The Whisperer

One. The Signature

The service normally began around sunrise. Several people of the grand village would rise while the stars were still in the sky and the lights at each side of the street were still shining against the darkness. It always started after the adelia birds started to sing. The church bell, which many said was much larger than any bell ever created, would ring loudly. The services were held every Thursday. All shops would be closed and no one would work. It was the kingdoms custom to handle service days that way.

The people would gather in the grand chapel that was located next to the castle. The walls were made of a gray stone and the doors were so tall that not even a child could reach the handles. Door keepers would invite the people in each Thursday and give them a small booklet explaining the sermons. But as traditions are made they are also broken.

Lady Manoa walked in amongst the people instead of in front of them. She wore things that were simple, her hair was always done complimenting her curls and swooping around her jaw line. She had a thin face and a very petite body, dainty hands that were slightly freckled. Her hair was golden brown and her eyes, of course were her most stunning feature. No one really talked about her eyes. The icy blue color of her left and the purple color of her right. She was born that way and it wasn’t revealed until the girl’s first service visit when she was only three weeks old. She was grown to the age of twenty-one now and attended services regularly as well as coming into the chapel on days when no one was there.

“Good morning.” She greeted the door keepers and the bowed respectfully. She took the booklet from the man closest to her and then made her way further into the church. She preferred to come unannounced into the building. It was her Lord’s day and she hated to take the attention. Coming to service shouldn’t have been such hard work but she would do anything to keep her people’s attention on who they should have been paying attention to at a service. Not her.

She sat down in one of the pews and folded her hands gently on her lap, craning her neck a little to see the front of the church. Her smile came as she spotted Trace, an old friend of hers. He worked as a medic for the royal house. She lifted her hand slightly and motioned for him to come sit next to her and her family. That included her father, Zephyr, her mother, Katia and her two sisters Janeel and Ziphry.