"Hello?"
It was 6 in the morning, and a loud knock on her door had woken Angelica up abruptly. Groaning, she sat up, and rolled out of bed.
"Who is it?" Angelica called.
"It's your mother," the voice replied. Angelica started. What could her mother want with her at such an unearthly hour?
"Okay," she said, opening the door. Her mother walked in. She looked bright eyed and perky, with her makeup already done and her hair perfectly brushed. How did she accomplish it? Angelica herself looked like a mess, with unkempt hair and dark circles under her eyes.
Her mother sat down at her bed. "Angelica, I have to tell you something," she said.
"Okay…." What could possibly be this important?
"Your dad and I have been thinking about what you said yesterday, sweetheart," she said, a rare look of affection on her face. "If you don't want to be queen, we don't think you should be queen."
Wow. This was not how she expected this conversation to go. "Thank you," she said, beaming at her mom.
"Angelica, honey, we love you very much, but you must understand this decision wasn't about you," she continued.
What? Her queenship was not about her? Did her parents really not care? She nodded, trying to push back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
"We must consider the greater good of the country. If our queen doesn't want to be queen, then the kingdom will suffer. Your father and I have agreed that it is for the greater good that you step down from the throne."
"Okay," Angelica said, a little choked up. This was how she wanted it to go, wasn't it? And yet… she couldn't help but feel stung. Her parents thought her attitude would make her a second rate queen… She knew that if she were forced to be queen, she would do her best for the kingdom. Not mope around about her fate. For her parents to think otherwise… well, it hurt. It hurt more deeply than anything.
Her parents never really had cared about her, had they… They cared about her image, what she should be. But not what she was. No, all they cared about was the kingdom. Erudite this and Erudite that. She supposed it was the rulership which had hardened them, left them so busy with their kingdom that they didn't have anything left over for her. She felt tears beginning to slide down her cheeks… this conversation was over.
"Thank you," Angelica managed to say as her mother left the room. As the door closed, the tears hit fully, and she let her sorrow bury her.
"Hello?"
It was 6 in the morning, and Eliza couldn't imagine for the life of her what her father wanted with her. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and opened the door.
"Yes?" she replied.
"Eliza, we need to talk," her father said, entering the room.
Oh no. This never was good. Had her father found out about her little adventure? Was he here to scold her about it? With a sinking feeling, Eliza sat on her bed and nodded at her father.
"Your sister and I were talking yesterday," her father started. "Apparently, she doesn't want to be queen. And she thinks you should be queen instead."
"Wait, what?" Eliza said blearily. Surely she hadn't heard him right. Her? Queen? And Angelica said that?
"You heard me. Your sister sang praises of you, to say the least. She told us about your little escapade yesterday, and I have to say, it was a very queenly thing to do." He smiled.
Beaming with pride, Eliza replied, "It was my duty to the kingdom."
"Your mother and I have talked about it for a little while, and we have a proposition for you."
"Okay…" Eliza was curious. Were they enstating her as queen? And if they were, would she accept?
Yes. She would accept. She wanted to be queen. She wanted to serve her kingdom; make it a better place. Since she had been a baby, Eliza had cast secret longing glances at the throne, wishing to be queen someday. Even as she got older, the allure of being queen never left her. Being queen was her calling. Of course she would accept.
"You will be queen if you find a suitable man to marry," her dad said. "If you marry a man who is not only a suitable match for you, but a suitable match for the throne, we will let you be queen."
"Deal," Eliza said instinctively, shaking hands with her father. "Thank you," she added as he left the room.
Well. Not bad. But Eliza sincerely hoped her 'king' would be someone she loved. Hopeless romantic that she was, she wanted, no, needed, to have a passionate and steamy love affair with the man she married. She needed to feel undying love.
Without warning, her mind jumped to Alex from the orphanage. He had been so intelligent, so well-spoken, so funny. And he was about her age…
Why was she thinking these things? She barely even knew him! No. She would have to go tell Angelica the happy news. Shoving these thoughts aside, she changed into a simple dress, put on shoes, and ran to Angelica's room.
"Angelica!" Eliza pounded on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, yeah," came the reply, barely audible. Eliza leaned against the door. A moment later, it was opened from the inside, causing her to start. She whirled around.
"Angelica, I have big…" She stopped. Her sister's eyes were red and puffy, her face forlorn and dejected.
"What's wrong?" Eliza tried again.
"Nothing," Angelica replied brusquely. "Are you queen now?"
"Almost," Eliza smiled, wrapping her arms around her sister. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."
"Wait, what do you mean, 'almost'?" Angelica said abruptly.
"Well, the thing is, they said I could be queen if I found a suitable match. But I'm sure I will, don't you think?" she explained.
"Shit," Angelica muttered. "Shit, shit, shit."
"Why?" Eliza pressed, concerned. "Angelica, are you okay?"
"Am I okay. Am I okay. Hmm… let's think," Angelica said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "This morning, I was awoken at 6:00 only to be dethroned by my parents. Sure, I asked for it. But you know what I learned? That my parents care more about the kingdom than they do about me. You see, they're dethroning me for the sake of the kingdom, not for me. And they made no secret of it."
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Eliza said, rushing to comfort her sister.
"And then you come in to talk to me. The thing is, I'd probably be able to put up with all of this shit if they had made you queen, good and proper. But no. Now you have to find a suitable match. If this isn't sexism, I don't know what it is. And it's too much for me to handle," she finished.
"Angelica Schuyler, look at me," Eliza pressed. "You are the smartest, most talented, wittiest, and funniest person I know. And I don't just say that as a sister. It's really true. You have so much talent, you would be queen of the world if not for your restrictions. You are more amazing and capable than any man I will ever marry, you hear me? And if that's not true, well, the man would have to be a genius." She squeezed her sister's hand.
"Thank you," Angelica replied curtly. "No, really," she continued, seeing the disappointment in Eliza's eyes. "What you said really meant a lot to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be alone." She turned around as if to close the door.
Sighing, Eliza nodded and turned around, starting to slowly walk back to her room. As she walked back, a thought occurred to her.
"Wait!" she called.
"Yeah?" her sister replied.
"Come to the orphanage with me," Eliza said. "We can spend time together. Plus, there's someone I'd really like you to meet."
"What's his name?" Angelica queried.
"Alexander Hamilton," Eliza said, the name itself warming her heart.
"Ooh," Angelica said, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "Any young man who catches my sister's eye must be something indeed."
"Angelica, it's not like that!" Eliza protested.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Angelica replied. "But I need to meet this guy."
"So are you coming or are you not coming?" Eliza asked.
Angelica was speechless. Her sister was the sweetest little angel to have ever existed. She brightened up her day like no one else could. In this case, she had turned her whole day around with an invitation to the orphanage.
And… a guy was in the picture. Angelica was very curious know. After all, Eliza was not easily susceptible like that. There had to be… something special about this guy. And she was determined to find out what.
Without further hesitation, Angelica replied, "Yes, I'm in."
A/N: Hey readers! I hope you liked this chapter, it was really fun to write! :) Please be sure to review!
I won't be posting for a couple weeks after this...life calls me. But I'll be back with more content than ever! (And possibly a few Easter eggs... you're just going to have to keep an eye out!)
Anyway, that's all for now. Stay beautiful! :)
