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"Where do you suppose it came from?"
Juan scratched the back of his neck and tilted his head to the side. That was a pretty good question, but he wasn't quite sure about the answer.
"Well? Juan? What do you think?"
The midday sun beat down on his back, warming the courtyard stones to the perfect temperature for a nap. The very sort of nap he'd be taking right now if a certain pesky voice hadn't prodded him awake. Barely two days had passed since Commander Brown departed on his trip, and Cecile wasted no time raising the alarm for every little sound and shadow that flitted by in her father's absence. And "raising the alarm" usually consisted of tearing across the courtyard with arms flailing and creating a noisy ruckus that made napping downright impossible.
Today's interruption involved a Suspicious Object. Juan was surprised to discover the Suspicious Object actually existed and wasn't a figment of her imagination. Surprised and disappointed—figments of the imagination were easy to dismiss, but real objects meant he couldn't ignore them and go back to sleep.
"Juan," she grumbled and nudged his ribs with the heel of her father's spear, "I'm being serious right now! What if it's something dangerous?!"
"Hang on—gimme a minute, Cecile!"
Careful not to stir up dust, Juan crouched down and raised an eyebrow as he examined the Suspicious Object, a glossy red feather resting on the ground. Its condition was immaculate, more like a rare urn that was deserving of being on display in the castle's trophy room rather than discarded in the middle of the courtyard.
"Do you think it's from a troll dragon?! What if there's one near us right now?!"
"What sort of troll dragon has feathers?! C'mon, Cecile, common sense."
She slowly nudged the feather with her foot. Little puffs of feathery down scattered in the air before lazily drifting back to the ground. Cecile yelped in surprise and drew back, hoisting up her father's shield as if preparing for an attack.
"I don't think it's from a local bird," Juan mused. "I've never seen a bird that big. And look at that shade of red... that's gotta be foreign. Maybe it's from somewhere overseas?"
"Birds can fly that far?" she whispered in wonderment.
"Do I look like an expert?!"
"You're older than me, you're supposed to know these things!" Cecile declared as she leaned closer, her helmet smacking into his forehead with a clunk.
"Watch it!" Juan scowled and rubbed his new bruise as he shoved her away. "If you're going to wear Brown's armor while he's away in Caleria, the least you can do is be careful!"
She pouted. "I am careful! It's just that it's so big, and I'm not used to it!"
Juan poked the feather and was surprised to see how easily it moved at the slightest touch. Another delicate puff of down scattered in the air. "If I were him, I'd have worn it to Caleria. That's a long way off."
"He told me that he won't need it," Cecile said. "I agree with you though, but father will be okay! He's strong and brave! I know he'll be safe while with his friends. And he told me that if I wear it while he is gone, I'll be doing his job for him, so Budehuc will still be safe, too! I... I have to do my best, or I'll be letting him down!"
There was no use in arguing with her. Juan knew the real reason why Commander Brown left was to conduct some trade with a contact in Caleria, the "friends" Cecile spoke about, but it was difficult to squeeze any further info out of his own father in between training at the dojo and his nap schedule. At the minimum, Brown's trip was probably not the lighthearted social call Cecile was imagining.
"Hey, cheer up," Juan said and patted her helmeted head. "You can't hide that sad look behind your dad's helmet. I'm not that easy to fool."
"You don't...you don't think I look silly like this, do you?"
It took a bit of restraint to stop him from speaking his mind, because a resounding yes rushed to the tip of his tongue. At first glance she did look comical, but there was more to it than just a small girl in oversized armor. Cecile wore it with the same zeal as her father. If people like her were in charge of protecting Budehuc, Juan knew he might not necessarily feel safe all the time, but he'd be watched over by people who cared.
"Silly? Maybe with this sticking out of the back," he answered and plucked the droopy white feather off her helmet. "It looks like you have a dying seagull perched on your head."
"A dying seagull?! B-but I never thought... when father wore it, it didn't—"
"It still looked like a dying seagull, even then." Juan handed her the shriveled feather with a wrinkled nose, then replaced it with the mysterious red feather. "Much better. You can keep that for when your dad gets back, but wear this one for now. That way you'll look taller from far away, little bean."
She visibly colored underneath the shadow of the helmet's visor. "You really think so?"
"'Course I do."
"Then I suppose the bird who owned it will not mind. This way, his feather will travel all over Budehuc!" Cecile said and rose to her feet, the new feather proudly standing upright as if it were just as enthusiastic about embarking on castle patrol.
A few hours later, a nobleman by the name of Aloysius G. Nabor, who happened to be visiting some family at Budehuc, paced the grounds several times in hopes that he might find the prized feather missing from his hat.