Hey guys!
Remember how I said I'd update this weekend? Well I just saw I was number 16 in the Fantasy section!! I couldn't believe it, still can't! I honestly stared at the page for 20 seconds, then reloaded twice to make sure... Then I dropped everything I was doing and finished editing the chapter because you guys are so awesome you deserve the chapter right now.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who VOTED and/or COMMENTED!!!!!!!!!
Every single vote and comment means so much!!
To be honest, this chapter would probably be done much later if I didn't get all these super sweet comments!!
I can't believe how many votes, comments, and reads I got!
And number 16 on the popular fantasy books? Wow, yeah, I must be having a good dream or something.
Thanks to you guys I'm much more focused on making this a really good story and writing more often. :)
You guys rock!!!
Thanks again and enjoy the chapter:D
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Chapter 4
I was woken up by bright light shining through my eyelids. Crap! I thought. I'm going to be late for school! I sat up quickly and almost fell back as I took in my surroundings and memories of yesterday hit me.
I was now sitting on the top of a very tall building. I could hear noise coming down from the busy streets far below me. I looked to my right to find Chase wrapped in his wings, snoring gently. He must be exhausted, I thought.
Chase had flown until dawn, away from my father, my friends, my home, and everything I knew. I must have dozed off, because I remember awaking to find that we were flying over a big city, and that pale light was coming from the horizon. Chase had landed on the top of this building, and I fell back asleep right after that.
I could barely believe I had left home with a complete stranger, without anything but the clothes on my back, and no idea where I was going.
It was the right decision to make though. I knew that as soon as I saw that... That creature - whatever it was- land on the roof of the house. If what Chase had said was true, now that I was gone Daddy was not in any danger. That was all that mattered, that he was safe.
Chase stirred and opened his eyes sleepily. Good, he was awake. I could really use an update on the situation right now. For example, where were we even going?
"'Morning," he said, sitting up and running a hand through his already messy hair.
"Actually, I'd say it's about noon, but hi," I answered.
Chase smiled amusedly. I watched as he sat up and stretched. I had to admit he looked good. He turned around and smirked.
"Enjoying the view?"
Ugh. Well, boys will be boys, I guess. Just because he had wings did not make him any different.
I made a point of looking down at the busy streets below me. "Yeah, it's not too bad."
A look of confusion passed on his face before he sighed. "Okay, that's not really what I meant."
I smiled teasingly at him, letting him know I knew exactly what he had meant, and he playfully glared at me. I had a feeling we would get along well.
"So what are we doing today? Oh, and more importantly where in the world are we even going?"
"Well, right now, I'm hungry, so let's go down there and eat," he said, indicating the street with a nod.
"Alright. Won't people notice our wings, though?"
"Well, that brings us to the first lesson of hanging out with humans, hiding your wings. So basically, what you have to do is close your eyes and visualize your wings."
I did as he asked.
"You good so far?" When I had nodded my assent, Chase continued, "Alright, so now try to imagine your wings slowly fading until you can't see them anymore, like they're invisible or something. All the while, think really hard that you do not give permission to the humans to see them."
Doing that was more difficult than it sounded, but when I was finally satisfied, I opened my eyes.
"I think I did it! Can you still see them?"
"Of course I can." Seeing my disappointed face, he added, "I mean, I'm going to be able to see your wings anyways since we're both of the Winged. What you want to do is to make your wings invisible to humans."
"Oh, okay. So how do I know it worked?"
"It's simple really," Chase grinned. "If people start screaming and pointing at your wings, it didn't. Otherwise, you did a good job and no one is seeing your wings."
"Yeah, that seems like a fool-proof idea," I said sarcastically.
Chase shrugged. "Well do you have any better ideas?"
I huffed, knowing he was right. "So anyway, how are we getting down?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Well, I guess I'll just fly you down and try to be as unnoticeable as possible. When your wings have finished growing, I'll have to teach you how to fly."
I felt a thrill laced with a hint of fear at the thoughts of soaring up in the air by the sole power of my wings.
He stepped to the edge of the building, his hair whipping in the wind. He extended a hand.
"Come on."
He grabbed me and jumped off the building. I felt a now familiar rush of air as we ascended. Now that my mind was not occupied by thoughts of imminent danger anymore, I felt acutely the warmth seeping from his hands on my waist. I blushed slightly and lowered my head so he would not notice.
We landed in front of what appeared to be the back entrance of a restaurant. The area was deserted, except for a stray cat that fled at our arrival.
Chase let go of me, and I felt a twinge of loss, which I shrugged away quickly. Get a grip, Hailey, I thought, you have way too much going on right now to think about some guy you've known for two days.
Yeah, a voice said in my head before I could stop it, you might have only known him for two days but you've already run away from home with him, and if it wasn't for him you might as well be dead. Shut up, I told the voice.
"So how does Starbucks sound?" Chase asked, unaware on the argument that just played out in my head.
A smile spread on my face. Who does not like Starbucks? "Sounds great!"
We crossed a few streets before entering the coffee shop.
We took our orders and went to sit at an empty table. I ran my hand through my hair, and realized it was a tangled mess. Crap, I completely forgot about that. I probably looked completely crazy right now.
"Hey, Chase? I'm just going to the bathroom really quickly, okay?"
"Yeah sure," he shrugged, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. Apparently, Chase didn't like coffee. For some reason, even knowing something as unimportant as this felt comforting. I was getting to know him better; he was not a complete stranger any more.
I took one look in the mirror in the bathroom and winced. My hair was a complete mess. My cheeks reddened at the thought that I had gone out in public looking like that. I started running my hands through my hair to untangle it, rather unsuccessfully.
A woman entered and positioned herself in front of the mirror. She reapplied some lipstick and looked at my unsuccessful attempts to make my hair look decent.
"Oh Honey, what happened to your hair?"
Well I kind of left my home in a hurry in the middle of the night and flew all nights in the arms of some guys with wings. Right, there's no way I can answer that truthfully. Think, Hailey, think!
"Oh, um, yeah my friends and I are camping around here, and I kind of forgot to bring a brush, so yeah..." I silently congratulated myself. That was a good excuse.
"Poor thing, here let me help you!" The woman rummaged in her large leather purse and got a brush out. Thanks the heavens, I thought.
Ten minutes later, my brushed hair was braided down my back. I looked way better and, after I splashed some water on my face, felt fresher, too.
I thanked the woman profusely. She waved it all away and gave me a hug. Her hands went to my back and rubbed against my wings. I stiffened, but she did not seem to notice either my discomfort or my wings. She left the bathroom, and I checked my wings in the mirror, smoothing the tips out. With a smile I realized that I had been really successful at hiding my wings, however I did it. I had also learned something new about the life of winged-people: hugging a human was very uncomfortable.
I went back to Chase who greeted me with a smile.
"You look good." He said.
I felt my cheeks tinge with pink at the compliment. Well, compared to before, I probably do.
"Thanks."
"So," I said after drinking some coffee. "What's the plan for today?"
"Well, first I think you need to know a few things." I leaned forward, interested. Was I at last going to learn more about my Winged heritage?
"Alright, where should I start? So, first of all, you should know they are many of us. We live in someplace hidden in the clouds that humans have no idea exists and could never find."
"Wow, that's so cool!" I could not help say.
Chase half-smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty cool." His face turned serious again. "It's not all happy like a fairy tale there, though. Right now, we're waging a big war against our enemies. It's kind of complicated, so I won't go in too much detail right now, but it's really big. Our enemies are pretty dangerous, too. They're evil, and some of them are no better than beasts."
I shivered. I really did not want to get mixed up with all of that.
"You remember, last night? When, something flew down near your house?" I nodded, and he continued, "It was sent by the enemy. And it was looking for you."
I sat up straight, alarmed. I had no idea what that creature was, or even what it really looked like, but I certainly did not want to meet it. Thank God Chase had gotten there before it.
Chase grabbed my hand and gave me a gentle squeeze. I gave him a tentative smile.
"Why, though?"
"Alright, well when you're at war, you need soldiers, right? And if your enemy is looking for soldiers, you want to cut their supplies off, make sure they don't get more."
"Whoa, wait! You're recruiting me to be a soldier in a war I wasn't even aware of?" I cried out.
Chase looked offended, "Of course not! Let me finish, okay? So basically, our enemies want to make sure we don't get reinforcement from half-Winged, half-humans. That doesn't mean we're actually doing that. We're not. They don't know that though, so they decide to go and kill the half-Winged. I mean, that works out great for them. They stop our powers from being passed on, they distract us, we have to send people away as fast as we can to make sure they don't come to harm, and on top of that they get to kill people. It's a great plan for evil bastards like them." He said with a grimace.
"So you came to get me so I would be away from those monsters?" I asked. Not that I didn't appreciate it, I did, I liked being alive thank you very much, but I couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed, like I was a chore that he had had to take care of or something.
"Well, yes. But that's not all, I mean, we would have come to get you anyways. When half-Winged get their wings, someone always goes to tell them about the unknown side of themselves. It's just that before the war, they weren't forced to tear them away from their home to escape a monster." He said this last part bitterly, as if he felt guilty.
"Chase, it's okay. Really. I'm so glad you came, I could never thank you enough." A small smile appeared on Chase's face. "Can I ask you some more questions?"
"Go ahead, I'll do my best."
"So are there a lot of others like me? I mean, half-Winged?"
"Nah, very few actually. It's pretty uncommon for Winged to fall in love with humans, let alone have kids with them. The problem is though, it's still kind of hard to locate the half-Winged because the Winged parent will always make sure they are somewhat protected and will barely tell anyone."
"About that, does that mean my mother is Winged? Is she still alive? Will I be able to see her?" Hope flared in me.
Chase suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Uhh... Sorry, Hailey. That's confidential matters, I think. I barely know anything, anyway. I was only told what was really necessary."
I tried not to show how disappointed I was. Chase sensed my sour mood and changed the subject.
"Hey, look at your wings! I swear they've grown again! Soon, you'll be able to learn to fly!"
The mention of flying perked me up. "That'll be so awesome! I can't wait!"
Chase smiled at my excitement. "Well now that you're not completely in the dark anymore and we've cleared up a few things, let's go! I can answer more questions on the way."
"Alright!"
We left Starbucks, and I asked, "Wait, where exactly are we going again?"
Chase chuckled. "We're going to the Land of Aeolus, where the Winged live."
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So I know this chapter doesn't have as much action in it, but hey! Hailey needs a break once in a while! That break might not be very long, though... Not saying anything;)
Also, I thought some things needed to be explained.
THANKS AGAIN YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!!