Hi!

Important if you're interested in the writing game:

Me before asking you guys if you were interested: "yeah it could be fun, I think we can get about 20 or maybe even 30 people and then write together!"

*starts counting people who say they want to be part of it*

"1, 2, 3..." (A while later) "158, 159..."

Yes. I'm not kidding. About 160 (!!!) of you are interested in being a part of this. It's amazing. (I always said you guys were awesome, and I'll say it again without hesitation.)

It also means we can't do it exactly like I have planned earlier, but I think I found a good way to do it. I think we could each write our own chapter (alone or in small groups), one after the other, that follows the same story line, more or less, that was set by the previous chapter. (Hopefully you understood me.)

Anyway if that sounds good to you or if you want to know more, go to my profile. I'll post a new book, for now called Writing Game (creative, I know), where you can learn more about it and we can get everything straightened out before we actually start.

Hope to see many of you there!

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Chapter 20

I pushed open the big wooden doors of the library just a crack and slipped inside. The room was huge, with full bookshelves that reached up to the high ceiling.

"Well, hello, Hailey. I didn't know you liked reading."

I jumped, turning around to see Anselm, who chuckled at my surprised face and apologized for startling me.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Or were you just looking for a book or a quiet place to think?"

"To be honest, I was going to see what kind of books you guys had, but since you're here, there are somethings I'd been wondering about that maybe you could help me with," I admitted.

The king's advisor pulled out the chair next to his and signaled for me to sit down.

"What seems to be the matter?"

I sighed. "I just... I mean, being a princess means I have a duty towards the people of Aeolus, right?"

"Yes, being part of the Royal family isn't just an honor, it's also a responsibility. But whether it is one you want to embrace is up to you. After all, your allegiance might not lie here, and if you decide taking on the role of a princess isn't appealing to you, no one would think any less of you."

"But that's the thing, I feel like I belong here. Everyone is just so nice to me, and I don't want... I don't want to be a drag," I completed, quoting Autumn's words.

"Hailey, I'm sure you couldn't be a burden to any of us if you tried."

I mustered a smile. "Thanks, Anselm. But I don't know how I can actually be useful. I mean, what's expected of a princess like me?"

"Hailey, one shouldn't do something just because it is expected of one to do so."

I kept quiet. I couldn't deny feeling a bit impatient. How was that helpful?

"You should do something, not because people expect it of you, but because you feel it is right." Anselm continued.

"But what if I don't know what the right thing is?" I asked, starting to feel a bit desperate and more lost than I was at the beginning of the conversation.

"Then you must find out."

I thought someone really needed to tell Anselm to brush up on his advise-giving skills, because I didn't see how 'then you must find out' helped me in anyway.

"First, I think you need to know more about the Winged. After all, how can you help in a situation if you don't know what is going on?"

Now we were going somewhere.

"Is there anything in particular you have been wondering about?"

There were so many things, I didn't know where to start. I wanted to know what the deal was with these enemies I had never seen and barely heard of, how important fighting skills really were to the Winged, how big the kingdom was, and the list goes on.

"So you guys don't have cars?" I almost face-palmed. Really, Hailey? Out of all the interesting questions you could have asked first you chose this one? It made no sense for people with wings to drive cars.

As if he had read my mind, Anselm chuckled and said, "No, such a machine isn't much use for people who travel mainly through flight."

"Yeah, I thought of that only after I'd asked... But you could have planes or helicopters."

"Although humans seem particularly fond of these contraptions, perhaps because of their inability to fly themselves, we Winged dislike them. We can travel faster and over larger distances by flight than humans can by foot, and with the right wind, travel is even easier. On top of that, these machines make infernal noise and are huge polluters."

"So you guys are against pollution?"

"I haven't heard of many people who were for pollution, but, yes, we are more affected by it than humans, which is why you aren't likely to find any Winged in one of these big, polluted human cities."

I nodded. "No factories either, then?"

"No. Nothing that uses fossil fuels."

I felt my mouth drop. How did these people even manage to keep a whole country running without any of these things? I had to say, though, I really liked the idea of a clean, unpolluted country. Although, when I thought about it, this place was probably not entirely unpolluted. After all, the pollution created by humans didn't stay only in human cities.

"Wait, but there's electricity here, isn't there?" I suddenly realized.

Anselm smiled amusedly. "Hailey, what do you think are the two main sources of energy here?"

"I don't know..." How was I supposed to know something like that? I didn't actually study these kind of things in my human High School.

"Sunlight and wind power," Anselm supplied.

Okay, never mind, I could have figured that myself. Now, I just felt a bit stupid.

"So you have solar panels and wind turbines." I tried to redeem myself.

"Exactly."

"Were these invented by humans or Winged, then?" I wondered.

"Well, let's just say humans came up with the ideas, and we largely improved on them."

"I didn't see any wind turbines, though," I pointed out.

"They're in the plains or around farms, not in the cities. And as for the solar panels, there are a great number of them on the top of the castle roof, enough to make the castle electrically independent. Other than that, every house has a few solar panels on its roof."

"Wow," that must be a lot of solar panels. "And what if it rains?"

"Rain in Sol? The city of the sun? Why, we never get more than a drizzle."

"Sol?"

"Yes, this city is called Sol and is the capital of the Winged kingdom. I'm surprised no one has told you that yet."

"Well, I actually don't know a lot about-"

The doors of the library flew open, cutting me short. A man looked around the room franticly before spotting Anselm.

"Sir! The king requires your presence immediately for a matter of utmost imp-"

Anselm stopped his tirade with a wave of his hand, and the man used the occasion to catch his breath.

"The throne room?"

The guard only nodded. He must have ran all the way here.

Anselm stood up and started walking briskly towards the big library doors. I looked around me, unsure of what I should do, before Anselm called out, "Well, Hailey, you wanted to know more about what it's like to be royalty here, this is as good an occasion to start as any."

I nodded and jogged up to catch up with the old man who was already walking down the hallway, leaving the messenger to follow up at his own pace.