Tricked
Frozen stiff by the voice, the guard turned his head mechanically to see a familiar face scowling at him.
"M-Mom??"
It was an old woman with the same fluffy lamb ears as the guard. Hands around her hips, she stared him down with a sour expression.
"Do you have any idea what time it is, young man? I have been waiting up for you for ages!"
The rest of the guard's body slowly turned to face her without him realizing it. He staggered closer, "I-Is it really you?"
His stupefied expression spoke volumes of his mental state as he looked her up and down. From her old apron with burn marks on the left side to the scruffy hair that was iconic to his family and that stern manner of speaking, there was very little doubt in his mind that this person standing across from him was his mother.
"Of course it's me!" she chided, "What kind of a foolish question is that! Have you even forgotten your own mother's face?!"