lyta was walking around the frozen tundra courtyard with evee. her mother and sister should be arriving any minute and the tribe could celebrate a new addition to the royal family.

but instead of cheers of joy, screams were heard throughout the palace walls. the voices echoed from within the healing center. lyta rushed towards the center to see if her mother was alright.

"oh, princess lyta . . . we are a little busy-"

"dada," lyta pushed her head into the seal-skin tent, "is mummy alright?"

lyta's father, chief arnook of the northern water tribe, walked out of the tent. his eyes were bloodshot, but lyta was too young to know what that meant.

"oh, yes. your mother is alright. go fetch your brother for me, will you?"

"of course. i'll be back, love you." before the girl vanished from sight, she said, "i want to name my baby sister after the MOON!" and down the path she went.

oh, how lyta wishes that night played in the royal family's favor.

saving two lives instead of just one.

•§•

"princess lyta, your father wishes for you to be dressed for dinner in-"

"LYTA! dinner, now!"

"thank you, you may go now."

lyta changed into a casual white dress for the banquet. normally she would wear warmer clothing, but she will be in the oasis for a majority of the night.

unless, father makes me flirt with some "suitable husband."

lyta walked down the corridor and ran into her brother, crown prince iyola, who was also late to dinner.

"oh, hey io. you late to dinner, too?"

"yep. as always."

the two walked in silence until they reached the icy doors of the main dining area. as per usual, yue was sitting in her correct spot with perfect posture and a smile on her face. not that the brother and sister hated yue, they loved each other. they were super protective and caring. it was just a running joke about who was father's favorite. iyola was the crown prince, yue was the golden child, and lyta was soon-to-be betrothed to some rich family. what better family life than that? but it was a very loving household. the family would watch plays together in their free time. it might not sound entertaining, but it was the only family time available.

"ah, glad to see you two could finally make it," chief arnook said.

"hello father, sister." lyta over exaggerated her curtsy.

"punctual as always, big sister."

"thank you, yue. shall we eat now?"

the group of four silently sat at the frozen table and ate pickled fish, seaweed stew, tentacle soup, and kale cookies. the royal family shared their leftovers with the servants around the palace.

"father, may iyola, lyta, and i be dismissed?"

"of course, yue."

the siblings walked up the sculpted stairs to their designated rooms.

"io, yue, do you guys want to have a sleepover? we haven't had one in so long."

"of course i do. what about you, brother?"

"i love a good sleepover."

the trio grabbed the necessities and slept in iyola's room. it was the biggest because he was future chief. after getting settled, the group started up a conversation.

"io, what do you think happens down in our sister tribe?"

"i don't know, lyta. maybe it's-"

"there are probably some cute boys down there!"

"ewww!" iyola started gagging at his sister's comment while lyta began to giggle, "yue!"

"our lives are quite boring. the only exciting thing that will be happening soon is my 'marriage' and yue turning 16."

"true, if only we had more action . . ."

little did the royal family know, they were in for one heck of a ride.