Hello again!

Welcome to Chapter 1!

Now I implore you, if you have not read Act 1 (yes I know it's long as heck), I INSIST that you read that before you do anything! This will very likely not make any sense to you, but I mean, proceed if you want to.

Enjoy!!

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°~7 Years Later~°

°~23rd November, 1789~°

(Third Person POV)

Children from each and every corner of the home sprinted through the halls. They didn't know where they were going, they just knew that they had to get away as quickly and swiftly as they could.

A boy, the eldest of the five, clutched desperately at his sister's hand to guide her along. They stumbled along the floorboards a rush of adrenaline that overcame them and made them laugh hysterically. He made a reach for the curtain in the sitting room, but alas, his younger brother got there first. "I'm here!!" the toddler declared, camouflaging himself rather obviously into it.

The boy grunted, dragging his sister upstairs. Another child, a girl, had just made it to the top and headed straight for the rooms to the left of the hall. He followed, but entered the room opposite to the one she had. "Quick!!" He beckoned his sister down upon her hands and knees and together they crawled underneath the bed.

Unable to control her chuckles, he shushed her and held his hand over her mouth.

And now they waited.

(Y/N POV)

"Ready or not, here I come!"

I uncovered my eyes and turned to face the kitchen. I had heard a cluster of loud footsteps scuttle up the stairs, though I was unable to determine how many there had been. Usually, Philip and Angelica would play this game as a team of two. They were inseparable. Therefore, it would naturally be easier for me to find them.

Junior always stuck to the same hiding spot. He couldn't understand that his methods weren't... necessarily effective. He was the most competitive out of them all so if I were to let him win, he would brag about it for days.

Nevertheless, Frances could be hidden for hours on end and we would never find her. She was no child, more like an apparition that came and disappeared. She much preferred to work individually, alike Junior.

In any case, my first decision was to find Junior. He and Philip always got into a quarrel over this game so I didn't want it to be his responsibility to find him. I wandered into the sitting room- his tiny shoes poked out from the bottom of the curtain. "Now where could he be..." I checked beneath the cushions, the table... everywhere I could before I revealed him. "Not here... Not here..." I repeated over again. After his small giggle, I unveiled the curtain. "Found you!"

"But that's not fair!!" he screeched. Junior was named after his father, therefore adopting the name Alexander Hamilton Jr. Within the first few months of his birth, calling the name 'Alexander' seemed to confuse everyone. Were we referring to the father or the son? And so, we nicknamed him 'Junior'. He adored the name as he believed that it made him look special. Even at 3 years of age now, the second to youngest of the five, he was the most lionhearted and boisterous. He made everything into a challenge and was almost a direct replication of his father.

"Come on, Junior, you know it's fair!" I exclaimed. "What's not fair is that you hide in the same place in every game! Why don't you try somewhere else next time?"
"No! I will win right here!!"
"...Whatever you say." I sighed. "Come on, help me find the others."

"UGH!!" Junior crossed his arms and stormed upstairs.
"Junior, I can't let you win all of the time-"
"Yes you can!!" he squealed. Thank goodness that Alexander wasn't here or he would have been scolded for this sort of behaviour. Junior was much closer to Emily than to anyone else for they shared similar attitudes. In all honesty, I believed that his personality had grown initially from hers.

I turned to the left. For Alexander, entering into his and Eliza's room was strictly forbidden. Eliza was far more relaxed and would allow it, as long as Alexander didn't find out. Alas, the children chose not to enter unless told otherwise.

My old room had been formed into a room for the boys. Philip and Junior stayed in there, later to be joined by little James, who for now slept in the nursery outside of Alexander's and Eliza's room. Similarly, Emily's had been made into a room for the girls, with me, her, Angelica and Frances.

Neither of us had been willing to remarry over the years that passed. I could not put my trust and faith in any other man and Emily was simply not interested. She had learnt from my own selfish ways once and made the conclusion that marriage was absurd. I had learnt, after growing with these children day after day, that I didn't need a life in the future. This was my life now.

Junior scouted the girls' bedroom so I inspected the boys'. There was barely any space to fit the two of them, though I searched where I could. I opened the wardrobe: nothing. Then, I leaned onto the ground. Two tiny bodies hid anonymously beneath, cackling in synchronisation once they saw my face.

"Found you!" I declared. Philip came out first, before assisting his sister.

"I thought we had it that time!!" Philip was a bright young man of age 7, the eldest of his siblings. His sister, Angelica, was second-in-line at the age of 5. Much like his father, Philip was studious and wanted to work with the law. He was scarily mature for his age, though in his spare time found an interest in creating poetry, much like Alexander sometimes did.

Meanwhile, Angelica was named after Eliza's sister. From 3 years of age, Eliza began to tutor her on how to play the piano, as she had for all of them. Angelica was the one to take the most liking to it; she would sometimes play whilst Alexander would sing along.

Philip and Angelica were like lock and key- there was no one without the other. Their bond was one that I had never seen in any pair of children before. I'm certain that not even Emily and I were ever this close at their age. It truly demonstrated the bewildering parenting that the two had used towards their children. Each one (every Junior, in certain aspects) behaved in a respectful manner and honoured any individual welcomed into their household.

"We still have Frances to find!" I informed them.
"I know!!" Angelica skipped out into the girls' room, where Junior was stretching his head in confusion. "She's in here somewhere! We saw it!"
"I looked everywhere!!" Junior complained, collapsing onto my bed.

"She hides in the places that we don't suspect..." Philip wandered to the toy box at the end of the room.
"I checked!!" Junior grumbled.
"Perhaps you didn't look hard enough." He opened up the box and began tossing toys aside. I came near him, watching as a small head peaked out from beneath the toys.

"Found you." Philip smirked.
Frances blew a strand of blonde hair from her face. Biologically, Frances was not a Hamilton. Although that did not mean that we regarded her as one. Her stay with us was only thought to be temporary, however, her father had passed earlier this very year. Frances had nowhere else to go, not until another member of her family would take her in. Thus, she had the privilege of living with us for as long as she pleased, with the treatment and education that any of the other children would equally have.

I chuckled. "Let me help you." I brushed some more of the toys out of her way, taking her hand into mine. Philip helped me to heave her from the box and stabilise her on her feet. "You won, Franny. Again." I joked.
"Why don't I ever win?!" Junior demanded for an answer.
"Because your hiding spots are bad, Alex." Angelica admitted.
"No they're not!!"
"Yes they are."
"NO THEY'RE N--"

"Alright, alright, no shouting! We are on neutral grounds here, fighting is intolerable." I disrupted them. Junior crossed his arms again, flopping backwards on the bed.
"Well done, Frances! You're really good at this!" Philip complimented her.
"Thank you... But I feel bad, for Alex-"
"Because he's a sore loser and he knows it!" Angelica teased.
"That's enough, Angie." I lectured her.
"Sorry..."

"Well, Fran, it's your turn!" I decided.
"I'm not playing..." Junior made his way out. Where he went, I didn't know.
"...Alright, well, we can play with the four of us!" I insisted. "Remember, no peeking!"
She giggled. "I wouldn't peek! That's not fair!"

Frances turned her back away from us and covered her eyes. I prepared to make a run for it.

"One..."