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within the protective charms of the city, he had never seen such a
creature. A griffin had the body of a lion, but its head and wings were that of
an eagle. Tempani loved looking at paintings of griffins. They seemed so grand
to her.
    “You
have to bow,” she whispered as she bobbed her head in acknowledgement. “It’s a
griffin.”
    Teddy
frowned as he struggled to his feet and then bowed quickly. “Why?”
    “Papa
always said to bow if I saw a griffin. He said it’s like seeing the king.”
    The
griffin eyed them, its head cocked to the side as they stood before it.
Suddenly it jerked its head and moved deeper into the cave with them.
    “Teddy!”
Nicolass’ voice was close. “I found them.” He called out as he came upon the
cave. “Stand down beast!” He roared when he saw the griffin.
    “Tempani?”
Otto’s voice made her smile, and she felt Teddy relax beside her at the sound
of it.
    “Papa!”
She tried to move toward him, but the griffin blocked her path.
    “Stand
down!” Nicolass shouted again. “Kill it,” he snapped when it didn’t move.
    “No!”
Teddy cried as he squeezed Tempani’s hand. “It didn’t hurt us.”
    “Bow
before it,” Otto instructed the older boy. “You must show respect to a
griffin.”
    “I’m
a prince,” Nicolass said arrogantly. “I don’t bow to animals.”
    “You
show respect to a creature whose home we have disturbed,” Otto said slowly.
Tempani heard the annoyance in his voice.
    “Griffin’s
have magic in them,” Nicolass said. “We should capture it and take it back to
the palace.”
    Tempani
stepped forward and cautiously rested her hand on the griffin’s back. It looked
down at her briefly and then turned its gaze back onto Nicolass. She coaxed
Teddy forward and pushed him towards her father.
    “Leave
it alone,” she snapped at Nicolass. “He didn’t hurt us.” She looked up at the
griffin. “Sorry for stealing your home.” She bowed to it once more and then ran
to her father, throwing herself into the protective circle of his arms.
    Later
that night Teddy crept into her room and crawled into bed beside her. “Thank
you for not telling them I was scared,” he whispered.
    “You
were brave.” She rested her forehead against his. “You’re always brave.”
    —
    She
was brought back to the present by the sound of leaves rustling around her. A
pair of starlings perched on the branch above her. She watched them, taken in
by their chirping until she heard a faint splashing in the water. Wading over
to her were two ducks, brown in color with their beaks a glossy black. She
smiled at their ease as they glided closer, and her fingers itched to touch
them. She kicked off her shoes and gathered the bottom of her dress in one
hand. She waded into the freezing water, biting her tongue so she wouldn’t yelp
as the iciness bit into her skin. She was pleased to find that the ducks did
not scurry from her. She reached out her hand and grazed her fingers along the
back of the smallest duck. She giggled as the other one waded towards her.
    “Fascinating
creatures are they not? One would expect them to disappear when a being larger
than them entered their domain.”
    Tempani
jumped at the sound of the deep voice, causing the ducks to scurry away from
her in alarm. An odd looking man stood beside the tree watching her with a
smile. Warily, she dragged herself from the pond and stood before him, ready to
scream for help if need be.
    He
was short for a man, only just passing Tempani’s height, and chubby. He had a
wild, shaggy blonde beard and blonde hair that had white strands starting to
come through. His blue eyes glistened, though they were hard to see under his
thick brows. He was dressed in a long, dark blue robe that distinguished him as
a teacher at the palace.
    “Has
anybody told you how much you look like your mother?” He asked, picking up the
book she had discarded on the ground. He dusted it off and handed it back to
her. “But you like to