Family Matters
© 2022 by M. Mitch Marmel

Thumbnail art by  tegerio, color by  marmelmm

Part Five.


Westersloe:

I had wondered what Grace of Sulfrox was going to make of all of our adventures in what was, after all, her original home. Still more, what she was going to make of the likely request from the representatives of the commons of Eastness to meet up with her.

It probably shouldn't have been surprising that she held her counsel on the first point; meantersay, training and all that. As to the second point, she merely stated:

"I will put my trust, Westersloe, that you will arrange things in the proper fashion, inclusive of fire and bread."

Well, yes. I mean, I like to show Elfhame off to friendly furs. Call me a civic booster.

I passed the Word to Nippy, who nodded very gravely, and said that when the time and place were set, she would be Ready. (Note the upper-case words there – her manner of speech was contagious.)

As it happened, the representatives from Eastness arrived in Elfhame during the late autumn, which is a particularly blustery time in the Vale. In fact, the gray skies and the downpours put me in mind of Eastness before the Redemption of the Wolf Queen.

Except, of course, furs were a lot livelier in the public houses.

The delegation was a fairly small one, comprised of three furs, one of whom was quite obviously a magick user. I knew that from the way he immediately gravitated toward my bookcases, with his fingers and tail twitching madly. At least he had the grace and manners to ask, first, and he was good about putting things back after he'd magick-copied them. The other two were pretty much your standard-issue civic types. All very familiar to me.

The trio was a little worried, in looking out the windows of my study, to find that visibility was approximately ten feet, owing to the gusting freshets that were falling from the sky. Anastasia, who was with me (having crossed over from her office in the Annexe), told them that this was rather normal weather, indeed, arguably better than average, but that things would be different in Grace's Grotto, as they'd see, by and by.

The use of that term caused the delegation members to look at each other in surprise, but they said no more.

Eventually, the lot of us got our act together: the delegation, Missy, Ooo-er, Anastasia, myself, and Dennis Horne, who had volunteered to take notes. Oh, and of course, Nippy, who had a large picnic basket with her. Which I strongly suspect was the reason that, out of the blue, Estvan Silverbrush showed up.

"Shure an' it's a wee bit dampish fer a picnic, says Oi, but Oi'm willin' to help with the burthens. If ye pass over the basket, Nippy me dear, Oi'll . . ."

Nippy's solemn stare unnerved him slightly.

“All roight, all roight, just afther offerin', Oi am, bein' the polite Elf Oi am..."

Missy, Anastasia, Estvan and I all cast spells to keep us dry. All of us, that is, except for Ooo-er, who joyfully danced around in the rain, squeaking happily in her native tongue.

The delegation looked a little concerned when, out of the gloom and murk, various Giant Elfhamian Frogs came bounding past, croaking loudly. I made an offer of a breeding pair to the furs, who said they'd take it under advisement.

We'd been walking for some minutes, when the delegation came to a sudden stop, all three of them crying out "EALA!" at the same time. Granted, I knew exactly where we were, but all the same, I knew that they'd caught sight of the Grotto.

It's even more remarkable in winter, when there might be drifts of snow dozens of inches thick blowing about; a large swathe of green grass and sunlight does tend to catch the eye. Even though we were "merely" in the midst of a gale, it was still remarkable to see such an island of spring where one didn't expect it.

The shaft of sunlight smashing through the clouds above was strong enough to make Grace of Sulfrox quite visible, seated on her usual rock. I strongly suspected that the presence of Aedith (a/k/a Sunny) may have had something to do with it, as well. The Wild Priestess of the Light was sprawled quite happily on the greensward, tongue lolling and eyes closed. A sort of rapture, I think.

Estvan used his walking stick to gently urge the delegation forward from their frozen state, and I slipped to the front of the group.

"In vigorous morning, greetings, Your Highness."

Grace raised an eyebrow at me, but nodded. She strongly prefers that we address each other by our first names, but I think she saw that this was a "business" and not a social call, so she didn't (gently) scold me on the subject.

"In vigorous morning, peace to you, Master. Will you and your companions – and the First of Eldest, of course – come in?"

The Grotto was not very large, though it had been growing, very slowly, over the years. It was able to fit all of us comfortably. Nippy stepped forward, curtsied to Grace, and then stood still. The Princess nodded at her, and Nippy took from her Elfintory a set of very large white blankets, which she spread upon the ground (carefully, so as not to disturb Sunny, who was still in her trance). Once that was accomplished, she curtsied once more to Grace.

"Will you all please take seats? You may find it much more comfortable."

The delegation bowed to the Princess, and assumed a cross-legged position each. Anastasia, Missy and I took up positions flanking them. For her part, Ooo-er had launched herself into the pool below. The wolfess was certainly thinking about joining her, but for the moment, anyway, stuck to business.

"Well, then," said the noble mephitess, "I think we should begin business, so as not to detain the pleasure –"

Her opening was cut off by a yelp from the back. A pair of live and rather pissy lobsters had attached themselves to Estvan, one to his nose and the other to the tip of his brush.

"Wisht! Away with ye, ye spalpeens!"

"I believe, Estvan, that luncheon will be later."

Grace and Estvan had met, of course – you'll recall he performed a service for her, when she was still alive – so she shouldn't have been surprised that the greedyguts was already at the picnic basket. I'll bet that Nippy wasn't surprised, either.

Once order was restored (and the lobsters restored to the picnic basket), one of the delegation raised a paw.

"Please, ma'am, may we report?"

Grace, in spite of her ghostly condition and nudity, was running the meeting with a great deal of dignity. She swished her tail, bowed graciously, and murmured permission; she then leaned forward, ears twitching, as the delegation, in turn, reported the events as we all have told them to you.

The Princess did not interrupt, but you could tell that she was listening intently, because of the way her lush black tail was moving rapidly. Only at the end did she ask questions. Intelligent ones, at that, showing that she was listening very carefully. And all without any scribes, either.

Through all of this, Nippy (the novice) and Sunny (the wild priestess) were still, after their own fashion. Which I found interesting. Missy had a thoughtful look on her face, which was rather refreshing. I had expected her to be brooding about being denied the Regalia.

Grace turned a few times and asked questions of Anastasia. Statecraft stuff, which was over my rack, so I didn't pay a great deal of attention to it.

By and by, though, the Princess looked up at the sky, where the sun (and Light) was, and observed that it was time for a luncheon interval. Sparking a "Hudalaleigh!" from the back. Followed almost immediately after by a yelp as slices of rye bread began to attack the fox, clamping down on his ears and muzzle.

The delegation did look a bit uncomfortable, holding plates full of food, while Grace sat on her rock. She raised a paw.

"Please, go ahead and have refreshments. I would not think of holding things up on ceremonial grounds." She looked a little wistful. "Just as well there isn't Midsummer Soup in that basket, I suppose."

Anastasia twitched her ears at that, and begged details, about a half-second before I was going to. "Midsummer Soup," it transpired, was a kind of sweet dessert, a bowl of honey mixed with spiced cream and topped with a thin disc of dark sugar. It sounded delicious, and I said so. Grace sighed, and said it was her favourite dessert, something that was generally only made once a year for the great Longest Day celebrations. Even she, as a sovereign princess, could only rarely get it any other time of the year, and at that, only when she could convince others that there was sufficient social reason to do so.

(Prince Roland was under no such restrictions, and glowered at me when he found out that I had not, initially, asked Grace for a specific recipe. "Such slackness," he growled, "ill becomes you, and you should remedy your defalcation at once." As you'll see, I did get a recipe – but others got quite a bit more out of it, in a way.)

The delegation eyed each other, bowed, and had their luncheon in silence, broken only by the sounds of greedy feeding and drinking from in back of them.

"Are you getting quite enough?" enquired the Princess of Estvan, her sweet note underlaid with a touch of acid. The old rogue indicated that the ancient mores of fire and bread were be observed in fine old fashion, thank you very much.

Aedith finally stirred herself, moved next to Missy, and wagged her tail ingratiatingly. Some fried feral squab was shared, and the younger wolfess had her ears and head-fur stroked by the older one. Anastasia and I shared a bowl of diced vegetables in convivial silence.

After Nippy cleared the things away, and after the delegation gave thanks to the Light for a pleasant and filling meal, the femme of the trio raised her paw to be recognized. When she was, she stood up and bowed.

"Please, ma'am," she said, "we have one more . . . er . . . bit of business. It is a question we – I mean, the commons of Eastness would ask of you."

"Oh? Do go on, then."

"Please, ma'am, we're very sorry your monument was destroyed."

"Well, it was a work of art, to be sure, but surely you're not proposing that it be replaced?"

"But ma'am, that's exactly what the commons has in mind . . . "

"Nothing of the sort. Nothing, indeed. Waste of good money, and that's even if you could find the artisans to either duplicate it, or make the equivalent. Besides, that's the affair of the House of Sulfrox, and that House is defunct. There's no privy purse or funds for that. Is that not so, Mr. Silverbrush?"

Evidently, she'd not forgotten how Estvan bungled the affair of her wealth that she'd entrusted him. Nor had he. He folded back his ears and murmured something to the effect of agreement. It made him lose his appetite for a fifth piece of cake.

"Please, ma'am, don't you want to return to Eastness City?"

At that, the Princess' expression softened considerably, and it changed further into some deep contemplation. There was quiet for some minutes, while a butterfly flitted about her head, evidently puzzled why it couldn't find some place to land.

"Ah! There, there you touch on an area on which I've devoted a great deal of thought over the years. I have gone back and forth on the matter. I'm afraid the correct answer to that is that I am unable to return to my former realm."

"Unable, ma'am?" The delegation looked over at me, rather fearfully, as if they were expecting some outburst of wrath.

"Allow me to explain. You may recall, no doubt from documents or word of mouth, since this was before your time, that when I was dying, a part of my life-force was placed in a horcrux, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, we've oft heard that said. This is the first we have heard that it was fact."

"It is, I can assure you of that. The horcrux was linked to a device that, for a donation, allowed me to interact with those that visited my tomb." She indicated me with a gracious paw gesture. "Over time, the Master, over there, was the first in many Sunrises to interact with me. The tomb, you see, had been desecrated by the Ospreys (may eternal Night fall upon them), and it disheartened me. I asked the Master to take me away, if he would. Is that not so, Master?"

"It is, Your Highness. I recall I had a little help from some servants of the Light on the matter."

That comment made Nippy stir and twitch her tailfur. Aedith tilted her head and looked at me intently.

"In any event, I was taken, by and by, to this place, where the Master placed my horcrux in the soil. Right where that bush is, the one with the black-and-white flowers. Perhaps of greater import, he placed a few bits of flotsam from the Great Cathedral, over there. The novice standing behind you instructed him how to do so, and I believe that had something to do with triggering the effects you see, here. Later on, one of the Master's liege-lords came by and implanted a Badge, which had further effects."

"So, ma'am, you prosper?"

"Well. More accurately, I am at peace, here. Much of the time, it is quiet here, save for the cries of feral animals. Other times, furs Frolic in the pool, below. Still other times, I am consulted, which gratifies me." Here, she nodded at Anastasia, who nodded back. Grace's ears then swiveled a bit. "Other times, I am visited by the bucks of this Vale, and they talk to me. Or, rather, at me, since I cannot make head-fur or tail-fur of what they are saying. Still, meant in politeness and companionship, I suppose."

The head of the delegation mused. "It would, I think, be ungracious to interrupt that, to be sure . . . but you say you ‘can't’ be moved, ma'am?"

Grace folded her paws on her lap. "While I have not checked, I do believe that the horcrux that once held my life-force has long since dissolved. I am, I think in a literal sense, at one with the soil, here. I'm not sure how I could be moved, and indeed, even if I could be moved. I'm not sure where the precise boundaries of this Grotto are, and whether or not the magickal effects would require every particle of soil containing me to be moved. Very difficult, I think."

The magick-user of the delegation had been running his paws through the grass, with his eyes closed. At length, he nodded and sighed. "You will understand, Your Highness, when I say with great reluctance that I think you are right."

"Not to mention, I suppose, it would be ungracious to the Light, after all the favors It has seen fit to bestow upon me," continued Grace, who sighed deeply. "As I say, I have given much thought over the years on this matter."

There was a gloom that descended that, while not literally matching what was outside the Grotto, certainly was of a piece with it. The magick-user making his checks in the grass, though, caused a thought-wave on my part.

"Hang on. I think there might be a way around this . . . "

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Westersloe . . . "

"No, no. Hear me out. I'm not going to suggest anything like a post-ball field."

My mate gave me the Eye. I think, in fact, she had been worried I was going to propose something exactly like that.

I pointed to the various flowers scattered over the Grotto, flowers that were quite active throughout the year. "If we assume that Grace's Essence is throughout the Grotto, they must be in those flowers, right?"

The Princess raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes, that's logical, I suppose." She looked to her countryfur, the magick-user, who turned to me, and tilted his head. I continued.

"Now, by operation of nature, those flowers put forth seeds, if they're the right species, and I think that's one reason the Grotto has grown a bit over the years. The seeds or shoots have been blown, or grown, carrying the Essence of Her Highness with them."

Grace leaned forward, slightly. "Go on."

"Removing soil is one thing. But seeds are another thing. They're meant to be moved. They're meant to be spread. So if you take seeds from the Grotto here, you're not going to injure Her Highness, and it's hardly against the Light's bounty. Point of fact, it's part of the Light's bounty, those seeds. Take the seeds back to Eastness City, and plant them somewhere nice, where furs have enjoyment. Like a post-ball field."

I added that last bit just to take the piss of my mate. She furrowed her eyebrows at me, and I could see her fingers twitching. Totally worth it, though, especially when I heard the spirit of the Princess laugh.

Anastasia would get back at me later, I’m sure.

[Note appended to manuscript: “Yes, I did.”]

"To be sure! I remember in my time there was one post-ball field that had flowers at the boundary fence. It used to cause all sorts of trouble for fielders not used to it." She turned to the delegation. "Well, it doesn't have to be a post-ball field . . . "

She glanced at Anastasia, who stilled her paws. ". . . but the point raised by the Master remains the same. Harvest some seeds, and take them back with my blessing. And the Light's, of course." Here, she glanced up at the sky, and closed her eyes, as did the delegation, Sunny and Nippy.

"A sound an' statesfurloike proposition, me lad, an' ye make yer teacher proud of ye."

Grace sighed, and rubbed at her eyebrows. "Oh, do have some more cake, Mr. Silverbrush."

"It is true, that Oi cannot, for Oi've scarfed the lot, Oi have."




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