Chapter Text
“Mom, can I play with Rohan and Reimi outside? Reimi says there are new fishes in the river!”
Turning over and over the bread dough, Holly was pondering.
“Well, is Reimi the only one watching over you? Rohan is still a baby, you know, two young children will be troublesome for her...” She sighed. “I'm sorry Jojo, I’d be glad to go with you, but I must finish the bread for tomorrow morning!”
Jotaro pouted and crossed his arms, unhappy. “I can go with her, I won’t be a problem!” He mumbled. “I’m a big boy now..”
Holly burst in laughter -she now looked like grandpa with his loud laugh- and she crouched down to tenderly pat his chubby cheek. Jotaro loved the bits of bread and the smell of flour coming from his mother’s hand and he was sure that his cheek was all white now.
“Right, my favorite big boy!” she giggled. “I’ll see with Reimi if I can give her a hand with Rohan, m’kay?”
The tot beamed and with his usual too excessive strength for a child of his age hugged her, ink hair brushing his mother's thigh. He raised his head to see her, brows frowned, more serious than ever.“I’ll bring you huge fishes and we'll eat them with grandma, I promise.”
She looked at him, a loving smile growing on her face, and she felt like crying of happiness. Jotaro. Her big, beautiful baby.
Looking at the fire, Jotaro was pondering. The fire was miserably dying and crying for nourishment, but Jotaro didn’t move. He simply looked at it while it was slowly but surely passing away. Such pitiful scene.
“Daddy?”
Jotaro jumped, and grumbled; he passed a hand through his messy hair in an attempt to hide his embarrassment and cleared his throat.
“What is it?”
The child trotted till the lukewarm chimney and he could see that she was shivering under her mismatched clothes. He immediately thought that he should buy her new clothes, that it wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t eat for one day or two. He was used to misery, but he didn’t want his little girl to suffer like him. She was his little princess.
“I had a nightmare..” she yawned, stretching out her round arms towards him, “I want a hug.”
An obscure croak from outside grimly resonated, he saw her jump out of fear and he simply patted his knee; she quickly leaped on his leg, pressing her small body against him. He circled her with his huge arms, and engulfed his daughter with his fur coat.
They both fell silent, the fire filling the chilly air with selfish complaints.
“Hey, can I come with you guys??”
Jotaro turned his head towards the source of the noise, a child with pale -almost white! - hair and a huge grin showing his buck-teeth. Jotaro sulked because he wanted Reimi’s attention all for himself for once.
“Of course Pol, come!” Reimi smiled. “We’re going to the river to fish some tasty meals. Do you have a net or something in your possession?”
The nine years old kid frowned, deeply thinking, as he stopped near the duo.
“Weell.. I don’t think we own fishing stuff anymore, but maybe mom has still something? I’m going back, wait for me!!”
He then started to run again, almost tripping – Jotaro snorted – on the old streets pavement, turned back to shout a last “Don’t dare leaving without me!!” and disappeared. Jotaro tugged one of Reimi’s finger.
“I don’t want to wait for him. Let’s elope.”
The maiden laughed out loud, shoulders shaking and a hand covering a lovely smile. The tot frowned.
“What?”
“ “Elope”? My, Jotaro, you’re so romantic!” she giggled and he blushed. Really?
She gently ruffled his hair to compensate his embarrassment.
“Whose the one who learned you this pretty word?”
Jotaro leaned his head into the hand, like a kitten thought with amusement Reimi.
“M’dad.”
Her smile faltered a bit.
“Before the war, right?”
She placed her hands under his armpits and raised him off the ground like he weighted nothing. He squirmed, trying to escape.
“You didn’t see much of your dad in your life, did you?” She pressed him against her chest and he promptly stopped writhing when his head comfortably encountered a soft perfumed chest. “My poor baby..”
Jotaro wanted to say that he surely wasn’t a baby ! but the hand stroking his hair blurred his mind too much as he finally decided to surrender and rest on the offered comfort.
He heard Reimi laugh and he could feel delicate vibrations running near his face.
“But let’s not elope for the moment, shall we? You’re a little young for our marriage right now.”
The boy blushed even more. “.. ’you sure?”
She laughed again. He felt his heart flutter and quickly hide his face in the smelling milk and flowers skin.
They heard a cacophony coming from behind them and Jotaro felt Reimi turning herself to watch the scene.
“Ah, speaking of marriage! Isn’t it Father Pucci over there?”
A small crowd cheered and a shy chortle and a raucous laugh spread, quickly followed by a voice Jotaro didn’t like much, the priest one.
He was always piercing him with judging eyes and making him uncomfortable.
“Jean and Jeanne are finally getting married! Ain’t you happy for them, Jotaro?”
Jotaro didn’t care and only wanted to elope with Reimi and be at the river with her.
The toddler suddenly felt the girl tense.
“And he doesn’t seem alone.” She lowered her tone.”Look, the lord’s son.”
Jotaro reluctantly leaved his comfy carrycot to look behind him.
Indeed, above the joyous crowd, stiffly yet gracefully standing near the priest, he recognized a boy around the same age as him, the Lord’s son Giorno.
“I’m sad, daddy.”
“You’re still awake?” he murmured. “I thought you fell asleep at this point.”
Despite his broad hands he swiftly made and re-made her braids, her long black and blonde hair turning all wavy and tired as her eyes.
“You should sleep, Jolyne.” He untied the tresses again and softly ran his fingers through them. He quietly spoke while lightly massaging her scalp, and the child sighed and relaxed even more against him.
“We’re gonna hunt tomorrow so you need energy. Don’t you want a new dress? Or a new coat?” He saw her eyes blink slower and slower, but he knew his stubborn girl was fighting the fatigue of a long day. “Jojo, we need to stock up for winter. And I need all of your strength for that.” He gently tugged one of her locks. “You’ll tell me why you’re sad tomorrow, okay?”
“Mmmh...” she yawned loudly, stretching her limbs. “Stop doing that..”
“Then go to bed.” He tugged again, impassive.
“Stop!!”
“Bed.” Again.
“Raah, stoop!!” She gave him small weary punches in the arm and he smiled imperceptibly in the dark.
She crossed her arms and pouted. “You mean.”
“I know. Little Jolyne, time for bed.” He placed his hands under her armpits and raised her off the ground like she weighted nothing. She squirmed, trying to escape.
“I’ll show you how to trap rabbits tomorrow.”
No need to say it was illegal, but still. She promptly stopped writhing when she heard this.
“Really?!”
“Mh.” he nodded and walked through the dimly orange lighted room.
“With a collar!?”
“Yeah.”
He deposed his burden on a comfy-looking amount of fur blankets. “Prepare yourself, we’ll go towards the north.”
She looked worried. “We’re leaving this house?”
He started to cautiously wrap her with layers of hair and wool. “Not yet. It’s getting too cold to leave now.”
“Mh..” She look reassured.
Only the lovely face of his daughter emerged from the bed.
“Daddy?”
“Mh?”
“Tomorrow, can we can go to the river?”
Jotaro stopped moving, immobile. “The river?”
She started to yawn. “Yeah, the river. You know, the north river.”
“Yeah, can we swim in the river??”
“Pol. Winter had just begin to left. Do you want to catch a cold?!”
“Reeeiiimi!! Test the water, it’s nice today!! Hey Jotaro, the water is warm enough right??”
“Yeah.”
“Jotaro!! What are you doing in the water?! Don’t follow Pol’s stupid ideas!”
“The water is indeed good, damsel Reimi.”
Reimi blushed.
“No need to use such title for me, Giorno. Call me Reimi!”
The blonde boy looked at her, pondering, then delicately nodded. “Alright, Reimi.”
She smiled. “Good! And now.. Jotaro, please! I’m not joking, I don’t want you to catch a cold!” She quickly made her way till the stony shore and lifted up a completely soaked child. “I’m not joking Jojo!” She tried to dry him up with a blanket Pol had brought with him. “What if you fell ill because of me? Holly and Suzy would be dead worried for you!”
Jotaro mumbled an excuse and let the blanket rub him. He only wanted to see fishes by his own.
“Jean, ain’t you even listening?! I don’t want you in the water! And don’t bring Giorno with you, I don’t want anything to happen to him!”
“Why?”
“I wanna fish before it’s too late.”
He huffed. “Yeah, right.”
Jotaro was so tired. If only his daughter didn’t have such a big mouth, he could sleep straight like a rock. She reminds me of her mother, thought Jotaro, but he quickly regretted to have think of Penny.
He really should be sleeping.
“We’ll fish some meat tomorrow and we’ll start smoking the meat for winter. Now shut your mouth and sleep.” he added harshly.
Jolyne looked hurt by the tone he used on her, and he quickly mumbled an excuse and caressed her smooth hair.
“Because, you know, I know what it is like to have a strict father.”
Giorno nodded and played with some grass. Reimi and him were both sitting on the blanket installed not far from the shore, and while they discussed she always had an eye on the two boys playing in the water.
“Your father is important too, isn’t he? I know he has an important role in the village.” quietly asked the blonde boy. She had a wry smile.
“He’s the tax collector. He’s important only because he forces the other villagers to give him their wheat and money, for your father.”
She lowered her tone. “You know how to hold your tongue, right Giorno?”
He nodded.
“Y’know, my father lost a hand because of your father.” she paused, grinding her teeth. “Villagers didn’t have a single coin anymore because of upcoming war, but your father needed a new battle horse as I heard. So my father extorts the best he could everyone in Morioh, but there was nothing left. So your father decided to cut my father’s hand as a punishment.”
Giorno looked uncomfortable, head down.
“I’m sorry for your father’s hand, missis Reimi.”
“God, don’t call me “missis” Giorno! I’m not married yet. Just Reimi.”
“Sorry Reimi..”
“No, no problems.” She had a genuine smile this time and took his small hand in hers.
“Don't feel too bad about that. I’m just saying that for later, y'know. You’ll be lord one day, so remember that we, serfs, also have souls and emotions.”
She gently pressed her hand and she saw the boy blush. She had a smile, however tinged with melancholy.
“And I don’t want to see my mother sobbing and lament like that ever again.”
“I'm still sad, daddy.”
Lying besides Jolyne, Jotaro – whose eyes were finally about to close – suddenly jumped, startled. He hissed, exhausted.
“For God's sake Jolyne, it's time to sleep !”
“I miss mom.”
Silence fell upon the father and the daughter.
She sniffed. “I want a mom.”
Eyes down, Jotaro erased a tear from his daughter's face. “Y-You know, w-who smells like flowers a-and cake and who sings while doing c-chores.. With a p-pretty dress and.. y-you know... ”
Without waiting he envelopped the child in his arms but she couldn't stop wailing.
“A-And I d-don't even w-what a mom really is !!”
“You're lucky, I don't even know what it's like to have a father.”
Giorno mulled over the question.
“Well, I don't know what it's like to have a mother either.” finally responded the blonde boy.
Half-naked in the river still clothed with hints of winter, the two tots were debating while playfully splashing each other with water.
“But you still have family,” commented the lord's son, “but for me everyone is gone. Father is at war and I refuse to consider the governess Enyaba as a mother.”
“A governess ?”
“Yes. It’s a woman who ought to teach me how to behave in society and she takes care of me.”
“Is she the old hag who follow you everywhere whenever you come to the village ?”
Giorno giggled at the “old hag”. “Indeed.”
Jotaro laughed too and threw water at his rival's face;the blonde child smiled even more and crashed his hands so heavily on the water that the splatters almost reached Reimi, who protested from the bank of the river.
“Ain't your governess going to be mad at you ? Like, I don't know if you're allowed to be with us.” mulled over the small serf.
“I will tell I was with miss Reimi, she said that she was the tax collector's daughter so it should be okay.”
“Oh, okay.”
The lord's son looked apprehensive nonetheless. “I'm worried though. Enyaba doesn't like Reimi's mother..”
Jotaro frowned. « Why ? »
Why the old hag wouldn't like Reimi's mother ? She was nice and sometimes gave him bits of cake.
“She says that a woman shouldn't wear green « indecent » dress like that.” considered Giorno. “She says that a true christian wife doesn't steal her husband's work by bringing money instead of him. That she has a demon inside of her.”
“Enyapoo should close her mouth instead of talking about others.” grumbled Jotaro.
Giorno nodded, but a lost look stayed still on his face.
They play a little then, getting too cold, decided to leave the river. Sun was beginning to seek its bed and all the children were tired of this improvised bathing. Reimi had begun to dry the youngest of the trio up when Polnareff asked a question.
“You have a star on your shoulder Jotaro !”
“I know,” yawned the dark-haired toddler, “mom said it was a family birthmark or something.”
Pol frowned.
“You sure ? It’s weird, because why Giorno has the same star on his shoulder then ?”
Looking at the dead chimney, Jotaro was pondering. After completely soaking his shoulder, his daughter fell like a rock on the bed out of tiredness. He will let her sleep tomorrow morning.
A strident whistle ran through the shabby house.
It was cold in the room.
He should light up the fire again, but it has long ago died. He didn't have the strenght. He wanted to let it die forever and just sleep forever.
But he wasn't alone. His dear daughter Jolyne needed fire to keep herself warm.
Even if he hated the fire, even if he wanted to never see it again and stay in the cold hell of memory, he had to lighted it up once more. For his daughter.
Belladonna... I will offer my blue and transparent skin tomorrow out of love.
Beneath the flower of spring, my body is dyed with timid redness in her arms. Belladonna.
Beautiful woman. Belladonna.
Woman in love.
The footsteps of grief, do not yet resonate.
Belladonna.