A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan

Before I know it, we're back home. I keep my eyes squeezed shut and hide my face against Ashton's chest. I don't want to look at anything in case it makes me cry again. "To the bath I think." Lucy orders Ashton. Wordlessly he takes me to the bathroom and lowers me into the empty tub.

"Get out. Make sure her bed is all made up." Lucy continues bossing him around. Ashton leaves the room and Lucy locks the door behind him.

"Okay honey. You're a bit of a mess so I'm going to help you get cleaned up." Lucy says matter of factly. I don't question it. She gently pries Bast out of my arms, gives him a quick cuddle and puts him down on the floor. He hops up onto the closed toilet seat and curls up to rest, although it looks like he's keeping an eye on me still. Lucy helps me to undress, I don't have the energy to be embarrassed by it, besides, this is Lucy. Then she starts to run water. It's cold at first which makes me flinch. Well, at least my body knows how to react to SOMETHING correctly. Once I'm settled in the bath Lucy begins gently and efficiently washing my hair. For once I don't worry about the fact that the hot water will make my hair dye fade faster, I don't bother thinking about anything. I just trust Lucy to take care of me and focus on the warmth of the water and the way her hands feel as they run through my hair.

When I'm sufficiently clean, Lucy drains the tub and helps me dry off. She wraps me in about four towels before sticking her head out the bathroom door.

"Ashton, come carry Kat to bed." She orders. Ashton doesn't blink an eye. He just picks me up, cocoon of towels and all and carries me straight to my bedroom. He lowers me carefully to my bed.

"Get out." Lucy orders again. This time Ashton DOES hesitate to leave. Lucy glares at him and he holds up his hands defensively.

"I was just thinking of our connection. I do not want my absence to increase her discomfort." He says awkwardly.

"Then stand outside the door. She isn't ready to deal with you yet." Lucy insists and physically shoves him out of the room. Ashton lets her push him out and she closes the door behind him. Lucy grabs an oversized t-shirt that I like to sleep in sometimes and pulls it over my head, then takes the towels away. She then layers blankets over me. I wouldn't normally use this many blankets, but I'm shaking. I feel chilled, even though I just came from a hot bath. Lucy crawls into the bed beside me and starts doing something with her phone. I just curl up against her. We left Bast in the bathroom and the bedroom door is closed, but he still manages to wander into the room through the closed bedroom window and curls up on my chest.

Not long later I hear raised voices and realise that Marcus has arrived. He bursts into my room, shoving Ashton out of the way when he tries to stop him. Marcus collapses onto his knees by my bedside and holds my hand tightly. "Lucy says you aren't ready to talk yet, that's fine. But I'll be here if you need me, okay?" He squeezes my hand then stands up. He presses a light kiss to my forehead then marches out of the room, closing the door behind him. I can hear him hissing at Ashton and Fin demanding to know what happened. I don't bother listening for their answers. I was there, I know what happened. My next guess is someone I don't know. An older woman with greying hair and a kind expression. Lucy pulls her aside for a moment and whispers to her a brief explanation of what happened. Then the woman comes to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hello Kat. You can call me Charlie. I'm a doctor, your friend tells me you went through something awful today and that it would be a good idea for you to be checked out." She says gently. I blink up at her.

"Your friend mentioned some bruising, is it alright if I have a look at your arms and torso?" She continues in the same soft voice. Bruising? I didn't realise I was injured. I ache everywhere though so I'm not surprised.it probably happened when I was fighting Fin, I didn't notice because I was too freaked out. I look up at Lucy who gives an encouraging nod. I force myself to imitate her movement and nod my consent to the doctor. She quickly and efficiently checks me over, looking at my arms, legs and eventually my torso. She gently presses her fingers against a few tender spots and one spot in particular has me hissing in a sharp breath. She checks my breathing and looks at my eyes. Finally, she's done with her checkup. "Physically you're alright. A bit bruised mostly. It's possible that you have a cracked rib, but I don't think so. You should take a few painkillers and try to rest. As for the rest of it. You're in shock. That's no surprise given what you've just been through. You have some great friends here taking care of you. Try to stay warm and hydrated. Eat something when you can. I'm also going to leave a referral to a counsellor. When you feel up to it, you might want to call and make an appointment. Talking about it might seem impossible now, but one day it might help." The doctor says gently. She says goodbye to me, gives the counsellor's information to Lucy and lets Marcus see her out.

Lucy goes to get me some water and on the way back she is stopped by Marcus in the hallway. She gives him a quick rundown of my condition before returning to me. I sip at the water and curl up against her side again. I listen to Marcus yelling in the hall.

"What the hell is wrong with you both? How could you let this happen? You do understand that this is your fault, don't you? You have basically ruined Kat's life. She trusted you to protect her, we all did. But she was alone there. Lucy told me Kat saw what happened. Do you think she's ever going to be able to erase that from her mind? Not to mention she is bruised all over. That damn cat did more for her today than either of you!" His voice is getting louder the more he speaks and the two fae are slow to respond.

"I did not mean for this to happen. I believed that she was safe." Ashton says quietly. Marcus scoffs.

"She hasn't been safe since she met you, and yeah she knew that and accepted it. But she has nearly died twice now. She is being targeted by four assassins and it's just the two of you to protect her. You're morons. You are a literal prince, royalty. Why do you have to capture these monsters yourself? You have minions, use them." Marcus practically growls the last few words.

"But... My father..." He trails off. I can imagine how Marcus is rolling his eyes.

"You want to capture them personally, to get some kind of stupid revenge or justice for your dad. But honestly I don't care. You're endangering everyone by refusing to get help. People are DYING because of your attitude and I won't tolerate it anymore. There's no fixing what you've broken, but you can make things safe for Kat again, and that needs to be your priority, not some stupid prideful quest." Marcus' tone is deadly serious and when Ashton answers he sounds suitably cowed.

"I understand."