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Chapter Two: I'm Really Glad You're Here

After sending up Hope's friends, Josette had gone down to the meeting room. She wasn't sure if Landon and her sister would still be there, but she hoped they would. She might be able to ease Landon's mind when it came to what happened earlier. After all, Josette knew that he was anxious about meeting Miss Mikaelson, and it couldn't have been easy to see her faint the moment she met him. That was why Josette had offered to go take care of the girl, to understand what was happening. Of course, she had learned that Hope had fainted because of meeting Landon. But Josette could lie, couldn't she?

Or was that frowned upon? Josette wasn't really sure the protocol here. She had a feeling that Hope had told her some of those things in a false sense of confidence, but it wasn't as if they were friends. After all, they had just met. Still, Josette found herself wanting to make sure that everything would be okay. She was doing this for Landon, wasn't she? Hope could learn to fall for Landon, given time. No need to ruin the merger right this moment.

As Josette entered the meeting room, relief settled in through her body. Landon wasn't there, but her sister was. "Liz," Josette breathed out, making a move towards her, when she heard someone clear their throat. Turning her head, she looked up to see Lord Kirby - Landon's father. He had never been to fond of Josette. She was fairly certain he thought Landon might be interested in her, and that Josette might become a problem for the marriage. "Lord Kirby!" Josette curtseyed low, before straightening her back. "I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't see you."

"That was quite obvious, Lady Saltzman," he said, and Josette had to do her best to stop from shrinking into the background. "Aristocratic ladies such as yourself should make sure to observe a room before acknowledging it."

Josette bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, to keep herself from talking out of turn. Josette wasn't scared of much, but Lord Kirby definitely scared her. He could ruin her family's reputation in two seconds if he wished to, and somehow Josette had managed to get on his bad side. It was odd, seeing as he found her sister absolutely entrancing. "My apologies, my lord. I'll do better next time."

The man simply grunted in reply, and Josette averted her gaze. She just wanted to talk to her sister - see if Liz could help her come up with something to say to Landon. Though, she was wondering if she would have to think a bit quicker on her feet, considering that Lord Kirby didn't hang around for no reason. And, just as she had suspected, she heard his voice pipe up once more.

"How is Miss Mikaelson? I hope our princess is recovering from her fall? I was told you went to ensure that she was doing alright, Lady Saltzman."

Josette nodded quickly, looking behind her towards the staircase that led up to the room Hope was staying in. "Yes, my lord. I fear she was just dehydrated from the carriage ride. Possibly a headache as well. When I spoke to her, she was feeling much better. She asked for her guards and Lady Chang to be sent up. So, I did just that, before coming down here to inform Landon of Hope's condition."

"Hope?"

"Um, Miss Mikaelson. She asked I call her Hope." Josette said, and she could already feel her cheeks turning a bright red for a moment. How could she have been so stupid as to slip up like that? She had better be careful not to mention that the princess had already given her her own private nickname as well. That surely wouldn't do well for either one of them.

"You will call her Miss Mikaelson, regardless of her wishes, as you are not equals," the man said bitterly, and Josette had to try really hard not to let her face betray her. "I don't want you getting any ideas, Lady Saltzman. I shall go tell my son of the princess's condition. You and your sister may return to your rooms."

The man stalked off, and Josette just stood there for a moment, doing her best to reign in her feelings. She tensed softly when she felt a hand pressing into her shoulder. She recognized the touch instantly as her sister's. She turned to look at her and shook her head instantly. "Rooms. Not here."

The pair strided up the stairs quickly, and the second that the door to Liz's room was shut, Josette turned to look at her. "I know that he is our ruler and that I should be grateful for him to allow us to live in this castle, but…"

"He's kind of an arse," Elizabeth said, leaning forward. "You can say it, Jo. We do have freedom of speech."

"Clearly not, otherwise I would be allowed to call her Hope."

Elizabeth's eyes knitted together slightly as she looked at her, almost as if she was analyzing her. "And why do you care what you get to call her?"

Josette turned quickly to look at her. "I-" she frowned, "What are you implying?"

"Nothing. What are you implying?"

"Nothing."

Elizabeth frowned as she looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Josette said, but she felt like she was betraying herself. "I don't care about Miss Mikaelson other than she is supposed to be Landon's fiancee. That's all."

Why did that not feel like it was all?

The rest of the night had gone by without a fuss. Josette had dinner sent up to her room instead of dining with the rest of her friends. She had a feeling Lord Kirby would have a bit to say if she tried to do so. Besides, she didn't want to have to betray Hope's wishes so soon, even if she had a good reason for not abiding by what she asked. It just seemed simpler to fake a headache, and eat in her room before crawling into bed with a good book.

The next morning, Josette was up before eight. Not that that was surprising, since she was usually an early riser. After calling for her lady's maid, she allowed herself to get dressed for the day - choosing a simple brown dress. She didn't have any plans for the day, though she thought Landon might come calling if he wasn't busy with his fiance. Perhaps their time together would be short, since he had three months to build a foundation with the Mikaelson princess.

"Lady Saltzman?" Josette turned around when she heard her lady's maid's voice. "There was a letter sent for you. Would you like me to read it out loud?"

Josette frowned some. "Who is it from?"

"Miss Mikaelson."

Josette's eyes widened, and she was grateful that only they were in the room. "Um, no thank you, Dana. You can just leave it on the table. I'll read it when I'm done eating."

The girl nodded, before scurrying off. It took everything in Josette not to go for the letter immediately, however she wanted to appear unbothered. Though, deep down, Josette wanted to tear into that letter and see why Hope was writing to her of all people. Why did she feel so drawn to a girl she had known for only a day - not even?

A girl who was meant to be her best friend's fiancee.

Josette sighed a bit, pushing her attention back to her food. She attempted to lose herself in the book she read while shoveling pieces of fruit into her mouth. But everytime she started reading she could only think of her five minutes with the princess. They hadn't meant anything. She was sure that Hope was just writing to thank her for sending up her friends. Though, was that protocol? To write to someone for a thank you? Josette certainly didn't think so.

Finally, when she was done eating, Josette walked over to the table. There, in a gorgeous cream-colored envelope was her name - Lady J. Saltzman. Was that Hope's handwriting? It was hard to tell. Josette picked up the envelope, letting it sit in her hand for a moment as the girl took a seat in the chair nearby. She bit down on her bottom lip, once more wondering what the contents were.

"Oh, just open it," she whispered to herself, before tearing into the letter. When she unfolded the paper, she sighed, before beginning to read the contents - her heart thudding softly just from the first word.

Josie,

I wanted to thank you for taking care of me yesterday after my stunt, as well as for sending up my friends when I asked. I also understand that you told Lord Kirby I was ill - which I suppose I should thank you for also, for reasons you know. It appears that I am to be eternally grateful for what you've done for me in just a few short hours.

I was hoping this morning you might be willing to entertain me. Mister Kirby - my fiance - has asked I meet him for lunch, but in the meantime to do what I please. I was thinking a stroll in the gardens, with you as my guide? If you are to agree, I will be waiting at the front entrance at exactly nine. If not, that is alright too. My thanks are still extended.

Yours dearly,

Hope

Josette had to have read over the note at least three times before she finally set it down. Looking down at the small clock that rested on her nightstand she saw that it was 8:45 in the morning. She had fifteen minutes to make a decision. On the one hand, she could obey Miss Mikaelson's wishes and entertain her - something Josette found herself really wanting to do. On the other hand, she could stay back, and not risk making Lord Kirby angry at her.

It didn't take her long to pin back her hair and begin searching for her favorite pair of walking shoes.

At exactly nine, Josette found herself walking to the entrance of the gardens. Hope was already waiting there, in a beautiful green colored dress. Josette admired its trim for a moment, before looking up to meet Hope's eyes. She noticed them light up when she saw Josette, and she tried her hardest not to think too much about that notion. After all, she'd only known Hope for a few hours. And she was engaged to Josette's best friend.

"Josie! You came!" Hope said, and her smile made Josette smile a bit as well.

"That I did. Um, I thought that it might be nice to take a walk, and you offered so nicely." Josette said, looking up at the girl. She then noticed the absence of guards nearby. "No ensemble today?"

Hope shook her head. "I'm capable of handling myself in small situations. I let them sleep in. Besides, I think one of my guards has come to quite fancy a girl in the castle, though he won't tell me which."

Josette smiled a bit at that. "Well, one can't blame him."

"No, I don't suppose one can."

Josette didn't miss the way Hope's mouth tilted up softly at that. The brunette blushed deeply for a moment, looking away, and through the entrance. "Shall we begin our walk? The gardens are lovely, and I think you'll enjoy them."

Hope nodded, and the two girls began their walk through the path of gardens. Josette did her best to keep her eyes on the path in front of them. She bit down on her lip for a moment - silence slowly settling over them. It didn't feel awkward necessarily, but it wasn't comfortable either. In fact, it was starting to become deafening the longer that it persisted.

Josette wondered why it was like this? Did the two of them truly just not have anything to talk about? Or, a voice in the back of her mind spoke quietly, were they both so terrified that they might have worlds in common? Josette shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought. That wasn't an option. They were fine.

"How are you enjoying the Phoenix Region so far?" Josette asked, wanting to cut the silence, "I hope the castle is to your liking?"

Hope nodded. "The castle's nice. Very big for not very many people, so I find the quiet a bit alarming, but I'll learn to accept it. The people are nice. I did, um, finally sit down with Mister Kirby for dinner last night. He's a gentleman."

"Landon - er, Mister Kirby - he's great." Josette nodded. She had never before had an issue with mixing up what titles and names she was allowed to call people when, but lately she was having a lot of problems. It seemed her brain was more scattered than usual. Probably an effect of the pretty girl to her right.

Hope laughed a bit. "You can call him Landon. You mentioned you two were friends. I hope—" she cut off for a moment, biting down on her bottom lip. "I hope there was nothing between you to, and that my coming here will ruin that?"

Josette couldn't help it - she actually started laughing, shaking her head. "Lord, no. I mean, Landon is great, but there is nothing between us. You aren't ruining anything, Hope. I actually, um," Josette started to blush, glancing at her. "I'm really glad you're here. I haven't had a girl friend other than my sister in so long. Um, not…like, as in a girl who is my friend. Not my girl…friend."

Hope laughed awkwardly, and Josette really thought she might crawl into a hole in that moment. She couldn't believe that she had just done that. That had been absolutely embarrassing. "Well, friends sounds lovely to me, Josie. I love Alyssa, but lately I think she might be a bit distant. After all, she will have to return home, while I stay here for some time."

Josette nodded. "Well, I'll be here."

That is, unless Lord Kirby throws me out for talking to you.

As they took a turn, they ended up in one of the most gorgeous parts of the palace gardens. This was one of Josette's favorite places to come and read. It was lined with different flowers all of bright colors, and there was a gorgeous stone bench that Josette could sprawl out on for hours, if she didn't choose to lay on the grass to the right.

Hope looked in awe, and Josette took a moment to watch over her, before quickly averting her gaze. She couldn't look at the princess like that. Instead, she settled for pointing to a set of gorgeous white roses across the way. "Those are some of my favorites here in the garden. They remind me of my favorite book."

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?" Hope asked.

Josette smiled. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

"That's my favorite book too."

Josette and Hope locked eyes for a moment, both smiling for just a second, before quickly averting their gazes and looking at the flowers again. It was just easier this way. Josette knew that.

"Are we allowed to pick them?" Hope asked, pointing at the white roses.

"I'm sure you're allowed to do whatever you want. You're the guest," Josette said, smiling.

Hope grinned, plucking one off of the wall, and then walking over to Josette. "I think this will look great with that dress," Hope said, reaching forward and pushing the stem into her hair. Josette inhaled sharply as she smelled Hope's perfume from the wrist near her face. She looked at her for a moment, before taking a step back.

"Um, I should go."

Hope frowned deeply, and Josette had to look away to keep from seeing the hurt in her eyes. "Why?"

"I have matters to attend to, that I forgot about. Tea, with my sister." Josette took the rose out of her hair, setting it down on the stone bench, and then turning around. "I'll send someone to come get you in an hour. Take your time in the gardens. They're beautiful."

Josette finally dared to look over her shoulder at the other girl. "And beautiful things deserve to be seen by beautiful people." She said softly, before running off through the garden.

Author's Note:

Thank you guys so much for reading the second chapter of War of Hearts! This one was fun to write - plenty of angst! And that's only the beginning! The future chapters are only going to get worse (or, better, depending on how you look at it lol). I hope you guys liked it as well!

Please don't forget to review! I enjoy hearing what you guys say!

-Carey

Responses to Reviews-

ThatGayNerd: Thank you so much for your review! It put a smile on my face! I'm trying my best to keep at the character personalities! :) I hope you liked this update as well!

Chapter Two: I'm Really Glad You're Here

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