Honey : The Empire's Treasure 368 No Going Back 2

Thinking back to before he left for the academy, many citizens in his town were suffering from lack of honey. It was a bad sight to see, but he never thought that that scene would possibly be the future of the whole country.

The people use honey from the trees for everything. It is the ultimate source of food, medicine, wares, energy...anything one can think of, the Fae uses honey to produce it.

"Isn't that a little dramatic, Mika?" He asked hoping someone in the room would prove her statement wrong.

"Hycis...right now the others Lords, like my father, are only able to get less than half of the sap that they use to. With the disease affecting the trees being an unsolvable the problem, it will only get worst from here."

"Then what can WE do? If the lords can't even figure out what is going on, how can we solve the situation that will affect the whole country…!?" 

"We need to overthrow the King…" Ailwin said to the room of unnerve people.

"This…" Hycis looked at Prince Ailwin's assured expression.

"Though, Mika doesn't have hard proof of the King's involvement with the honey trees. You can't deny the fact that citizens a crossed the country have been affected by this problem, but the King has been doing nothing to help the situation...That just goes to show that he doesn't see it as a big of a problem or he is hiding something. Either way, it doesn't help Kaia."

Standing up, he walked from behind his desk.

"I also know that the King wanted me and my army dead…"

"This will caused a war...are we ready for that?" Nylian pointed out to the room.

"If it's between watching my family and friends slowly being starved to death, then I'm ready!" Hycis said, picturing his little sibling dying in front of him.

"Me too. I won't allow another city to fall." Celaena replied after him, thinking about her brother's search for the truth behind their family's demised.

"Ailwin, if you're sure then I'm sure." Braeden asked.

"I'm sure."

"Okay, then count me in." He said before looking towards Nylian.

"You know I owe you and Prince Ailwin my life, I swore to follow you guys forever...I'm in." Nylian nodded at Braeden.

"I follow Miss Mikaela in whatever choice she will make." Kaze said turning to Mika.

Ailwin also follow his line of sight to the young girl standing in the middle of the room.

"Mikaela…"

"You don't have to ask Ailwin, I'm in."

Hycis looked around the room shook that they just agreed on rebelling against the King.

....and it was so easy.

Back at the Imperial Capital…

In a room below the imperial palace, way underground, there was a grand spacious room that if it weren't for the fact the room it didn't have any windows, one would think they were at the top floor of a luxury hotel suite.

Rychell walked throughout the room noticing new items which caught his eyes, that even he didn't have because they were too rare.

"When did you get these things?" Rychell held up a Night Multiflora Pear from the bowl on Voron's dining table.

"Yesterday, they're still fresh if you want one…" Voron answered as he was trying to get the last of the intel from his men out in the Southwest.

Rychell stared at Voron's back with a small grin on his face. 

This fruit only grows under the moonlight, ripens but twice a year, and it is said to cleanse the whole body of toxins….Yet, he's treating it as snacks for his guests…?

Irked, Rychell took two and sat down on the next item he liked, a Iris-Dotted Tiger skin covered chair filled with Bongo-Flamingo feathers.

Eating one fruit as he placed the other inside his pocket, Rychell waiting for Voron to finish conversing with his spies.

Fifteen minutes later, the fruit was gone and Voron came over to him shaking his head. 

"My men spotted your son's ships flying over the mountain passes, on his way towards the East. My guess, he is going back home…" Voron poured himself a cup of hot tea.

"It was worth a shot…"

"Was it? He knows too much now!…" Voron didn't like for things to get messy, and that is what they have right now. A big mess.

He didn't see the need to test Ailwin now, they could have waited for a better time without exposing themselves.

Voron thought  about it then looked at Rychell, "What is wrong with you? Now, that I think about this, you wouldn't have chosen to take this route unless something has pushed you to…?" 

Voron carried his tea over and sat down, observing Rychell up and down before finally realizing the fine wrinkles on his face.

"Your aging again!...so soon?" Taken aback, Voron placed his mug on the table beside him and stood up again, making his way to his friend of many years.

"When did it start?" He ask moving Rychell's face left and right.

"Just after his twenty-first birthday whenthe star showed itself again. I started to get aches and pains in my joints and bones. My hair began turning gray and...other things."

"Is this why you wanted to get rid of him? At the cost outing everything we have sacrifice for!…" Voron was slightly angry with Rychell's selfishness, "We could have done the exchange again if this was the case-"

"Voron! I am tired of doing that!...It hasn't even been that long since the last time…"

Voron went silent as he examined his friend's face that was still young compared to his own.

"We can't last much longer like this, Voron, or we are all going to die one way or the other…" Rychell said turning his face away from his friend's eyes.

Voron concurred. They have contaminated the honey trees beyond repair, if they don't succeed in their plans, they will have doomed not just themselves but their whole race.

There was no more Analise around to plant new trees, or to cure the old ones. 

Analise' last words to them after they stabbed her, echoed in his head, "You think you have won, but really you have caused your own deaths…"

There was no going back for them now, they can only keep going forward.For future reference I'm making Mikaela's and Ailwin's age older.

So, here Rychell is referring to Ailwin's birthday date.

FYI: Ailwin is around his mid-twenties to late twenties.

Chapter end