31 Swear

Lyra could see her daughter's eyes contain hundreds of questions, but she held up her hand asking her to wait till the end. She wanted to get through the story before night fell and they needed to head back home.

"With the war ended, the Umuris Empire was defeated and driven off of Inay. Calico and Analise knew they would be back. The temptation of the honey trees was too good for them to give up. If they couldn't settle this problem there would be no end to the fighting. The Fae only option was to seal off the whole planet..."

Lyra paused shaking her head, tsk underneath her breath. She hated this part of the story.

"Even though this plan would save us all, the first generation ancestors didn't want to lend a helping hand. Hahaha..... honestly they didn't even help during the war."

"Why not?... Did they want to be ruled by the Umuris Empire?"

"Mika you have to understand. The first generation ancestors remember what it was like to live as gods, then to crumble. Not even be one-sixteenth of what they once were. The war was not worth wasting their moral lives and what little gifts they had left. They could care less about who ruled them as long as it was in their best interest."

Lyra looked at her daughter's crestfallen face. The disappointment in finding out how little your people would stand united against the enemy unnerved her. Lyra could relate, her reaction was similar to her daughter's when her mother told her this story.

Lyra looked at the honey tree behind them both. "This tree should've signified the rebirth of life for the Fae, instead they have turned it into greed, power, and status for the Fae. All the centuries after this first tree was planted. Analise never told anyone the full process of producing honey trees. Many of her peers despised her for it. To them the honey trees were a chance to feel powerful again, to gain back what they lost."

"Then...how did the seal enchantment come to be?"

"The key to producing the honey trees stayed with Analise. The first generation of ancestors felt this was unfair. They wanted Analise to gave them the secret and in return, they will help with the sealant charm. Calico and Analise knew these old fools still haven't given up their delinquent ways, that they had something up their sleeves."

"Nonetheless they still went with their demands anyway?"

"Yes...there was no other choice if they wanted to seal off the planet. Only these old ones had enough power to seal off the planet...Coming to an agreement. Analise wrote out the ways of producing honey trees. The deal was they would do the spell first, then Analise would hand over the books....I'm sure you can guess what happens next."

"They double-crossed them..."

Lyra nodded her head.

"They betrayed them....though the details aren't fully clear. Those old ones killed Analise and Calico after the seal enchantment was done,....unfortunately for those old ones Analise left a trap of her own. She had only written down half the production process for the honey trees. Inciting the hate and regret in those old ones' hearts. To hide their evils deeds, they framed Calico as the murderer who killed Analise and that is how people will remember them..."

Tears streaked down Lyra's face.

"....mom how do you know all this?" From the time Lyra bought her here, Mika understood this was something related to them, a deep secret.

Walking away, Lyra guided Mika to another part of the chamber. Four catacombs lay right beside each other.

"Can you guess who these people are?"

Mika looked at the graves, "she will never like guessing games again".

"This is your great-great-grandmother, Analise. Your great-great-grandfather, Calico. Your great-grandmother, Lapis and your grandmother, Charleagh. Analise and Calico only had one daughter. After the old ones created their lies and accusations, they drove Lapis out of the palace. She was a little older than you are right now. Orphaned and alone, the only thing Lapis could do was survive after burying her parents here in the family temple. Eventually, she married and had my mother. She showed my mother this secret temple of Analise and Calico, just like I'm showing you. She made her swear before their graves that she will protect this place, and that tree...."

Gasping Mika's hand Lyra pulled her down to a kneeling position before the graves.

"Mikaela Crystalmist Amara, swear to protect the last royal temple of Calico and Analise, your ancestors, from those who will do it harm. Protect the secrets from within and never forget their sacrifice...."

"I will." the answer was absolute with no wavering.

"When my mother passed on this temple to me, she claimed that it held powerful secrets from both Calico and Analise for their descendants. Regrettably, Lapis nor my mother could find them. They searched their whole lives and still couldn't find anything. I have searched this temple since I was your age, and yet I still haven't come across anything. Hopefully, you will have better luck than we did."