In the letters which Cardan wrote to Jude, while she was in exile... He just referred to the moment where Jude's blade was pressed against his throat as one of the romantic moments.
Here we were witnessing a peak moment of enemity, but our cute stupid prince was romanticising the whole thing whilst falling for Jude. SOMEBODY SAVE ME!!
He rises from the throne. "Come, have a seat." His voice is replete with danger, lush with menace. The flowering branches have sprouted thorns so thickly that petals are barely visible.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" he asks. "What you sacrificed everything for. Go on. It's all yours."
Spooky Season 👻🎃
thewickedking-s
Sorry for not updating sooner, so here you go ;) 5 extra
1. “Jude?” he asks, up against the wall, pronouncing my name carefully, as though to avoid slurring. I am not sure I have ever heard him use my actual name before.
2. “Planning to spill a little more royal blood tonight?” He keeps talking. “Feeling left out of the slaughter?”
3. “Or what?” he asks, still not opening his eyes. “You’re not really going to stab me.”
4. His eyes open. He looks as though I slapped him awake. “I did. Where is he?”
5. “Yes, fine,” he says, annoyed.
6. He swears and puts a bleeding finger in his mouth. “What was that for?”
7. The first thing I do when I get to the nest of the Court of Shadows is tie Prince Cardan to a chair with shredded pieces of my own dirty dress. Then I remove both our masks. He lets me do it all, an odd look on his face.
8. “Tell me anyway,” he says, and yawns. I really want to slap him.
9. I walk over to him, squat down, and begin to prize off his royal ring. He tries to pull his hand out of my grasp, but he’s tied in such a way that he can’t. I yank off his finger.
10. “I don’t suppose you have anything to drink around here?” Cardan asks. “I don’t imagine that whatever happens now is going to particularly comfortable for me, and I would like to stay drunk in order to face it.”
11. “Hello,” Cardan says, raising his brows and regarding the Roach as though they were sitting down to tea together.
12. “I’d prefer to live.”
13. Cardan seems pleased with himself at having surprised me—surprised us, from the looks on the faces of the Roach and the Ghost.
14. Cardan looks relieved at the idea that there will be a delay, whatever happens next. Or perhaps he’s just relieved by the presence of the bottle.
15. I am expecting to find Cardan as I left him, cowed and quiet, perhaps even more miserable than before. Instead, his hands have been untied, and he is at the table, playing cards with the Roach, the Ghost—and the Bomb. At the center are a pile of jewels and a jug of wine.
