A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

"Have I seriously been asleep for TWO DAYS?" I ask, completely horrified. Ashton nods solemnly. He tries to pull me back into a hug but I'm busy freaking out. I push away from him and sit up against the bed where I can see his face clearly. "Oh shit. Seriously? Has someone told my dad where I am? Does he know what happened? He's probably got all the cops in the city on red alert looking for me. I need to get home right now, can you take me? Where are my clothes? Wait, what am I wearing?" I am panicked and definitely not thinking straight. For the first time I've noticed I'm wearing a flimsy sort of night gown made out of a soft green fabric. It was probably alright whenever I was first put in it, but at this point it's sweaty and I feel kind of gross. But who changed me? Ashton is the only person I've seen but I don't actually believe he would do something like that, not unless there was no other choice. I go to try and climb out of the bed but Ashton catches me by the shoulders.

"Slow down. To answer your questions your father has been informed. He knows where you are currently and although he is not happy about the situation, he understands why it was necessary. I sent Fin to speak with him personally. He returned yesterday and reported that your father has everyone searching for the fae who attacked you. As for your clothes, it is a nightgown and our palace healer changed you after assisting you. She is a woman. You were left in my care once it was deemed that you were no longer at risk of dying." He explains patiently. My panic starts to subside, Ashton is so calm and steady that it's hard to stay freaked out.

"Oh... Thanks. Uhm... Who WAS the fae that attacked me? He said he was that kid Erren's brother. Did we know he had a brother?" I thought there were only three criminals. We all did. It's why we were so unprepared to be attacked. Ashton looks angry.

"I spoke to the guards again who witnessed the assassins escaping in the first place. It seems that the number of assassins was determined based on their descriptions. Multiple fae described seeing a blonde haired fae with yellow eyes. Upon further interrogation it seems that some of them saw this fae in separate places at the same time. We did not know that this same description was being used for two separate fae and instead assumed that there were three assassins when there were in fact four. I am... I am so incredibly sorry. This was a mistake in the information that I provided to you. Not only that, I failed to protect you. You were poisoned in three separate doses and I was not able to prevent any of them." Ashton looks so guilty that I feel bad. None of this is his fault, it sucks, but he isn't flawless, he can't know everything and be everywhere at once. I know he did his best. I take his hand and squeeze it between mine, trying to reassure him. "You did nothing wrong. I don't blame you at all." I promise. His hand is... Oddly cold. His palm is a little clammy. I didn't notice before but now that I have it just seems wrong. Actually, everything seems wrong about Ashton. He looks like himself, his fae self, no glamour. But he IS wearing a glamour. I don't know how I know that, maybe I'm just so used to seeing through them that I don't notice anymore, but Ashton is definitely using magic and maintaining a glamour. I focus on his hand. His skin feels cold and clammy but looks healthy. That's enough to see through it. When I look at Ashton nothing has changed and at the same time, everything has. He still looks like himself but he does not look good. His skin is pale and he looks tired and sickly. My eyes widen in alarm.

“Ashton! What's wrong with you? Are you sick? Why are you wearing a glamour to hide it?" I fire questions at him one after the other. I release his hand and press a hand to his forehead, trying to work out if he has a fever or something. "I am as I expected to be. I used a lot of magic to keep you alive and I am still recovering from that. It is not something that will last long and I am already feeling significantly better now that you are awake. I am sure that I will be fully recovered very soon." he assures me. I feel horrible. He looks this sick because he saved me? I mean I'm glad not to be dead, but he looks half dead himself!

"Why were you hiding it? Did you not want me to know?" I ask quietly. Ashton considers carefully before answering.noveldrama

"I did not want to worry you, particularly not just as you were waking. I also do not want to worry anyone else who might check in on us. It is unpleasant when people... Hover over me. I hoped to avoid that." He explains. I'm still not thrilled that he was trying to hide it from me, but I guess I can understand his reasoning. I tried to downplay how sick I was too, which now that I think about it probably wasn't a good idea since I was apparently not sick but poisoned. "So I know when I was given the third dose of poison, and based on the timing of my illness, the package I opened must have been poisoned too. But when did I get the first dose?" I wonder aloud. Ashton grimaces.

"I believe it was the fae woman's claw. One dose of poison only causes lethargy and emotional behaviour. I did not notice... Rather I thought that it was normal for you to be tired. I did not realise that it was unnatural." Ashton's guilty expression returns. Huh, I guess I have been tired since then. Emotional and paranoid too. I was harsh towards Ashton for leaving, rude and aggressive to my dad, impatient with Lucy... Now that the poison has left my system I feel far more balanced. I can see how unfair my behaviour has been and that I owe everyone involved an apology. Now that I'm thinking clearly I can also see how ridiculous I was being about the situation with Ashton. Of course I like him, but I can cope with him being gone for a few days, the gifts he was sending weren't insulting and of course he was always planning to come back and see me, regardless of if he had other motivations when he came, that's just practical thinking. I might not know exactly what this relationship is, but I DO know that Ashton legitimately cares for me. He was never going to just abandon me. The poison was just making me extra emotional and insecure. Not to mention tired. Being tired doesn't help you make good or reasonable decisions. Actually, I'm starting to feel tired again right now.

"Hey Ashton? Thankyou for saving me, I'm sorry that you're not feeling one hundred percent right now but I really do appreciate it. And sorry for how dramatic I was being when we spoke last. I wasn't exactly feeling like myself and it left me feeling abandoned and insecure." I apologise quietly. I need to explain myself to my dad too, but that can wait for now. I know my dad will forgive me. He probably isn't even mad.

Somehow while we've been talking, I've slid down the bed to lie down again with my head on the pillow. I don't realise that my eyes have fallen shut until Ashton speaks.

"Now that I know you are well I should let you rest. Fin will want to hear that you are okay and my mother is waiting to speak to me." Ashton says softly. I give a lazy nod and Ashton leans down to kiss my forehead before pulling the blankets up over me and tucking me in carefully.

"Rest sweetheart, sleep, I will return before you wake up." He promises. I make a small sound of assent and I'm asleep before he takes more than two steps towards the door.