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The sun was shining orange in the first moments it touched the lands of hers. Small beads of water covered the railing of the balcony, she collected them idly with her fingers dancing on the marble. It was early morning, quiet and peaceful, she almost enjoyed it, breathing in the fresh air over the greens of her fields.
Jokaste was more eager to be at the trade negotiation she had planned. She had a meeting with other merchants with a possible outcome of selling even bigger sums of his product of crops from her lands. They needed to agree on a price before summer took hold of all of them. She favored that kind of excitement over days spent on the farm guiding the workers and the servants.
When there were complications or developments in motion it was more fun. That was a task she could work on, that was something that did not bore her into oblivion. That was something she lived for. Amongst few other things.
There was a small noise behind his back, door opening and soon bare-footed steps got near her. She smiled at her girl as she climbed next to her up on the couch. The girl of her late husband was holding his brother, Jokaste's blood, with care. The baby used to wake up this time and the girl did not let the habit of their morning spent together die down.
Jokaste pulled the girl, who were still holding his little brother, into her lap. The girl laid her head to Jokaste's stomach. The boy was in and out of sleep as he was carried from his bassinet to the fresh air, but soon fell asleep in his sister's embrace. For a moment Jokaste thought about her late husband, how much he would have loved to see this sight, the three of them.
Jokaste did not miss the irony of it. Out of the three lovers she had in her young adulthood two of them were dead and the only one living was the one who made her life much harder in the first place.
With her still wet fingers she started to comb the girl's hair as she was humming to his little brother. She wasn't bother by her mother's cool finger, she was of Vaskian origins, body not accustomed to such warm weather.
In these moments while only birds and her little girl was singing, when the promise of a new deal was in the air, Jokaste felt alive. She felt like every mistake she ever committed was not missteping but necessary things she needed to make in order to be here.
"What's going to happen today, mama?" her girl asked, when the sun was yellow and were brighter than any other time that week. She was serious about understanding the business her mother was so keen on.
"Today?" Jokaste smiled turning to look at her round face. "Today, were going to secure our kingdom."