CHAPTER ELEVEN; Whispers in the hall
586 Words
Rain tapped gently against the tall windows of the Calipps estate.
The mansion seemed quieter on rainy mornings.
Even the servants moved more softly, as though afraid to disturb the silence.
Luna stood beneath the covered balcony overlooking the gardens, watching raindrops ripple across the fountain below.
She loved the rain.
It made the world feel honest.
No grand celebrations.
No expectations.
Just the sky emptying itself.
"You always come here when it rains."
The voice startled her.
She turned to find Mia standing barefoot in the doorway, clutching a stuffed rabbit beneath one arm.
"You'll catch a cold," Luna said.
"So will you."
Luna smiled.
"I'll survive."
Mia walked beside her, resting both elbows on the stone railing.
"Do you miss him today?"
The question stole the warmth from Luna's smile.
"...Why would you ask that?"
"Because you only wear the moon necklace when you do."
Luna's fingers instinctively moved to the small wooden moon hanging beneath her dress on a thin leather cord.
She hadn't even realized she'd put it on.
Children noticed everything.
"I do," she admitted softly.
"I miss him too."
Mia's voice was barely above a whisper.
"I don't remember his face very well anymore."
Luna's throat tightened.
She gently brushed a strand of hair away from Mia's forehead.
"That's alright."
"I wish he was still here."
"...Me too."
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The rain filled the silence.
Later that afternoon...
The mansion buzzed with unexpected activity.
Servants hurried through the corridors carrying documents instead of silver trays.
Men in dark suits entered Alexander's study one after another.
Doors were closed.
Voices remained low.
Luna noticed immediately.
Something was happening.
She caught Clara arranging fresh flowers outside the study.
"What's going on?"
Clara glanced toward the closed doors before lowering her voice.
"Business."
"Since when does business require half the household to whisper?"
Clara hesitated.
"Your father has important guests."
"Who?"
"I wasn't told."
That wasn't unusual.
But something about Clara's expression felt...
Uneasy.
Luna noticed.
"You know more."
"I know enough not to ask questions."
Those words lingered long after Clara walked away.
As evening settled over the estate, Luna wandered through one of the older wings of the mansion.
Almost no one came here anymore.
Portraits of long-dead Calipps ancestors watched silently from the walls.
She walked slowly, studying each face.
Every portrait looked almost identical.
Pale skin.
Light hair.
Sharp blue eyes.
Then...
She stopped.
One frame.
Empty.
Only a brass plaque remained beneath it.
The engraving had faded with time.
She reached out, brushing dust away with her thumb.
Only a few letters remained visible.
"...A...ri..."
Before she could make out the rest—
"Luna."
She spun around.
Alexander stood at the end of the corridor.
His expression was calm.
But there was something unreadable in his eyes.
"You shouldn't be in this wing."
Luna looked back at the empty frame.
"I was only looking."
"Some parts of this house are better left alone."
His voice wasn't harsh.
Yet it carried enough weight to end the conversation.
Luna nodded.
"...Of course."
As they walked back together, she couldn't resist asking,
"Who was supposed to be in that portrait?"
Alexander's footsteps slowed for only a second.
Then...
"Someone history chose to forget."
He continued walking.
Leaving Luna standing in the corridor.
Her eyes drifted back toward the empty frame.
History didn't forget people.
People erased them.
And for the first time...
Luna wondered if her family wasn't just hiding secrets.
Maybe...
They were hiding someone.
- Writer
