It had been three long years since Michelle had retired from being an admiral, and she was none too pleased with the emergency summons from the palace; the only thing that could drag her out of her retirement. The summons mentioned a concerning report about a goblin horde in the Dark Forest. While it didn’t say anything directly, Michelle knew this could only mean one thing. A Great One had appeared.
Michelle entered the room, seeing all of the familiar faces of colleagues in arms as well as stuck up old fogies she would have liked to never see again. Of course, there was also the king, sat at the head of the table with a worn and beaten paper laid out in front of him. It didn’t look like it had been weathered, more that it had been handled by too many hands.
The king passed the report over for Michelle to read through. “What do you think, Admiral Marshall?”
“Lady Marshall,” she corrected, “I have retired from duty.”
“I would like you to return for one last mission, Admiral,” the king pressed.
She frowned but she could already feel the glares of various nobles around the room so she obediently read the report. Those idiots always seemed to forget she also belonged to a noble house.
The report itself was a bit different from what she had expected. It avoided all theories and guessing and merely stated the facts of exactly what was heard, where, and when. It was neat and concise, the kind of report she preferred but rarely got on the battlefield. There was something else that stuck out.
“Great Mother?” she asked.
“That is what we are here to discuss,” the king confirmed, “We need to know what that means. If it is a Great One, why have they changed the way they call her?”
As all of the eyes in the room gathered on her, Michelle got a general sense of where things were going.
“Should I bring sugar?” Michelle asked.
“It should get you inside,” the king confirmed, “Observe and report what they use it for.”
The king, and Michelle for that matter, had no idea what nefarious purposes sugar could be used for. However, they also knew that the most innocent of things could be used for evil in the wrong hands.
“Understood. I expect a hefty reward after being pulled out of retirement for this,” Michelle warned them.
“You will get one,” the king promised, ignoring the disgruntled stares from a few of his retainers.
The Dark Forest was quite a distance from the capital, but Michelle made great time and arrived in only a few days. Her cargo was only some basic provisions to make room in her saddlebags for five large bags of carefully prepared sugar. Before heading straight into the forest, she took a break at the nearest outpost; the one that had reported the Great Mother’s existence.
“Madame, you cannot enter without permission,” the lookout warned.
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“I have been sent here from the capital,” she replied, showing her papers.
For some reason the guard paled considerably when he saw them and quickly jumped out of the way. “My apologies! Please go through!”
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Francis,” he replied, sounding as if he was speaking his own death sentence.
“Francis?” Michelle repeated, “That was an excellent report. Keep up the good work.”
With her praise out of the way, Michelle moved into the outpost. She needed a good night’s rest, and even if they were goblins, she couldn’t visit looking like a mess from travel. This very well could turn into a diplomatic mission. If not, it could turn into a battle. She had to be prepared for both outcomes.
==========
The children of the forest were surprisingly early risers, but even then they had always made an effort not to disturb her in the mornings. That was why Gertrude knew something was up when she heard a commotion early in the morning. Even more so when one of the words she could make out distinctly was human.
Gertrude hurried out of bed to see what was happening to find the children in a formation around Gobby, looking a bit panicked.
Everyone seemed relieved to see her, and Gobby quickly explained the situation. There was a human in the forest outside, but her horse had gotten stuck in the swamp. Gobby suspected that this woman was a grandmother so he was concerned about whether or not he should help her.
“Can you help her?” Gertrude asked. It wasn’t that she was asking them to do so. She wanted to know if it was possible.
Gobby nodded.
“Then help her. If she needs more help and does not seem suspicious, you can bring her here.”
Gobby nodded again, no longer looking panicked. “I will rescue the grandmother!” he announced.
He took off into the forest followed by Gubby and a few others. Gabby quickly got to work setting up a place for the new grandmother to rest. Gertrude smiled as she watched them. They were such sweet children. She went back inside to make herself ready and prepare a nice warm meal in preparation for their guest.
Gobby and the others returned within the hour, leading a very dirty horse and an older woman in what was surely once a neat outfit. Both horse and woman were covered in mud, but she saw none on the children. The woman’s perfectly white hair was tied in a bun with strands slipping out and waving behind her in the wind. For some reason, she was watching the children very closely.
“Welcome,” Gertrude called to her, hoping there was cultural etiquette in this place she would be breaking, “Would you like some food?”
The woman’s attention immediately snapped to Gertrude, and then to the staff she was carrying. Gertrude had tried to set the staff back on the shelf where it was before, but the children always brought it to her, so she had taken to using it as a sort of walking cane.
“Greetings, Great Mother,” the woman greeted with a bow, “I have come from the kingdom of Zyrk to meet you. My name is Michelle Marshall.”
“I am Gertrude,” she replied. She found no need to bother with a last name, especially since it might carry extra meaning depending on what kind of society people lived by in this world. She hoped the children weren’t convincing others to call her by that silly title. She wasn’t sure what Michelle came for, but figured it was best to start with food, so she set out her meal and beckoned her to the rather large table she often ate together with the children at.
“A banquet table?” the woman muttered as she obediently sat to eat. Judging by her reaction, this was far from ordinary for a forest dwelling, but there were many mouths to feed, and it felt cruel to separate them. Michelle took a bite and was surprised once again.
“It’s delicious, right?” Gabby said, plonking down into the seat right next to Michelle for her own portion of the meal.
The other children quickly followed suit, each of them carefully helping each other, and beaming at Gertrude’s praise as they used the manners she taught them. She noticed Michelle watching their every move as she gradually relaxed.
After the meal, Gertrude took Michelle into her home and invited her to clean up.
“I appreciate the offer, but I am sure I will encounter the mud again on my way back,” Michelle told her, “I came here for business.”
“Alright,” Gertrude acknowledged. She wasn’t sure what she wanted or how to respond. Knowing the situation would help. “What sort of business is it?”
“First of all, I brought a gift,” Michelle said, “If you check the packs on my horse you will find five bags of sugar.”
“Sugar?” Gertrude asked in surprise, “Can I see?”
Michelle led her back out to the horse and showed her the first bag. It was really sugar. It was more in crystals than powder but it was definitely sugar.
“It’s perfect,” Gertrude told her with a smile, “Is there flour in the settlements nearby as well?”
“Flour?” Michelle asked, “I brought sugar because we overheard the… children were looking for it. What do you need them for?”
Was it that odd to want sugar and flour? Either way, Gertrude had nothing to hide so she explained her desire to make some apple pie. After promising to look into finding her some flour, Michelle left the sugar with her and headed on her way.
In the end, Michelle had never explained what her business was, or why she had given Gertrude so much sugar. It was a bizarre interaction from start to finish, but she could always ask when she saw her again.