Josephine

𝓔𝓹𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓭𝓮 62: 𝓕𝓲𝓼𝓱𝔂 𝓕𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓻𝔂 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓼

September 20, 1979

London, British Democratic Republic (BDR)

"Josey... Josey..." I heard someone whisper.

This person was gently shaking me as well. My eyes opened and I saw Mattéo next to me.

"Good lord..." I grumbled and stretched out my arms.

I looked around, we were in a private aircraft that I believe I had only used a number of times. An example would be my trip to China in 1971.

"Where are we Mattéo?"

"We just landed in London my dear..."

"Oh! London, how splendid!"

I sat up in the reclining chair I was in, that I clearly had slept in on the plane.

"Ooh..." I groaned again.

Mattéo laughed at me, something I was quite surprised by.

"Your majesty, imperial highness,"

We turned to see a guard with a rifle tightly clenched in his hands.

"The airport is secure and we are ready to escort you to your hotel,"

"Excellent, let us go then!"

"Indeed, we have a busy schedule, my dear!" Mattéo replied enthusiastically.

The guard turned and escorted us off the plane and we stepped out into London. It was not what we expected to say the least...

It was cold, wet, and dreary outside. The pavement of the near-empty tarmac was damp and gray clouds blocked out the sun.

"Well, so far England is charming..." I muttered.

"You have never been to England before have you, Josey?" Mattéo asked as the guard escorted us towards a waiting car.

"Mattéo are serious? Americans and Englishmen have been rivals since the 1770s!"

"What about in 1902?"

I could see his growing smirk from the corner of my eye.

"That was purely for ethical reasons!" I snapped, "We would've annihilated those pesky Brits had they not switched sides!"

Mattéo nodded. He was probably wondering why I was so adamant about visiting England if I couldn't stand it. The answer was more complex than I would like... as much as I despised the English, they had offered to house us and pay for our visit for a few days. Considering Mattéo and I had been looking to travel all across Europe we were accepting any and all hospitality, I was forced to accept.

Even from the bloody English.

"Her majesty and the imperial highness are approaching the vehicle," The guard said into his radio.

"Clear!" A voice on the other end crackled.

The guard opened the car door.

"After you milady," Mattéo said in an awful accent.

I couldn't restrain my smile as I slid in. It was actually very luxurious; with leather seats, some cool air slowly pumping into the car. A small light was on, there was a small ash box for men who wished to smoke. That was one thing I made Mattéo swear to never do. After Conroy suffered from cancer for eight years, I couldn't bear to see my husband suffer like that. I wouldn't allow it under any circumstances.

"What are you thinking about over there my dear?" Mattéo asked as he slid in next to me.

"Hm? What do you mean?"