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The Commander fixed Washington with a cold smile, “What's the matter, ‘General’? Feeling protective of your little boys?” his gaze slid to the aides, to me, “It’s such a shame that you boys had to be pulled into this little rebellion…some of you could have had promising careers in the King's Forces!”I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. No one spoke to the general that way, to us that way!“We would rather die than serve a tyrant!” I sneered at him, my eyes widening as I saw the Commander's boot coming for my chest, yelping as I felt myself go over the side of the rowboat, the water of the river swallowing me into its cold, icy depths. I began to struggle, my tied legs flopping uselessly as I sank. Down, down, down into the depths. I looked up, my lungs beginning to burn as I watched the surface go farther and farther away, my struggles not doing anything to raise me up. I felt my feet hit the bottom, no longer able to keep the bubbles from coming out of my mouth. I continued to struggle. I couldn’t die like this. I had to see this war through… . My eyes began to slide shut, my vision going dark as I felt the water begin to fill my lungs…My eyes slid shut, and all I could hear was the sounds of the current around me. This was okay, I suppose. This was the end. I gave in.It couldn't have been more than 10 seconds later when I felt a pair of hands grab my arms. My eyes snapped open and I gasped, my lungs taking on more water. I was met with the form of Hamilton, his blue eyes filled with worry and his red hair flowing freely in the water. Without warning, he took my face in his hands and kissed me fiercely on the mouth, his tongue sliding past my lips. My whole body went tense, as I felt something in my change. The water in my lungs was no longer heavy and drowning, and instead became as light as air. I took a big breath, able to breathe the water. My eyes got bigger as I looked at Hamilton, his powerful tail keeping him level with my face.
He kissed me. On the mouth. One of my best friends kissed me. ON. THE. MOUTH.
I tried to speak, opening my mouth, but no sound would come forth.Hamilton pressed a finger to my lips, and spoke in the underwater voice of the Mer. “Stay calm, don't move. I’ll come back for you.” As quick as he had come, he gave a beat of his tail and was swimming up towards the boat. I saw him crest his fin above the water, most likely to alert the General that he was nearby. He moved closer, cresting that green fin again. Hamilton swam directly under the boat this time, giving it a light push with his hands, singing his siren song softly. Even from the bottom of the river I could see that shit-eating grin on his face. He slowly moved himself to the bow of the boat, where I knew Washington was still kneeling. He let himself sink, before giving two powerful beats of his tail, launching himself out of the water, diving back under near the stern, pushing one of the redcoat soldiers into the depths. As Hamilton pushed him down, I watched as those powerful claws ripped into the young man's chest, the water becoming tinged red with his blood the same color as his coat. Hamilton moved on once he saw the amount of blood, leaving the body to sink to the bottom near where I was sitting.I saw the boat begin to jostle with panic, hearing the distant pops of gunfire, seeing the flash of a muzzle and watching as Hamilton picked up speed, dodging the bullets piercing the water. He reached up, grabbing a second soldier, and dragging him under, killing him in the same quick and efficient way as the first.It was in moments like this when I wasn't sure if I should be glad or scared shitless that there was a mer-creature on the same staff as I was.As the bodies piled up, I began to count them. All of our captors were here. All but one. The Commander was still up there.Hamilton reached a clawed hand out of the water, bringing it back quickly. He must have cut someone's binds…I could see the figure of Washington stand, it was hard to tell what he was saying, and the blood in the water was obscuring any attempt to read his lips. I watched Hamilton circle again, launching from the water as he did the first time, splashing back into the water, holding the commander by his coat, pushing him all the way down until his back hit the muddy bottom. Hamilton gave an otherworldly hiss, dodging a water-slow punch from the Commander. Hamilton opened his mouth, his fangs shining in the little moonlight that was still filtering through the bloody water. He ducked his head down, his fangs sinking into the flesh of the Commander's neck. He pulled, ripping out the Commander's throat, blood and gore floating around him. I watched as he swallowed the flesh he held between his teeth—a habit I will never get used to—and turned to me. He swam to me, grabbing me, and picking me up like a newlywed bride being carried through the door of her new home for the first time. Hamilton swam up, pushing me up out of the freezing water and over the side of the boat.I coughed and sputtered up water as I landed on the floor of the rowboat, I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to clear them of the bloody water. I felt the boat tip slightly, and felt cold scales on the outside of my breeches. I turned my head and saw Hamilton laying right next to me, smiling up at the General, his fangs dripping with blood and leftover gore.I coughed again, listening as Hamilton spoke in the voice of a human, ““Does saving your life mean I get a raise, Sir?”Of course Hamilton would be focused on his station at a time like this! I coughed up more water as The General pulled a small knife from his boot, and began to cut the ropes from the other aides, “We’ve lost West Point, and you’re asking about a raise? The entire cause is in jeopardy!”“West Point isn’t lost sir!” Hamilton pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to maneuver himself into a sitting position“It’s on fire, son.”“Yes, but it's still under our control!”Bullshit.“Last i saw, it was swarming with redcoats”“Last I saw, which was much more recent than you, we had pushed them back and retaken the fort.”And here comes the Ham-Sass. Ham-sass. I made that up just now. It's pretty clever.“Under which commander?”“Mostly Knox, Sir, but I helped quite a bit.”“Define helped, son”“I ate several officers, Sir”Of course he did. If they were anywhere near any of the main buildings, that would be a huge mess to clean up, thank god the task would fall to Tench and Alex and not me. I don't think I could stomach seeing what Ham did to those bastards. Judging by how easily he ripped out that Commander’s throat...yikes.I turned to Laurens as he pulled the gag from his mouth after the general freed him, his signature smile across his beaten face, “Nice work, Hammie!”The General moved to Lafayette, freeing him. The Marquis rubbed his wrists as he sat up, “ Oui , if it is as you say, all may not be lost yet.”The General Knelt down in front of me this time, using the knife to free my legs and arms. His hands gripped my arms, helping me sit up. I could hear the worry in his voice, “Are you alright, son?”I thought for a moment, thinking of what I had just been through, what I had seen. I felt my face flush red as I turned to Hamilton, punching him in the shoulder, “You KISSED me!”Hammie punched me right back, “I had to! It was the only way to allow you to breathe underwater long enough to get you back into the boat!”“Bull! You could have just…breathed air into my lungs or something!”“I didn’t know how long it would take me to save everyone else!”
“You kissed me. On. My. Mouth. ”“You liked it? I can kiss you again if you’d like—”“Shut up I—”The General snapped, ceasing our bickering, “Alright! Two of you grab the oars, and get us back to shore so we can rout these loyalist swine!”Alex smiled. I watched as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the silver medallion stamped with a mermaid he kept on a leather cord. He put it around his neck, and his green tail melted, giving way to his legs, still in their breeches and boots, thank God. I did not need to see Hamilton naked on top of kissing him. Alex saluted the General, “Yes, sir!” He stood, sitting on the bench behind my head, and grabbing one of the oars. Laurens took up the place next to him, clapping him on the shoulder before grabbing the other oar.I sat up, sitting on another one of the benches, beginning to wring out my shirt. The General gave us a soft smile as we began to head to the burning ruins of West Point.