Birthday Celebration For Jess
POV: Alexandra
We all gathered for dinner of Jess’ choice, she chose a dish from Terre called Beef Wellington with a side of veggies. She had to give the chef the recipe upon our arrival so they could make it for her tonight. We all sat around the table conversing with each other about the day we had. Lucien was looking over at me and I looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back, “Alexandra, how was the lake?” I swallowed the bite of pastry-wrapped beef that had been in my mouth, “It was a gorgeous view and the cool air coming off the lake was so refreshing. How was the meadow?” He took a sip of his wine, “We gathered the flowers here on the table.” I looked over at the vase that housed a beautiful bouquet of blue and yellow flowers. These were Jess’ favorite colors and I smiled over at her, “They’re beautiful.” She looked at the flowers then back at me, “Oh, thanks. I gathered them because both of them signify together friendship and peace which is the theme of the gathering here. Wouldn’t you agree?” I nodded at her, “I think so. We came here for the peace of the retreat and all gathered here are friends.” I took a quick glance at Litha because I was still skeptical as to whether or not I could trust her or call her friend.
After dinner, we went over to the ballroom to have a little party for Jess. Everyone had left their gifts here before we had left for dinner. All seven of the gifts were sitting on a small table to the side. Lucien had a table set up with punch and cake with a little placard that indicated that Vanessa had set up the party for him. I smiled over at him upon reading the placard. Party planning had been Vanessa’s hobby that she very much enjoyed. She was good at it too since the room was decorated in yellow and blue. There was nice music playing in the background and we all stood around talking about life in general and the gossip of Tarn amongst the nobles. The latest conversation had fallen on how Lady Kastilidan was so upset with her ranking that she had locked herself in her room for a day and a half. No one but Lucien felt bad for her. I believe she might have gotten some sort of sympathy but Blake remarked about how he was told by an Elder that she was making disparaging remarks about me. This elicited no sympathy from Blake and the rest had hopped on the bandwagon. Lucien felt bad that this competition caused anyone to fret in general. Blake looked at me and asked, “So Alexandra, you’re the one she was talking so badly about. What is your opinion?” I shrugged, “I kinda feel for her because she’s friends with Melody. I believe she’s letting Melody’s opinion of me form her own opinion of me.” Blake shook his head, “If only I could see things through your lovely eyes. I would not look so harshly at the world. She definitely deserved her ranking.” Lucien smiled at me, “I find that your magnanimous attitude towards your rivals to be a very good character trait.”
A while later we ate the cake which was Jess’ favorite lemon with lemon curd filling. It was very delicious but I wasn’t really much of a cake person. I was more interested in her opening her presents because I wanted to see what she thought of the gift I had made her. After she was done eating her second slice of cake, she walked over to the gift table and took a seat next to it. I had volunteered to hand her the gifts. I plucked the small box that was wrapped in yellow paper and handed it to her, “I’d like you to open mine first.” She took the small gift from me and smiled, “Thanks Xan. I was actually wanting to open yours first.” She unwrapped the gift to find a white jewelry box within then opened the box to reveal a thumb ring. She put it on, widened her eyes, and smiled at me, “I can feel your warmth.” I nodded, “I made it with the assistance of Vanessa and Mordred. I imbued a small bit of my Healing Heart ability in it. This should help you to heal when you’re in battle. It’s also inscribed with our initials and the infinite symbol for best friends forever.” She wrapped her other hand around the one that housed the ring and squeezed it to her chest, “That’s very thoughtful Xan. Thank you.” I walked back over to the table and took the gold package from the table and knew instantly that it was from Lucien. I handed it to her, “This is from Lucien.” He gave her a necklace with a blue stone and a “J” etched deeply into the stone.” Next was a gift from Blake, he gave her a pretty sundress that was a light blue with yellow flowers and she promised to wear it on the date that they would inevitably have together before we left here. Litha gave her a stationary set to write to her father since she had told us at the first Queen competition event that she was running out and had intended to go buy some more. Alesha gave her some hairpins and barrettes that were very ornate that she could wear to various formal events. Meldon gave her a pair of earrings; he had said that when he saw the delicate dangly earrings that they reminded him of her. Derek was last but his gift was the biggest and heaviest. I brought it over to her and she opened it. It was a mahogany box and when she opened it, it had a few custom weapons in the velvet lining. She gasped and looked up at him, “Is this a Citadel kit?” He was beaming at her, “I had this made especially for you.”
I didn’t know the significance and I guess Jess knew that because she looked over at me, “A Citadel kit is something that a cadet’s senior gives to them when they feel that person is ready to be seriously trained. Usually, the kit is a very standard sword, knives, and various other weapons of their senior’s choice. This is custom made which makes it very special.” I looked down at the kit which had blue inlaid stones on hilts and “JJK” engraved on the blades. It must’ve taken him a while to get this done so I look over a Derek and smiled at him. He looked back at me and winked. Jess wiped away a tear and smiled at Derek, “This is a very lovely gift, Derek. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.” He smiled at her and said, “Just make sure to go on a date with me.” She blushed and looked down, “We will get to that up here.” He looked back at her and shook his head, “No I mean when we get back to Blackwood. I want you to be my pack date.” She gasped and looked at me panicked so I spoke for her, “Hmm, I don’t think you will get an answer just yet Derek. Can you allow us to discuss with her first?” He shrugged, “Sure, I get it. Girl talks and all that. Take your time on that Jess. I just think it could be fun on the next run.” She was breathing in deeply and trying to calm down the visible thump in her chest. She looked up at him and smiled, “I will think about it but I want to talk to my best friend about this. You know how significant that what you are asking is so I cannot take it lightly.” He shook his head, “Oh, nothing like that. I forgot that today was your of-age birthday. I hope you didn’t take it that way.” She was a bright red color at this point so I clapped my hands together and said, “And with that, I think we should get to the slumber party for the night.” Lucien nodded, “I think I agree, this got awkward pretty quick and I think Jess is on the verge of hyperventilation.” Meldon was off to the side stifling a giggle then our eyes met and we both nodded at each other. He said, “Right Lex, leave it to me.” Blake looked over at him confused, “What does that mean?” Meldon shrugged, “Something we discussed earlier. Don’t worry it’s nothing bad.” Blake narrowed his eyes at him, “That makes you more suspicious now.” I laughed, “It’s okay Blake, he’s just going to help his friend that’s all.” I swept Jess up to her feet and escorted her out of the room with Litha and Alesha following after. We all agreed to meet in Jess’ room after changing into their pajamas. I wore a teal satin tank top and teal satin shorts with a matching robe and slippers. The other girls had matching sets that I had purchased for them. Litha wore ivory; Alesha wore blue and Jess wore yellow. We all gathered into the room with some snacks and a huge pillow like a bed in the middle of the floor for all of us to sleep on. We all sat around lounging and getting comfortable. As soon as we all got settled into our spots, I looked over at Jess and said, “Okay, why is it that you freaked out earlier?”
