Hi guys!

Sorry this update is a few days late:/ But at least you get to find out something really important in this chapter!

I've had many different guesses as to what would happen with the king, and @HannahSamuel0 and @KarenReilly were some of the few who guessed correctly, so good job!

Thank you to @TotalNerdyFreakkkk for the cover on the side!:)

Enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 13

"Hey, Hailey! Hey, Autumn!" Chase greeted us.

"Hey, Chase!" Autumn replied with a wide smile. My response was a little more nervous, and Chase seemed to pick up on that as he said, "Don't worry, Hailey, you'll be fine."

"Aw, Hailey, I thought I made it clear you had nothing to worry about!" Autumn said. "Who knows, it might even be Miss Lynn you'll be talking to."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know why, I can't help feeling a bit nervous though," I answered.

"Um, Autumn, I don't know where you got that from, but sorry, Hailey, we're going to go talk to the king, not Lynn," Chase said.

"Seriously?" Autumn asked. Then, she sighed. "Right, of course you'd manage to have an interview with the king himself," she said, amused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chase said with a teasing look.

"All right, so there's no chance I'm seeing someone other than the king?" I interrupted. For some reason, I felt a bit irritated that they were chatting so easily together, like old friends, while I was mentally getting ready to seeing the king of the Winged Kingdom of Aeolus in person. I reprimanded myself for my irritation.

Come on, Hailey, leave Chase alone, he already brought you all the way here and is going with you to see the king. Your nervousness is not his problem, let him enjoy some time with his friends.

"The king said he wanted to see you as soon as possible, so yeah, that implies he will be here in person." He turned to Autumn." See, I'm not the one getting an interview with the king, Hailey is!"

Autumn laughed, "Alright, I get it. Now go, or Hailey will be late to her interview."

I sprang up. "Come on, Chase, if we arrive late we'll just be starting off on the wrong foot, and I kind of want to avoid that."

"As much as I want to tell you to chill because the king isn't going to eat you, you're right. I would rather avoid knowing the consequences of bringing you late to see the king, especially as I already delayed the meeting so you could rest."

He opened the door and let Autumn and me out. I gave Autumn a quick hug, before following Chase down the hallway.

We reached an archway guarded by two armed Winged. The two guards nodded at Chase and stepped aside without any of us having to say anything. After, we'd passed through, they resumed their position. Somehow they managed to look very serious all the time they were in my sight, although that looked like one of the most boring job you could ever have. Guarding a doorway that you let anybody through anyway, how exciting.

As we hurried through yet another hallway, Chase told me, "His Majesty is waiting for us in his office. I think he didn't want to use the throne room, so you'd feel more comfortable."

I nodded gratefully. If the king was nice enough to meet me in his office instead of what I assumed would be a large, impressive room, then surely I had nothing to worry about, right? But as much as I tried to convince myself that this meeting was not such a big deal, a feeling in the pit of my stomach refused to agree.

We reached a large door of dark wood guarded by a Winged, who, just like the others, somehow managed not to looked bored to tears, but like he was assigned a most important task.

He nodded at us and said, "Hey, Chase. Glad to have you back." The guard also shot me an interrogating look but said nothing.

"Thanks, man," Chase answered, before opening the heavy door and letting me step inside.

The first thing my eyes were drawn to was the imposing old wooden desk in the center of the room. It was covered in papers, but the chair next to it was empty. Along the walls were bookshelves full of books and other documents. A grey haired man with his back to us was currently inspecting a shelf, as if looking for a book.

Only when Chase let the wooden door close did he turn around to look at us.

"Your Majesty." Chase greeted, dipping his head low.

The king acknowledged him with a nod, but quickly turned his attention to me. I shot Chase a lost look. Was I supposed to bow? Wait, no, since I'm a woman, it would be curtsy, right? But I have no idea how to curtsy!

"So, you must be Hailey," The king said with a worn voice, while a smile came to grace his face.

"Yes, sir."

He said nothing, but his smile grew a bit bigger, and I felt myself relax a bit. He looked so happy to see me, surely he couldn't be that bad.

He pointed to a chair in a corner of the room, and Chase immediately got it and put it in front of the desk, while the king went to sit in his own armchair.

His faded blue eyes looked at me warmly as I sat down in front of him, Chase standing behind me, a welcome support.

"So, Hailey, you already know you are half-Winged, and since you know your father is human, I'm sure by now you have concluded that your mother must be Winged."

I nodded in agreement, a feeling of anticipation growing within me at the mention of my mother.

The king's eyes unfocused as he threaded his fingers through his dusty grey and blue feathers distractedly.

"Ah, she was a great woman, your mother..."

My excitement grew at the thought that the king knew my mother, but fell in an instant as his words sinked it.

"What do you mean, 'was' ?" I asked, perhaps a little too forcefully.

The king's attention snapped back to me.

"Did I say 'was'? No, she is still alive. She has to be."

I frowned in confusion and turned to Chase for an explanation.

"Well, technically, she's still missing, so there is a possibility she could still be alive," he reasoned with a pained look, even though it didn't sound like he believed it.

My eyes stung, and I bit my lip.

"She has to be," I whispered, at the same time that the king said firmly, like there was no doubt on the question, "She is, I know she is."

He sighed, and said, "Hailey," I quickly wiped off a tear and looked up at him, "Your mother disappeared a long while ago. Believe me, I feel her loss as acutely as you do."

I was about to protest that he had no idea what I was feeling, that he wasn't the one who'd never known his mother, when he added, "She was my daughter."

I looked at him, aghast. "She, what?"

A hint of a smile came back to his lips. "She was my daughter," he repeated. "And you, Hailey, you are my beautiful granddaughter."

Speechless, I looked at Chase for confirmation, but he looked as bewildered as I was, although he was probably controlling his surprise better than me.

"I'm your granddaughter?" I repeated, not knowing what else to say.

"Yes. I know this was probably the last thing you expected to hear, and that it must be hard to believe that you are the lost granddaughter of a king, much less one of winged people. Don't worry, I don't expect you to immediately act like we're loving relatives who have known each other since you were born, I just ask for a chance to get to know the child I have sought for so long."

I nodded. "Yes, I'd like that. Get to know you better, I mean."

The king smiled at me warmly, and his tired eyes seemed to get a small spark of life.

"Good. Now, Hailey, is there anything you want to talk about in particular?"

I did not have to think long. "Yes, Sir. What about my father? Is he safe? And is there a way I could tell him not to worry about me?"

"He's safe, don't worry about him. Rose is keeping an eye out and doing her best to comfort him."

"Rose?" I asked in disbelief, "You mean, Ms. Rose? My neighbor?"

The king smiled, "Yes, herself. Turns out the old lady has more than one trick in her bag. She sensed the magic in you as your wings started getting ready to grow. Since she knew those were dangerous times to have a half-Winged out on their own, she alerted me of your presence, and I was able to send people to get you." He looked at Chase and added, "Just in time, too, it seems."

I looked at Chase curiously, and he said, "While you were sleeping, I told His Highness all about our little trip."

I nodded, and there was a momment of silence, which I broke by saying, "I still can't believe Ms. Rose is Winged! I mean, I made cookies for her just the night I left, and she gave me cookbooks for Christmas, and I never, ever saw her wings!"

Chase laughed, "Just think, Ms. Rose must have been as surprised as you are now when she learned you were Winged!"

The king chuckled and added, "You know, Ms. Rose has long since perfected the art of hiding her magic from humans, and unless you were Winged yourself -and remember, at that time the Winged side of you still lay dormant- there was no way you'd have seen her wings."

There was a knock at the door, and at the king's answer, the guard peeked his head inside.

"Your Highness, my apologies for the interruption, but Chase is needed down in the guards' quarters."

Chase and the guard both turned their attention to the king, who nodded.

"Go, we'll manage without you."

"Yes, Sir." Chase started to leave, then as an afterthought turned back to the king. "Hailey will need someone to lead her back to her room..."

The king waved him off, "I'll take care of her, don't worry."

After Chase left, the king told me that although my father could not know about the Winged, some people could make a spell to make him think I was still in the human world, at a relative's house for example.

After thinking for a bit, we decided to make him think that I was staying at my aunt's house in Ireland, and I wrote him a letter telling him I was fine and having fun. Although I felt bad for deceiving him, the king assured me the spell would be harmless and prevent my father any heartache. The Winged would also erase my story from the news - how, I had no idea- and, upon my request, make Allison believe the same thing as my dad.

"I also want to discuss other things with you, but I don't want to trouble you with these dark things just yet. There will also be a banquet tonight. I hope you don't mind, but I want to officially let everyone know that you are my granddaughter."

I nodded. "All right."

The king stood up, announcing the end of our talk.

"As much as I'd like to get to know you better, I have things to take care of."

"I understand," I nodded.

He smiled and said, "Oh, and, Hailey, I forgot to ask you, what do you think of your room?"

I smiled widely, "it's great!"

He returned my smile. "I'm glad you think so. If you need anything, be sure to ask. Lynn will be able to help you."

"All right."

"Then, see you at the banquet," the king smiled.

"Okay," Wanting to see how it felt on my tongue, I added, "Bye, Grandpa."

The king's smile grew wider and love shone in his eyes. I couldn't believe he knew so little about me, but already accepted me wholeheartedly.

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What do you think? Surprising? Expected?