"You..."
Laurent blinked as he saw the people seated around the huge oak table adorned with fleurs-de-lys and plump ceramic jugs filled with wine.
It was one of the smaller ballrooms in the palace, used for political meetings or receptions for courtiers requesting an audience.
Waiting for the King of Vere and Damen were some of the best soldiers who had fought by their side almost two years ago: Jord, Lazar, Aktis and Pallas.
Not far away sat the physician Paschal, Loyse de Fortaine and Lord Berenger with Ancel on his lap.
Nikandros also stood with a cup of wine in his hand, conversing with Makedon. Charls, not far away, was wide-eyed and standing in amazement next to his assistant Guilliame.
"We received your invitation, Lamen! Thanks for the honor!" Charls declared, standing up and bowing solemnly.
There were some people who weren't only loyal to Damen and Laurent in their attempt to regain the throne, but who were also on the verge of being beheaded and impaled on a stake for alleged treason against Kastor and the Regent. These were people who were fiercely loyal to the King of Akielos and the King of Vere.
Laurent was used to people always bowing to him, but the blush rose on his cheeks when these people bowed at the same time when he arrived.
He was relieved when Damen waved them all to their feet and preceded them with the words:
"I'm glad you could come to Laurent of Vere's birthday party. Please treat us as friends..."
Laurent's back was a little stiff next to Damen's and he put a hand around his arm to
pull the Akielon man's face a little closer.
"Did you convince the people who were on our side to come to a private party...?"
"No, I didn't have to convince them. I just invited them. Unfortunately, not everyone who fought on our side is here, but it was necessary to leave some people at their posts... Lady Vannes had to take care of the preparations for receiving the entourage of Vask. Lydos is taking care of the accommodations for the troops of Akielos."
Laurent asked:
"Did they come for my birthday?"
"Yes. I thought a private party would be interesting before a political party..."
"Right, thanks."
Laurent's cheeks flushed as he walked alongside Damen toward the guests, and the King of Akielos was well aware of the Veretian man's inability to receive people who were there for him.
Perhaps Laurent was used to using his smoothness, charm, and intelligence in dealing with people in politics; or in the army, where he needed a sharp tongue to command his men. But this was new territory for Laurent.
Laurent wasn't seen with friends. He didn't even let other people near him. But Damen knew he had friends and that he was a young man of twenty-two, even though he ruled a kingdom.
"Exalted, Your Majesty!" greeted Pallas and Aktis as the two kings passed them.
Ancel threw back his flaming hair as he bowed beside Lord Berenger, but he kept a smart smile on his face.
He was obviously a follower of the Akielon and Veretian fashions spread by Charls, and wore a short chiton with bows on the long sleeves.
Lazar stared open-mouthed at the bare legs of Lord Berenger's pet. Lazar definitely had a thing for legs.
"Your Majesties, we're honored by this invitation. The gift in Varenne's name has already been delivered to your servants." Lord Berenger explained with a solemn bow.
Damen knew that Lord Berenger had put himself in danger when he was at the Regent's court. The courtier offered funds and passage through Varenne to help Laurent's cause.
Ancel threw back his fiery hair once more and said with a smile that melted bronze:
"I assure you that the gift this time isn't a blowjob for the King of Akielos!"
Lord Berenger's nudge to Ancel made a noise and caused Lazar's mouth to open even wider.
"Ouch, my lord, this is just a joke! Hadn't we been told it would be a feast without formalities?" Ancel complained, grimacing in pain. "I haven't seen the King of Akielos in a long time. I thought it would be a good way to make him comfortable..."
Laurent kept his countenance up, but there was an expression of dismay on Damen's face.
"No, this isn't a good way to make me comfortable. I thank you for your presence at King Laurent's birthday, Lord Berenger and Ancel..." said Damen formally.
"You look good in those Akielon clothes, Exalted. That's not the memory I have of you from that day in the bower, believe me..."
Of course, Ancel mentioned again the time when he had blown Damen in public when everyone thought the Akielon man was a slave.
Damianos didn't want to deal with those memories.
"You should have forgotten that by now, Ancel." replied Damen, blushing a little.
Damen looked over Lord Berenger's shoulder to see Pallas turn his head toward Nikandros and move his mouth silently as he asked:
"Who is that?"
"A Veretian man. Don't think too much about it..."
Finally, Laurent raised his pale eyebrows and said sternly:
"Perhaps I should ask Lord Berenger to lend me your tongue again, Ancel."
"Always at your service, Your Majesty..."
"Forgive us. He's still young..." Lord Berenger apologized and pulled Ancel aside, while Lazar followed the red-haired pet with his widened eyes, receiving a nudge from an irritated Pallas.
Then it was the kings' turn to speak to Charls, who had enchanted eyes next to his assistant Guilliame.
"Your Majesty! King Lamen!"
The four men paused for a while and chatted while Charls told them information about the cloth trade and news from his travels through distant kingdoms.
"Empress Vishkar of Vask recently united with her concubine Pari and made her her consort. I know why I got all the fabrics and wedding decorations for the kingdom. It was a wedding befitting an empress. I think the other concubines and Vishkar's own husband were jealous. But I think, faced with such a woman, it's only natural that Empress Vishkar herself would lose her head..." - Charls said with an absent look.
Guilliame, standing next to Charls, nodded emphatically. Laurent's eyebrows drew together almost imperceptibly.
"I had heard of a marriage. Is Pari as beautiful as they say ...?"
"Reality surpasses all imaginings and comments. I've never seen a more beautiful woman, and believe me, I've experienced much, Your Majesty, and traveled to many distant lands. But tonight, Your Majesty will have the opportunity to see Pari with your own eyes..."
"She'll come?"
"Yes. As a representative of the Emperor..."
After a while, Damen and Laurent greeted Paschal and Loyse.
Damen couldn't help but notice that Laurent briefly put his arm around the lady who now presided over Fortaine and whispered something in her ear. Loyse was the only woman in the group, and with a solemn gesture she nodded discreetly to the King of Vere.
When they reached Nikandros and Makedon, Damen noticed how Laurent's rather sarcastic demeanor when addressing Nikandros and his rather bemused demeanor when speaking to Macedon stood side by side almost syncretically. Laurent looked like two kings of Vere.
"I'm surprised you bothered to come all the way from Ios for a birthday party, a few bottles of wine, and a piece of cake, Nikandros..." Laurent said. His relationship with the Kyros of Ios had always been strained and tinged with suspicion.
"I like cake. And I like Damianos too..."
"Enjoy just the cake!"
Damen cleared his throat and Makedon butted in, chuckling and patting Laurent hard on the shoulder.
"You're still a snake, young man!"
"And you're still an old bull!"
Makedon laughed even louder and patted Laurent on the shoulder again. Damianos noticed that Makedon was the only one who seemed to forget that Laurent was now King of Vere, and treated him with the informality befitting a younger relative.
"Take good care of him, Exalted! I like Laurent as much as if he were one of my brother's bratty children!"
"I wish you were my uncle..."
"And I'd have liked to teach you something, Laurent, and punch that dirty Regent who was your real uncle in the face, if I had known him."
"I'd like that, too."
"Thanks for inviting me. I brought the griva! Let's all drink!" - Makedon declared - "And maybe you and Nikandros can put aside this old enmity..."
"It was already put aside when Laurent was in Ios and we had a long summer getting to know each other. The longest I've ever had. I tried to teach the King of Vere the wrestling of Akielos. Too bad he doesn't have the physique for that kind of sport..." said Nikandros, sipping his wine.
"Wrapping yourself around another naked man as a sport is actually more Nikandros' style..." replied Laurent impassively.
"You were clothed the whole time..."
"I took off my clothes when Damianos was teaching me. He fights better than you."
"I've fought Damianos before. I agree that he has more patience with beginners."
"Were you a novice when you fought him?"
"A little, but not so inexperienced as the King of Vere, who fumbled with his own laces..."
"Better than falling on your own cock, Nikandros..."
Damen cleared his throat and observed the scene as did everyone else in the room. Obviously, Nikandros was a strong opponent in Vere's verbal combat method. Perhaps he'd even be crowned. But he argued with Laurent and Damen waved him to silence. Makedon interjected with a witty laugh.
"This is a fun cultural exchange! Take good care of the King of Vere, Exalted... This boy has a scorpion on his tongue and I respect that..."
Nikandros rolled his eyes and muttered:
"On the contrary! Damen has prepared a surprise birthday party in honor of the King of Vere. Laurent must make an effort! Try to be worthy of the King of Akielos!"
Laurent narrowed his blue eyes.
"You think I'm not worthy of Damianos, Nikandros? Damen stuck his tongue up my ass last night because we had no oil! I almost fainted and even forgot my own name. He did it of his own accord. So, I think I'm quite deserving of the King of Akielos..."
At this sentence from Laurent, Nikandros opened his mouth and then closed it again. And as usual in such situations, the sentence was said at a time when the room was silent. Loyse bit her lip. Paschal looked away. Ancel patted Lord Berenger on the shoulder and slapped his mouth with his other hand to stifle a laugh.
Damen looked at his men, unsure if they had even heard what was said in Veretian, while Makedon laughed heartily.
As for Damianos... Well, Damianos was looking for a hole in the ground to bury himself.
"...And I give Damen satisfying blowjobs when he comes home from his trip! I enjoy it too and make sure he cums calling my name. And I don't need a pet for that! I can satisfy my man myself!", Laurent continued, changing his voice toward Ancel.
Damen ran his hand over his hot face, thinking that perhaps throwing himself under the oak table wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe it was Laurent's inability to be friendly with others. Maybe it was because of Vere's manners, which weren't shy about revealing a couple's intimacy. Maybe it was both.
Charls, a man who had seen a lot, explained something to Guilliame in private, making a circle with his fingers as his apprentice's eyes widened.
"For heaven's sake, Laurent... This is... I'm sorry..." said Nikandros, walking dazedly to Pallas and Lazar.
"You made Nikandros blush like a thirteen-year-old boy seeing a naked woman. I think you won with that, Laurent of Vere... In Akielos it's not customary to tell what goes on in the bedroom of two lovers..." - Makedon explained patiently.
"And how do people know that a couple is really fucking?"
The man looked thoughtful:
"Usually it's enough for the people involved to know, but you can also tell from the faces of the couples. And by the face of Damianos of Akielos here, I think you're not lying... Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get my gift for the King of Vere..."
Damen had long known that Laurent, when he became reactive, had a foul mouth. And ever since they had first slept together in Ravenel, the Akielon man had seen in his young lover a morbid desire to insert into any random conversation with anyone the fact that they had both 'fucked', to use Laurent's words.
Damianos didn't know if this was immature behavior on Laurent's part or personal satisfaction in overcoming his own obstacles to sex. In any case, Damianos was embarrassed and his reactions weren't too different from Nikandros'.
As they approached the red-faced Jord, Damen was sure that these confessions of the king were also embarrassing to the Veretian soldiers. Come to think of it, Jord never mentioned to the soldiers what he did or didn't do with Aimeric when the two were together, in order to preserve his privacy.
"Your Majesty Laurent, Exalted Damianos!"
"Jord, come, sit next to me! Bring Lazar too, if he'll close his mouth and stop ogling Ancel..." ordered Laurent, patting him on the shoulder.
A few minutes later, everyone was seated around the large table enjoying wine, grapes, cheese, and sweets. Isander, Laurent's Akielon slave who now worked as one of his servants, brought a golden plate of grapes for his master, but when he tried to shove it into the mouth of Laurent, Damen took the plate away from the doe-eyed man.
"You can let me do it myself..." - and Damen took a small purple grape in his fingers and brought it to Laurent's open lips, feeling the Veretianman's mouth touch his fingers.
"You're still jealous of Isander..."
"I see you've made sure your favorite slave remains among the royal servants..."
"He's efficient. And he's learning Veretian. I wouldn't pat him on the back and leave him to his own devices here in Vere. He'd end up in the hands of some nasty man who has a fetish or a hatred for Akielons..."
With a grim face, Damen served Laurent another grape.
Ancel, still sitting on Lord Berenger's lap and munching on a pastry with rose cream, said:
"The emancipation of the slaves, if not well planned, will be above all a disgrace to the slaves themselves..."
Berenger discreetly squeezed Ancel's waist and asked him to be quiet, but Laurent now looked at the redhead with renewed interest as he asked:
"Are you against it...?"
"I'm not against it, but I think there's a risk of thousands of pets falling by the wayside if they don't fuck or serve because they don't know how to do shit... And thousands of courtiers who, if they don't have a pet, start making bastards like rabbits that go into the Crown's pockets. To appease the spirits, the pets will be hired as contractless prostitutes and nothing will change in Vere except instability in the lives of the pets..."
The table fell silent and Laurent was still staring at Ancel with narrowed eyes.
"So, I think, Ancel, that you have no idea how to do shit ..."
Lord Berenger's pet shrugged, his red hair falling over his bare shoulders where the long sleeve of his chiton hung down:
"I know how to fire dance. And I can sing a few songs. Nothing that would guarantee me a roof over my head and three meals a day. Nothing that would make me even dream of buying this..." Ancel said, showing his ruby necklace.
"Forgive Ancel's words. He's very frank and usually says what he thinks..." - lord Berenger explained, putting his arms protectively around the other man.
Damen noticed, however, that Laurent put a hand on his chin as if studying Ancel. Lazar had stopped eating and was staring at the pet.
"Actually, I'm more interested in what he said than I'd have been a few minutes ago. You've been taking reading and writing lessons at the library, Ancel..."
"I do. But I've no intention of reading Isagoras to my master, and I still find Berenger's books boring. I could die of boredom, and if it weren't for me, my handsome master would still be locked in his room reading Isagoras and getting a blowjob every five years."
"You talk a lot about blowjobs..."
"I'm a Veretian man after all..."
"I didn't know that was a Veretian heritage..."
"But Your Majesty knows how important they are..."
"Don't abuse my good humor, Ancel! Reading and writing lessons..."
"I recently read my first book. It's called 'The Fox and the Fence'. Berenger says it's a children's story, but for me, it's about what fools' people are who try to catch a fox in such an ordinary trap and think that freedom is also something as ordinary as a meadow without food."
"And why do you want to learn to read and write? Are you still trying to climb the social ladder?"
Ancel put his arms seductively around Lord Berenger, making the man blush a little.
"I've already found my position at court. I just want to keep it. When I was spying on the Regent's plans for my master, the other pets and I communicated with each other by drawing patterns and symbols on our hands and on the plaster of the walls, and everyone thought we were very cute, like silly children drawing pictures in the house, but we confabulated about the Crown Prince's entourage and the Regent's steps. Pets and slaves communicate this way. Berenger said I might need the letters one day, and I thought I'd give it a try ..."
Jord listened to the report, and asked:
"What symbols did you use?"
"Ordinary symbols. I created our own alphabet of codes. King Laurent was the symbol of the star, the Regent was a rotten apple, Lord Berenger was a book, and the armies were a horse... Nicaise saw us confabulating once. I thought he was going to betray us, but instead, he warned us that Laurent of Vere must be a sapphire because the star was so fucking obvious..."
"Lord Berenger, bring Ancel to the next Council meeting with the courtiers..." ordered Laurent in a determined voice.
"Your Majesty?!"
"We need a spokesman for the pets, and I think Ancel is just what I'm looking for. He'll be more useful to me than Jeurre or Chelaut..."
Ancel blinked questioningly into his deep green eyes:
"Are you calling me to the Council, Your Majesty?"
"No, I can't change Council members on the fly, but I can call up alternates and spokesmen. Improve your reading and writing skills. Come with Lord Berenger. I need someone to nudge you at strategic moments... "
Lord Berenger, feeling honored, bowed his head, but Ancel shook his handsome face.
"What will the Council say about the King of Vere taking a prostitute to political meetings?"
"That the servility and whorishness that the Regent has allowed to prevail in Vere for years must be eradicated, I hope..."
Damen was also impressed by Ancel's intelligence. He still remembered the episode in the bower, where the young man had ingratiated himself sexually in order to obtain benefits.
Ancel leaned down and pressed a kiss to his master's cheek.
"You see? The King of Vere likes my ideas! I don't have to read all those boring books to be smart..."
"No, you don't have to... You just need to be yourself, my dear..."
Lord Berenger's endearments flowed spontaneously from his mouth and the tender way in which they were said made Ancel blush and Lazar let go of the Veretian pet's legs.
Laurent paused for a moment and stared at the couple while Ancel held Lord Berenger's gaze and smiled.
The rest of the morning passed quietly, and after a quarter of an hour, lunch was served. Meanwhile, Damen saw Makedon get up and speak to someone at the door. Then he sat down. Then he stood up again. With an excited expression and rubbing his hands, he finally explained:
"The actors from the north are here. Allow me to give you my gift, Laurent..."
Damen raised his eyebrows as he saw a rather plump young woman with short, very blond hair enter accompanied by a tall, olive-skinned man carrying pillows under his clothes. A third, googly-eyed man with an oversized lion pendant on his lapel came in, accompanied by another rather thin actor wearing a monster mask. Laurent stopped and looked around, as did everyone else.
Nikandros rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe his eyes while Damen realized what was going on.
"You brought a traveling burlesque theater from the north of Akielos to the King's feast, Makedon?!" asked Nikandros with his mouth open.
Damen looked at the actors and recognized what they were playing. It was a satire on him, Laurent, the Regent, and Kastor. This was the burlesque theater of Akielos, which appealed to the tastes of the roughest soldiers and men who worked in the port. Occasionally they performed in taverns and paid their stay with a dose of undemanding humor.
Damen had seen such company when he was eleven years old and had been warned by his father that he should attend the royal theater of Akielos rather than entertain himself with debased debauchery.
"I thought the King of Vere deserved a cultural immersion in Akielos..." explained Makedon.
"This isn't the culture of Akielos, Makedon..." retorted Nikandros with some resentment.
Laurent watched the actors curiously and looked at the girl with short blond hair.
"I suppose you're me..."
"With thirty kilos more and dying in these Veretian clothes, Your Majesty. I'm honored to meet the legendary kings of the Sister Nations..." - replied the young woman in Veretian with a strong Akielon accent from Sicyon.
Laurent's gaze roamed over Damen with the pillows under his clothes, the wide-eyed Kastor who looked startled, and the Regent with the red cape and monster mask who nodded respectfully at him.
Damen thought he saw a nervous laugh at the corners of Laurent's lips.
"Why haven't we been to the theater in Ios before, Damianos?"
"We can go if you want,"- he added, lowering his voice significantly so as not to be heard by the actors, "but this isn't a real theater..."
"I want to see it. Please, start." - Laurent decided.
Damen exchanged an unspoken glance with Nikandros, who was drinking another cup of wine. Makedon rubbed his hands together as if he owned the theater company. The Veretians settled into their high-backed chairs to watch the performance.
Pallas and Aktis gulped.
It was bad. It was really bad. It was like wishing to become something and then getting stuck forever in this embryonic endeavor. Damen couldn't remember if he had laughed at the traveling theater when he was eleven, but he remembered that he hadn't urged Theomedes to return there, which he did when he wanted something badly.
Synthetically, the actors interpreted the conflict between the kings and their usurpers in a burlesque way. The men of Akielos, Makedon excluded, were ashamed to present this to the Veretian king and were ready to be called barbarians again.
Charls and Guilliame paid respect to the actors, but there was an uncertain blush in their faces.
When Kastor stumbled and fell in his attempt to ascend the throne, knocking the Regent to the ground, Makedon slid back and forth on his chair laughing, accompanied by the nervous laughter of Ancel and Laurent, which surprised everyone.
Then the burlesque Damen, treated like a slave at feeding time, bit Laurent's hand, who in turn grabbed all the food and sat down on a chair to faithfully imitate Laurent on the royal throne. The bored look, the crossed legs, and the indifferent expression.
A whip in his lap...
Until the Regent pushed him off the throne so that he sprawled on the floor, but finally fell into the arms of Damen's actor.
Why were there so many falls? The pillows of Damen's actor came out a little from under his clothes as he stood up and Nikandros looked down at his empty goblet and emptied himself a little as well.
Then, when the Regent stood up and stumbled (whether because of the bad script or the mask blinding the actor is unclear), Laurent's actress jumped in fear on Damen's actor's back and covered his eyes so that he almost accidentally cut Kastor in half with his sword.
Loyse gave an undignified laugh. Jord, who stood frowning next to Lazar, tried to keep up. Paschal had a similar expression to Nikandros and looked like he needed some salves.
"I can't see!" Damen's actor cried, stretching his hands out in front of him, unintentionally bumping the Regent with his elbow.
Ancel literally slapped Lord Berenger on the leg as he nearly fell off his lap laughing. Laurent, sitting next to Damianos, shrugged his shoulders in amusement.
At that moment Damianos looked Nikandros across the room in the eye and the Kyros of Ios made an obscene gesture with his fingers that didn't depend on a script code or complicated symbols like Ancel's.
"This piece is so fucking shitty it makes you want to die. What was Makedon thinking?"
There were the raunchy sex scenes where Laurent supposedly fucks his slave and Damen comes out of a hatch shivering from the cold while Laurent can't get on his hobbyhorse.
Then, when Kastor coughed for some reason and spat out flour, and finally, when the Regent finally took off his monster mask to reveal an already dead man underneath, Laurent and Ancel jumped up and clapped their hands exuberantly.
"BRAVO! BRAVO!"
Makedon looked very proud and Damen slapped his hands in front of his face, stunned and embarrassed.
Perhaps Laurent and Ancel were missing childhood. Perhaps the picaresque tone of Akielos' itinerant theater, with its controversial nature, would appeal to some Veretians. Or maybe the story had an underlying brilliance that only Laurent and Ancel's sharp minds could detect. And so, did Makedon.
All three enjoyed some sort of obscenity to varying degrees. Damen ran a hand over his face as Laurent sat back down.
"For over a year I've been courting you, and you still amaze me, Your Majesty of Vere..."
"Is that bad? The months we fought my uncle and your brother were sad. Our story was important, but there were many dangers. I'm glad someone managed to bring some humor to the past..."
Damen was relieved that the play didn't address the deaths of Auguste and Kastor, nor did it revive the memory of those responsible for them. Laurent was right. There was a lot of sadness in the past.
Laurent invited the actors to sit at his table. Makedon fetched a pot-bellied bottle of griva, the drink of his region, and mugs for everyone.
"To the King of Vere!" declared Makedon, raising his cup in the air and inviting everyone to follow him.
"You couldn't stand the Veretians and now you seem to have become a great supporter of the King of Vere!" commented Aktis.
"Laurent manages to drink the griva without fuss; we fight together; we hunt together and we party together in Vere. I like this brat better than many stupid, lazy men I've had in my army..."
The brat was the King.
"Will you stay by my side while I drink?" asked Laurent, raising his blue-rimmed retinas at Damen.
The Akielon man stroked Laurent's hair, took a polite sip of his drink and set it aside.
"Sure!"
From then on, Laurent drank a cup of griva that he still said tasted like swill, and by the second cup, challenged by Makedon, he was balancing his famous empty cups on top of each other. Charls hummed a song, accompanied by Guilliame.
Ancel's jokes became more and more allusive. Loyse and Paschal were talking animatedly, and Pallas was annoyed with Lazar for some hidden 's jokes became more and more allusive. Loyse and Paschal were talking animatedly, and Pallas was annoyed with Lazar for some hidden reason.
"Blessed be the time when Damianos of Akielos and Laurent of Vere got together. We can enjoy moments like this... How long has it been?" said Makedon, stacking his cups unsuccessfully in a slurred voice.
"Over a year..." Damen answered with a wide smile and helped Laurent to balance his cups into a dense tower.
"This young man has managed to hold back the womanizing Damianos of Akielos... This is truly the mind of a snake..."
"Womanizing and manizing!" declared Guilliame from across the room ""The stories about Damianos of Akielos have often come to the ears of the cloth merchants. Is it true that the King has mounted a whole herd of Vaskian women?"
"It wasn't a herd. Just a few girls..."
"And that he knocked down three gladiators and finished the fight with the three of them in his room ...?"
Damen observed the red spots on Guilliame's face as he told of his adventures when he was still a prince and insignificant and couldn't yet imagine the real dimensions of a future king.
"Yes..."
Pallas, who still seemed to despise Lazar, who in turn looked at him with a regretful expression, said:
"There was also the story of the two Patrans and a man who was intimate with the prince..."
Laurent stopped balancing the cups and held very still.
"Helena and Janira were the names of the courtiers, weren't they?" asked Nikandros with a wry smile.
"You remember them better than I do..." Damen laughed.
"Indeed, you must have been a very enthusiastic prince, King Damianos... Did you mount everyone in Akielos before you came to Vere?" asked Jord.
Laurent took another sip of griva in one go.
"That's a lot of stories from when I was an irresponsible prince. Now I'm engaged to Vere." Damen explained, interlacing his fingers with Laurent's, but getting no response.
After Laurent drank another cup of griva without taking a breath, the party ended.
Everyone seemed to have had a good time and promised to meet again later at the royal party. As the guests and actors left, Laurent became quiet and his cheeks turned rosy.
He spoke in a slightly drunken voice:
"Let's take a walk..."