The Feathered Friends.

Griftbear walked to Aaricia as her men were being moved from their confinement and were provided with bread and water as instructed.

“You turned your back on me, Grapapa!” she cried, “You turned your back on me! You let me down!”

“It is for the good of us all,” he said softly, as he sat on a small rock, “I love your sister as much as I loved you! You are both my own, I cannot choose sides even though her ways appear evil and dark. But here’s something I’ve written, it’s not much but maybe if you lend it your eyes, you might find a better way to approach your sister, without any bloodshed.”

“Then you are on her side,” she said, “She has Azzo’s sword, she has the throne!”

“Says who?” asked the old man as he laughed, “Your father trusted his wife, the Queen, she on the other hand trusted only two people in her life; her father, and the other, her husband’s secret adviser.”