It was the second day of the food rationing, and some children of the grotto worried about their future. Even though they had been told that it will only last a month, the memories of the orphanage were fresh in their minds.

Theanore wondered how she could cheer them up, and then it came to her. She had plenty of silk. She could let the children play with it. And bunny day was coming. They needed to each have a silk apron anyway.

So, she had the children each take a silk bundle and begin to make their aprons. The older helped the younger, and Theanore was making the aprons for herself and Mary and Archibald.

She had given some silk to Archibald, originally, but he ended up cutting out circles from it and sticking it to his head. Mary couldn’t make her own apron because she was still just a spirit.

Not that Theanore was an expert at making aprons. She made the hole for the head and then sewed the stings to be tied at the back. Her stitches were crooked, but on bunny day the important thing was to put in the effort.

On that day, one had to paint their aprons in all the colors of the rainbow and make bread. The nymph was concerned how she was going to get enough flour. She stashed away some flour each day.

But there was another problem. She didn’t have enough eggs. Each bread will take three. And she didn’t have enough baking powder either. There was only one person who could help her now, that it was three days from bunny day. Grandpa Thinker.

Theanore let the apron she was working on fall, and she went and wrote him a letter. It read.

Dear grandpa Thinker,

It is me, Theanore. I have been good. I have a daughter and a baby brother now. But, grandpa, bunny day is coming, and I don’t have enough flour, eggs, and baking powder for all the bread we have to make. We used up all the baking powder today, and my chickens are too few to make enough eggs. Can you sell me flour, eggs, and baking powder? Enough for 308 loaves of bread?

Please and thank you,

Theanore the nymph.

With that done Theanore send the letter, and she went to the lake where the children were working on their aprons. She sat down with her three aprons and continued to stitch.

The children were talking among themselves, and the neighbor to Theanore’s left began to correct her on her stitching technique. Theanore’s stitches improved as a result, and the apron she worked on looked better.

“Today is the twelfth of March. Bunny day is three days from now.” Said the girl who had been correcting Theanore’s stitches. “Will we have ingredients for bread? If we don’t, then the entire year will be rainy.”

“I wrote to grandpa Thinker.” Said Theanore as she sewed. “I am sure he can sell me everything we need.”

“Thea, why do you need a better road? People came here just fine without it.” Said the same girl.

“Because we require more trade at the grotto. We require more stalls. With a better road, we can make a village inside the forest of fireflies and have adults and their children move in. That way, we will never be short of food.” Said Theanore.

She had given this a lot of thought and her decision sounded sound. They continued to make the aprons in silence. Soon, Theanore had Archibald’s apron done. She had stitched on it some circles to make it more interesting.

Theanore took Mary’s apron and began cutting the hole for the head. Even if she couldn’t wear it now, she needed to be included. So far, only little children could see Mary. Theanore had watered her peach seedling just this morning and had changed the hay over it.

Mary had watched her with interest. She had told Theanore that today she felt like she had two mana. Soon, when she got twenty mana, she would be able to get her seed to become a sapling and live at the grotto.

Theanore looked at the lake, thinking on how to improve it. She had planted all the surrounding soil around it and had created a small forest of seedlings. She knew that not all of them will grow up to trees, and that made her worried.

What if a bug chewed through Mary’s seed, searching for food? What if she froze in the ground and died? Theanore patted the hay over Mary’s seed and looked at where her daughter was playing in the water.

Mary liked the water so much that Theanore wondered if her daughter was not a water nymph in truth. She would get the changeling skill as soon as she could and have a tail, Theanore knew.

Marinus came with Cassius in tow and showed Theanore a big apron with seashells dangling from it. Cassius held his own, and Theanore saw colorful stones stitched in.

“Thea, do you like my apron?” Asked Marinus. Theanore nodded. Marinus stepped to the side and Cassius spoke.

“And mine? I made it myself.” He said.

“Where did you find the stones, Cassy?” Asked Theanore. The girl next to her gasped.

“Are those gems? Where did you find them?” She asked, and Cassius pointed to the nearby rock formation.

“They were sticking from there. I thought they were nice, so I got some.” Said Cassius. The girl touched one of the gems and then looked at Theanore.

“These are special mana gems. There must have been a dungeon here before you, and these are the leftovers of her treasure hoard. They are sipped with mana.”

“Tania, is that true?” Asked Theanore.

I told you already, you are not my first core. The former core was evil and got into wars. She died as she tried to expand into No Man’s Land with underground tunnels.

“Are the tunnels still standing, Tania?” Asked Theanore.

They are, why?

“I have a plan to end our food shortage before the road is complete!” Said Theanore, and she stood up. Now she only needed to secure the tunnels, and she could have caravans passing through them by the end of the week.