Chapter 15. Compliments

SETH'S Point of View

I wasn't expecting this at all. Mom's pregnant.

I hope it's a boy though. Don't get me wrong, I love my sisters I just want more boys in the palace. As for what creature the baby's gonna be, that's gonna be hard to decide.

Pure beings; also called celestials, can take any form and project any power. Which means the baby could be anything, even a hybrid. I just hope he doesn't get the genes for darkness from my Dad.

I plunged into my self-conscience.

Reichert had been bugging the hell outta me. We agreed I'd have a lesson every Tuesday but right now Melody's in the palace, it's not a surprise the lessons entirely skipped my mind.

He even came in my dreams after we returned from Capefrost. Seriously, Dude.

"Sensei."

"Seth you better step up, flaunting lessons will not be taken lightly."

"I'm sorry."

Reichert sighed and stroked his beard.

"Today, I will teach you breath control."

"What's that?"

"Normal breathing mingled with spiritual awakening. Taking a deep breath amidst a battle can shield you from getting lacerations. If you step into a furnace or even a burning building you won't get any burns, with proper breath control a bullet will turn to ashes immediately if it gets at least a centimeter from your body."

***

I couldn't find Melody anywhere. Tomorrow was our hundredth anniversary. Yup, it had already been over a hundred days since I asked Melody to be my girlfriend. Coincidentally My Dad's birthday was the day after.

"Tiger, have you seen Melody?"

"Yeah, I saw her earlier with Princess Sage and Skipper."

Thank goodness it's both of them, it'd be a disaster if she was off with just Skipper. I still hadn't recovered from their sparring match yesterday. Melody had never mentioned anything to me about her being a black belt in BJJ; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

A sport we'd inculcated from Earth. She faced her stoutly, she was even able to pin Skipper to the ground. It was only for a few seconds but- damn, that girl hits hard.

"Do you know where they went?"

"No, I didn't go with them."

I raked my hand through my hair, ruffling up my thick bangs.

I'll go to Skipper's weaponry first. It's her prized possession and I know it should have made Melody curious. I was barely down the fleet of stairs when I felt someone take my hand from behind.

"Melody you..."

My sentence was cut short by her appearance. She'd added rose gold highlights to her hair. It brought out her eyes that were glistening a watery Jade green. She wasn't in her regular rumper and sneakers. She wore a color block cardigan, a denim mini skirt and thigh-high boots.

"I guess I made you speechless."

She sounded cocky and yet her smile cropped up as she pecked me.

"Wow, what's with the sudden change babe? I'm guessing Skipper invited you to get your hair done and then you went out shopping with Sage?"

"Hmm, you were so close. Hair was Skipper's idea but the clothes were from your Mom."

She giggled when my eyes broadened.

Mom? Again?

She pulled me in for a selfie.

"You look like some bad boy in this black leather jacket, I'm making it my lock screen wallpaper."

I just watched her, she looked more beautiful every day.

"You must have been popular in high school or something."

I concluded. I mean the girl could pull off almost any outfit flawlessly. She's drop-dead gorgeous and has such a nice voice.

"What makes you think I was popular?"

"Are you kidding?"

I laughed.

"Acute sense of perkiness…"

"Hey!"

"Overdeveloped sense of enthusiasm…"

She folded her arms.

"You make me sound like I'm so fun to be around."

She stated doubtful but she waited to hear what I'll say next.

"Captivating eyes."

Melody couldn't resist the temptation to roll them.

"What has my eyes got to do with it?"

I stared into space thinking as I ticked off an invisible list.

"Let me finish. Daring."

Melody leaned in.

"Hold it right there buddy, did you just say I'm daring?"

The unbelief was evident in her voice but her eyes conveyed another thought. She actually wanted to believe she was. I matched in another quarter inch until our noses were slightly touching.

"With a capital D," She blinked.

"You're smiling."

My eyes had studied her eyes then dropped to her lips.

"Am I ?"

She touched a finger to her lips and found that it was true.

My eyes narrowed.

"I missed one…"

"What?"

"Charming smile."

The flame in her sky blue eyes darkened to violet.

For some reason, my last compliment didn't garner the same reaction it had when I said she was daring.

Why not? She held my gaze for a while.

"Tomorrow is our…"

"Hundredth day anniversary."

My smile slipped up a notch.

"The day after is actually Dad's birthday and a public holiday, but we'll be traveling to Oceana tomorrow. I was wondering if I'd take you out shopping today to get some swimsuits."

I looked up to see the now red Melody.

***

We arrived at Oceana at half passed seven in the morning. The plane took off at ten last night. The hotel we were staying in was just a waterfall away from the one My parents spent their honeymoon in.

True to its name, Oceana was a nation that held most of the planet's water benders and water-related creatures. The seven seas were inspected and cleaned here, and it was summer all year round.

Mum had planned Dad's birthday party since last year. So I'm sure she was busy setting everything setup. While my sisters sunbathed, I slipped out with Melody.

I planned to take her to the beach, get a couple's spa day and then some Oceanside cuisine afterwards.

***

At the beach, I returned with two coconut drinks.

Melody was already twisting her hair into a silky rope and threading it through the hole in her ball cap.

Her smile tipped in my direction.

"You're back."

She sipped from hers and moaned in delight. Her reaction sent me running for cover- away from her infectious grin and satin smooth touch of her hand.