Lou lay slumped over his desk in his chapel’s vestry. His hands draped over the lip, his forehead resting against the blank sheets of paper that were supposed to be filled with the words of his opening sermon.

  “Why… Do I keep… thinking about fish being trained to jump through hoops? It’s ridiculous… I mean… I’ve seen one man do it, but… Gods, why? As a priest, shouldn’t this part come easily to me?”

  He scratched the back of his head.

  “Should I drink? I’d be sober by the day after next, and Brother Suffin used to say it was best to write drunk and edit sober…” Lou sat up, unaware his hair was sticking up at odd angles.

  He pondered the idea of having a drink for another minute or two before shaking his head and rubbing his face. “No, no. Then I’d have to go out and buy the drink and that means people will have only ever seen me buy seeds and beer. Hardly a good first impression before I’ve even given the first sermon.”

  Lou’s knee began to bounce under the table.

  He stared at the blank paper again, and as though alarmed by its unmarked appearance, he sprung up from his seat, rounded the desk, and left the vestry, closing the door behind him. He strode down the carpeted aisle hastily, and though he wasn’t sure where he was going when he exited the chapel and locked the doors behind himself, he faced his pony and cart with determination.

  Then he faltered.

  He looked back over his shoulder at the chapel. “Maybe I should bring a quill and parchment in case I think of something that I can use for the sermon…”

  Lou looked back toward the sunny street, though he himself was cast in shadow.

  The townspeople milled about their day, mothers and children strolled by the shops, while two carts trundled down the street. One ladened with ale barrels, and the other hay.

  Lou watched them restlessly. At the very least people had stopped gawking at him whenever he was around.

  I’ve been avoiding people the past few days, but I can’t do that forever. It’s just that every person I meet seems to unlock one of Reckish’s powers…

  Wracking his mind, a single name popped up in Lou’s thoughts.

  “Benny… I should meet this Benny fellow and see how he has managed to maintain a positive relationship between both the new and old residents.” Nodding to himself, the monk proceeded to untie his pony from the post, and seat himself on the driver’s bench.

  Yes, speaking with someone who had a good grasp on maintaining peace would surely be helpful for writing Lou’s first sermon.

  ***

  For the second time in less than a week, Lou found himself subjecting his poor pony to pull him over rolling fields, with lush grass thickened from the bouts of rain. Wildflowers dotted the ground that led up to a small white washed cottage with a thatched roof, its door painted a deep green, with friendly yellow flowers filling the window boxes.

  The toes of a pair of worn brown leather boots came into view…

  As he drew nearer, Lou spotted a young man laying in the grass amongst dandelions, his blond wavy hair fluttering in the faint breeze.

  Not wanting to startle him, the monk reined his horse to a halt, and made his way over to the young man and found but he had the face of an angel.

  Long lashes brushed along his soft skin, his lips full but angular…

  A child with the blood of a god.

  Something in Lou recognized a divine touch in him.

  Lou cleared his throat.

  The young man’s eyes opened, revealing their startling shades of dark and light blues that seemed ethereal.

  He looked around himself peacefully, and when his gaze landed on the monk, raised his eyebrows and blinked.

  “Oh. Hello!” he slowly sat up and yawned. “How can I be of help?”

  “Good day,” Lou bobbed his head, though under the afternoon sun he was feeling uncomfortably warm. “My name is Brother Lou, and I am the new monk here in Oxby.”

  “Oh! Yes, I’ve heard you arrived! Mrs. Mary Wicks mentioned you came into her shop. I’m Benjamin Mistlebay, but everyone calls me Benny.” The young man offered his hand.

  Lou shook it and felt a pleasant tingling in his stomach as Benny smiled at him, and that same sense of calm that he had experienced in the seed shop when looking at the rabbit figurines filled him once more.

  “How can I help you, Brother Lou?” Benny asked brightly while slipping both of his hands into the pockets of his brown trousers that matched the vest that hung open. He wasn’t excessively small, but middling in height, with the leanness of youth and farmwork keeping him spritely.

  Lou observed these details idly before clasping his hands in front of his robe.

  “Well, you see, Benny. It has come to my attention that there is a bit of bad blood between the old residents and the new.”

  Half expecting the old resident of Oxby to respond stonily, or with anger as Oliver Kelly, Benny merely winced and looked saddened.

  “I guess it isn’t a surprise you already know about it. Well… Sorry, Brother Lou. I know it isn’t the most welcoming of situations to start in. It’s been like this since day one of the militia coming to town and the businesses that followed.”

  The monk nodded then gestured around them, wordlessly asking if the young man would care to take a stroll.

  Benny nodded with a kind smile and the two fell into step while Lou’s pony took it upon himself to graze on the grass unbothered.

  “Mr. Kelly has told me the source of many of the bad feelings from the old residents.”

  “Oliver told you about the attack?” Benny looked at Lou, stunned.

  The monk stopped in his tracks and met the younger man’s gaze with a dry chuckle.

  “He did, eventually.”

  Benny let out a whoosh of air. “I have to say, Brother Lou, you must be blessed with holy power to get the Kelly’s to cooperate in any capacity.”

  Lou raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Oliver Kelly is an interesting character. However, that brings me to the purpose of my visit… It seems, Benny, that you are the only person that everyone likes. Whether they are the new or old residents, no one has a bad thing to say about you. Even the Kelly family.”

  Benny blushed. “Th-That’s… I’m sure I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I just like getting to know people. I know some of the new residents haven’t been kind or good, but that isn’t all of them! Honestly, it was just bad luck that the soldiers were the first ones here after that terrible attack against Mrs. Kelly. The first soldiers that came after that awful day to set up the new post were barely cleared to return for duty after the war and they weren’t all in their right minds. Some still aren’t-”

  Lou gave his hand a small wave, cutting off the small ramble. “I’ve more or less got a grasp of the big picture, but I would like to know how you’ve managed to remain on neutral ground without agitating either side in more detail.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Benny’s mouth twisted to the side as they strolled around his cottage toward the back, where a herd of sheep happened to be grazing.

  There were several bleats upon laying eyes on their caretaker that had him smiling to himself.

  “Well… I guess the big thing I’ve done… is not tell them what they should do. A lot of the new and old residents are alike in that they all have their own ideas about how things should be. Or how to handle everyone… but I just go up to anyone and ask how they are.” Benny shrugged. “Sorry, Brother Lou. I wish there was something a little grander than that, but that’s all I’ve been doing. Oh, sorry I should have invited you inside for tea.”

  The two stopped walking as four sheep ambled over and began bumping themselves against Benny’s legs.

  “That’s alright, I’m the one who intruded on your time,” Lou gave a bob of his head, his mind already lost in thought about how the talk really hadn’t helped him craft any material for his sermon.

  Not telling people what to do?

  The entire point of a sermon was to preach to people.

  Doing his best not to convey his disappointment, Lou faced Benny squarely. “I think I’ll take my leave for now, but I do hope to see you at my first sermon the day after tomorrow.”

  Benny smiled. “Of course, Brother Lou. I’m glad we got to meet before then.”

  Lou bobbed his head. “Good day to you.”

  He then strode back to the front of the cottage, where his pony stood dutifully waiting.

  Great… while that young man is a gentle soul I’m glad to have met, I’m exceptionally behind my work now. Perhaps I should try the tavern…

  ***

  The day had come.

  The very first day, he was to speak to the town of Oxby about the gods…

  He had chosen to speak about Goddess Heleka of peace and slumber.

  Though he was beginning to wonder if the hint was too thinly veiled for the people of Oxby, and then he’d be going against the advice Benny had given him.

  It’s not like I can give a service on Reckish! Recanting the tales about a god of war to a feuding town would be ridiculously obtuse.

  Lou paced in the vestry, muttering to himself, his notes clasped in his hand. He had propped the front door to the chapel open, and rang the bell thirty minutes before the sermon was to begin, but hadn’t dared to look at how full the pews were.

  Thanks to his pounding heart he couldn’t even hear any voices outside waiting…

  He kept re-reading the first line of what he had written for his introduction, but his mind kept propelling itself in its panicked state into other thoughts.

  “I take it you’re nervous?”

  Lou jumped with a yelp and spun around to see Oliver Kelly staring at him with his eyebrows raised. The eldest kelly son’s eyes resembled a fox’s as he studied the monk with deceptive passivity.

  “How did you get in here?!” Lou exploded while looking over his shoulder toward the closed door leading out to the chapel.

  Oliver blinked and looked toward the screen on his right, then slowly reached out, and moved it aside to reveal a rounded door that led out to a small alley.

  Lou flushed red while Oliver’s grin worked its way up his face. “Is this your first time in this room?”

  “No, I-I-I had other things to worry about whenever I came in here! Besides, door or not, it’s bad manners to interrupt a monk before he gives a sermon,” he huffed angrily.

  Oliver rolled his eyes and strode farther into the room. “Just came to wish you luck.”

  “I’m surprised you’re going to attend.”

  “Well you know, I never said I was doing that. I’m not much of a crowd person.”

  “I’m shocked,” the monk grumbled irritably.

  Oliver ignored the barb. “My mother and sisters are here at least, so you have them.”

  Lou sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I suppose it’d be better if you of all people didn’t witness the travesty that is about to take place.”

  “Travesty?” Oliver repeated with a small frown.

  The monk looked up, and realized that the Oxby resident wasn’t sure what the word meant… Not wanting a repeat of the last time he tried to give a linguistic lesson to the thug, he decided not to risk explaining it.

  “I think this is going to be terrible,” he admonished instead while gently slapping his papers against his robes.

  Oliver shrugged. “Have you done a sermon before?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Then yeah, you’re probably going to be awful.”

  Lou gaped in open irritation.

  Oliver shrugged unapologetically. “Everyone who is doing something for the first time is going to be shit at it. Just don’t rant too much. You’ll know if you should wrap it up if my sister Franny starts standing up in the pew.”

  Caught between appreciating the humbling reminder that monk or not, Lou was still human, and being insulted at Oliver’s assumption and agreement that he was about to make a fool out of himself, Lou turned to face the door that led out to the chapel.

  He glanced at the old clock he had hung over the door.

  His heart somersaulted.

  It was time. Well… technically it was seven fifty-eight, but… he could begin and get it over with.

  Noticing where Lou was looking, as well as the thin sheen of sweat along the monk’s brow, Oliver dropped his chin to his chest and meandered over to the door toward the chapel instead of the exit to the alley.

  “I’ll stay for half, but I really don’t do well with large groups of people in one pl-” Oliver opened the door, and stopped talking. He had only opened the door enough to slip out, which meant the sight was blocked from Lou. Oliver looked back over his shoulder. “Never mind, I’ll be fine.”

  Then, the infuriating auburn haired man disappeared into, leaving Lou and his sinking spirits alone.

  In the quiet morning, with his clock ticking away, the monk found himself feeling insignificant, and a little more emotional than he wanted to be…

  Well… At least if there is next to no one out there, it won’t matter as much if I don’t give a stellar performance.

  Straightening his shoulders, even though his gut was churning, Lou moved on stiff legs toward, and taking in one final deep breath, stepped out into his chapel to face his congregation.