Episode 7

When I said I was going North, Lucio kind of freaked out. Once he calmed down, I told him everything my mother had told us and also what I heard in my parents' room. He got kind of weird. After talking for a while, we said goodbye. I went to the training area and would stay there until lunch.

I had a strange feeling; on the way back home, I felt like something was about to happen.

I went into my room, showered, changed quickly, and went downstairs! Everyone was already there; the silence was embarrassing. After the dishes were cleared, I got up until I heard my father's thick voice.

"We need to tell you something!"

"Arthur." My mother's voice made me look at her; I felt like something was wrong.

"What's going on?" Hellen asked.

"Let's go to the office!" Dad said, and we all followed him.

When the door closed, I already felt that what was coming was going to break me.

"Helena? Let's go! Say it! Tell them, tell Arya." My father said without looking at me for a second, but unlike him, my sisters were looking at me with total confusion. My voice wouldn't come out. I swallowed hard and looked at my mother; she was shaking her head.

After a silence that seemed to last for hours, my father finally broke it.

"Arya, first, I want you to know that we never intended to hide something like this from you; we just never found the right time, and maybe there is no right time, but I want to make it clear that none of this matters; we love you."

"What are you talking about?" I finally managed to say, even with my heart wanting to jump out of my mouth.

"Arthur," My mother called him.

"She needs to know, Helena."

"All right, I'll tell her." My mother said as she paced back and forth.

"Mom?" I called to her, making her finally stop.

"When we came home that night, I was devastated by the loss of my son; I thought I was delirious, but when we got to the gates, the crying got louder."

"What crying?" Hanna asked.

"I got off my horse and walked a bit until I saw a basket a little way from the entrance. I'll never forget that night... I bent down, and there you were... Arya."

She looks at me; my sisters put their hands to their mouths, and a lone tear escapes my eyes.

"Me? No, that's not..." It was too much to process. I was incredulous at what I was hearing. I could only shake my head.

"You are our daughter; none of that matters," My father said as he walked towards me.

"Don't come near me. You weren't going to tell me? You didn't think I had the right to know?" I said, backing away.

"Honey, we just didn't want you to feel different," My mother says.

"Look at me; I'm already different. How could you hide this? Do our people know?"

"No. And it must stay that way." My father says, and we know that this is an order.

I started pacing back and forth; this can't be happening, I told myself mentally.

"I loved you from the moment I saw you; I didn't think twice about keeping you," My mother said through tears.

"I was nothing more than a consolation for your pain; you just wanted something so you wouldn't feel the loss of your son, and I was perfect, wasn't I?"

"Arya," Hanna says.

"What happened to Aaron?" I asked.

"He was cremated," My mother replies.

"Mom, when they found her, didn't she have anything with her?" Hellen asks.

"No, just a blanket."

"I can't, I can't do this, excuse me," I said and walked out of there quickly.

I went into the woods and ran among the trees, then I dropped to my knees and screamed as if that would end the pain I was feeling. I stayed there for a few minutes, then I texted my only friend.

📲Meet me at the lake, quick.

I got up and walked to the lake. Lucio was already waiting for me; as soon as he saw me, he ran and hugged me. I could stay in that hug for the rest of my life. Lucio was comforting.

"I'm a bastard, Lucio, my parents aren't my parents," I said between sobs.

He just hugged me tighter without saying a word. I knew he was that kind of friend, but only when I pulled away did I realize he wasn't surprised. I knew that look all too well.

Arya: You knew?

I took a few steps back.

"I found out a few days ago," He said, lowering his head.

"And you didn't think to tell me? What the hell, Lucio."

"I wanted to, Arya, I really wanted to, but my father made me promise; he said that only the Alpha could reveal the truth. My father helped yours hide everything that happened."

"I don't understand; why hide something like that?"

"I don't know either. It was my father who cremated Aaron and gave the ashes to your mother."

"What did your father tell you?"

"He told me that the night you showed up, something changed."

"What do you mean, changed?"

"He couldn't explain it to me, but he said that he felt a very bad feeling when he touched you. Well, your mother was devastated; the South was going through another crisis since the North had cut off relations. They couldn't attack the North; they didn't have the strength. But my father also told me that you..."

"That I what?" I asked curiously.

"That you would be different. I don't know what he felt in you. To this day, he can't explain it. Your mother said that she would stay with you; my father said that nothing would make your mother's pain diminish, but you would be a reason for her to move on."

"A band-aid for her wound."

"That's not what he meant."

"That's okay; it doesn't matter anymore. I can't blame him."

"My father convinced them not to say anything to the others. The people were already afraid of the North, and if they knew that your mother had been attacked and lost the baby, they had no idea how shaken the people would be, so they started building a bigger and longer wall; everyone would live behind the same walls. I think that was the reason why they didn't tell anything. At the time, my grandfather had just died; my father was still getting used to the powers he had transferred to him; your mother's father had also passed away, soon after your grandmother. It was a lot to take in; I believe that omitting the truth was the easiest way."

"This doesn't make sense; I feel like there's something else, and I need your help."

"I knew you wouldn't take this very well. What do you want?"

"Hellen is getting married this weekend. I need your help to escape."

"Escape? Where do you want to go?"

"I will go North. I will find out why the attacks started. I will find out why all this began."

"You can't go there."

"Yes, I can; there's nothing holding me here."

"I know your parents hid things from you, but that doesn't mean they don't care."

"I know, but I still want to go. We can't live like this, always waiting for an attack."

"If they catch you, they will hurt you."

"Better me than the families that are here. They are still my people, and if I have to sacrifice myself for them, I will. I don't know where I came from, but the South is my home."

"Arya, you don't have to do this, not this way. You always said you would run away to the North, and I always thought it was just jokes. You can't be serious."

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind. I just want to know if I can count on you or not."

"Of course you can; what kind of friend do you think I am?"

"Great, now you can leave me alone for a while."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

Lucio hugged me tightly and left. I sat on the edge of the lake and stayed there; my head was racing, my thoughts in total disarray. I stayed there long enough. It was almost night when I decided to return home.

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