"So sweet!" Celeste gasped, wonder upon her lips. She had scarce expected that these tiny crystals, pale as refined salt, should be none other than sugar.
In this realm, sugar was a treasure beyond measure, rarer than the finest spices and dearer than gold to most.
Celeste recalled the legacy of Baron Charles—the spice casket—and the single piece of sucrose it contained. Shaped like a pointed cone, it was called a candy cone, yet the one she had seen before was dark, soiled, and far less sweet than this gleaming white sugar. More wondrous still, it had been preserved through generations, a relic of old wealth and noble indulgence.
Even many nobles lacked such delicacies; for the common folk, it was a treasure scarcely dreamed of.
...
At times, lords and ladies made do with honey, yet that too depended upon fortune. Should one chance upon a wild beehive, it was a blessing; otherwise, none would taste its sweetness in a lifetime. There was no art yet to breed the bees, and honey's price rivaled that of sugar.
The sugar Celeste tasted was pure and clean, with a sweetness untainted by any strange flavor. Her mouth brimmed with delight. Truly, sweets could lift the spirit—this was no idle saying.
Celeste's joy was unbounded. She had not known sugar in so long; never had she tasted so sweet a thing. The worth of this single bag alone was beyond measure—and yet, more lay hidden within the sack.
In that moment, she felt that Darien himself had been sent by the gods to save her and all of Brindlemark.
"Will you give it a try?"
Darien turned to Thorold, who eyed the package with cautious curiosity, and offered him the sugar. How to partake, he left to the knight's own wit.
Thorold hesitated, pride and reserve warring within him, yet he reached out at last.
Darien had not bid Thorold fetch the mountaineer's sack from idleness alone—he wished also to test the man. Even should Thorold grasp not all within the bag, he would surely know the value of refined wheat.
It would have been a windfall to any, yet Thorin touched naught and tarried not.
Darien had even measured the time of his journey on foot; the knight returned with neither pause nor dalliance.
Such actions spoke loudly of Thorold's character.
When the time came to enact the conscription, Darien knew full well he could trust him.
"Is this the taste of sugar…"
Thorold licked his ungloved palm, a stirring of old emotion passing over him.
He recalled the last time he had tasted such sweetness—he was but sixteen. Chosen among many for knighthood by the Grand Duke himself, his reward had been a small sugar cone.
Dark and coarse it had been, no larger than his little fingernail, and he had treasured it for ten days.
Now, more than twenty years thence, the memory had nearly faded, and the taste of sugar almost forgotten.
"It seems this Sir Thorold bears a tale of his own," Darien murmured, a soft sigh escaping him.
All men bear their stories, be they bitter or sweet.
"How much do you think this packet of sugar is worth?"
Celeste pondered for a moment.
"In Brindlemark… none could hope to buy so great a bag," she said at last.
"Then sell it in portions," Darien replied lightly. "Are there not merchants of note in Brindlemark? Let them take it."
Celeste considered. "If sold straight to the nobles, the price would soar—they delight in display. Yet if we trade with merchants, it may fetch less…"
"It matters not if the price be lower," Darien said. "So long as it can be exchanged for provisions."
A quick calculation passed through his mind. By Brindlemark's measure, six hundred to seven hundred gold coins would suffice to feed a thousand souls for half a year.
But this was not merely Brindlemark's reckoning.
These folk had become his charge. With the power now in his hands, he could not let them endure want.
Besides the sugar, the mountaineering bag held other provisions.
"Here be dried bread, cured meats, vermicelli of barley, and preserved fish," Darien announced, showing each item.
Celeste and Thorold stared in bewilderment, their eyes catching only the words "cured meat" and "fish."
"Simply put," Darien said with a smile, "'tis all foods."
He produced a cured sausage and, with a small knife, sliced a portion. Holding it forth, he said, "Pray, take a taste."
Celeste took the morsel into her hand, cheeks flushed, and brought it to her lips.
"Mmm~ Is this… meat? 'Tis wondrously good!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled.
The sausage was richly flavored, little filler, all meat. It was tender, unspoiled by harsh smoke or over-salting, unlike much of the livestock meat they had known.
Darien cast a sausage to Thorold, who accepted it without hesitation. Thorold did likewise, biting off a hearty chunk.
"Aye, most fine!" he declared.
Celeste finished her portion, smiling as Darien handed her the remainder. Thorold looked on, the flavor seeming less remarkable by comparison.
"The barley vermicelli must be boiled in water," Darien said, "so we shall not partake now. The dried bread can be eaten as is or softened in broth. Let Galen try a portion. As for the preserved fish—'tis long-kept, yet wholesome."
"Fish? You dare eat fish?" Caroline and Thorold asked, confusion in their eyes.
Darien paused. "Ye do not eat fish?"
"Never," Thorold replied. "'Tis said to carry pestilence, and the odor doth repel all men."
Darien's eyes widened in disbelief. Had these folk truly never tasted fish? What manner of folk were they!
Without a word, he opened a cask of preserved tuna, and a rich aroma filled the hall. Darien, with a courteous nod, offered a small piece to Celeste upon a plate.
"Pray, taste this," he said gently.
Celeste accepted it, savoring the morsel.
"Mmm~ So fragrant! So fine!" she exclaimed.
Caroline's face lit with delight.
"Here," Darien said, presenting another portion to Thorold, who still eyed it with puzzled caution, unsure how to partake.
---
🔍 Did you know?
🍬 SUGAR / SACCHARUM
- Sugar came from sugarcane, originally cultivated in India and later in the Middle East.
Europeans first encountered sugar through trade with Arab merchants during the Crusades (11th–13th centuries).
Early sugar was extremely expensive, considered a luxury, and often called "white gold."
Only the wealthy—royalty, nobility, and some wealthy merchants—could afford it.
🍯HONEY/ MEL
-Honey was the primary sweetener in medieval Europe.
It was used by everyone—from peasants to royalty—though quantity and quality varied.
Monks were skilled at beekeeping, producing honey both for food and for fermentation into mead.
Honey was widely used in Ancient Egypt—they even used it for food, medicine, and as an offering to the gods.