The Broken Crown

Chapter 7

Thomas

The Yaguar tribes arrived some days after the engagement, just in time for the coronation. They made an impressive sight, Thomas mused, moving slowly across the hills. They were far enough away that you could not make out the individuals, but in unison, they moved like a great big snake.

Right outside of the gates, they stopped and made camp. There were so many guests inside the capital for the coronation and the royal wedding that it was impossible to fit more people in. The Kahari was known to bring a large amount of people with him – one from each family, some said – but his people did not mind sleeping in tents beneath the sky.

It wasn’t a large part of the court who had made an appearance. Lucretia stood dutifully, a son on each side of her. Adrianne was there as well; except for them, there were only a few others present. He let his eyes move back to the Lamarck girl. She truly was a beauty, as Raymond had made clear to his brother several times. When he had spoken to her in the garden before the engagement, she had seemed clever as well. Clever, but innocent, he had thought. The kind of naive innocence that got people killed around here. And weak, too, having to cling onto empty courtesies rather than speaking her mind.

That was not who he had seen at the feast, though. When she fell, his heart had dropped with her. He remembered the tension in the room. And then, when she stood up, he had felt his heart race upwards again. Afterwards, there had been whispers; not of the fall, but of how she stood up again.

“The show is over.” Raymond nudged him in the side. “Come on, little man, let’s get out of the sun. There are not enough women out here.”

“There are never enough women” Thomas let out a forbearing sigh. “About women,” he then said, lifting his finger as he remembered something. “What about that one, what was her name? Gabrielle, was it? At the welcoming feast.”

“Ah.” Raymond cleared his throat, nodded. “Yes, she... it was rather embarrassing. I got ill. Too much wine, I suppose.”

Thomas gave the younger man a sharp look. “Ill? That’s nothing she could not have fixed.” He elbowed him lightly on his thigh.

“Well.” Raymond looked at him pointedly. “You would know nothing about that.”

He was right of course; Thomas knew nothing about that. He wasn’t even sure whether it was a shame or not. Sure, even with his small body, a whore would not reject him, given enough coin. Maybe a naive baker’s daughter, fantasizing about gold and riches, would let him bed her. If she did, maybe he would have let her fantasy come true.

“Come on.” Raymond shook him out of his reverie, ruffling up his hair. “It was a jest.”

Thomas smiled up at him. Raymond understood. “You should be careful with whom you jest, boy. Maybe someday I will take my revenge.”

Raymond snorted. “It just so happens that you would have to grow a few feet to make that possible, my dear, little friend.”

“I happen to pride myself with my height,” Thomas informed him nonchalantly.

“Is that so?”

“Oh, yes. Just high enough to reach your most sensitive parts, but low enough that you will not notice.”

The taller man let out a laughter that boomed off the walls. “Well, my friend,” he said once his laughter had stilled, “I shall make a point out of taking care of my parts, so that a vengeful little one like you shan’t reach them.”

Thomas joined him in his laughter, although a bit hollowly. His thoughts still kept returning to his imagined baker’s daughter. That was all he’d ever let himself have; an imagination. Most of the time, he was fine with that.