In two days, Freyja, Alaric, and Kirin were finally scheduled to leave Hawsdark. Kirin, worried of what Kristril might do, left her mansion and rented a room in an inn in a nearby town.
The morning was colder than usual, the winter season in the country was coming after all. Freyja woke up unusually late. After spending the day like usual, reading a book and doing quick exercise and aura training, she headed to the nearby woods for a jog, not saying a word to anyone. But she left a note saying she'll be back before sunset.
Freyja sat with Astrid in his human form, by the river in peaceful silence. She wanted to call Aria too, but she didn't have enough aura control to do that.
"Hey Astrid, do you know that today is my birthday?" She playfully slapped his arm. "You mean, the same day you were born?"
Freyja softly smiled. "Yeah. The day I was born, and the same day I ran away from Celestia."
Freyja pulled a long, lighting crystal from her pocket and stuck it on the ground. She used a portion of her aura to light the crystal. She closed her eyes and put her palms together. Quietly, she prayed.
After a long moment of silence, she finally turned to Astrid. "Do you know why I'm praying?" She asked with a grin. "I do." He is certain. Freyja laughed, and then, she reached for his cold hand.
"There are so many horrible things that happened on this day." Freyja took a deep breath before continuing. "And I knew nothing of these for the past thirteen years. I celebrated this day without knowing what really happened." Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"Alfiore, Reyrah Fiega and all of Celestia will surely forgive you."
"But I can't forgive myself." She squeezed Astrid's hand, and let go, wiped her tears and turned her back. "Astrid, we're going to practice." She ordered, calling the celestial sword in her hand.
"Did you see that? I defeated Alfiore!" Little Freyja bragged after disarming her father. Kinju Alfiore sighed and smiled, "You are quite the ruthless girl aren't you... I wonder who you got it from?" He grinned, looking at Reyrah.
"I wonder?" Reyrah summoned a blazing fireball and threw it at Kinju without hesitations.
"Haaaa! Run Freyja!" Kinju playfully ran with his daughter while being chased by the furious Reyrah. "Run! Run!" Freyja chanted happily.
It was a happy memory until,
"On your birthday, I'm going to give this to you." Kinju let Freyja hold the Celestial's medallion, the symbol of the absolute ruler of Celestia and vessel of the five celestial guardians. She was ecstatic. "Wow! I want this!"
And then, on her birthday,
"You're going against ME!?" Kinju furiously hid Freyja behind him. Little Freyja peeked, but the traitor's face is still blurry in her memories. She couldn't remember who that person is at all. All she knew was that he's the one who killed her father, led the rebellion, and the reason why she's sent far away.
"Alfiore!"
"Ah!" Freyja breathed heavily, waking up from a nightmare. Her stomach grumbled. It's almost sunset and she hasn't eaten anything since falling asleep under a tree in the forest. Freyja rushed back to town, afraid that Kirin and Alaric might worry if she stayed out for much longer. But before she reached the inn, she passed by a group of little kids playing ball in the open fields. "Happy birthday!" The other kids happily greeted a boy. Freyja smiled. "Wow," She thought, "We have the same birthday."
"Congratulations, Lenfiare!"
Every year, the whole of Celestia celebrated her birthday in the grandest possible way, as a way of thanking the heavens for sending a vessel that would keep the Aura Core of the Kingdom alive. But, Freyja was never fond of those parties. Instead, she snuck out at every chance she got. "Bad Freyja..." She chuckled, remembering the last time she did, worrying everyone to death. Softly with her fingers, Freyja felt the the medallion hanging around her neck, tracing the wing crest pattern etched on it. For every crease, memories of her childhood in Celestia started flowing into her consciousness. Back then, she wanted nothing more but to have the medallion all to herself. She chuckled at the irony. Only if she could tell herself back then how much she wants it back to its previous owner. Is she being punished for her ambition? For her selfish desire to leave the capital? If she was never born, her father wouldn't have died and her mother would still have the power to lead the celestial army against the rebellion. Reyrah Fiega wouldn't have lost her greatest power and Alfiore Kinju would have never tarnished his reputation. But more than anything, what gives her pain is the inability to do anything about it.
Her birthday has never felt so cursed. It is the very reminder of what happened, just because she existed.
Boom! The loud bangs from the sky snapped her back to the present. Looking up, bright white and yellow and blue fireworks lit the pitch black sky. Her jaw dropped, amazed from the golden lights raining from the sky. A few more and the sky dimmed again. But before it totally grew quiet, one last firework surprised her. And that last firework rained down, forming a wing crest in the sky. It is the crest of Celestia, drawn beautifully in the night sky. "What the—" Tears won't stop flowing. Freyja sobbed, and sobbed, and all kinds of warmth just exploded inside her chest.
"Freyja."
For a second, she thought it was Alfiore who just called. But instead, Kirin appeared behind her. "Did you see that? Happy Birthday."
Wide-eyed, she was sure no one knew about her birthday. Conflicting feelings engulfed her chest. She's afraid, that if she allowed herself to be happy, she will bring misfortune to Kirin and that happiness would curse her and Celestia even more. Was she even allowed to celebrate?
"I have no idea how birthdays are supposed to be celebrated so I just asked the local fireworks store to..." Even before Kirin could finish, Freyja embraced him tight, without a single word.
"Happy Birthday. Though it might be a pretty reckless move on our part. We just revealed our location to Aethelmaer, don't you think?" He chuckled. Freyja nodded.
"Can I be this happy? Just this one time." She thought, burying her face deeper into his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm really, really happy today. I've never been happier." She hugged Kirin tighter. Kirin gently ran his fingers through her shoulder-length hair, feeling his shirt wet with tears. He didn't say anything more, and wrapped his arms around her. "If they come, we'll just have to beat them then." He assured.
When Kirin and Freyja headed back, the inn's staff, the innkeeper, and of course, Alaric were all standing there, waiting for the two impatiently. "You're late! Where have you been!? Anyway, we can start now!" Alaric opened the door and revealed a feast elegantly arranged on the wooden table. "I'm sorry Freyja, I didn't have much time to prepare. Good thing the innkeeper helped me out." Alaric shyly scratched the back of his neck.
"Happy fourteenth birthday Freyja!" They are all smiles.
The innkeeper served a triple layered cake. "This young man over here is a good cook, isn't he?" He praised the bashful Alaric, "Well, I did it with your help mister." He replied.
They laughed, ate, and the innkeeper even opened his reserved hall where they all celebrated, danced, sung. Freyja has never had a party this cheerful before, and she got it the least she expected it. Freyja couldn't thank them all enough.
"I'm sure your mother and father wants you to be happy. So do them a favor." Kirin said, sitting beside her. He looked at her and smiled, as if reading her thoughts up to the very last word. She nodded, finally with a genuine happy smile. "Thank you, Kirin."
It was Astrid, who told all of them about her birthday.
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