Folk of the Air One-Shots

Ain't Gonna Break My Heart

"If you're gonna leave, 

it ain't gonna break my heart, mama. 

I've never seen nobody quite like you.

But if you ever change your tune, 

oh the world's got the best of you,

you can always find me where the skies are blue". 

(Pre-QON Post-Wicked King hehe)

It had been nearly two weeks since Cardan had exiled Jude from Faerie. He expected her to wait a few days and come back, but as the days became a week and the week stretched on, his concern grew. Advisors were constantly at his door, prodding for Cardan to get out of bed and attend to political matters, but every time they were shooed away by a bed-ridden king. 

I must have placed too much faith in her, Cardan thought one evening as the sun began to set. Usually he'd be out of bed by now, attending a revel or walking the gardens, but the heartsickness he felt had manifested in a sick stomach that kept him sprawled within his sheets. The marriage was a political alliance, he told himself, and she's obviously decided the sacrifice of spending time with me was too much to handle. 

How pathetic. Cardan couldn't believe he was moping over a girl--a mortal girl, nonetheless--when any boy or girl in Elfhame would be happy to bed him. But whether he liked it or not, the reality of the situation was crushing. The High King of Elfhame had his regal faerie heart broken by a mortal girl who hated him. 

Jude. A horrible name, really. A one syllable disaster that never felt complete when repeated over and over again. 

And yet, Cardan still found himself mouthing the syllable as he woke up from dreams of her at his side. As the world outside his window darkened with the dusk, Cardan pulled himself out of bed for the first time in days. The rush of blood to the head was almost enough to knock him off his feet, but he placed one hand on the bed for balance and walked over to the dark oak writing desk at the foot of it. 

Sitting down and running thin fingers through his knotted hair, Cardan already thought of the letter he would compose. Slowly and almost painfully, he reached for an ink pot and piece of parchment to scrawl out the words he wanted her to hear. 

Dear Jude, 

There are several reasons I've decided on that could be behind your disappearance from Faerie. 

One, you misunderstood my demand and think I've truly exiled you. This is the least likely scenario, as your intelligence far outranks mine (which is already considerable). 

Two, you're angry at me and think distance will make my heart grow fonder. I understand, but I hate to think of you stooping down to petty absence. My heart was plenty fond for you already, and I didn't even vomit on myself when writing that. There's a testament to my unabashed fondness, and my own current sobriety. 

Three, and perhaps the most heartbreaking of all, is that you simply don't want to return. I know that you felt as if Faerie could never be your home, and I know I've helped make it seem that way in my darkest moments. But please know that, if you want a warm bed to return to, I will make it a home for you. I will do whatever you wish, if it will only get you back.

All my love and some of my hate, 

Cardan. 

In disgust, Cardan looked at his own scrawled plea for her affection. It was desperate, and if anyone were to find it, the letter would be taken as evidence of his weakness. The king settled for hoping she received his other letters, and through this one in the fire. As the words disappeared into Ash, he sat on the floor and watched. A single line--"my heart was plenty fond for you already"--was the last to burn, and as it did so, Cardan felt a trickle of wetness trail down his cheek. 

A/N: Thank you so much for the support, I'm actually geeking out. I didn't expect any response to this fanfic at all because I feel like the FOTA/TCP/Jurdan/whatever you want to call it community is so small on Wattpad, and it means the world that you guys like this. Feel free to give me advice or requests for what else to write! I'm personally into canon post-QON stuff because I like romance and castles, but I'm totally down to write some modern AUs or canon divergence or literally anything. I just crave validation.