A Griffin's Voice: Finding Her Path

Chapter 3

The Truth Comes Out

Archer’s P.o.V.

Our parents walk into the room with two servants carrying trays with food. Carter’s parents, King Victor and Queen Daniella, smile at the two young griffin royals. Seth’s mother, Queen Heather, steps forward toward the twins with a soft smile lighting up her face. “Hello, my dears! We wanted to come to introduce ourselves as well as bring you both something to eat. We……um……also wanted to ask you both a few questions. The things that we saw tonight is very worrying to us. We want to make sure that you are both okay.”

I watch as the young griffin royals look at each other for a few moments. It is easy to that they are linking each other, but I am not sure why or what about. Eventually, they both turn back towards our parents and stand up. “Of course, Your Majesty. We are very thankful for the thought about the food, but our father decreed that we don’t eat tonight. We will respect his decision as we didn’t obey the rules that have been drilled in us our entire lives. We deserve the punishment, just like we deserve the one we got earlier,” Prince Fox quickly begins.

“You are able to ask anything that you want to ask, though. We will do our best to give answers that are befitting of a royal, like we were raised to do. But please, don’t worry about anything that happened or was said today. Please. We are honored to meet you all and for this once in a lifetime chance to mate with not one but five princes,” Princess Fawn finishes. I find the last part of what she said to be strange. I mean, I know for a fact that she doesn’t want to mate us and doesn’t really like us already. Hopefully with time we can win her over, but it is still strange. And I can see that the others find it strange as well.

These young griffin royals are also so respectful. Stiffly respectful. But it is very easy to see that it is all fear-based respect. It has been ingrained into them that if they are anything but respectful at all time that they will suffer horribly. It is very clear that they are terrified of their parents and our parents, but mainly theirs. It honestly hurts me and Orion that she is afraid of my parents. I know for a fact that my parents would never lay a hand on either of them. Let alone any of the others. None of our parents would ever lay a hand on either of them. My poor future mate.

King Victor and Queen Daniella step forward to be closer to them with easy, friendly smiles. I can tell that they are trying to put these young griffins at ease. It is then that I notice the tremors running through them both. It breaks my heart to see her and her brother this terrified. “There is nothing to be afraid of, my dears. No harm will come to either of you withing our kingdoms. My name is Daniella, and this is my mate, Victor. Our son is Carter. Welcome to the family, my dears,” Queen Daniella kindly says.

“Accept the food, please. Your parents will never know,” King Victor tries to soothe them in the softest voice I have ever heard from him. He is looking at Princess Fawn with love. Apparently, the cold king has a soft spot for this young female. I chuckle as I see Carter’s obvious surprise at this. “Also, like my mate said welcome to the family. Both of you.” I smile as I watch the young griffin royals relax a little bit, but not much.

Seth’s father, King James, steps forward with a dark look. “I am King James, and this is my mate, Queen Heather.” He brings her forward with his arm around her waist. “Seth is our cub, and we look forward to passing Escana to him as soon as he mates and marks you, Princess. Seth has brought a concern to me, though, and it isn’t something I can ignore. Especially since I have the same concern after dinner. Are you two being abused?”

That immediately draws everyone’s attention to King James, but my friends and I are all looking directly at Princess Fawn. Neither Prince Fox nor Princess Fawn will look up as they stare directly at the ground. I notice both trembling even more. Dean huffs and goes over to her. He puts a hand on her chin and pushes it upwards until she is looking directly at him. Directly in the eye. “Beautiful, answer King James right now. Answer honestly for me.”

“In your world……yes. In our world……no. We come from two different worlds with different cultures and ways and expectations. In Ablaria it is an everyday occurrence and an acceptable practice. It is used to strengthen all griffins from a very young age. It is used to make us better warriors. So, we never give in to any form of torture.” She is whispering by the end and shaking horribly. Dean continues to hold her face up and pulls her close to him as he tries to comfort her.

“A griffin will never speak under any amount of torture due to how we are raised. We grow use to it by an early age and can withstand it for years on end if we have to. Whipping. Branding. Burning. Cutting. Silver. Wolfsbane. Anything and everything that you can think of. Including ancient torture techniques……those are the worst, but we can withstand it all. It will have little to no effect on us and won’t make us talk. We will silently endure it all while any of you would be speaking long before any griffin,” Prince Fox mutters quietly.

“That is horrendous! You are children! No child should have to go through that! How can the Goddess be allowing this to happen,” my father, King Adam, snarls. I happen to agree with him, but the fear in both of their eyes at his snarl breaks my heart into a thousand pieces.

Avalon’s P.o.V.

What they both just described to us is absolutely sickening! I can’t believe that they had to endure that and that they are completely okay with it. To endure something like that……Jackal and I have a new respect for these griffin royals. Especially for our chosen mate. I can’t imagine doing that to my own children, I hope that she doesn’t want to do that to our future children. It is absolutely sickening to imagine doing it to my own children. So, to imagine their parents doing it to them……it is absolutely sickening.

Queen Becky drags me out of my thoughts as she steps towards her mate and places a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Adam. You will only scare them further.” She turns and looks at my future mate and her brother. “I am Becky, and the male that lost his cool is Adam. We are Archer’s parents. I promise that no one will ever hurt you two here, including your parents. Adam is only angry for you both and about what you both have endured. Were you two punished earlier for speaking out against this alliance? Which honestly isn’t that bad to do at all. You both pointed out very correct facts.”

Prince Fox quietly nods his head, while Princess Fawn trembles in fear and looks down at the floor. I glare at Dean for having walked away from her. I watch as her brother stands next to her. I see an opening on her other side and cross the room quickly to her side. I touch her arm gently before pulling her closer to my chest in an effort to calm her down. “Calm down, Darling. I won’t let anyone touch you in a bad way again. But I am wondering if instead of putting ‘Prince’ and ‘Princess’ in front of your names, can we just use your first names please? You both are welcome to use just our first names.” I look at the prince over his sister’s head and smile at him as he nods his agreement after silently looking at his sister. “Thank you, Fox.”

Currently, Jackal is seething and snarling in my head, so I quietly and quickly open a link with him. Instantly, I am bombarded by his pure, burning rage. Calm down, Jackal. She is safe now. No one will ever hurt her. We won’t let anything happen to her. I won’t let anything happen to her. Our friends won’t let anything happen to her. Our parents won’t let anything happen to either of them.

They better not be touched again! Either of them! Also, if she is in any f*****g way, I will take control and kill everyone in the world! Honestly, it really surprises me how much he is already protective of her. He has never cared about anyone before. Honestly, he barely cares about me. He even seems slightly concerned about her brother and that was even more surprising. It is honestly very refreshing to see him care about someone other than himself for once. I mean, he has never liked anyone before. Even our fated mate he despised. He barely tolerates me, my friends, or their spirits. Maybe she is exactly what we all need……I guess only time will tell.

Dean’s P.o.V.

It hurts to know what she has been through, but now it will never happen again. My parents will make sure of it. Both of my parents step up behind me as I still stand in front of her. “I am King Damon, and this lovely female is my mate, Queen Hope,” my father extended a hand towards her, and she took it with a small smile. “Dean has told us so much about you, granted he doesn’t know much. But it is very clear that my boy is already in love with you. I look forward to meeting you when there is more time to talk. I know the boys want alone time with you and your brother, but we got a few more questions first. Why can’t you two get any medical attention?”

I am actually curious about that as well. I look down at my future mate. She is injured, which is very clear from the scent of blood. I can smell it on her brother as well, which means he is injured as well. Which is very confusing as they should both be healed by now. So, why aren’t they healing? It is confusing and unsettling.

“I am sure you’re wondering about the healing as well. You see griffins can’t heal themselves in the same way as other shifters. We have better healing than humans, but not to the same level as other shifters. For that kind of healing ability, we need our healing suave to speed it up to that of other shifters,” Fawn begins tentatively.

“As far as no getting medical attention……part of the griffin culture, part of the training, part of the torture is having to endure and bear the wounds silently while they slowly heal over the next few days or sometimes even weeks. That means no medical attention……beyond what we can administer to each other with the basic supplies that we are given. Bandages. Water. Soap. That way we can clean them and bandage them to keep infection out,” Fox finishes softly. “We will be just fine in a week……maybe a few days. We will just be sore until our backs fully heal.”

Queen Heather quietly links with someone before returning to the conversation just as my mother starts to quietly speak. “My dear girl, we just want to help and part of that is you both need to let us get those backs of yours looked at and you both need to eat.”

Fox looks up and stares at her for a moment. Then he speaks in an authoritative voice. “My apologies, my queen, but those are not needed. We are griffins. Griffin royals. If our people suffer from our culture, then so do we. Our father gave his orders today, and we fought against them. We voiced our opinions which goes against griffin culture. So, we will bear the consequences with our heads held high because we know our strength and worth.”

“What my brother is trying to say is that we will be fine. All we need to do is tend to our wounds once or twice a day and they will heal. It just takes time,” Fawn softly says, but it is easy to see the gleam of authority in her eyes.

“You two are really strong royals,” I whisper. “I have never seen a royal this strong. I am proud to have the opportunity to be your mate, Fawn.”

My mother smiles at me before turning her gaze towards Fox. “What kind of punishment was it earlier, my dear boy?”

“Just some lashes from a whip. Nothing too bad.” He didn’t even seem to care at all about it. He seems to have completely accepted it. I look down at Fawn and see that she doesn’t seem to care at all either.

“How many is a few,” I ask them.

“Only a hundred each,” Fawn shrugs as she says that. I stand there just staring at her completely dumbfounded.

I turn inward and open up a link with my dragon. This is strange, Thorn. Neither of them seems to care at all about what happened earlier. Who doesn’t care that they got whipped? How low does your self-esteem have to be?

People who are completely used to the abuse. People who are trained. People who are brainwashed. It seems to me that they are very used to this kind of treatment. My poor little mate. Be good to her, Dean, or I will make your life a living hell. I will make it, so you never shift again for starters. That comment right there makes it very clear to me how much he loves her already. I know he isn’t joking at all. Now, my life just got more interesting……and harder.

Of course, Thorn. I will always be good to her. I promise that I will die before I lay a hand on her or hurt her in any way. I hear his rumble of happiness at my words as he withdraws into the back of my mind.

Carter’s P.o.V.

My sweet mate. I love the sound of those three words already. I am truly already in love with her, and I can tell that Atlas is as well. At first, Atlas wanted nothing to do with her, but then we saw her. The more time we spend with her, the more we learn about her, the deeper we fall in love with her.

She is such a soft-spoken princess. How could anyone ever want to cause her harm? How could she be so okay with it? My poor, sweet mate. It breaks my heart to know what she has endured, but it makes her who she is. My sweet princess is so strong to have survived and endured all of it. Especially without complaining. I will make sure to tell her just that by the end of the day. If there is time for that at least.

Eventually, King Keagan took a single step closer to my sweet mate before halting and dragging his hand through his hair. Finally, he speaks. “I am King Keagan. My mate is Queen Becky. Our son, Avalon, hasn’t told us much about you, Young Princess, but that doesn’t surprise me very much since it is Avalon. Avalon is the quietest in the group and doesn’t say more than he ever has too. Now, since I have introduced myself, I want to make sure that I fully understand the situation before me. You have both been abused, but neither of you seem to care much about that and accept it. That abuse is part of normal griffin culture. Is this correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Fox instantly replies in their normal formal fashion. I honestly think that this must be from conditioning that they need to speak in such a formal way or answer instantly.

I stared at him with sad eyes. I am dumbfounded by how he answered. How the f**k is he so calmly talking about this like it doesn’t matter? I look over at my sweet, little mate and notice that she doesn’t even seem to care either. She seems just as calm as her brother.

It is making Atlas and me hurt as we realize how little either of them cared about themselves. How f****d up cand their parents really be? Apparently f****d up enough to harm these two royals. And not just physically, I think the mental wounds are even worse. Their parents have f****d them up so badly. And as one of her potential future mates, it is now my duty to make sure that she realizes just how to care about herself and that she should.

Seth’s P.o.V.

What the hell is this?!?! What the hell is going on here, Major? What the hell is up with these two? What is wrong with them? There has to be something wrong with them. I mean who doesn’t care if they are abused? This isn’t normal for anyone. I link with my lion spirit, Major. Something just isn’t completely right here. They should at least care a little bit about themselves.

I suspect that this is stemming from all of the torture. I suspect that the torture has caused them to have no self-esteem at all. I suspect that they are completely brainwashed to believe that their thoughts and feelings really don’t matter at all. I suspect that they are exactly like the stories we have heard about the griffin warriors in the battle stories we have heard. These two are going to be amazing warriors, I suspect. I mean they both did admit that they have never been allowed to experience anything or have a childhood. They have always been treated like warriors and not as the children they are. We will work with her though, Seth. We will show her the world and the fun things within it. We will show her how to value herself. It will just take time. Calm down and be patient, Seth. We can’t undo all of the damage in a few hours. Our mate will be fine with our help.

I am stunned by my lion right now. This is the most that Major has ever spoken at a single time. Normally, it is just a few words at a time. It surprises me so much.

I take a deep breath and mentally ready myself for the road and challenge ahead of us. You are right. I am sorry for losing my head for a moment there. I shouldn’t worry so much. Plus, there are five of us humans and five of you spirits to share the load. It isn’t just on me to help our mate. It is on all of us. I just need to sit down with the boys so we can talk about this. Maybe tonight we can. We just need to be on the same page. I just need for us to work together to help and guide her. It will just take time. I just need to be slow with her and let her guide this relationship. Major is right. It will take time. It will take all of us together to guide and help her through her past. I can’t rush it. Thank you, Major. You are such a brilliant lion.

I chuckle and I mentally watch Major puff out his chest before I close our link. I shake my as I chuckle again. The voices of my mother and Queen Daniella float into my ears. They are trying to convince the twins to let them patch up their backs, put the griffin healing suave on, and to eat the food that they brought up fifteen minutes ago.

I notice that Dean and Avalon are pushing her to listen to the two queens and to do it. I watch her closely and notice that she is getting annoyed with them. Instantly, I move towards them. “Dean. Avalon. That is enough. She is getting upset with you both hounding her. Let my mother and Queen Daniella deal with this situation please. Something that my father told me when this alliance was agreed on with these terms is that forcing and crowding a griffin is the worst idea possible and to never do it. Not only will they never agree, but they will also explode. It will only push the griffin farther away. It will only push Fawn further from wanting us.”

Dean and Avalon step back with lowered heads as shame burns in their eyes. I offer my sweet mate a gentle smile before stepping back to stand beside them. Major makes sure that I don’t miss seeing her smiling back at me, because I would have if not for him.

A few seconds later, my mother steps closer to Fawn and places a hand on her shoulder. “Let us help you deal with the wounds. We won’t let either of you be punished for telling us or getting medical attention. We will make sure that you both are protected.”

Fox and Fawn glance at each other quietly for a few minutes. It is clear that they are linking from the spaced-out looks in their eyes. Finally, they walk towards the bathroom and shut the door behind them. Roughly five minutes later, they both came back out shirtless and turned towards all of us showing us their backs. What I see is absolutely horrifying.

There aren’t just wounds that are still bleeding. Oh no, that would be too easy. There are countless scars and old wounds. I try for a few moments to count, but it is impossible. There are too many. Most are overlapped even.

They both silently lay down on the bed to let Queen Daniella and my mother tend to their backs. After an hour, the wounds are finally cleaned and bandaged. Thankfully, they had found the griffin healing suave, so that got put on as well. While their backs are being bandaged, I speak up. “How many lashes did you say you got today? Also, I can’t tell, but how many scars are there?”

“A hundred lashes each today. And if I am honest, I have no idea how many scars there are. There are too many on top that cover up all the older scars that are beneath them,” Fawn quietly answers.

“Ummmmm……What do you mean by ‘beneath them’, Angel,” Archer cautiously asks.

“Scars that are beneath all of the other scars. Ones that you can no longer see,” Fox mutters.

This is completely heartbreaking to hear them say these things. I know that my parents are hurting just as badly as I am for these two young griffins. I can only imagine that my friends and their parents are hurting just as much. I want to do something for her so badly. I want to take away all of the pain.

“We are going to handle this in the morning, but I promise you both that nothing like this will ever happen again,” King Adam snarls out as softly as possible as his rage boils. I can already see that Fawn has King Adam wrapped around her finger. King Adam takes a deep breath to steady himself. “Please eat, cubs. You both need to eat. After that or with your dinner, just watch a movie and relax before bed. The boys can help you two work the TV and find a good movie for you both.”

My mate and her brother look at each other oddly and look back at King Adam with the most confused expression. I chuckle at them both as I realize the issue. I roll my eyes and step forward. “I will help you both, I promise. Maybe we can even watch the movie together.”

I glance at my friends, who are basically my brothers. Avalon looks like he could care less either way. Dean shrugs and nods an agreement, but his eyes say that he is slightly annoyed. Carter and Archer are eagerly nodding their heads in agreement. I look back and see Fawn and Fox shrugging their indifference as they start to eat. I smile happy that they are eating. Once they finish eating, my mother and Queen Daniella grab the trays before ushering the other three queens and five kings out of the room.

Avalon and I team up to show Fox and Fawn how to use the TV remote and apps and DVD player. But it quickly becomes extremely clear that electronics are not their type of thing and likely never will be. It made zero sense to either of them. Even turning it on. So, Dean takes over the remote as all of us chuckle at the two griffins.

I sigh as Dean turns on Saw. Major and I are not completely certain about this, but I keep our thoughts to myself and let the movie play. I look over and notice Carter and Archer seem uncertain as well, as they keep casting worry filled glances at Fawn.

We are all sitting or laying on the bed. Fox and Fawn were laying at the foot of the bed. We quietly watch the movie until Fawn starts to whimper. Immediately, Fox wraps his arm around her and pulls her close to him. I chuckle as I notice that Fox is shaking with his own fear, but he is seemingly trying to push it down for his sister. Just like Major and I predicted would happen.

After the movie finally ended, we said our ‘good nights’ to the twins for the night. I am just hoping that neither of them will have any nightmares and will be able to sleep soundly. I go my separate way from my friends and go to my room for the night. I instantly collapse onto my bed as I think about my mate before falling asleep to thoughts of my sweet, little mate.