To the side, the head priest stops after catching a glimpse of something moving suddenly. He turns and sees the little girl; he stares at her, watching. Even though she was a young cub, she was already very beautiful. It has been years since he last saw her, but he could still tell she still had those very striking light purple/sea blue swirling mixed round big eyes. Her hair had gotten longer too. It was a little past her shoulders and even had loose bouncy curls. Her skin was fair and milky pale, I'm sure it is incredibly smooth to the touch. She had chubby baby cheeks with dimples and no blemishes could be seen. Her face was very symmetrical and catching to the eyes. Without a doubt, he knew this little girl was Lyria. He was going to go to her when he felt the wind pick up.
"We finally meet little one." The tree's voice is carried through the wind and reaches Lyria who looks around very confused.
"It's me, the Ancestral Tree. I spoke to you through my roots back in the cave." The Tree spoke was amusement. Lyria's eyes lit up with happiness as she took off running, with her little legs, to get closer to the tree. Just as she was nearing the pool a branch from the tree shot out to stop the little girl before she fell into the water.
"Be careful little one. I'm certain you can't swim." If the tree could smile I'm sure it would be smiling down at the careless little girl.
"I'm sorry. I got excited and wasn't paying attention." Lyria sheepishly says while nervously playing with her fingers.
"Looks like the first thing I will be teaching you is how to swim." The tree spoke with a playful tone.
The head priest could hear what the little girl was saying but not the tree. He thought that was odd but didn't question it. He starts to make his way to the little girl.
"You have to go now. Remember to keep us a secret and always stay cautious of others. Until next time." The tree bid Lyria goodbye.
The head priest walks up to Lyria and stands beside her. "I asked one of the servants to bring you to the sitting room so we could talk. How did you end up here?"
"I lost the man that told me to follow him. When I was trying to find him I saw this hallway and walked there. The further I walked to more certain I was this was the right direction that leads outside." Lyria explains to the really pretty male beast.
He reaches his hand out for her to take. He leads her away from the tree towards another hallway. The whole time he held her tiny little hand in his much larger one. He was right, her skin is very soft, he thought.
They finally turn into a large room. There are several animal furs on the ground and bundles of Sun flower plants lining the walls. There was also a carved-out wooden table in the center of the room. We walk over to the table and I'm asked to sit on one side and the head priest sits on the other.
He takes a deep breath and begins what seems like a long conversation.
"I don't know what your mother has told you, but you are here due to a promise your mother made when you were born. You were born without life so your mother rushed here asking if we could save you. It was the tree that decided your fate. It's quiet on most days but on that day the winds were howling quite loudly. The tree gave you a part of itself and your mother sacrificed her ability to have any more children to save you. I felt it was only fair that you also be a caretaker of the tree since it gave you a part of itself." He stops talking for a moment and smiles at me before continuing. "Don't worry though, most females don't like to do much so all you'll be doing is keeping the tree company. If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to come to me with anything. You'll also be staying on the temple grounds. You will even get to wear nice clothes and always have something to eat." The head priest speaks as if this is the most normal thing to discuss.