"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you. Feel free to visit our forest again anytime," says the old thief with a grin.
"Give me back my griffon! " spits the princess. "Jenna is mine! She belongs to me!"
"No one should own a griffon, " says Kadett softly.
The princess glares at Kadett coldly, angry at the insinuation that she was somehow wrong or bad. Then she turns her anger back on the older man, the one clearly in charge.
"My father will have your head for this insult. Do you hear me? Your head will roll!" says the princess angrily.
"Your father? Then that would mean...." The old thief chuckles merrily. "Well, well. I didn't realize we were in the presence of royalty, boy. This is Princess Cordelia herself, the daughter of the king. Untie her at once!"
Kadett quickly cuts the rope binding Princess Cordelia to the tree, taking care to keep the guards assigned to protect her still restrained. The princess rubs her sore wrists and then dusts off her fine dress.
"That's better. Now if you will just give me my griffon...."
The old thief ignores her.
"Now bind her hands and feet then toss her in the back of the carriage. A fancy hostage like that will fetch a king's ransom!" says Kadett's father.
"Wait!" yells the princess, as Kadett dutifully obeys his father's orders.
"And gag her. I don't want to have to listen to her nasty tongue wag anymore. It annoys me and it is a long trip to our hideout," says Kadett's father.
Princess Cordelia goes wild, chomping on the gag Kadett places in her mouth. But it does no good. Almost as quickly as they appeared, Kadett and his father fade into the shadows of the forest like ghosts, taking their loot with them.