The High King and Queen of Elfhame- Jurdan Human AU

Chapter 8- Cardan

A/N- hey guys! Another filler from Cardan's POV. He's so fun to write, even though I could never do him justice. This is the last kind of "in a row" chapter for now- there will be time skips in the future for sure, but they won't be major. Please vote and comment!

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As Cardan bemusedly watched Jude sprint down the hallway, discarding his jumper before hurtling around the corner, Taryn came up beside her. She looked up at him, almost a head shorter than him.

"You should watch her." She said it casually, as though watching Jude skate was a normal thing to do. Cardan looked incredulously at her.

"That is decidedly creepy." Taryn huffed out a laugh.

"Let me rephrase that. You will learn more about her if you watch her skate." She gave him a small push, and so Cardan started walking slowly back towards the rink. He could hear Taryn and the guy conversing behind him. He wondered who the guy was, and if he knew Jude. That thought made him feel emotions he never wanted to examine, so he quickly shoved it out of his head.

When the trio finally reached the rink, the guy stepped onto the ice while Taryn followed Cardan over to Oriana in the back of the stands. Oriana smiled at Taryn, who smiled back, hugging her. It was easy to tell which twin Oriana got on better with. Cardan pulled on his hoodie, noticing it smelled faintly of vanilla and chocolate now, and wondered vaguely if Jude baked. He then noticed what he assumed to be her figure sprint onto the ice, slamming to a stop in front of a man standing in the middle of the rink. He started gesturing wildly, shouting loud enough to be heard from here. Jude hung her head and skated away. The figure spun around, and Cardan's blood ran cold.

His brother Balekin sneered at the players on the ice. Cardan hadn't seen Balekin in thirteen months and twelve days. Thirteen months and twelve days of freedom. Cardan hunched lower in his seat, hoping desperately that Balekin wouldn't see him. To say that Balekin hated him was the understatement of the year. Jude started skating lines up and down the rink. She was so quick Cardan could barely keep his eyes off of  her. It was insane that she could do that and still be as graceful as she was figure skating.

"Were you productive while you were in the closet and did you decide on a long programme song?" Oriana asked as Taryn settled down beside her, scrolling on her phone. Cardan tore his gaze away from Jude, who was now passing the puck with the ferocity of a mountain lion.

"Long programme?" He asked quickly. Oriana nodded.

"That's ok. We picked out a song for our short programme, but it can work for the long one too- we just have to extend it. What's this about, though? You always pick my long programme." He narrowed his eyes at Oriana.

"Not this year. I have a truly excellent song for your short programme." She pulled out her phone, squinting at it. She tapped the screen a few times and then a song started blaring from the speaker. She quickly turned it down, but Cardan was already hiding behind the seat in front of him, heart pounding wildly in his chest. Oriana looked down at him, an expression of pity on her face. Cardan scowled and sat back up, paying attention to the song.

"Wait. I know this song." He listened more intently, trying to figure out where from. "This song is trending right now, Oriana. How on earth did you hear of it?" Oriana shot Cardan a withering glare, and Taryn covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a grin. Cardan laughed.

"I'll have you know Cardan Greenbriar, I am far more modern and hip than you think." Cardan laughed harder.

"The song is called I like the way you kiss me, as you know well. And remember who you will be skating with." Cardan's laughter died in this throat. He would have to skate with Jude to this song? The lyrics weren't subtle at all.

"No, Oriana, please-" Oriana raised her right hand, silencing him.

"I know I can rely on you two not to be romantically involved, because of your blatant hatred for each other and because of the incident-" Cardan winced. "-but who's stopping me from letting people make assumptions? It makes you more popular. Besides, that photo this morning really helped matters. Now people just assume you're together." Cardan froze. What did she just say?

"What photo, Oriana?" A deathly calm had come over Cardan. Sensing something was wrong, Oriana tensed, her brow furrowing. She looked at Cardan and wordlessly handed him her phone. Cardan stared at it. And stared at it. He couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. His brain couldn't process it.

On Instagram, Locke had posted a photograph of Cardan and Jude, asleep. She was wearing his jumper, snuggled into his shoulder. She looked so peaceful. His head was leaning on top of her's, and his arm was draped around her shoulders. They looked like a couple. Cardan fumbled the phone, handing it back to Oriana, but not before he read Locke's caption.

'Little snuggle before practice from everyone's favourite new pair @cardan.greenbriar05 @jude_duartee'. That bastard had tagged them. Cardan was ready to kill Locke, who was only interested at stirring up trouble. Getting more material for his precious little stories. Cardan's hands clenched into fists. A hand gently covered Cardan's left one. Cardan looked up to see Oriana shaking her head in warning. They couldn't have a repeat of last year. Cardan exhaled, looking back at the rink and at Jude. At some point they had started drilling scoring plays. Jude was an attacker, and it was her turn now.

When Jude got the puck, she flew. Cardan had never seen anyone go that fast on ice, ever. She darted around defenders, spinning with agility she could only have gotten from years of practice. It was incredible. She whacked the puck at the top corner of the goal, and the goalie was too slow. She flew around the back, and Cardan saw Balekin give Jude a curt nod. From his brother that was as good as a pat on the back for good work. Jude glanced up at the stands, faltering slightly when she caught sight of him. He waved at her, and she raised her middle finger as much as she could with those massive gloves on. Cardan huffed out a laugh. He didn't notice Taryn and Oriana exchanging a wide eyed look beside him.

Skating with Jude might actually be... fun. If she doesn't find out about what happened last year. Or what happened in high school.