#insmoor

[clandestine-weepings]

“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”

Jude Duarte Folk of the Air cosplay

#jude duarte #folk of the air #fota #cosplay #fota cosplay #folk of the air cosplay #cruel prince #cardan greenbriar #taryn duarte #holly black #jardan #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #seelie court #unseelie court #court of teeth #fae #faerie #insmoor #insmire #insmear #the land under the hill

[im-someone-i-guess]

jurdan snuggling

a jurdan fic written by ryhanna

word count: 1648

Between endless whining and enthralling escapades, the High King and High Queen of Elfhame barely get any sleep.

prompt: "Jude and Cardan snuggle" requested by anonymous ao3 user

There was something empowering about sitting on the throne, a golden crown of laurel leaves atop one's head and an overly bejewelled dress hugging one's figure. Jude sat with her shoulders straight, levelling a glare at the faerie before them. Her husband, Cardan, was the complete opposite. He lounged on his throne, his crown crooked on his head and a lazy smile painted on his face.

The faerie did not raise his gaze from the ground, his head bowed in respect. And yet Jude noticed hints of a concealed smile. Only bad would come from this audience.

“Why are you here?" Cardan asked. There are no flourished sentences now, no embellished words. Despite his jovial facade, Jude knew he was tired. Neither of them slept and although it had become a frequent occurrence, their weariness was starting to show.

“Your Majesties,” the faerie greeted. “I am Hattiere and I have ventured from my humble abode within the Isle of Insmoor to present to you a gift I had crafted.” He gestured to the guard at the door to come forward.

“My noble king, I present to you a goblet encrusted with rubies, enchanted to provide endless wine for the rest of your life. And as for my lovely queen, here is a sword that would slice through all; skin and bone, flesh and blood. Should Your Majesties accept my offer and all that come with it, I would be glad to bestow these gifts upon you.”

Every day, Jude was reminded that the people love showering royalty with gifts, in hopes to curry favour or to show off their expertise and impress their sovereign. But not all gifts were sincere, there are always hidden thorns within a rosebush. Jude had been smart then, clever to ask the right questions that would uncover the scheme.

But right now, no questions came to mind. Hattiere’s words were poorly composed, the tells blatantly displayed. Jude turned to Cardan, awaiting his reply. He was the one who gifted boons as a symbol of gratitude. He too was the one most well-versed in the slyness of their subjects. And yet Cardan offered no responses, his eyes staring blankly ahead as if he were asleep with his eyes opened.

Jude had seen him do it before, a clever way to hide his slumber during the long hours of meetings with the Living Council.

“And are there any tricks and riddles stitched within your offerings, do answer with utmost honesty,” Jude asked, leaning back on her throne, releasing some tension from her shoulders. She knew it was poorly done, Hattiere could easily deflect and avoid the question but Jude could not come up with anything better.

Already, she felt her eyelids droop with exhaustion, consequences of too many nights spent pouring over battle strategies and meetings with the Court of Shadows. The illicit escapades with Cardan did not help either.

“What are riddles and tricks but the last hurrah of a desperate fool? I, have been called desperate on certain occasions and foolish in many others but I do not think myself stupid. Just accept the gifts, Your Majesties. I promise you would not live to regret accepting my gifts.”

As she had expected, Hattiere only needed to speak worthless nonsense that although may offer the answer to her question, but does not provide the information that Jude had needed. Not bothering to be subtle, Jude kicked at Cardan’s foot, startling him awake.

He casted Jude a scowl, irritated at being awoken. His mood now sour, his earlier relaxed disposition switched into something more dismissing. Cardan eyed the gifts suspiciously, his lips twisted with impatience as if he was offended by their mere presence. “How pleasurable, to have such fine items be offered but I am afraid we cannot accept them. These are such finery that I insist you try out yourself, just to have the satisfaction to say you have.”

Hattiere’s iris-less eyes widened as if he did not expect this request to be asked of him.

“Although it may be amusing to see you choke on poisoned wine, I’d prefer to see the sword at use. You would need a person to test it on, yes?” Cardan asked, adjusting his doublet.

Finally seeing where he was going with this, Jude nodded along. “Guards, bring forth a prisoner from within the dungeons, one awaiting their execution date.” From the corner of her eye, Jude noticed a Court of Shadows member, perking with interest. Bomb, she assumed, she was on duty today.

It did not take long for the guards to find a prisoner to act as a pin cushion. Jude recognised the faerie from a few weeks ago, condemned to death after murdering her husband in cold blood and serving his chopped up remains to his bastard son. It was admirable how the thought had come to her one day and how she decided to go through with it. “Very well, pick the sword Hattiere. Display its superiority,” Cardan urged. He had changed his position, now lounging on his throne with his legs hanging from his right arm rest and his back leaning against the left one. The position did not look at all comfortable but Jude suspected his doublets were padded enough to act as a cushion.

Hattiere hesitated but there was already a crowd of courtiers collecting around to watch, eager to see the humiliation, excited to see the faerie make a fool of himself and anticipating the mysterious death that would soon befall the prisoner. They cheered once Hattiere’s clawed fingers wrapped around the hilt, whispering their jokes under murmured breaths and exchanging bets and dangerous promises.

The prisoner did not even flinch when the sword went straight through her, slicing cleanly through blood, skin, flesh and bone as Hattiere had promised. But she did not seem affected by it, as if she felt no pain. Hattiere pulled the blade from the prisoner’s stomach and yet no blood spilled to the ground.

Instead, there was blood staining the ragged robes Hattiere wore, a growing black that soon dripped to the floor. Horrified, Jude realised that Hattiere’s body crumbling to the ground would have been hers if not for Cardan’s intervention. Even tired, Cardan maintained his keen senses to sniff out faerie-like trouble, untangling the intricate words and uncovering the concealed scheme.

“Take his body away,” Cardan told the guard, grimacing at the growing puddle of inky blood. “And the prisoner should return back to her cell.”

The guards immediately obeyed, stoically following each order.

“Your Majesties, there is another faerie requesting an audience, Grewthorne from the mortal world and he is requesting release from exile,” a guard came forward. Jude fought a groan, already exhausted by the thought. She would have to endure more hours of desperate pleas and begging of mercy. “Shall I bring him in?”

“No, let him come after today’s sun rises and sets,” Jude tells the guard, grimacing at the wobbliness in her words. She did not sound as commanding as she would ordinarily prefer but this was as much authority as she could muster. “My king, we have other matters to attend to.” Jude rose from her throne, glad to stretch her legs.

“But Your Majesty, he has travelled far and he cannot stay over for a night, as his exile terms demand,” the guard insisted. Jude noticed the smug smile, as if this denial to accept this audience was proof of Jude’s incompetence. She could not stomach anymore people prodding at her worthiness, she did not think she could even stay on her feet, already feeling a wave of dizziness as the blood rushed to her head.

“Sir Fabli, you dare defy your queen?” Jude asked coldly. She felt Cardan hovering beside her, his scowl an impalpable aura of moodiness. “You are to obey and not question, or have you forgotten? Memories are short it must seem, the Tower of Forgetting seems like a suitable penalty.”

The guard tense, immediately bowing his head and meekly turning away, no longer interested in pushing the exiled faerie’s audience or proving incompatibility with the role of High Queen.

Steady hands clutched Jude’s shoulders, gently steering her out the throne room and into the royal chambers. She finally allowed herself to relax in Cardan’s grip, almost throwing herself on the bed once her eyes landed on it. Never had she been so ecstatic to see an inanimate object before. Like a habit that had stubbornly lingered, Jude heard Oriana chastising her in her mind. “A queen should stay composed, always elegant and perfect.”

She paid the whisper no heed, hurriedly burrowing herself beneath the heavy blankets, craving the warm embrace. Jude felt a weight settle beside her, feathers brushing against her back, arms wrapping around her waist, a chin nestling on her shoulder.

“Usually I quite adore my subjects but all I seem to hear in these audiences are endless whining and unclever tricks,” Cardan tells her, his voice muffled by Jude’s hair. “My sweet nemesis, I do not think it wise to sleep with needles and pins in your hair. You may poke an eye.”

“Then it is your eye, not mine. And therefore not a pressing concern of mine,” Jude smiled, her eyes already closed. “And do shut up, Cardan, I do not want to hear your voice disturbing the serenity of this quiet room and stealing away more hours of my sleep.”

“But is my voice not the sweetest melody?” he jested. “And if I were to steal your hours of sleep as you so aptly put it, I may have other suggestions of more thrilling activities.” He placed a kiss where Jude’s neck met her shoulders, his lips lingering.

“I think I’ve spent enough time on those exhilarating activities already, as I know you have to,” Jude argued. “Go to sleep, Cardan.”

“Very well, Jude.”

#fanfic #ry writes #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #jurdan #books #booklover #booklr #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

I'm sliiiiiiiding in with my nerdy self to join the discussion about names. I spend my days researching Celtic mythology relating to the fae and the widely accepted true name idea is that they are named by whatever brought them forth. In some myths, that's parents, in some it's that they were just created and know their true names. Generally, their true names were known by those close to them, but there wasn't much power in use. Possibly by a sacred oath, possibly by a loophole, but the idea of having a True Name was that it was owned. So finding out a true name, or giving someone your true name, was that then they owned a piece of you. If the name was given as a gift (like by a parent) or simply known, the inherent power went away. In the case of Ghost, there is power via owning the name. If he simply stated it, it's possible he couldn't be controlled with it. So it's possible that Cardan's name was gifted to him by Asha, and was therefore not able to be used. I have no point to this aside from being enabled to talk about the thing I am possibly the nerdiest about.

(there are some myths, like Rumpelstiltskin, that count just knowing a name as being enough to defeat them, but those are usually either A, designed as a form of contest, and then it's winning the contest or B, designed to bring a fae who is lost in heartbreak or anger back to themselves, so saying the name is less about controlling and more about using recognition as a form of grounding)

interesting! thanks for the gem of information 🖤 i like the tidbit about ownership. i think that'd be a really fascinating route of thought to go down.

i think some of what you've brought up touches on a few of the theories posited in this post. but as the source/use of true names by the fae is largely contested even amongst experts, the only for sure thing we know is that the fae have them and their names can be used against them.

this brings up a good point about individual fiction versus the broad scope of recognised myth/folklore, and how authors use myth and folklore to inform their pieces, rather than dictate them.

for instance, Holly uses Elfhame as the name of her Faerie world, and this is part of the Celtic mythological canon. however, the islands of Insmire, Insmoor, Insweal, and Insear appear to be entirely her own invention, and not based on anything in Celtic myth.

similarly, though it remains true that the fae in Holly's Faerie do indeed have true names, and their true names can be used to compel them, this is only a pillar of truth around which anything else can be fabricated to fit the fictional world to the author's fancy. what appears in Celtic canon won't always dictate how things operate in The Folk of the Air, so we can't say with certainty how any of these theories (Celtic canon or fan-based) apply, until it is mentioned explicitly or implicitly in the text. which, at least so far, it hasn't been.

plus, as long as we recognise that TFOTA is not a reliable source for True Things About Celtic Mythology (a practice i highly condone for all fiction, as it is not the author's job to be completely truthful or factual about everything they tell you), i think it's fun to use our imagination sometimes 😉

–Em 🖤🗡

more theories and analysis

#gonna put this in the ''your essays'' tag tho cos this rocks #tfota #jurdan #holly black #tfota analysis #your essays #asked and answered #kevin-day-is-bi

[acourtofcouture]

An Insider’s Guide to the Folk of the AIr: the Fashions of Faerieland, 2/?

#the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories #an insider's guide to the folk of the air #the fashions of faerieland #the fashions of faerie #the folk of the air #folk of the air #tfota #the folk of the air series #elfhame #faerie #faerieland #insmire #insmoor #insear #insweal #the undersea #unseelie #unseelie court #seelie #seelie court #greenbriar #the high king of elfhame #the high king of faerie #the high queen of elfhame #the high queen of faerie

[ladybookworm]

Cardan: *does something cute*

Jude: *under her breath* I'm in love with you.

Cardan: What was that?

Jude: *blushing furiously* I'M SELLING YOU TO THE ZOO

#The cruel prince #The wicked king #The queen of nothing #Cardan #cardan greenbriar #Jude #jude duarte #taryn duarte #Vivianne #Madoc #Orianna #Oak #Jurdan #Locke #Nicassia #Redcap #elfhame #Insmire #Insmoor #Insweal #Insear #Hollow hall #Orlagh #Balekin #Dain #The roach #The ghost #The bomb #High king #High queen

[what-life-im-a-fangirl]

Jude: I have an idea!

Cardan: No murder!

Jude: *pouting* I no longer have an idea.

#incorrect cruel prince quotes #the cruel prince #the wicked king #jude duarte #jude x cardan #prince cardan #cardan x jude #jurdan #high king cardan #elfhame #the folk of the air #insmoor #insweal

[babblesbabble]

A Matter of Trust

Chapter Three

Rating: Explicit | 18+

Read here on AO3

Jude and Cardan kick things up a notch.

They order a number of things from the room service menu, ordering one item at a time. It is, according to Cardan, the best way to savor it and Jude has nowhere else to be tonight. It was her idea in the first place to order food, but it seems she might not be the only one attempting to use the time to their advantage. For Jude there’s not one good reason to reject luxurious food from an expensive hotel, when it’s all being paid for. For Cardan it is an opportunity to show that he’s not the same person.

They begin with a charcuterie board, fresh fruit and cheeses with nuts and bits of bread and jam. Jude would gladly live off the stuff. Then it’s plump crab cakes and a basket of the truffle fries for each of them. And of course, what’s a healthy dose of wooing without dessert? He picks the warm chocolate chip cookies fresh from the bakery next door. They’re notorious on Instagram— Jude must have seen at least a dozen pictures of the large cookies with oozing chocolate chips before. They were a must have for any guest staying at Insmoor.

There is something intimate about sharing a meal with someone. Eating is not exactly the most flattering thing you can do in front of another person, but pretense is probably behind them after she’s had a mind-numbing orgasm under his direction. Jude doubts, at this point there is little she could do that would be a turn off. No, something has formed between them, tentative as it may be, that is caustic.

Jude plucks one of the last green grapes from the remains of the charcuterie board and pops it into her mouth savoring the fresh taste. They have eaten in relative companionable silence exchanging only the occasional courtesy, but she knows their business is unfinished. She has pushed off the conversation for as long as possible. If she starts now, she will feel more in control of the situation, something she is slowly taking back after opening up.

Jude takes a deep breath mentally preparing for the toll of this and beings, “An agreement, that’s what you want to make right?”

“Yes, that way we can go over what we want. What we’re okay with, or not.” Cardan leans back stretching against the chair Jude had once occupied. She tries not to get distracted thinking about what had happened there not so long ago.

“You can start,” she prompts, pulling her legs up to sit crisscross on the couch she’s been occupying. It’s adjacent to the chair and the leftover pickings of their room service is scattered on the coffee table that’s in front of them.

“For now, maybe we can do this once a week. How does that sound?” He proposes.

It’s not exactly what Jude had expected to begin with but it’s as good a place as any. “That sounds fair. We can always agree to more if we want.”

“Right, exactly. I’d also like to spend time with you outside of scenes.” His eyes try to stay on her, and Jude can tell he is nervous to ask this.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” She asks slightly bewildered, a near laugh tinged to her words.

“I… I guess I am, yes. I’m not saying we have to be anything, but it could make things easier if we got along better outside of scene. From what I’ve seen tonight you weren’t all the way comfortable getting into it.”

He had managed to read her fairly well throughout their play it seems. It surprises Jude a bit, but he has been full of surprises.

“It’s vulnerable,” Jude admits. Her brown eyes moving across the room to look at the surroundings once more, all the same and becoming obviously recognizable to her. At the moment it is easier than looking at him. “I don’t ‘do’ vulnerable very well.”

“I think it’s powerful to be able to give yourself over to another. It’s not something just anyone can do.” Cardan shifts forward and carefully places a hand on hers.

She can feel the warmth seeping from his large hand that fully covers her own. It is a kind touch, an attempt at building connection.

She considers his words, “I can see that perspective, and in a way it is. But opening up is… precarious. You showed me at least today that you’re capable. That doesn’t just mean I trust you without question though.”

“I don’t expect you to, Jude. If you didn’t question me, I think that would concern me more,” Cardan laughs a little.

“I’m a bit of a challenge,” Jude shrugs. She’s practically a maze of intricacies and contradictions but she thinks he deserves to have to earn this from her.

“You're worth it,” He says confidently, but pulls back from being so close.

It’s another push of reassurance to her, he wants this with her and he’s willing to do whatever she puts in the way to make it happen. Isn’t that a twist of fate?

“Oh, I hope so. If you’re taking me out, I want an experience,” Jude sits back against the couch.

“Right, you’re a tough sell,” he sighs, but is ready to go along with it. “I’ll figure something out.”

She gives him a grin, “Glad to hear it. I’m so looking forward to it.”

They spend the rest of the night hashing out what they want from this. They discuss limits and absolute nos. Where they want this to go. It is long and not always fun or comfortable for either of them, but on the other side they’re the better for it. By the end of the night Jude would tentatively call what they have a friendship with many benefits. That, she can live with.

Later that week he took her on a trip to the Museum of Sex. She had asked for an experience and he certainly had given her one. It was on the nose for their situation and at first Jude had not appreciated it. It had felt like a joke at her expense and she had nearly walked away from the whole thing until she realized: it was supposed to be fun. Sex is strange, awkward, mysterious, demanding, and many other describable and indescribable things but it is supposed to be fun. And of all things, it had taken an obscenely large dildo and a pegging joke to make her laugh and loosen up. It made her realize that she could have fun with Cardan. Sex and friendship and them—Jude and Cardan—didn’t have to be so serious. Except for when they wanted to be.

It made things easier the next time they played in scene. They did not push the boundaries much but this time he put his hands on her as he directed her. They grazed at her sides and only brushed beneath her breasts, caressing her neck and pressing against her lips like a gentle kiss. It was sweet, delicious, teasing torture in a very pleasing way. As she had leaned back against him post-orgasm, she could feel his hardness against his thigh. He only sat there and didn’t ask for anything in return.

It had happened again the next time and the time after that as he found new ways to make her cum with his fingers and toys. As he learned the curves of her body. He never seemed to ask for anything in return at this point and Jude, only after they had parted, began to wonder if her not offering had been a disappointment. Did it bother him to give her this new world and to hold himself back? She had seen the want in him, his eyes though dark as the richest black coffee, didn’t lie.

She had to ask before the thoughts consumed her and the only way she could bear to was through text.

Jude: Do you want me to touch you?

Cardan: I’d be more than happy for you to. But, do you want to touch me?

Of course. He was waiting for her to want it, to ask for it. For as much as he was the one in control it was only on her terms as she was beginning to realize more and more.

Jude: I do. We both should be getting something out of this.

Cardan: I have been. Seeing you open up to this had been enough.

Cardan: Since you insist though, I’ll work it into my plans for next time ;)

So far, their games have helped Jude find a bit more of the balance she craves. Work may not always keep her interest and the pressure may feel as if it is closing in some days, but she always has something to look forward to at least. There is always a release around the corner.

This time she is going to his place. They had kicked hotels for the comfort and privacy for their personal domiciles. He has his own townhouse not too far from downtown, and she has her own condo in the financial district. They’ve made a lot of progress so far and Jude is ready to make more, even if her stomach twists thinking about it all. The unknown of each scene they play leaves her in stomach churning anticipation, but the new possibilities are what excites her and pushes her. Each time with Cardan was a slow expansion of what she already knows, and she is thirsty for more.

As she stood on his stoop, she felt ready for this. Jude may be plagued by overthinking and overanalyzing, but she isn’t a coward. She certainly didn’t get as far as she has in life without drive. She pulls from that to confidently bound up the steps and press her red manicured finger to the buzzer to announce her arrival.

All she can hear is the sound of the wind whipping down the block and rustling leaves, until he pulls open the door. He’s already got a smile.

The place is big for one person with large high ceilings and at least three floors. The townhouse was traditional brick on the outside, the interior modern yet tastefully decorated with a dark color palette. There was plenty of space to play around in and Jude didn’t have to worry about trying to be quiet. It also reminded her just how much money he had. Cardan inherited a significant amount of money from his father when he passed and real estate was probably the soundest thing he could have done with it.

She sits herself down at a stool by the kitchen that opens into a living area not too far into the place. “So… what’s the plan for today?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says with that familiar smirk.

“I would,” she plays it cool crossing her arms.

“We’re going to start with some new stuff first, then move to more familiar territory. That sound good?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good plan,” she nods approvingly.

She wants him. It’s something she doesn’t always actively think about because it is always there pulsing under the surface. He has always been frustratingly attractive, a boy with such a poor attitude gifted with such beauty. It has only grown as his temperament and behavior have improved melding into charm. Even as she is with him more and more frequently, his effect on her doesn’t wear off. She doesn’t get used to his freakishly beautiful features. His sharp cheekbones and the defined planes of his body. He is what people imagine when dreaming up heroes.

Her eyes burn across his body. He is dressed simply in jeans and a loose patterned button up she’s sure cost a grand from one luxury store or another. It’s easy to move around in and get off, which is certainly the point for today. She doesn’t really know what he does for work, it has something to do with his family’s company and he didn’t like talking about his family at all. He always seemed to be available and was always dressed more like he’s walked out of a luxury brand’s streetwear runway than from a business meeting.

“You can start by getting down on your knees,” he breaks through her circling thoughts about him.

She stands up and then slowly lowers herself to the ground in front of him. Her eyes stay locked on his own, not moving. Once she is in position she speaks, “How long have you pictured me like this?”

She’s begun to test the bounds of his patience in this. What will he allow her to get away with? Where is the line for him? For herself?

“Long enough,” he looks down at her.

He has a way of looking at someone and seeing right through them.

“Since the first time I bet, I’ve made you wait,” she bites her lip.

“You’ve done as I asked. Which is a miracle.”

“You’ve managed to keep my attention,” she says simply.

“It’s time to keep mine,” his eyes harden. Just as Jude has slipped into her role he is slipping into his. “No more delaying, if you're as brave as you pretend to be, you’ll do it.”

He’s goading her. It lights the fire inside of her, her arousal dawning as she reaches out to pull his dark colored jeans down. He’s not wearing any underwear beneath it so for the first time she’s actually greeted with his cock it’s right in her face. He never was very subtle.

“Someone’s eager,” Judge teases.

“And someone’s a brat.” He lets his hand sink into the curls of her hair, fingers tangling and tugging her forward. They’d discussed it before.

Oh, she likes that. She likes seeing him grab control. She can see just how much he wants her, as she breathes in and forgets to exhale for a moment. Her eyes flit up to his face and then back down. She’ll show him just how good she can be if and when she wants to.

Jude wraps a hand around the base of him, her grip sure. It’s almost a little gross the way her mouth waters and her thighs press together. She opens and takes him in slowly, never once breaking eye contact.

Cardan comes undone, his shoulders fall as if all the tension in his body has gone lax. There’s a vulnerability, an openness to him she hasn’t seen before. He keeps his emotions under the surface and now they have risen to the top. The way he looks at her is reverent. Like she is something worth beholding.

She likes the feeling knowing that this is all her doing. This is her power. Each inch she takes in, each squeeze of her hand reveals his desires. It is when she is as far as she can go, he groans pulling on her hair again. Another pulse of pleasure runs through her center. This shouldn’t give her as much pleasure as it does and yet his pleasure is amplifying her own.

“That’s it,” he encourages, “faster now, be a good girl.”

It echoes in her head a hazy mantra now. She moves faster, one hand gripping the back of his thigh, nails biting into skin. He doesn’t seem to mind the sting, maybe he likes it too. He’s bucking into her mouth now. The tension is high, and she wonders if this is it, if he’s going to-

He’s pulling out now and Jude lets her grip on him go a bit confused by the quick change.

“What-” she stops her voice sounding different to herself, softer.

“Lift up your shirt,” Cardan says as he languidly strokes himself, keeping right on the edge.

It takes a second, but Jude’s hands move to the hem of her shirt and she pulls it up, exposing her stomach and chest.

“Sweet Jude, my resplendent undoing,” he murmurs.

She basks in the sweetness of it—then he’s cumming over her stomach and chest, marking her. She can feel the sticky heat on her bare skin. She should hate it. She should find it degrading and cruel and everything she thought an act like this was, but she doesn’t feel that way at all. Her cheeks are heated, but there’s no embarrassment. Instead, and perhaps this is truly what should shame her, it was gratifying.

“You can put your shirt down now. As much as I admire the view, I’m not finished with you yet,” Cardan’s smirk is back, and Jude’s never seen anything better.

She smiles and lets her shirt drop, “What now?”

“You have some work to do. Come over to the table, it's all set up,” Cardan takes her hand pulling her up to her feet and leading her over. She makes sure not to wobble.

Across the way from the kitchen is a glass dining table. She’s not sure where he’s going with this until she sees at the head of the table are some papers and a pencil.

“Are you testing me?” Jude says almost baffled by what he’s cooked up here.

“You told me once that there was a certain rush that came from getting good grades,” Cardan starts as he makes sure she takes her seat. “Let’s see if it stuck.”

Jude looks down at the papers for the first time. “Are you actually giving me a test right now?”

“Yes,” he says his eyes darkening, “but I think you’ll like your reward much better than a grade.”

He’s going to make her ask, so she does, “And what is the reward?”

“Once you finish, you’re going to lay down on this table and I’m going to eat you out,” he says.

Jude is right back in at that, “Easy.” She shrugs confident she can complete this quickly, it’s only a few pages after all.

“But,” he leans forward close enough that she can feel his breath tickling her ear, “I’m only going to do it for so long. Every answer you get wrong you lose time. I won’t stop though no matter how many times you cum and how much you beg, if you have that long.”

“And if I don’t have long enough?” She can’t take her eyes off him.

“That’s not my problem, is it?” He grins, the master of this wicked delight.

“You are heinous,” Jude snaps hands gripping the edge of the table. She should hate him and in the moment, that’s almost what it feels like, but the anger isn’t true.

“Now, now don’t be so quick to anger. Think of my mouth all over you,” his lips graze her ear as he says it.

Jude’s eyes close as she pictures it, can imagine the feeling of him and the pleasure she’ll get to have. She wants this. He always manages to surprise her with new challenges, and she is game to play them all.

“Let me take the test,” she says eager. “Go stand in the corner or something.”

He laughs at that stepping away and ending his teasing of her, for the moment. He takes position at the opposite side of the table sitting down.

“Whenever you’re ready then,” Cardan says.

Jude picks up the pencil and starts. There are four sections to the test, ten questions for each section and each section a different subject: English, science, history and math. It’s no more difficult than what she learned in school; the problem is that she is out of practice now. Some of it comes easy and other questions she struggles over. All the while she can still feel his cum marking her body, slowly drying and Cardan’s dark eyes watching her from across the table. It’s a heady experience to say the least.

After one last look over, Jude flips the test back to the first page and slides it over to him, “I’m finished.”

He doesn’t say anything just takes the paper and pulls out a red pen to start grading. Jude squirms in her chair, this vision of him and a red pen shouldn’t be as sexy as she finds it. She pushes it aside; she can analyze her peculiar proclivities later.

The silence lingers until he finishes.

“Not bad, but not flawless,” Cardan says. “An eighty. Though I suspect you can do better. I’ll fix that later, homework seems appropriate.”

Each word pushes her deeper into this world they’ve created.

“I’ll do better, I can,” Jude says, she’s looking at him, to him now for more.

“I know,” he takes her hand in his and gives it a squeeze. “You did well for your first time. You still get your reward. Clothes off, on the table now.”

Cardan sets the test aside, while Jude slides out of her pants and underwear, pulls off the shirt that’s a bit stuck to her from the cum, before climbing onto the glass table. He takes his position in front of her. He sets a timer and places it down.

“Eight minutes Jude. That’s what you get and not a second more, understand?” Cardan says his thumb stroking her thigh softly.

Jude nods, “Yes, sir.”

Cardan moves in to devour her. It starts with him spreading her with one hand and licking a stripe up her core. That’s enough to make her warm body shiver against the cool glass. He doesn’t stop there, mouth latching onto her clit to tease. Her breathes come quicker, but that’s all the sound she’s making.

He pulls back just enough to talk, but his fingers caress her lips, “This is a reward sweet Jude, don’t hold back. I want to hear you.”

Cardan returns to her. Jude’s mouth parts letting out a moan she had been keeping in. The release adds to her mounting pleasure. She wonders how much time has passed, but she can’t focus on that for long as he uses both hands to pull her closer to him, her legs now over his shoulders.

“Holy-” she starts to say before it cuts off with a gasp.

He’s dipped his tongue inside of her now, thumb rubbing her clit in circles. Her hands slip against the glass trying to find purchase before she buries them in Cardan’s thick black locks. He does not stop his work and everything builds. She knows the rules and even as far gone as she is, she’s going to do this right.

“Please,” she says, voice breathy and quieter than she’s used to. “Please can I, sir?”

He’s only off of her for a second to tell her his approval before he’s back at it. He told her not to hold back, so she doesn’t. She pulls his hair and screams as she cums. His fingers and tongue are still working at her all the way through it and after they continue. Her body is more sensitive in the aftermath, making her squirm, but he holds her firm. She doesn’t know how much time has passed but she’s cumming again without even asking. Her toes curl and her eyes are firmly shut, and she doesn’t think she can take another minute more when the timer goes off.

Cardan pulls back from Jude careful to gently set her legs down. The timer stops it’s annoying ringing and she can only assume he turned it off. She lays there in the blissful silence until she’s ready to open her eyes. When they do open, he is right there watching over her.

“You did marvelous, Jude” Cardan says, dark eyes locked on her brown ones.

“Yeah?” she asks, not quite all the way back yet.

“Yeah,” he nods, “Are you comfortable there or do you want to move?”

She holds up a hand, “One minute.”

He waits then giving her time and when she starts to move, he offers his hand to steady her and Jude doesn’t hesitate to take it. He moves her to one of the chairs to sit and suddenly there’s a blanket around her shoulders. She’s about to question where he even pulled it from when she looks at the table. All over the once crystal-clear glass she can see the marks of her hands and body, some clear and some smudged. It’s kind of erotic in a weird artistic way.

“Do you think they’d display this in the sex museum?” Jude questions.

“What the table?” he asks, and she nods in answer. “Maybe, though a canvas would probably be better. I’d love to have a personal piece for my collection.”

He winks and Jude scoffs coming back to earth.

“This,” she gestures to the table, “is your personal piece and I expect it to be gone with some Windex before I leave,” she says.

“Of course,” Cardan sighs wistful. “I could eat with that memory here for the rest of my life, but I suppose it is unfair to force that on guests.”

“Don’t act so deprived, you got the real thing,” she pulls the blanket closer around her, relaxed.

Cardan watches her again. He does that a lot, or maybe Jude has just started to watch him more too.

“I did, and there’s nothing better I can think of,” he grins.

Jude’s heart beats faster in her chest at that dazzling smile— she’s in deep.

#jurdan #jude x cardan #tfota #the cruel prince #my fic #a matter of trust #the folk of the air #please heed the rating

[abruisedmuse]

Fire Like Sin

Written for @fateandluminary​ 

Prompt Request: Jurdan- “Horns”- Bryce Fox 

I basically listened to this song on repeat until I stopped typing. 

WARNING NSFW CONTENT BELOW

                   ******************************************************

Cardan strode into the heady club, smoke swirling around him as he moved passed the hoard of desire-driven patrons. This was madness, utter madness. If they were going to make a break for it, it was the only way.

The first time he watched her wrapped that damned silken leg around the silvered pole as she spun round and round. Her hair cascading down to the stage and two makeshift horns styled atop her head, he had become entranced. Then her bronzed eyes locked on to his. From the moment they made contact on that fateful evening she had damned the very air he breathed. It was like the black mark on his soul had a match with the then stranger. The first month of her dancing he watched her in an obsessive annoyance as she had called it. He recognized the anger and fury roiling in her. The cold as ice blood and stone heart too. Cardan knew it so well because he was the same on the inside. Just a pit of blackness using his tongue, liquor, and sex to get through his fucked up life. Until her.

Several months ago, Jude Duarte cornered him in a private room saved for the higher paying customers. They argued, voices hoarse as screaming at each other. Over a patron who touched her in a way that made Cardan’s blood boil. He had no grounds to step in. He should have let her make the mistake, yet he couldn’t help it. The youngest Greenbriar chose to express it as Jude being property to not be touched. That she belonged to the Hollow, to his brother Balekin. Until she paid off her debt. And no one was to touch her less they pay for it. Locke was a dirty patron Cardan knew didn’t pay it. Jude raised her hand, striking him across the cheek. Every fiber of being filled with heat and lust. It was then Cardan realized he was insane. The smart thing would’ve been to get Balekin. He did no such thing. She was his tinder, and he, her flint.

Cardan gripped her arm, then the flint struck against tinder, igniting the sparks that led to burning flames. Crushing his mouth onto hers, bruising those lips he’s dreamed of since he first saw them. those smooth lush lips and the teeth behind them that grazed and pulled on his own. She never backed away. Only pushing into him further and further. He could taste the want and desperation on her as her tongue rolled around his. The need to feel alive. They were alone and he opened the way for Jude to get everything she needed. At that time it meant nothing. He meant nothing. Cardan didn’t care how or when she wanted him. All he knew was she was a tempting sin that he couldn’t resist. Horns like a devil, mouth as wicked as one too. He would sell his darkened soul to this she-devil if only to experience this high again and again.

He was undone. Forever.

Now he sits in the same leather seat that started this all. The very same that begun his fascination with her. When all he did was pleasure himself to wicked thoughts of her body and his. To bringing those dreams to life where they both used each other's bodies purely for distraction. The feelings, the deep-seated affection, and love came after. Until Balekin found out and Cardan was attacked brutally by him. Struck repeatedly till his bones screamed in agony for sleeping with his brother’s prized dancer. Balekin tripled her debt to a price even Cardan couldn’t pay off. Cardan was stuck in the hospital for a week as he and Jude discussed plans to leave Insmire behind and for good. Jude wanted to kill the bastard for what he did to Cardan. His face swollen and bloodied so badly she hardly recognized the devastatingly handsome features underneath. Cardan said no. He didn’t want his brother’s death on her hands nor did he want them to be running all their lives. Cardan had enough money for them to leave Elfhame and the city of Insmoor behind. To live on a new continent where the name Greenbriar was just another name.

On the outside, he looked calm and ready for this. To bolt like hell when her dance was done. On the inside he felt the burning rise of bile, his stomach churning and anxiousness rippling through his veins. After this, they would be freed from a hellish paradise to a heavenly one. Cardan was sure after the grueling and horrid things he and Jude have done in their lives that neither deserves such a thing. They didn’t care, They were sneaking their way out to freedom. Lights turned low as the deep red lights shined on the black curtain before him. The bass began to fill the room vibrating within his chest. Cardan had to stifle the grin when he heard the song play. Horns, the one he played for her in his apartment claiming it reminded him of her. Of how it described the way she burst into miserable life, She laughed crawling on top over his lap, taking him to the hilt.

Cardan shook away from the pleasurable memory. This wasn’t the time to reminisce he needed to keep alert and focused. Hell, he hadn’t even touched his wine, only ordering for show. The curtains pulled apart and there his wonderfully wicked lady stood. Her last and final dance, she was to make a show of it. As the bass thundered around them, Cardan only saw her, as he knew she did the same. Mother above the costume choice, Jude truly took the song and magnified it. Hair darkened by the light fell in long waves, except for those horns of hers styled upward with a slight edge. Desperately he longed to grip her hair of horns and fuck her ruthlessly. That would come later when they were safely away.

She sauntered down the shimmering black catwalk in eight-inch heels that melded from red to black and red again. His darkened gaze followed up from her accentuated legs to barely-there garment hugging on her hips, showing off the curves of her ass and hips for all the world to see. Her breasts generously spilling over from the center of the bra, if one could call it that. Both pieces black with a glittering crimson throughout. Good. She kept it as practical as she could without raising too much attention. Jude’s lips were of the deepest scarlet, and eyelids covered in the darkest of blacks. Her gaze met Cardan’s as is if to speak one single word.

Soon.

Yes, soon they would be away from abusive family and men who leered at Jude while she moved her body in tantalizing ways. Wishing to eat her alive. What these men didn’t know, was Jude would do the same and leave their corpses in her wake. In minutes they would be away from here and the grimy streets of Insmoor City. Jude reached up to the top of her pole and begun her dance.

Her legs spread wide, for her audience. The whistles came and so did the money being thrown to the stage as he wrapped her legs around the pole, arching her back upward. Her palms trailing up the expanse of her body grasping her breasts in the movement. Winking and blowing kisses at no one in particular. She was making it difficult for him to focus. With the way, she grasped at her soft mounds. The same way Cardan did when he plowed into her and Jude’s leg wrapped around him. His mouth hot on her neck. He shook his head once more watching with wanton intensity. Listening to people around him shouting at her to remove more. He fought the envy roiling inside him at the demanding, pleading requests. Cardan watched her glide round and round on the pole like it was a slide. She gripped the metal once more flinging her body around and curling herself inward before slipping to the stage. On all fours she crawled towards him, eyes sharp and glowing like a predator hunting her prey.

Cardan leaned back in the cushioned, worn leather as Jude climbed on to him in a sensual fluid motion. Her hands sliding up his thighs, reaching in between palming at his half-hard cock. His hands steadied on her hips, the tips of his fingers pressing into her ass, Jude rolled her hips tipping her head back simultaneously against him. Winding her fingers through his thick onyx locks angling his head where she could run her hot mouth and fire breaths over his neck and to his lobe.

“Do me and my two horns give you a little bit?” that lustful wickedness pouring out of her, her fingers dropped back down stroking his length over his slacks, “I guess so.”

“Fuck Jude,” he growled.

She kept grinding her hips over his, As she pl toyed with his hair. Nails raking along his hairline as if he was another customer, "Did you do it?”

He resisted every urge in his body screaming at him to claim her mouth, bury himself in her witnessing Jude turn into a mess of keen moans and panting breaths. Give these people a real show. It wasn't beneath him to do so. His brother's cronies were in the shadows and leaving held priority.

"Out like a light," the scorching touch of his palms splayed on her bareback, sliding to the nape of her neck. Jude lifted a leg in front of him, twisting around her back against his solid frame. Cardan pulled Jude flush to him. Nose brushing along her shoulder replacing the path with his mouth then his teeth, nipping at her exposed his flesh, "The ghost said he gave enough for him to be out cold for 8-10 hours, " he murmured into her ear, "By then we will be gone."

Jude turned to face him. A smirk on her rouge colored lips resolve and excitement dancing in her eyes at the unknowing future, gone the face of a broken exotic dancer who lost everything and everyone. Cardan pretended to whisper sultry nothings in her ear. She giggled perfectly playing the part of a flirty dancer.

"Good. I'm done dancing," Jude slipped her hand in his, tugging up him from his seat, "Ready?"

"My dearest Jude, lead the way."

He followed her like he was another drunk patron, paying for extra services. They maneuvered through the crowd and no one paid the pair no mind. Slipping past a waitress with a tray of drinks in her hand, Jude pulled Cardan onto her in a small alcove. Her eyes searched his. A moment of sincerity crossed onto her features.

"Card, if he finds us. I won't hesitate to kill him," it wasn't a threat, but a promise.

"I know. Let's hope he doesn't," he knew she would. If not for the determination in her tone, but the fact she swore it daily, "Shall we?"

Bracing an arm on the door, the other curling around her waist. His mouth meeting hers in a hungry kiss, teeth, and tongues clashing, acting the way a drunk patron would if she was going to take him. Jude reached for the knob, twisting it, while Cardan kept her close, and together they slipped through the doorway into the cool night air.

                            ******************************************************

Available on ao3

would anyone be interested to see this continue??

taglist: @slightlyrebelliouswriter23​ @clockworkgraystairs​ @hizqueen4life​ @b00kworm​ @negativenesta​ @sjm-things​ @whataboutmyfries​ @justgiu12​

If you’d like to be added to my taglist let me know!

#jurdan #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #modern au #jurdan fic #beccas 9k celebration #msv drabbles #tfota #tcp #twk #qon #becca writes #horns #this was fun

[scarletaire]

homeland (Chapter 3)

A/N: Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you reading thus far! Your support of this little fic of mine means the world ❤️

Fandom: The Folk of the Air

Genre/s: Contains Fluff, Slight Hurt/Comfort, Slight Angst, Smut

Rating: E

Tags: Post-QON, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Protective!Cardan, Bewildered!Jude, Jude and Cardan discuss the Undersea, but they get a little Distracted

Description:

Cardan’s eyes flash open.

“Why?” he repeats, and Jude feels the power shift between them. “Don’t you remember, wife?” he croons. “It was the Undersea who stole you away from me.”

And Jude has only enough time to think, danger, before he lunges at her.

or:

Cardan and Jude work on removing their armor. Taking off this particularly stubborn piece happens in varying states of undress.

Links: Masterlist | AO3

Fand is waiting for them outside the royal suite. The knight bows at the sight of the king and queen.

Jude nods her head in acknowledgement, even though she’s not entirely paying attention. The heavy weight in her stomach has only worsened now that they are outside the dreamy confines of their bedroom.

In truth, she’s not exactly sure what she’s guilty about. Cardan doesn’t know what Balekin made her do in the Undersea. What she let him do. What she had to do. But she would have done it again, if it meant that she would be exactly where she is right now.

Cardan stands tall with a hand at her back now, awaiting her cue.

“Report,” she says to Fand, because routine is something she doesn’t have to think much about.

“Your Majesties.” The knight salutes. “There have been sightings of falcons flying close over Elfhame. Not an unusual number, to be sure, but…”

“Falcons.” Cardan wrinkles his brow beside her. “Not the ones you punished, for participating in Madoc’s coup?”

Jude remembers. For those who do not wish to atone, become falcons in earnest.

“Too far to tell, sire. I reported it in case there was cause for suspicion.”

“You did well, Sir Fand,” says Jude. Then she sighs. “That should be checked, at the very least. I can assemble a team and leave within the hour.”

Cardan pouts immediately. “And throw me to the mercies of the Living Council?”

“There are no mercies as far as you’re concerned.”

“Well,” he says, something secret in his eyes, “I suppose you would know better than most.”

She resists the strong urge to kick him. Fand’s face goes carefully blank.

“Why don’t you just move the meeting, then?” Jude says, a little hurriedly. “This shouldn’t take long.”

Cardan shakes his head dolefully. “With great regret, I already told Randalin’s little messenger to scurry along and tell them we’re convening within the quarter hour.” Petulance creeps into his voice. “Even though the last thing I want to do is listen to them squabble over Insear.”

At that, Fand frowns.

“What is it, Sir Fand?”

“My queen.” She seems to stand even straighter. “That’s where the falcons were sighted. Flying low above Insear.”

Jude pauses. That’s close. She catches Cardan’s eye, sees her concern mirrored in his.

“How many?” she asks.

“Last count was two, Your Majesty.”

“A pair.” Her mind is churning. It’s almost a blessing, to be thinking about this. She knows this: tactics and strategy and risk management. She knows too little of handling guilt and conscience and the feeling that she has left something important undone. “One could be an accident, two could be intentional. Cardan –”

“Yes, I understand. I will handle the Living Council.” His expression has sobered. Cardan makes a graceful king when he wants to. He gives her a gentle tap at the small of her back. “Go.”

But something roots her to the spot a little while longer. Maybe it’s because her back now feels cold without the weight of his palm on it. “I’ll be back in time for the revel,” she assures him.

“You’d better. It shall be a great creative achievement.”

Jude almost scoffs. The idea of a revel as a summit for a land treaty is certainly creative, she’ll give him that. “The greatest of your life?” she teases. She realizes she doesn’t want to leave him. Not just yet.

“Of course not. Becoming me was the greatest creative achievement of my life.”

She does scoff this time. “One of these days, my eyeballs are going to roll right out of their sockets because of you.”

He smiles, then, a gentle and precious thing. The sight of it burrows into her heart. He places a hand on the curve of her cheek. “I’ll be waiting for you. Be careful.”

Her breath trips a little in her throat. Fand stands stiffly before them, her eyes trained on the nearest pillar. Affording them some sort of privacy, in her own knightly way. Jude tells herself to get it together. “Aren’t I always?”

“No, Jude.” The way he shakes his head is almost mournful. “You’re really not.”

She frowns, but before she can say anything, he’s reaching into his pocket.

“Here, take these with you.” He produces a pair of honeycakes stolen from their food tray, wrapped in an elaborately embroidered handkerchief. She hadn’t even noticed him take them. Spots of glaze have already stained the intricate whorls of thread. “I was planning to share this with you during the meeting, but alas. My plans are foiled. Again.”

And there, that look. He has only just dressed her, but his eyes are promising the exact opposite. How is it that he’s able to go from wishing for her safety, to throwing her dirty looks beneath his stupidly long eyelashes?

He’s making it incredibly difficult to leave now.

“I need to go,” Jude says gruffly, if only to convince herself to get moving. If she sounds a little more irate than usual, it’s his damn fault anyway. Besides, the faster she clears up this falcon business, the faster they can wrap up the revel and the Insear headache, and the faster they can –

He’s full on smirking now, as if he knows exactly what she’s thinking.

Jude snatches the honeycakes out of his hands with more force than necessary.

“Goodbye,” he says, amusement clear in his tone. She huffs at him, already turning. “And Jude?”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

Jude pauses. It could have been the sincerity in his voice. It could have been the fact that she hates that there’s something she hasn’t told him. It could be the fact that she just doesn’t want to leave him right now. She turns right back around, just in time to catch the soft smile lighting up his eyes.

It strikes her clean through the chest.

She had once promised that she would be better than all of the fae. Right now, though, she is no better than them. She is no less a cheap manipulator of secrets and deceit and pretense.

He’s got one up over her. He was brave enough to tell her about his nightmares. She’s still scared to tell him about his own brother.

How strange her life has become, that being honest with her husband is how she wins the game.

Except it’s not a game. Not really. There’s nothing she wants to play with when she looks at the open affection plain on his face.

She makes a new vow in her head. Later, she thinks, as she pulls him down by his ridiculous cravat to press a kiss to the middle of his cheek. I will tell you everything later.

“Bye,” she whispers, her nose tracing his jaw as she settles back down to her heels.

The wonder she leaves on his face carries her all the way to Insear.

 ___________________ 

The island has grown.

In truth, Jude has only seen Insear once since returning from her exile, and it was as she had first seen it that day Cardan had faced off against Orlagh and raised it from the sea. Small, because it had been used to imprison Nicasia. And grey, because the lava and the ash that it had been named after had blanketed the soil like granite snow.

Now, the Isle of Ash is large enough to hold more than just a disgraced princess. At almost the size of Insmoor, it can fit two sprawling palaces and have room left over. It’s not entirely grey anymore, either. When their little boat makes landfall, Jude notices that the lava and the ash have crystallized on its shores like sparkling sand.

Diamonds, she thinks. They look like tiny diamonds.

The whole island is covered in it. It dusts the tall, white birch trees and low, sprawling underbrush that have rooted themselves as far as the eye can see. It sparkles from the petals of the flowers that dot the moonlit landscape: there is a range of blue irises, turquoise roses, and an elegant bloom of cool, black petals that Jude has never seen before.

Cardan did this. Cardan made all of this.

She is no stranger to his power, not now. But seeing the island he made, with nothing but the wave of a hand, makes the full breadth of his power suddenly unthinkable.

“I think I get it now,” she says, voice hushed a little by awe. “Why the Living Council and the High Courts are in such a frenzy over Insear.”

The Bomb whistles in appreciation beside her. They stand on the sparkling sand while Fand secures the boat behind them. “This is old magic. The land probably hasn’t felt anything like it since the three original islands of Elfhame were created.”

Jude shakes her head. “How is this possible? The island is still growing.”

“All of Elfhame thrives on the king’s lifeblood,” says the Bomb. “The island he raised himself most of all.”

“I knew Cardan had magic, but not like this.”

“He’s never been more powerful, and as a consequence, his blood more potent. He’s young, for one thing. And he’s happy.”

Jude’s head almost snaps off. “What?”

The Bomb throws a pointed look her way. “Not many of the old rulers were. Didn’t you notice?”

All Jude can remember is how distant and untouchable Eldred had been on the throne. What did it matter if the ruler was happy, as long as he was king? “But Eldred was –”

“Resigned. He had long accepted his life as king, but he derived no true joy during his rule. It’s different with Cardan. There is contentment, but there is more than that. Hope. Light.” The Bomb bends down, lets her fingers sink into the glistening sand of Cardan’s own making. “You can feel it in the soil.”

Jude thinks of how Cardan looked earlier tonight. The untouchable bending to her touch.

“And it’s not just Cardan, you know,” continues the Bomb. With the white of her hair, she looks like she belongs here. “It’s also different with you.”

“Because I’m human.”

“No. Because you’re happy, too.” She flashes Jude an impish smile. “Even though you’d be the last to admit it.”

Jude frowns. She doesn’t know what to make of that. “But I had no hand in raising Insear.”

“As queen, the land feeds off of you in turn.” The Bomb tilts her head back, and breathes in deeply. When she exhales, there is peace in her eyes. “The king and queen are happy, and it shows.”

Jude’s mind scrambles for an answer, but in truth, she is thrown. She has never really included happiness in her long-term plans for herself before, and now that it is a possibility – more than a possibility – she finds that it’s the slightest bit mythical. Something that’s as beautiful and as impossible as the fae.

And yet, here she is, the human Queen of Faerie.

She’s saved from replying by Fand coming up behind them. “The boat is secure, Your Majesty. And there’s no sign of the falcons.”

“Good. It’s possible that their presence was just a coincidence,” Jude says, “but let’s check further inland to be sure.”

The island seems to grow richer in foliage the deeper they go. There are flowers everywhere now, seas of deep blue and turquoise blooms, dotted with the occasional black. She leans down to pick one glittering obsidian flower, and brings it to her nose. It smells sweet. Black pollen dusts her fingertips and stands out against the metal of her chestplate. The shimmering ash crunches a little underfoot, and Jude’s golden cape swishes against it as she walks.

Even the air is different here. It feels lighter and cleaner, as if there is nothing that could possibly weigh it down.

A bird shrieks in the distance.

The three of them freeze.

Jude draws Nightfell. Fand and The Bomb close ranks on either side of her.

“Up ahead,” she says.

“It was close,” says The Bomb, “and low to the ground.” She wrinkles her brow. “That’s odd.”

They find the falcons not long after that. Find, because one of them is laying on the ground, chest rising and falling in shallow breath, and the other is in a nearby birch and makes a half-hearted attempt to fly over their heads only to land, visibly weakened, beside his comrade. They rest, defeated, against the glistening landscape borne of the new king’s power.

Both are marked by a blood-red crest on their chests. Redcap red.

“Traitors,” murmurs Fand.

“What’s wrong with them?” Jude asks. But the answer comes as quickly as she speaks.

You will not have your own true form back until such time as you hurt no living thing for the space of a full year and a day.

Jude sheathes her sword.

But how will we eat if we can hurt nothing?

She takes a step forward. One falcon emits a small cry, meant to intimidate, or perhaps to implore.

“My queen,” warns Fand.

“Peace,” says Jude, to her knight, and to her punished.

She kneels when she reaches them, her golden cape pooling against the ground.

“I do not rescind my judgement over you, who sought to overthrow the crown and wreak chaos upon the kingdom,” she tells them. And it is true. She regrets nothing of the way she had handled justice that day. “But,” she continues, “I once promised that kindness would sustain you, and today it is kindness I shall give.”

She reaches into her pocket and draws out the honeycakes that Cardan gave her. She holds it out to the once disgraced soldiers, and they – starved to the brink of death – fall upon it like a benediction.

The High Queen of Elfhame feeds those that had once sought to unseat her, and Fand and The Bomb bear witness in solemnity. When they are finished, she speaks again.

“Fly on,” she says. “When we meet again, meet me as yourselves.”

 _____________ 

The minute Jude sets foot back in the palace, she knows that something is wrong.

Her body feels the slightest bit off-kilter, like she’s taking a step in the wrong direction. She can’t pinpoint what it is exactly. The Bomb makes her leave to return to the Court of Shadows, and Fand falls back into step behind her.

She wants to see Cardan.

The meeting with the Living Council was moved to a dusty antechamber on the opposite side of the brugh where the usual Council Chambers are. Jude suspects it was pure spite on Cardan’s behalf that led to this unnecessary change in meeting venue. She recalls with a vague satisfaction the clear distress on the messenger’s face earlier.

She can just imagine Randalin’s reaction, and it’s almost enough to make her smirk. If she were in the proper mood for smirking right now. A pounding is starting behind her eyes.

Jude catches the tail end of the dreaded Council meeting as she rounds the final corner.

Over the past few weeks, the Courts of Elfhame have been in a much aggrieved clamor over ownership and land rights to Insear. Each individual court seemed to present reason upon reason as to why they have a right to a piece of the island. Jude had understood why, in the vaguest sense, having not yet witnessed the current state of the land in question. It was technically free for the taking, having freshly risen out of nowhere, and was thus primed for the next inevitable round of political ladder climbing.

Now that she’s seen it, though, she can admit that there’s a part of her that would hate to see it go to the greedy hands of a faceless court. That would like, on no small terms, to have Insear all for herself.

It’s the nature of magic, she supposes. To create something so beautiful that no one can have.

As it stands, the island has served as a recurring headache for the king and queen, with two courts coming dangerously close to an armistice more than once. The revel that Cardan is hosting tonight is supposed to serve as neutral ground for interested parties to present their petitions, and for the monarchs to come to an amicable decision.

It seems like Randalin and the Living Council have a better solution.

“And to whom shall the money go, oh Minister of Keys?” It’s Cardan’s voice, and from his tone alone, it sounds as though the meeting is going as well as anticipated. Which is not at all.

“Sire?”

There’s a guard at the door that jolts into attention the second he sees her. His mouth opens to announce her, but she holds a finger to her lips. She wants to listen first. With a nod at Fand, Jude steps into the shadows.

“You suggested that the Isle of Ash be bestowed upon the court that can offer the greatest tithe,” Cardan says to Randalin. He’s seated at the helm of the long table, and the Council is arranged before him, with the Minister of Keys seated the closest to him on his left. “So let me ask you again. To whom shall the money go?”

From her vantage point, hidden by the door, Jude see’s Randalin’s horned face blanch. “Well, it will of course go to crown and kingdom, my liege.”

“To crown and kingdom?” Cardan rests his chin in his hand, pulling the words through his mouth as if he is playing with them. “But I didn’t ask for it.”

“What the Councilor means to say, sire,” Nihuar, the Seelie Minister, says quickly, her small green lips curved into a placating smile, “is that the funds will benefit all endeavors in the name of Elfhame –”

“So you mean to say,” Cardan drawls, “that the money will go to you.”

The Living Council erupts into a cacophony of sputters and indignant justification. It’s in the middle of rolling his eyes at the table in front of him that Cardan notices Jude hiding in the shadows by the door.

He sees her. Even though she does her best to hide herself, he always sees her.

He’s leaning sideways on his chair at the head of the table, so much so that half of his body is practically spilling over into her empty seat at his right. It’s such a familiar sight that a pang goes through Jude’s chest. She’s missed him.

Cardan stands. The Council falls silent in confusion. The drumming in Jude’s head begins to pound in time with her heart.

He keeps his eyes on her as he walks. All the way down the long table. All the way across the room. Until he is standing right in front of her and the Council is scrambling to their feet because the Queen of Elfhame is here.

Cardan holds out his hand. Jude is powerless to deny him.

She’s pinned to the floor by his expression. She’s only truly been gone for the better part of an hour, but maybe it’s possible that he’s missed her, too. He must see something in her face, because when he speaks, he addresses it to the Council frozen behind him, his eyes never once leaving her.

“This meeting is adjourned.”

“Your Majesties.” Randalin’s voice is strained. “The solution to the Insear claim has yet to be finalized.”

“I find myself tired of the lot of you,” Cardan says, something of his old impetuousness in his tone, “and my wife has just returned. Leave us.”

It’s Nihuar who tries next, once more in vain. “My king, if you would only review the –”

“Desist.” The ember of a threat sparks in his voice. “Now.”

Jude hears the sound of chairs scraping back and feet shuffling out of the door. The Council members most likely bow as they pass, but she isn’t looking at them. When the room is empty, she hears Fand murmur “Your Majesties,” from behind, and then the door is groaning shut. They’re alone.

Cardan sighs, and she can see the tension leaving his shoulders. He pulls her in closer by their joined hands, and when she’s near enough, his tail winds itself once around her hips. He rests his forehead against hers, stooped just enough to reach.

“So?” he says. His entire demeanor has shifted. Gentled. Jude feels the slightest bit dizzy from the sudden change. Or maybe she’s just dizzy. “What of the falcons at Insear?”

Jude swallows. She tells him everything: how Insear has changed, how they discovered the fallen falcons, how she fed them from a kindness that was more human than faerie. All the while, he listens with his forehead against hers and his hands at her waist.

When it is over, Cardan takes her face in his hands. “Look at you,” he breathes. “You are queen of us all.”

And Jude –

– blooms under his gaze. Under the sincerity of the adoration she finds there. Like the flowers she saw in Insear, black, shimmering petals unfurling under the tender moonlight. Like a drop of inky poison, spreading and spreading without control.

She sways a little.

There’s something she needs to tell him. There’s something he needs to know.

He might hate me, she thinks. He might truly hate me for it.

“Cardan,” she whispers.

“Yes.” His eyes have dropped from her eyes to somewhere lower.

The next time she sways, she sways a little bit into him, unable to stop the tilt of her body. His fingers tighten into the shining gold cape at her back, holding her against his chest.

“Cardan,” she says again. Their lips are so close, she almost brushes his name against his mouth. She is finding it hard to see anything but his face.

She thinks about how the last time she held off on telling him something important, he turned into a giant snake and she had to cut his head off.

He leans in.

The words tear themselves free from her throat.

“I kissed him,” she says.

Cardan stills. “What?” The confusion is clear in his voice.

“I had to,” she babbles, and this is how she’s sure something’s not entirely right with her. “He couldn’t know I was resistant to glamour. It was the only thing I had left. The only thing.”

“Jude.” There’s worry now, and a little bit of alarm. She could be wrong. The edges of her vision are going blurry. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Balekin,” she whispers, because his name is almost forbidden, because she has little of her strength left. She's near enough to see the shock widening his eyes. Shock, and something else. Something sharp. Something that can cut her.

“I kissed him,” she confesses, “and then I killed him.”

Jude’s world goes black.

____________

End Note: 

This chapter is the final puzzle piece needed for the, ahem, tension relief to begin. The next chapter is the one I've been looking forward to writing the most, so that's something to look out for!

In the meantime, I have updates, inspo pics/moodboards, and an open inbox on my tumblr!

Thank you again for reading, and I would love to know what you thought of this chapter ❤️

(P.S. There’s also a The Magicians reference in there if you’re familiar with it 👀)

#jude x cardan #jurdan fic #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #the folk of the air #tfota #jurdan #jurdanfanfic #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #tcp fic #tcp #twk #tqon #tqon spoilers #cardan #fic: homeland #zita writes

[courtofjurdan]

One chance part 3

Jurdan college au - masterlist

*If you would like to be tagged, let me know. I hope you enjoy!!*

They walk silently to his sleek, black mustang, which he adores more than his own life. He opens the door for her and she hesitantly gets in with a questioning look on her face. Cardan knows she’s questioning him, but he is stubborn and wants to hear her ask it with words, not expressions.   

Once they have been in the car for a few silent minutes, they arrive at the Underseas’s Diner. They get out and Cardan opens the door for the diner like a gentleman, which really makes Jude worry. Maybe he feels pity for me over what happened at the university. They sit down, and Mrs. Orlagh comes to take their order. After she is gone, Jude raises her eyebrows at Cardan and asks,”So, why did you bring me here for?” 

    “Well Jude, to start off with, I am so very sorry what happened at school. I promise I didn't know anything about it. If I did, I would have stopped immediately.”

Jude replied hesitantly,”Ok, is that it? You could have told me that at class instead of bringing me here and wasting your money on me.” 

Cardan ran a hand through his hair,”No no, I wanted to ask, Jude, if you would give me a chance to start over. I know I have hurt you in more ways than I care to admit, but I really want to start over. Be friends. I know it’s the last thing I deserve, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

Jude was speechless. She didn’t know what to say so when the only thing her tenacious mind thought about was to leave, she said while starting to stand up,”Ok, well. If that was it, I’m going to leav-”

“Please. Please give me the chance to be the person I never was.”

He said the word again. Please. She could hear the desperation in his voice. And so, she pitied him and said,keeping her voice firm,”Fine, I’ll give you a chance. A chance. I advise you not to mess it up.”

Cardan nodded and then their food arrived. They ate in sweet silence until Cardan spoke up,”So I’m having a party this weekend, if you want to come? It could be a good start. If you don’t want to, you know, in front of everybody then I understand.”

Jude wasn’t going to let Cardan know what happened hurt her like it did in high school. So with that, she said,”No I’ll come. Remind me to give you my number and text me details.” 

Cardan put a small grin on his face. Jude could tell that he was happy with her right now. He was more relaxed than she had ever seen him. Well, that was until Nicasia and Valerian walked into the diner. Jude forgot, Mrs. Orlagh was Nicasia’s mom. How could she forget. They walk up to the table, ready to talk their talk. 

Nicasia opens her mouth first,”So what did the cat drag in?”

Valerian laughs with a wicked smile plastered on his face.

 For a small moment, Jude thought Cardan may have just tricked her. That he purposely brought her here to get humiliated again.  For a moment, her heart quickened even faster than it already was until Cardan opened his mouth.

“Stop it, guys.”

“Awe, afraid she’ll get mad and kiss you again. Oh wait, maybe you want that.” She looks at Jude,”I would be taking some pointers, Jude.”

If Cardan’s face could get any angrier, Jude would be surprised,”I told you guys to stop. She hasn’t even done anything to you. She has been minding her own business so how about you go mind yours.” Cardan was half-shouting this through gritted teeth.

“Cardan, it’s ok. I’m used to it.” Jude tried to say, but Cardan snapped back.

“No it’s not ok. You shouldn’t be used to it.” He said in the same angry tone which made Jude flinch under his gaze so he calmed down and quietly said “sorry.”

Jude nodded. 

She really didn’t know what to say. Cardan Greenbriar was taking up for her in front of his own friends. Nicasia and Valerian looked just as surprised as she did. They thought it would please Cardan but it only made him mad. 

Cardan gets up from the booth and says, “Ok, well, if that’s it, me and Jude will be going on our way.” He held a hand out for Jude to take and she hesitantly took it to stand and Cardan led the way out to his car. His friends just stood there in total shock.   

They get into the car and Jude is the first one to speak, “You didn’t have to, you know.”

He replied in confusion while starting the car, “Have to what?”

“You didn’t have to take up for me.”

Cardan was about to put the car in drive, but then he put his hands in his lap with a grin on his face and said, “But that’s what friends do, right?”

Jude thought about that for a second and he just watched her. Then she looked up with the same identical grin and said, “Yeah, I suppose so.” 

He puts the car in drive and keeps that giddy grin on his face.

“Would you like me to drop you off at your dorm?” 

Jude replied, “umm yeah, that’s fine.”

Jude gave him her dorm address, and while she was giving things out, she gave him her number. Jude was happy. But Jude was nervous. He’s tricked her before, what won’t make him do it again? 

He pulled up to her dorm building, and she got out of the car. Before she closed the door, she looked up with a genuine smile and said, “Thank you, Cardan. I enjoyed our outing.” 

He looked up at her with the same grin and nodded as if to say he enjoyed it too. 

She walked all the way back to her dorm to find a worried Bomb on her bed.

“Oh my gosh, Jude, where have you been? I have been worried sick about you. You didn’t answer your phone. I thought you might have been kidnapped or something.”

“Well, I kinda was kidnapped, but I was someones willing victim.”

“What happened?” The Bomb asked questionably. She was quite nervous to know the answer because, to be honest, Jude would do anything. 

Jude went on to tell her about everything that happened. Bomb was just as surprised as Jude was. They spent the rest of the evening together talking and watching movies. 

Friday night rolls around and it’s time to go to Cardan’s party. He texted her to be at Insmoor dormitory at 8pm. That’s exactly what she did. She came in her tight mini dress, paired with some black high heels. This wasn’t her style, per se, but Cardan said to dress fancy and be ready to drink. She looks in through the door and sees that his dorm is packed to the rim. He has a big dorm room though. Because he’s Cardan Greenbriar, he has the money for the big room. 

Jude starts to think that maybe she should just turn around and go back. And she almost does, but then Cardan Greenbriar, in his black dress shoes, black dress pants, white button up shirt with black suspenders (that is just for look because his pants fit heavenly on him) to top it off he has a cute black bow tie, and his curly black hair all kinky, comes out with his hands behind his back. It is almost like he already knew Jude would leave before entering. 

He says with a smirk on his face, “You coming in?” 

He holds out his hand for her to take, but she just stands there with wide eyes and parted lips. She couldn’t believe how sexy he looks. He couldn’t believe how she looks either but he didn’t show it because he knew Jude would look hot. Jude just didn’t know Cardan could get anymore sexier. 

When she doesn’t take his hand, he says, “You just going to stand there, and look at my ethereal beauty?”

This seems to snap her out of it, “Umm yeah… I mean no.” She starts to blush and puts her head down. “I just didn’t know you could clean up that nice.”

He smiles wider and says, “You look good too.”

He holds out his hand again and she takes it. He leads her to the drink table. She denies it at first, but then she gives attention to the thought that she only lives once so one night of drinking is not going to make a difference, or so she thought. 

They have the lights dimmed down, and almost like disco ball lights going in circles. Music is playing so loud that it makes it hard to hear anyone. People are dancing and singing, some people are high and drunk, and some people are in corners by themselves. Jude decides she is going to make this night the funnest night she’s ever had.

Jude drinks her cup, but then decides to go back for more and more. Cardan notices that she is drinking a lot so he goes and takes her cup away. She complains, slurred a bit, “Hey, that’s mine.”

“Jude, darling, I think you’ve had enough.”

“Well, I think you're not having enough fun.” 

Cardan automatically took that as a challenge and said, “Ok, I’ll have fun. Let me go get just as drunk as you are.” 

Jude giggled and sat down on one of his couches and started talking to people.

 Later that night, Nicasia turned the music down and called for everyone who was left, which wasn’t that many people, just more of the popular people than anything. She had them come sit at the couches and chairs. She said, “Ok, so now we are going to play a game. It’s called the boy and his toy. Each boy is going to pick a girl's name out of this bucket and whoever you get is your toy. Then you get to pick whatever room. Simple.”

Cardan didn't know anything about this but at this point, he was drunk, he just let it continue.. 

Nicasia blurts out, “Since this is Cardan’s party, I’ll let him go first. 

Cardan picked a name and it said Jude.

He gave a nod to Nicasia, and he was actually relieved that it was him who got her so he could make sure she wasn’t touched in any way that he knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable in. Jude was even more drunk as Cardan so she just willingly went with Cardan when he showed her who’s name he got. 

What Cardan didn’t know was that all the names were Judes. He wouldn’t have got anyone else. Nicasia was mad at him for taking up for Jude so she did this so she could have something to taunt them with. Little did Cardan know, Nicasia spiked one of Cardan’s and one of Jude’s drinks. Cardan was only a bit fazed by it only because she accidently put more in Jude’s than Cardan’s. Jude was as relaxed as she's ever been. 

Cardan helps Jude walk to the room and he sits her down on his bed. He then goes to sit in the chair across from her. Jude then gets bored rather quickly and asks, “Are we just suppose to sit here?”

“Well, no, but I’m not going to do what they are trying to insinuate me doing.”

Both of their speeches were quite slow and slurred.

Jude gets up and walks to Cardan, unsteadily, “Why?”

Jude pulls his hand and he gets up and follows her to the bed. “You have given me a chance to be your friend. One chance. I would hate to blow it in one night.”

She kissed the corners of his mouth and said, “Don’t worry about it tonight. I have waited to long to do this.” She kissed Cardan's mouth hard and desperate. At first, his eyes went wide, and shocked, but then he realized he wanted it more than anything too. They were too high and drunk to care. 

Cardan kissed her with the same intensity. He grabbed her waist and laid her down on the bed, hard, never breaking the kiss until she gasped as her head hit the mattress. But that didn’t last long, they were on top of each other in a matter of seconds. Clothes were starting to be thrown off one by one. Jude remembers kissing him and then falling into oblivion. 

#cardan x jude #jude x cardan #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #tfota #tfota fanfic #The Folk of the Air #the queen of nothing #the wicked king #the cruel prince #jurdan fanfic #jurdan

[wanderingpages]

Anon M (part one of Dark AU)

(To preface, my [wanderingpages] responses will be in this color!)

This is my exact thoughts while reading it so its a bit of a ramble:-

……Is Cardan a perv stalker here (yes)

Oh my god he is (100 percent)

Aw balekin survived? That’s a shame (truly)

BALEKINS WIFE DIED I feel terrible now im sure she was nice (advisable not to bet on this)

Aw cardan same I like seeing things go up into flames too

Madoc be like :- “I have no fucking time to say anything BUT DON’T KILL HER”

Her is jude right (yes)

EGG WTF IS EGG OH MY GOD EGG (The Great Gatsby! West egg/ Insmoor = new money (he still rich tho))

Okay so I wouldn’t know about this but do dicks actually twitch? (They do!)

And cardan same I like girls with dark red lipstick too

Oh this is jude I feel it in my bones

Why is the roach roach but the bomb lil (could not justify her nickname being the bomb if I wanted her to be Judes friend OUTSIDE of all this gang gang business; Roach lowkey a lil shady.)

Aw judes got spidey senses

Lemme guess hollow hall is a college (yes)

WEST EGG WHAT IS HAPPENING

It always confuses me when people mewl

Oh cardan is a perv stalker (on god)

Such flirting

Aw the roach being a good fwiend

Taryn went abroad… no… explanation just abroad (to study lol)

Oh no LOCKE GET AWAY FROM HER

I COULD KILL LOCKE (👀)

(so could cardan apparently hes being…aggressive)

Um

Um

UM

Is this what the description meant (about killing her at any given moment but not really? kinda)

HOLY FUCK

Damn locke

He deserves it

I shrug and pull the gun out, “See, I know when a lady says no, she means no.”

I like this

….mcdonalds

Jude being soft and all but I just read HTKOELTHS so that’s ooc for me lol (weirdly enough Jude is the MOST ooc character here)

Then again this is a fic

Okay Dark Cardan is making me pine for CEO cardan (my favourite) (even when it’s not his own fic he still prevails)

Jude….if youre carrying a gun why wouldn’t it be loaded (for aesthetic purposes ofc)

“Most know me as king” hahahhahahhahahahahahaha ohhhhhhhhhh I cant breathe

This is good im liking this (thank you! I’ve enjoyed the commentary haha)

#submission post #dark au #part one lol #spoilers I guess #sorry it took so long #had to cross reference lol #this was fun!! #submission

[dovalayn]

can’t decide on a name for my island

please help me, and be sure to use any you like, no need to credit!

foxglove

hemlock

hïon

insmire

insear

insmoor

ravenwood

crescent island

moonbay

sunray island

sunbeam creek

avalon

(prim)rose isle

honey meadow

ash grove

lemonhill

fernpass

sweetmist bay

dewdrop glen

peach valley

balmy breeze

cerridwen

fair brook

fae dale

rivendell

lil peak

buttercup

pumpkin creek

thornwood

port forsythia

juniper isle

fruity cloud

berry tart

maple fields

daisy bloom

amaranthine isle

sugarplum dale

home

coral cove

briarpatch

witchmoor

willow pond

tangerine cream

rosewood haven

skyhold

gold harbour

#animal crosing new horizons #animal crossing #nintendo #nintendo switch

[im-someone-i-guess]

bunnies and blood

a jurdan fic by ryhanna

word count: 1540

There was a stark line between fashionably atrocious and offensively atrocious when one wore feathers. After another tiring day spent listening to their subject's business, Cardan was dragged off to see a burrow of bunnies by his beloved wife.

prompt: "They skive off a day hearing subjects' business. Then they play with rabbits instead.." requested by seillean

There was a stark line between fashionably atrocious and offensively atrocious when one wore feathers. This faerie wasn’t just toe-ing it, she had already ventured far past it, unbeknownst of the degree of ugliness she was at. Cardan had always thought his love of feathers were already unbearable, these thoughts fueled by Jude’s frown every time Cardan brought out an article of clothing that even had the mere suggestion of a feather. But this was just…absurd.

Dozens of feathers had been tucked into this faerie’s dark hair, in varying shades of blue. Then, there were hundreds of tiny ones lining the neckline of her bodice, and thousands making up her full skirt. Subtly, Cardan risked a look at his wife, eager to see her scandalised expression. And indeed she did not disappoint. Her features were twisted in a familiar scowl, one of disbelief at this lady’s gall at showing up in such a dress.

“Your Majesties,” the faerie greeted, lowering her lithe figure into a low bow. At the movement, the feathers rustled, a distracting sight. “I am Lady Dowager Van Mal, of the newly raised Land of Insmoor.”

Cardan raised an eyebrow, waiting. Though it was incredibly hard to keep a straight face, with the breeze ruffling the countless feathers, Cardan managed it. The winds were no doubt Jude’s work, some distraction as the faerie droned on and on about how her neighbour kept holding revels and parties that ruined her shrubberies. She had improved her magic, immensely, the one blessing from her weekly lessons with some tutor from Insweal.

“Very well, we will review your problem though I must ask if you may have thought of other alternatives?” Jude asked, leaning forward from her throne. Her eyelashes were brushing against her cheeks, a subtle sign that she was completely uninterested. She liked being high queen, Cardan knew, but this was an aspect of ruling that she much disliked. This was Cardan’s forte, he was supposed to be the one more involved right now.

He could feel Jude’s insistent glances as she resumed advising the lady dowager. “Perhaps the two of you may find a compromise, negotiate the terms with your neighbour to… reduce the revels.”

“But Your Majesty, I do not want those revels reduced, I want them diminished, ended, gone!” As she spoke her hysterical outburst, the feathers in her hair swayed even more, hypnotising Cardan in a trance. “My king, what do you say?” And those feathers turned to him, as with the faerie’s expectant eyes.

Only then did Cardan drag himself to the present, to the lady of a thousand feathers, he had already forgotten her name. “I agree with my wife, as should you, Lady…?” he drew out the word in a bored drawl. If she would not respect Jude, then Cardan wouldn’t respect her either, not that she deserved any ounce of it.

“Lady Dowager Van Mal,” she said. Though now her fire had died down, replaced by the dawning realisation that she had made a mistake, one that would cost her dearly. Swiftly, she turned back to Jude, dropping to her knees as she kissed the ground. “Apologies, my queen, I did not mean to yell, or dismiss your suggestion or-”

“Hush,” Jude told her, barely concealing her rolled eyes. “You have wasted enough of our time. Yours is a problem that should be settled with your neighbour. Spare us your endless tirade and your overbearing feathery presence.”

Cardan sensed she had been twirling the last sentence within her head, and Cardan wholeheartedly agreed. He did not think he could ever view feathers without envisioning this faerie and her discontent frown. The guards hoisted her up from the ground and Cardan saw, with an amused grin, that the lady was looking hopefully at Cardan, as if he would swoop in and become her saving grace.

She was decidedly wrong, no one dared to question High Queen Jude’s word, not even the High King, especially the High King. So when Jude suddenly stood up when the guard asked if they would be receiving more petitioners, or prisoners or visitors, none questioned her when she announced that they would be done for the day. Nor did a single faerie interrupt her when she took Cardan’s hand, yanked him off his seat and started dragging him to no one knows where.

“Where are we going?” Cardan finally asked. They had just passed the gates, the sentinels letting them pass without a word. Sometimes he wondered if they would even let Jude kill him in cold blood and simply resume going on with their day. “Jude, where are you bringing us?”

“Bomb tells me there is colony of bunnies hidden within a burrow nearby, I want to see them,” she replied, a jovial tone to each step as she brought them further from the leering palace. Cardan was glad to see them leaving, he was long tired of their days spent within the walls, constantly watched, constantly accompanied. They were for his safety, his knights told him but Cardan only felt further on guard by their presence, there was the need to pretend. The only security he would ever need was Jude being there by his side, wafting out an intimidating air that warded off anyone unwanted.

“It’s such a shame that your dress has to be destroyed in this pursuit though,” Cardan said, mournfully looking at her gown. The delicate saffron was stained by mud and grass, dragging across the ground with each step Jude took. Though Jude was anything but vain, Cardan took up that role, determined to be vain enough to sustain the both of them. So he took every stain, tear and wrinkle as a personal offence, being vocal enough to eventually annoy Jude into changing her clothes into something pristine. But he supposed this time he would just have to…swallow it.

“Your boots are equally dirty, and from the smell, I suspect you’ve stepped on some pile of turd,” Jude replied coldly. She was far ahead now, eyes casted down, combing the grass for the bunnies she hoped to find. “Maybe you should’ve summoned a ragwort pony.”

“I would’ve if only you’d given me at least a moment’s notice, I could’ve-” Cardan almost tripped over Jude’s skirts, almost tumbling them both down the hill. “What in Queen Mab’s name are you-”

Jude shushed him, jabbing a sharp elbow in his stomach without so much as a glance back. She had drawn Nightfell, he noticed, the sword glinting in the daylight. Cardan hadn’t even noticed the sun rise, how had he missed the whole of dawn?

“There,” she whispered, pointing at a suspicious monster, barely visible within the cluster of trees. Cardan saw the faint profile of horns, and a large body.

Though frequently pestered by Jude, and then some more by Roach to brandish himself with blades of all sorts as they have, Cardan had paid them no heed. Most times, Jude would strap a holstered knife to his thigh anyway, disguising the act by a scandalous kiss. This time, she had not, and if they made it out alive, which they most likely would, Cardan would have to endure hours of Jude’s lecture about the importance of always being armed.

And in his need for her to simply stop and use that mouth for other more pleasant things, Cardan would do something idiotic and agree. Jude would never let him live it down, he would be reminded of it every hour, every minute, every second of the day.

“You wait here and if it comes at you…” Jude conjured a dagger from a hidden sheath, shoving it into Cardan’s hand. He was about to protest but the monster had already launched himself from the shadows, just as Jude ran to meet it in the middle. With seven unending smooth arcs of her sword, Jude slayed the beast, spraying its blood and guts all over the green grass, colouring it scarlet. She was magnificent, Cardan decided, though this was already established long ago.

Ensuring the beast was really dead, Cardan then ran down the hill, grinning at Jude, passing her her knife. She looked unfazed by the gore, smiling pleasantly as she took the blade and resumed her search.

~

It was only an hour later did they find the burrow, inconspicuously marked by dandelions, a signature of Bomb’s. Jude grinned with glee when they peeked from their hole, curiously glancing up at Jude as they sniffed her awaiting hand. Then, it completely jumped at Jude, followed by another, then another, then another.

“Their mother had been attacked by some fox, Bomb said. So now she tends to them when she has time, bringing them all sorts of foods she sneaks from the palace.” By now, the monster’s blood had long dried, slowly flaking off of Jude’s dress. It was a blessing, to not have them stain the bunnies’ snow-white fur. “Oh, this is a welcome reprieve from the events at court,” Jude sighed.

And glancing up at his wife, her dress stained with mud and her hair dusted with blood, with tiny bunnies hopping around her, demanding her attention, Cardan could only agree. “Indeed, this is a welcome reprieve.”

#fanfic #ry writes #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #jurdan #books #booklover #booklr #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar

[legendarycollectionjellyfish3]

So, I was thinking about Cardan’s backstory as per the Queen of Nothing prologue, because let’s face it, which of us isn’t, and I had some thoughts. You see, to me, the combination of all the quotes seems like a rebirth prophesy.

We start out with the quote, “Prince Cardan will be your last born child...He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.” (The Queen of Nothing, Prologue,  via NOVL.)  So, we know that Cardan will definitely destroy the crown. It could be through literal transformation, such as in @faerytalesfromtheabyss theory, or not, but that’s not really the point right now. We know that he will destroy the throne.

We also know that a new ruler -- a good ruler -- can only rise once his blood is spilled. “Only out of his spilled blood can a great ruler rise, but not before what I have told you has come to pass.” (The Queen of Nothing, prologue,  via NOVL.) However,  what if the new,  great ruler is still Cardan, just changed by what happened?

When we initially meet Cardan, we see his cruelty through his interactions with Jude. This prologue gives us some insight into why he is this way, along with this prologue, but initially we only see him as cruel.

Then, he receives the throne, but it is Jude ruling through him. Cardan doesn’t want the throne,  though he doesn’t hate it (as per his words to Jude), but he isn’t truly the one ruling.  He also doesn’t act in a way that is appropriate for a King, remaining a bad ruler despite Jude’s influence. 

It is during this time that Baphen points out to Jude Cardan’s influence on Faerie. He says, “When he becomes drunk, his subjects become tipsy without knowing why. When his blood falls, things grow. Why, High Queen Man called Insmire, Insmoor, and Insweal from the sea. All the isles of Elfhame, formed in a single hour.” (The Wicked King, Chapter 7, Kindle Version.)

We also see direct evidence of things growing when he is shot, resulting in white flowers growing. If this is the case, then could the spilling of his blood not result in him growing, too? The spilling of his blood resulting in the transformation of both himself and Faerie? To me,  it seems like the quotes, taken together,  might be indicating something like this.

Anyhow,  just some random thoughts ^^

#this is another sleep deprived post and therefore not to be taken too seriously #but I had thoughts #I meant to post this yesterday #but then I couldn't find the quote I was looking for #lol #sigh #um actually relevant tags are #the queen of nothing #queen of nothing #tqon #The Folk of the Air #The Modern Faerie Tales #the wicked king #the cruel prince #jude durate #cardan greenbriar #holly black

[acourtofcouture]

An Insider’s Guide to the Folk of the Air: the Art of Elfhame, 2/?

#the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #the lost sisters #how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories #an insider's guide to the folk of the air #the art of elfhame #the folk of the air #folk of the air #the folk of the air trilogy #folk of the air trilogy #the folk of the air series #folk of the air series #tfota #elfhame #faerie #faerieland #insmire #insmoor #insweal #insear #the undersea #high king of elfhame #the high king of elfhame #high king of faerie #the high king of faerie #high queen of elfhame #high queen of faerie #the high queen of elfhame #the high queen of faerie

[ladybookworm]

Cardan: I wasn't invited to the party!

Jude: Yeah.. The Court thinks you're melodramatic.

Cardan: (slapping Jude with a silk glove) then I shall go die alone.

#The cruel prince #The wicked king #the queen of nothing #Cardan #cardan greenbriar #Jude #jude duarte #Jurdan #taryn duarte #Taryn #Vivianne #Vivianne Duarte #Madoc #Orianna #Oak #Locke #Nicassia #elfhame #Insmire #Insmoor #Insweal #Insear #Hollow hall #Under the sea #Orlagh #Balekin #The roach #The bomb #The ghost