In which Jokaste runs into Laurent again
Jokaste had wanted her son to be king once.
It would have been easy, even though she hadn’t given birth to the king’s son. Damen and Laurent were in need of an heir, and they had written to her multiple times, inviting her and Theo to their court. Jokaste had set their letters aside with the intent to answer them, but then she thought of how the promise of a throne had corrupted Kastor, and how the weight of the crown had taken Damen’s childhood away, and she knew there was only one way to keep that from happening to Theo. She wrote back to Damen and Laurent and told them she would rather be left alone, and then she fled to a village that was farthest away from the new capital to live a quiet life with her son.
Four years later, Laurent found them, although it wasn’t in the way that Jokaste had expected. She had just come back from the market and was on her way to pick Theo up from the place he usually played in when she spotted Laurent. He was dressed like a humble traveler with his hair covered by a woolen cap, but judging from his features and his manner, it was unmistakably him. He was sitting on the ledge of a fountain in the middle of the town square, with Theo right next to him, listening intently to what he was saying.
Jokaste ducked into an alleyway and felt the beginnings of dread pooling at the pit of her stomach, but then she saw dozens of other children gathered around the fountain and relaxed. She knew Laurent liked to walk among common people once in a while. There were rumors about it being circulated around, but she never expected to find him telling stories to village children.
Intrigued, Jokaste stood by the alley and continued to watch them. Laurent seemed to have reached the tail-end of his story and was now handing out little trinkets to the children. He treated them all equally, and didn’t seem to recognize Theo, although Jokaste didn’t think he would since Theo resembled Kastor more than Damen.
She must have dozed off for a bit because the next moment she blinked, Theo was standing in front of her, tugging on her skirt.
“Why are you hiding, mama?” he asked.
“I was going to call you over for supper, but then I saw that you were busy,” Jokaste said.
“I was just listening to Charls tell a story,” Theo said enthusiastically and held up an intricately carved wooden horse. “Look what he gave me! Isn’t it nice, mama?”
“It is,” Jokaste agreed. “Did Charls mention why he’s here?”
“He said he’s here with his husband for business, but he got bored and came to talk to us instead.”
Husband could only be pertaining to Damen, which meant that she had leave soon if she wanted to avoid running into him. But by the time she finally pushed herself to act, Laurent had already looked up and met her gaze. They both froze.
Laurent simply stood there for a moment, as if giving her time to walk away, but Jokaste chose to remain stubbornly in place. Laurent took it as a sign to make his way toward them.
Theo beamed when he saw him approach, oblivious to the tension building up between them. “This is my mama, Charls,” he told Laurent.
“He knows,” Jokaste said before Laurent could pretend that he was meeting her for the first time. “We’ve met before.”
“Really?” Theo said, his voice pitching up into a whine. “How? And why didn’t you tell me?”
“She used to be a friend of my husband,” Laurent cut in, offering a smile to Theo. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time.” It was strange to see him expressing his emotions so openly, and Jokaste vaguely wondered if this was the same person who had entered her cell four years ago.
“I told you I was well, and that I would much rather not be found,” Jokaste said with an edge of hostility to her tone.
“I know,” Laurent said. “We wouldn’t disrespect your wishes like that. We just happened to be passing by.”
Jokaste nodded and after a pregnant pause, she added in Veretian: “I just want him to have a childhood.”
“I understand,” Laurent replied and turned his attention back to Theo. “Are you happy here?”
“Yes!” Theo said without hesitation. “I have a lot of friends here. You met most of them already at the fountain, but there are some who didn’t come play today. Do you want to meet them too?”
“I would love to, but I’m afraid I have to get going,” Laurent said and switched back to Veretian when he addressed Jokaste. “Damen is here. Would you like to speak to him?”
As if on cue, a rumble of hooves sounded on the cobblestones nearby, which could only mean that Damen and his retinue had arrived. But Jokaste was carefully hidden in the alleyway, and with Laurent standing in front of her, there was no way that Damen would see her. She didn’t think she could handle a conversation with Damen anyway, so she shook her head.
“Alright,” Laurent said as he took a step back. “I hope you like your gift, Theo. I have to go now.”
Theo pouted and hugged the wooden horse to his chest. “You should come visit again.”
Laurent smiled at him. “I will.” He ruffled Theo’s hair and inclined his head at Jokaste before turning around to leave.
Jokaste should have left as well, but she couldn’t help but peer out from the alley to watch them. Laurent crossed the town square with quick strides, presumably to keep Damen from coming towards them, but Damen still dismounted his horse to meet him halfway. He gathered Laurent into his arms, and Laurent kissed him on the cheek in greeting. The gesture seemed chaste and intimate at the same time, and Jokaste felt the urge to look away.
She didn’t know what she had expected when she sent Damen to Vere but falling in love with Laurent definitely wasn’t among the outcomes she had envisioned. She found herself wondering, not for the first time, if she and Damen would have loved each other the same way.
Now she knew for sure that the answer was no. Maybe things could have been better for them in another life, but in this life, Damen belonged with Laurent of Vere.
“Is that your friend?” Theo asked as he peaked out from behind her.
He’s you uncle, she almost said, but she settled for a simple nod.
“Don’t you want to talk to him?” Theo prodded.
“Maybe next time,” Jokaste said, feigning exhaustion. “It’s getting late. And besides, Charls said they would be back, right?”
Theo lit up and started chattering about the story Laurent had told him all the way back home.
