"Mother."
That word still rang in your ears. It was drowned out by Gertrude's tears. She was hanging her entire weight on Uschi, weeping tears of sorrow and joy on her shoulders. Uschi was stronger emotionally, as if she had some sense of pride. She held her head high, but her eyes were kept close. Soon a tear fell from her eye. Uschi wrapped her arms around her mother and started to cry as well.
Gertrude grasped her daughter harder, almost dropping to her knees. You've never seen her like this. Gertrude is a brave mouse. Even when you first met her she never trembled this much.
"I'm here, mother," Uschi's words were said to comfort her, but did the opposite and made Gertrude cry even harder, "I'm okay, mom, it's me."
"Did I miss something?" Your words were the only thing that broke the remaining silence.
Gertrude stopped her cries. She was still sniveling when she looked at you. Her eyes were still cloudy and her voice was broken, "Solace, this is my daughter. Uschi. I thought I lost you,.." She placed her head back onto her daughter's shoulder.
Uschi hugged her mother tighter, "I'm here," she repeated.
"I never thought I'd see you again." Gertrude was slowly returning to her strong self, but her tone never left her voice, "How did you get away?"
"I didn't. The slavers sold me," Uschi answered, "Or rather, my freedom was bought." You lifted your finger, about to interrupt the duo and point out that there's a bunch of chocolate at the bottom of your pantry, but you kept silent. Uschi continued, oblivious to your actions, slowly returning to the temptation to weep, "I thought you were dead."
Gertrude grabbed her daughter by the chin and lowered it to kiss her forehead and placed her own head against hers. Her breathing was irregular, knocked off balance by the gasping cries.
You waited a few moments. You were touched by the reunion. Your frustration turned to flustered. When and who were questions in your mind. When you asked, Gertrude was hesitant. She looked down at the counter, refusing to let go of her daughter. She was done crying, for now. "Solace," She caught your attention after a few moments of silence, "I was young. Too young to take care of myself; too young to have kids. I met someone special and couldn't help myself. You know how I am. Within a month I had her and was on my own. We got by on the pity of others for a while until... That special someone came back with friends."
Gertrude embraced her daughter again, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't strong enough to stop them. They took my Uschi. They took her and stabbed me and left me for dead. I crawled until... I never saw so much of my own blood. For the longest time I wished I died that day until I made a new friend." Gertrude now sounded as if she remembered someone but couldn't put her finger on it.
Uschi's ears perked. She thinks she meant you. Uschi grabbed her mother and started to shake as she remembered the dire trouble she's in.
Gertrude noticed something was off. She wasn't shivering in sorrow, she was scared. Gertrude stopped hugging her and looked into her eyes. She shot a concerned, partly horrified face. "What did she do?"
You leaned in and pointed to the pantry, "She spilled an entire bag of eggs."
Her mouth dropped. She glanced between the two of you, before shaking her head and walking in front of you to block her child, "Solace," she sounded hoarse, like she just lost the daughter she reunited with, "Please tell me I can change your mind."
"She spilled an entire bag of eggs." You repeated. You've eaten micen for being caught with a single chocolate, but now you have a micen in your midst that cost you dozens. You're not even sure what you want to do to her. You can't eat her, she's Gertrude's daughter. She may have just been indentured to serve you.
"She must not have known what she was doing!" Gertrude hid Uschi behind her. She bit her teeth. She knows the rules, and how everyone knows the rules and how everyone knows not to break the rules. She also is aware of the consequences. What can she do? She can't beg, that never works. She held her head high, "Whatever you do to her, I'll take half the punishment."
Your ear twitched. That doesn't sound like an offer. "Since when did you start telling me how to punish-"
"Since I found my daughter!" She rasped.
Anger ran down your spine. You've never had a micen talk to you like this. This is insulting, being belittled by a mouse. A thought ran through your mind. Don't befriend a micen. They'll leave you sooner than you think. You opened your mouth...
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