Just a quick A/N, it's my first story, I hope you like it. Leave a review, I'm open to (reasonable) criticism. Enjoy!
Chapter One
Another chilly day in New York City, Wednesday, November 12, 1800. A young woman walks around the busy city streets in the mid-afternoon, carrying a basket filled with bread and fruits in the crook of her arm. Her rather simple dark green dress sways in the breeze as she unconsciously pulls her shawl tighter around herself, gazing at the passing masses of people as well as the vibrantly colored trees sporting hues of red, orange, and yellow. She uses this time that it takes to walk back to her home to admire the day, cold though it may be. It is her sixteenth birthday after all, even though her parents asked that she run some errands for them. She can't complain too much though; after all, some of the groceries she picked up are to be used to make her favorite meal for supper later that evening. She glanced back down at the basket in her arms, double checking that she did indeed grab all of the supplies that her parents required of her.
In her moment of distraction, running the list of items through her mind once more, she failed to consider that perhaps she should've stopped moving forward while her attention was drawn away from the path in front of her. As a result, she ran head first into a young man going in the opposite direction, causing both of them to stumble. While the man managed to keep his balance, the woman did not and fell backwards onto the ground. She brushed any stray strands of her somewhat long, straight black hair away from her face and looked up to see what she had mistakenly run into. It turned out to be a person a few inches taller than her sporting curly, dark brown hair and freckles. He was wearing finely made tan breeches with a white shirt and dark blue coat, standard attire for someone on the somewhat more wealthy side of society.
"I-I'm so sorry miss, I should've paid better attention to where I was going," he stuttered out, reaching a hand out to the fallen woman. "Here, let me help you up."
After securing her basket once again-luckily nothing had fallen out-she gladly took the offered hand and stood up. "It's quite alright sir, I wasn't watching where I was going either." She shot him a kind smile to further dissuade any uneasiness or guilt he might be feeling; she wasn't terribly mad about falling, nor did she blame the gentlemen in front of her for anything.
He tentatively returned her smile as he asked, "Are you okay? Nothing hurts too bad, does it?"
"No no, I am perfectly fine. Thank you for helping me up."
"Of course, what kind of man would I be if I left a beautiful lady such as yourself laying on the ground like that?" At this the woman felt herself blush a little bit at the compliment, though whether it was visible or not she couldn't tell.
"Well, thank you anyways. May I have the name of the man who so graciously came to my rescue?" she asked with a hint of mirth in her voice.
"It'd be my pleasure. My name is Philip, Philip Hamilton." Philip gave a courteous bow to the woman in front of him. "And who might you be, if you don't mind?"
"Anna Lindell, at your service," she replied, lifting her dress a little with her free hand as she returned his gesture with a bow of her own.
"Anna? What a wonderful name for an equally wonderful maiden." Again Anna gushed over the compliment, though she wondered if he really agreed with his own flirty comments or if they were just for the sake of politeness.
"Thanks. I ought to be going, I don't wish to trouble you any longer."
"I assure you, it was no trouble at all Ms. Lindell."
"Perhaps I will see you again at some point, Mr. Hamilton."
"Perhaps you will. Farewell!"
"Goodbye!"
With a small wave Anna walked off back in the direction of her house. Philip stood staring after her, but after a moment he turned back around to go to the library, intent on studying more law books just like he's done ever since he graduated from college earlier that year. He was following in his father's footsteps, doing all he could to make his father proud. While his mind turned to focusing on his studies, Anna's thoughts were of her newly acquired year of age and the ever approaching expectations of adulthood. Both continued on their individual paths, both in their minds and on their feet, unknowing of what any possible future encounters with each other might bring.
