"The creature is a gryphon," Lord William answered, "General Ethan captured it in the mountains. The gryphon will be very useful to me when it realizes I'm its new master. Gryphons are strong and brave creatures who are very loyal to those who control it."
"How do you plan on controlling it?" Felix asked.
"The same way I control everything," Lord William replied. Felix knew full well that meant that he would control it through abuse. Felix would have felt sorry for the gryphon if it wasn't such a terrifying creature. (Contrary to belief, gryphons are usually friendly to humans and protect humans from any danger that should arise. Gryphons only attack humans that are evil or that attack them first. If only Lord William would have known that treating a gryphon nicely would gain its loyalty more than treating it poorly and with cruelty.)
"The beast is probably hungry from the long trip. Once it is chained up, you are to feed it," Lord William ordered.
"Me?" Felix asked.
"Yes, just go in the cell and toss the food to it. As long as you stay out of its range, it can't attack you. It will be your job to keep it alive by feeding it and cleaning after it. If it should die before I have a chance to control it, it will be your head," Lord William told the slave before walking off.
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Felix came back once the creature was supposedly chained to the ground. Felix was carrying a large bowl of water and another slave was carrying the deer for Felix. The guard opened started unlocking the human door for them. There were two doors to the cell, the large doors used to get the creature in the cell and the regular sized doors for humans to enter without worry of the creature trying to get through the door.
Felix was nervous and frightened as the guard tried to find the right key for the door. It felt like hours were passing to Felix and he didn't know if he wanted the hours to last longer or shorter. Once the door opened, the other slave, Jack, told Felix, "Now, set the bowl near the ground and them I'll hand you the deer to toss in."
"You're not going to come in with me?" Felix asked.
"You're a nice kid and all, but I don't want to go near that creature. It's your job and I'm only required to help you carry the things you need," Jack stated. Felix became more scared now he would be alone in the cell with the creature. "Don't worry, as long as you stay out of its range, it won't be able to kill you.
"How long are the chains?" Felix asked.
"It can only reach to the edge of light," the guard informed Felix.
Felix took a deep breath and walked into the cell. The cell was fairly large, but it was impossible to see how big it really was, the only light available was the light that came from the barred circular window on the ceiling at least one hundred feet above the floor. The room was all made of stone and concrete and the only light was the circular light that came from the ceiling. Felix could hear strange sounds that were most likely coming from the gryphon, but he was too scared to look into the dark corner where it was coming from.
Felix set the bowl on the ground and Jack handed him the dead deer. Felix nearly had to drag it across the room as he came closer to the light. The gryphon's eyes opened and a pair of eyes the size of his head were the only things Felix could see in the darkness. Felix was afraid of the gryphon and it took a great amount of effort for him to keep moving closer to the creature. Felix noticed that the eyes stayed where they were meaning it wasn't getting any closer to him. Felix was too frightened to realize that the gryphon was just as frightened of Felix as Felix was frightened of it.
Felix placed the deer in the light and quickly backed away. The eyes looked down at the deer before a talon-like hand came into the light and dragged the deer into the shadows. Felix could hear the gryphon eating the deer as Felix carried the large bowl of water to the light. When Felix set the bowl down, the griffin stopped eating and looked at the bowl and then at Felix. Before the griffin could do anything else, Felix had already bolted out of the room.