!!Warning!!

(Y/N POV)

"You certainly have not changed in the slightest, Miss!" Eric admitted. He scuttled along behind us. "You're just... fairer!"
"Remember what I told you, Mr Harrison." I warned him away.
"...Yes Miss, my apologies."

"Who is this man?" Emily whispered to me.
"I met him when I left for England on the ship with Lafayette. Be cautious of him."
"Why?"
"He is not the most... honourable of men."

Reaching the docks, I observed the many ships anchored in the harbour. I did not know which we were supposedly boarding, one which would correctly take us to London and not some other place like Germany.

"Do you know where this ship is?" I enquired, turning my face to Eric.
"I am unsure how I would precisely know but judging by the British flag on the one anchored over there," -He pointed far to our left- "I could make a safe enough judgement."
"Come on." I dragged Emily at our still entwined arms.

"So, Miss Hamilton, have you satisfied yourself with a husband yet?"
I rolled my eyes, treading my feet along quicker. "You really think I would have?"
"I am sure that there are many men seduced by your... your contributions to the war. When you rescued my brother and I, I recall another man that you... What was it, Laurence?"
Emily twitched. You could almost feel her heartbeat increase dramatically at the name, even if it wasn't spot on.
"John Laurens..." I breathed the name. "But no, he... He d- passed.

Why do you care, Eric?" -I swivelled my face to him, letting go of Emily; her skin had turned cold. "You are not my friend. If I ever needed any sort of personal advice, it would certainly never come from you."
He was surely taken aback, which came as a surprise. Did he really believe that we were even slightly in a friendship? You could hardly call us acquaintances. I was on the boundaries of labelling him my enemy.

Eric merely glanced between me and the ground, giving off an awkward smile. Once again, I rolled my eyes and joined Emily. We reached the ship in a swift movement of silence, and guarding it was a man with scruffy, golden locks reaching his shoulders. He bared a hideous mole on his left cheek and a face dominated by the proliferation of eczema. He supported his weight onto a barrel, his scrawny fingers extending across its surface.

"Good afternoon, Sir." I greeted.
He took one thoughtful look at me before holding himself up and crossing his arms. "Afternoon to you, Miss."
"I, uh, actually have a letter addressed from the King." I pulled the letter out and handed it to him. "I have been invited to London for a short time and it states that I must board the next ship there on a free passage."

The man raised his brow. "And?" He handed the letter back to me. "No pay, no passage."
"But Sir, it is the King's orders-"
"I don't care who it's bloody from, if you ain't got the money, you ain't getting on."
"I'm sorry, Sir, but do you realise who this woman is?" Eric questioned him.
"Yes I know who she bloody is, you numpty, do I look like I give a shit?"

"Then how about you treat these two women with the dignity and respect that they deserve, hm?" Eric marched straight past him and for the ship. I mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to the man, both for Eric's behaviour and for the fact that I was about to do the same. I strolled past him and caught up with Eric, patiently waiting at the plank leading to the ship.

"Let me take your bags." he offered. I did not want to and would have refused if he were my friend, but I felt like using him to my own advantage. Just this one time. I snatched Emily's bags, piling them on top of my own and I used all of my strength to lumber them into Eric's arms. His back arched from the sudden weight brought upon him, yet he smiled reassuringly as though nothing were wrong.

Emily backed away from the plank with hesitancy. She glared at the water below, almost challenging it. "You alright?"
"What if I fall in?" she contemplated anxiously.
I giggled. "You won't fall in. Look!" I manouvered my way across, swaying with the movement of the tide. I hopped onto the ship at last, spreading my hand out to beckon Emily along.

She grunted. Quickly, she examined the plank again. For safety measurements, she used the tip of her foot to touch it lightly before running backwards in preparation for its collapse. Luckily for her, that did not happen. Next, she used her entire foot to pad at it repeatedly. She checked up to me, to which I gave her a subtle nod. Shutting her eyes as tightly as her body would allow her, she secured both of her feet on the plank.

"You may want to keep both of your eyes open." I advised. Emily did just that. She shuffled along, crouching herself slightly downwards with her arms spread in the position of a T for balance. Finally, once close enough for my reach, I hauled her onto the ship. Eric followed us, hustling the bags along.

"See? It wasn't so bad, now was it?"
"Of course it was." She spat. It was barely noticeable but her arms were still somewhat raised for support; I chuckled at her startlement.
"Poor Mr Harrison had to carry three bags!" I exclaimed, despite that I was not in his support at all and only wanted to tease her.
"Mr Harrison is a Mister. He can do that."
Eric sniggered. "With great difficulty, Miss."

"Welcome abord!" Another man, a sailor, jogged towards us, baring the most heartwarming smile. "I don't appear to recognise you folk!"
"Oh, my name is Miss Sophie Hamilton. This is my sister, and this is-" Unsure what to say, I stared at Eric. "This is, uh-"
"Mr Hamilton." he continued. "Brother."
"Oh, I see!"

"We were sent here on the orders of the King." I presented him the letter.
"...My, that appears so." he commented upon inspecting it. "No forged writing, forged signature..." The sailor grinned. "I will have to consult the captain, but I am sure that he will make this an easy pass for you all."
"That's wonderful." I sighed in relief.

"In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable!" the sailor advised.

"If you're staying with us, then it's going to be a long journey!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone, hope you are all staying safe.

So! Since the entire country is in lockdown, I decided that I would try and make myself useful by doing art.

As one person reading this knows, I don't and can't do art. Put it simply, I don't consider myself good at it. But I've been having this idea for about 2 months now and thought that it would be fun if I could try to project it onto a screen.

So without further ado, here is my portrayal of Charles being a sad pumpkin.