“Mm…” I groaned, waking up. Goodness, please let that all have been just a really bad dream.

I opened my eyes, then groaned again upon seeing that I wasn’t in my own bed.

Both of my kitties were cuddled up beside me, and that was at least somewhat comforting, despite waking up in an unfamiliar place. That must have meant that Axl and Breya had brought my things, like Fen had directed. Well, at least I had my cats. That was something.

“Are you feeling alright, miss?” A sweet voice asked softly.

I blinked the sleep from my eyes and looked towards the voice. The fey woman that stood there was a fairy, plain and simple. She had daisy yellow skin, soft pink hair, dark purples eyes, and a pair of shimmering dragonfly-esque wings. It was altogether a very pleasant look.

“I-I…I think I’m okay.”

“I’m Rose. I think you fainted on the way here.”

“I guess so.” I frowned, rubbing my eyes. “This room is huge!”

“Most of the guest quarters here are.” She smiled at me. “Is it to your liking?

“It’s beautiful! Is this some kind of palace?” I asked, looking around.

Rose smiled, “It’s not, actually, it’s a manor, by definition, but it rather is a palace to us commoners, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Just going by this room it’s gotta be bigger than my entire apartment complex!” I snorted, shaking my head. Well, Fen certainly was rich.

“I’m sure!” she laughed. “Well, now that you’re awake, how does a nice, hot bath sound?”

“Like heaven, honestly.” I admitted, stroking my kitties, who were both purring loudly now.

“Then you shall have one!” she chirped. “And I’ll have a nice tray of tea things brought up!” She paused, “Unless you drink coffee?”

“I drink both, but tea would be so amazing!” I managed a smile. It seemed like I was getting the royal treatment here! A girl could get used to it. Not this girl, since I’d be going home before too long. But some girl. Some lucky, lucky girl.

“Excellent!” Rose clapped her hands. “I’ll go get the bath started.”

“Oh, don’t, I can do that.” I muttered, starting to get up.

“No, don’t get up. You rest. This is my job, sweetie. His hi-uh, Fen asked me to take care of you. All you have to do is relax and focus on enjoying yourself. You’re safe here, and we’re going to take good care of you!"

“It…it’s really safe here?” I asked tentatively.

“Probably the safest place you could possibly be.” She smiled warmly and reassuringly.

“Good.”

“You just wait here.” she disappeared into the door of what must be the bathroom, and I heard water running. Rose came back in, “Now,” she clapped her hands, “there’s a nightgown and a bathrobe in there for you to use when you’re done, lay the clothes you’re in now aside and I’ll have them washed for you. As for the bath, there are lots of nice soaps, shampoos, conditioners, bubble baths, and bath bombs in there for you to use, so please enjoy them!”

“Thank you, Rose.” I smiled. She was very kind.

“It’s no problem, sweetie. I’ll be back with your tea shortly, you can have it in the bath, if you like!”

“That sounds nice!”

After Rose left, I got up and went into the bathroom. It was as lovely as the rest of the bedroom had been. High, arched ceilings, pristine marble walls and dark, warm wooden floors. There were rich crimson wall hangings and plush crimson carpets that my feet sank into, and little accents of gold here and there in wall sconces and chandeliers that pulled everything together so beautifully.

The bathtub was more like a small swimming pool, with a little chair beside it, on which rested a fluffy white bathrobe and a lovely floral night dress.

“This is straight out of a book.” I mused aloud.

Rows and rows of bath products filled the back wall. I spent several minutes examining them all before selecting what I wanted, giggling to myself as I poured the bubble bath into the running water. This would be the nicest bath I’d ever had in my entire life! And after the last couple of days, I could use it. I’d have to be careful with my hands, though, since they were still burned, but I’d manage. I always did.

Once the tub was filled, I slipped into the rich, luxurious bubbles.

“Ohhhh, that’s nice.” I sighed, sinking down into the water and turning off the tap.

It was delightful.

So, whoever Fen was, he was rich rich. Was he some kind of royalty? Or did fey royalty only live in palaces? Because Rose had said this was technically a manor, not a palace. Human royalty definitely lived in manors, but that was typically lower royalty, or it was just a vacation home, or something like that.

After a while of just laying there, soaking in the tub, there was a knock at the door and Rose’s voice called, “It’s me!”

“As long as you don’t mind seeing me covered with bubbles, you can come in.” I told her, as I was totally covered with thick, luxurious bubbles.

Rose pushed into the bathroom, wheeling a tea cart and assuring me, “I don’t mind at all! Now, let’s get you some tea!”

“Oh, I can just get out and-”

“Not a chance, you stay there and enjoy yourself for as long as you want! I have instructions to make sure that you’re relaxed and comfortable while you’re here.” Rose told me sweetly.

Then she poured me a cup of tea, with a splash of milk and two scoops of sugar (per my request when she’d asked how I took my tea), filled a plate with lots of lovely tea treats, and set it on the edge of the tub so I could easily reach it.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Enjoy, alright? I’ll be in your room, unpacking your belongings. My husband brought them in a while ago."

“Your husband?”

“Axl!” She smiled at me.

“Oh!” I blinked, trying to picture the two together, as they seemed to be polar opposites, as far as looks went, anyways.

“It seems like an odd pairing, doesn't it?” she mused, apparently able to guess my thoughts.

“A little, I guess, but appearances aren’t everything, I know.” I grimaced a little apologetically.

“Very true.” Rose nodded approvingly. “Axl looks frightening, but he’s a big teddy bear on the inside!” she giggled.

Her laughter was contagious, and I smiled, “I wasn’t around him long, but he did seem nice enough.”

“He was very worried for your safety.”

“That's kind of him.” I said softly. “I should thank him for getting my kitties and my stuff here safely.” I paused, frowning, then asked, “How much did he bring? Fen said for him to bring just an overnight bag, but you said you were unpacking it and that makes me think he brought more than that, for some reason.”

“He only brought a few outfits, so you could have a choice in what you wear each day. I understand your friend Michael helped him pick out your favorites.”

“Oh good.” I smiled.

“We can easily wash anything as needed as well.”

“How…how long do you think I’ll be here?” Something about the way she was talking made me feel like they planned on my stay being longer than just the two days I had off, which was troubling.

Rose sighed, “I don’t know, I’m sorry. You’ll have to talk to Fen about that.”

“I only have today and tomorrow off from my job.” I muttered, chewing my lip.

“I’ll tell him that you need to discuss the matter of the length of your stay sometime soon, preferably today. Would that be alright?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” I said gratefully.

“Alright, well, you enjoy yourself here for a while, okay? I’ll come check in on you later.”

“Thank you, Rose.” I told her. Unlike Fen, she gave off these lovely warm vibes that made it easy to trust her very quickly.

“It’s no problem, sweetie.” Rose nodded, then left, leaving the tea cart for me to enjoy.

After drinking my tea and eating most of the treats on my plate, I decided I’d sat in the bath for plenty long enough, although the water had somehow not started to get cold. Was that magic? Something told me it likely was.

Standing, I dried off, then slipped into the nightgown and robe Rose had left for me. They were both very comfortable, though I hadn’t expected anything less.

Picking up my teacup and the plate, I put it on the tea cart and pushed it into the bedroom.

My kitties were still fast asleep on the huge bed. I didn’t blame them, it was the most comfortable bed I’d ever laid in, and that was likely the same case for them as well, the silly creatures.

Poking my head out of the bedroom door, I saw that there was a sitting room adjoined to it, with oversize armchairs and couches upholstered in a plush, golden fabric.

To my surprise, I saw that my laptop and cell phone had been placed on the low coffee table, and were plugged up and charging. I blinked, realizing that there were outlets placed conveniently throughout the room.

Faerie had electricity?! That seemed very odd to me, somehow, and totally incongruous with what a fantasy world should be, in my mind. Although if humans had electricity, why couldn't a magical race like the fey have it as well? There really wasn’t any reason why they couldn't have it, it just went against what I’d always imagined of a world where magic was common.

I’d have to ask about it.

Going over to the coffee table, I sat and picked up my phone, and was very amused to see that it was saying I not only had cell signal, but that I also had WiFi and data coverage. Surely that was impossible, though? It was one thing to have electricity, but to be able to have that kind of service meant that I’d need to be near my own provider’s cell towers, and I was literally in another world. I opened my laptop, and saw, much to my own surprise, that it was saying it had WiFi signal as well.

I opened a browser, and was able to load a social media page without any problems, and even did a few random internet searches.

“Well, I’ll be!” I stared, mystified, at my computer. The WiFi was fast. Really fast and really strong. “Let’s see if you’ll work.” I lifted my phone and opened a social media app, and was soon scrolling through the videos of the people I followed without any trouble. “This makes no sense!”

After a while, I put the phone down, shut my laptop, and walked around the room, trying to wrap my head around the situation. I was in another world. A magical world, by all accounts, but there was really good cell signal, data, and WiFi. This was nothing like I’d have ever pictured a world where magic was real. The literal homeland of the fairies had better WiFi and cell signal than I did in my apartment in the middle of the city. It was kind of ridiculous.

Yes, I’d definitely have to ask someone about how that was possible, and if I would somehow incur roaming charges. Because that was the last thing I needed, unexpected roaming charges on my phone bill.

-

Fen knocked on the door to the guest room Mercy was occupying.

“Come in!” Her voice called.

“It’s me.” Fen said as he pushed in.

“Oh, hi.” The young woman seemed a little surprised to see him.

Mercy was wearing a pale blue, floral nightgown, and was sitting by one of the tall windows. The light streamed in through the glass, lighting her auburn hair almost ablaze as it pulled the red and golden highlights out in sparkling veins.

“It’s a nice view.” Fen nodded at the window. She wasn’t such a bad view, either. The young human woman wasn’t as plain as she thought.

“Oh, yeah.” Mercy turned her gaze back towards the glass.

“It looks out over the gardens here.”

“They’re pretty.” she murmured, smiling a little.

“I’m glad you like them. You’re welcome to explore them, if you’d like.”

“Can I?” she turned her eager gaze to him, her dark brown eyes sparkling.

“Just take someone with you. It’s better if you’re not alone here, just in case.”

Her happiness faltered, and she looked down. “I…I am safe here though, right?”

“Yes. It’s just in case. I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Fen shrugged.

“Yeah.” Mercy murmured.

It was quiet for a few moments.

“Did you settle in alright?”

“I think so. Rose is very kind.”

“She is.” he agreed. “Breakfast will be served soon.”

“I’ve had some tea and snacks a little while ago, but breakfast would be really nice. Where do I need to go for that?”

“Rosie will bring it to you.” Fen shook his head, “We don’t really have breakfast in a specific room or anything here. Sometimes if there’s a house party, but that’s a rarity anymore.”

“Oh, right.”

“I do often have lunch in the dining room, and then dinner as well.” he paused, “Normally guest would join me in the dining room for a proper meal at dinner time, but given you’re not an ordinary guest, I’ll likely have dinner, and indeed lunch, brought to your quarters as well, for now at least.” the fey man told me. “A proper meal in Faerie might be overwhelming for you, nor would you have the clothes for it, given that we usually dress for them.”

“Dress for them, as in how they did back in Victorian times in my world?” The young woman cocked her head to the side.

“Yes.”

“Oh, yeah, I don’t have fancy clothes like that.” Mercy grimaced a little.

“I would hardly expect you to.” he paused, “Although we could probably rustle something up.”

“Well, I won’t be here very long, so it won’t matter.” She shook her head, then looked at him, “Right?”

Fen sighed, “I don’t know. I’ve spent my time since arriving back here looking into what it might take to make it safe for you to return to your home, and I’m not sure that we’ll be able to manage it by tomorrow. I’m no weakling by any stretch, but the amount of magic it will take, and the kind of magic…well, it’s going to take a while. Is there any way that you could get more time off work?”