Wearily, Angelica pushed open the door to the Schuyler meeting room. Her parents and sister were there already, deep in a discussion. To her surprise, so was General Washington. She started, and gave a little wave. He waved back, and she smiled.

General Washington was such a good man. He was so honest, and noble, and carried himself with a dignity that seemed almost godly. But what was he doing here?

She glanced over the rest of the table and met the eyes of her sister. They smiled at each other, and for a moment, something went through them. Angelica loved that about Eliza. She could always read her mind.

"We're discussing war tactics," Eliza told Angelica, as if to answer her question. "Or, at least, they are. I had an important question."

"Thanks, sis," Angelica replied. "I promise, I'll get to your question. Just a second." She turned to General Washington. "So, what's the war all about?"

"Oh, the usual stuff, our kingdom's under attack, people want more territory, and we have to fend them off," he replied, waving a hand submissively.

"But then why are we all making such a big deal out of it?" Angelica persisted. She was not going to let this go.

General Washington sighed. "Here's the deal," he said. "Though the cause of the war is normal enough, these are renowned fighters. There are so many of them, too," he stated, matter-of-factly. "We really don't have good enough leadership to deal with them."

"That doesn't sound good," Angelica replied. "I'm sure we can shake it off, though…"

"No, I don't think it's as easy as that," General Washington said. "See, the thing is, there are rumors. I'm not sure how true they are. But apparently this legion is under the command of a dragon."

Angelica groaned. "Excellent, excellent," she said, sinking into her chair as General Washington turned back to the Schuylers to resume their discussion. She turned to Eliza. "Now, what was your question?"

"Did you not hear him?" Eliza replied. "A dragon! How can you be taking this so lightly?"

"I'm having a rough day to begin with, so it's not like the news can get any worse," Angelica replied frankly. "I'd much rather hear your question than strategize."

She felt herself being enveloped in Eliza's light embrace, and instantly it was as if a ton had been released from her shoulders. Eliza began to speak.

"I want to go visit a local orphanage," she said.

"That's it?" Angelica was a little bit surprised at the simplicity of her sister's request. Then again, Eliza had always been like that.

"Angelica, you don't understand," Eliza looked at her. Pleading was etched all over those soft doe eyes. "I may be a princess, but right now, I'm useless. Your greater calling in life may be to take a stand against sexism. Me? I'm helping no one. I should know the state of my kingdom."

Tears filled Angelica's eyes. What had she done to deserve such a perfect sister? Eliza would be the best queen ever, even she knew it. She wrapped her arms around Eliza.

"Of course you can go," she said. "If Mom and Dad ask where you are, I'll tell them."

"That's settled, then," said Eliza, springing out of her chair and twirling a bit. "I'm off! Bye!"

Angelica sighed as Eliza left the door. It just wasn't fair that the oldest child had to be the queen. It wasn't fair that she got the queenship of Erudite, when Eliza was so much more… ready for the job. But she couldn't do anything about it, could she?

Could she? She nudged General Washington gently to ask for advice. He was good with these sorts of things. Unfortunately, her parents were deep in a conversation with him. So when she nudged with him, three pairs of eyes landed on her.

Oh no. "What is it, Angelica?" her dad asked.

"It's nothing, go on," she said, quickly waving a hand.

"Angelica, I will not take that answer," her dad replied. "Now, tell me, what is so important to you that you interrupted our discussion?"

She gulped. "I was… wondering…" She swallowed. Should she say it?

"Go on," her mother said to her, with that no-nonsense look on her face.

"WoulditbepossibleforElizatobequeeninsteadofme?" she said quickly. Phew.

"What was that?" her dad asked.

"Would it be possible for Eliza to be queen instead of me?" Angelica repeated, more slowly.

Her mother gasped. "But why?"

Angelica took a deep breath. This would go fine. "The thing is, Mom, I've never really wanted to be queen. There are way too many responsibilities, and way too much public scrutiny. The position has never appealed to me. And Eliza would make such an amazing queen, don't you think?"

Her dad looked thoughtful. "That's true," he said. "Where is Eliza, by the way?"

"Visiting a local orphanage, like a true queen," Angelica replied smoothly.

"Huh," her mom said. She looked thoughtful. "That is really...well, responsible of her, you know?"

She smiled. Maybe the tables were turning her way.

Throughout all of this, General Washington had been quiet, but now he spoke. "If Angelica doesn't want to be queen, you should consider that. The future of our kingdom lies in her hands."

"True," her dad said. "Listen, Angelica, I'm going to have to think about this. This is all so… sudden, you know? You should have told us all this earlier."

Well. Better than she had hoped for. "I just didn't know how to," she said. "You wouldn't have listened anyway." It was hard to keep the accusation out of her voice.

"Okay, young lady, that's enough," her dad said. "Back to war tactics! You can leave, by the way," he added, nodding at Angelica.

In response, Angelica turned around and walked out of the room, head held high. Though the day had not been a complete success, Angelica couldn't help but feel like it wasn't a total failure… and for the first time in months, she felt a small weight release from her shoulders.

"Hello?" Eliza called into the bleak and desolate orphanage.

She had insisted that her bodyguards remain behind. No, she wanted to do this herself. She would go in there, and she would improve somebody's life.

A gang of dirty and wild boys opened the door for Eliza. Looking at their bony, starved frames, she couldn't help but feel bad for them. Yet… their eyes…

"A visitor!" one exclaimed.

"Who are you?" another said, twirling a baton around in his hand.

"Yeah, whaddya think you're doing here?" a third said, confrontationally. It was all Eliza could do not to lash out at them.

'They don't know any better,' she thought. "I'm Princess Eliza Schuyler," she said, smiling at them.

"Do you have food for us?" another boy said.

"I have a few rolls… where's your caretaker?" Eliza asked.

"Out," a little boy giggled. Giggled.

Their eyes… they didn't look starved, or deprived at all. No, they looked supremely happy, and full to the brim of mischief.

Then what use could she, as a queen, be to them? Sure, she could provide them food, but when all was said and done, they were satisfied. She didn't know what to think of that.

"All right, you guys, go outside, make a nice line for the man in silver over there " -she gestured to her bodyguard- "and you'll get your warm rolls," she finished. The boys started filing out.

Eliza peeked into the orphanage. Surely she should find out what condition these poor boys were living in…

She took a few steps in, looking around. The place was truly filthy. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Soot and dirt covered the floor, lined the walls and the ceiling. Everywhere she looked, there were cobwebs and dust bunnies.

Trying not to think about what creatures might dwell in the filthy home, she took a few more steps and looked around some more. To her surprise, a young man, about her age, was hunched over a desk, writing.

Curiosity moved her. Why was he writing so furiously? Why was he not with all the other boys? Slowly, but steadily, she moved closer to him, and took a seat near him.

He didn't notice. In a reverie, he continued to write as if there was no tomorrow. Eliza just sat there and counted her breaths. One, two. One, two.

After what seemed like an eternity, he signed his name and looked up.

Alex started. There was a girl sitting next to him, of his age, watching him write. This was a boys' home. What was she doing here?

"Uh, hi, Alexander Hamilton?" he offered.

"Princess Elizabeth Schuyler," she replied.

Ah. A princess. "Aren't you a bit young to be doing rounds of the orphanages?" he said.

"I want to know what my kingdom is like right now," she said, steel in her eyes.

"Well, you've seen," he shrugged. "What do you think?"

"It's disgusting," she said, shuddering a little bit. "I don't know how they let you live like this, wallowing in your own filth…"

"The rest don't care," he replied. "That's why nothing's happened. In a way, I feel bad for them. They've known no other life, so this is normal for them."

"Huh," she looked thoughtful. "What about you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Alex said. He was frightfully protective of his past. Anyone would be, if they had been through his past.

"Oh, that's okay," she said. "So, why were you writing?"

He shrugged. "The paper listens to me," he said.

"Can I read it?" she asked, laying a hand on it.

His first instinct was to scream 'NO!' at her.

But… someone else wanted to read it. Wasn't the same thing as someone else wanting to listen to him? Wasn't that what he wanted? Plus, this princess seemed so good. There really was no other word for it.

"Okay," he said.

Eliza picked up the paper, and slowly started to read.

The writing was deep, to say the least. It was about the horrible conditions in the orphanage. The squalor, the cruel caretakers who were drunk more often than sober, and what he had been talking about, the boys who had been raised with this as the norm. But more than all of that, he talked about the loneliness in the orphanage; the lack of friends, and how he felt like he was drowning in the loneliness.

By the last page, she was in tears. "This is… really good," she sniffled. "Your writing could get you places. Mind if I keep a copy?"

He hesitated for a moment, then replied. "Yeah, it's fine."

"I have to go," she said, her face still tear streaked. "But thank you so much for opening my eyes. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

As she walked outside, the boys poured in, smiles shining ear to ear. For a brief minute, her pity for them washed away, as she just marveled at their happiness.

Then she looked at the basket in which her rolls had been. She had brought enough for three orphanages. Looking inside, there were none left. The poor children had been starved.

All in all, Eliza felt it had been a good day. She sat into her carriage as the driver began the journey back to the Erudite Palace.

"That Hamilton boy was really something," she thought, as they rode over the distance.

Hi readers!

Firstly, thank you so much for the really sweet reviews I got! They are really encouraging, and chances are, the more reviews I get, the faster I'll post. :)

Regarding posting schedule, I don't really have a strict schedule. Odds are, though, I'll post every Sunday. I will try not to have gaps over a week long, but no promises.

Again, this chapter is even more exposition, but I hope you like it!

Stay beautiful :)