3rd Person P.O.V

A year had passed since Alexander, Theodora, John, Lafayette and Hercules had joined the military, and it was now 1779. Theodora, now 18 years old, was currently on a two week break, since she had served for the full year, so George had given her a well-earned break. So, Theodora had decided to venture into New York City, dressed in her military uniform, complete with her hat and sword. The cut she'd received from a bayonet had long since healed, and the only reminder of it was the white scar on the right side her forehead that stopped at the corner of her eye. Theodora continued her walk, until some noise caught her attention. She raced in that direction, and found a young woman around the same age as Alexander, trapped underneath a collapsed stand, unable to get out.

"Let me through!" Theodora called, pushing her way through the crowd. People saw her military uniform and parted instantly. Theodora knelt on the ground and took a firm grip on the beam, before using all her strength to lift the beam up. Theodora strained to keep the beam up, but she had enough strength to keep the beam lifted, allowing the woman to pull herself out. Once she was sure the woman was free, Theodora let the beam drop, before going over to the woman.

"Are you alright?" Theodora asked, helping the woman to stand.

"I'm fine now. Thank you for helping me." The woman answered.

"You're welcome." Theodora said. Two more women rushed over to the scene. One was dark-skinned with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and the other was tanned, and also had brown hair and brown eyes. The former looked to be a little older than the woman Theodora had just helped, while the latter appeared to be the same age as Theodora.

"Eliza, are you alright?" The older woman asked.

"Yes, I'm fine Angelica. I'm not hurt." The first woman, apparently named Eliza, answered.

"I saw how you lifted up that beam off my sister. That didn't look easy." The younger woman commented.

"Military training helped, I'll admit, but I guess it was mostly adrenaline." Theodora said, running the back of her hand across her forehead briefly.

"The military? Interesting. I'm Angelica Schuyler, and these are my sisters, Eliza and Peggy." Angelica introduced herself, before gesturing to the other two.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Theodora Hamilton." Theodora introduced herself.

"An interesting last name. How would you like to come and have tea with us back at our house? As a thank you for helping me?" Eliza asked.

"That would be very nice, thank you." Theodora said. She followed the three sisters until they reached a large mansion in the richer part of New York. Having spent the majority of her life living in a small house and in poverty, Theodora was stunned at the size, but she still followed the sisters inside. Inside, a man and a woman were waiting.

"Girls, who is this?" The man asked, looking at Theodora.

"Father, Mother, this is Theodora Hamilton. She saved my life after I got trapped under a collapsed stand in the market. Theodora, meet my parents, Philip and Catherine Schuyler." Eliza answered.

"Yeah, she lifted up a heavy beam like it was nothing." Peggy added.

"Well, not nothing, exactly. It was really heavy." Theodora said.

"Perhaps, but I am indebted to you for saving my life." Eliza said. She and her sisters led Theodora to the parlour, followed by Philip and Catherine. All of them seated themselves in the various seats, and a maid brought tea for them, and everyone helped themselves.

"So, tell us about yourself, Theodora." Angelica said.

"Where do you want me to start?" Theodora asked.

"How about from the beginning? That's always a good place to start." Peggy answered.

"Well, I was born in the Caribbean to a Caribbean mother and a Scottish father. I have an older brother named Alexander. But, our father refused to claim us as his children, which branded both my brother and I as bastards. Up until I was six, my brother and I were raised by our mother, Rachel Faucette, and our stepfather, James Hamilton, but we lived in poverty. But not long after I turned six, my stepfather abandoned us and left us in terrible debt and in greater poverty. Two years later, my mother, my brother and I all contracted the disease yellow fever. Mother caught it first, then Alex got it, and then I caught it. Mother spent all the money we had on medicine for my brother and I. Within days of getting the disease, my mother died, and my brother and I were left as orphans. Before she died, she looked at me and said, "Prove them wrong about you, Theodora Madelyn Hamilton. Be the strong young woman I know you are". Those were the last words I ever heard her say. I was only eight when she died." Theodora started her story, and the Schuyler family were shocked at how much the young woman in front of them had been through at such a young age.

"And then what?" Peggy asked.

"Well, my brother and I later moved in with our cousin, and we stayed with him for several weeks. Alex was able to get a job at the local store, so that meant some money coming in for the both of us. But about three months after we came to live with him, our cousin committed suicide by hanging himself. Fortunately, the manager of the store Alex worked at gave us a place to stay and made sure we were looked after. My brother and I educated ourselves through our book collection, which was the only thing we had left due to our cousin not naming either of us in his will. For the next few years, things weren't as difficult, but we were still poor and living in poverty. But things took a turn for the worst when I was thirteen. A hurricane struck my home town of Nevis, and destroyed the majority of the town. There was only a handful of survivors, including my brother and I. I nearly drowned in the raging waters, but a group of townspeople pulled me from the water and got me safely to my brother. I recovered physically, but mentally, I never really did. I'm now terrified of storms because of what happened." Theodora answered.

"I can't imagine going through anything even close to that. It must've been awful." Angelica said.

"It was. It took two years for them to rebuild the town. Alexander and I helped out where we could. The deaths of our mother and cousin, along with the hurricane, it made us realise that you never know when the unexpected is going to happen, and that your life could come to an end just like that. So we both picked up a pen and paper, and we wrote about our experiences of what we'd gone through. Our writings were published and read by the entire town, and was also sent off to Princeton College. The town passed a plate around, and they raised more than enough money for my brother and I to book passage on a ship to New York. From there, we met our first friends, John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan and Marquis de Lafayette. Alex and I attended King's College and graduated from the accelerated study course, with both of us studying law." Theodora continued her story.

"And then, going by your uniform, you joined the revolution." Philip guessed.

"Yes. Serving under the command of General George Washington himself. Within weeks, I was promoted to the rank of general, and became General Washington's second-in-command." Theodora confirmed.

"Impressive. And how old are you?" Catherine asked.

"I'm eighteen, ma'am. I was promoted to general when I was seventeen." Theodora answered.

"That's very impressive for someone your age. General Washington has excellent judgement. It's been all over the newspapers about George Washington's mysterious second in command who carries out successful raids on British camps." Philip said.

"I also escaped their captivity after being captured during battle. I stole a significant amount of their supplies that day, including five uniforms, and brought them to my own camp." Theodora said.

"Wow, you're the only woman in the entire army. Wouldn't that put you off men though?" Peggy asked.

"Only the ones I can't tolerate. But John, Hercules and Lafayette are my best friends, and Alexander is my brother." Theodora answered.

"Are you sure this John Laurens isn't something more? Because there's something you're not telling us." Angelica said. Her question caught Theodora off-guard, and felt the heat rising before she could stop herself.

"Maybe." Theodora said, keeping her gaze fixed on the carpet as she tried to will the blush off her face.

"Oh, don't stop now. Please tell us more." Eliza pleaded, wanting more information.

"Okay, okay. I've been dating John for the past two years. He got me this for my eighteenth birthday." Theodora answered, pulling a silver chain from under her shirt that held a diamond and sapphire ring on it.

"That's an engagement ring!" Peggy gasped, admiring it.

"Yes, it is. We've known each other for three years, and we've been dating for a year. John wants to wait until after the war though." Theodora confirmed.

"Well, I'd like to meet this John Laurens, as well as your brother and your other friends." Angelica said.

"Perhaps one day." Theodora said, tucking the chain back under her shirt. Once everyone had finished their tea, the three Schuyler sisters accompanied Theodora to the front door.

"Would it be alright if we kept in touch with you?" Eliza asked.

"I would like that. I haven't told my brother this, but I really need some female friends to balance everything out." Theodora answered.

"Well, you'll find that there are a lot of benefits of being a friend of the Schuyler family. The three of us can provide the female influence you're missing." Peggy said, to which Angelica and Eliza nodded to show their agreement.

"Sounds good. I'll be sure to write soon enough." Theodora said.

"We look forward to it." Angelica said. Then, Theodora opened the door and left the house before heading down the street. She was due back at her camp tomorrow, so she was going to make sure she made full use of the free time she had left. But she was glad that she had three new friends in the Schuyler sisters. She'd heard talk amongst the men in her camp that the Schuyler sisters were almost impossible to get close to, but now that was yet another thing Theodora could use to prove them all wrong.