A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps

Craig stares blankly at Ashton for a moment, the words buffering in his brain.

"You... You're... Oh shit." Craig's gaze flies to me and he backs up all the way to the wall. I can see him glancing at the door.

"Not me! I'm not fae. I'm human like you. And you don't need to worry about these guys. No one here wants to hurt you or use magic on you or anything, I promise. Ashton and Fin are here to CATCH the woman who messed with you so it won't happen again. To you or anyone else. I'm really sorry you met someone so awful, but not all fae are like that.” I keep my voice soft and I stay seated, forcing myself to keep a relaxed posture.

"We do not wish you harm." Fin states firmly. Craig twists to stare at Fin who slowly gets to his feet. I can tell that he's trying to avoid sudden movements. I'm not quite sure what he's doing but I hope it's good because Craig is freaking out. Fin slowly takes a few steps backwards, away from Craig and towards the wall, no wait, towards the TV? Fin slowly raises his hands over the television and there is a slight crackling sound as the broken screen mends itself.

"See, I do not possess the magic to harm or manipulate anyone. I am better suite to keeping house than controlling people." Fin jokes with a tiny smile. For a heartbeat there is silence. Craig is staring wide eyed at Fin and the TV. Then all of a sudden he just bursts out laughing. The tension in the room breaks and we all relax. Craig tilts his head back laughing almost hysterically and pushes his hair back out of his face. When he gets his laughter under control he lets out a deep sigh "I'm sorry. You're right, I'm being paranoid. I met one nasty fae, that doesn't mean you're all bad. Sit down. Let's talk."

"So... You're fae." Craig states.

"Yes." Ashton answers.

"And that woman was fae too." Craig continues.

"She was." Ashton agrees.

"Right... And she did something to me... Magic. She made me steal from work. That's how you know it wasn't my fault." Craig sounds almost cheerful. I guess I'd be happy too if I was almost convinced I was crazy then a group of people turned up and confirmed that not only am I totally sane, but also that I'm not guilty of the crime I've been accused of. It would be a huge relief. "Exactly." Ashton nods.

"Okay." Craig grins.

"That's it? Do you have any other questions?" I prompt when Craig stays silent. It doesn't seem like he's planning to ask anything further.

"That's it. I don't need the details, I just needed to know I wasn't crazy. There's obviously a problem but I'm not qualified to fix it. If you guys are, then I'm happy to leave it to you and I'm happy to answer your questions. If you can fix this I'll be incredibly thankful. I doubt I'll ever get my job back, and even if they do take me back I'm not sure I would feel safe there anymore. But now that I know it won't happen to me again, I haven't lost my mind... I can find a new job. Although if you can somehow prove me innocent that would probably make it a lot easier." Craig adds as an afterthought.noveldrama

"We will try. Is there anything else you wish to say before we ask our questions?" Ashton queries.

"Nope, you can go ahead. Although..... I should say thank you. I don't know how you did that to my TV but it was real nice of you." Craig beams at Fin who gives a deep nod.

"It was no trouble." Fin responds. It seems like that is a bit of a common response from him. He is definitely the humble type. I'm not sure he appreciates how incredibly impressive his repairing magic is. Maybe it's not a big deal to the fae who can throw around balls of fire or force people to do their bidding, but here... Here it's probably one of the most useful things he could do. I shoot him a smile and then turn back to Craig. "Modest, isn't he? Magic is pretty cool when it's used well." I comment and Craig grins.

"Right you are. Alright. I've been dramatic enough. What did you want to ask?" Craig sits back in his recliner and faces us, leaning forward with his hands clasped together. I wait for Ashton to say something, but when I glance at him he's looking at me expectantly. Or maybe hopefully. Okay, I guess I'm meant to be taking over this interrogation. It's nice that he trusts me to manage it I guess. Besides, it should be fine now, Craig seems to be over his fear of fae and strange women. Or maybe he's just decided to trust us.

"Well, mostly we just want you to tell us what happened. What do you remember? Start for the beginning and just tell us whatever you can remember.” I smile at him, trying to look approachable.

“I met her at Angelo's, you know that Italian place? It's near my work and it was a nice day so I thought I would stop by there for lunch. I was sitting and looking at the menu and she just... came over and sat at my table. I was confused and sort of a little angry but then she took the menu from me and smiled and I realised that she was just so beautiful. I wanted to make her happy, to make her smile again. So when she asked if I would buy her lunch, I said yes. We ate and we talked. Or rather I talked. She asked about my work and I told her all about it. She asked to see it and at the time it seemed like an amazing idea. I was thrilled that she was happy and that she seemed so interested in me. She..... she held my hand and we went back to the store. I had gotten back so it was time for Josie, my coworker to go on break. She left for lunch and the fae woman was looking at everything. She asked to try things on and she just looked so hopeful that I said yes. Then she just... Asked if it was okay for her to keep everything and I agreed, hell I got out more items and encouraged her to take them. I didn't think about the trouble I'd get in. it seemed... Reasonable. In my mind I wouldn't get in trouble because of course she should have them. I just... I really believed that anyone else would agree. She left and I was thinking how wonderful she was and how I couldn't wait to see her again... Then it just... Slowly set in. She didn't leave me a number. She didn't give me her name. She didn't even ask for my name. I started thinking and I realised it was all wrong. It probably took about half an hour for me to realise what I'd done. I... I confessed right away. It's probably the only reason I wasn't arrested. The theft was still reported. They had to... For the insurance. But they didn't press charges against me. Technically I didn't steal the items... I just didn't try to stop her. I think back on it and it makes no sense. She was pretty, but I've seen prettier girls. I mean, I worked in a high end jewellery store. Pretty girls come through every day. That was about the time I started thinking I'd lost my mind." Craig sighs and drops his head in his hands. "Thanks for telling us." I tell him kindly. We ask a few more questions and get Craig to describe the woman. He tells us about a fairly average looking woman with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. When we've asked everything we can think of we thank Craig for his time and honesty and head out.