Celebrating Birthdays

Aisha cupped her elbow with one hand as she tapped her pressed lips with the other.

There were times that the King felt like he was a human just like her. But there were also moments where he seemed to be different. It was as if he was just hiding the beast inside him.

"I will surely find out. I'm going to be his wife very soon. I really hope he's not a vampire or something. How old is the King anyway?" She asked the female servants who were helping her get dressed at that moment.

She tilted her body to them.

"With his looks, he seemed to be almost a decade older than me," She muttered to herself as she gazed at herself in the mirror.

She couldn't help but feel elated by what she saw. She was wearing a different kind of tunic. One which seemed to be made from the finest clothing material.

"I look like a princess," she couldn't help but blurt out as she admired her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a blossomed flower warmed in the summer sun.

"You're more than a princess, my lady. You're going to be the queen. You will be the Chosen One," Rosalia responded with proud, gleaming eyes. "About your question, we don't know his age. We don't celebrate his birthday every year."

Her mouth fell open as she gave her an incredulous look.

She ignored the Chosen One line, as she really didn't want it. She's just going along for the sake that she has a place to stay here in the Castle where it is safe.

But she was surprised that the Gaeans didn't celebrate the King's birthday, and they have no idea about its date in the calendar.

"What? How come? As far as I know, King's birthdays usually are a grand event for every kingdom. It is like celebrated by the kingdom with parties for one whole week or something," she blabbed as she recalled the drama series that she watched on Netflix.

"I heard it's because the King doesn't know his birthday. The Great Theos brought him here as a boy already," one of the servants whispered to her.

"No, it's because he doesn't really die. He has lived here for centuries. My great-grandmother told me," one of them overheard, and cleared the information to Aisha.

"Well, I wished it was the latter. If it was the former, that would be very sad," she quibbled.

"Wait, if what you said is true. Then the King must have lived for a thousand years! Oh my! He could not be a vampire!" she covered her plump cheeks with her palms.

Aisha shook her head to get her brain straight. "I will certainly know for sure. For now, let's get out of this room and enjoy the fresh autumn air."

All the servants bowed down to her as she stood up and left her Chamber.

There were also other ladies in waiting outside her Chamber who followed her as she walked out, making Aisha shake her head, "I really cannot escape my fate now."

As they were walking, Rosalia continued to chat with her. "By the way, my lady. How about you? Do you recall what your birthday is? How do you celebrate it?"

She asked in a gleeful manner, as if she was really interested to know more about her lady.

Aisha's eyes glowed at the mention of her birthday. She immediately rushed to share her experience.

"Well, it's six months from now. It's on March 17. And I usually celebrate it with my friends and my…" She stopped mid-sentence as she recalled that everything was just a front.

Every year, she would travel out of the country with Jake, Melissa, Norman and Nadine, thinking that they were somehow real friends who wanted to celebrate her special day with her.

"Since when are they waffling on me?" Aisha sighed as she recalled the last moments that she had with him.

Her lips pressed tight as she hung her head.

She wanted to ignore it, so she could preserve her happy life. But it was really breaking her heart every time she remembered it.

Just then, they passed by a bird who was humming a melodious tune. It was unlike the usual hum of birds in her own world. It was as if the bird was singing a song to cheer her up, lightening up her mood.

"I apologize for asking, my lady. You must have missed them," Rosalia sniffed as she laid her hand on her breastbone.

"Miss? Of course not!" Aisha quickly tilted her chin. "Maybe I'm just missing the fun that we have together," she reassured herself, not wanting to admit that she missed the feeling of belonging to a group that welcomes her. Even if it's just a facade.

"Don't worry, my lady. We will do our best to make your living here in Gaea as fun and enjoyable as your own world," Rosalia gave her a warm smile, melting Aisha's heart.

Rosalia has been nice to her, ever since her foot stepped in the Castle. She really wished that she was different from her friends. And she hoped that the King was not like Jake.

She has enough of them.

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"Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth."

― Janet Evanovich