4 Marquis de Lafayette

Title: The Mademoiselle

OC: Elise Lamoureux

Ship name: ???? (PLEASE HELP, I DON'T KNOW THIS ONE!!!)

Notes: 17th century, taking place mainly at the meeting of the Hamilsquad (Aaron Burr, Sir & My Shot basically) but also in some time both before and after. The words in parenthesis written after a quote in French are what is being said in English. However, it is a rough translation and I am still learning French so don't judge me on it!

[LAFAYETTE POV]

I was sure Hercules was already drunk. He had to be. There was no way any man could be like Hercules unless he was drunk. At least, not in France.

"Hercules, mon ami," I said, my French accent butchering his name yet again. "Are you sure you aren't already drunk?"

He laughed. "You'd never know I wasn't, eh, Lafayette?"

"Non," I admitted in French.

John smirked as he threw both arms around me and Hercules. "AYYYY! Come on, it's showtime!"

"Showtime?" I echoed, my mind drifting to my last experience was John's little "shows", the last of which having ended with both John and Hercules dancing and singing drunkenly on tabletops.

John Laurens and Hercules Mulligan were certainly not your usual kind of people.

And, my God, was America strange.

John kicked open the door to the bar.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo! WHAT TIME IS IT?"

"SHOWTIME!" Hercules and I echoed as I shrugged off my worries and grinned. Maybe it was time to join the fun.

[ELISE POV]

I jumped as the door slammed open.

I had been looking for an excuse to escape my revolting American fiancé for the past hour. My father had chosen to marry me off to him without even meeting him and had sent me to America to meet him myself.

Despite my countless letters warning my father how this man would squander our money and ruin our name, he refused to rescind his offer. It was up to me to somehow get out of his grasp.

Both of us whirled to look at the door as three men walked in.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo! WHAT TIME IS IT?" the man in front yelled.

"SHOWTIME!" the two behind him chorused with him.

One of the men at the table just next to us sighed. "Like I said..."

"I'm John Laurens, in the place to be! Two pints of Sam Adams—but I'm workin' on three!"

"HA!" one of the other guys said.

"Those redcoats don't want it with me! 'Cause I will pop-chick-a-pop these cops till I'm free!"

One of the other guys shoved him out of the way with a grin. He caught my eye immediately. He was handsome, lean, had an infectious smile, and beautiful eyes.

"Oui, oui, mon ami," he began and my heart leaped. HE WAS FRENCH! "Je m'appelle Lafayette! The Lancelot of the Revolutionary set! I came from afar just to say 'Bonsoir!' Tell the King "casse-toi!" Who's the best? C'est moi!"

My jaw dropped. He was French, he was a Patriot, and he wasn't afraid of vulgar language. Oh, yes, this was my kind of guy.

"Brrrah, brrrah! I am Hercules Mulligan, up in it, lovin' it! Yes, I heard ya mother say 'Come again?'"

"AYYYYY!" John Laurens and Lafayette, the Frenchman, said, grinning at each other.

"Lock up your daughters and horses! Of course, it's hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets...," Hercules Mulligan continued. I flushed red when I realized what he was saying.

"Wow," Lafayette said, shocked.

Laurens laughed. "No more sex, pour me another brew, son! Let's raise a couple more—"

"TO THE REVOLUTION!" all three men chorused, clinking their mugs together high over their heads. I didn't notice my fiancé glaring at the men and me.

Just then, Laurens noticed the two men sitting at the table next to mine. "Well, if it ain't the prodigy of Princeton College!"

Mulligan sidled over on the other side of one man. "Aaron Burr!"

"Give us a verse, drop some knowledge!"

"Good luck with that, you're takin' a stand. You spit, I'ma sit, we'll see where we land!"

"BOOOOO!" Lafayette and Mulligan both yelled.

Laurens looked disappointed. "Bur r, the Revolution's imminent! What do you stall for?"

The other man at the table with Burr spoke up: "If you stand for nothing, Burr, what'll you fall for?"

The three others whirled on him and Burr gave him a look that said What's wrong with you!?

"Oooh!" all three demanded.

"Who you?" Laurens demanded.

"Who you?" This one from Mulligan...

"Who are you?" This from Lafayette...

All together, they said, "Oooh, who is this kid? What's he gonna do?"

The man they'd cornered on looked vaguely ill, but I missed most of what happened next as my fiancé dragged me out of the bar.

"Hey!" I yelled angrily and yanked my arm away just outside.

"Come on, Elise, we're leaving," he snarled.

"No! I'm not leaving! Not with you," I snapped. "I'm my own person! I don't want anything to do with you!"

"Then you can tell your father the marriage is off!" he roared as if that would bring me running back.

"Good!" I hollered back. "I didn't want to marry you anyway!"

His face went from red to purple in five seconds flat. "YOU LITTLE—"

I dashed back into the bar before he could do anything and found the group of men singing, yet again. But I didn't stand by to watch but searched for a place to hide as my angry ex-fiancé stormed back into the bar.

I moved from place to place, hiding and frantically running into people as I tried to run from my ex-fiancé. I tripped over someone and looked up to find John Laurens smiling down at me. He helped me up, brushed me off, and gave a pointed look at his friends, singing all the while. I nodded my breathless thanks and hurried off, once again disappearing into the bar.

My heart was pounding and my chest heaving. I waited in silence, my back to the window and a random hat placed on my head, a cloak thrown over my back to hide the voluminous folds of my skirts.

Laughing the group returned to the bar, Aaron Burr shaking his head all the way and sitting back down to finish his drink.

I was shaking, glancing over my shoulders.

"Hey—where'd my hat go?" one—the man I didn't know—asked.

"I have it," I said meekly.

"Why?" he asked.

John stomped on his foot. "Alex!" He turned to me. "Can we have the hat, please, miss?"

I nodded and handed it back. I glanced at the man John had called Alex. "I'm hiding from my ex-fiancé, to answer your question," I said. "I needed a disguise. I saw your hat and a cloak and thought, 'Why not?'"

Before they could say anything, my furious ex-fiancé stormed in. "ELISE!"

I flinched and whimpered, pressing back against the bar. He stormed over and yanked me from my spot, dragging me away.

"HEY! Leave her alone!" John yelled and the guys all moved hurriedly, but drunkenly.

Marquis de Lafayette placed himself between me and my ex-fiancé. "Leave her alone," he ordered in a thick French accent.

He snarled at Lafayette but left and I leaned back, relief washing over me in waves. "Merci, Monsieur. Merci beaucoup...," I whispered. (Thank you, mister. Thank you very much.)

"You speak French?" Lafayette asked.

I nodded. "My home."

[LAFAYETTE POV]

My interest sparked. "Depuis combien de temps êtes-vous absent de la France?" (How long have you been away from France?)

"Presque un an...probablement environ neuf mois," she replied in French. (Almost a year...probably about nine months.)

Ah, it was good to speak with someone fluent in French! "Vraiment? Et comment aimes-tu l'Amérique?" (Really? And how do you like America?)

"Ce n'est pas mauvais. Mais la maison me manque," she said. (It isn't bad. But I miss home.)

"Mm," I agreed, nodding.

"Je m'appelle Elise Lamoureux," she said, curtseying briefly.

"STOP WITH THE FRENCH!" Hercules yelled. "Please."

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "Well, I'm Marquis de Lafayette but everybody here calls me Lafayette. This is John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, and newfound Alexander Hamilton. Aaron Burr is over there, sitting at the table and being unsociable."

We persuaded Elise to stay and chat and the two of us talked about France. She told me about the torture of the monarchy, and the rioting in the streets.

I shook my head in bewilderment. "Ç'est devenu pire alors?" (It got worse then?)

"Oui," Elise said sadly. Yes.

Alex interrupted. "So what are your beliefs? Patriotic or Loyalist?"

"Patriotic." There was no subtly, no hesitation, no fear in Elise's voice.

The four of us grinned and Burr cast her a look I couldn't describe.

And from that day forward, Elise was our next addition to our group. But I never expected the feelings I developed for her to come to life.

[ELISE POV]

"Hé, Laf! Sommes-nous sortir avec les gars aujourd'hui ou quoi? Un autre rassemblement, un autre combat, quoi?" I yelled one morning as I slipped into my dress. (Hey, Laf! Are we going out with the guys today or what? Another rally, another fight, what?)

"Euh, je suis à peu près sûr qu'Alex veut juste causer des ennuis aujourd'hui, Elise," Lafayette called back. (Uh, I'm pretty sure Alex just wants to get into trouble today, Elise.)

I shrugged even though Lafayette couldn't see me. "Honnêtement, à ce stade, je devrais être habitué à cela maintenant." (Honestly, at this point, I should be used to that now.)

Lafayette's laughter echoed throughout the whole house. I had been living with him for nearly a year now. We spoke French when the guys weren't around, except for Alex, who was well versed in the French language.

I joined him at the front entrance and we strolled out to meet the guys.

[ELISE POV]

So much time has passed since then, and so much has changed.

Lafayette and I are engaged. The Revolution has begun and I sit many a day with Eliza, Alex's wife, the both of us tearful and terrified of what was happening on the battlefield. We had become close friends and I confided all my worries about Lafayette and his dangerous position to Eliza. She related to me in so many ways that many others didn't, as she experienced the same.

Eliza is pregnant, and Alex is on his way home. I'm anxiously awaiting his return with her, hoping he will bear news of my dear Lafayette.

Presently, we stand together at the gate in front of their house, nervously watching the road, when all of a sudden a figure appears on the horizon. Eliza grips my arm and I hold my friend close.

Alex's features are clear as he gets closer, but his head is hanging down for most of his journey. Until he gets close and sees Eliza. A smile breaks out on his face, chased away by shock and surprise the moment he sees her stomach. He brings her close as I move off.

"How long have you known?"

"About a month or so," Eliza said, her smile audible.

"Eliza, you should have told me," Alex said.

"I wrote to the general a month ago," she admits.

"No," Alex said, grinning.

"I begged him to send you home."

"Eliza, you should have told me."

"I'm not sorry," she said and I didn't hear a word more, instead moving back to give the soon-to-be parents space.

[LAFAYETTE POV]

"General, we're getting slaughtered out there!" I cried, dismayed.

"There's nothing we can do," General Washington replied, a hint of frustration surfacing in his voice and on his face.

"There is something we can do," I said quietly.

Washington gave me a look. "Nonononononono, don't you dare suggest what I—"

"You get your right hand man back."

"Lafayette!" he groaned in frustration.

"Face it, we need Alexander!" I yelled.

[ELISE POV]

"So, Alex...do you have news about Lafayette?" I asked, trying not to sound too nervous or too eager.

"He's alive," Alex assured me and I felt several pounds lift off my shoulders.

"Oh, thank God!" I breathed.

[LAFAYETTE POV]

I heard the army's shout: "LAFAYETTE!"

I grinned. "I'm taking this horse by the reins. Making redcoats redder with bloodstains!"

"LAFAYETTE!"

"And I'm never gonna stop until I make 'em drop. And burn 'em up and scatter the remains. I'm—"

"LAFAYETTE!"

"Watch me engaging 'em, escaping 'em, enraging 'em, ow!"

"LAFAYETTE!"

"I go to France for more funds—"

"LAFAYETTE!"

"I come back with more guns, and ships, and so the balance shifts. We rendezvous with Rochambeau! Consolidate their gifts." I looked at Washington, bending over a map. "We can end this war at Yorktown, cut them off at sea. But, for this to succeed, there is someone else we need..."

"I know," Washington said gruffly.

And from the army: "HAMILTON!"

"Sir, he knows what to do in the trench. Ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean—"

"HAMILTON!"

"Sir, you're going to have to use him eventually. What's he going to do on the bench? I mean—"

"HAMILTON!"

"No one has more resilience, or matches my practical, tactical brilliance!"

"HAMILTON!"

"You want to fight for your land back?"

"HAMILTON!"

"I need my right hand man back," Washington admitted.

"HAMILTON!"

"Ah, uh! Get your right hand man back!"

"HAMILTON!"

"You know you gotta get ya right hand man back!"

"HAMILTON!"

"I mean, you gotta put some thought into the letter—"

"Ha- Ha-"

"Hamilton, Hamilton!"

"But the sooner the better, to get your right hand man back!"

"Ha- Ha-"

Washington read out his letter: "Alexander Hamilton, troops are waiting in the field for you. If you join us right now, together we can turn the tide! Oh, Alexander Hamilton, I have soldiers that will yield for you. If we manage to get this right, they'll surrender by early light! The world will never be the same! Alexander!"

[ELISE POV]

The letter made Eliza cry. So I knew it was from Washington. Wordlessly, Eliza handed the letter to Alex, tears streaming down her face. He took it, read it, folded it, put it down.

"Betsey—"

"Go," she whispered.

So he went. He packed his things and went to fight.

"He won't come back until he wins the war," she whispered.

"I know," I whispered in reply.

[LAFAYETTE POV]

The Battle of Yorktown was a bloody mess. Hercules, Alexander, and I managed to find each other just after as the wounded were tended to and the dead counted. Each of us had some sort of wound.

"What'd I tell you?" Alexander asked, trying for a smile.

"Immigrants get the job done," I replied, attempting light humor.

"I'm just glad I survived this," Hercules sighed.

"Me too, mon ami," I sighed. "I get to see my Elise again. And pray she doesn't kill me."

"I get to meet my son," Alex said.

I stared at him. "Okay, you win. You win."

[ELISE POV]

There was a knock at the door. Eliza looked up, both of us nervous. We'd heard of the war's end. Now we knew that either our loved ones were returning or someone was coming to inform us of their deaths.

Together, we stood. We clasped each other's hands and we hurried to the door. We took a deep breath and I flung it open.

Alex and Lafayette both stood in the entrance.

There were many tears and much laughter that filled that evening. Hercules had joined us. We all felt John's absence heavily—we prayed the fighting in South Carolina would end soon with our friend still alive.

Lafayette dragged me off to a corner of the house that wasn't bustling with activity. He pulled out a box.

"Elise, mon amour, tu es mon monde. J'ai fait face à des armées, combattu dans une guerre et vécu. Mais je ne pourrais jamais avoir la force de le faire. J'ai enfin le courage de te demander... Veux-tu m'épouser?" he asked softly. (Elise, my love, you are my world. I faced armies, fought in a war and lived. But I could never have the strength to do it. I finally have the courage to ask you... Will you marry me?)

I stared at him, brimming with happiness. "Oui!" I laughed and hugged him and kissed him. Lafayette had just given me the best day of my life.

[ELISE POV]

A few months later, we were on a ship bound for France. We were going home, leaving our friends behind. We bade them tearful goodbyes and made Alex promise to tell John about everything he'd missed for when he would come back from South Carolina.

We stood together at the prow, watching France grow closer. I leaned against him.

"Je t'aime," I said softly. (I love you.)

"Je t'aime aussi," he replied. (I love you, too.)