Chapter Text
Alexander was sitting in a small office with afternoon sunlight falling through a window. He was summing another and another column of expenses. Forty, plus fifty, plus seventy-five, plus thirty-two… Endless rows of numbers in flowing streams in front of his eyes.
His fingers began to feel sore after hours of holding a quill, and his skin was splotched with ink.
He was close to despising this mundane work, but each time his foolish mind came around this thought, he scolded himself for an immature attitude. This job provided him with life sources.
The door opened rapidly and Ned came in. "Alex, there's a letter for you."
Alexander raised his head, simultaneously writing another sum down. "A letter?"
"From… Scotland."
Alexander hastily stood up, approached his friend and yanked him the letter. He rotated it in his hands and looked at the seal. He had seen the pattern before. It was on some of his father's belongings.
With shaking hands, he reached for a letter knife to remove the seal without breaking it.
"And?" Ned seemed nearly as excited as he was.
Alexander opened the letter.
"Dear young man, mister Alexander Hamilton,
I had the pleasure of receiving your letter addressed to my late father. I express a deep sorrow that it couldn't reach him, and simultaneously I hope to fill in his place with the greatest soberness.
I got acquainted with the description of your early life and family situation you had provided. I must tell you I regret that the past has been what it has been, and I wish to apologize to you, your mother and your brother in the name of my brother. I trust he made this decision with no vile intentions towards you.
As I imagine, you might have wondered whether I would believe your story. I want to assure you the details of it left me with no place for hesitation, as I know, or at least knew, my brother and each part of your description fits into his either appearance or personality.
To answer your supplication, I wish to redeem your father's sins and invite you to accompany me. I presently reside in the family's castle and will be honoured to take you in. Attached to this letter you shall find a ticket for a ship sailing to Scotland. If you wish to join me, board it.
I am looking forward to getting to know you better. Your uncle,
John Hamilton"
Alexander blinked a few times and sat on the desk, clasping the letter. His eyes were wide and thoughts were swirling. He had been waiting for the reply for long enough to nearly stop believing in the possibility of receiving it. Having it now in his hands, with the seal as proof of its authenticity, made him get lost in it for a moment.
"What did he write?" Ned looked over the paper and tried to read it upside down, but didn’t succeed.
"He's dead." Alexander kept a stone-cold face and looked at his friend with a hollow sight.
"What? He wrote to you!"
"That's not him." He exhaled deeply. "That's my father's brother."
"And what did he write?" Ned was impatient.
"He invites me to move in with him."
"That's great!" He grinned. "Alex, your noble family is finally going to take care of you the way you deserve!"
Alexander still was too stunned to understand Ned's words. It took him thirty seconds more to grasp the meaning behind it. "I'm going to Scotland!"
He looked for the promised ticket. Along with it, there was a note. "PS, I forgot to mention this, but that's the ship this letter travelled on, so most likely it sets off the next day you're reading this."
"I'm going to Scotland. Tomorrow."
Ned grabbed his hands, smiling widely. "So you have to pack yourself and get a good sleep."
"But I haven't finished my work yet!"
"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to my father. From tomorrow, it won't be your problem anyway."
Alexander smiled gratefully and the boys left the office and ran to the house's kitchen, chasing and laughing. Today, they could.
When they burst into the room, Mrs Stevens was preparing dinner and Mr Stevens was reading a newspaper at the table.
They slowed down and biddably approached the man.
"May I talk with you, sir?" Alexander tried to look humbly.
Mr Stevens raised his head and looked at him staidly, studying his expression carefully. "You may, Alexander."
Alexander grunted quietly and spoke confidently. "Sir, I have written to my father's relatives and have just received a reply. I was offered a possibility to move to Scotland."
Mr Stevens put down the newspaper and folded his hands on the table in front of him. "And what do you expect from me in that matter?"
"Your allowance, sir, to quit the job and house you have mercifully offered me."
Mr Stevens grunted and frowned. "It's your life, Hamilton. I won't stop you."
Alexander felt relieved he got this off his chest. He wanted to smile but had to hold back his lips from curving. "Thank you, sir."
"Father, Alex needs to pack himself. He's sailing tomorrow! May I help him?"
Mr Stevens managed to return to reading, so he only waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal.
"Come!" Ned nearly jumped and pulled Alexander with himself as he began to run to their room upstairs.
They shared a small space with a bunk bed, a desk, a bureau, a wooden box and a mirror. Through a window came in the last sun rays and the first moonlight. Coming in, they lit some candles.
"So, a suitcase. It should be somewhere here…" Ned turned toward and opened the wardrobe with a squeak of the hinges. He kneeled and took out an old brown portmanteau covered in dust. He blew the dust off and looked at his friend. "It's here and now"
Ned put it on the desk and wiped the golden handle with a piece of cloth. "Pretty, isn't it?"
Alexander looked over his arm. Inwrought handle had little coats of arms. "It belonged to my father." Ned knew it, but he felt a need to say it aloud at that moment. "The only thing that is left. I liked it as a child, so he gave it to me."
"Well, it's yours, and it looks well." He shrugged. "Time for clothes!"
Alexander laughed. He reached to the trunk and took out one pair of breeches and one of the stockings and a cravat, and a shirt. He re-folded it neatly and put it in the suitcase. "Done."
Ned smirked. "Oh, right. So, books?"
Books were the one thing that he had left after his mother. He prized them all greatly. But not all could fit into the case.
"Which would you-"
"Boys, dinner!" Alexander was interrupted by Mrs Stevens' call.
The atmosphere during the meal was warm. Mrs Stevens tried to hold up the conversation, and she managed the task. Despite their lack of willingness to dwell on the oncoming parting from all of them, she took recollecting nice moments and formed it into a joyful play.
After dinner, they quickly changed and went to bed. While lying still on his back and staring at the bunk over him, Ned spoke. "Alex? I will miss you."
Alexander sat upright and looked at the bottom cot.
"I will miss you." Ned stood up and scrambled to sit next to his friend, propping himself from behind his back. "I haven't thought about it before, but when you sail away, you will no longer be here." He laughed. "It sounds foolish, but that's the truth that hasn't come to my mind till now. I just wished what's best for you, without thinking about its consequences for me."
Alexander took his hand and squeezed it in a gesture of consolation, looking him in the eyes.
"Can I hug you?" Ned asked sheepishly, with his eyes watered.
Alexander chuckled and embraced him tightly. "I will miss you, too, Neddy. You are like a brother to me, don't forget about it."
"I won't."
Alexander tousled Ned's hair lightly, playing with the strands between his fingers. "Oh, when your mother called us for dinner, I was going to ask you which books you would like to keep."
"No," Ned gasped, covering his mouth with a palm. "No, Alex, they are yours. And were your mother's."
"And as I said, you are my little older brother, so which ones would you like to keep?"
"I- I don't know."
"Then think about it. Do you wish to sleep with me tonight?" he asked pleadingly, leaning forward.
"With the greatest pleasure." Ned snuggled next to his foster brother. "Goodnight, Alex."
"Goodnight, Ned." Alexander was lying, looking at him for a while. He grew used to Ned's company, and the thought of leaving didn't feel right. He studied the face he hoped to remember, and with this picture closed his eyes.
Morning came too fast for both of them. Getting up from the warmth to the heartache of the day was torturous.
They ate a quick breakfast and Ned was allowed to escort Alexander to the port.
They were standing side by side, holding hands. Alexander clenched his left fist on the suitcase, Ned slid his right into his pocket. They were staring as the ship crew was buzzing over its deck, pulling ropes and cleaning the floor.
"That's it, that's the moment," Ned spoke on the verge of whispering. "That's the moment when I lose you."
Alexander couldn't say a thing, with a lump stuck in his throat. He should have been voracious, but his pulse was close to non-existent. Cold flew through his veins instead of blood.
The first passengers began to board the ship, creating a stream of flowing, colourful materials. Most of them were going on a trip or back home, all glad about the upcoming future.
"Don't forget me." Ned looked at Alexander with a sad smile. "I beg you, start a new life, bring in the memory of the old."
"I won't forget you, I promise. I promise." Alexander finally spoke, with his voice breaking, tears coming to his eyes.
Ned hugged him suddenly, unconsciously squishing. "Don't forget me. I won't forget you."
"I promise, I promise."
Ned kissed his head and only then let go. "Now go, be brave and discover the world." Aware of the hilarious pathos, he chuckled. "I root for you. And if you ever think it's not for you, you always can come back to me. Brothers keep together, don't they? Go, don't look back. Please, don't look back. I won't be strong enough to see your face once more and let you go." He closed his eyes and pushed Alexander away.
Alexander blinked, drying the tears and turned away, heading towards the ship. Only when he stood on the deck, he felt his pulse coming back, warm blood rushing through his body, sharpening eyesight. It was a new beginning.