No Better Than The Beasts

Chapter 35- Happy Birthday

(I just thought that this video was appropriate.)

Night had passed and the Sun was shining. Barely any snow had fallen that night, so the ground could be seen and some grass was shown. The winds had stilled to a breeze and, though the deciduous trees were bare, the evergreens stood tall and proud against the spotted sky. It was a beautiful day for February- even some birds had started singing!

It was a perfect day for David to wake up to, especially since it was his birthday. He had dreamed many dreams of waking up and there Nathan was, waiting for him at the door, just before swooping down and kissing him. At least, until he told himself to stop expecting the unexpected. He had no clue who he was going to end up with today, but meeting his soulmate was not his main priority.

Okay, maybe it was.

But as he woke up, his main priority was to get dressed and get hygienic. So, he went through his drawers, picking out the nicest dress shirt he had, which coincidently happened to be a white button-up that Nathan had given to him earlier in his stay at the castle. Just holding it made the Leshy giddy and giggly; he held the shirt up to his nose and took a big whiff of it.

Smells like laundry, David concluded, Smells good. I wonder if this is how Nathan smells.

David immediately backtracked.

Wait, no. That's weird! Just put on the shirt, David, he thought to himself, He might not even be your soulmate!

His Leshy hmm-ed in agreement in his mind.

So, David buttoned up the shirt and looked into the mirror on the dresser. He looked drained of color: bleach-blond hair, grey eyes, and pale skin, all matched with a white shirt. He wondered if he was good enough for his soulmate- for a spilt-second, before shaking his head.

Your soulmate will love you, no matter what, David repeated, for what seemed the hundredth time in his life. With so much ridicule from werewolves and other Leshiye in the past, it was often hard for David to keep his self-esteem, but he found that repeating that mantra helped a lot.

The more you say it, the more you believe it, or so he theorized. 

Nathan's room was not far from David's, so, after he got dressed, the Leshy quickly hurried out of his room and walked down the hallway full of guest rooms. If Nathan was his soulmate, he wanted to find out as soon as possible. He got to the king's door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

No one answered.

Now confused, David knocked again, this time, harder.

When no one answered, David decided to open the door. 

The bed was empty.

"Nathan?" David called, wondering if this was a joke or a surprise or something. He did not find it funny. Aswangs had threatened to kill one man per day-what if Nathan got kidnapped, or even worse? 

"Nathan?!" David called, now extremely worried. The Aswangs got passed his defenses once, and they could probably do it again. However, David was a very emotional person, and if he didn't have an answer soon, tears would fall. If Nathan got hurt- he would never forgive himself.

"David?" said a voice behind him- Jeanie Katz. She was standing at the doorway, looking confused. A new tattoo had appeared on her since David had last seen her- two rings locked with each other drawn life-sized on her shoulder. A simple design that probably signaled her upcoming marriage with her fiance.

"Jeanie! Have you seen Nathan? He wasn't here and he usually wakes up later than I d-" 

"Relax, Bambi," Jeanie soothed, "He told me that he was going out early to get you a present so he can get back in time for your birthday celebration. Don't stress, mess. Also, I'm supposed to be distracting you for a surprise, but how about this? You pretend to be surprised when we get there, and you get to hang out with moi for three hours! It's practically a win-win situation if you ask me."