Chapter Text
It was an awfully boring meeting in Cardan's eyes. Not nearly enough wine. Just the Roach and the Ghost and the Bomb talking on and on and on about secret passageways through the castle, about people who might want to assassinate him, blah, blah, blah. He didn't care. If someone wanted him gone, they would've acted by now. And he was sure Jude wouldn't let anyone else have the pleasure. No, he was sure she wanted that all to herself.
His pointed ears twitched for a few moments and he sat up a little straighter. He glanced towards the three spies, who all sat up as well. He narrowed his eyes towards the door, reaching for the knife he kept in his boot, before the door burst open. His eyes widened when he saw who it was- And what had happened to her.
"Cardan-" Jude gasped as she stumbled into the Court of Shadows, blood spilling from the gash in her side. Pain flared through her with every movement.
The dark haired faerie was on his feet in an instant, unable to mask his concern. "What the hell happened to you?" He demanded, his voice laced with venom. But not towards her- No, never towards her.
The mortal girl gasped weakly and collapsed, but before she could hit the ground, the four of them caught her and heaved her up.
"I'll get bandages," The Bomb said, rushing off to gather what they'd need.
"Stay awake." Cardan tried to force glamour into his words, though he'd forgotten about the damn geas Dain had put on her. "If you fall asleep I swear to the gods I'll drop you in the Lake of Masks." His fear came out as anger, his tone as sharp as Jude's favored blades. "Jude, stay awake." His voice shook nearly as bad as his hands as he cupped them over her wound, trying to staunch the bleeding with his doublet. The Roach and the Ghost held her steady and carefully moved her towards the table, the Bomb clearing off the maps and paperweights and everything so they could get her up on the table. The Bomb started to pull her tunic up jest enough to get it over the wound, to make it easier to clean. She hissed in sympathy when she saw just how bad the wound was.
"Ghost- Take the Kingling, get him out of here." The white haired fey said, starting to carefully pack moss into the wound. Jude cried out in pain, her back arching up off the table. "I know, I know it hurts, I'm sorry," She whispered.
The Ghost hesitated before nodding. "Come, Your Majesty." He said, gesturing towards the doorway. That seemed to force Cardan out of his shock.
"No. I will not leave her." He shook his head, dark waves bouncing around his face. The stench of blood was heavy in the air. It was smeared across his hands, drenched into his doublet, turning the black fabric a darker, wetter black.
Jude was fading in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherent words that none of them could quite understand. She wore her usual outfit of a dark tunic, trousers. Nightfell was strapped to her hip, and Cardan was sure she had a plethora of other weapons hidden on her person. Whatever had happened, it had happened fast, since her sword was still in its sheath. It struck him that he was sickeningly sober. No, now wasn't the time. Jude was more important than wine. Jude was more important than revelry, he'd come to learn. More important than dancing, than drinking, than making merry.
The Bomb kept tending to the wound, murmuring soft apologies as she cleaned it and packed moss into it, before doing her best to wrap bandages around the girl's waist. The brunette groaned weakly, barely even able to make any noise. Exhaustion weighed her down, made her feel heavy, like she was made of lead.
Soon enough, the world faded to black. She let the darkness envelope her, let it dull the pain, drown out her thoughts. She slipped into sleep's sweet seductive grasp, despite the voices of her friends begging her to stay awake.
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Black. It was the first thing she remembered after waking up. Darkness, and the throbbing, thudding pain of the gash in her side. The ringing in her ears, then finally, the sunlight that filtered through her drapes. She whimpered weakly before she forced her eyes open. She wasn't coherent enough to recognize the person sitting in the chair beside her bed, their hand loosely around hers. She dozed back off, her eyes sliding shut as sleep tugged her down again.
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Jude woke up to the sound of birds singing outside her window. She grumbled softly and forced herself to sit up, though she instantly regretted it. She practically doubled over on herself, pain shooting through her side.
"Don't sit up too fast, you'll rip your stitches-" Jude heard the voice over the ringing in her ears. Who was that?
Oh.
Vivienne pushed herself up from the chair at Jude's desk, quickly making her way over to her little sister's bed.
"Vivi..?" Jude mumbled. Her mouth was dry, her throat sore. Her head was pounding. She could feel her heartbeat in the wound on her side, which probably wasn't a good sign.
"Here, drink some water," Vivi offered a small smile, carefully guiding a cup up to Jude's lips to help her drink. "You've been out for almost a week, Jude. You've been worrying us all sick." She said after a few moments, setting the cup down.
"A week?!" Jude was instantly more awake, more alert. Cardan could have unravelled every plan she'd ever set into motion. Madoc could've seized the throne somehow, somehow forced Cardan to crown Oak and make him regent. She'd missed a week's worth of her nightly poisonings. "What- What have I missed? What's Cardan done? Madoc? What's been going o-" She hissed as she twisted just wrong, a painful tugging on her side nearly making her scream out.
"Jude- Hey- Tatterfell!" Vivi called, hopefully loud enough for the imp to hear. The door opened mere moments later, and the sight of familiar inkdrop eyes had Jude calming down a bit.
"Sit still, girl. We need to change your bandages before that gets any worse." She said, her voice as rough and gravelly as ever. She helped Jude to stand, helped her undress, helped get her into a lukewarm bath. Helped her wash the moss out of the wound, helped her clean herself up. Changed her bandages, just like she'd done every other time the mortal had gotten hurt. It was a familiar routine, one Jude was happy to follow, despite the nagging worry in the back of her mind.
"Your boy-king has been worried about you." Tatterfell said after a long while of comfortable silence.
"He's not my-"
"Oh, hush. He is, and you know it. He might not know it, but he is." She tutted and shook her head as she pulled Jude's hair back into two loose braids. Just to keep it out of her face. Even if Jude didn't want to admit it, she knew Tatterfell was right. She couldn't lie, after all. But Jude was sure there was another reason for Cardan's worry. Maybe he was hoping she'd died in her bed and he'd be able to get on with his life. He wouldn't have to be king anymore, would he? He could abdicate the throne to Oak, or- Or worse, to Balekin. In a week's time, he could have picked apart every single plan she'd put together. He could have ruined her. Her reputation, her status as seneschal. Her power as someone important.
"Tatterfell, I need to talk to him." Jude said after a few more moments, sitting up a little straighter despite how badly that hurt.
"No, you need to rest more. Taryn has been filling in where you are needed. Considering there was a ploy on your life, she's being guarded closely, and she's doing her best to pretend she's you. Even wearing gloves to try and mimic that." The imp pointed a crooked finger at Jude's left hand, where the tip of her finger was missing. "She's doing good."
"I'm sure she is." She gave a small nod and sighed softly, rubbing her free hand over her face. She looked over when the door opened and a familiar head of frizzy white head popped in.
"Oh, good- You're awake," The Bomb breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, offering a small smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? I feel like I've been stuck to a log for the past hundred years and I finally got up." Jude managed a weak smile, "Nothing fell apart too horribly while I was out, right?" She gave the Bomb a look.
"Well- The palace is still intact, the king's head is still on his shoulders, the crown is still on his head, and nothing's fallen to ruin. So, no, nothing fell apart while you were out. His Majesty did request we tell him when you woke up, so... Good luck with that," The Bomb gave her a toothy grin before slipping out in the hallway. Cardan appeared in the doorway mere minutes later. He looked... exhausted. His hair was even more unruly than usual. He had dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't bothered to tuck his tail away like he usually did. No, it swayed behind him as he walked, the furred end lightly brushing against the ground every now and then. He looked like he was in a daze, like he'd dozed off in the throne and had been woken up abruptly. Jude didn't fail to notice how he visibly relaxed when he saw her sitting up in bed, awake, alive.
"Jude," Cardan breathed out, pushing a hand through his hair and clearing his throat slightly. "I'm glad you're awake. You... You scared your friends, you know." He said, thinking his words through carefully. "What even happened?" He asked after a few moments, turning his dark gaze to her.
"I... I can't really remember. I was on my way to the Court of Shadows when something attacked me. I didn't see who or what it was, but it... It hurt." She sighed, sitting up a little straighter and carefully reaching for the glass of water Vivienne had left on her nightstand. She didn't even remember seeing her sister leave.
"It obviously hurt, there's a sizable chunk missing out of your side." Cardan said, but there was no malice in his words. He sat down in the chair beside her bed and sighed softly. "As much as I hate to admit it, I have no idea how to run a kingdom." He said, his tail twitching beside him. "Your sister and the Bomb have been trying to help me run it, but it's... difficult... without you." He hated saying it out loud.
He was supposed to hate her.
He did hate her.
He hated how she made him feel.
He hated how much power she held over him.
He hated that she didn't realize how much power she had.
"Are you... Actually asking for my help?" Jude managed a laugh despite how exhausted she was, slumping back against her pillows. "Ask me again when I can walk on my own, then I'll have an answer for you," She hummed, giving a slight smirk up to him.
"Dear gods, you're insufferable." He scoffed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
Jude gave another hum in response, sinking down beneath her blankets as exhaustion started to overtake her. "Wake me up before... it gets too late..." She mumbled, her voice muffled by the covers. Not two seconds later was she snoring softly, laying on her stomach to avoid putting too much pressure of her side.
"Goodnight, Lady Jude," Cardan whispered before standing up and sighing to himself. He made his way out to the throne room to do whatever it was kings did these days. He wasn't as involved in the revelry since Jude had been hurt, mostly staying on his throne and away from the more common people. He lazed on the throne, looking incredibly bored. Taryn stood on the dais with him, but she stayed quiet. She'd visit her sister later, when she could slip away.
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Thank you for reading! I make no promises of frequency of updates, but I'll try to get at least one or two out every week! Also please excuse typos, it's like 4 am