A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

Ashton's emerald eyes are staring at mine and I suddenly know how the fae feel. I don't think I could lie to him right now, even if I wanted to. I take a deep breath to steady myself.

"Yes, I meant it." I say simply. I sort of want to keep babbling, or even giggle a bit because I'm nervous, but the serious expression on Ashton's face has sobered me up a bit. I wouldn't want him to think this is a joke to me. Before I can so much as blink Ashton yanks me forward into his arms and kisses me. There is no hesitation in this kiss and I sink into it for a second before my thoughts catch up to me and I push him back. I want to know if he loves me too, but I'm not brave enough to ask. Mostly because he can't lie and if he can't say the words that would just break me. I decide to ask in a more roundabout way.

"I have been meaning to ask you something..." I trail off. Ashton is actually looking a little dazed and distracted but there is a smile on his face. "You can ask me anything." He says sweetly.

"I... I wanted to know what exactly we are doing. I mean... Are we together?" I ask awkwardly. Ashton's brow furrows, although he's still smiling. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean." he admits and I repress a sigh.

"I mean, are we a couple? Are we in a relationship? I know that our situations might not make that the easiest thing, and feelings do not always mean commitment..." I fall silent, not quite sure what else to say. I don't want to sound desperate. I could beg Ashton to be mine, but what am I even asking? For him to come and stay with me in the human realm? That's ridiculous. I could come live here I suppose but I don't think that I'm ready to give up everything back home either. I DO love him, very much, but if I were to give up everything I might grow to resent him, and I don't want that either. I sigh.

"I guess I am just asking if we are going to try to stay together, to maintain this relationship." I gesture between the two of us. Ashton catches my hand mid movement and presses it to his chest, covering my hand with his and holding it there. "I have no intention of being separated from you again." He promises and my heart races. He can't lie so obviously he means it, but what DOES he mean? How would that even work? There are so many problems with it all, but now isn't the right time to talk about all that. I'm a little drunk and probably not all that reasonable. Not to mention all I want to do is throw myself at him. It would be far too easy to make me agree to just about anything. I don't want to talk anymore, I'm done with talking. I reach out to Ashton, intending to kiss him. He steps closer, leans in then yelps and suddenly jumps back. I stumble backwards, shocked.

"What happened?" I ask, completely dazed. Ashton curses.

"It's that damn cat. I... I think he bit me!" He complains. Sure enough, I look down and Bast is sitting by my feet looking incredibly satisfied with himself. I kneel down in front of him.

"Bast! What are you doing here? You know it is not nice to bite people." I scold him. Bast doesn't look all that sorry. He purrs and rubs his cheek against my leg. I give in and cuddle him while Ashton grumbles.

"What did I ever do to you cat?" He complains and I laugh. I can't help it, I'm feeling so light hearted. Now that I know I won't lose Ashton everything else seems manageable. Obviously there will be problems. But I don't care. I pet Bast for another minute before sighing.

"We need to go meet up with Fin. Bast, you should go home, I cannot take you with me." I tell him sadly. I'm still not sure how much he understands, but he gives me a look that tells me he thinks I'm particularly unintelligent. Which is pretty much how cats look at most people. I give him one last chin scratch and run a finger gently over his little antlers before letting Ashton pull me to my feet.

"Sorry Bast, I will miss you." I tell him sweetly. Ashton and I continue walking.

"I still can't believe you befriended a fae cat." He says, his tone a mixture of affection and exasperation. I shrug.

"He is cute." I answer.

We exit the forest and pass through the town again. Apparently Fin is meeting us in a quiet area near the castle with all our stuff. I do my best to take in everything we go past, not wanting to miss anything. "You're quiet." Ashton comments.noveldrama

"I just want to see as much as possible and take it all in, just in case I never come back." I explain. Ashton frowns and I feel his grip on my hand tighten. "Do you not like it here? Why would you not want to come back?" He asks, his tone is a bit offended.

"What? When did I say I do not like it here? I love it here. But you said that I could only get here because I was filled with your magic. You cannot give me enough magic for me to travel all the time, you were sick and exhausted for days. If that is what it takes to get me here, it is not worth it." I point out. Ashton relaxes his grip.

"Aaah, I think you might have misunderstood me, or maybe I didn't explain it well enough. Yes I had to give a lot of magic to get you here, I had to basically completely fill you with my magic, but that magic hasn't faded or left you. You haven't used it up like a fae would. As far as I can tell, it's part of you now. You might not have magic to travel between realms yourself, but as long as you have someone to escort you, there is no reason why you can't come here whenever you want. In fact I'm hoping you will want to spend a lot of time here." Ashton admits with a shy smile. I beam at him. I didn't realise what he did was permanent. It sucks that it made him so unwell, but he saved my life AND I can come to the fae realm whenever I want. It almost seems like it's too good to be true. There's no downside!

"Can I really come back here whenever I want?" I ask eagerly and Ashton nods.

"Yes. If you liked the room you stayed in I can make sure that we keep it for you. You are very welcome to come and stay whenever you like." He offers and I stop to hug him.

"I would love that." I answer cheerfully as we continue walking. I'm almost skipping along. This has been the best night and I no longer dread it ending. I don't have to, because I can come back here. I don't need to drag out my time with Ashton or try to see everything all at once because this isn't my last chance. For the first time in weeks I don't feel like there's some deadline looming over me where Ashton is going to leave and I'll lose him forever. I CAN commit to helping Velgrus learn about humans and I can afford to get attached to people here. All of a sudden I just feel so free and it feels like there are so many new possibilities.