A/n: unfriendly reminder that black lives matter. if that makes you uncomfortable got off my fic & educate yourself.
***
Josie's room was colder than usual when she woke up, making it harder to push the covers back to get out of bed. When she opened the curtains, instead of a bright and cheerful view greeting her, it was dreary and dull. The clouds were grey, moving quickly across the sky as the wind howled. Tiny water droplets were gathering on the window from the pouring rain. The brunette followed ones path with her finger gently down the windowpane until it reached the bottom. Yesterday had been a whirlwind.
After the Mikaelson soldiers (and Hope) subdued the enemy, they had ushered the suitors into the carriages and rushed them back to Lykos Hold. Thankfully no one had died... other than a few soldiers. But that was all anyone knew, the King was keeping it all under wraps.
The number of people interested in vying for the hand of the Mikaelson heir dropped significantly. A great deal of them had already rushed home, a few stragglers waiting until today. Even though Josie was aware of this, she had witnessed people's shock and outrage herself, she was still surprised to see the dwindling numbers when she walked in.
Instead of the grand hall, they had been gathered in a large library. It had thousands upon thousands of books, with ceiling high shelves only reachable by ladder. There were glass doors that opened onto a veranda, no doubt hosting a glorious view. The room itself had long sofas and masterfully crafted wooden chairs. The room felt lived in, Josie thought as she ran her hand along the back of one of the sofas. The roaring fire warmed the room, being a nice contrast to the outside gloominess.
The Lord that had showed the Saltzman twins around that first night was standing by the fireplace, a polite smile on his face as he greeted everyone that entered. They had later learned his name was Lord Rupert Vardemus, and Josie suddenly placed him as one of the men who had been talking to the King that night. That night she had overheard the King's meeting, where he had yelled at everyone. But the Lord looked so composed right now, his posture confident and his smile kind, even if it didn't reach his eyes.
"I would just like to thank you all for your patience while we dealt with that rather... unfortunate security breach." He exclaimed, resting a hand on the fireplace mantel. Josie's eyes traveled to the painting above it. It was a beautiful rendition of a family of three; A mother, a father, and a young daughter. The father was obviously a younger King Niklaus. He had his hands behind his back as he stood menacingly behind a chair, his chest puffed out in a proud way that exuded power. His trusty hatchet was attached to his belt, and he was wearing a green plaid kilt. Hope herself was much, much younger. But Josie could still recognize her. She was standing beside the chair, face without smile, but her eyes were sparkling. The woman sitting in the chair was someone she didn't recognize. She was wearing a gorgeous green gown with gold detailing. Josie thought it looked like what Hope had worn to the grand hall that first day. Even though the woman had a stern expression on her face, the painting was still able to portray a kindness in her dark eyes that Josie couldn't explain. She looked tough, she had to be if she were married to Niklaus. But there was also something about her that was warm and welcoming, Josie knew this woman would always have your back. It made her miss her own mother. Her real mother. Someone who she never had time to know.
"Due to yesterday's... event, the King has decided to take a different approach to your testing." Lord Vardemus started, twisting the giant ring on his finger. "The people who score high enough in this next test will be granted special privileges."
Josie could feel her sisters growing impatience from beside her. This man seemed like the type of person who wasn't very direct. Lizzie just wanted him to get to the point.
"And what are these, special privileges?" The blonde twin asked after raising her hand. Dana was sending her a glare from across the room.
"Well," He clasped his hands together as he replied. "You'll be able to have dinner at the Mikaelson table."
The group started murmuring amongst themselves, clearly excited at the prospect of more time with the Princess.
"And if you do well tomorrow, you may also put in a request for an hour of her highnesses time."
At this a few of the boys starting high-fiving, and the girls were sharing excited glances. Lizzie looked at Josie with a knowing smile, confident in her sisters ability to win over Hope if she had just a moment. Josie wasn't as confident, already starting to worry about how awkward it would be to spend time with the Princess, or how she would mess everything up.
They were dismissed with orders to rest and prepare something comfortable to wear for the next day. Tomorrow would mark the start of their next challenge, and it was going to be a doozy.
*
The contestants had been whisked away to a field beside a big brick building. The closer they got, the louder the clashing sound of metal become. There were also people standing in the field 10 meters away from some wooden dummies.
A King's squire was standing beside Lord Vardemus with a piece of parchment in his hand.
"Today you will be proving your valour through combat."
"What the hell?!" Dana screeched, completely unprepared for this. A few other suitors share her reaction, while the majority were unsurprised, given the King's personality. People like MG and Kaleb were excited, fully knowing this was where they would thrive.
"For those of you who's upbringing has put you at a disadvantage, fear not. You will have a week to practice."
There was more outrage at the amount of time presented, some of the nobility felt like they could argue their way out of this. Whilst Josie was anxious, her twin was absolutely beaming.
"I have a plan." Lizzie said smugly, hands on hips as she watched the unfolding chaos.
"Lord Vardemus," A tall, pale boy with scruffy hair and piercing green-grey eyes spoke over the crowd. "Does King Niklaus really expect us to, fight each other? In combat? To the death?" He had a scandalized lilt to the tone of his voice. The dark skinned boy beside him put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Of course not, Baron Kirby." The Lord directed to the boy. "Or rather, not to death. No, you will follow a points system. At the end of this week, we shall host a mock tournament. In order to pass, you must participate."
He then went on to explain how the points system would work. They would have all the time they could ask for to practice, with soldiers ready to give them advice. The tournament is where the points system would come in handy. There was a set system in each type of combat available explaining how to get points. Combat with a sword or axe would see points won by overpowering your opponent in a certain amount of time. The last person standing with a weapon in their hand won an extra 50 points. Archery was a lot more straight forward, the closer to the center you shot, the better your score. At the confirmation that archery was to be included, Lizzie let out a small squeal of joy.
"To think, I was worried for nothing." She sighed to her sister, straightening up as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Speak for yourself," Her twin replied, trying but failing to keep the bitter tone from escaping into her words. "Unlike you, I hardly know anything about fighting."
Lizzie had been a special child, to say the least. Her moods often influencing the state of their humble dwelling. When the blonde girl was happy, everyone was merry. The servants would even exchange jokes with each other within earshot of the household. But when Lizzie was angry, sad, or just in general upset, the whole castle walked as if on eggshells. It was always either or; her highs the highest highs, her lows... lower than most people's lowest lows they'd ever have. By the time she had destroyed Lord Saltzman's office a few times, he was out of patience. Their final solution seemed to be allowing her to partake in more boyish activities. They tried it all: javelin throwing, fencing, and straight up handing her a club to "have at it". Though these sports allowed a more constructive outlet for her emotions, they never really stuck with her like archery did. From that first moment she pulled back the string, feeling it pull against her strength, watching as everything seemed to slow as she eyed they target in front of her... of course she missed that first shot. But nobody is perfect. No one can attain excellence on their first try. Their ten-thousandth maybe. Lizzie had shot more than that, loosing track of how many times an arrow had struck exactly where she intended on her mark. She was never allowed to hunt real living, breathing targets though. Her parents had thought it bad enough that she learn to shoot. Hopefully they wouldn't need to harm any live beings when the time came for the tournament.
"Remember, you can leave at any time, thank you." They were dismissed abruptly, Lord Vardemus quickly mounting his horse and galloping away. The squire stood awkwardly before them for a few moments, before gesturing behind him to the field.
"Find your sport."
Lizzie was hurrying confidently in the direction of the targets, itching to get her hand on a bow. It had been awhile since she last shot anything. Josie had her bottom lip between her teeth, looking back anxiously at MG and Kaleb.
"So what's the plan?" She asked as she followed her sister, eager to know if everything would be okay or not.
"I'm going to teach you how to shoot."
Josie tilted her head to the side, an unsure expression on her face. She would honestly rather learn to use a sword. Though she wasn't a very confrontational person, there was just something about facing your enemy head on that... made her feel a certain kind of rush. Which confused the girl greatly. She had never been violent, why was she excited by the prospect of it now?
Lizzie accepted the strung bow given to her by one of the soldiers. He had a cocky grin on his face as he stepped forward to show her how to use it. The blonde batted his hands away with a look of disgust, stepping up to the raised wooden platform and drawing an arrow from a nearby barrel. She notched it, eyeing the targets before her instead of shooting. Josie had only seen her sister do this on a few occasions, so she was eager to see how this would play out.
"Which one, dear sister?" She asked, trying to keep from smirking.
"Farthest right." Josie answered and, as soon as she had, Lizzie pulled back the string and let the arrow fly. It smacked into the wooden target with a satisfying thunk, right in the middle of the red circle. A few of the soldiers started catcalling, their sharp whistles piercing the air and drawing attention.
Lizzie flicking her long hair over her shoulders was the only acknowledgment she made to having done anything. She shot a few more targets, nodding when she was finished. They had all hit their marks like she intended.
"See? It's easy." She said to her sister, handing her the bow and motioning at the targets. "Just be confident."
"Uh, okay..." Josie replied, awkwardly holding the bow before her.
"Who shot these?" The King's squire had been making the rounds, writing little things on his piece of parchment. He was now standing behind the gathering, a single brow raised in the direction of the targets.
"Lady Josette Saltzman." Lizzie replied confidently. No one in the crowd knew to refute her words, and Josie was too busy gawking at her.
"Alright, thank you." He said, scribbling something quickly and then walking away. Lizzie was wearing a smug expression.
"I don't think I want to do this, Josie." The brunette said to her sister through gritted teeth, a pointed expression on her face as she emphasized her own name.
"Oh relax," Lizzie replied with an eye roll. "No one is going to question it." She whispered that last part.
***
A/n: comment if you have ever used a bow before I'm curious.