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Even with all the responsibilities resting on our shoulders, Cardan and I took every opportunity to escape from boring politics. So when Vivienne asked us to “housesit” while she attended a comics convention where Heather had an artist table, we immediately accepted. Heather and her had gotten back together and moved into a bigger place, in a charming residential neighborhood. Apparently, housesitting is a common thing in the mortal world - especially when you have pets, or… plants.
“She’s even growing ragworth!”, Cardan exclaimed as he looked at a planter on the porch.
Cardan was always very excited to visit the mortal world with me. Everything fascinated him. Electricity, for one, was like magic. At first, I had expected him to be awful, pompous, to degrade everything from the human world. I was surprised to find he was genuinely curious. He wanted to try every machine he saw, and was quite sad when I told him that, no, he could not drive a car. That you needed a card to use the ATM - which, obviously, I did not have.
Before we left Elfhame, he kept talking about how excited he was to … watch TV. The first time we went to the mortal world together, after the whole snake-debacle, Heather showed him how to navigate the smart TV to find something to watch. Oak taught him how to make popcorn (“ You can’t watch a movie without popcorn, Uncle Cardan!”). So, we spent the first day of our couple getaway watching movies.
When I came out of the bathroom in my pajamas, Cardan was sprawled on the couch, legs crossed over the coffee table. He had made popcorn, and apparently had already selected a movie.
“So what are we watching?”
I pushed his feet off the table and sat between his legs. He immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.
“The movies are sorted into categories, and there is a “romance” section,” I could feel the grin in his tone. He nuzzled my hair. “I found one called ‘Titanic’.”
I laughed. “Well, this is gonna be interesting.”
“Have you watched it before ?”
“No, everyone knows about it! It was one of my mom’s favorites. Let’s watch it.”
He pressed play.
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I did not see him cry, but I heard a few suppressed sobs. At the end, he was clutching my hand as if to make sure I was still there. He let me pick the next movie. Eventually, I fell asleep in his arms, one of his hands idly playing with my hair.
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When I woke up, we were still on the couch. I was laying on his torso, his chest rising slowly as he slept. As I watched him, I thought about how different from who I thought he was when we had lessons together. How different I am from the person I was back then. I was not afraid of him anymore. Without Balekin and Dain to hurt him, Cardan did not have to try to be as cruel as possible. He had nobody to impress. And while I still did not have the same kind of respect as he did from our people, I was not afraid of living in Faerie.
I was strong.
I survived.
We survived.
I thought about my sister Taryn and her reaction when she learned I married Cardan. Her confusion and disbelief. Did she ever really understand me? We had such different ambitions, but I guess I ended up reaching both of our dreams: I got a place in court, and I fell in love with a faerie.
Cardan shifted, which drew me out of my thoughts. He opened his eyes and smiled down at me.
“Good morning, babe.”
“What?”
“I said good morning.”
“No, what did you call me?”
He looked away and I could have sworn he was blushing. I could not help but feel some kind of sick pride whenever I embarrassed him - the prince who humiliated me, undone by a mere human. It’s not like he did not relish in teasing me, either.
“Huh… ‘babe’. Is this not a name humans use for their lovers? I heard it in one of the movies.”
I moved up and settled in the crook of his arm. I brushed a black curl away and tucked it behind his ear.
“It just surprised me, Cardan. You’re usually so… creative with your nicknames.”
“Am I now.” He still looked embarrassed. I brush my knuckle against his sharp cheekbone.
“I keep a list of my favorites.”
He threw his head back and laughed freely. A smile tugged at my lips as I looked at him.
“I would love to see this list.”
“My current favorite is ‘my darling god’,” I said, then I leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, “But I love when you call me your queen.”
He raised his eyebrows and smirked. I felt a shiver going down my spine when I realized in what direction his thoughts went.
“You know, ‘my queen’ is also something humans call their female lover. Even if she doesn’t bear the title.”
“I should call you my High Queen then, lest you forget you do bear the title.”
“What about you, Your Highness?”, I said teasingly, “High King Cardan Greenbriar, what shall I call you?”
He lifted my chin and brushed a thumb against my cheek, my lips.
“Yours.”