(Y/N POV)

The break of dawn was falling over Mount Vernon, and I hadn't to know whether I had slept that night or remained with my eyes open as time went by in an instant. Nonetheless, chattering could be heard downstairs, and the coal from the fire was still burning. Surely not - perhaps Caroline had re-entered to light it once more? I couldn't remember seeing her... I couldn't remember anything.

Emily was still sleeping soundfully. No nightmare, thank Heavens. I was almost certain that, if she had grown perturbed, I would have noticed and would cease to forget. Still, there was nothing in my mind that I could recall of any startlement, so I made the assumption that she was well.

I sauntered over to the window, almkst forgetting the sight that it would behold. Alas, my legs kept walking, one foot after another. I poked my head around the curtain and spotted a... a familiar bird outside upon the window ledge.

The same bird I had encountered when I, well, vomitted out of a window.

'Following me, hm?' I whispered to it.

I was hesitant to open the window, but with the comfort of a new friend awaiting me, I proceeded to anyway.

The air was fresh, thankfully, and the bird hopped along inside. I was much more cautious this time than what I had been in our previous encounter; I didn't even know if this was the same bird, I only liked to think that it was. A method of support, you could say. It twitched its head at me just the same as the previous bird and I couldn't help but smile.

'How did you even find us?'

I slowly inched my finger towards its head to stroke it, but the bird quickly leaned in to receive it. Weird. Had I somehow tamed a bird? Was that possible? Nevertheless, I caressed down its back, repeating this half a dozen times before I crossed my arms on the window sill.

'Have you been assigned by someone to watch me?' I chuckled. 'No - you'd make it less obvious.'

To test things from pure boredom, I looked the bird straight in the eyes. 'Can you understand me?'

It twitched its head.

'Thought not.'

I listened to the door creak open. I twisted my head around, meeting my eyes now with Caroline's.

'Good morning, Miss,' she began.

I turned back: the bird was gone.

'Master Washington has invited you both down for the breaking of the fast.'

'Thank you,' I responded.

Both of us were still in our nightgowns - Emily wasn't even awake yet. I heard a clock chime, indicating that it had hit the hour.

'Sorry, what time is it?' I asked Caroline.

'Seven o' the clock,' she answered. 'Master Washington makes it the same time every morning - oh, dear, is it too warm for you in here?' Caroline took note to the open window.

Abruptly, I closed it. 'No, I was just getting some fresh air.'

She nodded. I hated seeing another human being like this. It disgusted me. Emily's suggestion was a good one, one that I was ever so willing to carry out... but how would be do it?

I came to my sister's side and gently shook her awake. She grunted, and though I would rather her sleep for as long as she needed, I didn't want to obtain the disapproval of the Washingtons by turning up late. We were already going to, yes, but it would be much better than not turning up at all.

I resorted back to the drawers and pulled us out some clothes for the meal.

~

'And that, my boy, is why cornmeal mushcakes are the most exquisite of foods to start your day,' finalised Washington.

Martha's grandson looked around, almost panicked by his grandfather's seeming obsession with cornmeal mushcakes.

'Have you ever tried a hog?' asked Eleanor.

Washington's face beamed. 'Why, yes! We had ourselves some hog in the war!'

Martha and Frances simultaneously groaned.

'Not your war stories again, George,' said Martha.

Frances' husband smirked. 'I find them rather interesting.'

'Once, we rowed across the Delaware to attack a garrison of drunk Hessian troops! Christmas day, it was!'

'We know, George,' Martha stopped him.

Eleanor placed down her cutlery. 'Grandpapa took me rowing when I was a child. It wasn't Delaware... Some place else.'

'Have you ever tried rowing, girls?'

Emily and I both faced Washington. All this time, we - or, at least, I - had been listening in to the family conversation. Neither of us had been participating.

I gulped down my food. 'Rowing - no, I haven't tried it.'

Emily shook her head. 'Me neither,' she said quietly.

'Would you like to try it?'

I glanced at Emily, then back to Washington. 'It could be fun.'

'Do you even know what rowing is?' Eleanor cocked her head over the table, directing her question at me.

'Um - yes.'

'So it is still in practice where you come from?'

'Don't be obtrusive, Nelly.' Martha placed her hand on the back of the girl's head.

Trying to engage him, Washington turned to George. 'Have you tried rowing, son?'

He shook his head.

'Would you like to?'

He shrugged.

'I must say that your time seems wonderful,' Frances confessed. Sat on her mother's lap, Anna began to blabber gibberish to herself. 'What leisures did you partake in as a passtime?'

'Well... We did sports, like rowing, for example.'

Eleanor frowned.

'Um - we also had these devices called phones. They're a bit hard to explain, but - but you could access anything you wanted off of them.'

'Could you access food?' enquired Washington.

'Yeah. You could order anything that you would like to eat and somebody would come and deliver it to your home.'

'Therefore it would take time?'

'It really depends on the service you're using.'

'Interesting.'

Emily was the first to finish her breakfast. Washington had practically forced us into enjoying some cornmeal mushcakes (not to forget the honey and butter) with him. I didn't quite take a liking to it, but clearly Emily did. I smiled, glad that she was keeping herself healthy here.

'We had better get to it soon, then.' Washington finished up his meal at last.

Eleanor tilted her head. 'Get to what?'

'Giving these girls the experience of rowing. Mr. and Mrs. Washington could take you and your brother around the farms, ey?' He motioned af the couple.

By the aggravated expressions upon Eleanor and George's faces, I made the interpretation that this was not something they perceived as pleasurable, unlike their grandfather.

'I've always wanted to row,' Emily spoke up.

'Now is your chance, my dear!' Passionately, Washington arose from his seat, bemusing Martha. 'Come, then! We must not make haste!'

~~~~~~~~~~

Not me writing some of this in the middle of Maths🤚

Also, in order to avoid any confusion:

- Eleanor Parke Custis - Martha's granddaughter
- George Washington Parke Custis - Martha's grandson
- Frances Bassett Washington - Martha's neice
- George Augustine Washington - Frances' husband

(By the way, I'm sorry for the amount of spelling and grammatical errors and auto-corrected words messing things up. I don't really proof read as this is the first draft so I don't particularly care if it's awful. But feel free to point any mistakes out if you spot any.)