Lost Wings

2~The king's decision

Chapter 2

    To my disappointment, only Aiden seemed onboard with my idea.

    "I understand that you want to find your mom," Autumn said, "but Peraz forest is mostly uncharted territory. Not to mention we're at war."

    "Forget the war, it's much too dangerous by itself," Chase added. "Do you know how many explorers have gone there and gotten badly injured? Or gone there and-" He shook his head. "Plus, a map is no proof at all that your mother was there."

    Edwin stepped in just at this moment. He was my grandfather's new advisor, a dark-skinned man in his twenties whom I found myself liking despite my earlier resentment at seeing Anselm's place filled in so quickly.

    "Hi there," he grinned. "I suppose you aren't looking at these maps for fun?"

    "Ew, no." Aiden grimaced.

    "Would it be a waste of time to tell you about the influence of geographical features on our culture and history?"

    "Yep," Aiden said, just as Autumn answered, "Of course not, that sounds fascinating."

    Edwin chuckled, and Aiden gave Autumn a weird look.

    "Maybe another day." I smiled. "Right now, I'd rather learn more about Peraz forest."

    "Why the sudden interest?" He pulled up a chair.

    The door swung open before I could answer, and my grandfather walked in. "Ah, Edwin, I thought I'd find you here. Hi, kids, how are you?"

    "Eager to fill their brains with knowledge about Peraz, it seems," Edwin answered for us with a humorous glint in his eyes.

    "Really?"

    "We found a map of it in Mom's diary," I explained. "By the way, you wouldn't know what these symbols mean?"

    He squinted as he held the book to eye level. "I'm afraid not. I'd offer to have one of my men look at it, but I'm afraid they're too busy with the war for us to bother them with a personal matter like this."

    I nodded in understanding. I hadn't even thought about that. Of course, being a princess came with its perks, but I was well-aware that I had to put the people's needs before mine.

    "I was thinking, maybe she went to Peraz forest."

    Grandpa looked at the map thoughtfully, then at the small numbers written in the left-hand corner.

    "The dates certainly do seem to fit. Just a few months after you and your father last saw her. I had never dwelled on the subject before before, but now that I think about it, your wings most likely only stayed concealed so long because of magic. In all the other cases I've heard of, if half-Winged weren't born with their wings, they didn't have any at all."

    "Yes, but such magic is powerful and rare," Edwin had followed the king's trail of thought. "We certainly don't have access to it. Sperodyfis might, but any artifact they could have given away to the princess would have been documented. The fairies though... That's another story."

    "The fairies?" I repeated.

    "They would never give anything away without getting something in return, but I wouldn't doubt they have the means."

    "If the princess made a deal with the fairies, I doubt we'll see her again," Chase mumbled.

    "Now, now," my grandfather argued. "Delilah isn't lost to us yet. She is smart, much smarter, I'd wager, than those fairies. They're not much acquainted with civilization, you know."