Hi everyone!

Thank you to @MrDespicableGuy for the great banner!

@IonaBaird123 ships Hailey and Chase as Hase, but @J3sk8ermusic called them Chailey. What do you guys think? ;)

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Chapter 17

Once I got over my initial nervousness, the banquet turned out to be actually pretty fun. After I was formally introduced as the king's granddaughter, people seemed satisfied as to the reason why I was here, and I received nothing more than a few curious glances.

Grandpa, as he had now asked me to call him, made sure that I was never at loss or bored. He introduced me to the middle-aged man with midnight-blue wings at my left, Alistair , and the elderly man on his right, Anselm. The grey-haired man was visually impaired and had a bad case of rheumatism, yet I was surprised by his vitality and love of life. Here and there, his dark grey wings were lit up with a few crimson feathers.

Alistair turned out to be the captain of the military. He was a man of few words, but Grandpa assured me his skills in battle and as a strategist were unmatched. After exchanging a few polite words, Alistair preferred to turn to the man sitting next to him, to whom I had not been introduced, for further conversation. Not that I held it against him, as I perfectly understood the limited interest of talking to a teenage girl for a military leader like him.

Grandpa was glad to keep the conversation going, though, and Anselm told me that I was welcome entertainment for those boring dinners. I learned that he was the royal advisor, but he didn't behave like I would expect one to, sometimes stealing food from Grandpa's plate -how he did that with his poor eyesight was beyond me- and sending me conspiratorial winks. The king shook his head at his advisor's antics, telling him humorously that he should have made him the royal jester instead.

The food was brought to the tables by some Winged, whom Grandpa told me volunteered for the event and took turns serving and eating with the other guests. I noticed that the ones who came to our table to bring food never looked directly at the king, but they seemed friendly enough and a few of them introduced themselves to me, and though they seemed curious as to who I was, their welcoming attitudes warmed my heart.

There were many dishes to choose from, but most of them looked familiar enough, though a bit fancier than I was used to, which was to be expected as this was, after all, a banquet given by the king. I especially enjoyed some of the light, airy pastries that were served, and wondered if maybe I could meet the chef and learn a few tricks from him.

Grandpa and his advisor retired early and Alistair said he needed to go check up on the nightshift -whatever that meant- leaving me alone at the head of the table. Even though I had expected stares, people didn't look bothered by my presence, even when I sat alone at the royal table, which perhaps made the experience all the stranger.

Soon though, Ellie came up to me and asked if I wanted to meet her friends, to which I happily agreed. We were soon joined by Aiden who insisted that I meet all of his and Chase's friends as well. Needless to say, I had trouble remembering all these names thrown in my face. I chatted with different people well into the night, and when people finally started leaving, Lynn came up to me and offered to show me the way to my room, which I gratefully accepted.

Once in my room, I slipped out of my dress and laid down on my hammock. I expected to fall asleep instantly, but I actually stayed awake a bit longer, staring at the ceiling with a hundred thoughts running through my head, before darkness finally overtook me.

*

I was woken up by sunlight filtering through the large window of my room and the sound of knocking at my door.

"Yeah?" I called out sleepily.

"Hailey, it's ten thirty, I can't believe you're not up, yet!" Autumn called out from behind the door.

"Oh, hey, Autumn," I yawned, getting up and opening the door.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she chirped, letting herself inside my room.

"'Morning. I'm just going to take a quick shower, I'll be right back." I mumbled.

"Okay, you probably need it to wake up, anyway," Autumn laughed. "Here," she said, handing me a small bag.

"What's that?"

"A brush, some hairbands, hair conditioner, stuff like that."

"Thanks, Autumn," I smiled. "You're the best!"

"I know," she joked. "Now go take your shower and hurry up."

When I was done showering and more awake, Autumn asked me, "Do you have anything planned for today?"

I shrugged. "Not that I'm aware of, but then again I wasn't aware I had an etiquette class scheduled when I woke up yesterday."

Autumn frowned. "Etiquette class?"

"Yeah, it's kind of boring, but at least Ellie's nice."

"Ellie with the blond hair and light pink wings?"

"Yeah, her."

"Oh yeah, I know who she is. I like her. So anyway, since you apparently have no plans for today yet, I was thinking maybe you'd like a tour of the city."

"The city?"

Autumn pointed out at my window, from where we could see the lush castle gardens, and even farther out, a bunch of old-fashioned-looking buildings.

I smiled, "I'd love to visit it!"

"Awesome! You'll love it. It's very different from the cities in the human world. Much less pollution."

A thought popped up in my head, and I asked, "What if Grandpa needs to talk to me?"

"Oh, yeah, I totally forgot to tell you, it's so awesome you're the king's granddaughter! Is that why he wanted to talk to you yesterday?"

I nodded, and she continued, "Why didn't you tell me, though?"

"Autumn, I only learned that I was related to him yesterday during our meeting."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Is it weird? Suddenly learning you're a princess, I mean?"

I grimaced, "Please don't call me a princess, it sounds so weird. It gives me a picture of me in a pink sparkly dress doing nothing all day while people wait on me and I await my prince charming."

Autumn laughed, shaking her head at me, and I continued, "And yes, it is a bit weird, but considering I just learned I had wings and that there was a whole kingdom with other winged people, this isn't the strangest thing that's happened to me lately."

Autumn smiled understandingly. "Point taken. By the way, Chase said you were a really good flier, but that you just learned a few days ago, and you haven't even had your wings for a week yet. Is that true?"

I nodded, feeling flattered that Chase thought I was a good flier.

"Yeah, it's true, although it feels like I've had my wings for much longer."

"Cool! Did you ever feel like you were missing something before you grew them?"

"Can't say that I have, although I wasn't aware there was anything for me to miss. Now that I have wings, though, I don't think I could live without them," I said, digging around my wardrobe in a fruitless search for a pair of socks. I needed to talk to Lynn about getting more clothes the next time I saw her.

"Well, obviously it would be hard. It'd be like trying to imagine yourself without arms. I mean, I'm sure you could get used to it after a while, but it'd be so weird at first." She said, stretching out her own dark purple wings.

I nodded in agreement, resigning myself to putting on my sneakers barefooted.

"Hey, you know if you ever need help with your wings, for taking care of them and stuff, I'll be glad to help you out."

I smiled. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks Autumn."

"Anytime. Now are you good to go?"

"Yep," I nodded. "Although I hope no one will come looking for me..."

Autumn dug around in her jean pockets and produced a small pencil and some bits of folded paper.

"I always carry some paper and a pen with me," She said as a way of explanation.

She scratched a few words down and put the paper in plain sight on one of the bright green pillows of my hammock.

"There, now if anyone comes here they'll know where to find you."

"Awesome, thanks."

"What would you do without me?" Autumn joked.

I laughed and slammed the door behind us without locking it. It would need to be open for someone to see the note, and I didn't have anything valuable in there anyway.

"So," Autumn started as we walked down the hallway, "I was thinking we could first get you something to eat."

My stomach grumbled in agreement, and I grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have had breakfast yet," she laughed.

We went down a flight of stairs, and a few people who were passing by smiled at us and said hello.

We soon reached what turned out to be the royal kitchen. About twenty people were running around, cooking different foods, fetching ingredients, or putting things in or out of the large ovens. The room was alive with the hum of overlapping conversations, the crackling of fire, the rhythmic taps of knives against wooden boards and spoons against metal pots, and the mouthwatering smell of a myriad different dishes being prepared.

"Well then, if it isn't Autumn and our little princess!" A portly woman in a stained apron greeted us.

"Please call me Hailey," I answered with a smile.

"All right, Hailey," she smiled back, "do you girls need anything?"

"Hello, Nancy! Hailey hasn't had breakfast yet," Autumn answered. "Can we get her something to eat?"

"Of course, dear! Although it's almost noon, so you might want to have lunch already."

Nancy quickly put together a full meal for us. While we ate, I talked with some of the cooks who, upon learning that I liked to cook as well, invited me to come over whenever I wanted so we could trade recipes.

Autumn and I left the kitchen with full bellies and smiles on our faces.

"Don't you just love the castle kitchens?" She asked. "Everyone's always in such a good mood there, and the food they make is so good!"

I laughed, agreeing with her. "You sound like you've been there quite a few times!"

"Yeah Nancy's my neighbor, and I babysit her kids sometimes. She told me I was always welcome in the kitchens, so I wasn't going to decline that invitation."

I laughed in agreement, and with that, she led me outside.

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PS: thanks @Raven17 for finding the name Alistair :) I had no idea what else to name him...