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Cardan Greenbriar, King of Elfhame and husband to the most murderous women in Farilyland was drunk. This was not an unusual state to find the king in, for he got drunk quite often.
However, this time his wife was mad. Sure, she too was used to it, for they had grown up together and often in their days as students Cardan would show up to class so tipsy (and quite possibly crossed as well) that his words would slur through all their lessons and he would demand the most impossible things from their teachers. Whether that be to hire a singing troll for the next week of class to teach of ancient fairy culture, or for them to ferment the finest wine in the land as part of their curriculum.
His demands were hard to meet.
This time though he had made a promise to Jude, he was to try to be sober, or at least drink more responsibly, and at very very least only to the point where he wouldn't wind up throwing up in their bathtub or passing out before he reached the bed. But here he sat surrounded by the most expensive barrels of wine on the roof of the palace. How he got the barrels up there is a mystery, his body barely held any muscle, and what muscle it did hold was probably not the type for heavy lifting.
His scrawny fairy legs dangled over the edge of the roof and they swung back and forth in the breeze and tangled with the long and elegant robe he wore. They were a deep shade of black to the point of creating a void around him if you saw him in a shadowy corner. The robe was long and worn like a dress with silver stitching drawing elaborate patterns through the fabric. Though it was slightly less dramatic than some of his other clothes, the tie around his waist made his silhouette stand out, fierce and sharp, like an intimidating shadow with silver stars woven into its depths.
But now his robe was hanging off his shoulder, the sash he'd tied around his middle had long since been thrown off the roof and surrendered to the wind. His stomach had become too full and uncomfortable from all the wine he had consumed to be restrained by the tight knot the fabric was tied in.
A cool wind was now able to sweep over him and through the thin sheer top he wore under his robe causing goosebumps to cover his skin, which went unnoticed by Cardan. The alcohol kept him warm inside and the fear of what his wife would say once she found out was enough to keep his mind distracted.
He didn’t yet actually know if she would be mad at him but he could not think of any other reaction. He was too far in by now to stop drinking, so he reached over and poured another glass for himself from a tap in the barrel that was directly beside him. He was so drunk he was beginning to become afraid of how he would get down from the roof without toppling to his death. He would figure that out when the time came.
A quiet voice sounded from behind him, “Cardan?”
“Hmm,” he hummed, not feeling bothered to look behind him where the voice was coming from, his nose was buried in his newly refiled cup and he wasn't about to bring the glass down for a true response.
“I think we should go down…” the voice trailed off sounding hesitant. “Everyone's gone by now and the sun will rise in an hour or so.” The person walked over next to him and sat down with her legs over the edge as well.
He looked over at her through glassy eyes and was surprised to see that it was Jude, her tone wasn’t angry like he had imagined it would be, but soft and careful, like she was scared for him. He let out a small laugh filled with chilled mirth before saying, “I’m not done here, you can go.” He didn’t know why he said that. He didn’t want her to go and he didn’t know how to get down without her either.
He shifted his body so that his legs were no longer dangling over the edge but instead parallel to it. His back and head were now able to lean against the barrel of wine behind him so he could stare directly at Jude. She had a pretty side profile, one he had admired many times before, both in class when they were students and he hated her and she hated him and now when they lied in bed and Cardan couldn't sleep. He traced the line from her forehead to her nose and over the lips that he had kissed many times before.
She did not however leave like he asked of her, which he was grateful for despite the glare he had placed on his mouth and aimed at her. “I’m sorry it went down that way,” was the next thing she said. This only further confused Cardan. He didn’t remember what had gone down and he was making every effort for it to remain that way. If Jude was acting so somber and actually saying nice things to him for once he definitely made the right choice in drinking away his problems and forgetting. “I know you didn’t want people to know that, or to see that.”
It was slowly coming back to him and he harshly blinked his eyes, screwing them sharp in an attempt to close his mind to the newly learned magic she was clearly trying to inflict on him. “Stop,” he said, a choked sound escaping his throat.
“I had her arrested, it was a breach of privacy and she had no consent from any of us.”
“Jude, can’t you see I don’t want to talk about this right now?” he said. “I don’t remember what happened and I want it to stay that way.”
Jude huffed in annoyance, “That won’t work Cardan, drinking away your problems is a temporary fix, it will all be back in the morning.” She had spoken with an edge to her voice, and Cardan could tell she was losing her patience with his patheticness. And it brought a small comfort to him. A nice Jude had no place on this roof and he didn’t expect it right now. It went against his predictions and only made him more uncomfortable with the situation. He could stand her yelling at him for drinking or getting upset that he didn’t want to think about that night. What he could not stand however was her comforting him when he was doing something wrong, something he felt guilty about, for breaching his promise to her.
Her annoyance didn’t last long however and the weight came over him again when she said, “I won’t make you come down.”
He scoffed and took another sip from his cup, as though showing her the consequence of being nice would not help or stop him in any way. He wanted her to yell at him, to remind him how he wasn’t the only one affected by the Imp’s stories and magic, that he was being selfish running away onto a roof just to drown himself in booze.
“It’s ok to be upset Cardan, you’re the king. It’s more damaging to you than to anyone else in that room.”
His head fell back again against the barrel and in a choked voice he said, “You’re supposed to yell at me.” His chin dipped and a warm tear fell down his cheek. He didn’t know why he was crying, the night was still foggy in his mind and he couldn't remember what he was crying for. He couldn't remember what he had lost.
He heard Jude get up from her spot on the roof. Maybe she was finally leaving him. But no, she just crouched down beside him and wrapped her arms around Cardan. He froze for a moment. Was she going to push him off the roof? No, this was a hug. “It’s ok Cardan,” Jude said. He wasn’t used to this. This wasn’t their relationship. He and Jude had hugged a handful of times. Their relationship was heated kissing and hurtful words that only caused passion and reinforced their love. Hugging was intimate. Did this situation really call for such a warm display of affection?
His body betrayed him and he melted into Jude's warm arms. His face fell onto her chest and he let out a wet sob, muffled by her shirt. He didn’t know if the situation called for emotion or crying, but a bubble was building in his chest and it was now popping.
The hand holding his cup fell onto the rooftop next to him, spilling its contents onto Cardan's robe before rolling off the edge of the roof. The drop was too far to hear the sound of it hitting the ground.