Tfota - Blog Posts

Omggg my heart!!!😭❤️

THE FOLK OF THE AIR ♔ HOLLY BLACK

❝ In my most wretched hours, I believe you will never come back. Why would you, save for your ambition? You have always known exactly what I am and seen all my failings, all my weaknesses and scars. I flattered myself that at moments you had feelings for me other than contempt, but even were that true, they would make but a thin gruel beside the feast of your other, greater desires. And yet my heart is buried with you in the strange soil of the mortal world, as it was drowned with you in the cold waters of the undersea. It was yours before I could ever admit it, and yours it shall ever remain.❞

Cardan Greenbriar, the Prince of Elfhame, 2/?

uuuhhh can’t remember if i posted this here already or not 😳 but wow i love jurdan so much!

please DO NOT repost my art but DO follow me on insta!

I'm thinking about Justin Duarte seeing Madoc and immediately deciding to cut him down with an axe.

He didn't even try to apologise and talk it out. Of course, he thought Madoc would be angry and though that killing him would do the trick, but did he literally consider the fact that his daughters were there at the time? Did he actually think that Madoc was so dangerous that killing him right in front of 3 little girls was better than trying to talk it out and apologise?

Of course, we know Madoc's an honourable person, but Eva and Justin did dishonour him by pretending to die and then running away with Madoc's child, no less (Though Eva and Justin were also her parents. They raised her for 9 years).

Did Justin really think that Madoc was so angry that he'd kill both of them right there and then in front of 3 little children even if he tried to talk it out?

Eva was already talking with Madoc. Madoc hadn't killed her yet. Did Justin think that Madoc would be angry enough to kill him if he saw him (Justin) because Madoc loved Eva, but he didn't love Justin?

Did he not think at all because everything happened so fast? Did he not think it out properly because the whole sequence of events was too rushed?

We get to know Madoc, but it's through Jude's perception, and that's very different from Eva and Justin's perception. How did Justin and Eva see him? What stories did they hear? How did his interactions with them view their perception of him?

I really wish that Holly expanded on their relationships, because it would make this scene much more interesting.

What are your thoughts?

Jude and Fand

Ok, so one thing that I really want to talk about is Fand from TFOTA and her relationship with Jude.

Many of you probably don't remember who she is, and I don't blame you for that, but we should definitely remember her.

Fand was a faerie who, while not friends with Jude, was friendly to Jude. She let Jude compete on her team in the Summer Tournament, too, and was made head of Jude's personal guard when Jude was High Queen, when it was very dangerous for Jude to trust any faerie.

Do you know how big this is? All of it? For a human in Faerie, especially in Jude's position, both when she was Madoc's ward and then High Queen?

It's a literal message that Jude and Taryn are struggling to fit in with a world that doesn't want them, that everyone hates them. We see so many instances of them being abused. Not one faerie is nice to them-

Except Fand.

For the only faerie to be nice to Jude, (apart from Madoc, and he's not the type of nice I'm talking about here) Fand is barely mentioned, which is a little surprising.

And it's sad, because Fand could be a part of why Jude wanted to stay on in Faerie-she could be used to tell us how not all faeries are bad (Cardan does not count here).

I just really hope that we see more of Jude and Fand's relationship in Holly Black's upcoming novel.

Cardan and Percy thoughts

Thinking about how Cardan and Percy both struggled all their life because of a prophecy.

Thinking about how so many people thought that Cardan and Percy would do something horrible because of the prophecy.

Thinking about how they were neglected and abused because of their prophecies.

Thinking about how they actually did something amazing instead and proved everyone else wrong.

I mean Percy is obviously way better than Cardan to me (he didn't take out his trauma on others for one) but honestly, they're both so similar in this way.

what would you change about jurdan in canon to like the ship more

Well, I would make Cardan apologise and I'd make them have an actual discussion about what he did to her in TCP instead of just forgetting so soon and moving on.

It's just, rereading the Cruel Prince and seeing all of his horrific abuse of her, even if he had his reasons, was absolutely horrible.

I mean, yes, he did try to help her, but he still threw her into the river. He still watched as they made her strip and do degrading stuff. He still threatened her at the tournament. That kind of thing has effects on people. Bad effects.

Let him place his reasons in front of her, let her acknowledge this but also tell him that he hurt her badly, let him plead and grovel with her and realise that he really did fuck up even if he had his reasons and tried to save her.

Not discussing your toxic past isn't really a good thing. Couples need to clear the air, not just brush it under the carpet.

I'd make her say that they have to work on their relationship and let her forgive him over time, not all at once.

It's fictional, so it's not that bad to ship them because they're supposed to be a dark romance. But the way they turned from dark romance to perfectly ok couple at the end really made me raise my eyebrows.

NICASIA AND ORLAGH'S RELATIONSHIP

You know, the one thing I like about Nicasia is that she has a good relationship with her mother.

In Orlagh's card, it's said that she loves her daughter above all and wants Nicasia to have everything that she has. She also listens to her daughter over Balekin, an extremely important ally.

And I love this. I love it because we almost NEVER see good mother-daughter relationships in media. I don't think I need to tell you how they ruined Demeter and Persephone.

In TFOTA, almost everyone has a bad relationship with their mother.

Eva Duarte is dead, so she doesn't count as having a good relationship, even if Jude, Taryn and Vivienne love her. I'm talking about mothers who are alive.

Lady Asha is not a good mother to Cardan. She's abusive. Read the books.

Oak and Oriana DO have a good relationship, but.........it's........complicated as well. She fed him poison when she was young, and that kinds of puts a strain on things, even it was to protect him. (I highly doubt that Orlagh did that to Nicasia).

Also, Oak is a boy, and mother-son relationships are already represented plenty in media. I was talking about mother-daughter relationships.

Simply put, it would be cool to see Orlagh and Nicasia interact. Maybe Orlagh lovingly giving Nicasia advice, or Nicasia showing concern for her aging mother, or her grief about her mother and Orlagh's possible death.

One of the worst things that Jude and Vivienne did

Ok, so this is something that's never been talked about-at least I haven't seen anyone talk about it-and I really want to talk about it.

So........during TCP, Jude tells Vivienne that she wants her (Vivienne) to take Oak to the mortal world and raise him with Heather.

And Vivienne and Heather are 19 during this, they're just teenagers who are barely adults, and Vivienne agrees. Heather isn't happy about it, but she agrees in the end, and Oak isn't too bad to raise? (Not sure about the last part)

But.......moving this aside, can we talk about the fact that Jude and Vivienne put Heather and her family's life in danger?

You're probably really confused right now. Just keep reading.

We the readers and most faeries in TFOTA KNOW that Oak is the heir to the Greenbriar throne, which puts him in an incredibly dangerous position, because many people will come after him and try to kill him or use him.

Now just to be clear, this apartment isn't Vivienne's apartment. Yes, Vivi lives there, but this is Heather's apartment, it's under her name, she owns it, Heather's parents bought it for her. It's canon that Heather could kick Vivienne out if she wants to.

Jude has guards watching the apartment because it's dangerous and people could try to come after Oak in the mortal world too. And they could also come after Vivienne and Heather, and by extension, everyone and anyone that Heather cares about.

Do you see where I'm going with this now?

If Jude had guards watching the apartment, it's very likely that enemy faeries would be watching it too, and they would notice a certain pink haired mortal girl living with the important heir of Elfhame, and they'd take note and observe her and her movements, and her parents and friends and everyone she cares about.

The faeries could've killed Heather and her family. Having Oak there may have taken him out danger (he was relatively safe) but it put Heather and by extension everyone she cared about in a whole lot MORE danger.

THIS in my opinion was the most horrible thing that Jude and Vivienne did in the series.

I'm not sure if Holly Black thought about this while writing TFOTA-I don't think she did, but I did, so I'm sharing it with you.

You know, one thing I LOVE about The Folk of the Air is the existence and juxtaposition of the modern mortal world and Faerie.

Vivienne drinks mango smoothies. Heather plays games on her phone. The modernity of the mall is described in great detail. Bobblehead figurines make an appearance. Minecraft, Uno, Go Fish, Ring Pops, Halloween, soccer and Rocket League are explicitly mentioned.

Jude rides in buses and on bikes. Vivienne and Heather live in a modern mortal apartment building. Oak eats string cheese and food colored cereal and milk. It's all just so beautiful.

And this happens in other fantasy series like Shadowhunters, but the reason that I love it here is because we're looking at the modern mortal world from a person who has lived in Faerie.

We're looking at it from a near faerie's perspective, and while it's not completely shocking, Jude feels very foreign in it. It's a sort of culture shock to her after spending so much time in Faerie.

I think I like it essentially because it's a human culture shock to a foreign species. That's what I love about it.

Vivienne Duarte, Bianca di Angelo and being an older sister

So, in this post, I'm trying to examine how we as a society, even the ones who are progressive, automatically expect the older sibling, more importantly the older sister, to take on the burden of their siblings when their parents can't.

I'm going to use the example of Bianca di Angelo from Percy Jackson.

For context, I'll tell you-Bianca and her younger brother Nico were from pre WWII before the big 3 took the oath, and once her mother was killed by Zeus, her father put her and her brother in the Lotus Casino, which makes time pass slowly while the outside world time goes faster.

Bianca and her brother Nico were in there for about a month according to them but actually 70 years in real time. Keep in mind that during this time, there were no parental figures for them, even if they got everything they materially needed-food, clothes, etc.

Nico also mentions that Bianca was strict with what she let him watch, so this means that she watched over him in the Casino. Not fully, maybe, but she watched over him and felt parentified nonetheless.

Bianca felt that she had to take care of Nico.

And when they come out, they remember that their parents are dead and they go to a military school of all schools. Now Bianca feels like she has to take care of Nico because their parents are dead and because of the general expectations piled onto older sisters and they probably cling to each other a lot, seeing as how Nico didn't mention any friends from his boarding school time.

And when Bianca gets the chance to join the Hunters of Artemis, well, she takes it-and how do people react to this?

Well......they don't like it. They think she's abandoning Nico, they call her selfish, even though she's only 12-a literal child, not even a teenager. And she only wants to not be just a big sister, to have a life for herself. And she's groomed and mislead by two much older women who are also in the guise of being children (Artemis and Zoe) and she's told that she can meet Nico from time to time, but that she won't have to take care of him anymore and that he'll be taken care of. And so she takes the chance. She doesn't know that they're going to camp-she thinks that if she declines, she won't get this again. And she doesn't even think about the possible consequences of this, because again, she's just a scared twelve year old who barely had time to make a decision with a lot of pressure and 3 people there who tried to pressure her into the opposite directions.

No one really thinks about this, do they? They only think about how her joining the Hunters and her death affected Nico, and they judge their reactions to her based on him.

Because the way Bianca was written, she was always the Earth to Nico's Sun. And ultimately, she died and was only ever remembered as Nico's older sister, which is so sadly ironic because she always wanted to be more, but Bianca was doomed from the start.

And now we come to Vivienne Duarte, who can also be a slightly selfish sister, only people love her more because we actually see her helping Jude, and Jude doesn't seem to be that affected by Vivienne's distance from her and Taryn-in fact, Jude has said that Vivienne has come through for her plenty of times, and Vivienne does help Jude a lot over the course of TFOTA, so Vivienne would of course not be hated that much, right?

But, as always with case of older sisters not being there for their younger siblings, there's Vivienne hate for this.

And I mean, I can understand where you're coming from, because maybe it looks like Vivienne should have been there for Jude and Taryn-

But let me tell you, have we ever considered Vivienne as a person, and her desires and wants?

Let me tell you something very frankly-I wholeheartedly believe that if TFOTA was from Vivienne's POV, then a lot of people would be hating Jude and Taryn. We'd all be wondering why they choose to stay with the people who don't care for them and treat them like toys or pets. We'd be cheering Vivienne on, and maybe some of us would take some time to think about Jude or Taryn and maybe even defend them, but ultimately, we would say that they chose to stay in Faerie, so they weather the consequences.

And that's what I'm talking about. Have we ever considered the fact that Vivienne wanted to go back to the human realm, but Jude and Taryn wanted to stay in Faerie?

And then Jude and Taryn grew to love Madoc. Madoc, the man who killed Vivienne's parents, and kidnapped her and her sisters to a foreign land which they knew nothing of, and then her sisters started to love him.

It must have been awful for Vivienne. How many times did she turn away, her heart being pierced, when she saw Jude smile at or hug Madoc? How many times did she blink away tears when she saw Taryn with Madoc?

And she vowed to hate Madoc, but she was forced to live with him because of her sisters, even when she found a way out, because they wanted to go back to his stronghold, and VIVIENNE stayed for JUDE AND TARYN, even though she could have gone and lived in the Mortal Realm using her magic and she could have come and visited them when she wanted to.

Can you imagine a man murdering your parents, then he kidnaps you and your sister and is your biological father? And then your sisters, who aren't his real daughters, grow to love him even though you hate him, and you can't fathom how they can love him, because HE MURDERED YOUR PARENTS IN FRONT OF ALL THREE OF YOU.

I love the fact that she hates him. I love that she tried to kill him and betrayed him for her sisters. I love her for that.

And Vivienne did try to protect Jude and Taryn, but their relationshop fractured as Jude and Taryn grew to love Elfhame and Madoc, and that's realistic, because which person in Vivienne's place, with all her trauma and vows, would not hate her sisters a little for doing what they did?

And now we come to Vivienne's desires.

I mean, I already told you that she wanted to go and live in the mortal world away from Faerie, but she stayed for her sisters. Was she planning to stay forever if she had met Heather? Probably not, but she would have stayed longer.

But I think that when she met Heather and Heather wanted Vivienne to move in with her, Vivienne realised that it was either her or her sisters' desires-

And she chose herself over them.

And I think that that was wonderful, because she couldn't stay behind forever. She couldn't sacrifice forever.

And let me tell you, she offered so many times to Jude and Taryn, she said, hey, let's go back, stop being the the crazy psychos, and they kept saying no, we want to live here.

And Vivienne ultimately accepted that she couldn't always just try to help her younger sisters, that she and they would have to go their own separate ways, that ultimately she couldn't help them anymore. That Jude would have to fend for herself, that Taryn would have to find a husband.

And so she chose to leave for herself, and I think that that's so bittersweet, because she was leaving them behind for a new life, and she must have been hurt too, but she stopped sacrificing for her sisters. And she knew that she was immortal, so she could come back and visit them when they were settled.

And she tried, one last time, and she was even prepared to give up Heather for her sisters, but then they refused, and she gave it up entirely.

But I think that if Jude ever came to her, then Vivienne would help her, always.

Yes, Vivienne did play with Cardan, but that was most likely before he started bullying Jude and Taryn. Jude literally said that Vivienne stopped attending classes and also that she and Taryn hid their trauma in Faerie from Vivienne, so Vivienne didn't know that Jude and Taryn were bullied. And being the big sister that she is, she would never tolerate Cardan if she knew that he was bullying Jude and Taryn.

Bianca died, and Vivienne lived, and when people think of Vivienne Duarte, they're not always going to remember her as Jude's older sister, because she's so much more.

Vivienne stopped taking care of Jude and Taryn when she felt that she didn't need to and realized that they needed to fend for themselves and she couldn't always help them.

I feel like Bianca and Vivienne could have such a talk.........

@madockisser not sure if you've read Percy Jackson but what do you think about this? I'm trying to understand Vivienne's POV and I feel like I made some good points here, but I want your opinion too

Heather, Cardan and Garrett meetings

Ok, so we have Vivienne, Jude and Taryn-

But who's going to give me Cardan, Heather and the Ghost?

I NEED to see interactions with Cardan and Heather, I just feel like they would be hilarious. Like Cardan would casually be explaining something odd about Faerie, or something bad that Jude did (murder for politics, IDK) and Heather would be terrified. And maybe the Ghost would be comforting her or something. And Vivienne would be furious afterwards.

Oh my god, Duarte sister spouses meetings would be so funny. I'd love to be a fly on the wall to see all of them meet.

what do you think of the court of shadows in the folk of the air?

I love them. They're the healthiest relationships that Jude has had in ages. I simply love the Bomb and Jude-it's nice to see good female relationships.

TBH I really think that the Bomb is Jude's healthiest female relationship other than Heather. Vivienne and Jude have a relatively healthy relationship, but there's a lot of unpacked trauma and understandable resentment on both sides. So yeah, the Bomb is her healthiest relationship with a female.

(I mean, there was that one time when the Bomb thought that Jude was the assassin and tried to kill her, but they cleared it up and the Bomb was actually sorry for what she had done. It's a good apology scene too).

And THE ROACH? Girl, he's my favorite character apart from Vivienne. I need to see more Roach. He's so chill, I love characters like those.

And the Ghost is amazing too. I love how complex he is too. Poisoned Liriope, but helped Locke. And he was kind of forced to obey Madoc and Locke, so yeah, there's that. And he literally told Jude to kill him so that he couldn't help Madoc-that right there is a whole other level of bravery, loyalty and dedication to his friends. And his scenes with Oak? Amazing. I also liked his scenes with Jude-killing the spy, training, etc.

Every Ghost, Bomb and/or Roach scene is amazing and so immersive for me.

To be honest, I don't care for the Bomb and Roach's romantic relationship, but I don't dislike it either-I just don't care for romance in general.

I love the whole Court of Shadows together, especially with Jude. They're all so funny and classy-Dain really knew what he was doing when he recruited them.

COMPARING JUDE DUARTE TO PERCY JACKSON AND SOPHIE FOSTER

So, I've read TFOTA, KOTLC and PJO, and I'm sure many other people have done the same. I've been comparing Jude to Percy and Sophie for a long time, so I wanted to type it out and make an analysis. Here we go now.

One thing I find about Jude is that she's different from both Percy and Sophie in the sense that she's thrust into a hostile world where she had no friends and had to fend for herself pretty early on. Her parents are murdered right in front of her eyes and she's taken to Elfhame, and we know that the TFOTA faeries don't like humans-most of them at least.

And while Sophie is also thrust into an entirely different system, it's friendly to her. Yes, she misses her human family and Amy, but Shannon barely goes into this. Sophie's not harmed or looked down upon (except by a few people, and they're not that relevant.) In fact, she's quite important and gets a lot of help (along with a bunch of trauma, though. Not trying to downplay Sophie's experience).

Percy also discovers the world of demigods, but he doesn't have to leave much behind-the mythological and modern world are heavily intertwined, so actually gains something, which means that he can go on living his life like he used to, except with advantages now (except being hunted by monsters)

Which brings me to my first point-

JUDE HAS NO PROTECTION SYSTEM OR HELP

Sure, she's Madoc's ward, but she's not his actual daughter. But she's a human in Elfhame-and we all know what that means. Those of us who have read the books, at least. Sure, being Madoc's adopted daughter gives her some protection, but it doesn't stop her from being glamoured and traumatized. It doesn't stop her ring finger's tip from being bitten off at 9 years old, by one of Madoc's servants no less, right in his stronghold. It doesn't stop the servants from mentally abusing her by making her feel inferior and telling her that she is lucky to be raised like this. Jude herself says that Tatterfell was probably considering pricking the former with a pin, implying that Tatterfell has done it before, which is still physical abuse. It doesn't prevent her from being drugged and danced around against her will at 11, and it doesn't stop her from being bullied by Cardan and Co.

Now moving onto Percy and Sophie-they had amazing support systems. Percy had Camp Half Blood. He was Poseidon's son, a Big Three Kid, and they're practically worshipped. He had so many friends at camp. He had Chiron and his mom Sally, who was an AMAZING parental figure. And then Percy had Paul. Percy also had Poseidon at times, though the latter rarely showed up-he still helped Percy quite a lot. Percy also had the gods. Artemis and Apollo helped him. Aphrodite helped him. Poseidon helped him. Dionysus helped him. Hestia helped him. Hera guided them through the labyrinth and made Percy's arrow fly perfectly. Hephaestus helps him too. The majority of the Olympian council has helped Percy, and without their help, he'd be nowhere. He also has magic, insane magic powers and he's pretty magically powerful, which Jude is not. She doesn't have any magic-the closest thing she has to it is the geas that makes her immune to glamours, and that Prince Dain placed on her when she asked him to. Percy is basically a Chosen One after all the other Big Three kids (Thalia-huntress, Bianca-dead and Nico-too young) are pushed out.

Sophie also has a great support system. She's got many parental and trusted authority figures-Elwin, Alden, Grady, Edaline and Della. She also has her friend circle-Keefe, Fitz, Biana, Dex, Wylie, Marella, Linh, Tam-which rapidly expands and the support of the Black Swan. AND she has powerful magic and is a chosen one like Percy. Something else that Jude doesn't have.

To summarise this, Percy and Sophie had great support systems that they could lean on and they were helped by others quite a lot (especially Percy) whereas Jude mostly helped herself.

JUDE HAS NO GOOD PARENTAL FIGURES OR FRIENDS

Unlike Percy and Sophie, Jude doesn't have healthy parental figures either. But! you say. But she has Madoc! Madoc is not a healthy parental figure.

Jude loves him in an uncomfortable way, yes. He cares about her, yes. He insisted that she be raised like the Gentry Faeries-that she learn swordplay and strategy, wear beautiful gowns and attend Faerie revels. But he still murdered her parents right in front of her eyes when she was a child. He still ran his sword through her and left her out to bleed. He still abandoned her to die when he felt that she was a hindrance. He loves her, yes, and he would do a lot for her, but he is in no way a healthy parental figure. Oriana is not a parental figure to Jude. She's only Oak's mother. Not Jude's, not Taryn's, not Vivienne's. She is, in fact, normally cold and stand offish with them, though she can be helpful at times. Taryn is Jude's closest 'friend' and we know how many times she betrays Jude during the course of the series (Locke and Madoc). Vivienne is perhaps the healthiest relationship that Jude has (besides the Court of Shadows). She's a good sister who has come through plenty of times for Jude when no one else has, supplying her and Taryn with quick magic whenever necessary…… but even she has her limits. First of all, she doesn't want to stay in Elfhame forever. She understandably hates and doesn't want to live with her parents' murderer, but where else can she live in Elfhame? Even if she could live somewhere else, she doesn't want to, and wants to go back to the Mortal Realm. She stays for Jude and Taryn, then leaves for Heather. She is also somewhat selfish and doesn't listen to Jude either. She doesn't help Jude with politics either-Jude is able to trust Vivienne because the latter stays loyal to Jude, but only for so long till she tires and goes back to the Mortal Realm. And this is where I come to the Court of Shadows. Honestly, they're one of my favorite parts of TFOTA. Their relationship with Jude is amazing-BUT, hear me out. I'm talking about Jude for the whole decade that she lived in Elfhame, and she didn't even have the Court of Shadows for a fraction of that time. So yes, they're her best support system, even if The Ghost was under Locke and then Madoc's control for much of the series-and he showed remorse afterwards and apologised. Even if the Bomb tried to kill Jude because the former understandably thought that the latter was trying to kill Cardan-and she showed remorse afterwards and apologized. And there's no time when the Roach actively tries to harm Jude. Yeah, I love these guys' dynamic so much, I'd read a whole book on them. (Honorable mention for Fand here-while she was not Jude's friend, she was friendly with her and was Jude's first personal guard as Queen).

To summarise this paragraph, Jude didn't have a good support system her whole 10 years-Madoc's protection didn't always protect her, Taryn is self-explanatory and Vivienne could be selfish and had her limits as well. Except at the very end when Jude joined the Court of Shadows.

PERCY AND SOPHIE WERE CHOSEN ONES

Percy and Sophie were also 'Chosen Ones'. Percy was the prophecy kid, the Savior of Olympus, and Sophie is the Black Swan's weapon. Jude is not a Chosen One-being a mortal in Faerie, she's quite the opposite. She's simultaneously at a high rung of a ladder due to being Madoc's ward and at a low rung, due to being a human among faeries. She never had any magical powers and was at a severe disadvantage due to this for most of her time in Elfhame until Dain gave her the geas.

To summarise this paragraph-Percy and Sophie were magically powerful 'chosen ones', something Jude was most definitely not-in fact, she was the opposite until she got Dain's geas.

Percy and Sophie were already at the top of the ladder-they only had to climb a few rungs, while Jude was quite lower than they were, though not at the very bottom, and she had to climb a whole lot more than they did.

These facts make Jude a more compelling protagonist than Percy or Sophie to some people.

TO CONCLUDE Now, I'm not trying to bash Percy or Sophie here-Jude had 10 years in Elfhame while Sophie barely has 3 years in the Lost Cities and Percy only has 2-3 years of training his powers. There's a difference between the appeal of Jude versus Percy and Sophie-the first one's appeal is a powerless person rising to power and the second appeal is being a powerful person, an important chosen one, and having people admire and look up to you. Both can appeal to different people and the same people. But protagonists like Jude have an appeal that protagonists like Percy and Sophie can never have.

I think Jude is somewhat like Luke-ruthless and willing to do anything to ensure her loved ones' safety, including killing. She also rebels against the system like Luke and changes part of it by breaking the mold to fit herself in there. I'm not sure whom she's like from KOTLC, but if I had to pick a person, I'd pick either Forkle or Fintan-ruthless, morally grey, willing to do a lot to break the system and get accepted.

Though she is WAYYYYYYY morally better than them-a lighter shade of gray, if you will. She would never kidnap and torture a bunch of children for information and she'd never leave them to find their own way home when the chances are quite low.

I also think, that if the circumstances mandated it, Percy could be as ruthless as Jude if required. I'm not quite sure about Sophie, due to the whole elf guilt mental break thing, but I think that she could also be ruthless like Jude if she can convince herself that it's for the greater good and her loved ones.

Whew, this might be my masterpiece post. Well, if you have any counter arguments, then feel free to post them.

Vivienne and Madoc angst part two

She had called him daddy on the day of the coronation. She had called him father when shooting bolts at him. Sometimes she acknowledged him, sometimes she acted like he was a stranger. In a way, however, they WERE strangers. Madoc realized with a start that he didn't know what her favorite color or foods were. He didn't know what clothes she liked to wear, he didn't know what she did for a living, he didn't know what music she liked to listen to. Well, she had never stayed for long. She was always off to some place, even when he tried to get her to stay. It wasn't HIS fault. 'Oh, yeah, look at this park! It's my favorite-Lincoln Park. My dad used to take me here all the time.' she said. Madoc raised his eyebrows. What? Her father? He'd never- Justin. Justin. My father. Justin.

It suddenly crashed into him. That even though he was Vivienne's biological father, the man who had raised her was Justin Duarte, and then he'd died, and there was no other man, because his one biological daughter had always avoided him, avoided acknowledging their bond. 'I loved playing catch with him. And when I was tired, he would take me for ice cream. Vanilla ice cream-my favorite. While Mom took care of Jude and Taryn.' Madoc bit his lip. He was very uncomfortable now. The car was very cramped. He wanted to get out and run away. (Run away? How odd. He never ran away from things. Emotional troubles-he pushed them down, not ran away.) Vivienne swerved to avoid accidentally running a dog down and cursed. (Push down, run away. Run down, push away). He had never apologized to them for killing their parents. His apologies came in the form of raising them as his own, insisting they live like the Gentry Faeries. Teaching them swordplay and strategies. Giving them ball gowns and faerie food. 'I don't really like killing. It's a you thing.' she said. 'Of course, you wouldn't know anything else, would you? You can only kill, pathetic monster.' 'Vivienne.' he said. 'I've had enough. Stop this.' She snorted. 'Of course. Run away from emotionally charged conversations. Always the Madoc I knew.' When she had yelled at him, about Justin and Eva, he had always yelled back and told her to shut up. Walked away. Distracted himself. He never cried. (Though he'd blinked quite rapidly when standing near Eva's cooling body. Very rapidly, more than usual.) 'I never-' he said, then stopped. He couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? (That was a lie. He couldn't lie.) 'You never WHAT?' Vivienne yelled. The car was going to fast for his liking now. 'Never WHAT, Madoc? Never wanted to talk about them? Yeah, you never DID acknowledge what you did to us.' 'I have you everything, but you never took it.' 'No you didn't. You took what you wanted from my mother and then took even more from the three of us. Took everything from the three of us.' 'Vivienne, please-' 'NO.' she screamed. The car slammed to a halt and Madoc lurched forward. 'Get out.' He blinked. 'What?' 'Get. OUT!' she screamed, blinking back tears. 'I don't know why I took you on. I never win. Just get out and find your way back. I don't care.' He sighed and got out, staring at the car zooming away morosely. And then he realized where he was. The house. The house where it all happened. He grit his teeth. VIVIENNE! Then it hit him-Eva would've done something like that. A silly, lighthearted prank-well, not really, but she would have done it in a lighter manner. He remembered Eva and her reddish brown hair streaming behind her as she squinted her eyes and threw her head back when laughing. She had been a perfect mix of Jude and Taryn-Jude's daring and cunning and Taryn's soft femininity. He knew that he was so dedicated to the twins because they reminded her of him-more specifically Jude, who could have been an adopted Vivienne. His own Vivienne, however, had his eyes and ears, but she also had Eva's brown hair and a lighter shade of her skin. And now Madoc really saw some Eva in Vivienne-her snark, her boldness, her carefree nature. And he wondered how he hadn't seen it before.

Vivienne and Madoc angst part one

So this is what a car looks like, Madoc thought. He had forgotten what they looked like. The models that Eva had showed him were 'old-school' and 'practically ancient', as Vivienne had put it. She had screamed with laughter when he asked about cars, using his fairy terminology.

Heather had politely smiled, but Madoc could tell that she was holding back laughter too. Her trembling lips conveyed as much. Madoc internally groaned. He was banished to the human realm, and he needed to brush up on his already scanty knowledge of it. And Vivienne seemed to delight in showing him how terrible he was at it. Laughing at every single thing he did wrong and condescendingly showing him how to do it better. He grunted in annoyance. 'This baby right here,' Vivienne patted the car, 'is a Toyota. Great model, very nice for a secondhand car, and holds four. Though with you in it,' she added casually, 'it'll probably be quite stretched, so be careful.' Madoc chose to take it as a compliment. His daughter was complimenting his muscular physique that could flatten any of these odd, lightning-speed, roaring vehicles. And anyway, the car was somewhat roomy at the back. He was studiously avoiding going to the house where it had all happened years ago. He would NOT remind himself of that time. Everything was better now. Jude and Taryn liked Faerie, and Vivienne- Vivienne, ironically, had been the only one who hated Faerie. She only stayed there for her sisters, and the moment she got a real chance to, she dropped everything and left to live in the human realm. Madoc had wondered at her loving a human girl. Just like him. And not understand her. Just like him. (And unintentionally hurting her. Just like him. Only this time, they were both well and good, while his hands were bloodstained and Eva lay six feet below). He had wondered how Vivienne would deal with Heather's death, but decided not to point it out. Vivienne was only 20 after all, and when she had lived centuries as he had, she would gain more experience. Oriana had chosen to come with him. What a wonderful woman and wife. Prim, thoughtful, proper, careful to consider he next move. Not like Eva, who was a restless whirlwind and broke more than one rule of faerie etiquette. (But then again, that was why he had liked her.) The human realm, however, was different from Faerie. No servants, no big grand mansions, only their little apartment in the building adjacent to Vivienne's, as she had absolutely refused to get him a flat in the same building as hers. He had already started playing politics with his neighbours and was making wonderful progress. He avoided telling Vivienne about this. Oriana rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'What will you do to the human world?' she had jokingly asked him. Maybe I'll take it for a spin, he thought, just like Eva did with my world. He had asked Vivienne to take him around the city to see what to catch up on. Now he stared at the glowing neon signs, recalling the ones from the 1970s, when he'd travelled around the city. He looked at the small stores whirl by. Vivienne wasn't even driving slowly-she simply drove ahead, telling him about the city and its modern developments. 'My goodness, humans really do evolve fast.' he said. 'I haven't been here since-well-' He fell silent. He hadn't been there since that fateful day-when he had killed Justin and Eva. 'You haven't been there since you killed my parents,' Vivienne said cheerfully. The car sped up. Madoc opened his mouth and closed it again. It shocked him that she said that, even when he had internally acknowledged it. My parents. My.

(Part one, since the whole thing is too long to post)

Jurdan is actually relevant to the plot

The thing about Jurdan is that their romance is ACTUALLY RELEVANT TO THE PLOT.

See, with Percabeth and Sokeefe, leaving out their romance wouldn't change anything. They could just be really good friends or best friends.

But with Jurdan, well, if Cardan didn't romantically love Jude, if he hadn't been OBSESSED with her, then he wouldn't have offered to make her queen, which would have changed a lot in the plot.

(Not saying that this makes Jurdan superior to Percabeth or Sokeefe)

This is my two cents-feel free to disagree and give me arguments why.

Why leave, did I not give you enough? (Part 2)

Was it because of Oriana? Madoc had not seen much of her interactions with the children, but they might have been apprehensive of new stepmother-Vivienne certainly taunted him about his infidelity to his previous wife. And when she had said at the wedding, in front of everyone, that Oriana certainly hadn't married Madoc because even his first wife didn't want him, he had thought that he might kill her. Certainly his stare had silenced her, but she continued to smirk and many fairies silently laughed. He had not been able to face her after the event. Everyone knew about and questioned (Even silently ridiculed) his two human daughters. Yet he continued, and they had come to be accepted over time. The fairies questioned him no more. He wondered if they had cut off her top ring finger or whether it had really been an accident as she claimed. It had been almost 2 weeks since they had gone-the first few days, he had been too busy to notice, yet at the end of 4 days with none of his daughters running around and yelling, he had begun to worry. And then he had checked on them, and they hadn't been there. And he had searched, and they hadn't been there, and then he had searched more, and they were gone. It was only the next day that they had come back, and when he had seen them there, they had run to him, and he had run to them, and then tear-stricken apologies and half-explanations tumbled from their mouths, and Vivienne had looked at them through her cat eyes, blinking back tears, betrayal and anger and grief blazoned on her face like a painting for the world to see. And he had sunk upon his knees and told them that they would have nothing to fear and that Oriana would not hurt them, and that he would not send them away, and that all four of his children would be safe. And he had been so angry at Vivienne, but Jude and Taryn begged him not to punish her, so he relented. 'Why leave, did I not give you enough?' he had asked. Subconciously, he knew that he had taken what he could not give, and had tried to trade jagged, rusted, useless metal for the most beautiful, rarest diamond in the world.

(PART 2! Sorry if it's a bit underwhelming. Please leave constructive criticism under my writing posts-I'd really like to hear how I can improve!)

Why leave, did I not give you enough?

Madoc was standing in the house once again, reliving his worst memories-Eva and Justin's deaths. The house where Vivienne had vowed to hate him. The house where Jude had screamed at him and hit him. The house where Taryn had sobbed, shaking her mother's dead body, though Eva would never get up again. It was empty. No one had bought it even after 3 years-the deaths still haunted them. It looked normal-a red plastic FOR SALE was mounted on the lawn and the wind chimes jingled in the comforting breeze. He wondered if ghosts existed. Would Eva and Justin be staring at him with contempt in their eyes? He hesitated, just as he had 3 years ago on that fateful day. Oh, how he wished he had grabbed Vivienne and Eva and ran. Would Justin come after him? Perhaps. But maybe he would take care of his daughters first. Madoc didn't know-Justin had been such a strange man. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to relive the bloodstained carpet and smell of wet blood.

He swallowed. He was a redcap. He was brave, and he slept at night knowing that he had killed thousands of soldiers. He could go inside and endure the ghosts of the past. He inhaled, curled his hands into fists and stepped inside. Nothing. It was empty, scrubbed clean, like no one had lived inside it at all. There were ornamental decorations and a pleasant perfume permeated the air. All dressed up to make it look flashy and attractive. Nothing could ever attract Madoc to the house, except for the fact that his daughters had run away. Just like Eva. Just when he had thought that they had begun to like him-they had sat on his lap, eating out of his plate, and played Nine Men's Morris with him. Taryn had stopped flinching every time she saw him, and Jude had smiled at him, even coming to have a somewhat twisted affection for him. Vivienne, of course, had not stopped. The weight of her vow would never leave her, and she had been so angry that she could not speak to them for days. Had she guilt tripped them into leaving? Most probably. Though they loved him somewhat, they would never be able to forget their real parents. The ones that he had murdered right in front of their eyes. Blood on the kitchen floor and the heavy smell of blood. He forced his feet to move, up, down, up, down. Into the kitchen where Eva once lay. Into the backyard where Justin's forge once stood. Into the bedrooms- He stopped, inhaling sharply. The beds were clearly made with gray and yellow covers. The room was airy and sunlit, dust motes dancing in the sunlight. A peaceful, drowsy afternoon. Was this where his daughters had slept? Where they had played with each other? Where they had watched, what did humans call it, TV? Television? Eva had told him of it and he had watched the strange pictures dance across the screen. They had watched it together, she laughing, he not understanding but smiling and playing along. He closed his eyes. He opened them again. Any question of them being here was gone, though they might have come for a brief visit. Were memories too painful for them as well? Footsteps made him spin around. Standing there was a woman, wearing a suit that hinted that she might be a-what had Eva called it-a 'real estate agent', someone who sold property. 'Sir,' she said. 'I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to leave, unless you're a potential buyer. How did you get in here?' He hit her on the side of the head and she crumpled. His heart wildly richocheted and suddenly she was Eva. He had killed another person. He stepped back and fell against the wall, screaming into his bundled cloak. Was she dead? His eyes were wild, his heart pounded as he scrambled to find out. No, Eva, please don't be dead- She had a pulse. She was bleeding, but she would be all right. He couldn't stay here. He had to leave-he barely had a few minutes to go back before he would have to attend a meeting. He took her phone, called the police (911, was it?) gave them directions and then stepped out. Suddenly, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here and drink in the memories of a family, torn apart by him, that he had so desperately tried to put back together. And now that they had run away, he might never be able to. He took the silky black horse back to Elfhame. His memories took the form of knives, stabbing into him as he recalled their painful shapes and colors. They took the form of needles, slowly sliding into him as he silently screamed, feeling the cold, sharp pain of memories upon him.

Vivienne Duarte short analysis

So, we talk about Vivienne not being there for her sisters in Elfhame and letting them get bullied by the other children of the Gentry, but I raise you this-

Vivienne WANTED to go back to the human realm, but Jude and Taryn wanted to stay in Elfhame, and when they were actually able to finally go to the human realm, Jude and Taryn hated it and wanted to go back, which broke Vivi's heart and immensely saddened her, because have we ever considered what Vivienne wanted?

Jude also recalled how angry Vivienne was when she and Taryn finally 'gave in' to Elfhame. I think that Vivienne thought that by choosing Elfhame, Jude and Taryn didn't just choose its perquisites, but also its perils, so one side of her mind decided that she didn't need to protect them so that they could learn a lesson. The other side of her, however, felt guilty that she wasn't protecting them, so she stayed for them. And so this cycle continued-angry one day, guilty the next. Just a theory of mine.

If Liriope had lived

I don't think that Locke would have been as much of an asshole if Liriope had lived-her death probably caused his shock and decline.

I want to draw you (Part 2)

Heather showed Vivienne her drawings. They were amazing-Vivienne loved how they portrayed her cat eyes and faerie ears, making them pop. 

‘How long have you been drawing?’

‘Well, since I was a toddler. I’m going to attend community college and major in something involving art. I just love drawing and painting-it’s my central passion. I’d die if I couldn’t draw anymore.’

‘So, drawing is the thing that calms you down?’ Vivienne said.

‘Most of the time, yeah. It doesn’t always help me, though-sometimes my emotions are so intense that even if I draw, I can’t calm down, and when I have art block, it’s the worst.’

‘Yeah, art block sounds bad if your main thing is drawing,’ Vivi agreed. ‘Um, hey, want to go get some Chinese food? Just you and me-I can pay for it.’

‘Ooh, really? That would be great! I’ll pay for my own food, though. You can pay for yours.’

They went to that great Chinese restaurant-the one with the amazing fortune cookies. Heather had been there once and she’d gotten the funniest fortune-there is money in your future-that doesn’t belong to you.

‘They have really funny fortunes, though you find generic ones too.’ she said. She started talking about the restaurant and telling Vivienne all about it, though Vivienne had been there a few times before (in glamour disguise). Still, Vivi nodded her head and pretended that she was just going there for the first time, just to hear Heather talk about it.

They ordered spring rolls and sweet and sour chicken. Heather talked about her life and family and Vivienne listened to her. 

Before she knew it, hours had passed and Heather had to go home. They exchanged numbers and she left, Vivienne staring after her. 

When Vivi returned home, Taryn asked her why she was smiling so hard, and she blinked and noticed that she was. She simply shook her head and went to her bedroom, then jumped onto the bed, squealing and giggling. Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all.

(I recently learnt that there's a short story on Heather and Vivienne in Faeries Never Lie-The Honest Folk. If I've made any mistakes in this short story, please let me know! Thanks for reading!)

I want to draw you (Part 1)

She met her in a mall courtyard. 

Vivienne was simply walking around, window shopping. She occasionally bought something if she felt like it, or if she thought it would annoy Madoc, or to gift to Jude and Taryn, though they seldom liked such presents-maybe because it reminded them of their brief childhood in the human realm and they had no use for it in Faerie.

She usually glamoured herself to have round ears and brown eyes, though sometimes she let her natural features shine through. Some humans saw through it-rarely adults, sometimes children, who were not believed, though she smiled at them. If an adult really did see it, they convinced themselves that they were hallucinating. Sometimes, however, she let her real features show to enjoy the look on people's faces. Some of them would come up and ask her about it, and she would be vague about it. 

This time, she wore her real features. She was feeling somewhat bummed out after a fight with Madoc and Oriana and wanted some comfort food after window shopping, one of her favorite things to do.

She wandered along the aisles, looking at glittery sticky hands, beautiful porcelain mugs, comfortable-looking sweaters and beanies. She smelt the aroma of Chinese food and Subway. She ran her hands along the grainy counter tops. And she sunbathed on the wooden benches while listening to her favorite music playlists on her phone that she had magically obtained-there was a whole lot of glamouring involved, too many complications all for a simple phone.

And then she saw Heather. 

The first thing she noticed was a smudge of blue ink on her nose. Then she noticed her beautiful eyes, the color of darkest amber. And finally, when she spoke, Vivienne was afraid that she was talking to someone else.

'I want to draw you.'

Vivienne blinked. 'What?' she said, looking around, but there was nobody else. The girl was talking to her. 

'I want to draw you. You're beautiful!' the girl said, gesturing towards her face. 'You're absolutely breathtaking-ethereal.'

Vivienne blinked rapidly and blushed. 'Oh-um, thank you. Thank you very much.' she giggled. 

VIVIENNE. STOP GIGGLING LIKE AN IDIOT.

'I'm an artist,' the girl said, sitting next to her. 'I love drawing things. What's your name?'

'My name? Oh, it's Vivienne.'

'Ooh, French! Meaning full of life, very spirited.'

Vivienne laughed. 'Yeah, that's me. Very vivacious. Though my sisters call me ferocious.'

The girl laughed too. Her laugh was beautiful-very musical. 'Your eyes and ears-they're beautiful! How did you do them like that?'

How did I do them like that? Vivienne thought. Oh-she probably thinks that they’re fake products and contact lenses. 

‘It’s a bit difficult, but I get it right in the end.’ she said, smiling mysteriously. At least, trying to smile like she was an enigma.

The girl laughed again. Her laugh really was music to the ears. ‘Oh, cool. Are you cosplaying or something? Or are you just doing it as part of a makeup routine, or do you just like the look?’

‘Oh, um, I just like the look.’ Vivienne said.

No, I do not like the look. In fact, if I could, I’d trade them for rounded ears and brown eyes in a heartbeat. Madoc would be so mad.

‘Wow. How’d you get your parents to approve? Mine are a little bit strict.’ she said.

Vivienne swallowed. ‘Well, my mom is dead, and my father and I aren’t on the best terms, so I usually stay away from the house. He doesn’t pay much attention to me anyway, so.’

She couldn’t lie, so she’d have to twist her words with this mystery girl-but she’d have to be much more subtle, since humans were not like the fey. They could probably see through lies much easier, since they could actively lie, something Vivienne wished she could do at times.

‘Ohhhhh.’ she said awkwardly. ‘Well, that’s sad. Um. So, do you come here often?’

‘Yeah.’ Vivi replied. ‘I love window shopping and then getting food to eat. It calms me down, every time.’

‘That must be nice-being able to find something that will calm you down, no matter what.’ 

‘It is.’ Vivienne agreed. Especially after she had come back to Elfhame after trying to leave forever. 

‘So………….may I draw you? You look fascinating. Not to objectify you or anything,’ she hastily added.

‘Yeah……..wait, what’s your name?’ 

‘My name? Oh, it’s Heather.’ she said. ‘I’m gonna start sketching-are you ok with that? Just tell me if you’re uncomfortable.’

‘No, I’m ok. You can start,’ Vivienne assured her.

Heather started drawing, looking at Vivienne and then back at her notebook. Vivienne, in turn, secretly stared at Heather-she loved her bunch of pink curls, her gray glasses that kept slipping off her nose, her lovely eyes that were a lot like Jude and Taryn’s, her rounded ears, her clothes that also had drawings on them-beautiful, intricate designs. She didn’t know if she’d meet her again, but she wanted to stay in touch with her-someone actually her age.

‘Did you draw those?’ she asked, gesturing towards her clothes.

‘What? Oh, yeah, I sometimes sketch on my clothes, though it drives my mom crazy. I love tie-dye shirts because I can make whatever patterns I want-I also like to design my clothes.’

‘You can design your own clothes? That’s brilliant!’ Vivienne said. She normally wore human clothes, even when in Elfhame, but she sometimes wore faerie clothes, that were also intricate and delicate and simply designed for beauty, and she had a feeling that Heather would love those.

No way. You can’t tell her about Elfhame. She’d go mad. She wouldn’t believe you. She’d think YOU were mad. 

‘Thank you!’ Heather smiled. Her smile was beautiful, like her laugh-it changed her face so much, Vivienne wished she’d smile forever, though she’d have so many wrinkles if she did. ‘My mom knows how to sew and all that-she taught me!’

‘Your mom is brilliant,’ Vivienne offered, then was pleased with Heather giggled and offered another thanks, saying that she’d be sure to tell her mother.

Jude and Madoc oneshot (From Madoc's POV)

11 year old Jude looked at Madoc. 'What you want to do is evade the strike.' he said. 'You can't always evade, but it's best to learn how. Your reflexes have to be quick enough-if they strike suddenly, you'll need to jump back and preferably not fall over. I'm going to strike, and you're going to step back.' 'Ok,' she said. He took the sword and struck at her. She screamed and jumped back, tripping over her feet. 'Yes,' he said, smiling slightly. 'That's what you want to avoid.' He would not admit it, but he was growing to love Jude more than Vivienne. She was so like him-fierce, determined, ready to protect her loved ones at all costs. He saw so much of him in her, rather than Vivienne, though he had spent years thinking about the latter and imagining how she could have been if not for her untimely 'death'. Yet it was Jude whom he gravitated to. She had Eva's fierceness, determination and resilience. What he had originally been attracted to. Taryn was also there, yes, but she was more quiet and submissive. It was Jude that he really liked. And it seemed that she growing to love him as well, though she did not feel comfortable with it. He had let her sit on his lap and eat out of his plate, even though he had murdered her parents in front of her own eyes. Jude flushed. 'Sorry.' she said, darting glances at him. 'Um.' 'Let's try again.' He struck at her and this time, she stepped back expertly. 'Good. Now, it's not always good to evade-you're only putting yourself where the blade is not, which might be useful in some situations, but if you want to end the fight, you'll have to strike back. And sometimes, the enemy will be faster than you, or you will tire out and finally be struck. And if you misjudge their timing, you're done for.' She nodded. 'You want to be able to do a simple BLOCK.' he said. 'When your opponent attacks you, you raise your sword and block their thrust. Put the blade between yourself and your attacker. You can also support the blade, like this-' he grasped the blade in one of his hands while holding the hilt with the other. She practiced the block and at the end of an hour, she had mastered it. 'Amazing, Jude! You're a natural.' he said, smiling at her. 'Keep on doing this and you'll be the best swordsman in Faerie.' 'Swordswoman,' she mumbled, then nodded and smiled back at him. One of their mutual interests was sword fighting-well, their strongest mutual interest, actually. They took many lessons outside, sometimes Jude being covered in dirt and sweat after them, much to Oriana's chagrin. Everything was all right now-he might have murdered their parents, but they seemed to have gotten over them and were well adjusted to Elfhame. (Even if they had left for a brief period of time last year. Vivienne had said that they just needed a vacation from Faerie, but Madoc was glad to see that Jude and Taryn were ecstatic to be back. Even if Vivienne was sulky and depressed.) Still, sometimes he felt depressed looking at them. How could he have killed their mother? They were so young, and it had obviously affected them in terrible ways. He wondered if they still cried into their pillows when they slept. Hopefully not. He was delighted with Jude's progress, and, as time passed, hoped to make her into one of the best, if not THE best, swordsman in Elfhame. It was the least he could do, teach her how to survive in Elfhame, for her mother. Eva may not have been a good wife, but he would be a good father to Jude-and to Taryn, and Vivienne. If there was one thing he would do for his dead wife, it would be to raise her daughters in honour and give them a good life. Fate may not have smiled upon him in the Duarte house, but he was in Elfhame, and by the blood crown would he bend it to his will here.

Jude and Madoc one shot (A year after being brought to Faerie)

Murderer, 8 year old Jude thought as she looked at the man who had killed their parents.

How long ago had it been? A year, perhaps. Time flew by before she knew it. One year ago her biggest fear had been the math test coming up, and now-well, she would take every math test in the world if it meant going back to her parents and house.

Not this horribly large mansion with its false promises of empty beauty. And the terrifying monster that resided in it. 

Her parents' murderer. The smell of wet red blood and splayed limbs on the kitchen floor was burnt into Jude's mind like it had happened yesterday-perhaps always would be.

When she first came here, she had been fully in shock. Taryn and Vivi had wailed, she had been dazed. Now, she was ready to fight-fight for both her sisters, like Vivi who would fight for them. She still cried, but she now drew her sword, eyes narrowed, baring her teeth at Madoc, her mother's former husband.

Vivienne didn't call him father. She said that Justin Duarte was her father, and that Madoc could never live up to him. Madoc's cat eyes flashed, and Taryn shrank, but Jude was glad of Vivi's ferocity and disgust, matching her own. 

Madoc sighed as he watched her try to wield her practice sword. For some reason, he had wanted to give her a sword fighting lesson one on one-without her sisters, in front of this monster, Jude felt terrified and stripped bare. 

'Adjust your grip,' he said, touching her hand, and she recoiled in horror. He adjusted it himself, then stood back. 'Try again.'

She growled and lunged at the practice dummy. Strike and thrust. 

Her practice sword broke in half-she had hit too hard.

'Well,' she said sarcastically. 'I guess that's broken, then.'

'I can see that,' he said. 'Now, cut vertically. Like this,' he said, swishing his blade down, and she flinched and jumped. He drew in a sharp breath, then shook his head.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'It must have been too soon. Cut vertically.'

She cut her sword vertically down. It was somewhat difficult. 

'Practice. Do it again. It will get easier with time, and you must hone your reflexes. You need to know how to jump back without falling and how to duck and roll.' he said.

Maybe if he hadn't killed her parents, she'd be back in the human world, learning normal human things instead of sword fighting.

She missed her parents so hard, it hurt sometimes. A part of her still believed that they might come back, that maybe someone had taken them to the hospital and they were actually alive and they were searching for them.

But wouldn't her parents have found them by now if they were still alive?

'All right, Jude, keep cutting down vertically.' he said. 'Maybe your sister Vivienne will learn the hard way of refusing to learn the ways of Faerie.'

'Don't say that,' Jude snapped at him, then shrank when he looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

'Very well.' he said. 'Keep on practicing, Jude.'

Oneshot of Vivienne and Madoc a little after the three girls being brought to Elfhame

‘NO!’ Vivienne screamed, running away and sobbing. ‘LEAVE ME ALONE, MURDERER!’

Murderer. Madoc’s head pounded. How long ago had it been since his rage and grief controlled his head and actions, thus causing another emotion to seep in-guilt?

But maybe he had already been guilty-guilty that he hadn’t done enough for Eva to want to stay here. He had always been at war, and she had been so young-somewhere in her early twenties. Human aging was confusing. 

He took a deep breath and strode towards his daughter. He couldn’t make Eva stay, but he had his daughter now and he was going to make her stay. He’d make her stay and learn how her mother was wrong-she would be his heir, his pride and joy, and she would stay in Elfhame.

He picked her up and pinned her thrashing arms to her sides. Vivienne screeched and he winced. If only Eva were here to control her.

Eva. Another wave of guilt overtook him. How could he have thrown his sword at her back just like that? Justin was another matter entirely (escaping with HIS wife and siring THOSE brats! Hmph). But Eva was their mother, the mother of ALL of them, even those bastards.

(They looked so much like her, though. And Vivienne looked like him. She had his ferocity from his younger days.)

‘Vivienne,’ he said sternly, ‘listen to me. I am your father and you will obey me. Can you not listen to me for once? You are already behind-I will catch you up on the ways of Faerie. You and your sisters.’

‘I HATE YOU!’ she screamed, tears running down her face. ‘MONSTER! KILLER! MURDERER! I HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU KILLED MY PARENTS LEAVE ME ALONE LET ME GO-’

‘SILENCE!’ he roared, and she flinched away from him, trembling in his grasp. She glanced at him and then glanced away, continuing this like a pendulum. 

He drew in a sharp breath, looking at her. She was so small, so tiny in his hands-he could hurt her in any way he wanted.

(Just the thought of it made him sick. How could he do that to his own daughter?)

She looked at him, her eyes red and watery, her nose sniffly, her face wet with uncontrollable tears.

She was scared of him. His beautiful young daughter, his baby, his heir, she was afraid of him.

The worst thing was that he was used to it. He knew those flinches, those wide-eyed pendulum glances, those limbs jerked away from him, that shivering. Even Eva had sometimes displayed them, though he had tried to ignore it.

But to have his daughter do it-his sweet, precious daughter that was supposed to have been born in the walls of his mansion, who should have been trained by him from the time she could walk, who should’ve been brought up like a warrior, who should have laughed as she killed with him, a true redcap, yet Eva had run away, and this was the result.

 He moved to wipe her nose and she bit his hand. He let go of her with a yell and she dropped from his hands, rolling into a ball on the floor (who taught her that? Eva maybe) and, picking up a vase, threw it at him. It shattered against the floor, dropping before it could reach him. She screamed and ran away again.

He sighed. He was exhausted. He had accidentally ruined his chance at happiness by killing Eva, and now he was stuck with her two bastards. If it had been only Vivienne, it would have been somewhat better, but………..

(Why had he killed her? And what if he had not? Would she escape a second time?)

A thought struck him-what if VIVIENNE tried to escape? She had her mother’s courage and spunk, so the thought of her planning to run away with her sisters was not far off.

No, he couldn’t allow that. (But he did. Three years later. Though thankfully they returned).

‘You’re not my father,’ she snarled at him. ‘Justin Duarte is my father.’

He froze. 

Justin Duarte.

The best human smith Faerie had ever seen, once his friend, then his enemy for a brief period of time, before he had died by Madoc’s blade. 

He had trusted him, taken his blades, laughed with him. 

How had he not seen the signs? Of course, he had been at war for too much time. Of course he had thought that Eva wanted to spend time with Justin because he was another mortal, and wouldn’t she get lonely without her own kind? 

She had promised Madoc that she was his bride and his alone. Oh, those sweet words from her honeyed, smiling, full lips. 

Mortal words. Ones that he never should have trusted. Mortal vows, so easily broken, like porcelain vases.

And mortals themselves, who would smile and simper and promise, and in the end, they would take what they could and did not care.

How like fairies, only fairies used different methods of manipulation, and then they could be far crueler.

He’d thought Eva was a human-she could have been a faerie, the way she deceived him and took his own daughter from him.

And then Justin, raising her as his own. Horrible man.

(Honourable man, loving his stepdaughter as if she were his own.)

Had Justin ever abused her? No. Had he ever looked down on her for not sharing his blood? No.

Madoc grit his teeth. If Justin could do it, then he could too. After all, they were the progeny of his wife and thus his responsibility.

(Damn responsibility. Sometimes he wanted to fling off its burdens, just let his rage and bloostlust wander freely).

They would receive the same education as his real daughter. They would be claimed and accepted as his own and live in high Fae society and eventually settle down. 

(And they did. But did they?)

Justin Duarte is my father, not you.

He looked at her, his eyes cat narrowed. Her eyes were the same and her ears were his. Even her skin was white, unlike his green and her mother’s brown. A mix of human and faerie, both worlds. He had been excited to know what she would like, and then he thought that he would never know. And then he knew, and her face had been distorted with fury and hatred.

She was staring at him fiercely, murderously, like a redcap. He almost laughed-such irony. What he had most wanted her to look like was directed towards him. Oh, Eva.

He sighed. ‘I am sorry, Vivienne.’

She looked at him warily. ‘What?’ 

‘I am sorry for killing your mother-and your stepfather.’ he said.

She snarled. ‘You mean my father.’ 

‘No. He was your stepfather. I am your real father. And I should have not killed him-yet my rage took over. One day you too will know the feeling. Though I hope that day will never come for your sake.’

She laughed wildly. ‘It’s too late. They’re dead. They’re dead, and I hate you, and I’ll never love you, and my sisters will never love you, so stop trying.’

‘I don’t expect them to love me,’ he said. (But they did. It was just not a comfortable one.)

‘Good. Because we won’t. And one day, we’re going to leave and never come back.’ she said.

He inhaled sharply. ‘No. You are going to stay here. You are my heir and will obey me.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Like hell I will. I obey no one and do as I please.’

He swallowed and picked her up again. She started screaming and kicking, and he knocked her out. She fell imply in his hands and he sucked in a breath, pausing to make sure that he hadn’t seriously hurt her. 

He carried her back to her room, ignoring the surreptious looks from the servants. 

He opened the door and stopped.

There were Eva’s other children-her twin daughters, huddling under the covers. One looked at him, eyes wide with terror, while the other, the one who had kicked him after he had killed Eva and Justin, glared at him, burning anger concealing white hot fear. Both of their faces were like hers. They were wet with tears like his daughter’s.

He walked over to the bed and they scrambled away from him, screaming when they saw Vivienne lying unconscious.

‘What did you do to her?’ the angry one screamed. 

‘She’s unconscious right now. She’ll wake up later.’ he said gruffly.

He deposited her on the bed and turned to leave. At the last moment, he stopped, his hand on the door handle.

‘I am sorry, children,’ he said to them. ‘Sorry for taking away your parents when you so desperately needed them. But know that I will make it up. I will claim you as my own and you will be raised as High Fae.’

He would do it-he could raise them, his daughter-daughters. Eyebrows would raise, mouths would whisper, but he was the High General and he could bear it for their sake. He would sacrifice for them if need be.

He would do it for Eva and Justin, for he owed it to them-they had wanted to raise their children peacefully and he disrupted it, but now he would do the same. Maybe he could find a wife to teach them what he could not-the social customs and methods of Faerie, the intricacy and delicacy and finesse that he was so lacking in.

‘All right.’ he muttered. ‘Eva and Justin, this is for you. Here I go-to becoming a new, determined father.’

Was Vivienne ever aggressive like Madoc? That her redcap nature, though somewhat tempered by her human nature, played a role in her pre-Elfhame childhood? Was that why their parents and the other adults were so worried, apart from the cat eyes and fairy ears? Do you think that Eva saw Madoc in Vivienne's eyes and shrank from her? What about Justin? Do you think that they homeschooled her to keep themselves safer? Do you think that she was angry and ferocious at Madoc, then saw that he liked it, then tried to calm down and be nicer and go against her fiery nature and not learn battle strategies and swordplay in order to displease him?

I blame Holly Black because now I'm attached to a power seeking killer and an attention deprived alcoholic with a tail

I'd like to thank Holly Black for finally proving that if you want to write a romance between a human teenage girl and an immortal magic man properly, the girl has to be feral. None of this "she's an angel, she's his morality" nonsense, she has to be unhinged and ready to kill a man. Otherwise it's just creepy and weird.

jude duarte