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

My heart is racing. I'm all sweaty and my chest burns as I run. I don't know how close behind me they are and I'm not brave enough to turn and look. I just run as fast as I can down the longest hallway ever. I trip over and land face first on the rough carpet. Tears streaming down my face, I scramble to my feet and start running again. I want to scream with relief when I see a door at the end of the hallway. I reach the door and yank on the handle and... Nothing. I frantically jiggle the hallway as I refuse to accept that the door is locked. I'm trapped with someone behind me and nowhere to run or hide. I start banging my fists on the door, painfully hard.

"Kat?" A familiar voice calls out from the other side of the door.

"Dad? Open the door dad!" I plead. The handle rattles but it doesn't open. I lean against the door, wanting to be even the slightest bit closer. The handle continues to rattle. The door starts to heat up against my hands and my face. Then the screaming starts. I know this scream, it's the sound of someone being burned alive. I start to scream too, begging him to just open the door. I cry and bang my fists. I even kick the door but it's not going to move. The other side of the door falls silent. All of a sudden arms grab me and pull me back roughly. I hear the older fae chuckle in my ear.

"It did not have to be this way. We only wanted you." He says darkly. He starts to drag me down the hallway away from the closed door. I scream and fight, but he's too strong. There's no use. It's all over.

I wake up screaming, my legs are tangled up in the blankets and a dark figure is leaning over me. I swing out a fist in a panic. Ashton catches my arm and holds his close to his chest.

"Kat? Kat wake up. You are having a bad dream. You are safe." He continues to repeat that phrase. 'You are safe.' I'm tense and my fight or flight instincts have kicked in. Ashton moves slowly to make sure that I'm not about to swing at him again, then moves me into his lap and wraps his arms around me tightly. I bury my face into his chest and start to cry. The numbness that has gotten me through the last couple days is going away, and I thought that was a good thing. But apparently letting the good feelings back in is also bringing back more of the bad ones. Specifically how absolutely terrified I was. How terrified I still am. I cling to Ashton tightly.

"Don't leave me alone." I plead. I don't even know why I'm saying it. He's already made it clear that he can't leave me, not really. But that's not quite what I'm asking. I just don't want to be alone. I want him to keep me safe because he cares, not because he's scared something will happen to him. But at the same time it might be better if he doesn't. My dad loved me and he died because of it. I couldn't stand if that happened to Ashton. So I guess what I'm really asking him is to stay safe. To not get himself killed chasing his revenge. Obviously that isn't clear from that single statement, but Ashton continues to reassure and soothe me, promising that he isn't going anywhere. He carefully strokes his hands down my back in a slow movement and I focus on the feeling as I wait for the adrenaline to fade.

A couple minutes later there is a light knocking on my bedroom door. Fin calls out to us.

"Are you both okay in there? We heard screaming. Do you need anything?" He offers. He is very sweet, it's a shame he and Lucy can't seem to make up.

"Everything is fine. Kat was having an unpleasant dream. I will take care of her." He assures Fin.

"Alright. Please do not hesitate to call for me if there is anything I can do for you." His footsteps walk away. Ashton continues to hold me, rocking me slightly and I slowly relax.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" He offers. I shake my head.

"No. It's... Well... It's about what you would expect." I confess. Ashton clutches me even tighter.

"This may not be a comfort to you, but my mother once told me that dreams, even the bad ones, are just your mind's way of processing things. Especially things that you are not ready or able to handle when you are awake. If you are dreaming then you are one step closer to recovering." He offers. I consider his words. I kind of agree with him, that makes sense to me but...

"It doesn't make the dreams any less unpleasant." I answer him.

"I know. I am sorry." Is his response. I sigh.

"But thanks anyway. You're right that I need to process things. Hopefully these dreams won't last too long. Although I doubt I'll be that lucky." I sigh again.

"If I could take them from you I would." He says sympathetically. I shake my head.

"You already said that this is just my mind processing. Obviously I need them, at least for now. But promise me one thing? Just don't let me deal with them by myself. I don't want to wake up alone." I confess.

"You will never have to. I will be here." He promises. Secure in the knowledge that I'm not alone, I let my exhaustion take over and fall asleep. I dream again, awful, horrible dreams. Nothing Ashton can do will stop that. But every time I wake up, he's there, holding me tight and promising that I'm safe and eventually I close my eyes and everything fades into complete blackness and I am able to rest.

I sleep in late and when I wake it's to Lucy barging into my room with breakfast.

"Rise and shine sleepyheads. It's nearly twelve and as much as I love the idea of sleeping all day I'm fairly sure it isn't the most healthy coping mechanism so I'm determined that we are starting our day at a semi reasonable time so up and at em, I made pancakes. Like... A lot of pancakes. Seriously, to feed this entire group took like a hundred pancakes. You're lucky I saved you some." She announces dramatically dropping down onto my bed and handing me a tray. She narrows her eyes at Ashton who still has his arms wrapped around me and he holds her gaze steadily, unflinching under her judgement. I reach out and pat her arm.

"Relax. I had a few bad dreams, that's why I slept late. Ashton has been taking care of me. I asked him to be here." I reassure her. She still looks suspicious of him but she nods and looks away.

"Eat up. Ashton, your little fae army has been waiting all morning for you so you can continue your hunting expedition. I suggest you get to it because I am more than ready for this to all be over." Lucy says firmly. Ashton raises an eyebrow. "You want me to go and capture them because you are ready for it to end?" He says, a little incredulously.

"Obviously, and that's what's most important. Keeping me happy, so don't disappoint me." She orders. I can't help it. I start giggling, it's maybe a little hysterical but I'm laughing... And smiling. I'm not okay, everything isn't fine. But it's nice to know that I'm still capable of laughing. Lucy is wonderful, her attitude is always something I have loved about her and clearly she has decided that she's done walking on eggshells around me. I sit up straight and dig into my breakfast. I had a tough night and I'm still grieving and scared, but that doesn't mean that everything is all bad.