"Actaeon was one of the best hunters in all the land. One day, when he was out hunting with his hounds, he stumbled upon a stream and stopped for a drink. Travelling along the water, he spotted a beautiful woman through the trees who was bathing in the river. Actaeon hid behind a tree to watch her, but was discovered in a matter of seconds. The woman was Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and she was outraged when she found she was being spied on. She immediately cursed him, stealing his voice and transforming him into a stag. Actaeon fled, saving himself from the goddess's wrath, but crossing paths with his hounds. Not recognizing their master, the dogs attacked, ripping Actaeon to shreds and sealing the goddess's punishment."

Bellamy growled fiercely, tackling his sister in her chair and tickling her until she shrieked. I clapped my hands and egged him on, a smile threatening to split my face in half. "Eat her! Eat her! Eat her! Eat her!"

"No! Bellamy, no! You're my brother! You can't eat me!"

"Eh, I wouldn't eat you anyway," he sighed, collapsing into the chair next to her. "You're way too small. Not much of a meal."

"Hey, I'm just as big as Nylah is!"

"Exactly," Bellamy snorted, and stuck his tongue out at me.

I scrunched up my nose, but didn't bother fighting back. I was small for my age and I knew it. There wasn't much of a point in fighting it.

"Tell it again, Bellamy," I said, propping my chin in my hands and swinging my legs beneath me. "Please?"

"Really, Lala? That was already like the third time this week."

"It's my favorite!"

Bellamy sighed, but he was smiling at the same time. I knew it was one of his favorites too, and that's the only reason I convinced him to tell it so often. His face was already softening, and he cleared his throat to start again.

"Bell, no!" Octavia whined. "You've already told that one like a gagillion times! Tell the one about Athena and Pallas again!"

"Nooo!"

"Alright, alright," he conceded, reaching across the table to ruffle my hair in consolation. "Actaeon next time. But if I'm doing Athena and Pallas, I'm gonna need some help. Who wants to be Athena?"

"Me!" Octavia and I screamed at the same time, which threw us into another argument.

"You got be Athena last time!"

"That's cause you're always Athena!"

"That's cause I'm better at it!"

"No you're not! Bell, tell her she's not!"

"Guys, you have to be quiet or…"

"Fine. I like being Pallas better anyway. Playing dead is fun."

"Yay!" Octavia cheered in victory, and banged her hands against the table. "My turn! My turn!"

"After lunch," my dad announced, ducking quickly into the room and closing the door behind him. "Who are we today?"

"Octavia is playing Athena, and I'm her best friend Pallas," I said proudly.

Dad grinned, holding out the rations he had in his hands and bowing deeply. "Well then, an offering to the most beautiful goddesses on the Ark."

Octavia and I shared a look, and she sat up as straight as she could so she could look at him down her nose. "We accept, good sir."

"Why thank you, your grace." He placed the food down on the table and kissed my cheek. "Just remember to let Bellamy have some fun too, okay?"

"I like being the narrator," he said with a shrug, pulling one of the prepared packages toward him. "Cause I know more than they do."

"That's not true!" Octavia argued, as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Know-it-all."

"Okay, that's enough," Dad interrupted, leaning over the table so he could give us all stern looks. "We'll continue the discussion after your lunch."

In almost perfect unison, Octavia and I pouted and slouched back in our chairs, arms crossed over our chests. Bellamy just snorted, ripping open the packaging on his food with an air of smug victory.

Aurora walked into the room behind him, her thin smile waning the moment her eyes reached the table. "What's this?"

"Lunch," Octavia said, her voice strained as she pulled at the paper on the other package. Bellamy had to pry it from her hands to open it for her, slightly amused. His mother, however, was not.

"This is lunch?"

"Rora," Dad sighed from behind my chair.

"No, Benedict! You don't get to 'Rora' me. Maybe you haven't noticed, but there's three children."

"Aurora, this is all I could get. Given the circumstances, it's the best I could do."

"Well the best you can do isn't good enough!"

He quickly looked down at Octavia, Bellamy and me, watching the altercation with varying amounts of confusion and fear. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes for a moment, taking Aurora's arm and leading her a little further away from the table. "You know I'm under review. Ever since the incident with Nylah's medical supplies…"

"I know," she said softly, wiping a hand down her face. "I know, I just… They're kids, Ben. They need to eat."

"It's okay, Mom," Bellamy offered, bravely interrupting their conversation. "I'll split lunch with O."

"Bellamy and I had to share last time," she whined. "I wanna have what Nylah's having."

"No, Octavia," her mother said firmly.

"But Mom!"

"Your mother's right, Octavia," Dad said, stepping toward us again. "You and Nylah both need…"

"It's fine, Daddy. I'm not that hungry." I pulled the package from Bellamy's hands, avoiding the adults gaze as I went about splitting the portions.

I knew why Aurora was upset, but I didn't like it when she fought with my dad. He had to be careful when taking rations, especially when he was being watched. Last month had been difficult because I'd gotten sick again, which meant less food for this month. I honestly didn't mind splitting my lunch with Octavia, but her mom was right. It wasn't a lot of food.

"We need to talk," she urged, and before my father could protest, she was pulling him into the next room. They did their best to keep their voices down, but sometimes when people are upset, even their best isn't enough to achieve their goals. Bellamy, Octavia and I just pretended we couldn't hear it, and the day went on as normal.

Bellamy ripped half of his sandwich apart, sliding a corner onto Octavia's plate when she wasn't looking. He handed me the other, smiling softly and holding a finger up to his lips. I wanted to refuse it, but Bellamy was a few years older than us. When our parents weren't home, that meant he was in charge, and that meant no arguing.

I reluctantly took the piece of sandwich and added to my plate, making Bellamy smile.

"Good. Now, the story of the goddess Athena and her best friend Pallas…"


A/N: What did I tell you? Zero-self control. So here's the second short prologue. And let me tell you, I am so stoked to hear that people are excited, especially since I didn't post this all that long ago. You guys are angels, really and truly. Thank you for favoriting, thank you for following, and thank you to ChasingWolves, LovelyFandomLover, KeBi, Richelle Manuel, Valkyrie101, shirosagi, and hella-sirius for reviewing.

I'll see what I can whip up for the next chapter, but thank you so much for reading!

-Brittney