Fen glanced at the clock, and stood as his cousin entered, “I should go.”

“Don’t leave on my account!” his cousin laughed as she approached where I sat on the bed.

“No, I have things I should be doing.” He shook his head, then spoke to the doctor, “I’m a bit stiff today, would you swing by my office here once you’re done helping Mercy?”

“Of course. I’m glad to help! I know the burns make life difficult, sometimes.” Amilee smiled sadly.

The burns still caused him pain? Well, that was upsetting. I hadn’t known that. “If I learn how to use healing magic, then I can help you, Fen.” I told him, frowning. “I didn’t know they still caused you pain.”

“That’s the nature of dragon fire burns.” he shrugged. It really didn't seem to bother him to talk about it.

“I’d like to help, if I can. You’ve done a lot for me.”

“I’d be happy to teach you, when I have time!” Amilee said brightly, “I’ll admit, I’m interested in your magic as well, so it’ll be interesting.”

“Thank you!” I smiled at her.

“Feel better, Mercy, I’ll see you later.” Fen waved as he walked towards the door.

“Bye!” I called.

“I’ll drop by your office later.” Amilee told him before he left. She sat on the bed, “Now, lay back and I’ll have a look at your injuries.” She helped me clear the breakfast tray off the bed, then gingerly removed the bandages. “They’re not infected, that’s good.”

“Cecily knew a little bit of healing magic, so she did what she could.”

“That’s why they look so good already, then.” Amilee nodded. “I’ll work on getting these healed the rest of the way up, is that alright?”

“Yes, thank you!”

“Of course. I’m happy to help.” she assured me, smiling. Amilee held a hand out over me, and I could feel her magic moving. It was like a warm blanket, but prickled just the slightest bit. “Sorry if it’s a little uncomfortable.” she murmured.

“It’s fine!” I told her. Nothing I couldn't handle.

“Depending on what we’re doing, it can be relatively painful, but these are just cuts.”

“It wasn't uncomfortable at all when Cecily stopped the bleeding."

"That's because she was only stopping the bleeding. Anything more tends to cause discomfort." Her magic faded. “There we are! Almost as good as new.”

I sat, and saw she was right. Now only pink scars remained. “Wow!”

“The scars will fade with time.”

“Alright.” I nodded.

“Now, healing magic isn’t too difficult, if you’re inclined towards using it.” Amilee told me. “You just pull from your magic, and push the body to be whole, to be healed. Your magic does the work, if it can, everyone does have a limit.”

“Alright.” I nodded.

“Give it a try.” she directed.

I closed my eyes, feeling for my magic, as Fen had taught me. Pulling for it, I thought about healing and pushing the body to be whole.

“Yes, that’s it! You’ve got it!” Amilee said, sounding pleased. “You’re a fast learner.”

I let the magic fade and opened my eyes, shrugging, “Well, you said it was easy.”

“Most people do take a couple of tries. Or, the few of us that are inclined towards healing, anyways. It’s pretty uncommon. Or rather, being very skilled at it is uncommon. Being able to stop the bleeding of a cut isn’t rare, but anything more than that is unusual, and I think you’re capable of healing more than just cuts.”

“Oh?’

“Yes. Your healing magic is deep and strong, from what I can tell." Amilee's tone was thoughtful.

“Will I be able to help Fen with his burns? I know they can’t be healed, but I’d like to at least be able to help ease his pain, if I can.”

“I definitely think you’ll be able to do that.” she nodded.

“Good!” I smiled.

“Would you like to learn some other magic?”

“Sure!”

“What has Fen taught you?”

“How to make fire, and that’s about it. We sort of keep forgetting to anything more. Besides, he's usually fairly busy during the day."

“I understand. How about levitation?”

“That’d be really cool!” I nodded eagerly.

"Then we’ll do that!"

With her direction, I learned how to target things I wasn’t touching with my magic, as well as how to will an object into the air.

Levitation came far less easily to me than the healing magic had, and after about an hour, I was finally able to get a book to hover a very wobbly inch above the bedside table that it had been resting on.

“Phew! That’s a lot harder!” I wiped my forehead tiredly.

“It’s alright!” Amilee laughed, “Some things are harder for different people. But you'll definitely get better with practice."

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, just like with everything else that's a learned skill.” she nodded. “Let’s end it there, I should go help Fen, then get back to my practice!”

“Thank you so much, Amilee!” I said, feeling incredibly grateful.

“You’re welcome!” she smiled.

I bade her farewell, and Fen's cousin left.

Finally, I hauled myself out of bed, and was pleased to find that the scars from the cuts didn’t even hurt anymore, so I changed into a day dress, and went into the sitting room.

The cats were sleeping soundly on the couch.

My laptop sat on the coffee table, but I didn’t feel much like writing. Nor did I feel like reading, or doing much of anything, really.

I was now officially bored.

To be fair, it was the first time I’d been bored since I’d come to Faerie. It was really too bad that Fen had to work, otherwise we could probably just hang out and talk. He was nice to talk with, and I liked his company. It didn’t hurt that he was smoking hot either, if I was being totally honest with myself, though we were just friends.

As long as I was being honest, it was easy to admit that Fen was really just easy to be around. It was a nice change, given he’d scared me so badly at first. Though once I’d have probably gotten tongue-tied and silly had someone like him paid me any real attention, as I was now, I found his company was just...good. It was good. It was nice to have found such a good, easy sense of companionship. Usually I only had that kind of friendship with other girls, and Michael, of course, but Michael was gay.

Sighing, I made a mental note to ask Fen if I could go ahead and start working for him, as it would keep me from being bored for the rest of my stay here. Once I’d started my new job, I’d finally text Carter that I’d need to reduce my hours at the coffee shop to just every other weekend starting immediately.

-

Smoothing out my dress, I adjusted the sash around the waist, hoping whoever Fen sent to escort me down came soon, since I was pretty hungry and didn’t remember how to get to the dining room just yet, given how large the manor was.

A knock at the door had me hopping up and running to answer, “Yes?”

It was Fen. “Ready to go down?”

“Sure!” Not that it wouldn't have been fine to go down with Rose or Axl, or even Breya, who I still hadn’t met, but it was better that it was Fen. Because it just was.

I slipped from the room and put my hand into the crook of his arm, as he’d motioned for me to do, smiling at him.

Fen smiled slightly in return, then grimaced slightly and rubbed his shoulder with his other hand.

“Everything okay?”

“Just my burns. It’s fine. Nothing I’m not used to.”

“It comes and goes?”

“Yes. Sometimes it’s worse than others.”

“Can I try to help ease the pain for you after dinner? I’ve still managed not to meet your cat, so I can meet her and then help you, if you’d be okay with that, I mean.” I said eagerly, wanting to be useful somehow.

Fen blinked, “Oh, sure. I didn’t realize you still hadn’t met Diana yet. I guess she's stayed pretty close to my rooms lately."

“Diana is a pretty name for a cat.”

“She’s a pretty cat.”

“I can’t wait to meet her!” I giggled.

“Good. Did your lesson with Amilee go well?”

“She seemed to think that I took to the healing magic pretty easily. I wasn’t nearly as good at levitating things though.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Everyone has different strengths.” Fen nodded.

“That’s what Amilee said too.” I shrugged.

“Did you have a good day?”

“Yes, although I got kind of bored. That made me think that I should probably start working at your company soon. Would that be okay?”

“Of course. What day would you like to start?”

“Maybe the day after tomorrow?” I could handle another day of boredom.

“That’s fine.”

“I’ll need some work clothes from my apartment.” I told him, frowning.

“I can send Axl to get them, if that’s alright? I’d rather you not go back there.”

“Sure, I’ll give him a list of what to grab, and where it’ll be.”

“Good.” he patted my hand on his arm. “Oh, we’ll look at houses tonight online before you heal me. How’s that?”

“Sure!”

Fen pulled out his phone and texted quickly, “I’ll let them know we want virtual tours.”

“Oh we don’t have to do the tour tonight, I thought we’d just look at pictures or something.”

“I meant the tours.” he shook his head.

“Well, it’s kind of late, surely they’re busy.”

“I’m talking to the property managers, it’s their job, and I pay them very well.” he told me. “Normally their job is pretty easy, it won’t hurt any of them to hop to every now and again. Besides, they’ll get paid overtime for it.”

“Alright.” I shrugged. I didn’t doubt he paid them well, and based on how well he treated the servants in the house, I had a feeling his non-servant employees were treated well too.

Soon, we stepped into the dining room and sat down to eat.

-

“Alright, here’s the sitting room. It’s basically the same as yours.” Fen told her as he led her into his quarters.

“Oh yeah, it is. Definitely just as nice!” She smiled.

Diana got up from where she’d been laying on the over-stuffed armchair by the window, stretched luxuriously, then hopped down and padded over to them, maowing sweetly as she approached.

“Oh my goodness, hello!” Mercy giggled, kneeling and reaching out her hand to greet his cat.

Diana sniffed her fingers, then bumped them gently with her nose and allowed Mercy to pet her. She immediately started purring loudly.

“Oh she’s so sweet!” Mercy giggled, clearly delighted.

“She is. She’s my little queen.” the fey king smiled fondly at his very spoiled little cat.

“That’s a good nickname!”

“I also call her Anne, Anna, and Annie.” Fen knelt to pet Diana as well.

“I love how many nicknames pets have!” Mercy grinned broadly, “Mine have about seven hundred apiece, I think!”

“Somehow that doesn't surprise me.” he snorted.

They sat there and showered Diana with affection for a few moments longer.

Fen glanced at his watch, then stood, announcing, “It’s almost time to do the virtual tours.”

“Right!” Mercy hopped up, but stumbled.

The fey king reached out and steadied her, “Careful.”

She flushed and stepped back immediately, grimacing. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable."

“You didn’t. I was just embarrassed.” Mercy mumbled.

He took a seat on the couch. “If I ever do or say anything that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me. I wouldn't ever do it on purpose, but accidents and misunderstandings happen, and I would hate to upset or offend you.”

She smiled, “I don’t think it’ll happen, but I’ll let you know.” the young woman sat on the cushion beside him, curling up her legs beneath her.

Fen tapped on his phone, pulling up a video chatting app, and initiated the call. One of his property managers popped into view. “Good evening.” he greeted his employee, setting the tone as casual.

“Good evening, sir!”

The first manager took them through three luxury apartments. Then he called the next of his property managers, and they viewed two townhouses. Finally, the last showed them three houses.

Mercy seemed taken with each of the possible homes they’d looked at, but given the shabby apartment that she was used to, he wasn’t surprised at that.

“I think I liked the last house the best.” she told him after the tours had ended.

“It was the smallest of all the properties, though.” Fen frowned. He hadn’t wanted to include it, but the place had very nice natural light and really pretty hardwood floors.

“I don’t need as much space as you think I do, Fen.” She shook her head. “Two bedrooms would be plenty for me, and that one has three! My office/studio can double as the cat’s playrooms. You forget that I’ll have to keep it clean, and that’s hard enough to do right now in my one-bedroom!”

“We could get a cleaning service.” Fen shrugged. “That way you wouldn't have to worry about it.”

“I can’t afford that, Fen!” She laughed.

“Well, you’ll be able to with your new job, actually, but I meant I’d pay. It’s no big deal.”

Mercy blinked, then shook her head. “No, no. It’s fine. I don't want a huge house. I really only want two bedrooms, but three is fine. I do like the idea of a writing and art area, and the light in that one is so nice!”

“You promise you really do like it?”

“Yes, it’s lovely! Can I paint it and stuff?”

“I can hire an interior decorator, if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay.” She shook her head, looking vaguely amused. “You don’t have to throw your money around with me, you already do enough, and I’m very grateful. But you’ve done far more than I can ever repay.”

“Mercy, I-”

“Please don’t argue.” she cut him off, looking down.

Fen sighed, recognizing when he needed to stop. “Alright. I’ll tell them you want that one.” He wanted to take care of her, to make sure she never wanted for anything ever again, but she was independent, surprisingly so. She was grateful for the peace his home provided, and certainly for everything he'd done, but sometimes his desire to help was too much for her to accept. It was alright, she didn't have to accept it. While he wouldn't ever hang anything he'd done for her over her head with the expectation of repayment, she didn't know that. He'd have to show her, somehow, that he didn't ever expect repayment of any kind, that all he wanted was for her to be happy.

“Thank you.” Mercy said softly.

“You’re more than welcome.” he shrugged, tapping out a few quick texts to the property managers on his phone. “Well, that’s done. I’ll have some movers get your stuff moved, and we’ll get the protective spell put up. Then you’ll be able to move in, once we have the ring figured out and finalized.”

“I can’t wait!” Mercy smiled, “It’ll be the nicest place I’ve ever lived! I mean, not taking this manor here into account. You can’t hardly beat here.” she motioned generally at their surroundings.

“That’s fair.” he snorted. “This is definitely a nice place.”

“The only thing is you don’t have a pool.” She sounded amused.

“I never thought about having one here. I should put one in.” Fen said thoughtfully. “I do like swimming. Homes in Faerie don’t really have them, they're more of a human thing. I have properties back in your world that have a pool, and I do enjoy them when I'm there...Yes, I’ll put a pool in.”

Mercy only laughed.

Diana hopped up onto the couch and demanded attention for a few moments, which both of them happily gave her.

“So, I've met Diana and picked out a house, can I try some healing magic now?” Mercy asked, voice hopeful.

“Sure.” he turned to face her, “Do you need physical contact?”

“Hmm, Amilee didn’t, but I’m not her.”

“Here. Try it with this time, and if it works, you can try it without another time.” he held up his hand for her.

“Alright.” She shrugged, taking his hand in both of hers. “It might take a minute.”

“That’s fine. There’s no rush.” He was in no hurry to prompt her to let go of his hand.

He could feel Mercy pulling for her magic, faltering a little, then getting a handle on it. It pushed into him, and he gave an involuntary groan. It felt like heaven. Peace and warmth and rest. “Gods.”

“Alright?”

“Yes.” he mumbled. Normally healing magic didn't feel nearly as nice, and often hurt, even But this was...pure bliss.

“I can feel the burns.” She murmured.

“I’m not surprised.” Fen struggled to speak, feeling pretty dazed due to the strength of her magic. “You’re definitely suited to healing. Better suited than anyone I’ve ever met, I think.” He was something of an expert on healing magic, given how many different healers and doctors he'd seen in his life, in an effort to find something that would best ease his pain from the burns.

“Hmm.” Mercy's magic shifted, pushing deeper. Fen felt it surrounding his spine, probing up and down. “I can see the damage to your back, from where your wings once were."

“I imagine it looks pretty bad. The surgery went pretty poorly, from what I understand. It took a very long time to heal." He shifted. The magic was almost overwhelmingly powerful. It was startling, really, that she was so powerful right off the bat.

“I’m sorry.” her voice was soft.

“S’ alright. It’s old news now.” he muttered a little blearily, shifting again. The power was almost uncomfortable. There was a warm, prickling sensation across all of the skin that was burned, it didn’t hurt, but it did feel odd. “What are you doing?”

-

“I…I think…I think I can…” I didn’t finish my thought, but smiled, feeling triumphant, able to tell that the burns were healing. “Yes!” I smiled triumphantly and let my magic surge.

Fen shifted again. “Wh-what?” he gasped, likely now able to better feel what I was doing.

I didn't answer, but let the magic run it's course, purging the burns from his strange, fey body. “There.” I slowly let the magic fade, and let go of his hand.

Fen shifted, stumbling to his feet, and leaning against the wall for support, stammering dazedly, “Did…did you just…?"

“I think I healed them.” I told him, shrugging a little.

“Th-that’s not possible!” he muttered, hastily unbuttoning his sleeve and rolling up his sleeve. Except the burn that usually was there was gone. Fen stared, then swore, “F*cking hell!”

The door opened, and Axl entered, concerned at Fen's exuberant exclamation, “Everything okay?”

“She…she healed the burns!” Fen gasped, waving his arm at the valet as evidence.

“What?” Axl stopped, looking confused.

“Look!” Fen tore off his shirt.

“Oop!” I covered my eyes, feeling my face heat, having caught a glimpse of Fen shirtless. It was far from an unpleasant sight, but I didn't want to ogle. Because despite his short stature, he was still well-built. Stupid fey and their naturally perfect physical forms.

“That’s not possible!” Axl blurted.

“I-I know.” Fen whispered.

“Well, apparently it was possible or I wouldn't have been able to do it!” I told them, keeping my eyes covered. “My magic is probably just different. I am human, after all.”

“Even the humans with magic way back when wouldn't have been able to heal this, Mercy.” Axl's tone was flabbergasted.

“Well, it's healed, so…yeah.” I shrugged, not really sure what the big deal was. It made sense that I, being not fey and not from Faerie, would be able to heal things that others couldn't. Or, it made sense to me, anyways. But they seemed shocked, utterly and truly shocked, if not kind of upset.

“I mean I’m glad they’re healed. So…so glad.” Fen muttered, “I’m just…I don’t…I don’t…know what to think or…”

I let myself peek through my fingers. Fen had one of his hands resting hesitantly on the opposite shoulder as he stared into the mirror, expression confused and vaguely wary. It was clear that he was distressed. A sudden rush of guilt filled me. “I…I’m sorry. I-I should have asked before I just tried healing it. I wasn’t sure it would work, and then it was and I got carried away.” I frowned, letting my hands fall from my face, and looking down clasping them together. “I-I should have asked.”

“I would have let you.” He turned his gaze to me. “And I’m not upset. I’m just…confused.” Fen managed a slight, tight smile, “But I am grateful. At this point in my life, I've lived longer with the burns than without them. It’ll just take a little getting used to. But I think that-” he cut off, grimacing slightly and putting a hand to his head. As he did, I felt magic surging through him. “Ah.”

“You okay?” Axl asked, frowning.

“I-I don’t know.” Fen muttered, shaking his head. The magic surged again, and he gasped a little, taking a startled sort of half-step forward, grimace deepening. “My…my magic! It…it’s…I-I don’t know, b-but it hurts!” he leaned with his hands against the back of one of the armchairs for support.

More magic surged through him, and he gasped again, curling into himself slightly, clearly in pain. I hurried forward. “Can I help?”

“Just...just wait!” he muttered. But more magic surged, and he stumbled back from the couch, and fell to his knees, clutching his head and sobbing in pain. “Gods!”

Rose hurried in. “What’s wrong?”

I told her briefly while Axl stood by Fen, watching him carefully, frowning. “I don’t like this.” Axl told us.

“Me either.”

“I definitely don’t!” Fen groaned, then sobbed once more in pain as magic coursed through him.

“Please let me try to help!”

“A-alright.” Fen held out his hand.

I went to his side, and reached out to take it, meaning to push soothing magic into him, but I felt a powerful burst of magic course through him, and he gave a yelp of pain, which sent him jerking somewhat wildly in a convulsion, and I had to move quickly to dodge his flailing limbs.

Fen’s magic surged, seemingly out of control, and he continued to convulse, sobbing as he writhed, tearing wildly at his own body. There were horrible cracking and popping noises.

Axl, Rose, and I stared, stunned and confused and horrified.

“Is he growing?!” Rose gasped.