Nessa Shares the Brightest Feather — Before breakfast bells, Nessa tapped her plain helmet and wished for one bright feather to bob above it. Read the full story →
Before breakfast bells, Nessa tapped her plain helmet and wished for one bright feather to bob above it. She stepped out from the warm barracks, past the sleeping shields, and climbed the narrow stairs to the tower aviary, where hay scratched her knees and cold wind made the windows hum. On the highest perch sat a tiny moonbird, trembling beside a fallen blue feather. “May I have it?” Nessa whispered.
The bird sneezed, peep-peep, and the feather rolled toward the open stair. Nessa caught it, but her mitten slipped away and tumbled down, down, down. Her fingers tingled in the chilly air as she wrapped the feather back around the bird like a blanket. By parade time, the moonbird fluttered after her, dropping three loose feathers onto Nessa’s helmet. They waved so grandly that every squire cheered, and Nessa’s joy felt too big to keep quiet. Next time you spot that sweeping plume, imagine the peep-peep that followed her past the sleeping shields.
