mona stark ♕ the lady igraine (dereines) wrote in mythopoeics, @ 2012-05-24 01:50:00 |
|
|||
Time had been taken out of Igraine's morning to arrange her hair and dress in her finest before meeting with her escort. Conditions in the ludus likely weren't suitable for a lady, but still she meant to see Drake after leaving their girls with the only servant girl she could trust. Since the fight list had gone up, she couldn't bring herself to be surprised that Drake's name hadn't been on it. It wasn't a matter of being foolish -- she knew he was there under his true name like everyone else appeared to be. But who?
She was escorted without a word to where the gladiators were being contained, all the while keeping her wits about her. It was no time to drop her guard.
Dearest Theseus had been occupied with training, ribbing some of his fellow gladiators and causing a bit of trouble through some harmless pranks. But when a whisper began somewhere and came down to him that his wife was about, he found himself grinning.
To be married to Mona again was amusing. She was his favourite of wives right now, among the three that he had married in his life. He supposed she could easily rival Hippolyta from long ago (how would the Amazon queen take that?). But as the daughter of Ares was not there, Mona could occupy that spot alone. She'd given him the desired daughter he always wanted (too many boys came forth from his seed, he complained to anyone who would listen). That mattered.
Fist against his cheek, he watched as his wife came into sight, not rising to greet her but waiting for her to just be near enough to hear him. "I hope you watched where you stepped. It can get a bit filthy here when wine and whores are introduced. One of the men purchased some for the other night for a number of us."
The filth had been taken notice of, but Igraine knew better than to turn her nose up at it. This wasn't what they'd asked for. None of this had been asked for, and so once she was within two feet of her ex-husband, she came to a stop, fingers curling into the soft material of her dress to lift it from her ankles.
"And what have you been doing, Drake, while other men were taken in by a woman?" Or several.
"Thinking of you." This place was not real and his married to her was false, but his fondness for her was real enough for him to not need these women who did not exist. Never let it be said Theseus of Athens didn't have a few good traits.
Though perhaps telling her what he did with those thoughts was not necessary. "And of the girls I aim to see when I'm out of here." Looking around her, he seemed to be searching for someone. "You should be brought something to sit on."
"I'll stand," she assured him, taking a moment to glance around. The conditions were far from ideal, but Igraine imagined it could've been worse. She knew Drake could handle anything thrown his way. He was resilient in that way.
A sigh was swallowed. "Drake, I'm not foolish enough to believe you were relieved of fighting. I didn't see your name on the list." Her eyes sought out his, searching for the answer she hoped his lips would provide.
His lips would provide her a broad smile. "That little detail brought you over? It mattered enough for you to want to see me to ask that." He then laughed (how his ego was swelling at the moment).
"Do you have any guesses to who I am or should I just tell you? I've known for a long time but it's never been something that had to come up before."
She brushed a piece of blonde away from her face, not once taking her eyes off her (ex-)husband. Countless questions had brought her to him, but what didn't bring her over was worry. She'd been a wife to two men who saw more battle than she ever would. A good wife didn't worry. A good wife believed her husband would be victorious and return home safely. And so she believed the same of him.
"I'm not here to guess, Drake." Her arms crossed loosely over her chest. "Tell me."
Without further delay, he gave her what she wanted, wondering whether it would make any difference at all. To be husband to someone as fantastic and well-known as him. Though God forbid anyone compare him to the Theseus in that film of last year. Handsome face chosen, terrible direction of his life. He'd ended up hoping Mickey Rourke's character would just end that Theseus.
"Theseus of Athens."
Though it wasn't the name Igraine expected, she didn't feel surprise. She'd known coming in that Drake had once been a reincarnate like her, had known ever since the bizarre projections. His name had been on the list. If she remembered correctly, it was versus two others. But a queen was expected to believe her husband would survive a battle. This was no different.
She knelt down next to him, careful not to drag the bottom of her dress in the dirt. A smaller, slimmer hand came up to lay over his. "Theseus of Athens, my name is Igraine."
A better man might have frown over a woman as regal as Igraine kneeling beside him, would have told her to rise and not behave so. Theseus was a selfish one, finding that her position gave him the right sort of pleasure and it had, after all, been her choice. Who was he to tell her what to do?
"An Arthurian." Like his son. "The mother of Arthur Pendragon and a queen in her own right." Laying his other hand over hers, he stroked the bones of wrist with one long finger. "I'm lucky, then, as much as Nora is. She has strong blood and strong parents.
"Remind me to spoil her mercilessly when we get home."
For the first time in what felt like days, Igraine allowed a small smile to grace her lips. It felt just right.
"Somehow I feel you wouldn't let me forget."