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A bit of paranoia was plaguing Henry as he and Alvahroth traveled across the open road. There were no trees, no bushes or anything for that matter that could hide them from spying eyes. In the distance he could spot a few empty farming fields, which meant that over the next hill Moudeir Castle would be waiting for him.

A smile spread across his face as he looked over his shoulder. Alvahroth seemed very tired and very annoyed at the same time. They had been traveling the whole day without taking a single break. And the dragon seemed to be at his limits. "Don´t worry emerald balls, we´re there soon."

Alvahroth glared at Henry as he almost dragged himself the last couple of steps. "I swear... if you keep calling me that..." He breathed very heavily, his wings sagging as he walked. "I will..."

"You seem a lot less intimidating when you are out of breath you know?" Henry remarked, smirking back at him.

"Then why don´t we... take a break so that I... can gather the energy needed... to pin you down... and stick my-"

"Oh look!" Henry´s pace quickened as he saw the top of a tower glancing over the hill. "We´re there!" The dragon behind him could not quite keep up with his fast pace and was yelling after him to stop just for a moment. But for that he was far too excited. It has been far too long since he had last seen the castle that he spent most of his life in.

Once he stood on top of the hill his pace slowed down and he came to a stop. An enormous smile spread across his face as his eyes set on the great castle that stood on top of a hill. "Behold!" Henry could hear in his own voice how happy he was. "Moudeir Castle!" He spread out his arms wide, glancing at Alvahroth who just reached the top of the hill, before his haze set on the castle again.

On top of a hill the castle stood in all its glory. Towers stood in high in each corner of the square like fortress, extending out from the actual stone wall. Two additional towers stood on each side of the main gatehouse that was reinforced by not only a wooden gate that faced the outside, but also by portcullis that faced the castle´s inside. Both were closed at the moment.

The great stone walls stood clearly not as high as the towers, but still high and steep enough, so that it was impossible to climb those walls without a ladder. Battlements extended from the wall, bearing holes in the extended ground for archers to shoot attackers who stand too close to the walls.

Behind the first courtyard, the second wall stood even higher than the first. It had the same battlements, but a different kind of entrance. The wall was raised higher not just for the sake of being bigger, but because the inner courtyard was not at the same level as the outer one. So to get into the gatehouse of the secondary wall one had to get up the stone walkway, and then make it through, once again, a wooden gate and portcullis.

In the inner courtyard stood the main keep, almost square in form, much like Dragonstone castle, expect that this keep had a kink on one side that made it look like only a third of a square. That meant that instead of four corners there were six, with one tower n each corner.

"Still locking as good as the day I left." Henry said to himself as his gaze drifted of to the wide river that bordered the castle´s backside, making an attack from there almost impossible. Some people were there on the channel with their boats, catching fish with spears and nets.

"You mean that pile of stone over there?" The dragon asked him in a mocking tone. "I´ve seen better. And besides, the landscape looked a lot better without your strange buildings all over it."

"Whatever you say, emerald balls." He felt a whack on his head shortly after he said that. "Hey!" Henry looked back, rubbing his head as he glared at the dragon. "Mind your tail!"

"Mh?" Alvahroth gazed away, looking as innocent as he could. "Oh no, I did nothing! You must be imagining things again."

"Cheeky bastard." Henry murmured underneath his breath. With his eyes focused on the road ahead again he continued to walk forward, the dragon following shortly after. Though he did not seem as exhausted as before, Alvahroth was still breathing rather heavily with every step he took. Slowly but surely Henry was starting to pity the poor bastard.

When they approached the castle a few fisher´s stopped their work and stared at them. They were too far away to make out the looks on their faces. But he did not have to see their face for him to know how shocked they were. He heard someone on top of one of the towers yelling a command to another guard. They have been spotted at last.

The banners of his family hung above the gatehouse, the light blue symbol gently flying with the wind. A black dragon head, roaring in the sky, was adorned in the center. Oh, how he missed seeing those colors.

They both stopped in front of the gatehouse, looking at the closed gates. "So?" Alvahroth cocked his head to the side as he laid down on his belly. "What now?"

"Have a bit of patience, Alvah." Henry said, his eyes scanning the castle walls. They seemed to be hiding or something like that. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out. "Uncle!" With his brow frowned he stared at the top of the gatehouse for a while. "Uncle Rodric!"

Then, finally, a man stepped forth, accompanied by two others. Lord Rodric stared at down him and the dragon, his green eyes widened in shook as he leaned forwards onto the battlement. Long grey hair reached down to his shoulders, loosely swaying in the wind. His beard was just as grey as his hair, only not as long, just long enough to cover his cheeks, his chin and his upper lip with bushy hair.

First his eyes were set on Alvahroth, but when they fell on Henry he took a step back, sucking in a sharp breath. "By the gods... Henry!" He stepped back from the battlement, calling out to the gate watch. "Open the gate!"

Without looking back at him again, Rodric turned around and went out of sight. Soon the portcullis could be heard as the heavy chains holding the structure of metal bars was raised. Two heavily armored guardsmen who both wore a blue sash above their mail armor opened the great wooden gate. Lord Rodric stood behind the opened gate, smiling at Henry. He wore a similar blue sash around his torso, underneath that he wore a white gambeson.

"Henry!" He called out, shaking his head as he stepped out of the castle towards him, the two guards following him. "I can´t believe it!" As his uncle reached him he hugged Henry tightly, patting him on his back. "Gods, I thought we lost you. We heard what happened at Dragonstone castle." He pulled back from the hug, looking at Henry, his eyes still filled with shock. "What about Elise? And William?"

Hearing those names out of someone else´s mouth hurt more than he would have thought. He clenched his hands into fists, staring at his uncle with a blank, yet sad look. "Gods..." Rodric´s voice was almost a whisper as he spoke, hugging his nephew once more. "I´m... so sorry."

"Please, uncle... don´t." Taking a deep breath, Henry slowly pulled away from his uncle, looking at the ground. Those wounds would probably never mend. After another deep breath he took his eyes fixed on his uncle once more.

"Of course, Henry." Rodric sighed, his gaze wandering towards Alvahroth. "And who is this? A dragon from the order?"

"No, he is-"

"I can speak for myself, Henry." The dragon intervened, stepping forth to stand next to Henry. The knight folded his arms, waiting for Alvahroth to explain everything to his uncle. "Well it all started when your nephew saved- I mean helped me, yes, helped me to defeat a group of dragon slayers that tried to take me as a prisoner." Henry rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the dragon´s made up version of the story.

"I then allowed him to stay with me over night as a very generous gesture of my gratitude." He stretched out his chest in pride. "The next day I realized that I was in no condition to fly, so this man offered his help once again. He told me that I could stay here for as long as I please and that you will care for me."

"What? When did I-"

"Shush, Henry!" Alvahroth silenced him, covering his face with his tail. "I would accept the knights offer, if you hold dear to all his promises and bring me what I desire it, when I desire it." He smirked down at the old man, who frowned at him in return. "That includes maidens."

The guards shared a look as Lord Rodric glared at the dragon. When Henry let out a brief chuckle his uncle broke up into laughter, the guards joining in. "What are you doing?" Alvahroth snapped at them. "I was being serious!"

"Haha, yes sure dragon." Rodric said sarcastically, shaking his head as he glared up at the dragon. "You can´t possibly think that we will force any of our servants to be your maiden." He chuckled, scratching his beard. "I mean... what would you even do with a maiden?" Alvahroth opened his maw to speak, holding a paw to his chest.

"I don´t think we need to know the details, uncle." Henry stepped in before the dragon even had a chance to say a word. He rested his hand on his uncle´s shoulder, smiling at him. "So, what I really want now is a bath before anything else."

"As you wish, Henry." Rodric said as he started to walk inside the castle alongside the others. "I´d also say that we should bring your armor to the blacksmith." He pointed at his chest plate where a crossbow bolt hit him not long ago. "It´s sporting a dent right there."

"Yes I know, my helmet as well." Henry said pointing at the metal helmet that dangled at the saddle the dragon was wearing.

"I see." Rodric uttered, looking the dragon over. "We´ll take care of the other things as well. And don´t worry, dragon. We will find a place for you too." Alvahroth snorted, looking away as if he was sulking. Probably he was disappointed by the fact that he would get no maidens that take care of his needs, whatever they may be. "Oh, by the way, dragon... what is your name?"

Alvahroth snorted and glared down at the humans walking in front of him. "I don´t just tell my name to anyone. That knowledge has to be earned."

"So I thought." Rodric looked both at Henry and at the dragon. "Do you have a title of some sorts then? Would be tiring to call you dragon all the time."

The dragon stopped in his tracks, and so did the others as everyone´s eyes were set on him. "I, erhm... of course..." He tapped his chin with a single unsheathed claw. "I..."

"Well yes, uncle, of course he has." Henry stepped in once more, smirking up at the dragon. Alvahroth glared down at him with anger in his eyes as if he was telling him "I dare you". For a moment, Henry thought about just telling his uncle the nickname he gave the dragon. Humiliating him in such a way was something he did not want, so he decided to not do that.

Instead he threw a quick glance over the dragon´s entire body, trying to think of a suitable name for him. Emerald scales that covered his body glistened in the sun, except for the darker ones on his underside. From the angle Henry was standing at he could see the sun shining through the fine membranes of one of his wings, making the fine veins that ran trough it visible to his eyes.

He imagined him on a battlefield, flying high above the enemies line of defense. A shadow that would fly above their shield wall. When they looked up all they would see would be a shadowy outline of emerald scales. Henry had that mental image in his head while still looking at the dragon, this time directly into his eyes. "Emerald shade." He spoke with confidence. "His name is Emerald shade."

Henry was satisfied as he saw the dragon´s expression change from angry to pleasantly surprised in only seconds. Alvahroth smiled at him, nodding in approval. Good to know that he liked the name as well.

"Emerald shade it is then." Lord Rodric said as he continued his way further into the courtyard. "We have a lot to discuss Henry, but first I will arrange that you are granted a room and a hot bath." He said, then turning his head towards Emerald shade. "And for you we would have to see if we have a big enough bath tub, but I´m sure we´ll find something."

"Mhmm..." Alvahroth hummed in delight. "A hot bath sounds delightful right now."

Henry chuckled as the dragon´s comment. He himself could only agree. A hot bath really did sound delightful after all those days without any real chance to wash himself. His gaze wandered around the courtyard for a bit while they were approaching the inner gate. Everything seemed to be just like he remembered it.

There were only a few buildings in the outer courtyard, since it was a castle, not a real settlement. And yet, there were the few people who either lived and worked inside the castle while most lived on the outskirts as farmers and fishers. There was a blacksmith, stables, a medic, a very small market place and a well in the middle of the courtyard. All the wooden buildings, apart from the well, were built in such a way that the backside of the house was connected with the castle wall.

Most of people that were inside the castle were farmers brought their share of the yearly harvest to their lord, as a tribute for his protection. Though all of them stood still at the moment, everyone looking at the dragon as he walked past them. Wide eyes and hanging jaws clearly suggested that they have not seen a dragon that close before. Even the blacksmith has stopped working on his sword and stared at the scaled creature.

Just as Henry promised him. He was admired, and judging by the smug look on the dragon´s face he was rather enjoying all the attention he was getting. When they made their way up the path that led through the gatehouse the people in the inner courtyard spotted him as well.

Henry chuckled at their reactions, so did Alvahroth. Some of them gasped, some others just froze and one even dropped his sack of grain. Even some of the guards looked at him like he was some kind of god. And the dragon was enjoying it, just as Henry thought he would. He stretched out his chest, walking tall as he followed Henry and the others.

Once again, Henry took a look around the familiar looking courtyard. It was smaller than the outer one, and yet there was a lot room for the buildings that stood in it. The building the farmers brought the grain and food to was the storehouse that was built into the keep. If he recalled correctly there was a door that connected the kitchen in the keep with the storehouse.

It was almost the same for the armory and the barracks, which was one building. It was also built into the keep, but on another side than the storehouse. The same stone that built the keep and the walls also formed the armory and barracks while the other building was wood.

When they approached the keep Henry looked up, staring at the battlements on top it. It was an enormous building, but since Moudeir castle was big for a castle that was to be expected. It looked just like he remembered, with the same banner flying above the fairly large entrance.

The two guards opened the doors for them and revealed the main hall and a smile almost immediately formed on Henry´s face. "Welcome home, Henry." Uncle Rodric said, gesturing towards the great hall.

Pillars raised from the ground, holding up the high up ceiling, high up enough for a dragon twice as big as Alvahroth to fit in. Although the door already caused him some troubles before he could enter, once he was in he could almost spread his wings if it were nit for the pillars.

Wonderful pieces of art were carved into the stone pillars, probably as old as Albia itself. They showed men fighting alongside dragons on a battlefield, humans and dragons playing together even. He was glad that those carving still survived over time. The hall was a bit longer than it was wide and it´s end was marked by a staircase that led onto a gallery from where a lot of hallways led deeper into the keep.

Banners that hang on the walls showed the same colors over and over again, filling Henry with a lot of memories, good and bad ones.

Although he had hoped to see it again in better circumstances.

He was finally home.