Wingless [Complete]

Chapter Four: Finding Carolina

Authors Note: The image above is what I actually envision Carolina to look like. If you have other ideas by the end of the chapter, or would like to send me a link of how she looks like in your imagination or even and actress that you'd like her to be played by, please tell me! Thanks!
And PLEASE listen to the song

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Finding Lina could take from the span of hours to a few minutes, depending on whether or not her father was in a meeting, and what is was about. If it was about her future suitors . . . good luck finding her even within a few hours. If it was about some dispute settlements, it wouldn't take as long.

I turn around to Lucas. "Do you know what Austin is doing?"

"Do you mean Lord Lesley, Princess?" He asks, polite as ever.

I look at him, exasperated. "No! I mean our pet dragon!" I say sarcastically.

At his confused look, I sigh. "Yes, I mean Lord Lesley. Who else would I be talking about? We are looking for Lina. Carolina."

I know he knows exactly what I'm thinking. In order to know where Carolina is hiding, exactly how long it will take to find her, and whether or not maids should be set out to help find Carolina. I knew most of her hiding places. But there were so many, that it would take quite some time to look in them all.

"In a meeting about finances, I believe." He replies.

I start off, thinking where she could be. Nowhere too hard, because there nothing to do with her. But maybe not very easy, because these meetings take quite some time and she doesn't want to be found.

"And," Lucas adds, as an afterthought. "Some reshuffling of policies in his area."

OK, so this meeting was going to be very long. Which made it much easier. She doesn't want to be found by anyone, as mentioned before, but has to hide a bit better. Also, it's incredibly boring to hide for that long, so she has to be found by me. But only me. That leaves pretty much only one place.

My room.

. . . . . . . . . .

I walk into my room, throwing open the door with a bang. "Lina!" I call out. "I know you're in here."

Out rolls a girl with a mass of long brown-reddish hair from under my bed. Her hair goes down to mid-back and is very voluminous. It brings out her green eyes which sparkle with mischief. It's Lina. She smiles at me. But just then, Lucas come up behind me. She shrieks, and rolls back under the bed, as if that's going to help anything. She did that because Lucas has been sent to find her more than once.

He laughs. "I'm not here to take you back, Carolina. I'm just here to accompany the Princess. Don't worry, I haven't seen you."

Lina rolls back out. I know I've been saying she rolling around on the floor (literally) which doesn't fit the image of a Lady, but it's true. The only way to get under my bed (which is actually a good hiding place because it has sheets that go all the way to the floor. Also, Lina has never been paying attention to formalities, just has her habit of hiding from duties (once again, I mean it literally) shows.

"Lina! Lina!" I say excitedly. "I need your help."

"Why are you so excited about that?" She asks. "Normal faeries don't ask for help with a smile on their faces."

"Lina." I complain, dragging out her name. "That was not the response I was looking for!"

"Well." She grumbles. "I don't know what you need help with and it could be something like stealing the pastries again.

At this, Lucas lifts one eyebrow. "Again?"

I glare at him. "Yes, again." I turn back to Lina. "I have a poem I need you to decode."

"Who are they by?" She responds by immediately, sitting half up in interest. She knows all the poets and Oracles that have anything useful about our present, past, future, and hidden treasure. She also knows the best riddles that were ever written.

"Well," I say slowly. "One's written by someone called A. Moreno, who I think owns this book," I show her the book and the page where the name is written. She flops back down on the floor with disinterest. "and the other one is by someone called Phora. It's spelled P-H-O-R-A."

She sits all the way back up. "I know him." She jumps up off the floor. "He was a Oracle for the Water fey a little while back. He disappeared without leaving a Last-Message Poem."

A last message poem is a poem which an Oracle leaves on his or her deathbed, or dies writing it. It holds more truth to something that will happen in the future, and how to prevent it or start it, depending on the news. If it's good, then how to achieve it or make it happen. If it's bad, then usually it's to prevent it.

Lina runs over to me. "Let me see the book."

I hand it to her, and she reads them over quickly. As she reads, I shoo Lucas, who is still in the room, out to stand guard outside my room. He shouldn't even be in here. I think.

Line finishes reading the second poem, and looks at me. "Where did you find this?"

"In my father's private library." At her look, I hurry on. "But I don't think I even knew it was there. I mean, It's really dusty and yellowed. So, i don't think he'll even notice it's missing."

"Well that would explain the first lines of A. Moreno's poem." She mutters. "It a spell interwoven into this book, and somehow you broke it."

"So?" I ask. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

She looks at me for a long while, making me feel really uncomfortable. "I think . . ." She trails off.

I look at her expectantly, as she glances over the second poem again. "What?" I ask.

"You know how I just told you about Phora, and how his Last-Message was never found?"

"Yes."

She looks me dead in the eyes, and gives me earth shattering news. "You just found it."

I don't doubt her. She was always right about that. Along with being able to understand and decode most riddles and prophecies, she has always been able to hold poems, riddles, and prophecies apart. As well as being able to identify the difference between simple prophecies and Last-Messages.

Her powers aren't developed yet, but everyone how has met her knows that this is probably her power, and she will be incredibly useful. I know that better than anyone. She's helped me a lot.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I ask. "We've found something that has been sought after for years."

"It would be." She confirms. "Except for a few things. The owner of this book, this Anina Moreno, poured her life-force into the first poem, which makes it a Last-Message, and has the only copy of Phoras' last message. But the first lines of her poem are a spell, that you somehow broke, which implies this was meant for you. But the content of Phoras' poem combined with Anina Moreno's, makes this look like something bad."

"How do you come to this assumption?"

"Phora says that bad things may happen, and Anina Moreno writes has if to say something bad has already happened. But nothing like this has ever happened. It doesn't match history at all."