Jokaste

**Jokaste** is a Lady of the Akielon court who was Crown Prince Damianos' lover before betraying him (in more ways than just this) and becoming his half-brother, Prince Kastor's consort instead.

## History

Not much is known about Lady Jokaste's history, other than the fact that when she arrived at Ios Damianos was completely enamored with her (because of her light coloring and sharp personality). Despite this, it takes months of his courting before she finally accepts his affections. It was expected they would, eventually, marry.

## Appearance

In the digital publication of *Prince's Gambit*Jokaste is described as having brown hair by Damen, where he is internally "confusing [Laurent's] blonde hair with brown." In the paperback publication, however, this line is changed to "confusing long blonde hair with shorter," indicating that Jokaste is now intended to be of similar coloring to Laurent. Later, she is described as having cool blue eyes and regal blonde hair that she arranges over her shoulder. She is described as being very beautiful, and her beauty constantly mirrors that of Prince Laurent.

## Relationships

### Family

It is heavily implied that, had Jokaste not betrayed him, she would have eventually married Damianos and become Queen of Akielos.

Though a wedding is never mentioned, Jokaste is widely known as Kastor's lover or mistress, and as the unofficial Queen.

Although her own parents are not known, Jokaste gives birth to a child in *Kings Rising*. There is a brief question of who the father is, as Jokaste claims it is Damen's, but later, as Laurent suspected, she admits in a note that it is Kastor's. The child is never named, nor does he appear in any of the books. He presumably is raised by his mother elsewhere after the events of the series.

### Romantic

Jokaste used to be Crown Prince Damianos' lover (and likely would become his wife and the Queen of Akielos) prior to the events of *Captive Prince*, but we see her betray him for his half-brother, Prince Kastor in the Prologue, when Damen is captured and sent to Vere as a slave to Crown Prince Laurent (the inciting incident).

We later come to understand (or rather, it is heavily implied) that Jokaste had been watching Kastor turn on Damianos for a long time and, seeing that Damianos would not be convinced of his brother's treachery, betrayed him for Kastor. Kastor originally planned to kill Damianos as well as their father, King Theomedes, but Jokaste convinced him to send Damianos as a slave to Vere in an attempt to give Damen a chance to survive.

It is thus understood, even towards the end of the series, when she's given Kastor a child, that Jokaste still at least has some romantic feelings towards Damianos and that much of what she did, including the betrayal, was at least in part for his sake, in an attempt to save his life if not his position. She leaves him a note saying:

> *"(...) I remember the way you looked at me, the day we met. Perhaps, that, too, in another life.*"
>
>

> - C. S. Pacat, *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 18
>
>

### Laurent of Vere

Jokaste is repeatedly used as a mirror for Laurent's character -- not only in how they resemble each other physically but also in their personalities. Jokaste and Laurent are shown to be each other's matches in wits and words. This is shown most prominently in a scene in *Kings Rising*, Ch. 11, where they meet for the first time and even discuss the notable parallels between them:

> "*The extent to which she and Laurent resembled each other, in colouring, in their cool, intellectual lack of emotion, in the detachment with which they regarded one another, was both unnerving and extraordinary."*
>
>

> - C. S. Pacat, *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 11
>
>

It is also an overarching feeling earlier in the series, during a conversation between Damen and Laurent in *Prince's Gambit*, Ch. 6, though here it is not explicitly stated. Again in *Kings Rising*, Ch. 14, Laurent wears a dress to disguise himself as Lady Jokaste, and it works. This says a lot about both of their beauties, as well as the androgynous characteristic of Laurent's appearance.

## Trivia

* In the original serial version of *Captive Prince*, Jokaste was named "Margaret". Her name was changed for the published editions, presumably because Margaret was not recognizably Greek to many readers and therefore stood out amongst other Akielon names.
* In the digital publication of *Prince's Gambit*, Jokaste's hair is described as brown. In the published paperback, however, her hair is instead described as blonde, presumably in an attempt to have her more physically resemble Laurent. (Laurent's coloring matching Jokaste's is a key plot point in *Kings Rising*.)

## References

1. ↑ *Prince's Gambit*(Captive Prince #2), Ch. 6
2. ↑ *Captive Prince* (Catpive Prince #1), Ch. 1
3. ↑ *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 10
4. ↑ *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 18
5. ↑ *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 11
6. ↑ *Kings Rising* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 14
7. ↑ *Prince's Gambit* (Captive Prince #3), Ch. 6
8. ↑ *Captive Prince* Virtual Tour - Prologue
9. ↑ Prince's Gambit (Captive Prince #2) Ch. 7