Before we begin our tale, meet the main characters!

"Planet Earth had been our home for billions of years," Princess Shyra said with a smile as she read to the children from the picture book. "But even after such a long lifespan, the planet was falling to pieces, and everyone was desperate to escape," her hands reached out and mimicked an explosion, voice lowering to fit the story.

"Was it that bad, princess? Couldn't they adjust? I've heard that humans can live almost anywhere. That's why people can live on planets like Ronin, Mehri..."

She gave the child a sad smile, "Oh, it was that bad, sweet pie. You see, everything that we needed for life, from water to plants to animals was dying from diseases." Her stomach knotted in twists as she thought of how terrible the situation had been. "Humans couldn't live there anymore, so they fought to escape on spaceships. It was a hard time, and not everyone made it out of there."

A child raised his hand to ask a question, but before Shyra could attend to him, her handmaiden Aita came rushing through the doors with a startling bang.

"Princess Shyra! Your sabha samiti, with the appointed heads, is about to begin. Please hurry up," she said, crossing her hands over her stomach. Shyra gave a small huff of annoyance, glanced at the clock and nodded. She smiled apologetically at the kids for interrupting their storytime and strode out of the library with Aita at her heels.

Along the way, Aita handed Shyra the prepared report sheets. This was a part she enjoyed, and while she looked into them, Anita kept adjusting Shyra's appearance to make her presentable. From straightening her anarkali, adorning her dusky skin with bangles to brushing out her long, dark and cascading hair, Aita made sure Shyra was in her best form.

By the time they were at Shyra's part of the Castel, she had gone through all the necessary papers and taken them to heart. The guard opened the doors upon seeing her, and she breezed past them with Aita at her heels. When she saw that nobody was there yet, she sighed in relief and settled down on a chair.

Soon her appointees began arriving and took their designated seats around her. She waited until everyone had made it, and then greeted the delegates seated across the round table with a formal bow. Everyone, from street representatives to various praanis bowed back to her.

"Good time, everyone. I'm aware that I haven't officiated a samiti in a long time, but as you all know, the recent attack has brought everyone to the dust again," she paused for a kshana and shuddered, head filled with the terrible reports that they had received.

"Alza has kept us busy by demanding more from us for the time being, so these samitis will be interspersed with large time gaps. Since we're here now, we can go through the order of business for today," she said, exhaling through her mouth and taking a seat. She didn't like to admit it, but the situation was tiring her out every day.

The delegates inclined their heads when she sat down, and glanced at Uttara to begin her report.

"Princess Shyra. I bring news from the Southlands regarding Arawn's recent attack. I couldn't tell for sure, but unrest seems to be stirring among the people," Uttara said, twisting her fingers with worry. "We've been paying taxes for a very long time, but the sudden increase has gotten everyone agitated. Again, it's too soon to tell, but if the high taxes go on for too long, they might try to revolt."

Shyra nodded toward Aita, who jotted down Uttara's presentation. She thanked Uttara for her work, and she bowed and took a seat.

The rest of the meeting was spent going through the damage that the attacks had caused them, how well their countermeasures were working, and on topics such as agriculture, their current trade levels and the economy.

Through all these speeches, though, Shyra's mind was coiled in anticipation of the report made by the final delegate. She'd assigned him this role at the last moment, and chosen him to speak in the end to avoid breaking the samiti's concentration.

Now, however, her heart clenched as he stood up and cleared his throat, looking at her alone. She nodded back at him with tense eyes and gestured for him to begin.

"Princess," he said, glancing at the papers in his hands, "I come with disheartening news. The planet Alza, as you'd mentioned at the beginning, is in considerable turmoil. The attack has weakened them and they're scrambling to set things right in the city once again. I'm sorry to say this, princess, but the Games have been indefinitely postponed," he said, avoiding eye contact.

Shyra sucked in her breath as the delegates began to mutter amongst themselves. Their voices grew louder in a steady rhythm until they filled her ears and coiled in her conscience.

"Indefinitely? Are you sure about that? You could have asked around..." she questioned, her honey-gold eyes narrowing as she tried to ignore the delegates' gossiping.

"I did question several people, but none of them would give me a straight answer. It was through an accident that I found out that until the subjects have food on their plates and shelter above their heads once again, the Games will not happen," he replied.

Shyra heaved a deep sigh and nodded, dismissing him. He bowed in return and walked out of her room, sowing chaos in his wake.

"The Games? What for, Princess Shyra?"

"Wait, are you still trying to..."

"The asteroid belt! Is it..."

Shyra raised a hand high above her head, silencing the whole lot. They looked at each other with guilt laden eyes and waited for Shyra to explain.

"Everyone, I know that this news must be sudden for you, but it's something I've been planning for a long time. Unfortunately, circumstances have pushed the Games to an indefinite point, so I'll inform you if there are further updates."

"But why are you doing this, princess?" a delegate asked, getting to his feet and staring at her. "Is it because of the Asteroid Path? Haven't you gotten over the..."

"Messr Adham," Shyra said, her tone soft and warning. "You are older than me by many seasons. I need not remind you of the unbearable pain we went through when our Asteroid Path was severed from us. It's something that's haunting us even today, and pulling down our economy at an unbelievable rate."

Adham closed his mouth and nodded. Shyra acknowledged his nod and let her eyes roam her audience, waiting for someone else to complain. When no one ventured their opinions, she stood up and arranged all the papers together.

"Thank you for your time, everyone. I'll hand these reports to my mother for her to analyze their importance and take necessary actions. Even though she's too sick right now to assess the reports, and father is looking into them for the time being, I'm sure she would appreciate the insight we're providing," she said with a smile and a respectful incline of her head.

The delegates stood up and filed out of the room with light murmurs. Shyra waited until everyone had dispersed before handing the papers back to Aita and instructing her to hand them to her parents.

"And tell mother that the members she helped in choosing have contributed to the sabha in immense ways," she said. Aita bowed and left the room.

Sabha samiti: Council meeting

Anarkali: A type of Indian dress that reaches till the ankles with long sleeves. If it helps, think of it like Merida's dress in Brave

Praani: The exact translation is creature. Here, it means the evolved forms of animals that exist in their world

Kshana: The best way to translate it is: a moment.