Fen heard Axl berating Mercy through the open door, and grimaced inwardly. “You can’t just blame other people for all the things that have happened!” Axl was saying, “In this company we accept the consequences for our actions, and don’t lay the blame on other people! We've looked over all the footage, and there’s no actual proof that anyone is out to get you!”

That was an interesting track.

“B-but sir!” Mercy’s protest was feeble.

“Get your things and go. You’re fired!” Axl said sternly.

Show time. Fen stepped into the doorway, and said, “That’s what we get for letting ourselves think a worthless little human could handle dealing with our world.” he said in a mild tone, but let his eyes flash.

Mercy quailed, dropping things as she tried to put them into a box. The head of security, who was in on the whole plan, stood nearby, ready to lead Mercy away, to safety. The entire office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, every eye turned to them.

Aren played along, looking aghast.

Fen could see, from the corner of his eye, that the perpetrator wore a smirk.

It made his blood boil.

“Now get out.” the high king snapped. “Your things will be removed from the manor as well.”

“Y-yes sir!” Mercy squeaked, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment, and Fen started to worry that they’d gone too far with their acting.

“Come with me, miss.” The head of security took her arm, and started to lead her away, towards the elevator.

“Get back to your work, everyone.” Axl directed the rest of the employees, then went back into his office.

Fen turned, meaning to go back into his own office for the next half of their charade, but a flash of movement caught his eye. He turned in time to see the saboteur walking determinedly towards the elevators as well, her hand raised.

In Flora’s hand was a knife.

Fen spun, launching himself forward as the knife descended, shouting, “MERCY!”

Mercy turned, eyes flickering up to the knife, looking surprised.

He wasn’t going to get there fast enough!

Suddenly, another person’s hand shot out, knocking the knife away.

“Not to day!" Breya snapped.

Then Fen slammed, full-force, into Flora, tackling her to the ground.

The woman let out a shriek of anger and a burst of wild magic as Fen pinned her to the floor. The magic wasn’t strong enough to throw Fen off, and he responded in like, creating a powerful barrier around her person, so she couldn't release any more.

“Gods!” Axl gasped, “I didn’t think that would happen!”

“N-neither did I!” Mercy squeaked, terrified.

-

Flora protested and rambled in Faerie, practically foaming at the mouth as she struggled.

“Wh-what’s she saying?” I asked.

“Uh…it’s probably better if you don’t know exactly.” Aren told me as Fen and Breya tried to haul Flora to her feet.

“Suffice it to say she thinks she deserves Fen’s attention more than you do, and she thought he’d be okay with her killing you, thanks to our little show.” Axl sighed.

Fen finally lost his temper. “Enough!” he shouted, holding out his hand and blasting her in the head with magic. She immediately went limp.

“That’s better.” Breya muttered, then told the head of security, who was still standing there, slack-jawed and surprised, “Come with me.”

“Oh, right.” He stepped forward, following Breya as she dragged the now-unconscious Flora across the floor, and towards the elevators.

“Take the stairs.” Fen called after her.

“Yes sir!” Breya cackled, clearly pleased, and changing their direction.

The knife had been inches away me when Breya had intervened. I’d have gotten stabbed if she hadn't been doing her job and keeping a close eye on things.

That thought caused a wave of fear to crash over me, and my balance wavered.

Fen reached out, catching me before I fell. “Are you alright?” He asked quietly, taking the box from me and handing it to Aren, who set it on my desk.

“I-I’m not hurt.” I whispered.

“But are you alright? You’ve had such a sh*tty day.” he frowned, pulling me close, hands on my upper arms.

“What’s going on?!” Willow asked, sounding exasperated.

“Mercy isn’t fired, that was a show to try and get her out of here and lower Flora’s defenses. Flora was sabotaging her work, and tried to harm her twice in one day.” Axl summarized.

“Oh my!” Willow gasped.

“I-I w-want to leave here!” I whimpered, on the verge of tears.

“We’ll go home.” Fen said, scooping me up.

“I-I…don’t want to go home! Rose will be worried and…I-I just…I don’t know.” I shook my head, burying my face into his shoulder and starting to cry, overwhelmed with the craziness of the day.

“Axl, I’m taking her to the apartment. After you deal with this here, would you bring some stuff for us there? And all three cats?”

“Th-thank you.” I whispered.

“It’s no trouble.” Fen said, stroking my hair back. “Close your eyes."

I slipped my arms around his neck and pressed my face into his shoulder once more, squeezing my eyes shut. There was a breeze and a burst of magic, and I felt him skid to a halt.

“Here we are.” he said.

I opened my eyes. We were standing in a fancy, luxury apartment. "Oh."

“Nice view, huh?” he nodded at an enormous window that looked out over the city. So, a penthouse apartment. That made sense, for him.

“Yeah.” I leaned my head into him again.

“Want a snack and some tea?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Then you shall have some. Want to stay out here with me, or go lay down?”

“I want to stay with you.” I mumbled.

“Okay.” He carried me to the open kitchen area that was also a part of the open-concept, high ceiling-ed living area, and sat me down on the counter. Then he put a kettle on, and started to put together some snacks to go with the tea.

“There’s food here?”

“Yeah, I keep it fully stocked, since this is the one I’m mostly likely to stay at randomly, given its location. And there are no live-in servants or anything, but housekeeping comes twice a day, and we can order meals from the kitchens, if we want. Or Axl can bring us something from home, but I actually like cooking, so I tend to do that when I’m here, just for a change of pace.” he paused, looking up from chopping cucumbers for tea sandwiches, “I…I’d like to cook tonight, if that’d be okay?” He sounded so uncertain.

“I bet you’re a good cook.” I managed a smile. “I’d love to try your cooking.”

Fen’s long fingers reached out, touching the bottom of my chin. “I’m glad you can still smile, after a day like today. And I’m glad you’re happy for me to cook.”

“I-I mean, I did cry already. And I’ll probably cry again, but…well, I can’t just stop doing things.” I mumbled, feeling my face heat. “And of course I’m happy to let you cook, it means I don't have to, not that I don’t like to. I bet you’re a good cook.”

“I am.” he smiled, letting his hand fall. “You know, this apartment has its own pool.”

“As much as I’d like to hop in a pool, I don’t have a swimsuit right now. Or rather, I do, but it’s probably packed away with the rest of my stuff, waiting to be unpacked at my new place, and Astrid said she’d make me one, but you haven’t put in a pool at the manor, so she hasn’t needed to.”

“Hmm.” Fen tapped on his phone for a few moments, then put it away and finished making the tea snacks while the tea steeped. He was just taking everything to the table, and I was sliding down off the counter when his phone chirped. “Astrid said she’d go pick one out for you and bring it here. Unless you want to go with her?”

“No. Tell her a one-piece or a tankini, though. I don’t do bikinis.”

“Pity.” Fen said mildly, eyes on his phone as he tapped out a response to his sister.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Fen!” I protested, feeling my face turn bright red as I joined him at the table.

“What? You make it no secret you think I’m good-looking, how is it a crime for me to think and express that you are?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You’re hysterically attractive because you’re fey. It’s expected and normal.” I rolled my eyes at him, pouring us both cups of tea, then taking mine and putting sugar and milk in it. “I’m a potato, comparatively.”

“You say that like people don’t love potatoes. Given a little time and effort and potatoes are french fries, chips, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, hashbrowns, tater tots.”

“My favorite foods.” I sighed.

“Exactly. A lot of people like them a lot.”

“Not for how they look, though, they like them for how they taste.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m sure I’d like that too.” Fen said mildly.

I blinked, my brain taking a moment to process what he’d said. “Fen!” I covered my face with my hands, “It’s not funny!”

He only shrugged, “I wasn’t joking.”

“I’m not…not worth wanting.” I mumbled, picking up a sandwich and munching on it. There were also macarons from a package in the freezer, some smoked salmon on very nice crackers, and a few other bits and bobs.

Fen sighed, then calmly asked, “Mercy Iris Collins, why don’t we just get married?”

“What?” I looked up sharply, startled.

“Marry me. I won’t ask you to sleep with me or ever hold out hope that you’ll change your mind. We don’t even have to share a bedroom. You can just write and make art and be happy with your cats. It can be a marriage of convenience, of sorts. I won’t lay a finger on you, you’ll be safe, and I’ll get to be around you. You wouldn't feel like you had to work anymore, and if anyone so much as harms a hair on your head they’ll risk provoking me. I mean, they would risk pissing me off right now, but it’d be more official this way, and there would leave no room for purposeful misinterpretation.”

I stared at him, all thoughts in my brain having come to a screeching halt. “What?!”

“You. Me. Get married. No s*x, no kids. Just being happy…kissing…mm, optional, I guess.” he replied in a level tone.

I stared at him for a moment, then cried, “Wh-what i-if you meet someone a-and fall in love? What would happen to me?! I-I’d just be out on the street!”

“First of all, I love you, and am going to continue to love you until I die. But in the event that I hit my head and got amnesia and don’t remember a thing, and we got divorced (it won’t happen, but hypothetically), Faerie has pretty fair divorce laws, given how often we split up and get remarried.” he motioned impatiently with his hand as he explained, “And I’m not above those laws, even as the king. I’d have to split my assets with you, the country itself not included. You’d be filthy stinking rich.”

I’d only caught the first part of his statement. “You…you…but…I-I’m…I’m…not…why would you…” I couldn't say it because I couldn't believe I’d heard him say it.

“I love you.” he said again, this time a little more gently, “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You make me ridiculously, irrationally happy, and I want to be with you for the rest of forever. Because I love you. And I just…I want you to be happy. And I want to be happy too. I know I can make you happy, I just…need a chance. I don’t expect anything of you, nor do I want you to change your mind about anything. I love you exactly as you are, not as someone I hope you’ll be someday, given enough wearing down and convincing. That’s a form of coercion. I mean…I know I’m trying to convince you to do something right now, but I…I hope that’s different…maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know.” Fen sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable…I…just…I’d like you to not have to worry, and to be happy. And I’d like to be happy too, with you. But if you say no, I’ll never bring it up again…and I hope I…haven’t damaged our friendship.”

Tears suddenly streamed down my face.

“Here.” he held out a handkerchief over the table, and I took it mutely, sobbing into it.

Another moment passed of just me crying.

“Are you okay? I…I should have waited.” he muttered, now upset, “Maybe until you hadn’t had such a bad day. I-”

I cut him off, sobbing, “O-of course I-I want t-to m-marry you! Wh-who wouldn't want to marry you?!”

“I…well…I…I’d like you to marry me not just because anyone would, but maybe because we get along and are okay together.”

“Y-you’re my best friend, Fen!” I hiccuped, wiping my face, “I-I’ll marry you, but…w-with the conditions you said. N-not sharing a r-room and…all that.”

Fen grinned broadly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I whispered.

“Can I hug you?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yeah.” I snorted, “I can manage that.”

Then I was in his arms, and he was holding me close. “Well, I didn’t want to assume.”

I slipped my arms around his neck, inhaling deeply of his scent. He smelled like citrus and warm spice. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” he pulled away. “Can I kiss your forehead?”

I blinked, feeling uncertain. “Uh…”

“Too much. That’s fine.” he shrugged, totally unbothered by my hesitance, “I thought it might be, that’s why I asked. Can I tell Axl? Oh, and Astrid when she comes by later?”

I felt my face heat. “Y-you can tell them both…uh…One time, Astrid…she…she said…”

“What’d she say?”

“She made me two identical dresses, right? The gold one and the pink one.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“She said I could wear the gold one that night, then the pink one to our wedding.” I mumbled, looking away, feeling my face flush even more red.

Fen snorted, “Sure, that works. Astrid is very observant.” he shook his head, murmuring “Because I loved you then. I loved you very soon after meeting you properly.”

“This has been very fast.” I mumbled.

“We can have a long engagement, if you want. There’s no hurry.”

“O-okay.” I murmured, nodding, feeling a little numb from shock.

Fen hugged me closer for a moment.

We were engaged.

He was everything I could have ever wanted. And he wanted me, no strings attached, no expectations.

“Fen?” I asked softly.

“Hm?”

“I-I…I do love you too.” I whispered.

“I know.” his voice was barely a whisper. “I see it in your eyes when you look at me. In your laugh, in your flush.” he stroked my cheek gently for a moment. “In your tears and whispers. I thought I was wrong for a while, but I knew, deep inside, that I wasn’t. And seeing you almost get stabbed today, and not being able to get there fast enough.” he shuddered, squeezing me gently, “That was the most terrifying moment of my life. And then Breya was the one who saved you and I hate it. I wish I could have gotten there faster.”

“S’ alright. It doesn't make me want her over you.” I mumbled, burying my face into his shoulder.

“Good.” he snorted.

It was quiet for a few moments, but I was enjoying being in his arms.

My fiance’s arms.

“We should drink the tea, or it’s gonna get cold.” I mumbled.

“Yeah.” Fen sighed, pulling away and returning to his own seat.

It was quiet again, but it wasn’t awkward.

“The sandwiches are good.” I told him, finishing the cucumbers sandwich, then taking a curried chicken salad one.

“Those are my favorites. Although I like egg salad too.”

“Me too, but, well, it’s probably the mayonnaise I like, really.”

Fen snorted, “That’s par for the course.”

At that moment, Axl entered with our belongings, and cats, on a trolley cart. “Delivery!” he said cheerfully.

“The kitties!” I smiled, getting up and going over to them to open the cages.

Fen followed me, “Thanks, Axl. How did it go at the office?”

“Fine. She’s been fired, charges have been filed, and she’s being held in a secure location until the trial.”

“Good.” Fen muttered.

“Will I need to testify or anything?” I asked.

“Do you want to?” Axl asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Not really.” I muttered, “I don’t want to be in the same room with her ever again, but I’ll go to court if I have to.”

Fen shrugged a little, “You’ll likely need to be in court, given she acted against you, but it won’t happen for a while. The courts move slowly in Faerie, like in your world.”

“Right.” I sighed.

“I’ll be there. And I will testify, since I’m a witness.” Axl said.

“As will I. Aren will too. And Willow, I’m sure, she seemed very upset on your behalf. We also would have caught the stabbing on the camera that she didn’t know about.” Fen said.

“How was she messing with the other cameras? Did we ever figure that out?” I asked.

“I’m pretty sure it was magic. Security is too.” Axl replied.

“Makes sense.” the fey king shrugged. “But…we have happier news to share with you, Axl.”

“Oh?”

“Mercy said she’d marry me.” Fen grinned.

Axl blinked, then smiled broadly, “Oh that’s wonderful!”

My face was burning red, and I buried it in my hands. “Oh!” Sidhe rubbed against me in concern, maowing softly. I let my hands fall and stroked his silky fur, mumbling, “Now I’m embarrassed.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Axl said kindly. “It’s a wonderful thing! Can I tell Rose? She’ll be ecstatic!”

“Yes, but I…I don’t want a big deal made.” I mumbled. The last thing I wanted was a big to-do. I didn’t even want a big wedding. But given Fen was the fey king, I might not have a choice. On that note. “Fen?”

“Yeah?”

“Does…marrying you mean I’d be queen?”

“Queen consort, since you’re not fey, but yeah, basically.” he shrugged.

“Are there like, official duties and stuff? I’m not sure I’ll be able to do stuff like that.” I frowned, suddenly feeling panicky.

“Technically there are, but I’m not gonna make you do that. That’s what advisors are for. And Astrid. She’s already doing a good portion of them. She’s good at it, and enjoys it.” Fen told me.

“Are you sure?”

“Ask her when she gets here, alright? She’ll tell you as much.”

“Okay.” I mumbled.

“I promise you won’t have anything to worry about. We can live separately too, if you prefer.”

“No, I-I want to live with you once we’re married.”

“I really need to get that ring finished so you can move into your apartment and have some space before we get married, whenever that is. Like I said, we can have a long engagement, if you want it.”

“Yeah.” I smiled, petting Stroopwafel as she climbed onto my lap.

Fen settled down on the floor beside me, Diana hopped into his lap, prompting him to scratch her head. “Thanks for bringing the cats too, Axl.”

“Of course! They were glad to go, I think they knew I was taking them to you.” the bodyguard smiled. “Have you given any thought to dinner for today? I can go pick it up at any time.”

“I’ll cook tonight.” Fen replied.

“Alright. I know when you’re here you prefer to have the place to yourself, do you want me to stay?”

“Nah, go be with Rose. Unless you’d feel better with him here, Mercy?”

“No, it’s fine. Breya is around, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I figured. And Axl can be here in the blink of an eye, so I don’t see why he’d need to stay.” I shrugged. Given how swiftly and effectively Breya had reacted to the danger when we were in the office, despite obviously not being fond of me, I wasn't particularly concerned.

“Alright. I’ll head home, then. But absolutely let me know if you need me to pop back, I’m perfectly happy to.”

“Thanks, Axl.” Fen nodded.

Axl said his goodbyes, then left.

“I should tell Michael, is that okay?”

“Of course.” my fiance smiled at me. “You can tell whoever you want.”

“I have to bring him up to speed on what happened, too. I think the last time I talked to him by more than just text was the night after his brother had the nerve to ask me out.”

“He pissed me off that day, before he’d even done that.” Fen muttered darkly. “He couldn't keep his eyes off you, although I’m guilty of that one too, if I’m being honest, but then he made you uncomfortable by commenting on your appearance on top of that.” he sighed, “I hope I’ve not made you uncomfortable by commenting on your appearance."

“Not that I can think of.” I told him.

“Well, if I do or ever did, I’m sorry. I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable. Flirting and teasing you is one thing, but if I’d ever thought you were truly uncomfortable rather than just a bit flustered, but still amused, I’d have stopped immediately.”

“I know.” I reached out hesitantly, taking his free hand and squeezing it gently.

Fen flipped his hand, weaving his fingers through mine, and smiling. “Good.”