"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" – Colonel William Prescott, June 17, 1775 [1]

Charlestown, Massachusetts - June 17, 1775

There was a silence that rang through the air.

American soldiers that crouched down amongst the foliage seemed to be holding their breaths while fidgeting with the firearms in their hands. With the atmosphere around them, England couldn't help but play with the golden buttons on his coat jacket.

In the light of the early morning, England could see the dew on the grass of the hill and feel the crunch of the leaves underneath him. Even the American colonial flag stayed still on its pole, with the thirteen stripes folding over each other and hiding the Great Union Flag in the corner [2].

England looked around for Amelia amongst the soldiers, searching for her then long hair or her naturally energetic nature. Instead, each soldier was perfectly still in their place.

Until two figures appeared on horseback, riding over the crest of the hill with the morning sun. The thumping of the hooves beat steadily with the beating of the hearts of the soldiers around them.

"General Putnam!" came Amelia's shout as she quickly dismounted. The young, pre-teen girl was huffing and frantically scanning each of the soldiers' faces, a sheen of sweat covering her own face.

"General Putnam!" echoed the man, who dismounted with Amelia and followed her lead in searching for the General.

England watched carefully as another man rushed through the collection of soldiers, looking at the two scouts expectantly.

"Well?"

"Howe just landed south of here," Amelia said in a slightly winded voice. She shook her head, looking around worriedly before continuing, her voice lowered hesitantly, "He has at least two-thousand, maybe twenty-five-hundred, redcoats armed to the teeth [3]."

Solemnly, General Putnam nodded, "Very well, thank you both."

Both scouts nodded and began to disperse amongst the men. Instead, the General grasped Amelia by the upper arm to prevent her from leaving.

"Miss Jones," Putnam began. "May I have a word?"

England heard Amelia groan and pulled her arm from his grasp, rolling her eyes in the process. "Yes, sir?"

"A Mr. Thomas Jefferson has requested your presence in Philadelphia," the General said, offering the girl a folded piece of paper.

Amelia snatched the paper from the General and unfolded it, her blue eyes scanning the paper hurriedly and lips moving soundlessly with the words on the page. Then, she squinted suspiciously and looked back towards General Putnam. "This doesn't request my presence until early July. Philadelphia is a week's ride from here."

"Honestly, Miss Jones, I was hoping you could leave before the battle begins."

"And why's that?"

England could see General Putnam close his eyes and sigh.

Next to him, Canada cringed, "Oh no."

England suddenly dreaded the General's next words.

"Well, the battlefield is really no place for a woman and.."

"Stop."

And oh, if looks could kill.

Amelia's eyes burned with an incredible rage.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Amelia asked, her voice deadly calm. England thought that she might actually end up killing the General anyways, screw historical relevance. England knew that most female nations had a more difficult time being involved in their histories (he also knew that Ireland and Canada could both get really, really scary and that Prussia had some stories to tell about Hungary), but he never considered the fact that America had also run into those prejudices. Though, the more England thought about it the more he knew America met those hurdles with a less than lady-like touch and a more get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way mentality.

"That's an order Miss Jones."

"Only General Washington can order me around," she snapped back, taking a step towards the General, "and unfortunately for you, he's not here."

"Miss Jone-"

"With all due respect, sir," Amelia began, cutting him off quickly. "These men are risking their lives for this nation, even in the face of an impossible situation. You and I both know that you don't have enough supplies or men to last, but they are staying here to fight because they believe in what this nation can, and will, be. So, you can be damned if you think I'm going to leave these men because of the stupid fucking organs I have between my legs."

"Miss Jones, I – "

"If the next words out of your mouth refer to my sex, then you can go shove a bayonet up your ass."

The General remained silent as Amelia walked past him and disappeared into a nearby tent.

Next to England, a victorious smile was plastered on Canada's face.


[1]: Colonel William Prescott shouted this to his soldiers in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was in an effort to conserve gunpowder and supplies while fighting the British bombardment, of which vastly outnumbered the Americans.

[2]: At the time of Revolution, the American Colonial Flag was thirteen red and white stripes (like the Stars and Stripes) combined with the Great Union Flag. The Great Union Flag was the flag of Britain (and later Great Britain) from 1606-1801 and combined St Andrew's Cross (Scotland) and St George's Cross (England). Later, St Patrick's Cross (Ireland) would be added to create the Union Jack in 1801.

[3]: British General William Howe landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts, just south of Breed's Hill, with approximately 2,400 troops.

[Fun Fact #1]: The majority of the Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed's Hill, which was in the direct path of General Howe's landing point and Bunker Hill.

[Fun Fact #2]: Even though the Battle of Bunker Hill was officially a British victory, the American moral was lifted. This was due to the fact that the British sustained heavier casualties than the Americans.

Hello all! And Happy Holidays! Nothing says Happy Holidays like some 1700s sexism. Yay! Anyways, I hope you all have Happy Holidays and an absolutely amazing New Year. Let's hope 2018 is better and brighter than 2017. In other news, look out for a surprise later today on my AO3 page or follow me on Tumblr at silver-phoenix-writing for updates. Once again, Happy Holidays everyone!