Falcon Wings

Chapter one

Willow sat in the library pouring over a history book. She sat crisscross on the table, books stacked up and surrounded her like a wall. Her blond hair was tied back into a long ponytail. A few strands stuck out and went in front of her face.She wore a white silk tank top and light blue jeans. Her white shoes lay on the floor beside her table. Her bright yellow eyes skimmed past the words until she got to the part she loved.
The golden winged people ruled the skies of Calium. They healed the sick and protected the people of the land. Although wings were common among her kind, no wings were nearly as immaculate and vibrant as those of the golden winged people, the Aurums.
Willow's own golden wings fluttered as she read through the history of her kind. Nowadays golden wings were rare. She was the only one that she knew of with the golden wings. Her older sister didn't have them, nor did her mother, or even her father. There were days where she wished her sister had inherited the wings and she hadn't.
1

Willow had read most of the books in the library. She reread the Aurum history book more than any other. Even so, she loved it. She was infatuated by the stories it told and the other races it described. Werewolves, fairies, pixies, witches, and even other winged people.
"Willow," a voice called through the library.
Willow jumped at the sound of her own name. It was her sister, Amber. She was standing in the middle of the vast library looking around for Willow.
Amber had dark red hair like their father. It faded to light red at the ends and curled into beach waves that went down her back. Her yellow eyes were like Willow's and their mother's. Her face was stern as always but somehow it was also relaxed. She wore an elegant red dress that reached to the floor and covered her feet. It puffed out with the help of a hoop skirt. Her wings were blood red like her hair. They weren't as big as Willow's wings that touched the ground when she stood up. When folded, the feathers reached down to the back of Amber's knees
It was common knowledge that if you wanted bigger wings, you had to make a to sacrifice. It could be the sacrifice of time or
2

an object. Amber said it had to be the "right thing" to sacrifice or it wouldn't work. Willow never knew how this worked, because her wings had always been large. She couldn't understand why it even mattered, other than, when you had large wings you would be granted your wings ability. Depending on the wings your ability would vary. For blue wings it could be water or ice. Red wings, the ones her family had, would be granted fire.
Willow climbed out of her makeshift fort of books and walked over to her sister. She gave her a small smile and stopped facing her. She did a small curtsy and let her smile widen.
"Hello dear sister. You called?" She said happily.
Amber scowled and looked at Willow's clothes. She let out a long sigh then finally smiled back, a little.
"I knew I would find you here. Now is not the time though for your childish actions. You need to change into proper clothes. You're a princess for goodness sakes! Dress like one!" Amber, frustrated, grabbed Willow's hand, dragging her out of the library and through the halls. Amber muttered other complaints, but Willow didn't bother to listen. She would say the same things to her again anyways.
3

The walls of the castle were red with swirls of gold, making designs that fascinated Willow every time she roamed the halls. When she was a little girl, she had traced her fingers along the golden designs wandering off into her own imagination, pretending to be the one who had made the design. The carpet was black with hints of red, and paintings of old rulers and of their relatives hanging up.
They reached Willow's room, where the golden door had wings printed upon it. Amber's door was across the hall and red like her wings. Their parent's room matched Amber's but the doors were bigger and designs were around the red wings. Legends were passed down saying the door's colors changed throughout time, once the king or queen had different colored wings, but red wings had been in the family for generations, no one could remember a time before.
Amber pushed Willow into her room then shut the door so Willow could get ready with her servants. Willow stretched out her arms and her servants dressed her for the day. Willow's room had white walls with golden designs on them. The designs were made to look like an ancient battle between the Aurums and the Dragon
4