The Spoils of War (COMPLETED)

New Friends

The next morning Jasmine found herself in a difficult situation. When she took the job she told herself she could do anything, but this was not something she thought she would find herself in the middle of.

"I saw her first."

"No! I am better than you so you should take a step back."

"You are uglier than a horned lizard! A beauty like her deserves better."

Two men stood on either side of her arguing over who could ask her out completely neglecting the most important part, her decision. Obviously she would choose neither, but the two were like dogs and she the bone.

Glancing around the room Jasmine's eyes locked on a pair of gems across the room. His fiery red hair stuck out in the crowd of browns and blondes. Her own eyes must have relayed a message of urgency because the young man wrinkled his brow and stood up. The frown looked unnatural on his face like he wasn't used to the action.

He approached and both of the arguing men were none the wiser. They just continued to yell insults at each other while talking about how attractive they felt she was. When he stood only a few feet away he offered his hand. "This would have never happened if Morgianna was still here. You look like you could use a hand. Are you here to join the guild?"

She took his hand on impulse while glancing at the two men who still seemed in their own world. "I am going to be working here as a housekeeper, while doing miscellaneous tasks and such. I technically do not start for a few days but I will be living here for now and decided it is best to get acquainted early." A blush highlighted her cheeks as she fiddled with her dress. She had spewed so much information without even thinking about if she could trust him.

Thadeous looked at her but his heart didn't feel any of the excitement he used to when looking at Morgianna blush. Yes the girl in front of him was beautiful, worthy of men fighting over...but she was everything that Morgianna wasn't. Blonde hair and bubbly shyness, she was timid and needed help. She is...alive. Just like everyone else he got his visits but they didn't bring back the warmth that their banter usually did, instead, he felt cold, hollow as if his insides had been carved out. "Well if you ever need anything, my name is T." He suddenly wanted to run away and lick his wounds. The hair on the back of his neck stood up but he didn't turn around.

"Be nice. Don't give her the welcome that I gave you." A giggle sounded behind his ear and them the cold chill was gone. Morgianna wanted him to be nice to this girl so as her friend he would try.

Before he could even get a chance to warn her that they should leave before dumb and dumber noticed it was too late.  The bigger of the two turned with a red face and pointed a finger at Thadeous. "Hey! Just because you are young and attractive doesn't mean you can swoop in and steal my girl!"

"Your girl? I already told you that I saw her first!"

Now the argument had started anew but this time with Thadeous getting the brunt of the insults. It felt like after hours of arguing that couldn't have really been more than 10 minutes the men started to get violent. The fight was one-sided as Thadeous mainly stood in front of Jasmine while deflecting the blows.

Jasmine was scared, she didn't know why they would fight over her when she didn't even know them. She wanted to find Killian or Silas to break it up but saw no familiar faces in the crowd that looked on in boredom.

Tears were pooling in her eyes, ready to tip over and spill down her porcelain cheeks. "Hush now, don't cry. Girls are ugly when they cry." Her head whipped towards the new voice and the first thing she noticed was the crescent moon on the young man's forehead. The man with long silvery hair looked over at the men who were fighting and cleared his throat before saying one word. "Silas."

The whole room became so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone looked around anxiously as if the man himself would appear out of thin air and smite them where they stood.  The two men who had been fighting over her looked green in the face. They looked at each other and back at Thadeous and Alistar in an acknowledgment that needed no words before they fled out the front door.

"I am sorry you had to deal with all that. I would have come over sooner but honestly the show was stage-worthy. The cute clueless girl fought over by ravenous beasts in an attempt to win her affections." Alistar moved his hands dramatically as if life were a play and they were the actors. Where Thadeous seemed warm and bubbly this guy gave Jasmine the opposite feeling.

Her foot slid back almost of its own free will. A motion that caught Alistar's eyes immediately. He wanted to laugh at her behavior. There were many people she needed to be wary of but he was not one of them. Truly he only helped because she looked like the girl Alaric had mentioned but there was no way his friend would be interested in such a seemingly fragile girl.

"Where are my manners, you can call me A. I hope you don't mind that I heard your conversation just now and I would like to offer my friendship while you work here." Alistar did an exaggerated bow that could make any girl feel flustered. Truthfully he had seen Morgianna appear and then leave quickly which piqued his interest. He knew she had purposefully made herself visible to him, probably luring him in like Fish with bait. However, he had been hooked. He wanted, no needed to know why this girl was important. In the meantime he would make friends with the squirrel of a girl in front of him.

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Word count before note:1043

School is kicking my butt this semester. I live in a hour without internet, trying to survive a semester of only online classes. 😭