Sorry this update took a while, I was busier than usual.

The beautiful cover on the side is by @justpriya

If you celebrate it: have a merry Christmas!

I hope you enjoy the chapter!:)

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Chapter 9

"What's wrong, Hailey?" Mortimer asked, worried, seeing the shocked look on my face.

He followed my gaze to the stray feathers and picked one up, a thoughtful look on his face.

Chase stepped out of the kitchen, "Hey, are you guys coming or what? I'm hungry!"

Mortimer twirled the feather in his hand, and I continued staring at them in horror.

"Guys? Okayyy..."

I finally found my tongue. "Chase! I'm losing my feathers!" I cried out.

"So?" He asked, looking between Mortimer and me like we were a bit messed up in the head.

I looked at him in bewilderment. What did he mean, "So?" I was loosing my feathers, and, what's more, right after my first flight! He could at least pretend to be a little worried.

"Stop looking like you just watched your own death happen, Hailey, you're just molting." Chase said carelessly.

"Molting?" I echoed.

Mortimer looked up. "Yes, molting. It's when your wings lose old, damaged feathers to replace them with new ones. I'm sorry, Hailey, I should have told you about it."

I felt a bit ridiculous to have freaked out about something that was so common, but how was I supposed to know Winged lost their feathers?

"Oh, yeah, I guess it would be a bit freaky to see your feathers fall out like that..." Chase said.

"Yeah, really freaky." I agreed. "So you mean this will happen again?"

"It will, but don't worry, it's not painful or anything." Chase answered. "Although it is a bit weird that you're losing feathers outside molting season, now that I think about it."

"Molting season?"

"Yes, we usually molt at specific times of the year. Some Winged molt twice a year, some only once. It just depends on your descendance."

"Then, why am I molting now?" I asked.

Mortimer spoke up, "I think all the flying you did today must have damaged your wings, especially since they were unused to rough winds like this and you didn't groom them as carefully as most Winged do. Your body decided to replace them with new, stronger feathers. Also, I think your feathers were more fragile than usual, because it was your first growth."

I nodded slowly, registering the information. "So, from now on, I should only molt at set times in the year?"

"That's right," Chase agreed.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you'll only molt once a year." Mortimer added.

"How would you know that?" Chase asked.

"I can tell by the color of Hailey's feathers," Mortimer answered him, although it looked like this statement only confused Chase more.

"How can you tell that just by the color of my feathers?"

Mortimer brought the feather he had been holding to eye level.

"Look. The parts where you feathers aren't green are white. Pure white. When Winged have white wings, it's usually a cream or grayish white. Actually, that's how I thought your feathers were, green with a cream, almost white color, so I was surprised to realize they were white as can be."

"But aren't the Winged with pure white feathers supposed to have royal blood?" Chase cut in.

"Exactly. Pure white feathers are a sign of noble blood. Although," he said, turning to me, "having noble blood doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have a pure white color. Still, I think that the King has pure white feathers. Of course, they've probably turned a bit grayish now."

Wow, so apparently, the fact that I had pure white feathers meant I had noble blood... Being a Winged could be a bit overwhelming sometimes.

"Is it possible to have completely white wings?" I asked curiously.

"No, you can't have entirely pure white wings. Or black ones, for that matter." Chase answered.

"He's right, having streaks of pure white is rare enough, but only the first Winged had entirely white wings. The story goes that- "

"Oh, please," Chase interrupted, rolling his eyes."I think we're a little old for silly children tales."

"Oh, is that what you think they are? Silly, made-up tales for children?" Mortimer asked him sharply.

Chase scoffed. "Don't tell me you believe this stuff?"

I felt an argument about to erupt, so I quickly broke in, "I still don't get how that means I will only molt once a year."

Mortimer sent a quick glare in Chase direction, but turned to me and said, "That's because those of noble blood molt only once a year."

"Oh, all right. Well, I guess that's good, molting is kind of scary."

Chase laughed, "Don't worry, Hailey. You'll get used to it, and you really can't feel a thing."

"Although it would be good if you took a break from flying for a few days."

"That's true." Chase nodded.

"But I thought we were in a hurry to get to Aeolus?" I asked him.

"We are, but flying is harder when you're molting, especially since you haven't flown much yet. We'll wait until your feathers are stronger."

"All right," I smiled at him.

"Well, that was fun, but the food's probably gone cold, now." Chase complained.

Mortimer jumped up and ran to the kitchen. The smell of burnt food filtered in the room, and Mortimer peeked out of the kitchen with an apologetic smile.

"Actually, Chase, we won't have to worry about our food being cold. In fact, it's probably going to be a little burnt."

I followed Chase into the kitchen, and he poked the dish with a knife. I didn't know what our dinner originally was, but now it looked a bit like a black, weirdly shaped brick.

"Um, I'm not sure that's edible." Chase declared.

"Aw, but I'm hungry!" I complained.

"It's your fault, you know, if you hadn't started molting, we'd already be done eating." Chase teased me.

I searched my mind for a comeback, but Mortimer saved me by saying, "It's okay, we can just order pizza. You youngsters like that, right?"

"Yes!" Chase cheered. "Pizza!"

I laughed, and Mortimer said, "All right, pizza it is then." He picked up his phone and started dialing a number.

Chase went back to the living room and fell back on the couch. He picked up the remote and turned the T.V. on.

"Scoot over," I said, sitting next to him. He flipped through the channels, and I looked around the room distractedly.

Suddenly, Chase sat up abruptly and cursed. I looked up at him, alarmed, and was about to ask him what the matter was when the picture on T.V. caught my eyes.

"Turn it up," I said urgently.

"-about the story of the young girl who disappeared just a few days ago," A newscaster stated, while a picture of me was broadcasted on the T.V. screens behind her. I recognized the picture, although Ali had been cropped out of it. We had taken it this summer, on one of the many days we had spent together.

"A saleswoman has reported seeing Hailey Underwood in company of a young man about her age, although she said that she seemed afraid of him and the young man behaved aggressively. Hailey's best friend has told the police that Hailey was not seeing anyone and she has no idea what could have caused her disappearance. Now, a story from a small town in Africa-" the anchorwoman continued, but Chase turned off the T.V.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Mortimer looking at me with a pained look on his face. He must have seen everything.

I then realized that a few tears were streaming down my face.

"I'm sorry," Chase said quietly, ashamed.

I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand.

"No, you shouldn't be. Without you, I doubt I would be alive right now. It's just that I miss my dad and my best friend, and I wish they knew I was safe so they wouldn't worry."

I gave him a small smile, trying to show him I was okay, but his eyes were still sad.

"You mean her parents weren't taken care of, or anything?" Mortimer asked Chase.

"Well, no."

"What do you mean by 'taken care of'?" I asked alarmed.

"Well, usually two people go to get the new Winged, a warrior and a wizard. The wizard can use his magic to make the parents think that their child is safely at their Aunt's house, or something of the sort." Mortimer answered.

"Well, I wish we could have done something like that so they wouldn't worry about me." I didn't like the idea of anyone playing with my dad's mind, but I wanted him to be happy above all.

Mortimer looked at Chase questioningly, obviously wanting to know why all this wasn't better organized, but the winged boy just stared at the floor silently. Finally, he looked up and his gaze met Mortimer's.

"Oh." Mortimer simply said. He moved up to Chase and placed his hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

I didn't get the silent conversations between the two, but I certainly understood the look that Mortimer gave Chase. It was the same look that people gave me when they learned I never knew my mother, and they all assumed that it meant she was dead.

Whoever had come with Chase to get me was never going to see his home in Aeolus again.

I got up and embraced Chase in a hug. He looked up at me, surprised, before hugging me back.

"Thanks," he said after a little while letting go of me. I just smiled faintly at him. I couldn't help feeling a bit guilty, because if they hadn't come to get me, this would not have happened.

Chase looked at the black T.V. screen and seemed to shake himself. The strong Chase I knew was back.

He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak just as the doorbell rang. Mortimer got up and walked away to the door.

"Perfect timing." Chase said as soon as Mortimer was out of earshot. "Look, Hailey, I know you're molting, but we really need to get away from here as soon as possible. The first reason, as you know, is that I was ordered to bring you to the castle as fast as I could. Next, I don't want to wait until monsters catch up with us. Last, the people in this town are real blabber mouths and very nosy. If someone finds out Mortimer is housing a kidnapped girl and the crazy guy who stole her away from her family..."

He didn't have to finish his sentence. I would hate for anything to happen to this sweet old man, and I certainly didn't want to cause him any trouble.

Chase was looking at me, waiting. The decision was up to me.

It also occurred to me that it might be possible to contact my father or find a way to reassure him once I was in Aeolus.

"Let's go." I said decisively.

Chase grinned at me. "Oh, and don't worry, I'll be here to help you fly."

"I'll be fine." I protested. "Plus, you need to go easy on that wing."

"It's fine, now. Doesn't even hurt anymore."

I suspected that was a lie, but let it go.

Mortimer came back in carrying the pizza.

"Look, Mortimer, we've decided we really have to go."

The old man looked disappointed, but he nodded.

"I understand."

"I'll come visit you soon," Chase added.

"And me, too!" I said, running up to give the old man a hug, careful not to touch his silvery feathers.

"You know you two are always welcome here," Mortimer said with a smile, petting my head.

After quickly swallowing down a slice of pizza, we said our goodbyes to Mortimer and got on our way.

"We really have to go visit him again," I said, turning back one last time to see the small wooden house disappear in the distance.

"And we will." Chase answered with a smile.

I stumbled against a rock, and Chase caught my arm and steadied me.

"Stop turning around, you can't see that house anymore anyway, and you'll end up falling on your face."

"No, I won't," I protested, but stopped turning back.

As we got closer to the edge of the cliff, the wind got stronger. It blew by, carrying the salty smell of the sea and tangling my long hair.

I took a hair band from my wrist and stopped, facing the wind, as I put my brown hair up in a pony tail. When that was done, I ran to catch up with Chase.

"Hailey, remember to always stick close to me. Do whatever I tell you, that tower is a bit hard to find when it gets foggy. Oh, and don't fly too close to the water, but not too high either. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

We reached the edge of the cliff, and he opened his wings wide. "Let's go, then." He said with a grin.

He jumped off, and started pumping the air with his strong wings. He didn't go too far, and I realized he was waiting for me.

He probably thinks I need help, I thought with a huff. Well, I'll show him.

With this in mind, I pushed off the cliff. I fell down a bit, but soon rose up and caught an air current. My wings moving around the air around me, I caught up with Chase.

He grinned wider and gave me a thumbs up.

A gust of wind pulled at his wing, putting him off balance for a second, but he had no trouble steading himself and motioned with his arm for me to follow him.

I flew behind him, reveling in the feel of the air against my wings.

I looked around me amazed. A green and white feather fluttering down towards the sea reminded me that I wasn't here to have fun, though.

As we got farther away from the land, some fog rolled out in front of us and tinted everything grey. My wings were getting tired, and my left wing started to hurt a bit, but I flew on.

As I gazed down at the sea, a black form towards the horizon caught my eyes. The tall shadow raised out of the water, before arching back and sliding back under the surface with barely a ripple. I shuddered and flew a little faster. That was one fish I didn't want to meet.

Chase, who was flying a little above me, lowered himself in front of me and pointed off at the distance. A grey silhouette etched itself out of the mist. The Tower of Two Worlds.

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Wasn't really sure how to end this chapter.. But yeah, they're on their way to Aeolus now!