"SURPRISE!"
L almost blasted the hallway, and everyone in sight, into next week. She tried to calm herself, staring into the smiling, cheery faces who were now coming towards her.
"Woah, we really got you, didn't we?" Robbie asked with a grin.
His now human face still had a glint of the cheeky adolescent Dragon he held inside.
"Got me? What do you mean? What's happening?"
"You didn't think we'd forget about your birthday, did you?" Mrs Worcester asked with a warm smile, rubbing L's shoulder.
"My-my birthday? I thought something bad had happened to you all. You're telling me it was a surprise for my birthday?"
"Of course, it wasn't as though you would tell us it was today." Bryce smirked, making his way to the front, followed by Emilia and Illiana.
All three were dressed in regal robes, red and gold for mother and daughter, while Bryce wore blue and black. He looked like the royal he pretended not to be. He gave L a knowing smirk when she looked him up and down. L rolled her eyes, hiding her smile and calming her pulse- which raced for various reasons.
"We didn't mean to worry you, but it was the only way to do it without you knowing." Mr Worcester claimed.
"How to hide a party from the one person who can see and hear just about everything... I should be a party planner." Edra came forward, grinning widely.
Her appearance, which changed more often than the weather, was that of a tall, middle-aged woman in a casual pink and white striped dress. They all appeared to be dressed up, even Robbie had made the effort, wearing jeans and a smart, white dress shirt.
L shook her head, "This is all really nice, but you didn't need to go to the trouble. I wasn't planning to celebrate my birthday again until I found out the real date."
L tried not to linger on the possibility that that might never happen.
"We understand that. However, you deserve a birthday like everyone else. We must celebrate such a significant birth." Vadim chimed in from behind Edra.
His shockingly spiky hair looked extra pointy.
L could see there was no arguing with them. She exhaled a long breath and smiled at everyone gathered in and around the hallway.
"Thank you, I suppose I should go change. I'll rejoin you all in a moment."
The crowd smiled and dispersed to talk among themselves. The Worcesters and Bryce were the only ones still standing in front of L.
"We're sorry, L. We just wanted to do something nice to celebrate. You do deserve it after all." Mrs Worcester was rubbing L's shoulder again.
She seemed to be able to sense L's unease.
"I know, thank you for that. I really should go change and meet... my guests." L's brow creased, and she pushed out a half smile.
She rushed to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She didn't know what she was going to wear but the trousers and blouse she wore every day weren't really going to cut it. She walked to the wardrobe and kicked the book aside, not wanting to think about it, at least for the rest of the night. She rummaged through her wardrobe, wondering what would be appropriate. There was a selection of dresses she'd been given by Matilda when L had moved into her first ever base.
L felt a lump form in the back of her throat when she thought about Matilda. Losing her had been the first real loss L had ever endured. It was traumatic enough, never mind the fact she'd never seen anyone die before. L's closed off nature in the past had protected her from a lot. Never letting anyone get that close certainly had its advantages, but it also meant missing out on the good parts to being close to others. She pushed aside the sadness; this was meant to be a happy occasion, and she knew Matilda in particular would want her to enjoy it.
She opted to leave the dresses that were a little too extravagant for the occasion of a house party. Instead, she picked a simple, black dress with a flared skirt- something Mrs Worcester had passed on and told L she should always have in the back of her wardrobe, just in case. L glanced in the mirror before she left the room. She didn't care much about her appearance, but she didn't want to look ridiculous. She liked that the dress reached her knees and covered her collarbone; she had enough bruises to look like a Dalmatian.
She ruffled her hair, pulled on a pair of black boots, and headed back downstairs. Someone had found a way to pump music through the house, and everyone had dispersed so much so that there were crowds in every room. L was met at the bottom of the stairs by Bryce.
He looked at her in awe and grinned when he finally regained himself, leaning down to give her the briefest of kisses. Nevertheless, it sent L's heart skittering, something Bryce could hear all too well and took pleasure in causing.
"You look amazing. Happy Birthday."
"Thank you, I suppose this was partly your idea?" L asked as they made their way down the hallway towards the kitchen.
"Actually, no, it was Robbie's. I just facilitated his idea, and everything sort of snowballed from there." He smirked widely, seeming very proud of himself.
L had to admit it was a good way to surprise her; she'd had absolutely no idea what was going on. She hadn't even remembered it was her birthday. In the past, it had rarely been celebrated, and when it had, it wasn't always the happy memory it should have been. But L was determined to enjoy herself, after the day she'd had she could do with it.
She mingled with the guests, some she knew very well, and others she only knew in passing, either through helping them or seeing them around the base. There was a table of presents in the kitchen, of which L knew she wouldn't be able to humbly refuse any of them. The food, which Mrs Worcester had made by herself and managed to hide from L earlier in the day, was delicious and thoroughly demolished.
L was exhausted by the time the last guests had left. Maeve and Folen waved from the end of the garden, and L gradually closed the door. She let out a heavy sigh on her way to the kitchen, where the Worcesters and Bryce were talking.
"Did you have fun?" Robbie asked, leaning against the counter with a knowing look on his face.
"I did. It was nice to see everyone having a good time." L replied.
"But you weren't a fan of being the centre of attention all night," Robbie finished.
L nodded. She was grateful for the party, but she'd have preferred a small get-together, maybe just the five of them.
"You'd think I'd be used to it by now, with everyone coming to me for help or staring at me like I singlehandedly saved them."
"Well, you kind of did do that." Mr Worcester spoke from the sink, busy washing up the plates from the evening.
"I didn't do it singlehandedly, though, there were a lot of other key figures in the battle." L peered at Bryce, and Robbie, who turned away and busied himself with a packet of crisps.
The battle was still a sore spot for Robbie. He couldn't forgive himself for his part in it; despite the many times L had tried to explain to him that it had been necessary.
"Anyhow, it's late, and you've all had a long day." Mrs Worcester intervened, sensing the growing tension. "Off to bed, we can clean the rest of this in the morning, and that includes you, Bryce."
She pointed at him, and despite his considerable power and how much older he was than her, Bryce agreed to the cleaning. He knew not to cross Mrs Worcester- he also had more respect than that.
She nodded, and her smile returned. "L, I'll leave your presents where they are. You can open them whenever you're ready, dear."
"Thank you," L smiled gratefully and followed Robbie and Bryce out of the door.
They stopped in the hallway, Robbie's eyes darted between the front door and the kitchen.
"If you hurry up, you can catch up to her before she gets home." L whispered to him, grinning when Robbie blushed and Bryce smirked.
"I'll use the window to get in, don't tell mum and dad." Robbie whispered and was out of the door before L could register what he'd just said.
"Can I walk you up to your room?" Bryce asked, holding his arm out to her.
L turned to him, a little dazed at first, but she recovered quickly, taking his arm and heading upstairs with a smile.
"I'm glad you had a nice time, I know things have been getting to you recently."
He didn't need to elaborate; they both knew what he was talking about.
"I suppose I did, thanks for helping them to pull it off."
Bryce waved her words aside, "Don't worry about it, I was happy to. I felt a little bad that I didn't know it was your birthday."
L frowned at his knitted brow, it was clear he really did feel bad. She squeezed his arm so he'd look at her.
"It's okay, we're still getting to know each other, and it's not my real birthday anyway. When... if I ever find that out, you'll be one of the first to know."
"You will find out, one day... but I would still love to know more about you, since you know so much about me already."
"The perks of the job," L chuckled, tapping her temple.
It managed to pull a smile from Bryce, cheering him up and stopping him from continuing his train of thought. They soon stopped outside her bedroom door.
Bryce took her hand in his. "It doesn't matter to me what date you were born on, I'm just elated that it happened. Happy birthday, L."
He leaned down slowly, but L wasn't about to wait. She reached up and met him with a kiss of her own. Their arms entwined around one another, pulling the other closer in the embrace. They clung to each other, the kiss electric and L's mind reeled to match her racing heart. She'd heard people in relationships claim things started to settle down after some time together, but that certainly wasn't the case for her and Bryce.
The kiss lasted so long, L was sure it would be morning already. When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathless and grinning like fools. Bryce rested his forehead against hers, staring down at her as though she was the only thing left in the world. L felt her cheeks redden further just looking at him. She tried to catch her breath, but the way he stared back made it almost impossible.
L didn't want the moment to end. She didn't want him to leave, and yet what may happen if they continued down this path scared her. Just as the thoughts of other species' relationships began bumping against the edges of her mind, footsteps caught their attention. They sprang apart when Mrs Worcester appeared at the top of the landing. She smiled knowingly and headed towards her room.
Without looking back, she called out. "Goodnight L. And Bryce? Peter is waiting downstairs to say goodbye."
She closed her bedroom door behind her.
"I think that's my cue to go," Bryce said with a chuckle, though L could tell he didn't really want to.
L wouldn't admit it, but she was a little thankful that Mr and Mrs Worcester had made the decision for her. She had no idea what she would have chosen for herself, and that worried her.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course, I'm needed for clean up duty, remember?" He smirked, pecked her on the cheek, and strode downstairs.
L finally had the chance to catch her breath. She had to resist the urge to go after him and pull him back. She stepped into her room and closed the door. She quickly got ready for bed, but her recent bout of euphoria dimmed when she spotted the book on the floor by her wardrobe. She didn't have the energy or the motivation to study it again tonight. She reluctantly picked it up and placed it back on her desk.
The bent pages stuck out at strange, uncomfortable angles. L had never been much of a bookworm, but they bothered her enough that she had to set them right. She leaned over and smoothed out each of the pages, hoping they hadn't been ripped where the writing was. She was just about to smooth the first page of writing when she stopped, her hand hovering over the paper.
She stared hard at the text, almost squinting in her effort to make sense of what she was seeing. She turned the book upside down, and what she was seeing began to make sense. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but when they did, she realised there was a whole other message hidden in the passages she'd been studying. It was upside down and written in a way that hid them among the original writing.
L never would have seen it had it not been for the bent pages. The word 'find' had somehow been stowed inside the word 'pugnacious', and so on. L kept reading, some words were inside longer ones, and others were easier to find in the same number of letters. There was a whole passage, a message just for her, and it told her exactly what she needed to do. L was so excited she could barely contain herself.
She had to find Bryce, she couldn't sleep on it. She quickly changed into her Keeper clothes, grabbed the book, and headed for the window. She didn't want to wake Mr and Mrs Worcester; she'd tell them in the morning. She floated down to the ground with ease and set off running, swift, and silent. She dashed through the length of the base until she reached Bryce's place.
She'd never known him to have his own place until they came to Lymasia. It was a one storey cottage where he stayed alone, though it wasn't far from Emilia's. L had only visited his place once or twice, but she noticed that he didn't decorate with any personal touches; as though he didn't think of it as his home. L could understand that since she'd felt the same about the numerous foster homes she'd lived in.
However, living with the Worcesters felt different. They were her family, and so home was wherever they were. Except, now she had a real shot at finding the rest of her family, her parents, wherever they may be. She ran up to Bryce's door and knocked quietly enough that only he should hear it. She heard movement inside, Bryce making his way through the cottage to the door. He must have just been about to go to sleep because he was dressed in a pair of shorts and nothing else.
L was momentarily sidetracked by his shirtless torso, perfectly contoured, pale muscles stared back from his lean frame. L wasn't usually distracted by the male physique, but this was Bryce, and after their previous encounter, she felt her heart rate pick up exponentially.
Bryce smirked knowingly and arched his brow, "Weren't you supposed to be going to bed? I don't need to be in trouble with the Worcesters right now, or Emilia, or Edra, for that matter."
Bryce's words managed to snap L out of her daze. She shook her head and tried to look only at his face- not that that helped much.
"No, I didn't come here to pick up where we left off. I need to show you something."
She held up the book, and Bryce's expression immediately sobered. He gestured for her to come in, and L passed through the doorway. Lights flickered on, and L made her way into the sparsely furnished living room, placing the book on the empty coffee table. She moved around, about to explain to Bryce what she'd found when she was distracted once again by his topless form.
She sighed deeply, hiding a smile.
"Would you please put a t-shirt on, or something? I need to concentrate."
Bryce laughed heartily, and a blue t-shirt suddenly appeared in his hands. He put it on with a smirk and then joined her around the table. Now that she could focus, L showed him what she'd come across back in her room. To her surprise, however, Bryce couldn't see what she was seeing.
"It just looks like backwards, upside down letters to me, L."
L frowned and looked back at the passage. She could read it almost without trying now. How could he not see it?
"Maybe it's just another Keeper talent, seeing things in a different way. You did say your parents wanted to make sure only you could follow their instructions. Tell me what it says."
L considered the possibility that he was right and read the passage aloud to him.
"'Hello, our darling, our sweet L. Please. ignore the previous text. That was a diversion should anyone but our daughter, a Keeper, find this book. Now that you have this book, we need you to look for Sully, he's a Leprechaun- that was stretched over three words, so it was a bit tricky to figure out. Anyway- head north, and he'll undoubtedly seek you out, he will take you to the creature that knows our location. But be careful, it won't be as easy as simply asking. This creature is complicated. It's not something you'll have faced or have prior knowledge. You'll have to do exactly what it says, and then it will help you.' And that's where it gets confusing, but this is great, right?"
L peered at Bryce, who seemed to be chewing over what she'd just read.
"It doesn't give us much information about who we might be dealing with, and Leprechauns can be extremely mischievous. But yes, it's a great starting point and we can head north first thing tomorrow. If you're ready?"
L couldn't answer at first. She was a little shell-shocked that this was finally happening after weeks of failing to find anything useful. But she was ready, more than ready. It was time to find her parents once and for all.
"Yes, we'll leave tomorrow. I'll let Robbie know what I've found once I get back to the house. Are Gart and Lort still mad they're not coming?"
"No, they don't really hold grudges. Emilia was the challenging one to tell, I could have sworn she wanted to hit me with the side of her sword at one point." Bryce laughed, glancing through the walls in the direction of Emilia's house.
"But she got over it?"
"She did. She understands that a smaller team will be able to move faster. And we don't know how long we'll be gone. She wouldn't cope with being away from Illiana indefinitely."
"So just the four of us then. I hope Nyla knows what she's let herself in for."
They shared a chuckle, and L glanced down at the journal again, tracing the L shaped title on the cover.
"We'll find them, L, I know we will. Just... be prepared, okay?"
Bryce placed a hand over hers. She knew he was just trying to help, but she didn't want to think of the state her parents might be in when they got there. All she wanted was to focus on getting to them; if she thought any further than that, she may never leave Bryce's cottage.
But she did, she said goodnight again, pecking Bryce on the cheek this time and she left. She sprinted silently across the base and reached the garden gate in seconds. The figure climbing the low hanging roof, however, was less silent and sounded more like a baby elephant thudding his way across the slates. L smirked to herself and floated up behind Robbie.
"And what do you think you're doing?"
Robbie almost toppled down the side of the roof, he spun around, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed with colour.
"L! You scared me half to death! What are you doing out here?"
"I asked you first, although from the look of you, I think I can guess."
L giggled when more colour flushed Robbie's cheeks, more heat than ever radiated from him, and only made her laugh more.
"Okay, so your turn, what are you doing?"
"It's a long story. Let's get inside, and I'll explain everything."
L followed Robbie into his pristine room, where every item had its place, and there were no clothes hanging around- unlike L's room, which was more of an organised mess. She held the book out and tried to show Robbie what she'd found, except he couldn't see it either. It must have been only Keeper eyes that could make it out. She went on to tell him what it said and what she and Bryce had discussed. Robbie was pumped by the time she finished, gesturing towards the window.
"Let's go now. Why wait until morning?"
"Woah, cool your jets, we need time to sleep and pack supplies. I also don't think your parents would be pleased if we disappeared in the middle of the night. Look, I've waited this long to find them, I can wait a few more hours."
It took several minutes, but Robbie finally agreed to wait, and L left his room to return to her own. She placed the journal on her desk and got ready for bed. Once she'd climbed in, she stared over at the side of the book when her head hit the pillow. She was going to do it, she was actually going to find her parents.
She had her instructions and those she trusted around her; the message said it won't be easy, but nothing in L's life ever had been. Not living with other families, not finding out who she really was, not even living her day to day life was easy.
She could do this. She had to do this. Her thoughts began to topple over one another, and she felt herself drifting to sleep, holding onto the one thought that lingered above all of the others. She may actually get to meet her parents soon.