they felt, what they wished to do. He could feel an evil grin pull at his face. If America was not going to fight fairly, then neither were they. The troops were standing outside of Washington, they had won the make-shift battle at Bladensburg2, and now were on the verge of capturing the Capitol itself.
As the General ordered the troops in, they were reminded to only burn the public buildings. Their anger was at the American government, not the people, though it looked like Washington had become deserted. The city was theirs. Walking up to a poll with an American Flag, it was quickly lowered, and replaced with a Union Jack. Arthur, giving a quick salute, now a full had appeared across his face. The Capitol of United States was now under their control. Arthur quickly pulled himself away, ordering the regiment under his commend, he began their march towards Madison's House3, wanting to get their job accomplished before nightfall.
"This is for Alfred's own good," he thought to himself, "what he did after the Battle of York4 was unforgivable. At least… at least we can give him a taste of his own sins." Getting a glimpse of the mansion in front of him, a small frown appeared on his face. This was the first time he had seen the White Mansion. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he then spent no time in entering; upon entering the dining room, he noticed that the table was all setup for a meal to be served. His men in the kitchen were excitedly exclaiming about the food they had found abandoned. "How kind of you to set up this meal for us Alfred," Arthur exclaimed as he saw his men partaking in the food. He himself took a glass of wine that one of his officers had offered him. "Cheers."
Walking out of Madison's House, Arthur watched as the men brought extra timber, and began lighting the exterior of the house. Watching the house begin to burn, he almost felt surreal. He did not feel anything, as he watched his men add fuel to the fire. Turning his attention elsewhere, he saw the incomplete building of the Congress house fall to ashes, as well as the Government Library. He doubted Alfred had ever stepped foot in such a place anyways. He watched the blazes till what appeared to be dawn, the sky overtaken by clouds, as a storm was hastily approaching.
After taking note of the upcoming storm, the General ordered all the men to start evacuating to the ships. Rain was already starting to fall, and he wanted to make sure he left the city before the storm hit full force. Arthur, getting his men into suit and rank, began their march out of the city. When joined up with the General's main force, they were about to march, when a woman dressed in all white ran up to him. Arthur paid her no mind until she was ushered to the General himself. Taking a closer look, Arthur saw that she was in nurse's attire.
She spoke out of earshot of Arthur, and wondered why the General was stopping their march on account of this nurse. None of their men had been injured, and it was no concern to them if an American had gotten hurt, though he had heard no reports of any scuffles. Arthur was dragged out of his thoughts though, when the General pointed to him, and the nurse nodded and made her way over. Her eyes downcast, her voice coming in barely above a whisper, almost not heard over the rain 'please come with me'.
Arthur looked up at the General, and he nodded to him to follow. Arthur frowned, knowing not what this was about. Following the woman back into town, Arthur made note that he would have to catch up to his troops later. He did not know what this was about, but he had hoped that whoever it was better worth his weight. He also pondered who would ask for him specifically. Almost no one knew who he was, besides his superiors, and he knew of almost no American who knew of him. He also knew if this was some sort of surrender or bargain, that he could personally not agree to it, he would need a superior officer. He did not understand what this could be about. Perhaps, a trap?
Being led to a small brick house, which could not have been more than a two bedroom bungalow; Arthur then wondered again what was waiting for him. Stepping inside the house, he inwardly recoiled at the smell of burnt flesh and disinfectant. Arthur thought perhaps someone got trapped in a fire, and even still, why would he be needed here? Arthur spotted a doctor entering the main room, off of what looked to be a hallway. 'What is the meaning of this?'
The doctor looked him up and down, scrutinizing, 'I was not aware…you were a British Soldier. Are you sure he is the one?' The nurse who brought him there simply nodded her head. Arthur furrowed his brows, 'Please tell me why I was brought here, I wish to join my company in good haste'. The doctor looked at him again, 'you…you are Arthur Kirkland?' Arthur nodded curtly, 'Sir Arthur Kirkland, yes.' The doctor looked him over once more than sighed, 'please follow me then'. Arthur followed the doctor down the hall he had seen the doctor enter from. Coming to a door, the doctor blocked it for a moment, 'I must warn, I do not know how this happened, they just seem to have, appeared.'
After waiting a moment, Arthur making no remark to the comments, the doctor opened the door, and both stepped inside. Arthur's nose wrinkled in disgust, for this was obvious where the stench was emanating from. It was a very small room, with enough room for a drawer and a bed to fit comfortably in. Lying on the bed however, was a man covered in bandages. Arthur approaching the figure, he noted that the man was malnourished, ribs very pronounced, with what looked like fresh cut marks all over his chest area. His face, he noted, was completely covered in bandages, so much so that Arthur was wondering how the man was breathing.
The doctor bent down the man with the bandaged face and said 'he is here, just like you asked.' The bandaged man poked the doctor twice in the shoulder and pointed to the door, the doctor understand this and stood to leave, pausing at the door and looked stern fully at Arthur, 'He said you were the only one who could help him, darn knows what is happening to him.' Arthur looked complicit, but the doctor shut the door quietly, Arthur then turning to look at the figure in front of him. Arthur walked over to the man, 'Who are you? Why did you bring me here?'
The man started pulling off the layers of bandages covering his face. Arthur was not sure whether to stop him, but not wanting to cause the man harm, he let him take them off. 'You know it is not logical to be pulling off…!' Arthur froze midsentence. He knew this man, well…boy. Arthur could not believe the older teen staring back at him, almost unrecognizable. Arthur forcing his mouth to move, 'Alfred…'
Thank you so much for reading. Please review~ I'd love to know what you think of this.