Alexander slumps against the wall, shaking slightly as he cries. He gingerly touches the bruise on his arm. It hurts. Alexander wonders why it hurts, after years of bruises he should be used to it.

Sobs rack his body. He tries to calm himself. The only thing that can make him relax is the lullaby. He sings quietly, to avoid waking James Reynolds and suffering another beating.

The song reminds him of the happy times he shared with his mother before she died. The memories bring a slight smile to his face, and he lifts the corners of his lips.

And with that, he drifts into a fitful sleep. In his sleep, he remembers what his life was like Before.

His mother had died of illness when he was just 12 years old. His father had wanted to use him long before that.

When his mother died and could no longer protect him, his father had jumped at his chance.

James Hamilton was an alcoholic, and deep in debt. When he found out that he could sell Alexander as a slave for money, Alexander knew he was doomed. Here, anyone can be a slave if he/she is sold into it, regardless of race.

James sold Alexander to some slave traders when he was 12 years old. Alexander had thought that was bad. But all thoughts evaporated when the slave traders sold him to an evil man called James Reynolds.

James Reynolds was a cruel master who beat Alexander if he disobeyed, but really, he didn't need a reason to take a whip to Alexander's back.

Alexander had tried for 8 years to escape James's evil grasp, but after so long, he had given up hope.

Alexander is awakened by the sound of a door slamming open. He blinks awake, as the light hurts his eyes.

"Wake up, you dirty scumbag!" He hears James call down the stairs into the cellar where he is slumped against the wall.

"Yes, master." Alexander replies quickly, then realizes he is not supposed to speak.

He hurries up the stairs, hoping that James did not hear the words that just exited his mouth.

James continues, and Alexander breathes a sigh of relief.

"So, I'm having a party tomorrow night. All the high society people will be there, I will not have you make a fool of me." He informs.

Alexander nods his head appropriately.

"I sent the maid out for supplies, you cannot leave the house since you would run away and that would be a waste of my money that I bought you with, and besides, then who would I beat?" James adds, laughing somewhat maniacally.

The furious words collect on his tongue, but Alexander knows better than to let them out.

"Once she gets back, you will arrange all the dishes, send for the chef, and serve the refreshments tomorrow night."

Alexander feels a slight smile tug at his lips. This means he'll get to see Maria. James never uses names, but Maria is the maid.

Alexander wouldn't exactly say they're close, but she's the only one who's nice to him here. Sometimes, she'll sneak him a little extra food or something in exchange for...well, that wasn't important.

He goes downstairs to the kitchen, where Maria has just arrived, with her hair blown everywhere and clothes rumpled.

"Hey Alexander!" Maria calls seductively.

Alexander blushes.

"James sent me to arrange all the dishes and stuff. You have anything ready?" Alexander asks in a businesslike way.

"No, but you can hang out until I do…" Maria suggests.

"I'm fine. I'll just go check if James needs anything else." Alexander says, rushing to get away from Maria. It's hard to stay away when she gets like this.

Alexander climbs the stairs. James is waiting for him.

"What were you doing? Messing with that stupid maid? That took a long time. Maybe you need a whipping to keep you on time." James says cruelly.

Alexander takes a deep breath as James pulls out the whip.

He breathes in, trying to quiet his involuntary swearing as much as possible, as the whip cuts into his back.

After ten lashes, Alexander's self-control lapses. He loses control of his tongue, and he starts swearing aloud. James has never beat him this much before, maybe he was angry before Alexander came upstairs.

"S***." He whispers.

James hears this, and jumps on it.

"How dare you swear at me?" He shouts. "Looks like you need ten more lashes to keep your filthy mouth shut."

The whip cuts harder into Alexander's back. Alexander somehow manages to hold his tongue for the rest of the lashes.

When he's finished, James grabs onto Alexander's shirt.

"Okay, so I have the guest list drafted, take these invitations to the homes of these people. I wrote the addresses, there's more lashes in it if you mess it up. And I can't have them see someone as filthy as you with my letters, so I had the dresser design an outfit for you." James instructs.

Alexander nods and accepts the letters. Then he goes into the dresser's room.

He had never been in here, this was the official room for rich people.

The dresser smiles at him. "Hey, what's up?" He says.

Alexander gasps, no one ever speaks to him and so informally.

The man introduces himself. "Hi, I'm Hercules Mulligan. I work here part-time."

Alexander nods, frightened at the large stature of this man. He's so tall and muscular that Alexander fears that he could be crushed by this man if he makes him angry.

Hercules seems to notice his unease and lowers his voice. He gently instructs Alexander to remove his clothing up to his underclothing.

Alexander complies, and Hercules uses very gentle hands to pull the outfit around Alexander's skinny frame.

"Yes!" Hercules whispers. "I made it the right size for you!"

Alexander smiles slightly. This guy really seems like a softy.

When Hercules finishes, Alexander spins around to see how he looks.

He is shocked at how the cloth seems to elevate his features, making him look very handsome indeed. He thanks Hercules profusely, and Hercules smiles.

"Now, go on with those invitations." Hercules remarks kindly, leaving through the invitations.

His eyes alight on one, and he smiles. "Ah, the Marquis de la Fayette will be invited! One of my personal favorite guests."

Alexander doesn't know what to make of this, and instead collects the letters.

He heads out to the streets, dropping off the letters and taking note of the grandeur of the houses he sees. He associates each house with the name of the person on the envelope, so that when they introduce themselves to James tomorrow night, he knows just how rich these idiots are.

When he gets to the name John Laurens, he stops. The house is large and beautiful, but he is really caught by the flowers and people working in the front. They all look so nice. These must be servants. He smiles, knowing this John Laurens, despite what James says, must be treated with respect for having servants instead of slaves.

He returns to the house having dropped off all the invitations. He breathes a sigh of relief when he is told that James is occupied and is escorted into the room of James's wife, Abigail. Abigail tends to be kinder to him.

He stands respectfully in front of her, and she dismisses him to prepare for the following night, allowing him to get some rest.

He falls again into sleep, this time slightly peaceful.

Alexander completes his tasks the next day at James's behest, and retires to the dresser's chamber that afternoon.

There, Hercules dresses him in respectful clothing again and bids him goodbye, claiming to have tasks to complete.

James finds Alexander as Alexander is putting on his serving gloves and collecting the tray and drinks.

"Now, listen here." James hisses. "Slaves are frowned upon, but servants are not. You must incline your head and look up slightly but not rudely at the person that you are bringing the drinks to, so as to avoid surprising him or her."

Alexander nods. James looks satisfied and walks away, supposedly to interact with the high society idiots he has invited.

Alexander picks up the tray and enters the banquet hall. Everything goes smoothly for the most part.

However, once the drinks all get taken, Alexander goes back to the kitchen to refill the drinks, and mercifully Maria is not there.

He collects the tray and heads back out into the banquet hall, but not before James intercepts him again and reminds him to look up and smile.

Determined to sleep without a beating tonight, Alexander walks toward a gentleman who has not yet collected a drink. He looks up to avoid being rude, and shocks. The gentleman is so handsome with freckles and slightly tan skin that Alexander is taken aback. In this moment of shock, however, he fails to notice that the carpet is folded.

Alexander trips over the fold and falls, while the tray and drinks land on the shirt of the gentleman.

Alexander blushes at his embarrassing blunder, especially in front of this gentleman. Until the tray clatters to the ground. "CLANK!"

It doesn't fall particularly loudly, but to Alexander, it feels like a bomb has gone off.

He starts to panic, expecting a beating. "NO, NO, NO, NO!"

He starts to pick up the glass pieces, and to his surprise, the gentleman bends and helps his pick up the pieces.

Then, the gentleman, whose guest card reads John Laurens, asks "Hey, are you alright?"

Alexander doesn't answer.

John continues, "It's alright, don't worry."

Alexander briefly registers that this is the John Laurens without slaves, preferring to have servants.

He smiles slightly.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he sees James walking toward him. He sees that James is clearly furious, but not shouting, to avoid making a scene.

Alex freezes, it's too late.

James walks by, grabs Alexander by the arm, and offers a polite apology to John for his ruined shirt, which John brushes off.

Alexander throws one longing but fearful glance back at John as he is led away.

John, not wishing to be impolite, but still curious, follows a solid distance behind James and Alexander.

He watches James lead Alexander into a small room, where presumably they won't be heard from the outside. The room is locked and John leans in to hear what is being said.

John heard shouting.

"You clumsy idiot! You're going to have to be punished!" James shouts, a sadistic grin lighting up his features.

John sees James pull a long metal stick out of a corner and start to walk toward Alex.

Alexander falls to his knees and starts to beg. "P-please i-it won't happen again!"

Alexander is crying and shaking. John can see in Alexander's eyes a thought he knows most slaves have. I'm so pathetic and useless.

"CRACK!" The stick hits Alexander hard. Alexander crumples at the pain.

James pulls the stick back and looks at Alexander on the floor in a fetal position, shaking and mumbling to himself.

John sees James smile at what he has done, and then leave to attend to his guests, leaving Alexander curled up on the floor.

In his hurry, James doesn't see John in the hall, and doesn't know that John heard everything.

John realizes that this boy, for all his airs and graces, is not a servant but a slave.

John sees the perfect opportunity for his organization, the National Manumission Society, to help this poor boy.

But first, he needed help from his friends.

John enters the room where the boy is curled up. He gently uncurls the boy, noting that he has many whip marks and bruises. He works very gently, knowing that slaves tend to be very averse to touches.

The boy slowly uncurls, but still looks fearful.

He smiles very slightly when he sees it's the gentleman from before.

"Hello, I'm John Laurens." John introduces himself politely.

"Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton." The boy replies.

"Well, Alexander Hamilton, wait here for just one minute, I need to go get something, and then I'll come and help you." John sees the boy sigh, as though this has happened multiple times before without any result.

John hurries out of the room and collects the Schuylers, Hercules, and Lafayette, all of whom he came with.

John silently thanks his father and Philip Schuyler for being such a rich societal member, for granting John and his friends the ability to attend such high events and save so many people.

Angelica, Elizabeth, Margarita, Hercules, and Lafayette all come quickly, putting down their glasses and following John.

John leads them to the back room where Alexander is. They immediately bend over Alexander, inspecting for injuries and related marks.

They treat the injuries as best they can.

Then, they instruct Alexander how they are going to get him out of James's house.

Alexander does not respond.

Lafayette, who has been keeping watch at the door, notices Alexander's skin tone is unmistakably one that only occurs in French-speaking regions. He knows this means that îAlexander speaks at least a little French, and probably knows it well since birth, before he was brought here.

Lafayette assigns Hercules to the door. "Mon cher, regarde la porte s'il te plaît."

[My dear, watch the door please.]

Then, he crouches next to Alexander and takes advantage of his calming French accent as much as possible.

"Mon ami, nous allons tu sortir d'ici. John a ici un sac lequel tu peux rentrer. Nous partirons dans cinq minutes. S'il te plaît monter à l'intérieur."

[My friend, we are going to get you out of here. John has here a bag in which you can fit. We will leave in five minutes. Please climb inside.]

Alexander looks very doubtful, but then John comes over with the bag and Alexander seems to be taken over.

He climbs into the bag without complaint, any place these people might be kidnapping him to would be better than this house.

Before they seal the bag, they make the rest of the introductions.

Lafayette starts cheerily. "Bonjour, je m'appelle Lafayette!"

John introduces himself. "Hello, you know me, but I'm John Laurens."

Hercules introduces himself. "I'm Hercules Mulligan. I am the dresser, and Lafayette is my friend, you can meet our wives later."

Alexander wonders why Hercules has again emphasized friend in regard to Lafayette, it's likely not romantic, since he mentioned their wives in the same sentence. He wonders if John is married.

The three sisters start on their introductions.

"Angelica." says the tallest one, with darker skin and commanding presence.

"Margarita, but you can call me Peggy." The youngest one says, with her bouncy curls everywhere.

The last one looks a little shy, but gracious she's so beautiful. Alexander is caught between whether this girl or John is more beautiful. He pays extra attention to her name. "Elizabeth, but most people call me Eliza."

Alexander nods, afraid he'll embarrass himself if he tries to speak.

They seal the bag, and Alexander feels himself lifted by very strong hands.

He hears the group bid goodbye to James, and when James inquires about what is in the bag, they answer that it is just a few items Philip instructed them to pick up outside James's house.

James seems satisfied, and Alexander wonders who Philip is.

And just like that, Alexander leaves James Reynolds's house for the first time in 8 years.

Hey there! This story is for Annie Samsons! Happy Birthday! Also, happy approaching birthday to Fiona White, whose story I put out a little early. I hope you enjoyed it! I do have a Christmas story request, but now I will start on the others! This is a two-shot. Annie, I know I changed some things about Hercules/Hamliza, but I felt the creative license was there. This is still Hamliza by the way, hopefully the second part will be out soon. The title is my favorite line in Hamilton.

Please suggest, etc. Mullette? I always like to write minor Mullette, just one line or so. I hope you like it! Please review! You guys are the best!

-HamiltonAsparagus