THE CRUEL PRINCE - Blog Posts

what’s a great book you’ve read recently :-) trying to make a reading list for 2025… i’ll try any genre but most of what i read this year was litfic and fantasy i think

jude duarte is my poor little meow meow. in my heart always. so cool. smash.

soooo, do we know if the fae can lie through song? I would think that no they can't, but then, their songs must be full of uncertainty so everyone can sing them and they can't sing a lot of human songs. or, they can, but that would open a whole other can of worms...

anyways yeah, is this a stupid question, did holly black answer it in any of the books or in other ways? please share your knowledge 🙏

cardan and jude ♔

idk if i like this but whatever

this will also be available to buy on my inprnt so stay tuned 🫶🏻

(based on dolce&gabbana 2006 fall/winter collection cover by Steven Meisel)

characters by Holly Black

ten pocit když najdu nový kontent, nový fandom, do kterého spadnu s rychlostí světla, ale je to úplně jinej typ fanoušků než na co jsem zvyklej. a jinej typ kontetu taky 😭

I need someone to rant with (about The Cruel Prince)

Deleted Scenes From The Cruel Prince

(Some of these are alternate storylines)

These are all of them, both deleted and alternate storyline. I highly recommend buying this TCP edition 🫶🏼 as it comes with gorgeous artwork and a neat velvet cover!

I have come to fulfil my quest of supplying dark!Cardan requests so here we go: set before Cardan becomes king, he and his gang on cronies are still in school and so is the reader. Her and Cardan have an on off relationship and what I mean by hat is that he degrades her consistently, makes her feel like absolute crap only to then double back on his words and claim that she’s the opposite of whatever it is that he said. This has been happening for years so you can see how the reader is confused in this situation and it escalates to a point where she debates just stop talking to him. He finds out, makes a grand plan that sets his cronies on her and for her to then crawl back to him for comfort only this time… he offers her a drink that is poisoned with something that makes her more susceptible to what he says. Do he basically says that he’s all she needs and that she’s his and what not. Have fun!

OMG THIS WAS SO SO MUCH FUN

warning: DARK SUPER DARK DO NOT GO UNDER THE CUT IF YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH STUFF LIKE THIS (mental and mentions of physical abuse, yandere cardan, kinda soft cardan in the end, kidnapping, allusions to stalking), also mentions of sex (like the literal word)

ANOTHER LAYER

You weren’t enough. Not for him, not for anyone.

But that was on Wednesday. On Friday, no one was good enough for you. On Friday you had him worshiping you and lavishing you in affection. 

You didn’t get it. Not one bit.

One day it was “I love you,” the next it was “And how could anyone see anything but a disgusting mortal in you?”

Either way, you remained empty and confused.

Empty, like the glass of wine on your bedside table and the heart that he claimed you owned. Empty like the embrace you were held in, the sleeping prince behind you, arm around your waist.

~*~

He didn’t know what to feel about you.

On one hand, you were mortal. On the other, you were his, and nothing of his was less than perfect.

“Let them go, Cardan,” Nicasia would sigh. “They’re not worth it.”

And that was how she got the long, jagged scar down the side of her beautiful face. 

But of course Nicasia was still beautiful. Who else would he ever compare you to on the days he couldn’t stand that you were his? But you still were at the end of it, so he would try to make it up to you.

A prince’s affection is not something to be taken lightly. 

However, you only seemed to drift away from him every time he did something like that, every time he loved you. He needed you closer.

He couldn’t breathe without you next to him.

He couldn’t live, not like this. He couldn’t live with his mind clogged up with thoughts of you.

So, if you didn’t want his love, what did you want? His hate?

If you wanted it, he’d give it to you tenfold. But the second, the very minute you wanted him fully, his love, everything he could offer you, he’d give it to you.

It hurt him more than it would hurt you.

~*~

And so here you were, once again crying into your pillow from the cruel prince’s equally cruel words. 

There were no more days that he would love you, no more days he would tell you how pretty you were. 

There was just pure hatred and sex.

That was it.

You had begun to miss those days despite the everlasting state of confusion you were always in.

He loves me. He loves me not.

He hates me.

That was it.

A knock sounded on the door, and your older sister walked in. She hated the faerie realm, but stayed for you, to protect you.

“I heard about what happened at school.”

You buried your face further in your pillow, willing your body to disappear in whatever surrounded you, air, magic, whatever.

She approached your body, sprawled on the bed. You could feel her fingers brush your back. “Do you want… would you consider leaving? We don’t have to stay once you turn eighteen-”

That was an idea. A very good one.

You loved him, you realized, but you needed to get away before he and his friends absolutely killed you. 

Your ribs twinged once again, a reminder of the afternoon.

You looked up at your sister, a woman who had so many of your features, and nodded. 

You had never seen her smile so wide.

~*~

It wasn’t working. 

You weren’t listening to him, though he supposed he couldn’t expect you to read his mind.

He could tell you to leave but he really meant to stay.

He could tell you that you were disgusting, but he really meant that you were stunning beyond belief.

But you still weren’t glued to his side as he’d hoped. In fact, you only seemed to get farther away from him, the only moments of contact being sex and whenever he laid a hand on you otherwise. Every crack produced one of equal magnitude in his heart.

Every cry that left your lips made him want to sob.

But it was for you, he remembered. So you would finally, finally give in.

But you weren’t. And he was terrified. Not only could you possibly be hurt beyond repair at any moment, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He would crumble. 

He couldn’t afford that.

~*~

You were gone. 

He was going to give you a gift for your birthday too. 

You were nowhere to be found; your parents were sobbing, your sister and yourself gone, your rooms empty.

You weren’t there.

You had left.

You had left him.

~*~

You didn’t come back either. Not the next day, not the week after, not even the month after.

That was a problem.

Wine made it worse, as did his friends. 

But, there was one thing that made it better. The opportunity to get you back.

His father would step down soon enough. There was no way he’d ever be giving the position to his youngest son, of course, that would be preposterous. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take it, and with it, you.

He could make anyone do anything that way. 

He could find you. His people would find you, and he would bring you home. One way or another.

And this time, he wouldn’t hate you, simply because he couldn’t. You’d be proud of him. He’d grown up.

~*~

You’d made a life for yourself. You had a job, a house, your sister.

No Cardan. Nothing binding you to the faerie world.

It was a breath of fresh air.

At least until you kept seeing little flashes of blue and green in the corners of your vision. Just little things, but not quite… concerning.

You were just being paranoid. 

~*~

He was sober. He was dressed in his most formal attire, down to the T.

He’d missed you. Beyond comprehension.

And you missed him, he hoped. But if you didn’t, there was always the vial of whatever sedative was in his pocket, if worse comes to worse. 

He didn’t want to threaten you.

So, with that, he rang the doorbell.

You’d done well for yourself, really. You didn’t do all too well, he could’ve done better if you’d just let him love you, step in and take care of you.

Leaning against the railing leading to the door of your…humble abode, he took in the garden. The smells.

You liked flowers. He took note of that.

Answering the door, you seemed to freeze.

“Prince Cardan.”

He smirked down at you, “King Cardan, actually. But you don’t have to worry about the title, love.”

Your eyes were still wide, wider when he dropped his title. You didn’t even notice the term of endearment. That was fine. There was more than enough time to let you become accustomed to love from him. You hadn’t received enough of it before. He was going to change that.

“I don’t care abou- ok, you need to go.”

“Well of course I need to go, as do you. Do you see what you’re doing to yourself in this place? You’re putting yourself down to a lesser station. You need to come home.”

Your eyes widened larger than saucers. “This is home.”

He arched one perfect brow, “No, it’s not. The palace is home, I am home. And you need to get going. This place is going to make you sick.”

“Cardan, leave.”

“I’m sorry, darling, I can’t.”

~*~

When you woke up you were somewhere other. 

Elfhame.

“You need to drink this, miss,” a servant said. Taking the cup you brought it to your lips, taking one large gulp, curing yourself of your parched throat.

But then, then you remembered. Anything could be in that cup. Any poison or enchantment.

Too late.

~*~

So there you were, two days later curled up in Cardan’s lap as he lounged on the throne, running his fingers through your hair, whispering what could be considered sweet words to you.

He did, you learned, consider them sweet. Sweet enough for you.

But, in the end, immortal and confined to the palace, they were just another layer of entrapment.

I have finally thought of something! Maybe. I don't know, it just occurred to me. So my idea is that the reader is human and considering how the fae like and enjoy belittling and degrading humans - Cardan included - it could reach a point where reader feels as though she can't do anything correctly. So she just kind of curls into herself and she just feels completely hopeless with everyday life. If it's set before Cardan is king and they're all still in school, then it could be a massive declining in her grades and when she has to eat lunch she just doesn't in fear of being judged for it. I guess Cardan will take advantage of that and make her completely dependant on him. So basically, he's the asshole for making her feel like that in the first place but then he "redeems" himself by claiming he'll look out for her and essentially just takes the reigns on her entire life. Hope you're alright!

hi!

warnings: i’m wicked tired so this might be incoherent; food; mentions of food; allusions to weight loss; bullying; cardan actually being cruel; controlling cardan; cardan kinda treating you like a baby in the end

THE WORLD IS OURS

It was no secret that you were intelligent. More than that. You could be considered a genius by faerie standards, never mind mortal ones. 

But it was no secret that your special quality had left you a long time ago, much like the light in your eyes and the love you held for yourself and the world. Everything had become so bleak with the vile words that dripped from his tongue so easily, every sentence branding itself into your head disturbingly.

At night it was all you could think of. And then, you realized, that he was right. Cardan was right, the disgusting boy who could never seem to leave you alone no matter how much you showed him that you were not worth his time. He only fought harder when he heard that.

You saw him less and less now that you had stopped trying. You hid somewhere in the back when you were in school; you no longer ate with the rest of your peers, instead moving somewhere else to mull over your failure. The death of all things good about you.

Every thought turned sour. Every day became rotten.

And it was all your fault.

~*~

It was no secret that you were his.

He had made it abundantly clear from the beginning. You did not respond well to it, turning him away with the smug look that always sat on your face, the righteousness that always hung around you like a cloak. It was addicting.

You were addicting.

You were lovely and smart and beautiful and you knew it, too. But the air of superiority that he wanted to crack, just slightly to worm his way into your heart, had shattered. His weak, weak human. So fragile, like a flower plucked from the ground.

You no longer ate with them. You no longer studied with them. You no longer smiled or laughed or even cried. He pushed you to your limit–even farther, for you had broken long before. It hurt him more than you would know.

Only when he saw how hollow your cheeks had grown, how dull your eyes had gotten had he realized what he had done, the transgressions he had so carelessly committed. He slammed his door when he had gotten into the castle. He had snapped pens over papers in which he had started letters to you, papers which he had just written your name hundreds upon hundreds of times.

“My sweet angel,” he whispered, tracing the familiar letters of your name over again with his finger, blackened with ink. “I will not allow you to languish. I will atone for my sins just as you have for yours. I swear.”

~*~

You did not expect to see Cardan Greenbriar sitting on your picnic blanket with a basket, free of his usual posse, but not free of a scowl. 

It was not a welcome sight.

“What are you doing?” you asked, looking down your nose at him, lying on his side, lounging in your sanctuary. While it was open, it was still yours. He would not take that too.

“What are you doing?”

“That–I’m sitting down. On my blanket. Yours is over there, Cardan.” Your eyebrows furrowed and your arms crossed defensively. He only smiled, ironically soft. You could not look angry if you tried. You were too tired, too weakened for a show of strength. You knew that better than anyone.

“Nicasia can keep it company. Have you eaten today, darling?” he asked, turning away from you, opening the basket. He put his hand inside, but turned to you before he could. He shrugged, his eyes widening comically. “Well? Sit down, won’t you? Lunch doesn’t last forever, dearest.”

You ignored the pet name, sitting down at his command. Ridiculous, you thought. It was your blanket.

“This is my blanket,” you said again. You mentally slapped yourself. Dumb. No wonder he thought you were dumb.

“I’m well aware of that. Now eat something, won’t you?”

“I’m not hungry.” You were. But you would not eat in front of him. You would not be compared to an animal again.

“I wasn’t asking.”

~*~

Cardan was suffocating. Once upon a time he had despised you. Now he was treating you like he would someone under his care.

At the beginning of the day, just before you left for school, he would be there, holding food and demanding you take his arm. Then, you two would share a blanket during your lessons. His arm would be around your waist and he would ask if you were too cold. Then you two would eat together. There would be more lessons, and then he’d walk you home. He’d leave you with a kiss on the forehead.

But he would not quite leave. Not really.

He would return later in the night. He would spend hours with you. He’d rub your back as you fell asleep. Sometimes, he’d even sleep with you, leaving you in the morning.

He was always there.

You had not known a moment without him. Not a moment without you being taken into his arms, being told that you were the most exquisite creature to roam the Earth, not a moment without his lips leaving your skin.

It needed to end.

~*~

“Cardan, why can’t you just hate me again! It’s suffocating! You despise me, what are you doing?!?”

The crown on his head was tilted, but it did not take away from the poise he oozed. He had given up drinking months before, becoming colder to the world. But he never seemed to not soften when you walked into the room, demanding you sit with him.

“Darling–”

“No. I’m not your darling. You need to stop, King Cardan.”

“You are really referring to me as king when you are queen?” He had stolen the crown that sat atop his head. He had killed off his brothers when they had threatened you. His father died and he had stolen that bloody, jeweled crown. “Stop this nonsense, dear, and sit with me. It’s getting late, and you’re not thinking straight.” He got up from his throne, swiftly moving toward you. He gathered you up in his arms, pressing his lips to the top of your head. “Come on, darling, you must be tired.”

“I am thinking straight.” You struggled in his hold to no avail. “My head is more than clear. You hate me. Go back to hating me. There are far too many reasons for you to hate me rather than treat me like this.”

“You deserve everything I offer you, sweetness. You deserve every ounce of affection I give you and more. The world will be yours whether you want it or not.”

“I don’t want it. I want to go home. Cardan, please–”

“You are home.” You were swept off your feet. “Now come on. We should go to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

“Kiss me… kiss me until I’m sick of it…”

I am absolutely obsessed with him, its not even funny.

Cardan Greenbriar from The Cruel Prince Series by Holly Black

🎨: maeves.atelier on Instagram

It’s been exactly seven days today that i started The Cruel Prince and i’ve INHALED every single book in that established universe. I need to lie down.

Frothing at the mouth, sliding down walls, rattling the bars to my enclosure over Carden “Come be angry at a nearer distance” Greenbriar and Jude “If I let myself love you, I would burn up like a match” Duarte.

This blog will briefly become a shrine to The Cruel Prince series. Please excuse the chaos.

"Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?" — The Cruel Prince.

Honestly, this illustration brought out the worst in me.

rereading the cruel prince and i forgot that cardan's nervous habit is smiling.

jude always notes he's smirking/smiling around her.

jude makes him nervous.

tell me thats not literally the best thing you've heard all day

Ok, you know what scene I still can't recover from?

Locke: Remember when I kissed Jude in the garden?

Cardan: I recall your mouth was on her. But her eyes were on me.

LIKE, woah. The possessiveness practically DRIPPING from his tone. Yes I know that we didn't hear hear it. But let's be honest, we all heard it loud and clear

I just saw a reel that says "so Jude just played Kiss, Marry Kill with Cardan's friend group".

You know who else she played that game with? Cardan.

She kissed him, married him and then eventually, kinda kinda, killed him.

So my point here is, Jude is our queen and no body touches her without having to plow us weeds out 1st

She's a 10 but she ingests poison daily to become immune so obviously she's an 11

you know what keeps me up at night is that like. Jude heard Cardan, a fae who cannot lie, say "i think about you often and i can't stop" and that bitch went "nah you know what? i don't believe you" and proceeded to require physical proof of his claim, in the form of kissing that mf straight on the mouth.

she is either denser than we ever thought when it comes to Cardan's attraction for her, or she was already in much deeper for him than she even knew.

We all have headcanoned Cardan as this big ball of fluff and yet sometimes, I remember that one scene in Queen of Nothing when Randaline dared imply that Jude should stepped down from the monarchy because she was mortal and Cardan just grabbed him, dragged him to another room, said something to him and dude came out shaking and apologising. I SOMETIMES FORGET HE IS A MEAN CAT LMFAO.

The second half

🤴🏻 + 🤜🏻👑 🤛🏻= 🐍

You guys ever think about how Cardan was so so "cruel" to Jude?

And why? All his life, baby only got "affection", admiration and attention only when he acts cruel, as seen the memory globe thingie.

And he‐ he knows that's how to get "LOVE"?? So like, the whole while he was cruel, really he just wanted attention? He just expected Jude to be happy about it like Asha was?? Baby Cardan really just chose the only "love language" he knee to try and impress the girl of his literal dreams?

And she still didn't seem to like him? What the hell?

Or are you actually sane?

Holly really just picked 2 attempts at murder and declared them flirting and I am not over it to this day.

Ngl tho, "hot" will also be my 1st thought if someone like Jude, fkn JUDE DUARTE (ehum), would hold a knife to my throat, but yea-

Though I would prefer not to drown........bye-

dude ;0;

when cardan is telling jude about his whole plan (once she comes back ‘as taryn’) about exiling her and it being all sneaky and he’s like “look i’m like you ! i did a sneaky thing just like you did ! you must be so proud of me !!” and she’s like What Is Wrong With You ?!

broke my silly little heart, it did ;0;

🤌🏻

“It’s you I love. I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.”

Holly Black - Cardan Greenbriar, The Queen of Nothing.

This part

Unique(obviously) . Excruciating(imagine him in constant 'pain' cuz he knows she hates him and he knows she isnt his and probably wont be) Alarming(imagine him alarmed everytime he sees her because hes just hit with how beautiful she is and how much unlike him and loved) Distressing(imagine him panicking because yup, he loves her, but she never will)

Sometimes I just think of when Cardan is telling Jude about the whole thing where her exile was just a scheme or whatever, I think of how Cardan just wanted Jude to be proud of him, proud because he fooled everyone, just like she does. I think about it and break just a little bit more, because that's how he would have made Baelkin proud, by doing what his brother would have done, so he just assumed to make Jude proud he had to do what she does. Our baby High King was just so desperate for love and validation, indeed.

Fuck Romeo and Juliet I want what these bitches have

(PS: art's not mine. Got it off Google. Contact me if it's yours and you want it down or to be tagged)

I have PMed the artist and am waiting on a reply

Friendly Reminder

"And the next thing we know the High King is on our doorstep looking ready to tear down the whole apartment complex to find you!!"

(Pardon me for inaccuracies)

So like, what. I wanna know exactly what happened. Honestly when I read I squealed and then the first coherent thought was "Wait. What did he wear?" And then "What did he do? Did he go alone? Did anyone from the Court of Shadows go along? What EXACTLY did Cardan say?"

Like, imagine Vivi just sipping coffee and Oak out playing with the kids while Taryn just does whatever idec, and the suddenly they hear a knock (idt Cardan knows the doorbells that well) and then Vivi opens the door and BOOM. Cardan. In his full glory. Like, did he try to look the best he could to go down to his wife's family home and win her back? Imagine his finest and most ridiculous clothing, lined with gold embroidery and what not, with his makeup impeccable. Or was he in too much of a hurry? To just, get her back. Because where fuck is she? And why did MADOC, of all people, come to get her? Was she so mad that she switched sides? Or did he realize the truth that Madoc didn't know it was Jude? Or did Cardan not dare to believe that to be true because it'd break his heart if it wasn't?

At this point I'm just rambling. I'm sorry.

But then, like, also imagine Taryn comes up behind Vivi asking who it is and just for a slight second Cardan gets super hopeful thinking it's Jude but then there he sees Taryn and he's just like, bitch, this is enough. And THAT MOMENT, my friends, was in which he lost it and then proceeded to give Vivi the impression that he was gonna tear down the apparent complex looking for his High Queen.

I'm sorry. I really will stop.

What if he wore some sort of mortal clothes. Like, imagine Cardan in sweats and a hoodie. Or, like, a 3 piece suit. But for some reason I just can't accept that he'd ever wear a Tshirt with Jeans. Idk why.

Ok bye-

THE FACT THAT

In this scene he was so sure she hated him and his guts to no extent. And then the scene proceeds off to her with her knife on his throat. I can't-

(Art's not mine. Idk whose. Tell me if it's yours and you want it taken down. I 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 be sad tho)