FREE NOVEL DRAMA Chapter Rule 150- All relationships are like snowflakes, each one is unique, beautiful in its own way, and prone to melting if not handled with care.
Ashton joins us for breakfast then rushes off with four of the guards to hunt for the two remaining assassins. They've already lost half a day so he doesn't hover around for long. I decide that it might be time to face the world today, or at very least my living room. Marcus and Lucy have been babysitting the fae as well as they can while Fin plays translator, it's probably about time that their host makes an appearance and attempts to be friendly. Or at very least I should stop ignoring them. But before any of that, I want to take a shower, wash my hair and pick out something other than pyjamas to wear. Lucy and Marcus are so excited by my plan to get out of bed that somehow it turns into an entire makeover. I don't know why I would need to be wearing make-up while hanging out in the living room, but apparently it's necessary. Lucy insists that looking good will help me to feel good. I'm not sure if she's right but I'm willing to test the theory. If nothing else, I feel clean and a little more human. It's a nice confidence boost. I just don't know if confidence is what I'm lacking right now. Either way, it makes Lucy happy to feel helpful, and Marcus seems thrilled to see me looking more like my usual self. Chatting with the fae is an unusual experience. I've met a few other fae, obviously. But only a couple and mostly just in passing. But I spend the entire afternoon with the fae. Mostly the conversation is easy. We watch TV and they ask ENDLESS questions. One fae tries to make tea and somehow breaks my kettle in an explosion of hot water and scraps of metal which Fin then repairs. I have no clue how the woman managed to screw it up so badly, but her explanation was even more confusing and I conclude that I can sum up her entire explanation with one word. Magic. We order more takeout for dinner and that's about when the fae decide to start in on the personal questions.
"Miss Katerina, we were wondering... About the prince..." The fae woman who appears to be their designated spokesperson (at least when it comes to gossip) starts. She sounds nervous and I'm pretty nervous too actually. Is she about to ask a question I can't answer? I mean, if she asks if we're a couple I think the short answer is no. But I don't think that really answers the question either. I could just tell them that it's none of their business, but they are literally here to protect me because of him, so it's reasonable for them to be curious.
"Yes? What did you want to know?" I answer in fae. The woman beams a smile at me, seeming relieved that I'm not immediately offended.
"We wanted to know how long the two of you have been in a relationship." She concludes. Huh? Not IF we're in a relationship, but how long it's been? It seems like they're making a lot of assumptions. Although the way that she asked kind of gives me a bit of an out since she didn't specify what kind of relationship we're in. I decide to just answer honestly.
"I met Ashton a few weeks ago when he came here to look for the assassins for the first time." I respond. Fin meets my eyes over her shoulder and shrugs. Apparently he doesn't know the right way to handle this situation either. He is talking quietly to Lucy and Marcus. I'm fairly sure he's still playing translator for them, well... At least Lucy is talking to him. Kind of, really he's more just talking to her but it's better than nothing. Lucy is being particularly civil to him. I suspect they've called some kind of unspoken truce for my sake. They might not agree on much right now, but they agree on that. The fae seem a little confused by my answer, maybe they assumed we had known each other a little longer than that? It FEELS like it's been way longer than that. I expected follow up questions about Ashton and I, or something like that, so I'm surprised when her next question is even more vague than the first. "Would you tell us about human relationships?" She asks."
"Uhm... What about them exactly? And what kind of relationships? There is a lot to try to unpack there." I point out.
"Romantic relationships of course. They're always the most fun to hear about. I suppose we mostly wanted to understand more about the progression of human courtships. Your friends have been showing us human movies. We don't understand the speech obviously, but there's a lot we can learn just by watching their actions. But the romantic relationships seem the most unclear. We asked Finvara to help translate a few scenes and the human's actions and words rarely seemed to line up." The fae woman seems a little frustrated. I bet she is wishing she had a translation charm right about now.
"I suppose that is because very few human relationships follow a predictable pattern. There are relationships that are purely physical, or start physical and become emotional later. Ones that are emotional but never reach the point of being physical. They start and stop and start again. Some last days and others last for a lifetime." I don't think I'm explaining this very well. The fae look even more confused than they were before asking.
"But then how are you meant to know which relationships are real?" She asks, frustration in her tone. Fin must still be translating for Lucy because she answers this one.
"They're all real. Just different." She insists. I translate her words for them but the fae seem baffled by it all.
"Is it really that different for you?" I ask. Fin answers this one.
"Either a fae is in a relationship or they are not. There is no inbetween stage like you humans seem to have. And once in a relationship, fae rarely change their minds, if ever. It is something that is taken very seriously." His last few words seem to be very pointedly directed at me. I suspect he knows I don't trust Ashton's feelings. Is this his way of telling me that he believes that Ashton is serious about me? But either way, you can be serious about someone and not be in love with them. Particularly if it feels like you don't have any other options.
We all gossip about different relationships, Lucy and I bring in a lot of fictional characters and somehow we all end up watching Pride and Prejudice while Fin and I translate for everyone. The fae love it and it feels good to be doing something as normal as just watching a movie with friends. The movie finishes and I realise it's gotten really late.
"Fin, have you heard from Ashton?" I ask. He shakes his head no. I've been doing a pretty good job of ignoring the anxiety I feel when he's gone, but it's nearly midnight and he hasn't checked in for hours. I focus on our connection. Where is he? He's... Not too far away. Hopefully that means he's on his way back. I pace the house anxiously for another hour. Everyone can clearly see I'm stressed because they don't continue trying to talk to me. Marcus makes no effort to go home, even though he's clearly exhausted. He's literally napping on the couch. Finally, FINALLY Ashton comes back. I swing the front door open before he even reaches it. He looks worn out. He's also completely alone. Where are the rest of his guards? What happened?