A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

It's been about six months since Ashton convinced me to move to the fae realm with him. Things have changed a lot since then and things have actually been... Not bad. Alright that's a lie, It has actually been pretty good if I'm being honest. I mean, I thought that I wouldn't have enough to do here, but I've been just the right amount of busy. I also worried I'd be lonely without my friends, but I've been going back home every other weekend and staying in my own bed. Lucy has been house sitting for me and this coming weekend we're planning a bit of a party. Velgrus is going to go back with Ashton and I and we're going to have a big alcohol taste testing session with all my friends. Even George and a bunch of people from the station are coming to join us. It should be fairly fun. Fin and Pan are going to come too. That's the other part about moving here that's been a pleasant surprise. I thought that I might be lonely, coming here without my friends. But I still see them all the time and now I have more time to get to know some of my new friends. Pan and Fin mostly, although talking with Velgrus has become increasingly entertaining. Not to mention that Bast has taken to following me EVERYWHERE. I might not always see him, but if I call out to him, or if someone gets in my face (even by accident) he appears in a blink and defends me. Apparently I have my very own guard cat. Still, the real reason that I haven't been lonely is Ashton. He has dedicated himself to being my own personal tour guide with an enthusiasm that is adorable and maybe a little intimidating. We've gone horse riding, dancing a few more times. He's shown me around the city and we have plans to visit some of the nearby places soon. He's been showering me in affection and while we occasionally argue, none of the fights have been anything more than little spats that are over in minutes. He's been pretty close to perfect. One big change is that the fae are VERY honest. Like I'm sure they DO keep secrets, but some of the things that a human would have politely ignored they definitely don't. For example, their prince escorting me around everywhere and showering me in attention. A human would probably assume we're a couple, but unless we actually knew each other it's not likely that they would ASK me too many overly intrusive questions. The fae... Well... They ask whatever they want. Apparently if I don't want to answer a question I should just ignore it, but that feels SO rude. I haven't quite got the hang of it yet. The result is that random fae are asking me things like, are we getting married soon? Or if we've done any research about human slash fae children. That one left me choking on my drink and Ashton had to intervene as I panicked a little. Things have been good between us, but since I agreed to come here, we haven't even come close to discussing anything like marriage and definitely not children. To be honest we haven't discussed the future much at all.

Almost all my focus has been on learning how to get by in a very different place. The lack of electricity is taking a lot of getting used to, although magic is substituted for a lot of things. I did bring my laptop here and a few weeks in I managed to get my hands on a little solar powered battery thing so I can charge it, and my phone although I still haven't figured out how to get signal for that yet. A few days after I got the battery, Fin turned up and asked if he could use it or if I could help him get his own. He still has a collection of little tech items that we got him while he was visiting and apparently he wants to continue playing with them. He's actually seemed a little down lately. But when either Ashton or I have attempted to talk to him about it he's kind of just run away. So I talk to Fin about technology or fae stuff and continually avoid any serious topics. Although after every trip I take back home he asks me how my friends are doing and I tell him that Lucy is doing fine and we drop the topic. So I'm fairly sure I know why he's so down. But getting him to talk is like pulling teeth. It's painful for him and I'd rather not do it unless there's absolutely no other choice. So for now I'm giving him time.

And speaking of time, I'm supposed to meet Ashton's mum any minute now. Like Ashton suggested, I've also been spending a lot of time with her. Despite her initial trepidation about me, we do get along really well now. She's been really a great support to me and has been there for me on more than a couple occasions when I've been struggling with the loss of dad. I've tried to be there for her when she's been sad about losing her husband too. True to his word, I haven't seen Ambrose again, none of us have. I'm hoping that he did actually move on and that he isn't still hovering around somewhere. I think he has, I mean, Bast hasn't been hissing at any shadows since that night so I guess he's gone. Hopefully he's happy. I rush through the castle, Bast at my side and head to the office where Amelia and I usually talk. Our talks are more like mini lessons, for both of us. We spend half the time talking about humans and I do my best to explain culture and traditions. If she has questions I can't answer I write them down and research them online during my trips home. In exchange, she's been teaching me about the fae and we've been working on my language skills. Fae is kind of complicated, but with her charms helping me along I'm able to learn it quickly. As long as I keep practising I should be able to pick it up well enough that eventually I won't need the charms at all which I'm looking forward to. Already my speech is a lot less awkward.

Amelia greets me with a friendly nod. I'm still getting used to how careful the fae are not to touch unless needed. On more than one occasion I've gone for a handshake or accidentally reached towards someone and had to watch them flinch away from me. It's not even that they necessarily dislike or distrust me, it's just not something that they do. Physical contact is reserved for your family, your partner and your absolute closest friends only. "Hi Amelia." I smile.

"Good morning Kat. How are you this morning?" She asks.

"I'm alright."

"And how is my son?" She adds. I fight the urge to blush. Amelia seems to take a great amount of pleasure in pointing out that I usually see Ashton earlier in the day than she does. Mostly because, for the sake of propriety, I like to pretend that Ashton DOESN'T come sleep in my room every night. The first time she mentioned it I automatically lied and denied it. I don't know why, maybe because it felt like a weird thing to admit to his mum? The thing is, she's not stupid, and Ashton makes no effort to hide it. So now every time we meet in the mornings, Amelia asks me about her son and I blush and stammer my way through an answer. This morning however, I am saved from responding by a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in." She calls out. I'm not surprised to see Fin. He lives here too and he's around a lot. He is Ashton's attendant after all. They've mentioned a few times that maybe I should choose an attendant for myself but that sounds kind of weird. I mean, why would I need my own assistant? Ashton insists that it's a respected position and that I should just find someone I like to keep around and ask them. I'm still putting it off. Fin bows to Amelia and smiles at me, although it is quickly replaced with a serious poker face. He seems a little on edge.

"I would like to request a formal discussion with the queen..." He trails off and glances sideways at me.

"With the both of you actually." He adds. Me? What could this have to do with me? Well... I doubt it will be anything bad... Right?novelbin