Her mind raced for a moment, a flood of thoughts and emotions bubbling to the surface.

“Does that mean you can speak to animals?”

Rachelle gave a soft, nervous laugh.

“I rarely talk to animals, even though I can hear them. Most animals don’t seem to think in the way humans do.”

Nyra stood up and approached cautiously, this time keeping her movements slow and measured, her gaze locking with Rachelle’s.

"I see you are confused; the way I hear you is like I'm talking to another human. I can’t explain it very well, but I can mostly understand you.”

Nyra let out a soft huff, lying down again at Rachelle’s feet, her body more relaxed now.

"As she can hear me, I feel like I can trust her," Nyra thought.

Taking Nyra’s more relaxed posture as a sign, Rachelle knelt beside her and gently stroked her head again.

“I’ve never met an animal like you,” she whispered, a faint smile warming her lips. “It’s like you’re… I don’t know… almost human.”

Nyra’s eyes flicked up to hers. “If only you knew…”

Rachelle continued to stroke Nyra’s head in thoughtful silence, her fingers brushing through the lioness’s soft fur.

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with an idea. "I know! I can help you talk to His and Her Highness."

Nyra felt excitement buzzing throughout her body. The idea of communicating directly with Eldric and Elena stirred something deep within her—a mixture of longing and apprehension. She lifted her head slightly, studying Rachelle’s expression.

Rachelle smiled softly, knowing what Nyra would say.

"I can't translate everything perfectly," she admitted. Her tone is apologetic, "but I can understand enough of your thoughts to convey what you feel. If you want, I can try to be your voice. Would you like that?"

Nyra hesitated, her golden eyes reflecting the weight of her past life as Elira. Could she fully trust Rachelle to carry the complexity of her feelings, her memories of being their daughter, to the very people she longs to reconnect with? She wasn't ready for them to know the truth—not yet. But… she could try. This could be her way of speaking, even if only through another.

A low, thoughtful rumble escaped her throat as she shifted slightly, nuzzling Rachelle’s hand with a gentle press of her nose.

“I would love that!” Nyra said.

Rachelle’s smile widened, her expression shifting to one of quiet determination.

“Then I’ll do my best,” she said, her voice soft but confident. “I’ll be your bridge, Nyra.”

Nyra gave a small huff of contentment before lying her head down once more. She didn’t have to rush—there would be time to reveal everything. For now, just knowing that she could start communicating her thoughts through Rachelle was enough.

“Rachelle? Is Nyra awake?” Elena said, entering the room.

“Oh, Your Highness, she was, but she relaxed and fell asleep on my leg,” Rachelle stammered.

"Don't worry about it," Elena smiled. "Nyra, it's time to eat. You can't rest all day."

Nyra reopened her eyes and saw Elena in the doorway. She stood up, yawned, and stretched once again. She quickly slipped past Elena and rushed to the dining room.

After she ate her steak, she looked around for Rachelle. She got impatient and wanted to talk to Elena and Eldric.

“Nyra, is everything okay?” Eldric asked.

She started to walk around the room, and she could only see butlers standing around and others serving plates of food and swapping out her own with cooked beef. A young butler crouched down and gently stroked her across the back, hoping it would calm her down. Out of reflex, she turned and growled at the butler, and he flinched back. Nyra felt bad, but all she could think about was finding Rachelle, so she continued to search the room.

“Please don’t pet her unexpectedly; she is still a wild animal. This isn’t normal for her, and she can snap at any time,” King Eldric warned.

"My apologies, Your Highness. I thought it would help her settle as it did for Rachelle in the hallway," the butler explained.

“May I try something, Eldric?” Elena asked.

“Be my guest,” Eldric replied.

Elena stroked Nyra's head as she approached her, while Nyra, who was focused on finding Rachelle, flinched and whipped her tail around, catching Elena’s leg.

“oof”

Nyra recognised Elena’s voice and apologised by rubbing herself up against Elena’s leg.

“See, she’s no harm to people she knows," Elena explained.

Elena managed to distract Nyra from trying to find Rachelle as she stayed by Elena’s side, worrying that she hurt her.

“How did you do that? I’ve never been able to calm Nero down after Horus had ridden on him too often!” Eldric said, surprised.

“Nyra is a caring lioness and is well-behaved. She knows what she can and cannot do, especially in Elira's room,” Elena explained.

"That's true; she is quite tame, though she did growl at me that one time when we first met," Eldric laughed awkwardly.

The dining-room door opened, and Rachelle walked in with a silver tray with two letters on it.

“I’m sorry to burst in, but you have letters from the Prince and Princess of Valroth," Rachelle said.

Upon hearing Rachelle’s voice, Nyra got up and walked up to her. Elena took the pair of letters and handed the other to Eldric. She then opened the letter from the princess.

It read:

Dear Queen Elena,

I hope you are doing well. I’ve heard the tragic news, and I apologise for the late arrival of this letter. Please accept my deepest sympathy. I wish I had the chance to get to know Princess Elira; we would have made great friends, just like Rachelle and me.

Thank you for helping Rachelle out with a job, looking after your new lion guardian. She can be wary of animals, so I hope they can get along.

Yours,

Princess Valerie.

Then Eldric read his letter. It said:

Dear King Eldric,

I am writing to apologise for turning Princess Elira down for the marriage arranged between you and my parents, and I hope you heard what she wanted. I am sorry for your loss. I regret not letting her stay overnight; she could have avoided the rain that day. Please forgive my stupidity and the lack of hospitality I showed her.

I hope Her Highness receives my sister's letter soon after mine. She had difficulty sending the letter, not knowing if it was too soon. I wish to pay you and your guardians a visit, and Valerie may come too.

Yours,

Prince Valen.

Elena turned to Rachelle, who had put the silver tray on the table and was stroking Nyra.

"Yes, Princess Valerie and Prince Valen write to their Highnesses often, though the other letters are dukes and barons asking for engagements with Princess Elira," Rachelle said.

“Ahem.”

“No, I do not read them. It’s just the only thing the baron and duke send,” Rachelle continued.

“Ahem!”

Rachelle and Nyra turned to where the sound was coming from as Elena lowered her hand. Rachelle didn’t realise she wasn’t whispering.

“Who were you talking to?” Elena asked.

“Nyra?” Rachelle replied with a puzzled look on her face.

“How? The only voice we heard was yours,” Eldric asked.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was okay as Val… I mean, Princess Valerie told me she would tell you in the next letter she sent," Rachelle apologised.

Elena re-read the letter and noticed a smaller font at the base of the letter:

P.S. Rachelle has something special about her; she has a way of hearing animals as if they are speaking our language. I saw it happen with a bird as she seemed to bow apologetically, like the animal understood her, and the bird would tweet, and she would reply to it. Please keep this a secret; only people you trust should know.

“Oh, my goodness, it makes sense now. Nyra was looking for you!” Elena realised.

“So, you can hear Nyra and the others?” Eldric said after reading the letter.

“Not always, so I can’t pass on everything,” Rachelle explained.

Nero walked up to Rachelle.

“So, can you hear me? If so, could you ask Eldric to stop Horus from riding me? I don’t like causing trouble for him after Horus has gotten on my nerves.

Rachelle relayed.

“Well, er, do you all have requests?” Eldric said.

"I do not. I prefer to sleep right now," Koda said.

“I want to deny Nero’s request. His back is comfortable.”

Nero and Horus start squabbling.

"I don't think I can tell you what Horus and Nero are saying; their thoughts are mixed at the moment," Rachelle said. "But Zara has something to ask."

“She’ll just laugh in the end, so it’s okay,” Eldric said.

Elena gave Eldric a look.

“That’s not very nice,” Rachelle blurted, then quickly put her hand over her mouth in mild shock.

“Excuse me!” Eldric said, raising his voice.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I didn't mean to relay that; it slipped out," Rachelle said in a panic. "Excuse me."

Rachelle bowed and quickly left the room. Nyra glared at Eldric, lay down in a huff, and turned away.

“Don’t throw a strop, Elira. That behaviour is disrespectful,” Eldric said. “Don’t give me that look, I don’t need to go to apologise—"

Eldric paused for a second.

"You just reacted to my daughter's name and just behaved like she did when she doesn't like something I did," Eldric said, stunned.

“That’s because I was, and as Nyra, I picked up some of her behaviour. You don’t just yell at people because you’re the king!” Nyra growled.

"I can't understand you when you growl like that. I can understand you're angry. She's the only way you can talk to me, so don’t be in such a huff over one incident," Eldric said angrily.

Horus suddenly choked on the fish he was eating.

“That’s impossible! I don’t believe you,” Horus screeched.

Even Koda stood up.

“I know Elira isn’t around anymore, but that is such a bold statement to claim," Koda growled.

“Stop sticking your beak in the air as if you know everything. You saw how Nyra acted,” Nero said, guarding Nyra.

“How dare you! Just because you have been here longer than us, you can’t just believe her so easily,” Horus snapped.

"And you’re not right about everything," Nero said, baring his fangs.

The animal started getting louder; growls, barks and squawks echoed throughout the dining room.

“Silence!” King Eldric shouted.

Nyra flinched and realised Elira shone through before she had a chance to tell anyone herself. Nyra calmed herself as the others quieted down as well.

“Mistral, let me explain…” Nyra started.

She told Mistral about Elira’s accident and how she saw darkness and then light. Up to when they encountered each other. Horus, Nero, Mistral, Koda, and Zara listened and understood.

“I need to find Rachelle, she needs to know, and she can help me tell Eldric and Elena, I did think I could live peacefully as a lioness, but looks like there are issues I need to resolve, as I’m more likely to adapt to Elira, thanks for the help, Nero," Nyra explained.

The animals then returned to guarding the throne.

"What was that about? It was almost as if they were about to attack Nyra,” Eldric thought.

Nyra went back to sulking, hoping Eldric would change his mind.

"Eldric, anyone could act the same as Elira did; she's just as caring as Elira was, and you understood what should happen, and you owe Rachelle an apology, but you go and get everyone else riled up instead," Elena said, sighing.

Nyra began purring as if she were laughing as Eldric was being blamed for the commotion, causing her ears to perk up.

 “Someone seems to find this funny,” Eldric said, trying to hold a straight face.

Nyra continued to avoid eye contact but moved and lay next to Eldric.

“Oh, come on, what she said was disrespectful. Whether Zara said it or not, she didn't have the right to say it," Eldric said calmly.

Nyra noticed Zara's ears droop.

“He owes Zara an apology, too,” Nyra thought.

Suddenly, a guard burst through the door, giving Nyra a chance to slip out.

“Nyra, wait!” Mistral called.

"Sir, there is someone at the gate demanding your presence, saying it's urgent," the guard said.

Nyra continued down the hall and saw a group of maids talking amongst each other.

“I wonder what they’re doing. Shouldn’t they be cleaning?” Nyra thought.

"Yeah, he was a little harsh, but you need to build the courage to continue to work here. His Highness isn't as nice as he used to be since Princess Elira passed," she said. "Oh, Nyra, what are you doing here?”

"Looking for Rachelle, though it's not like you heard me," Nyra said.

“She’s probably looking for me. I did leave quite quickly,” said a familiar voice.