Discover L (Book 2) | Complete |

~ Full Of Surprises ~

"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.