Startled by the griffin’s tone, Cordelia nodded and opened the door. To Jenna’s dismay, there stood the queen, the king, and the court physician. Gesturing towards the girl, the woman said, “See for yourself.”
“Mother? Father? What’s going on?” Cordelia asked, fear edging into her voice.
The king gasped. “No, it can’t be true!” Rushing forward, he gripped Cordelia’s shoulders and pleaded. “Cordelia, dear, speak to me!”
Cordelia only blinked before chirping. “What…What are you saying, father? You’re all talking in gibberish.”
The man only groaned and hugged his daughter close. The court physician had been inspecting her during the exchange and announced. “Well, physically, she is fine, but it seems she has lost her intelligence. See? She doesn’t even understand what we’re saying.”
To the side, Jenna watched. Sure enough, the girl only gazed from one face to another, confused and uncomprehending. All at once, it hit Jenna how serious Cordelia’s condition had become.
“Princess, it looks like you can only understand me,” Jenna said. “That is, you can only speak and understand griffin. And it doesn’t seem like they even know you’re speaking at all. They just think you’re making animal noises.”
Unbelief flickered over the girl’s face, but she couldn’t argue with the evidence. “But what’s to become of me if I can’t talk to my own family?”
Jenna made no reply. The discussion amongst the humans had preoccupied her. “That lying witch!”
“What?”
“Your step-mother is telling them you just came into her room and fainted. She’s not mentioning her potion at all!”
Cordelia gawked at the queen. “How could she!?” Her surprise turned to the griffin. “Wait, you can understand them?”
Jenna gave her a sidelong look. “I could always understand them, and you, since day one. It’s very frustrating not being able to talk back.”
“But how is this possible?”
The pet griffin opened her beak to reveal her true nature when they were interrupted. Two soldiers arrived, shouldering their way into the room and taking firm hold on the princess. The king tried to intervene, but the queen put her hand on his shoulder and explained the situation.
“W-What’s going on!?” Cordelia shrieked, trying to extricate herself.
Quickly, Jenna translated. “The queen is saying she took the liberty of arranging for you to be locked away for your own good until a cure can be found! Your father is upset, but she seems to be persuading him.”
“I don’t want to be locked away!” The princess screeched as she struggled harder in the soldiers’ hands. “Unhand me, right now!”
Her frantic display and inhuman sounds only further convinced the king that his daughter had lost her mind. With a sad nod, he let the guards drag her towards the door. Jenna tried to follow, catching the eye of the queen.
“As for this creature, perhaps we ought to put it down,” said the queen. “It was with the girl when she fell ill. I think it’s somehow responsible.”
“Put Jenna down!?” The king exclaimed. “But Cordelia loves her pet!”
Shocked, Jenna relayed the message to Cordelia. Instantly, the princess screamed and wrenched herself out of her captors’ grasp, throwing herself over the small griffin.
“See?” The queen insisted, her eyes gleaming with thinly disguised disdain. “The monster has clearly beguiled her. It must be killed.”
“Absolutely not!” Stated the king, putting his foot down. “My girl has lost far too much already. I will not take such action until we know for sure what her condition might be. Healer, I am counting on you.”
The physician bowed. “I shall do my best, Your Majesty. Still, I agree that the animal should be separated from her young mistress until we can eliminate her from our list of likely causes.”
This time, the king agreed. Thankfully, Jenna had time to allay Cordelia’s fears before the two of them were parted and taken to different locations, the princess to her chambers and the griffin to the stables. Soon, Jenna found herself standing in a closed horse stall, surrounded by hay and unpleasant smells. The horses in the other stalls paced with agitation, catching the scent of a predator in their midst. Lucky for them, this one lacked the size or interest for eating livestock. She had more important matters to figure out.
“This is bad,” Jenna whistled. “That queen has no interest in letting Cordelia recover, and she definitely has it in for me. I’ve got to do something!”