The Heiress of Aragon

"Come on, Velitha, I don't want to be late!"

"It's still early!"

"It's not too early for someone whose time is limited! I want to make the most of this freedom, this anonymity. You have no idea what it will be like!" Said my depressed sister.

She's right; I have no idea what my life will be like in three months. That's a life my sister knows well. As I finish getting ready, I think about the life I'm leaving behind and the one that awaits me.

I am the only child of my parents, the only child from a completely different family. My mother is from another planet. It sounds like a joke when I say it out loud, and I wouldn't dare say it in front of other people, except for my own family.

When my mother was young, she came to Earth. Like most children from noble families in Aragon, she came to live anonymously on Earth after mandatory military service. The purpose was for them to learn to live without the privileges they had back home and to evolve as individuals. In most cases, it had a positive impact, teaching them to take responsibility for their actions and realizing that they were not the center of the universe.

Upon her arrival, my mother enrolled at a university where she met my father. They fell deeply in love, but like all passionate relationships, the flame eventually began to fade, and they broke up before my mother even realized she was pregnant.

Shortly after, my mother fell seriously ill, making it impossible for her to return to Aragon. Her brother, who is a doctor, along with another noble doctor named Haron, came to Earth to assess the situation. By the time they arrived, my mother had already discovered her pregnancy. Aragonese women typically have pregnancies that last about twelve months, but my mother was already halfway through and her weak body struggled to carry the pregnancy to term. Her grandfather wanted her to have an abortion, but she refused. Although my uncle was in favor of it, knowing the slim chances of my survival, he couldn't go against my mother's will.

Needless to say, the situation was extremely worrisome. Medical examinations were challenging with the limited resources available on Earth. Reports of pregnancies between different races hadn't presented as many complications. They decided to track down my father and conducted a comprehensive checkup to understand the nature of the fetus growing in my mother's womb and how it affected her health.

My mother believed that once I was born, she could return to Aragon with me. However, her grandfather strongly opposed this idea. Unmarried individuals, both male and female, were not allowed to have children in the place where my mother was born, especially considering she was the King's granddaughter. Haron proposed to my mother. As the ruling prince of one of Aragon's five principalities, marrying him would grant me legitimacy and a rightful place in the family. I know, you're probably wrinkling your nose at this point, and I don't blame you. They got married, and my mother managed to carry the pregnancy to ten months-earlier than ideal, but enough for me to be born healthy and for her to recover. Everything went according to plan until they realized that I was completely human. I could never live in Aragon, where everything was inhospitable for a human. So, I was left in the care of my father.

" Excellent! You look beautiful. Come on!"

My sister snapped me out of my daydreams, and there I was, ready for our friends' graduation party, determined to make the most of the time and freedom that being anonymous afforded me.

******

"It's no surprise how beautiful you are, but why is it that every time I see you, you look prettier?" This was Lucas, my current boyfriend. He was handsome, polite, and very smart - the kind of boyfriend every girl dreamed of having. He was in his second year of medical school. I confess that I liked him, but he expected more from me than I could offer.

"Lucas..." I started, feeling my sister fulminating me. Today would be the day I broke up with him. My sister had warned me to wait until the party was over and not to spoil everyone's fun. At that moment, she was looking at me with those black eyes, and I knew she was reinforcing this information. So, I smiled and asked him to dance. It would be difficult to break up with him; he really liked me and hoped we had a future together. But I knew since I started this relationship that my hours on Earth were numbered.

On the way home, while my sister was driving, I brooded over the breakup and questioned a thousand things I could have said differently to end it in a less painful way.

"Nothing you said would change the situation, Veh. Stop grieving about it," my sister blurted out suddenly. She knew exactly how I was feeling.

"Easy to say, Brindha, that wasn't you breaking up!"

"It wasn't me breaking his heart into a million pieces..."

"Arghhhh!"

"...but did you forget that I felt everything you and he were feeling? I mean, it's never easy for me either."

"You know, sometimes I think you're a sociopath and enjoy the suffering of others," I said.

"It seems that way, but let's be serious here. We're only nineteen; it's not like it's a love for life. Two weeks from now, he's over you." My sister was a staunch skeptic waiting for the arranged marriage she would have. She didn't care about love or romantic things.

"Glad we're here! This little talk of yours is making me nauseous."

We entered the house and found our father preparing one of his protein shakes in the blender.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Half past five in the morning," my sister answered, sitting on the chair near the bench and throwing her shoes on the floor.

"Are my girls hungry?"

"No, but I want to eat something with a lot of calories," I said sullenly.

"What happened to her?" my father asked, looking at Brindha.

"She broke up with her boyfriend."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" I groaned, banging my head on the counter.

"Are you all right, dear? I thought it wasn't that serious, you know..."

"That's not the point, Dad!" I interrupted him before he said out loud what he thought - that I knew I had little time when I started dating. I really didn't need to hear this right now; I already felt like crap.

"Do you know what it's like to feel everything the other person is feeling? As if it wasn't enough to deal with my turmoil of emotions, I still need to deal with his? That's not fair!"

"I'm sorry, honey. It really isn't. I'll make your favorite pancakes. Go upstairs, take a shower, and when you come down, breakfast will be ready."

I dragged myself upstairs, thinking about how much I would miss my father. He always tried to cheer me up. My sister hugged me as we walked up the stairs; she was the only one who knew exactly how I was feeling.

As I took a shower, I thought about the challenges my father faced while raising me and how strong he was in dealing with a different and unexpected child at such a young age. When I was only two weeks old, my mother's health condition, despite being stable, was critical. They decided to risk the trip back to Aragon, where there were necessary resources for her to recover. I was given to the care of my father and my aunt Minah, who was the person my mother trusted the most besides her own brother.

My mother only agreed to return to Aragon after her arrival and still had to be convinced that she would not live to see my first year of life if she refused to return.

My father, despite being scared of finding himself responsible for a child at twenty years old, did very well. He went to college in the morning and took care of me in the afternoon and at night. He managed to finish college with honors and expand the family business, all with a daughter in his arms. Several times, I remember going to the company with him and causing terror in the office. My uncle, my mother, and my stepfather, whom I started calling "appa," which means "father" in the Aragonese language, were constant figures in my house. I could always count on them, and I grew up very happy and surrounded by love.

My mother's grandfather passed away before I was three, which made my mother's father the King. With the passing of my great-grandfather, it became easier for my parents and uncles to visit me, and they could spend more time with me.

When I was around eight years old, I had an accident. I went through a glass door that shattered on top of me. I should have been seriously injured, but that's not what happened. My family realized at that time that I no longer had only human characteristics. My uncle started some tests, and it was no surprise to find that my skills were equivalent to any Aragonese child my age. This started a difficult fight, as it indicated that I could live in Aragon, but I was unwilling to leave my father.

My mother and my appa decided to make my existence in Aragon clear so that I could live there as their daughter when I was older, since that was now a possibility. That's how I lived my life until six years ago when my mother came to visit with a surprise.

"Ready!" My dad yelled from downstairs, and I snapped out of my daydreams and headed down to breakfast.

Brindha was already eating a cup of unsweetened tea and some cut fruit and vegetables. As an Aragonese, she couldn't afford to eat anything I loved. My human side was kind to me; I was able to digest any food no matter how crappy it was, which was great because I loved to eat. My dad made a huge plate of pancakes with homemade strawberry jam and a poached egg. It might sound weird, but it's delicious. To go with it, my favorite comfort drink, homemade hot chocolate.

"Want to talk about it?" My father questioned, watching me.

"Sincerely? No, I just want to sleep and think about it with a clear head."

"OK! I'm here if you want to talk! On any subject. I'm going to run, put the dishes in the sink, and what's left in the fridge. When I get back, I hope you two are sleeping. Oh! By the way, my girlfriend is coming

Friday felt like a lost day, and before I knew it, Saturday had arrived. I woke up with a strange feeling, sensing that there was someone I didn't know in our house. Brindha, my sister, can always sense my emotions as soon as I wake up. She casually chats with the guest, whom I consider a traitor, while my anger starts to surface. Just as I'm feeling the anger, I receive a message on my cell phone: "Remember: be happy, move on!" It feels like a slap in the face, delivered via text. I get up and head to the shower, as nothing resets my mind better than cold water.

I put on a denim skirt and a light-colored blouse, then head downstairs, unable to contain my curiosity. My father didn't say anything about her, and he knows me well enough to understand that every word he utters will be analyzed thoroughly. So, he chose to leave us in the dark, letting us draw our own conclusions.

"Good morning!" I greet as soon as I enter the kitchen area. Our house has a large living room and an integrated kitchen, with a glass door at the back leading to the pool and barbecue area.

"Good afternoon," replies my mischievous sister, enjoying my nervousness. My father enters through the glass doors, holding a plate in his hand.

"Good morning, princess!" he greets me with a kiss on the cheek. I prepare myself to feel his girlfriend's emotions, but it's strange. She doesn't seem jealous or possessive. I look at my sister, who shrugs, understanding my unspoken question about whether she is controlling our visitor's emotions. Apparently, she's not. My father introduces us.

"Velitha, this is Amanda. Amanda, meet my eldest daughter, Velitha."

"Nice to meet you, Velitha! I've been looking forward to meeting you both. You look even prettier in person than in the pictures," she says with a smile, seeming sincere. Usually, when someone says something like that, it's full of envy, but that's not the case here.

"Thanks! On the other hand, I haven't heard anything about you," I say, giving my dad a judgmental look. Amanda laughs and responds, "Arthur said he didn't say anything about me, that he'd rather let you judge for yourselves. I have to admit, that scared me a little!"

"You're beautiful as well. Don't worry, we're not as bad as my dad tries to make us out to be," I assure her. However, when it comes to her ability to make my father happy, I decide to reserve judgment for the days ahead.

"Arthur showed me some pictures of you when you were younger. You look so alike and yet so different. How is that possible?" Amanda asks.

"Didn't you tell her?" I inquire, looking at my father.

"What?" he pretends not to understand.

"That we're not biological sisters," I clarify.

"Oh, that? I don't think it came up," he says with a shrug. I know he doesn't like to talk about it. Since Brindha arrived, he has treated her as his own biological daughter, for better or for worse, as my mother used to say.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to cause any embarrassment. Can we just pretend I didn't say anything?" Amanda says nervously.

I start to feel sorry for her. My dad really left her walking on thin ice. I just wanted to know if he did it on purpose. I look at him, trying to understand his intention.

"Don't worry!" Brindha approaches and speaks. "It's not a secret or anything like that. Our father doesn't talk about it, as for him, there is no difference between us, and sometimes he forgets that it might be strange to other people. We are distant cousins; my grandmother and Velitha's great grandmother were sisters. Our families have always been very close. When we were almost fourteen, I came to visit Velitha and stayed."

"Wow! I don't think I've ever heard a story like that. Don't you miss your family?" Amanda asks curiously.

"I miss them, but I love the peace of mind I have here. I have four older sisters, and if I went back, I would miss it here. It's complicated," Brindha replies.

"In three months, we'll go back there," I say to myself.

"Yes, in three months, we will return. Velitha moves in with her mother, and I go back to the chaos of my home," Brindha says.

"Really? Didn't you say you like it here?" Amanda asks.

"It's complicated, but we have to go back. Where I come from, when we turn twenty, we start college, and we have to do our mandatory military service," Brindha explains.

"Okay, let's talk about something lighter!" My father interjects.

I know this subject makes him nervous and afraid, however much he tries to take it lightly.

"Velitha, come here, I think the fire has risen higher than expected," my father says.

"Again, Dad!" I run to rescue the meat before it becomes something inedible.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly as we chat about random topics.