Secret Wings

Chapter 11

I was so stunned by its beauty that I almost forgot to flap my wings.

"Beautiful, right?" Chase spoke up from behind me.

I nodded, speechless. I guess when Chase had been talking about a castle, I imagined something more like the ones with the big stone fortifications. This fairy tale castle was definitely not what I expected.

"Come on, we're almost there."

As we got closer, I realized we were flying high above the castle. I could see that there were large gardens around it and what looked like a town a little way off. I also spotted people flying and milling around, but I was too far away to see any of their features.

At the sound of my name, I tore my eyes away from the scene.

"Yes?"

"Ready for my favorite part of the trip?" Chase asked with a playful grin.

I looked at him questioningly. As mean of an answer, Chase looked at me as if he'd just played a good prank on me, folded his brown wings behind his back, and dropped like a stone.

I almost screamed, but then stopped myself. I hadn't come this far to chicken out so close to the castle. Chase's enthusiastic shouts reached my ears although he was already far below me. I took a deep breath and swiftly tucked my worn-out wings behind my back. Immediately, I started tumbling down, wind rushing past my ears. I was tempted to squeeze my eyes shut, but, afraid I would end up crashing into something, I kept them open.

Below me, Chase opened his wings a little, slowing himself down and allowing me to catch up with him. As I fell past him, he closed his wings again and somehow managed to grab my hand as we tumbled down side by side. His comforting touch allowed me to relax, and I actually started enjoying the freefalling.

The ground came closer every second, and I saw a few Winged going on their daily activities, but we went too fast for me to focus on any of them. We fell past the tallest tower of the castle, but quickly left it behind.

Chase squeezed my hand, then let it go, getting my attention. Abruptly, he opened his wings wide. Instantly, he stopped falling and was lifted up slightly by the whooshing air.

I promptly copied him. The snap of the air against my wings when I opened them stung my sore feathers, but I was so overwhelmed by the new experience and scenery that I barely noticed.

Chase landed softly on a grassy patch outside the castle, and I followed suit. As my weight shifted from my wings to my legs, they faltered a little, but Chase's arm shot out to steady me.

"So, what'd you think?" He asked, his eyes bright.

"Awesome. Really scary, but awesome," I answered truthfully, a smile plastered on my face.

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but some guy with red wings ran up from behind him and crashed into him. Chase stumbled and shoved the winged boy back.

"Thanks Aiden, that was exactly what I needed after that flight. You know how much I love being crushed by idiots," Chase joked.

"I'm sorry, is poor Chasey tired?" Aiden cooed teasingly.

Chase tried to slap his head, but he missed, and his friend teased him again.

"Just ignore those two idiots," a voice said. I jumped and turned around to face a tall, blond-haired guy with ashen grey wings. "Hi, the name's Lance, and you are?"

"What do you want, Lance?" Chase interrupted sharply.

"So defensive..." The newcomer sighed, shaking his head. "I was assigned as a guard after your friend here-" he nodded towards Aiden, "lost his place out of pure foolishness."

Chase frowned at Aiden, but answered cooly, "So?"

"So, you know as well as I do that, as a guard, it's my job to make sure no one trespasses into castle grounds. I can't just let anyone in, especially a stranger." Lance said, before turning his cold gaze to me and saying with a winning smile, "Sorry, beautiful."

I didn't like the way he looked at me, as if he expected me to be completely smitten with him. "Don't call me 'beautiful'," I said coldly.

I thought I saw a hint of a smile on Chase's face, but I couldn't know for sure, as he said, "Do I look like I care about what you're saying?"

"Yeah," Aiden piped up, "last I heard, you weren't chosen to go on any quests, Lance."

"That's because I'm too valuable here to be sent away on pointless quests."

Aiden looked at him, stunned, and burst out laughing.

Lance gave him a deadly glare, his fists clenched. Before he could say anything, though, Chase interrupted, "Right, we'll be going, now." The blonde Winged opened his mouth, but Chase continued, "The King has asked for me to report to him personally as soon as I got back. You wouldn't want to keep his Majesty waiting."

Lance looked thoroughly surprised. "You're bluffing."

"He's not actually," Aiden said, recovered from his laugh attack, "Now, why don't you go back to being your usual useless self and leave us alone?"

Lance ignored him and examined me closely, giving me more than the flirtatious attention of before. "Who is she?" He asked Chase, a suspicious undertone in his voice.

I was about to answer that 'she' could speak for herself, thank you very much, but Chase was faster than me.

"None of your business." He put a hand behind my back and steered me away from the conversation. "See you later Aiden," he called out over his shoulder.

"Yeah, Chase, we want to know everything!" his friend answered, before turning away to glare at Lance.

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And that's it for today! THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE BOOK THOUGH!
(Just thought I'd put that in there because there are always these 3 or 4 confused readers who ask if the book is done...) The book won't be done until I clearly state that it is.

See you next update!