Was this prompt probably mentioning a scary Halloween mask, rather than a masquerade ball one? Probably. Do I have a prompt that is specifically a masquerade ball? Yes. I hope you like this story! BTW there is a little bit of Jude and Cardan talking about the stuff Jude went through to get to where she is, so...

-owl

Jude let herself sink into the notes of the music being played at the revel. It was the harvest season in Faerie, a time when they would gather and drink and dance. Since becoming Queen, Jude was nearly required to attend the revels, though she didn't much care for them. The only upside to her attending was to help make sure Cardan didn't get assassinated.

That in itself was quite the conundrum. Cardan seemed to have enough enemies for Jude to be constantly busy and worried. At least the revel this time was much more low-key, so Jude didn't have to worry about him quite so much.

For whatever reason, though, Jude was stuck at this revel, nearly three hours after she and Cardan would normally retire to their rooms to sleep. She was wearing a dress the color of molten gold, her simple crown a matching gold. As, of course, the harvest revel was always a masquerade ball, Jude's outfit was paired with a mask of black silk and molded gold leaves on the corner of it on her right side. Finally, even though it didn't match the rest of her outfit, Jude wore Nightfell on her hip as usual.

Peering around the crowd, Jude couldn't see Cardan anywhere. She could see, however, Taryn, Vivi, and Oak. Taryan was standing next to Oak, in silver and bronze respectively. Vivi was in layers of thin gossamer, colored a pale blue. The Bomb was dressed nicely in a shade of deep green, standing next to The Roach, in a dark gray. The Ghost didn't seem to be anywhere obvious.

"My Queen."

Jude turned to see Cardan standing behind her, holding his hand out to her. He wore a solid black outfit, the edges embroidered in the same molten gold color of Jude's own dress. His mask was an exact opposite of Jude's. A gold silk with black leaves.

"May I have this dance?" he continued.

Taking his hand, Jude nodded. "Of course."

He escorted her onto the dance floor, and the crowd parted for them, allowing them easy access. The band struck up a new tune, more suitable for partner dancing, and Jude let Cardan spin her around the dance floor.

"I think this is one of my best revels yet," Cardan said happily as they turned.

Jude smirked. That had been one of her best decisions, splitting the work between the two of them. Not that one couldn't help the other, but Cardan mainly organized revels and other things along those lines, and Jude focused more on the nitty-gritty of the kingdom. It played to their strengths, but allowed them to still help each other.

"Why is that, Husband Dearest?" Jude asked.

"Because you have let down your guard and are having a good time."

"I've had good reason to keep my secrets and not let my guard down."

Cardan frowned at that and, still dancing, led her off to the side room they often frequented. Once they were alone, he spoke.

"Would you do it all again?" Cardan's voice broke through the faint music from the other room.

"What do you mean?" Jude's brow furrowed. "Do what again?"

Cardan shrugged. "Climb your way to the top. You lost your adoptive family and poisoned yourself for months. You've been tortured in the Undersea and exiled to the mortal realm. You killed my brother and I'm sure others. You've been surrounded by death."

Jude gulped. Was she ready to talk to Cardan about any of that? "If it would get me here with you, yes."

"Will you tell me about it?" he asked, running his fingers along her arm. "I know so very little of what you've done since becoming my brother's spy."

Could she? Yes. "He told me to sneak into Hollow Hall a few times. He forced me to stab myself through my hand."

Cardan's fingers stopped. "He had you stab yourself through your hand?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He was mad that I stabbed Valerian the day prior."

Cardan sat up, abruptly pulling away from Jude. "You stabbed him? When did that happen? Where?"

"After class was over, I had fallen asleep halfway through and he woke me, showing me the string of rowan berries he had taken from my neck. He tried to glamour me to tell you that you'd won, then to jump from the tower."

Jude reached out her hand, pulling off the gloves she had worn that night, showing Cardan the wound, not giving him a chance to comment on Valerian's plan. "Haven't you seen it before?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but I never realized what it was from. I thought it was an accident."

Jude balled up her hand into a fist, hiding the scar from view. "He didn't even glamour me, I had to do it of my own will."

Cardan looked like he wanted to go kill his brother right then and there, regardless of the fact that he had been dead for over a year. "Why did you do it?" he asked, the anger evident in his voice.

"I had to, if I ever wanted to keep his trust. Even so, after that incident, I don't think he trusted me as much as he had before." Then, in response to the still evident anger on his face, she added, "Don't get too mad now, there is plenty more for you to take offense to,"

"What else happened? What else did Dain do?"

Jude looked away, the smallest beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Not Dain specifically, but Balekin wasn't my biggest fan either."

It was as though Cardan could hear she might start crying, because he gently lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Take off your mask, Jude. Let me see your face."

Jude carefully removed her mask, biting her lip.

"We can deal with what my brothers did to you later. For now, know, you are mine, and I will do my very best to keep you safe from now on. I love you."