A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

I think my brain might be stalling a little. I got the answer I wanted. More than the answer I wanted even. I love Ashton, he loves me (thank goodness). That takes care of a lot of my reservations at least. I do still have a few concerns that I want to discuss though before I agree to anything.

"I'm worried... If I agree to come and stay with you, everyone will realise sooner or later that something has happened to make it so that I CAN visit the fae realm. Plus they'll see us spending time together... They're going to work out that there is something up and then any other enemies you have are going to try to use me to get to you, they'll try to hurt or manipulate you. I don't want to be used to hurt you. If I stayed here then I doubt any humans would notice anything. Wouldn't it be safer?" I question. It's a legitimate concern. I don't want to be away from him. But keeping me around seems like it could be dangerous, for the both of us. Ashton just shrugs.

"Darling, our connection would not affect that kind of situation. Even without it if someone was threatening you I would do whatever they say. Adding a threat to my own life does not make the threat any more severe. Besides, unless you want to completely hide our relationship and feelings forever then we would have to face that eventually. It is simply how it is for my family. It is why we have guards we trust and a secure home." He says gently. I frown. "But... You're all far better equipped to protect yourselves than I am. I'm just a human, I don't have magic or anything. I don't want anyone using me to hurt you." I object. Ashton shakes his head and gives me a half smile.

"Kat, you have jumped into danger before to protect me from the fae woman's manipulations. What would you do if someone was threatening my life?" He asks. I frown.

"I don't know... Almost anything I suppose." I answer reluctantly. Ashton smiles.

"How is that any different? There are plenty of fae who do not have magic that is useful for defence. Fin can fight because he has learned, not because his magic can help him. My mother makes charms but she is not particularly capable of defending herself. Do you believe that means she should not be queen? As a human you have many skills that we do not. For example you can lie, I think you will find that can be very useful when dealing with the fae, mostly because no one will think to expect it. If you are worried about your safety then I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you protected and safe. If you are worried about MY safety then you should just do as you promised earlier today and let me protect you." He says earnestly. I still hesitate. Ashton sighs.

"Kat, love, you love me, right? Or was that a lie?" He asks bluntly. My eyes go wide.

"Of course it wasn't a lie!" I insist.

"If you love me, then trust me. I will make sure we are both safe." He promises.

I give a slow nod. I do WANT to trust him after all. But just because we love each other that doesn't mean that things will actually work out. Being the first and only human living in the fae realm probably won't be easy. "What if loving you isn't enough for me? What if I want to DO something with my life other than just... Be with you?" I point out. Ashton raises an eyebrow.

"Then you will. Is there something that you want to do? Is there something you are interested in doing here that you could not do at my home? I would never stop you from going after what you want Kat. If you do not want to go back to the fae realm with me then I am willing to stay here with you." He says, looking me in the eye so I know that he's serious. I immediately refuse, shaking my head quickly.

"No. You need to go back to the fae realm. You're meant to be the king one day, and even though you have other relatives who could take the role, you would be good at it. The job suits you. I don't want you to give that up for me." I say firmly. Ashton shrugs.

"I will only do that if you are okay with it. Only if that is what you want me to do. It is true that I did always imagine I would be king, I have been raised for it and have studied for it most of my life. But I have never imagined doing it alone and now that I have found you I cannot imagine taking the job without having you by my side." He sounds so serious and I suddenly feel kind of nauseous. I didn't think about that. If he's the king... And I'm... With him... What would that make me? Unless it completely falls apart, then a romantic relationship does generally result in marriage. So the obvious answer is that I would be... the Queen? Can a human even BE queen of the fae? That doesn't sound like it would be allowed, although obviously Ashton doesn't see any problem with it. I do though. What do I know about being a QUEEN? Even if he does all the work and I just have to help out, what do I know about it? How am I supposed to support a literal KING? Like hey honey, long day at work? Shit, I feel like I might be sick.

Ashton looks alarmed.novelbin

"You look unwell. Breathe love." He prompts me. I take a deep breath and I start to feel a little more steady. When did I stop breathing? Oops...

"I... I don't know what I want to do, not really. I haven't thought it through that much yet. I don't even know what my options are. But I can't just sit around all day. Do you... I mean, what would you suggest I do? If I did come and live with you that is." I ask tentatively. It's hard to even think about a future there, mostly because I don't even know what my options would be. It's not like I'm particularly qualified for anything there. I'm not even especially qualified for any roles HERE. Ashton considers for a moment. When he answers, he speaks slowly, like he's being careful with his words and phrasing everything very carefully.

"Well, if you are interested, at least to begin with you could spend some time with my mother. She has a lot to do and I know she would appreciate the help." I raise an eyebrow.

"In what way am I qualified to help her with anything?" I say flatly. Ashton smiles.

"She has recently had to start speaking to members of the human government and she wants to build a better relationship between humans and fae. It is understandably difficult. There have been many communication issues and cultural differences that have made it all very confusing. I am sure she would appreciate your help and advice with that. Even just taking some time to help her learn about humans would be very useful. You would be able to learn more about fae from her while you assisted her, if that were something you might be interested in. It would not have to be a permanent arrangement. If you found something you liked better we would not object. I just thought that maybe it would be a good place for you to start." He seems proud of the suggestion. I get the feeling that he has already spent quite a bit of time considering our future and how I might be able to get along in the fae realm. It kind of makes me happy. I bet if I asked what he would do here he would have suggestions for that too. He really HAS been considering our future together, and not one where I'm some inconvenient human that he has to follow around or drag along everywhere. I really appreciate it. I would hate to end up as his weird pet human that just hangs around the castle uselessly.

"I suppose that wouldn't be too bad. I could try to help your mum... And it would be nice to learn about the fae some more..." I trail off. Ashton's face lights up with excitement.

"Does that mean you are willing to come with me?" He asks eagerly. I close my eyes and squeeze them tight for a moment. I take three deep breaths before opening my eyes to face him. He looks so ridiculously adorable looking at me with his green eyes shining with excitement. I smile slowly.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll come back with you and see how it goes." I answer. The atmosphere is really serious and I'm suddenly uncomfortable. I need to break the tension.

"Haha, I guess now you will need to play tour guide for me." I say awkwardly. Ashton laughs and loops his arms around my waist, linking his fingers together behind me to lock me in place.

"I am looking forward to it. You know, I owe you so many debts at this point that I will need my whole life to pay it all back anyway." He points out. It's sort of a joke, but I can see he is also kind of serious. I blush and panic a little.

"I'm not promising I'll live in the fae realm forever. I'm not promising you anything other than that I'll give it a go." I rush to say. Ashton nods, still smiling. "That is fine." he agrees easily.

"And I'm keeping the house here. In case I want to move back." I add quickly. My voice is high because I'm freaking out a little bit. Ashton just grins.

"Of course." His smile fades and he narrows his eyes at me.

"Wait, I need to be sure of this. We are a couple again now, correct?" He asks. I laugh. After the confessions we both gave? Yeah he would have to screw up pretty badly for me to NOT want him.

"Yes." I answer clearly. His face slowly changes to a mischievous smile.

"Does this mean that I can finally kiss you again? I have been waiting patiently." He points out. I laugh.

"Yes please." I answer, a little breathlessly. Ashton doesn't wait for me to say it twice. He pulls me forward, leans down and kisses me so passionately I have to remind myself that we're out in public. He doesn't seem to notice or care. This is going to take some getting used to, but for once I'm actually looking forward to it.