snow and stars| jon snow

prologue: the galaxy

She hoped to the gods that she would not be found. She breathed anxiously as she hid behind the tree— a poor hiding spot even for a seven year old— waiting to be found, or waiting to not be. She wanted to hear them call out her name, to say that they had surrendered, that she, the youngest of them all had bested them. She was certain that she was going to pull this feat off, very certain, until a flying bug the size of her hand flew right past her ear, making her screech. Footsteps loud and heavy poured into the tree line, and she breathed out a breath of defeat as she heard familiar laughs.

A boy stepped closer to her, and a few more boys and girls with him. All her siblings. "Andromeda, that has to be the worst spot you've ever chosen." The boy laughed a proud and happy laugh.

"I'm only seven, Leo," she said, her bottom lip jutting out as she huffed out the excuse to her older siblings. Some of them had been playing the game since before she could walk, how was she supposed to be as good as them?

"And I'm only nine," her brother Leonardo remarked with a gentle smile. His dark face was glistening in the sun from sweat, just like all of his brothers and sisters who had been running around all day. "And so is Saros. He doesn't even want to be out here, he'd rather be inside reading than playing with his twin brother. But he still somehow picked a better hiding place than you," He teased.

Andromeda's face scrunched up. Leonardo always made rude words sound sweet, or even like a compliment. He was often said to be more of a lion than that of a star, and when their parents said this, she couldn't tell how they felt about it.

Her family was proud. It was more her mother than anyone, her being the highest ranking person in the kingdom. Her mother was Queen Shirina, the proud descendant of Lyra Vela, the First Queen of Ilta. She came from a long line of powerful women, and she wanted her daughters to be just as strong. She was a woman who was stronger than the next, and not just because of the powers that rested inside of her, waiting to be passed on to her heir.

Her heir was Ophelia Vela, Andromeda's older sister. She had been their first child, and the kingdom rejoiced at having a girl as the queen's first child. That meant that they would be protected from outside forces, and that they would have a strong monarch amongst them for another generation.

Andromeda smiled slightly at her Leonardo, who was now smirking back at her.

"Leo, you don't have to be mean." A sweet, tinkling voice called out from behind all the rest. It was Elara, Andromeda's favorite sibling. Elara was her favorite for a number of reasons, including the fact that she was always there for her younger sister. If there was a middle child in the midst of the six, it would be Elara. Her birth was an excitement after their parent's second child and first son, Hyperion. But when the twins came— Leonardo and Saros— her being a girl was no match for the talk buzzing around about having twins. Twins were rare in the family line, and twin boys at that. She was over shadowed by the twins, but she took it gracefully and stayed kind, always.

"I'm not being mean," Leonardo said, touching his black hair and fluffing it up some. "I'm just telling her that behind a tree is a terrible place to hide. There are many places to hide here, and you picked the trees." He said, addressing the youngest Vela now. "Maybe we should try again."

Hyperion, the boy of eleven, stepped forward. "Mother will probably want to see her now, it's getting late. She is still at the age of stories. Besides, Ophelia is already inside, reading."

Saros sighed dramatically, not at all aware of how overreactive he was being as he looked across the tree line. "I wish that I could be reading," He droned pitifully, and Leonardo smiled at his identical twin brother.

Hyperion resisted the urge to crack a smile. "You could be reading in about six minutes if we start our walk to the castle now."

Leonardo didn't resist smiling wider, almost a grin. "I don't understand why you read, when there are plenty more things to do. You could run, swim, sing, dance, climb, sword fight!"

"Not everyone is like you, Leo." Elara and Andromeda said at the same time, causing the girls to lock eyes for a moment and laugh to themselves.

"And don't you dare say sword fight, little pseudo knight." Hyperion said, a smirk on his face. "You can sword fight no better than Ophelia can with her book right now."

"Hey!" Leonardo wailed, making his siblings all force their laughs down. "Fine, whatever, lets go back to the castle."

§

Andromeda knocked kindly on her mother's study. She knew very well that when her mother was writing or reading, she hated disturbances. She could only hope that she wasn't being a disturbance, only that she was coming when called. She eyed the guard to her left, who was facing forward and at attention due to her presence.

    Queen Shirina of the House Vela sat strumming a lyre, her eyes looking elsewhere as she strummed gently and beautifully. It was a tune that all of the members of her house had known almost since birth, and she was proud to play it. She smiled at her daughter, her smile shining almost as bright as her silver crown. It was an intricate thing, so intricate that one couldn't possibly commit all details to memory. There were thousands of stars lapping over each other, raised up the the surface. Ever since she could count, Andromeda attempted to count them all.

    "Are you trying to count again?" Her mother laughed gently while setting the lyre down. "Maybe your sister Ophelia will let you count them when she wears it, but I am not as patient as her."

   "Is it time for my singing and history?" The young girl asked softly, trying not to upset her Queen Mother.

  "It is," She said. "Sing for me."

   ****

so this is it, this is the beginning! i can't wait for y'all to see where this story is going, and i promise that she chapters will be longer than this. but i have great plans for this story, so i hope it does really well! :))

  lys