𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 | folk of the air, cardan, jude

༶•⛧┈ 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 ┈♛

Cardan: I wasn't that drunk last night.
The Roach: You flirted with Jude.
Cardan: So what? She's my wife.
The Roach: You asked her if she was single and cried when she said she wasn't.

I LAUGH FREELY as I dance around the room. All around me, courtiers and guests are enjoying another revel, although it has been just one of many. The Ghost lifts my arm over my head, twirling me gracefully, shooting me his quick, mischievous grin before switching partners with the couple next to us, ending up with his real partner and also my twin sister, Taryn.

As I turn around again, I wind up in the arms of Cardan, who, as expected, is drunk past relief. His smile to me is sincere, but I can tell that he, like me, is still adjusting to ruling over a peaceful Faerie. Enjoyable as it is to not have arguments everyday, I have to admit it is a bit discomfiting.

"I am once again in the arms of my beautiful wife," the High King drawls, a trace of what I had once labeled his 'wicked smirk' on his face.

"Indeed you are," I reply, pressing two quick, teasing kisses on either side of his face.

When he realizes that I am not going to give him anything else, his eyes darken, something I would find menacing had I not known better. Pulling me out of the dancing circles, he begins to chase me around the room, yelling at me to give him more kisses.

Some of the fey around us look mildly scandalized to see the High King and Queen acting like this, but not many. After all, wilder things have happened, although a grin appears on my face as I imagine Oriana, my prim stepmother, reacting to a drunk Cardan chasing me around a revelry room.

When I am not willing to run anymore, I sit down beside my friends, the Roach and the Bomb, in a relatively hidden corner of the room. Cardan flops next to me, glaring at me until I finally give in and press a kiss to his mouth.

He tastes like wine. Again.

"You know, you really are beautiful," my husband says, sounding sober for one second before he continues. "Are you single, by any chance?"

Beside me, I hear the Roach snicker.

The Bomb, who sits on his lap, turns her head to us, keeping a straight face but clearly curious to see what I will reply.

I decide to tell the truth for once. "No," I answer absently.

What I honestly don't expect is for Cardan to curl up at once and start crying. Oh–

This time, the Roach can't contain his laughter. The Bomb manages to hold it together better, but I can hear a few snickers escape her.

"Cardan–" I begin, but stop myself, unsure what to do to comfort a crying High King, for goodness's sake. "Oh boy, you're really drunk," I sigh. He makes no reply.

Eventually, I manage to convince him into following me up to our rooms. As I leave, I hear the Roach calling, "Good luck!", which makes me roll my eyes.

I guide Cardan into our shared bedroom, where he promptly falls asleep on the bed. Covering him with a blanket with another roll of my eyes, I return downstairs to keep an eye on the revel.

***********

CARDAN'S POV

Cardan wakes up with a pounding head. Turning to his side, he sees Jude asleep on a couch. He frowns, wondering why she wasn't next to him– until last night's revel comes back to him. The fact that his memories are still blurry are a testimony to how much wine he had probably consumed, and also why Jude wasn't sleeping with him on their bed. She hates when he gets drunk like that.

Pulling on a robe, the High King sneaks out into the corridors, slyfooting the sleeping guards, making his way to the rooms of the Court of Shadows.

The Roach is already there, cleaning off his weapons nonchalantly. When he sees Cardan, he calls out, "How's it going, Cardan, King of Drinking 100 Gallons of Wine?"

Although it'd be lying to say that Cardan hadn't drank a lot last night, he doesn't believe he'd drank that much. "I wasn't that drunk last night," he protests.

His friend snorts. "You flirted with Jude," he replies.

Cardan's face morphs into one of confusion. "So what? She's my wife."

"You asked her if she was single and cried when she said she wasn't," The Roach deadpans.

"I can verify that it's true," Jude says, sneaking up behind her husband and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Aww, Cardan's blushing!" The Bomb exclaims, poking her head into the doorway of two adjoining rooms. He sends a glare towards her, trying to distract the others from staring too concentratedly at his face.

"Technically, I am the High King, and could punish all of you from teasing me like this," he replies wickedly.

"And technically, I am the High Queen, and could pardon all of them from your punishments," Jude counters. When Cardan raises a brow, her beautiful face scrunches up and she adds, "Wait, is that how it works?", making him give her a rare smile.

After all, if he can live with Jude forever, he knows he'll be happy.