HEINA

The first rays of sunlight filtered in through the windows, and I groaned. It was the weekend, why couldn't I just sleep away my sorrows?

The rasp of knuckles against the wooden frame of my door forced another groan to travel past my throat. I pulled the covers over my head and snuggled even deeper into my pillows.

I heard the door open, but I refused to get out of my very comfortable position. They'd eventually leave, and then I could get some sleep.

"Honey?" Mom's voice called from somewhere above me. "What are you doing buried under the sheets?"

"Trying to get some sleep." My words sounded muffled because of the layers I was under.

My bed dipped as someone, presumably Mom, sat down beside me. Her slender fingers wrapped around my chubby ones as she dug one arm out from underneath the covers.

"Did you have trouble sleeping last night?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"Mm-hmm."

"You have to get up, Heina. We have to... uh... it's your birthday today."

At the mention of the dreaded day, I froze. I hated celebrating my birthdays. It was too much of a reminder just how sad and painful my life was.

"I don't want to do anything for my birthday, Mom. You know I don't like celebrating it."

I heard a wince and pulled the covers down immediately. "What?"

"We may have organized a party for your birthday this time." Mom looked sorry as she said the words, and that was when I noticed Dad standing to the corner of the room with his hands folded over his chest.

"No, you didn't." I faced Dad. "Dad?"

His silence spoke volumes that threatened to deaf me.

"You can't be serious. You both know how much I hate my birthdays." I was struggling to make sense of the fact that they had just made a decision for me.

"It's your eighteenth birthday, sweetie. Of course, we had to do something." Mom cooed.

"But... but... it's..." I couldn't find any words as tears started to form behind my lashes.

"We're sorry, honey. But this is a new chapter for you. For us. Our little girl is finally becoming a woman. We have to celebrate it."

"I don't want to celebrate anything!" My words came out in a yell, tears sprinting down my face as pain became a force of nature inside me.

"Heina," Dad took a step forward. "I'm sorry you feel this way, but..."

I broke down, my shoulders shaking on a sob that threatened to drain me of life. "You don't understand. I don't want any of this. I have no friends to share the moment with anyway. Of what use is a party if I'm going to be the only one attending it?

My whole body racked with each sob as it tore through me. Mom scooted forward and wrapped her arms around me, and even though I hadn't seen Dad move, he was there too.

Both of them ran their hands down my back as they tried to pacify me. "Hey, it's fine. Look, we know you don't really have any friends right now, and that's exactly what this party is supposed to help you do." Mom consoled.

"We have a surprise for you," Dad added. "Two actually. Maybe you would be in a better mood if you saw them.

Before I could even ask what it was, he was out of the room and returning with a huge garment bag.

"What is that?" I asked, suddenly perked up.

The bag looked familiar, I could even see the brand name curving along the fabric of the bag.

"Is that a Rafaela Santini dress?" My voice was hopeful as I asked.

My mood was starting to improve just from looking at my favorite clothing brand.

Dad laughed softly. "Of course it is."

Mom added. "It's not just any Rafaela Santini dress, though." She signaled Dad to roll the zipper down, and a gasp rang in the air as the most gorgeous baby pink evening dress, complete with ruffles and a sweeping skirt stared back at me.

"It's her newest collection, the BellaDonna. Hasn't even hit the market yet." I was practically bursting at the seams with excitement.

"A special dress for a special girl. Now come on, we have more surprises for you."

I didn't need to be told twice; I jumped off the bed and dashed into the bathroom. Maybe this birthday wasn't going to be as bad as the previous ones.

******

The dress fit like a glove. I couldn't believe I was wearing a custom-made BellaDonna dress from Rafaela herself. I could die right now. I dragged on the silver shoes that Mom had gotten to add to the outfit.

As I styled my hair and applied makeup, I felt a little like a princess. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. I wonder what other surprises Mom and Dad had prepared.

I didn't have to wonder long; the house was teeming with guests as I climbed down the last step of our ending staircase. Most of my classmates were lingering in my living room, drinks and snacks in hand, idle chatter, games, music; the works.

My eyes fell on Jocelyn in a floor-length red dress adorned with rhinestones and hugging her slender curves like a second skin. Her hair fell down her back in waves, and I envied how good she looked at that moment.

All eyes turned to me as I stepped into the middle of the room. Surprise flickered across everybody's face as they realized what it was that I was wearing.

"Is that the BellaDonna?" Someone asked in a hard whisper.

"It's not even in the market yet," another voice answered.

"A pig in a designer dress. The obscenities of life." This time it was Jocelyn that spoke. "You ruined the dress just by being in it, Piggy. How do you feel about that? If I were Rafaela, I'd sue you for defamation."

Her words caused an uproar of laughter, and just like that, all the joy I'd been feeling over wearing this dress died.

Tears started to trick my eyes, and I struggled to blink them back.

Jocelyn lowered her head until we were at eye level. "What? You're going to cry now? Come on, chubs, you've been a fat turd for 18 years. Did you really think a couple minutes in a designer dress was going to change that?"

The laughter increased, and I struggled to keep my tears from rolling. If they did, they'd wash off the mascara I had stupidly worn thinking I was going to have a great day.

"Hey, sweetie." Mom walked into the room, a bright smile on her face. "You look gorgeous."

"I know, right?" Jocelyn added sweetly. "Like a dream."

Mom beamed at her. "I had this dress custom made for her because she's always loved Rafaela. I wish I'd gotten one to match."

"Good thing you hadn't. It lets the birthday girl shine." Jocelyn smiled at me.

The room echoed with false adoration, and Mom ate it up. She pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear. "I'm so glad you're both getting along now. I'd ask the servers to wheel in the cake."

She patted my hair down and hurried along into the kitchen. A shaky breath rushed past me, and I couldn't make myself look at Jocelyn. The last time we encountered each other was the day she knocked me unconscious in the bathroom, I was surprised she even attended. Or was I? Bullying me seemed to be the highlight of her day.

"Come on, let's go play some pool games." Jocelyn linked her arm through mine and pulled me along.

Struggling to stay upright in my heels, I followed helplessly behind as she hurried. The other students were behind us, their cheers getting loud like they already knew what mission she was on.

"We wouldn't have been here if your parents hadn't bribed us, so make this fun for us, okay?" Jocelyn murmured in my ear. "Wanna swim?"

I didn't even have the time to answer before I was shoved into the pool. Hard.

HEINA

Water pumped into every part of me, making me feel like I was going to combust. The taste of chlorine sat on my tongue like a deathly warning, and I flailed my arms desperately.

Laughter poured over me from above the water, sounding too distant to my ears that still rang with the fear of death.

I finally raised my head above the water, coughing painfully to dislodge the water I had involuntarily consumed. My glasses were so layered with water droplets that my vision was blurry.

"Aww... what piggy? Don't know how to swim?" Jocelyn taunted.

I could make out the faint outline of people as they started to record the incident with their phones.

Swimming away as fast as I could given the fact that I was in a floor-length dress that became heavier the more I stayed in the water, I tried to climb out of the water.

"Where do you think you're going, chubs? Come on, the fun was just getting started." She turned around and opened her arms wide. "Wasn't it, guys?"

A round of agreement followed. Jocelyn faced me again. "You heard them. We're just getting started."

With one hard shove, my head is pushed back underneath the water. I struggled against the hold she had on my hair, gulping down water as it invaded my nose and mouth. She didn't let go.

The laughter increased, the cheers too. I struggled to get free, feeling the life as it started to slip out of me. God, no.

I didn't know where my tears ended and the water began. My limbs were starting to get weak.

Suddenly, the laughter ebbed and silence descended over the crowd. Jocelyn immediately let go of my head, and I rushed to the surface, sputtering and coughing out water.

My eyes burned, and so did my lungs. I couldn't even look at them. All I wanted to do was get out of this water I was trapped in.

The dress had gotten so much heavier, and my limbs were now too jelly-like for me to be able to accomplish my task easily.

"Hi, handsome," I heard Jocelyn say.

My head perked upward, and sure enough, the twins from the other day were here in my house. Girls from school flocked around them, some touching in flirtatious invitation, others trying to get their attention with words. Some even took photos.

I didn't even understand why I was staring at them still, or more importantly, why they were staring at me like I was the piece to a very important puzzle.

Their unusual eyes studied me with an intensity that made my insides heat up. Jocelyn's eyes turned in my direction as she was once again ignored by them, and I swear I saw fire pour out from their depths.

The warning she gave me in the bathroom the other day made itself present in my mind, and I forced my eyes down. I concentrated hard on getting myself out of the water.

By the time I was on land, they had their backs to me; heading into the dining area of our house where Dad received them, and they got right down to a conversation.

I wrung water out of my dress as much as I could and decided to go over there to find out what it was they were talking about.

How did Dad know them?

Before anyone could stop me a second time, I hurried in the direction of the dining room. Through the glass door, I could see their lips moving, but it wasn't until I got to the door that I could finally hear what they were saying.

"Bold of you to assume any of this is for the issue of peace. You lost that right a long time ago." One of the twins spat out in a firm voice.

"You left our mother, your wife!, to die. What kind of monster does that to a woman they claim to love?" The second twin spoke up in an equally irritated voice.

The words rang in my head like a war song, and I gasped. To say that I was confused was putting it too mildly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, my voice shaking.

All three men turned to face me, surprised that I had overheard them, while Mom just stared at them like they had sprouted a new head.

No one spoke for a very long time. We all just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Dad. What are they talking about?" I asked again, unable to bear the silence any longer.

"Heina, this..." Dad started but then cut himself off with a shake of his head. "This isn't the time. Can we talk about this later?"

"No. This is... wait. They said you left their mother, who was your wife alone, to die. What does that mean? Were you cheating on Mom?"

Both boys didn't utter a single word, they just crossed their arms across their chest, staring at Dad expectantly.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, sweetie. But..." he exhaled a rough breath. "They are mine."

Tears started to walk down my face for the third time today. "What does that even mean?"

He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled another heavy sigh. "I'm not your biological father, Heina. But these are my sons."

My ears rang with disbelief, and I staggered backward, pain sticking through my chest quickly.

"What? Hold on... what?" My voice caught on a sob this time.

Dad took a single step forward, and I backed up. His face fell. "I didn't want you to find out like this, Heina. It doesn't matter if I am your biological father or not, you'd always be my little girl."

I couldn't believe my life was falling apart in this way. And on my birthday too. Nothing good ever came out of it.

Before I could think of something to say, the twins spoke up in unison, their harsh words slicing through the air.

"Get lost. Now!"

HEINA

My head swiveled around to face them, but they weren't looking at me. Their eyes were trained on Jocelyn as she leaned over beside the door, eavesdropping on a conversation that had nothing to do with her. The girl really had no limits when it came down to making my life hell.

She stood up, affronted. No one in Royal Ridge ever spoke to her like that. The unnamed twins were really breaking a lot of firsts when it came down to her.

Her mouth opened as if to say something, but their faces looked as hard as it would if it were carved from granite, eyes blazing with fury so intense I almost took a step back in fright.

She stomped off like a child denied candy, and the twins turned back to face us in the room.

"Do you have any intentions to keep that promise?" The topaz-eyed twin asked Dad.

Dad's face looked like it was dusted in guilt, but he said nothing.

"Zairo," Mom spoke up for the first time since the news came to light, her voice shaken with emotion. "What are you talking about?"

Dad's eyes filled with more remorse as he turned to face her. He simply shook his head, unready to give an answer.

Mom's voice broke as she yelled. "I deserve an answer, Zairo. Tell me what the hell is going on."

"I... It was a..."

The words were cut off as loud screams filled the air. Screams that were filled with terror raced through the air and forced us to move.

My eyes bulged, almost falling out of their sockets as the sight before me registered. Through the glass walls of our dining room, four huge creatures, reptile-like with wings that seemed to span the entirety of the sky, their body looked scaly even from this distance, and their eyes were small and glassy.

Dragons. Four mighty dragons were beating at the air and traveling in our direction.

What the hell?

All of a sudden, they decided the sky wasn't enough for them to play in, and they swooped down, wings beating off anything that stood in their path, and tails causing a lot more damage.

The walls of our house on the side that overlooked the pool fell off with a mighty chunk as a gray dragon flogged it off with its mighty tail.

The guests that were lounging at the pool screamed, running in every direction to avoid the rubbles that rained down.

My eyes got even wider, as half of the roof over my bedroom was knocked off. Dragons were real, and they were here, destroying my birthday party.

This couldn't be real. Maybe I was dreaming? Maybe this was all...

The thought came to an abrupt halt as a shiny green dragon flew in my direction, wings spanned wide as it hovered and released a breath. Fire raced in my direction, the heat of it flowing even through the barrier that sat between us.

"Heina, move!" One of the twins yelled.

But I couldn't move. My feet were rooted to the floor, shock planting me solidly as death approached me.

Just as the first flickers of the flame beat against the glass, a strong arm grabbed me and dragged me aside.

The glass gave way under the waves of fire that scorched everything in its path.

Oh.

My.

Gosh!

I was still struggling to make sense of what was happening, but Dad's enraged growl had my head snapping in his direction just in time to see his bones rearrange in ways that were downright impossible.

Huge black wings spanned out from where his hands usually stood, his head moving into a reptile monstrosity that flowed down into a fluid, scaly neck and traveled all the way down to a tail that was twice the size of a limousine.

The roof of the house gave way under his large frame, and he soared into the sky, tackling the green dragon that just spat fire at me.

I noticed the change happen twice more, to none other than the twins. Each one of them the perfect replica of their distinct eyes.

They soared into the air as well, the sounds of their wings as it beat the sky like the oncoming of a storm.

Mom didn't turn, but she wasn't as shocked as I was either. She was on her feet, legs braced apart as she spoke in a language I had never heard before, sparks of electricity dancing along the tips of her fingers.

"What the hell is going on?!" I screamed into the air, even though I somehow knew I wasn't going to get any answers.

Dad's black tail swooped into the side of the green dragon, sending its massive frame against the fence.

The other dragon recovered instantly, surging towards Dad in a powerful sweeping move that confused the hell out of me. Everything was happening too quickly for me to take note of.

Strong jaws locked around the throat of the black dragon, and a pained shout broke from my throat, piercing the air. I couldn't breathe as the green dragon shook Dad like a ragdoll, then with its spiky tail, plunged into Dad's underbelly.

He was hurt. God no!

I barely registered the sound of the wings as they flapped through the air before I was knocked into the wall on the other side.

A smaller green dragon had its talons aimed at me as it swooped around a second time. Mom released a blast of electricity that sent the dragon flying backward. But it was back in no time, scratching at Mom's stomach with a deathly blow that left her flesh open.

I cried out again, pain a new companion inside me. This couldn't be happening.

Her body hit the ground at the same time that another dull thud reached her ears. Dad. He was naked, and bleeding.

I started in their direction. I needed to help them.

A topaz-blue tail swung out in front of me, pushing me backward and onto the spanned sapphire wing that made a stairwell for me.

I struggled against their scaly hold, I couldn't leave my parents here to die. I wanted to help. I needed to.

But I was no match for them.

We lifted into the air in a surge, and I released another soul-piercing scream as my home and life started to get smaller. The other dragons circled around my house, and the last thing I remembered before I let the darkness in was the rings of fire their necks reared back to release.

No!!