Madoc - Blog Posts

Who wants to die slowly when you can die fast. Me. I don't want to die fast. I don't want to die at all.

The Queen Of Nothing, TFOTA, Holly Black

Before, I never knew how far I would go. Now I believe I have the answer. I will go as far as there is to go. I will go way too far.

The Cruel Prince, TFOTA, Holly Black

Everything will go on. But I'm not sure I can.

The Cruel Prince, TFOTA, Holly Black

I feel like a constellation of wounds, held together with string and stubbornness.

The Queen of Nothing, TFOTA, Holly Black

I just finished The Queen Of Nothing..

I already miss them so much.

It was a wonderful series that I read faster then I have any story in a long time. I read Cruel Prince immediately and waited for Queen Of Nothing to come out so I could read Wicked King and Queen of Nothing back to back.

Jude was a charcter unlike any other that I have read before. Her and Cardan’s relationship make me laugh, smile, and cry many times.

Reading those books kinda felt like going on a rollercoaster ride. So many ups and downs, schemes, and betrayals. I don’t know if I will enjoy a book as much ever agian.

Props to Holly Black for writing a great series and one that I will reread many times over. I know I will miss these charcters deeply.

despite of everything i love madoc. i know he was awful and backstabbed jude after he helped build herself up, but he just loves her so much it hurts me. that scene where he is like "i am your father" and jude replies "you're my father's murderer" and the man just murmurs that "he could be both"..... HURTS??????? He always claimed her as HIS 😭 AND after reading the stolen heir it breaks me a little more.

Madoc always loved Jude the most. He was so proud of her, even if he wanted what she had. Perhaps he was FIRST person to ever see her true potential, and i just know that even when they were enemies, he was proud. (Dont touch me i love their father x daughter tragical story)

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.

Let Vivienne hate Madoc. Just let her.

Sooooooooooo I just saw some posts saying that Vivienne could love Madoc because she only believed that she would hate him when she vowed to hate him-

and even if that is true............

Let her hate him. Just let her.

First of all, can we have a Duarte sister who doesn't forgive Madoc for killing their parents?

I want to see him face consequences for murdering them, even if he had his explanation for doing so. I want to see him feel guilty about it and not be able to forget it. And Vivienne is perfect for this.

Jude loves him (albeit in an uncomfortable manner) and Taryn seems to have some love and loyalty to him too.

And honestly, I cannot emphasise how awful their parents' murder was for the Duarte girls. They saw it right in front of their eyes, and then Madoc kidnapped them and took them away from the only home they knew back then.

(And if Justin and Madoc can both be fathers to Jude, then the same goes for Vivienne. Madoc's her bio father, Justin's her adopted. He took care of her for 9 years-don't tell me she didn't love him.)

We as the readers are not really affected by it, because Jude barely talks about her parents and their murder, and doesn't express much grief after ten years because she's bottled it up and pushed it down.

But the Duarte sisters are. They knew their parents and they miss them, especially Vivienne who knew them longer and had better and clearer memories of them.

And honestly, Madoc was an awful person for that. He's an awful person for killing two people in front of children. Justin I get, because the guy tried to axe him, but he could have knocked Justin out-don't tell me he wasn't that strong or reflexive.

And Eva? He had no need to kill her at all. He could have grabbed her-AND THERE WERE THREE SMALL CHILDREN RIGHT FUCKING THERE!

It doesn't matter if he had an instant killing instinct. He's still a terrible person for killing Eva and Justin.

And do you know how much it must have affected Vivienne that Jude and Taryn treated their parents' murderer like their own father? Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine the betrayal, the hurt, the fury and pain.

We've been thinking and looking at TFOTA from Jude's perspective for far too long. It's time to dive into other characters' minds and see it from theirs.

Eva and Justin aside-let's go to Oak.

We know that Madoc was going to put Oak on the throne for his own gain, and we know that this would have traumatised Oak. Imagine being a king, having to make so many decisions-and Oak would still have some degree of responsibility, even with Madoc as the regent. Imagine having so many people looking at you for so many things that an adult should handle when you're so young.

Oak would've been traumatized, and you know it. And Madoc knew it too, and he still decided to go forth with the plan.

But where does Vivienne come into this, you ask? Why don't I just post this under a Madoc hate rant?

(I don't hate Madoc).

Because Vivienne knew what I just told you too. She saw Oak who was young, and he was almost 9 then (I think) and she was nine when her parents were murdered and she was stolen away.

And honestly, I'm pretty sure she hated Madoc in that moment. Pure hatred.

She probably took pleasure in forcing him to adjust to the mortal world, though. That must have been nice for her.

I don't think Vivienne loves Heather in the faerie way-she loves Heather in a more human way. (I love Vivienne and Heather so much, you have no idea, as much as some of you love Jurdan). And honestly, good for her. Good for both of them.

And honestly, I don't hate Madoc. It's just that when I think of him with relation to Vivienne, then I really start to hate him. That's all. Feel free to debate with me if you want.

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.

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?

The Folk of the Air moodboards

~ 5/13 ~ Oriana