Changing Scales

by Felicity_M

Summary:

When trouble comes knocking on Voludera's doorstep, Geoff is faced with a tough decision to make in order to protect his family.

Chapter 1

Notes:

And we're back again for another Voludera story! It'll potentially be the *last* one for this AU (or at least the last multi-chaptered one), but more on that later.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you have read all the previous stories in this series before reading this one! This includes The Witch, The Healer, And The Huntress by @Mountainsunrise ! You can *maybe* get away with skipping over The Dragon's Winter without lacking too much context, but everything else is important!
Also, big shoutout to @Mountainsunrise, aka Rose, for helping me out with this fic and basically acting as story consultant. This story wouldn't be able to exist without her! <3

“Hey there, William.”

 

Geoff got out of bed in the early hours of the morning, when there was barely yet any light entering the room, having been awoken by the sound of cries. He went over to the crib a few feet away from his and Kathy’s bed, and reached for his son, lifting him up and holding him close. 

 

It had been five months since William had come into the world, and Geoff still sometimes had to pinch himself about it. He had never previously considered the possibility of being able to sire children, but then again, there hadn’t been anything to indicate that he couldn’t (and Kathy certainly hadn’t had any complaints).

 

William was still crying softly, and so Geoff began to hum, dropping his voice into what Kathy had called a ‘dragon purr’. Within mere seconds, William went quiet and settled peacefully in Geoff’s arms.

Geoff had wondered about whether he might have to one day tell William that his father was in fact a dragon in human form, but Kathy had told Geoff not to worry about it.

“I never had to be formally told that my parents were nobility,” Kathy had said, “I just grew up being aware of it, you know? If William ever asks any questions, then we’ll answer them honestly, but there’s no reason why it should come as a surprise.”

And then of course there was the very real likelihood that William was not fully human himself, but that wasn’t a matter of concern for the time being, not until he started to exhibit any dragon-like traits or magic usage, anyway. But regardless, whether William was human, dragon, or something in-between, it didn’t matter, because to Geoff and Kathy, he was perfect.

 

---

 

“Good morning, guys,” said Geoff with a yawn as he arrived downstairs for breakfast a handful of hours later. Kathy came behind him, holding William in her arms.

“Good morning, you two!” Cesar replied. “Little guy still been waking you up, then?”

“Well he’s not crying as frequently at night as he used to,” said Kathy, sitting down next to Geoff. “Hopefully it shouldn’t be too much longer till he starts sleeping through the night completely.”

Geoff didn’t mind, not really. He could always catch up on sleep later, but he couldn’t possibly turn down any opportunity to care for his son and to hold him close.

 

---

 

Everyone was more-or-less close to finishing their breakfast when a servant came to the doorway.

“Excuse me, my good folks,” he said, “Sir Deejay has arrived here at the castle.” The servant bowed his head and disappeared from the doorway, and a couple seconds later, Deejay appeared in his place.

“Hey everyone, sorry to intrude, but I’m just here for Eli and Layne specifically,” said Deejay. “You two need to come to The Palace with me; my carriage is waiting outside.”

Layne looked just a touch nervous. “I don’t suppose this has anything to with the- ow!” Eli had swiftly kicked him under the table before he could finish his sentence.

Deejay shrugged. “I haven’t been told much yet myself,” he replied, “just that all the knights have been requested to come to The Palace immediately, and the Royal Sorcerer as well.”

Eli got up from his seat. “Better not leave them waiting, then,” he said. He turned to Kathy, Geoff, and Cesar. “Guess I’ll see you later, probably?”

“If you see Tony, remind him to send Rachel the fabric that he said he was going to!” said Cesar.

“Will do!” Layne replied. He followed after Eli and Deejay, and gave a casual wave farewell before he disappeared out of view.

 

“It’s unusual for either Layne or Eli to be called to The Palace so abruptly, let alone both of them,” said Kathy. “I wonder what the purpose could be?”

“Haven’t got a clue,” Geoff replied, while clearing up the table. “I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out when they return.”

 

---

 

The answers came a couple of hours later, when Deejay’s carriage pulled up outside Sunlight Castle once more. Geoff, Kathy, and Cesar gathered downstairs to greet their returning friends.

“Hey Eli!” said Cesar. “How did the… Eli?”

Eli brushed past all three of them without barely an acknowledgement; his head was down, and his hood was pulled up. Cesar turned to go after him, but was stopped by Deejay, who had followed behind Eli and now had his hand on Cesar’s shoulder.

“He’s just here to grab some things,” said Deejay. “Layne’s still at The Palace right now.”

“Deejay, what’s going on?” Geoff asked, noting Deejay’s uncommonly-stony expression. “Is there something we should know about?”

Deejay looked at Geoff, then looked away, and then sighed. “Yeah, I guess I might as well explain some things while I wait for Eli,” he said, “but all of this stays inside this castle, okay? At least until The Palace officially allows the news to start being shared around.”

 

.

 

The group moved into the parlour. Deejay closed the door and then came to sit opposite Kathy, Geoff, and Cesar. “Have any of you heard of the kingdom of Vishia before?” he asked.

Geoff shook his head, but Kathy tilted her head in thought. “The name does sound familiar, but I can’t quite place it,” she said. Cesar also appeared to be racking his brain in attempted recollection.

“Don’t worry, quite a few of us knights needed to have our memories jogged, if we even remembered anything at all,” said Deejay, his expression still devoid of a smile. “Vishia was a kingdom known for being power-hungry – no amount of glory or spoils ever seemed to satisfy them. Their royal army was large and relentless, and had a bad habit of raiding and attacking other kingdoms.”

Kathy’s eyes widened. “Now I remember! Vishia once tried to invade Vecchinoio! I was barely out of my teen years when it happened, I think. I don’t remember much; they didn’t get to our castle, thankfully, but I know a few others got raided.”

Deejay nodded grimly. “Yeah, that’d be them alright. Sometimes they tried to find more land to claim for the kingdom, while other times they just seemed intent on causing chaos and finding places to loot. At best, Vishia was a kingdom filled with troublemakers. At worst, they were a serious threat.”

“Hang on,” said Cesar, “you’re saying ‘were’. Is that not the case now? Did something change?”

“There was a change, yes,” replied Deejay. “The king of Vishia grew older, as people do, and so did many of his top soldiers. Attacks became smaller and less frequent, until it appeared that all the other kingdoms were being left alone completely. It’s been at least fifteen years since the last report of a kingdom facing trouble from Vishia, perhaps even longer.” Deejay’s expression then became more sombre. “But now things have changed once more, and not for the better. Vishia’s next-in-line, the son of the old king, has recently taken the throne, and he apparently wants the kingdom to return to its ‘glory days’. He plans to remind everyone about Vishia’s might, and he’s set his sights on Voludera as his first target.”

 

Geoff had started to realise the point Deejay had been getting to before he had finished talking, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear it said.

“Do you know if there’s any particular reason why they want to attack Voludera specifically?” asked Kathy, glancing worriedly at Geoff.

“I know what you’re probably thinking, but it’s very unlikely to be a relevant factor in this case,” Deejay replied, with a shake of his head. “Vishia has been more or less keeping themselves until very recently, and it’s entirely possible that no one there even knows a single thing about what’s happened in Voludera in the past two years.”

Deejay sighed. “No, it’s likely just because they think we’ll be an ‘easy win’.”

“Well they’re wrong!” said Cesar assertively. Then he faltered. “They are wrong about that, aren’t they?”

“That’s the hope, at least. And plus, if the new king holds low expectations for us, then he may not bother to send as large an army as what Vishia is known for, especially with this being the kingdom’s first planned attack in so long.”

“Do you know when the attack is expected to arrive?” asked Kathy.

“I can’t say an exact time, I’m afraid,” Deejay replied, “but based on all the knowledge and information we have, it’s likely to occur sometime the day after tomorrow.”

 

There was a beat of silence as three pairs of eyes widened.

 

“That… doesn’t seem like a whole lot of time,” said Geoff.

“I agree,” said Deejay, “but we’ll still do our best to make the most of it. Eli’s been asked to stay at The Palace tonight and tomorrow night, to help them be extra prepared. Most of the knights can sleep in their own beds tonight, including Layne, but it’s likely that all of them will have to sleep at The Palace tomorrow night.

As if on cue, the parlour door opened and Eli stepped inside, with a large satchel over his shoulder and an even larger bag in his grasp. “Ready when you are, Deejay,” he said flatly.

Geoff stood up and began to move towards Eli, but Cesar got there first, flinging his arms around the sorcerer.

“You got this Eli! I believe in you! We all do!” said Cesar with impassioned earnestness.

“Deejay explained the situation to us,” said Geoff to Eli. He came closer as Cesar finished his hug and pulled away. “Look, if there’s anything I can do to help-”

Eli shook his head. “No, it’s fine, you don’t need to get yourself involved in any of this,” he said. “Just stay here and look after Kathy and William, alright?”

Geoff nodded. “Okay, will I see you again at any point before the battle?”

Eli shrugged. “Honestly at this point, I really don’t know. Maybe, maybe not.”

Geoff placed his hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Well, I’ll see you after the battle, won’t I?” He fixed Eli with a firm Look, one that held no room for doubt or uncertainty.

Eli looked away at first, but then he met Geoff’s gaze. “Yeah, you will,” he replied, and finally he smiled.

 

---

 

“Do you think Layne will be back in time for dinner?” Geoff asked, later that day. “I still haven’t seen or heard any sign of him.”

Evening was falling upon the land, and Geoff, Kathy, and Cesar were setting the dining table.

“Maybe all the knights are being given dinner at The Palace?” Kathy suggested.

“Mm, maybe.”

“Perhaps we should check to see if he’s come back without any of us noticing,” said Cesar. “If he’s feeling anything like how Eli seemed earlier, then he might have just slipped inside without telling anyone.”

“Good point,” said Geoff, “I’ll go see if any of the staff have spotted him, and I’ll still have a search for him myself if not.”

 

.

 

Geoff left the dining room, and quickly ran into Franchezca, who had been working at Sunlight Castle for well over a year now.

“Hey Franchezca, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Layne around here within the last hour or so maybe?” he asked.

Franchezca nodded. “Yes sir, he came in just a few minutes ago actually. I told him that dinner would be served shortly, but he just headed upstairs, and he didn’t seem like his regular self, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Geoff smiled kindly at her. “Thank you. Can you go let Kathy and Cesar know, please? I’ll go and check on Layne.” Franchezca was about to tell Geoff what direction Layne had gone in, but Geoff had already started making a beeline towards the Music Room.

 

.

 

Geoff started to hear the faint sound of a violin as he reached the top of the stairs, confirming his suspicions, and he quickened his pace. He came to a stop outside the Music Room door and slowly opened it, and sure enough, there was Layne, standing in the centre of the room, absorbed in his own world of music. 

 

Geoff slowly crept into the room, staying close to the wall as he moved to the side, and only stopped when the music from the violin ceased, as Layne stopped playing.
For a couple of moments, the two of them just looked at each other, frozen in silence. Layne’s expression was difficult to discern entirely, but Geoff gave him a small smile, before walking over to the piano. Geoff had recognized the tune that Layne had been playing, and so, after sitting down and flipping up the cover lid, he began playing it himself, from the point where Layne had stopped.

He wasn’t looking over in Layne’s direction, but Geoff smiled as he heard violin strings once more, and the two instruments worked in tandem, one supporting the other.

 

Geoff stayed quiet as the musical piece came to an end, and looked over at Layne, who put down his violin and sighed, before pulling over a chair and leaning up against its armrest.

“I kinda wish I could borrow your fire magic for the next couple of days,” said Layne. “Maybe then I might actually be useful in the… Upcoming Situation, instead of just being expendable.”

Geoff shut the piano lid and shifted the stool he was sitting on so he could face Layne directly. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” he said. “You might not be the strongest Royal Knight, or the quickest, or the best at hand-to-hand combat, but your skills lie elsewhere! You’re intelligent, creative, you can think outside the box like nobody else I know! I mean come on, just think about some of the contraptions you’ve made and other stuff you’ve come up with just because you were bored! Like yes, this is serious business, and it’s likely something that you’ve never dealt with before, but at the same time, I don’t think any Vishian soldier will have met someone like you before!”

Layne gave a wan smile. “Thanks,” he said, “I just hope that I’ll be able to think straight while in the heat of battle.”

Geoff smiled back at him. “Well I don’t think it’ll be any help worrying about that right now.” He stood up and motioned towards the door. “Come on, dinner’s probably just about to be served, if it isn’t already on the table by now.”

 

Geoff was worried for Layne, and for Eli too, but he trusted that if nothing else, they would both return home to Sunlight Castle after it was all over, perhaps not totally unscathed, but definitely alive. And besides, Kathy had said that Vishia had once tried to invade Vecchinoio, but obviously they hadn’t been fully successful, had they? So if they could be stopped before, then surely this new Vishian army could be defeated as well. All Geoff needed to do was to have faith in his friends, and look after his family, just as Eli had said.

Notes:

Yes, all the kingdoms in this AU have names starting with V, because I came up with Voludera, then Rose came up with Vandalia for TWTHATH, and then I decided "screw it, let's make this a trend."
The plan is to release the chapters on a weekly basis, so I'll see y'all again next week hopefully!

Chapter 2

The next day was, so far, turning out to be a very quiet one indeed. Layne hadn’t hung around for breakfast, and had instead just grabbed some food from the kitchen, so the servants said, before setting off for The Palace. Cesar, meanwhile, had announced that he was gonna go down to the village to chat to Rachel. 

Geoff figured that Cesar was likely wanting to distract himself from everything for a while, and he really couldn’t blame him. A small part of Geoff was tempted to go out as well, maybe spend some time in Mykal’s bookstore, or even just wander in the forest, but mostly he just wanted to stay close to Kathy and William, and to have them remain safe and secure inside the castle. Still, it couldn’t hurt to do something to help clear his head, and so, after Cesar left, Geoff headed to the kitchen. He decided to make a batch of biscuits; the larder was stocked enough that Geoff already had all the ingredients on hand, and he hoped that the sweet treat might also lift Cesar’s spirits whenever he returned back home.

 

Kathy had gone upstairs to take care of William, and Geoff smiled to himself as he thought about his son. It wouldn’t be much longer before William could start to have small amounts of solid food incorporated into his diet, and Geoff was eager to introduce him to the wide variety of foods out in the world. And then maybe when William was a little older, Geoff could start teaching him some of the basics of cooking and food preparation.

Geoff hummed to himself as he began mixing and combining the ingredients, and then he started singing quietly.

“When the night, has come. And the land is dark.
And the moon, is the only, light we'll see.

No I won't, be afraid. No I won't, be afraid.
Just as long, as you stand, stand by me.”

 

---

 

Geoff had finished forming and kneading the dough, and had only just pulled off a small glob of it, rolling it in his hands before pressing it into a flat disc, when he heard a knocking at the kitchen door.

“Come in!” he called out, without looking up from what he was doing. He heard the door opening behind him.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” came a familiar voice, and Geoff turned around to see Aurora standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hey Aurora, what brings you here?” said Geoff. “If you’re looking for Eli, he’s currently at The Palace.”

Aurora nodded. “I’m aware, and I know that Layne is as well. Selene and I were informed about Vishia’s plans to attack Voludera, and we want to help. Selene went to The Palace after bringing me here; she’ll be an invaluable aid in the fight.”

Geoff wiped the flour from his hands onto his trousers. “I don’t doubt it,” he replied, “and I’m sure Eli will certainly appreciate the help. Is there anything we can do for you or your sister in the meantime?”

Aurora smiled at him. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to both you and Kathy, and ensure that you are adequately prepared for when the Vishian army arrives.”

Something about the tone of Aurora’s response made Geoff’s shoulders become slightly tense, but he did his best to shake off the feeling of unease, and nodded. “Sure, I’ll go tell Kath.”

 

.

 

Geoff and Aurora walked out of the kitchen and found Kathy already descending the stairs towards them. “Hi Aurora, one of the servants told me you were here,” said Kathy, smiling at her.

“We’ve heard the news about Vishia’s threat towards Voludera,” said Aurora. “Selene has gone to The Palace to offer her assistance with the main battle, while I’m here to help make sure that your defences are as strong as they can be.”

Kathy had reached the bottom of the stairs and went to stand next to Geoff, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Well I certainly won’t say no to your offer, but hopefully the Vishians might not reach Sunlight Castle at all, especially now with Selene also fighting against them, right?”

Aurora looked away, and the expression on her face, though fleeting, sent a shiver up Geoff’s spine. “You can never be too cautious,” Aurora replied. She looked towards the parlour room. “Come, let us sit down and discuss this further.”

 

.

 

Geoff didn’t bother closing the parlour door behind them; if the townsfolk were now starting to hear word of the looming invasion, then it was of no matter whether or not the castle staff overheard any conversations relating to it. He sat down next to Kathy, opposite Aurora.

“So I assume you’ve heard of Vishia before?” Geoff asked Aurora, remembering that her and Selene were much older than they appeared.

Aurora nodded. “Selene and I are well familiar with them and their history, yes,” she said. “We never got involved in their conflicts with other kingdoms before, other than healing people after attacks if I was so requested. We cannot be expected to involve ourselves in every fight, you see. But now, well, let’s say that we’re considering this new threat to be a personal matter.” Aurora smiled at Geoff and Kathy. “Selene and I are happy to call you and everyone else in this castle our friends, and so, with Sunlight Castle being put in danger, I feel more than obliged to offer my help.”

Kathy placed her hand over Geoff’s, squeezing it lightly. “What exactly do you mean by ‘Sunlight Castle being put in danger’?” she asked worriedly.

“In case you haven’t heard,” Aurora began, “Vishia’s army will be coming from north of the kingdom, far beyond this castle and the forest that backs onto it. Sunlight Castle will likely be one of the first Voluderian buildings that the soldiers will be laying their eyes on, and once they're confident that Voludera's army is being surely defeated, then some will be eager to start raiding and looting as many places as they can, especially castles. And with the two of you having a young child here…”

Aurora looked like she had suddenly changed her mind about whatever else she was going to say. “Well, the important thing is that Selene and I will do whatever we can to keep you all safe.”

Kathy stiffened. “Aurora, is there anything else that we should know about?” she asked. “Is William going to be okay?” She spoke slowly, as if trying to maintain her composure, but her voice was laced with fear in a way that Geoff had never heard from her before.

Aurora kept her voice level as she responded. “It is not my intention to alarm you if I can avoid it. I’ll make sure the protection spells on the castle are still remaining strong, and I’ll talk to your guards and see to it that the entirety of the castle grounds are protected.”

“And what if… What if it’s not enough?” Kathy’s voice had a tremor to it now. “Please, what might happen to our baby?”

Aurora took a deep breath in. “All I know is that during Vishia’s former days of fighting and invading, their soldiers were not averse to kidnapping any infants they happened to stumble upon during castle raids. Children of noblefolk would be taken back to Vishia to be raised there, and, if proven fit enough, trained to one day become new soldiers for the kingdom’s army. This might not be something that they’ll bother with anymore, I really do not know, but regardless, the Vishians are not to be underestimated, and that is why I’m here to help.” 

 

Aurora paused as she saw Geoff and Kathy’s expressions. “I can give both of you a moment if you want-”

Geoff had become practically frozen where he sat, but now he stood up. He vaguely registered Kathy saying his name, but his legs were already moving, taking him out of the parlour, up the staircase, and to the hallway where the bedchambers were located. He didn’t slow down until he had pushed open the door to the master bedroom, and was walking towards the crib next to his and Kathy’s bed. Geoff wanted nothing more in that moment than to hold his son, but William was currently fast asleep, and Geoff didn’t want to disturb him, and so he resorted to slumping down on the edge of his bed with a sigh.

 

He hadn’t doubted the seriousness of the situation when Deejay had talked to him and Kathy about it yesterday, but perhaps he still hadn’t fully processed the potential severity of Vishia’s threat until now. Geoff hated to admit it, but now the looming danger felt real in a way that it hadn’t before, and now he was scared. Terrified, even. 

 

But as Geoff lifted his head and looked at William’s crib, his fear began to be replaced by a fierce determination. He couldn’t let anything happen to William. He wouldn’t let anything happen to William, or Kathy, or any of his friends. He was going to fight for them; he would keep them all safe, no matter what it took.

Geoff glanced over at his bedside table, and his eyes landed on the little wooden dragon figurine that sat there…

 

.

 

A couple of minutes later, Kathy entered the room and sat down next to Geoff. She was quiet at first, wrapping an arm around his back and resting up against him, before she then spoke. “I know it’s a lot to deal with,” she said. “I’m struggling to process it all as well, but we just have to trust that Aurora and Selene know what they’re doing.”

Geoff couldn’t help but shake his head. “I can’t… I can’t just sit around and hope for the best, not when I could be defending this castle as well,” he replied.

“You want to join the fight?” Kathy asked softly.

Geoff looked down at the little wooden dragon which he now held in his hands. “I wouldn’t say that ‘want to’ is the right phrasing, but still, in a way, yes.”

Kathy looked at the dragon figurine as well, and her eyes widened. “Geoff, are you actually suggesting-”

“It could give Voludera a huge advantage, more than anything or anyone else could,” said Geoff with a pleading expression. “Vishia may have a royal sorcerer – they might even have more than one – and they might have a massive army of trained soldiers, but I can guarantee that they don’t have a dragon, and nor will they be prepared to face one.”

Geoff continued to hold the wooden figurine in his right hand, as Kathy clasped his left hand in both of hers. “You know that I’ll still love you no matter what, and never doubt that,” said Kathy earnestly. “But I still want you to be absolutely certain about this, for your own sake! I know how much you love being a human, and do you even know if you’ll be able to be transformed the same way again afterwards?”

The answer to that was no, Geoff wasn’t sure whatsoever, but he couldn’t allow himself to think too much about that. He looked at Kathy helplessly. “Kath, if anything happened to you or William, I… I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

Kathy leaned up and kissed Geoff on the cheek. “Okay, well, you’d better go talk to Aurora, then,” she said.

Geoff smiled at her appreciatively, and kissed her softly, before putting the wooden dragon back on his bedside table, and going to find Aurora.

 

.

 

Aurora was outside, standing in front of one of the castle walls. She had one hand pressed up against the stone bricks, and she was reciting some words that Geoff couldn’t quite make out. She stopped as she noticed Geoff approaching, and she smiled at him.

“Hello Geoff, I’ve just been giving the castle a bit of a structural integrity enhancement,” said Aurora. “It’s just a temporary spell, but it’ll last long enough to keep the castle undamaged from any flying debris or projectiles. No arrows will stick, and no fire will scorch. Of course the hope is that the castle will remain safe regardless, but it’s good to be prepared.”

Geoff cleared his throat. “Actually, on the mention of fire…” He took a deep breath in. “I can’t just stay inside the castle and rely on hope, not when William could be put in danger, and potentially Kathy too. I have to fight for them.”

“On the battlefield you mean?” Aurora asked. “You could be putting yourself in a great deal of danger, even with your fire magic. Unless of course you simply wish to stay with your guards and help to defend your castle boundaries?”

Geoff shook his head. “No, I mean fight on the battlefield, but in my original form.”

Aurora blinked in surprise. “Are you sure, Geoff?” she asked. “I mean I’m sure you understand how big of a decision that is to make, but have you fully realized the possibility that-”

Geoff held up a hand. “Look, I don’t exactly want to be a dragon again, I will admit it, but what I do want is to keep my family safe from harm, and if that means losing my human form… then so be it.”

Aurora looked at Geoff’s earnest expression. “You’ve spoken to Kathy about this already, I presume?”

Geoff nodded.

The sorceress gave a small sigh. “Alright, I am able and willing to fulfill your request, but I just ask that you talk to Selene about it first; she will arrive at the castle sometime this evening, and the two of us would like to stay the night if you will allow us.”

“Of course!” said Geoff quickly, before Aurora continued.

“Selene is fierce and relentless in combat, and a mighty huntress in her own right. Perhaps her assistance in the battle will be enough to guarantee success without any extra help at all. Let’s just wait and see what she says, okay?”

 

Secretly, Aurora didn’t expect Selene to reject Geoff’s idea at all, regardless of how her trip to The Palace had gone, but Aurora wanted Geoff to have more time to really think about what he was asking for. She didn’t doubt his convictions, but at the same time, she would hold no judgement towards him if he ended up changing his mind.

 

.

 

Geoff headed back to the kitchen. The biscuit dough had been covered over, but everything was otherwise left untouched.

He looked over the larder, momentarily lost in thought. Eli would almost certainly be quite worn out after the battle, and Aurora could likely be called upon to help heal any wounded Voluderians. If Geoff was to have a decent chance of a successful re-transformation back to his human self, then he’d have to give his friends some time to rest and regain their strength, even if that meant waiting until the following day. And thus, he could very well be spending all of tomorrow night in dragon form, and he’d need more to eat for dinner than what the castle currently had available.

He frowned. He hadn’t been hunting in a long time – not since he was a dragon, in fact – and he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of having to do it again, especially since right now all he wanted was to stay in the castle with Kathy and William. But still, it would be better to deal with the matter now rather than worry about it later, and at least Aurora was here now as well, so Kathy wouldn’t be completely alone while he was gone.

 

Geoff informed one of the servants where he was going, telling them to let Kathy and Aurora know, before heading outside and striding around to the back of Sunlight Castle, and then into the forest.

 

---

 

A little under an hour later, Geoff returned feeling somewhat lighter, even despite the weight of the wild game he was carrying. It had taken a bit of trial and error, especially when relying on hunting weapons made of fire, but the physical activity had been a welcome stress-reliever, and Geoff had managed to acquire a couple of pheasants as well as a deer. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough for a decent meal, which would hopefully last him through until whenever he might be able to be turned human again.

 

Kathy came to greet him as he came back inside.

“Feeling extra hungry, were you?” she asked with a smile, her reaction to Geoff’s acquisitions being in contrast to the alarmed looks of some of the castle staff passing by.

Geoff chuckled. “Just thought I should grab a couple of somethings to feed myself with when I’m a dragon again,” he replied.

“Well, Aurora came and told me you had spoken with her, and I agree that we should wait until Selene comes back and see what her view is, but I’m glad to see you smiling again!” said Kathy. “Now then, lunch will be ready shortly, so how about you find somewhere to store what you’ve brought back with you, and then go and get yourself cleaned up?”

Geoff made a small bowing motion towards her. “Of course, milady,” he said playfully. And then with a wink, he added, “Perhaps you could give me some company, while I’m at it?”

Kathy rolled her eyes fondly, before following Geoff to the kitchen.

 

---

 

Cesar returned to the castle a few hours after lunch, and he wasn’t alone.

“Heyyy! I’m back! And I brought Selene as well!” Cesar called out as he and Selene walked in.

Aurora reached the bottom of the stairs before Geoff and Kathy did. “You are back earlier than expected, sister,” she said.

“I could see no reason for me to remain at The Palace any longer for the time being,” Selene replied. “Of course I will be joining the Voluderian army on the battlefield tomorrow, but for now, I have provided them with as much aid and advice as I can.”

Geoff and Kathy came to stand next to Aurora. “Actually, speaking of providing aid,” Aurora began, “Geoff had an idea that I’d like to hear your thoughts on, Selene.”

 

Geoff took a deep breath in, and Kathy squeezed his hand supportively. “Aurora gave us some more information about Vishia, and we realized that they could potentially be a bigger threat than we first thought,” said Geoff. “A threat to this castle, and maybe even a threat to our son. And so, I’m asking to join the fight. I feel like I don’t really have much of a choice, especially when I realized that I could help ensure victory for Voludera… by becoming a dragon again.”

Cesar’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead, while Selene’s gave a mere twitch of movement. “You wish to defend your home and your family, as is the noble thing to do,” she said. “Aurora, I trust that you are capable of fulfilling Geoff’s request?”

“Well, yes,” said Aurora hesitantly, “but I’d like to know more about Voludera’s current chances in the battle first. Perhaps the royal knights have gained enough confidence that a win over Vishia is already quite likely?”

Selene shook her head sombrely. “My offer of assistance certainly was not rejected, but still, the mood amongst all those at The Palace is… not good. Many soldiers are already expecting defeat. Some are just hoping to make it out with their lives, while others… are contemplating a much bleaker outlook. However, having a dragon on our side would indeed be a major advantage, and likely a morale booster as well.”

Selene then fixed her gaze solely upon Geoff. “But Geoff, listen to me,” she said, her tone deadly serious. “If you truly wish to defend your homeland and protect your loved ones, then there can be no mercy granted on the battlefield; you must be prepared to kill.”

An involuntary shiver went up Geoff’s spine, though he supposed that Selene’s directive really shouldn’t have come as any surprise to him. After all, the Vishian soldiers would never even think to hold back in their attacks, and thus Geoff shouldn’t either. “Understood,” he replied.

Selene nodded at him, and then shifted her focus back to the group as a whole. “From the information we have, and what I know of Vishia, it’s most likely that their army will arrive tomorrow morning, before the sun has reached its highest point in the sky. We can leave Geoff’s de-transformation until then, and for now, I suggest that we all preserve our energy – we’re going to need it.”

Notes:

- Now you know why I said to make sure you've read The Witch, The Healer, And The Huntress before this story! Re-introducing Selene and Aurora, courtesy of @Mountainsunrise, who's helped me out a lot with writing them!
- This fic is definitely one of the least music-involving stories of the series, but I couldn't help but slip a little bit of song into this chapter anyway <3
- Honestly I'm not *massively* satisfied with the way this chapter ends, but I couldn't think of anything better without repeating myself too much, so here we are.

Chapter 3 will be up this time next week, *unless* I decide to split the chapter into two, in which case you'll be getting the next part in just a few days, but we'll see! Either way, things are ramping up, and it's gonna be big! ;)

Chapter 3

Notes:

Chapter 6 of The Dragon's Winter *was* the longest individual chapter I had ever written, but this one beats it easily! It's 6300 words, so strap yourself in!

Also, attached to the post I made about this chapter on Tumblr, I also shared a bit of "concept art" I made initially as a personal visualisation aid, but now I'm also sharing with you, in case it "enhances your reading experience". Link here!

Geoff did his best to relax during the rest of the day. He finished making the batch of biscuits he had originally started upon that morning, spent some time in the library with Kathy, and finally got some cuddle time with William. And when no one was around, Geoff summoned a small flurry of glowing embers above William’s head, making his son laugh and squeal with delight as they floated down, though Geoff made each ember disappear before they could touch William or anything else.

Eli had once expressed his concern about Geoff using his fire magic in front of William, as “what if he tries to copy you one day and is in fact successful?” Geoff had agreed that an infant suddenly developing fire magic would be a less-than-ideal situation, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but love how happy it made William to see displays of Geoff’s abilities.

 

The quality time with his son made Geoff even more certain about his decision to join the upcoming battle, but it didn’t make it much easier to sleep that night. When Geoff finally drifted off, he dreamt that he went to go check on William, only to find the crib completely empty, and then when he turned around, his own bed was gone as well, and Kathy too, and suddenly the room was as it had looked when he was still a dragon. He had raced out of the room and down the hallway, but Kathy had gently woken him up before he got much further, and she had comforted him until he fell asleep again.

 

---

 

Geoff woke up feeling like there was a weight upon his chest and knots inside his stomach. Songbirds chirped, and the sun shined as bright as ever through the bedroom window, and yet still Geoff could feel the dark aura of the danger that would soon be looming over the horizon. 

 

.

 

Down at the dining table, Geoff kept his head down and picked at his food. He knew he needed to eat, and his stomach agreed (mostly), but it was as if he had lost all his appetite, and the most he could manage was small bites at a time, sometimes even having to force himself to swallow the food down.

“Do not spend too much time on your food, Geoff,” said Selene. “Once we are done here, I will transport you and Aurora to the other side of the kingdom, to an area not far from where our cottage is. It’s relatively quiet there, and with plenty enough open space for your original form. After the detransformation, I will send Aurora back here to the castle, and then you and I will join the fight.”

Cesar raised his hand. “Uh, just a small question, if you don’t mind,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be totally safe inside the castle, regardless of what room we’re in, but um, if something does happen, just hypothetically, like someone started to break in or something, then like should Kathy and I just hide in our bedrooms, or what?”

Aurora smiled kindly at him. “Indeed, I’m sure that you will be quite safe, but I did find something yesterday that will help further ease your concerns,” she replied. “There is in fact a hidden room in Sunlight Castle, right next to the Magic Room. It needs a magic-user to open it from the outside, but it can be set up so that anyone inside can close themselves in, such that the room would again be undetectable to outsiders, and then opened by either the people inside, or the one who revealed the room in the first place.” Aurora turned her head to Kathy. “The room may also be a bit quieter than the bedrooms, in the event that there becomes too much commotion outside for little William to handle.”

“Thank you, Aurora,” Kathy replied. “But for now, I’m just gonna try to hope for the best.”

 

---

 

And then, all too soon, it was time.

“Uh, can you just gimme a minute first, please?” Geoff asked Aurora and Selene.

Aurora nodded. “Of course. Selene and I will wait for you in the parlour.”

Cesar came over and gave Geoff a big hug. “You’re gonna do amazingly out there, I just know it!” he said into Geoff’s ear, before pulling away, giving Geoff a final wave, and then heading upstairs.

 

Geoff then turned to face Kathy, and as he did so, he reached below the collar of his shirt, and pulled out a silver chain that had been hanging around his neck. It was a necklace with a small diamond-shaped pendant on it, that Kathy had given him a few months ago as a wedding anniversary gift. Geoff had been wearing it ever since – until now, that is.

“Look after this for me, will you?” he asked softly, holding it out in his hand. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to it.”

Kathy looked down at the silver chain, her eyes misting over, and she slowly and hesitantly took it, and put the necklace around her neck. Then she looked back up at her husband’s face. “Geoff… After it’s over, whatever happens, just… Come back to me, won’t you?”

Geoff gently brought his hand to Kathy’s cheek, and she leaned into the touch. “Kath, there’s not an army in the land that could stop me from finding my way back to you.”

Then he leaned down and kissed her. It wasn’t a kiss that made time stand still, but it was one that was gonna give it a damn good try anyway. It was a kiss to say what words could not, and it wasn’t a farewell, it was a vow.

Kathy’s eyes were wet as her and Geoff finally broke apart. “…I love you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“I love you too,” Geoff replied in almost a whisper, trying to swallow back the growing lump in his throat. He took Kathy’s hands in his, and kissed them both.

And then, after one last longing look at Kathy, Geoff turned away, releasing his hands from hers, and went to join Selene and Aurora.

 

.

 

Selene began casting the portal spell as soon as Geoff walked into the parlour. “Come, there is no time to waste,” she said. She waited for Geoff and Aurora to enter the portal, and then followed through behind them. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As far as kingdoms went, Vishia hadn’t been a bad one to spend some time hanging around in. Well, for Liana, at least. Vishia's consistent hostility towards other kingdoms had often been a source of entertainment for her, and she would frequently tag along on the Vishian army's “expeditions”. Not officially, of course – far be it from her to claim allegiance to any specific kingdom – but if there was an opportunity for creating chaos, then who was she to miss out on all the fun? And plus, they provided her with an easy way to obtain more than enough gold and valuables to get by with. When people were on the lookout for rowdy soldiers in Vishian uniforms, they wouldn't pay much mind to a “fair young maiden” hurrying by them. 

 

Liana had been disappointed when Vishia's attacks and invasion attempts had slowed down to a complete halt, but she didn't intervene – she worked for no monarchy, and was more than happy to keep it that way. So, she had continued to hop between kingdoms, finding ways to keep herself amused, and overall things had been going quite well for her.

Well, until her encounter with The Dragon Of Sunlight Castle, that is.

She could have died if not for Aurora treating her, but it was hard to feel grateful when the healer had left her with permanent burn scars, ones that would never fade with time, nor with magic (and she had tried every relevant spell, charm, and hex she could think of, to no avail).

 

When Liana had heard the news about the son of the old Vishian king taking the throne from his father, she sensed opportunity, and wasted no time in summoning a portal to take her to Vishia. Sure enough, the new king had a zealous desire for Vishia to regain the reputation it had two decades ago: formidable, relentless, and always seeking out further glory and power.

 

Then Liana found out who the first target of the new king would be: Voludera.
Vishia had previously known about The Dragon Of Sunlight Castle, at least vaguely. They’d deliberately left Voludera alone for at least a good 25 years because of it, although if asked, most Vishians would claim that Voludera simply wasn't worth their time, and that there were bigger kingdoms with more castles and more riches that were much more interesting. But for the new king to choose Voludera now? Liana couldn't help but wonder how much he and the rest of the Vishians knew about what had occurred in Voludera in the past two years.

 

A bit of eavesdropping in a Vishian tavern provided Liana with an answer: not much. All the soldiers knew was that the dragon had been ‘vanquished’ over a year and a half ago, and now Voludera would be practically theirs for the taking.

 

Liana wasn't planning on correcting anyone on their beliefs – it was of no matter to her whether Vishia won or lost – but still, she got to thinking. All of Voludera's knights would be called upon to fight Vishia's army, and so would the Dragon's sorcerer friend. And if Liana's experience with the Dragon was anything to go by, he wouldn’t hesitate to defend his home either, whether it be guarding the castle grounds, or even joining his companions on the battlefield. Either way, it would be almost laughably-easy to create a portal into Sunlight Castle, grab the Dragon’s child, and then disappear again without anyone realizing that The Wandering Witch had been there.

 

The Dragon had merely taken Liana by surprise last time, and she unfortunately was left with the marks to prove it. But now she had a chance to take revenge; she was going to give the Dragon a surprise of her own, and he would be powerless to stop her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Geoff looked back through the portal at the view of the parlour room, until it shrunk and then disappeared completely, before he took a look around at his new surroundings.
He, Selene, and Aurora were standing in the middle of a large grassy meadow. In the distance, Geoff could see the woodland near the cottage that Layne, Cesar, and Eli used to live in, and a bit further away than that, he spotted the village, a cluster of brown and white shapes. Geoff took a moment to breathe in the fresh air, and then turned to face the two sisters.

“I'm ready when you are,” he said, while feeling his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

Aurora nodded, and she and Selene took a few steps away from Geoff, before she raised her hands towards him, and began reciting the spell.

“Frange transformatio,

Mutationes removere.

Esto quod ante eras,

Fieri draco iterum!”

 

 

Geoff took a deep breath in, and exhaled right before the spell hit him fully on the chest. He closed his eyes and continued focusing on his breathing as his body grew hot and started tingling all over. His arms began twitching, his back arched, and he could feel himself getting larger. Then it all became too much to handle, and for a brief moment there was nothingness as Geoff blacked out and allowed the magic to take over.

 

When Geoff opened his eyes, he was, indeed, a dragon once more. He couldn't help but give a sigh of resignation, and a faint wisp of smoke escaped each of his nostrils as he did so.

Geoff flexed his wings, and swished his tail back and forth as he looked down at Selene, who wore a small smirk on her face, seemingly pleased by Geoff’s ‘new’ form. He would have perhaps asked Selene for her thoughts, if not for being thrown off by the fact that he suddenly couldn’t see where Aurora was.

Selene, seemingly noticing Geoff’s confused expression, flicked her head downwards, briefly looking straight ahead of herself, before looking back up. Geoff looked down, and realized that Aurora was standing mere inches away from him, and had one hand on his scales, in the way one would when trying to steady something and keep it from moving.

“…Yes?” said Geoff.

Aurora snatched her hand away, appearing momentarily startled, but she quickly composed herself. “Sorry, Geoff, I was just checking that you were alright, and making sure that the de-transformation went smoothly,” she said.

The definition of ‘alright’ was currently a highly-subjective one, as far as Geoff was concerned, but in all fairness, there were certainly worse ways to get reverted back to original form…

“The spell worked just as it was meant to, don’t worry,” said Geoff. “I’ll be fine, but you should head back to Sunlight Castle now.”

“Yes, time is of the essence,” agreed Selene. She looked like she was preparing to summon another portal, but Aurora stopped her, putting a hand on her arm.

“Selene, sister, just one last thing,” said Aurora. “When the Vishian army is defeated and declares retreat, that is when the battle stops, okay? When the enemy soldiers are running away, back to their home kingdom, do not go after them; it is not worth it.”

Selene looked greatly displeased, but she nodded. “Fine,” she said, flatly. Then she raised her arm and cast the spell. “Aperire ostium in arce solis!”

 

Aurora looked at Selene and Geoff as a portal swirled into existence a few feet away from her. “I wish you the best of luck, both of you,” she said, before walking towards the spinning glowing doorway, stepping through it, and disappearing, with the portal closing behind her. 

 

Selene looked back up at Geoff. “I take it that your wings are fully functional?” she asked.

“I mean, most likely, yes?” Geoff replied, slowly stretching his wings out and moving them up and down. “I never exactly had the chance to do much flying before, though.”

Selene gave him a small smile. “Flight is as inherent to dragons as the usage of fire,” she said. “If you can do one, then you can do the other. Do not overthink it.” Selene summoned another portal. “I will see you over there, Geoff.”

 

Geoff thought to himself for a moment after Selene’s portal vanished into thin air. ‘If you can do one, then you can do the other.’ Perhaps it would in fact be beneficial to test his fire-breathing before he did anything else, just to make sure.

He thought back to when he would prepare wild game that he had caught in the forest for himself, after he learned that meat was often a whole lot better cooked than raw.

While imagining himself preparing another meal, Geoff blew out a breath, and sent out a small jet of orange flames along with it.

Okay, good start, but he’d need more than that. Geoff closed his eyes for just a moment, and then opened them again. Don’t overthink it, do not try, just do.
Geoff inhaled through his nostrils, tilted his head up, opened his mouth, and-

*FWOOSH*

 

Oh yes, he still had the fire alright. And now there was only one thing left to do, and no time to lose. Geoff turned his gaze northwards, in the direction of Sunlight Castle and beyond. He backed up a few steps, and then took a running leap into the air. He beat his wings, and took off towards the battle.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Liana observed the grounds of Sunlight Castle, staying hidden in a cluster of trees a short distance away. There were guards patrolling just inside the castle’s perimeter, as expected, but no sign of the Dragon. Well, even if he was in fact merely sheltering inside, Liana would be ready for him this time; he would not beat her again.

She was about to cast a portal spell to get inside when she paused. Perhaps it would be best to check for other defences around the castle first.

While still keeping out of sight, Liana made her way around to one side of the castle, where the trees came closest to the iron fence bordering the grounds. She waited for a guard to pass by, and then slowly approached the fence, reaching out a hand as if to touch it, but not quite.

 

Liana cursed under her breath. She should have realized earlier – there were protection spells here. But still, nothing that would block her from being able to enter at all; instead more of just an intruder-alert-system for magic users.

And anyway, what did it really matter if the royal sorcerer detected the presence of a magic-user infiltrating the castle? He was undoubtedly in the thick of battle right now, and even if he managed to survive in one piece, Liana would be long gone by the time he returned back home.

Still, she should move quickly.

 

Liana didn’t have to utter a single word when she summoned her portal into Sunlight Castle – such spells were easier when you were already familiar with where you were travelling to, and she knew just the perfect entry point…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

‘I’m never going to complain about not getting to use much magic at The Palace ever again!’

 

The good news was that the clash between the armies of Vishia and Voludera hadn’t immediately turned into a one-sided massacre in Vishia’s favour. The bad news was, well, everything else about it. Selene had promised to assist Voludera in the fight itself, but there had been no sign of her, and the last thing they needed was another reason to lose hope. Still, some of the Voluderian soldiers had so far been able to hold their own, including Layne, from what Eli had managed to observe of him. However, the knights could only hold on for so long before they’d begin to lose strength, and bloodstains were fast accumulating on many a uniform.

 

Vishia of course had a Royal Sorcerer of their own, and it hadn’t taken long for him to single out Eli as his main opponent, and the two had engaged in a near-explosive duel.

Eli had found himself to be a pretty even match for the Vishian sorcerer, and neither of them yet showed any greater likelihood of winning than the other did. But Eli knew it couldn’t go on like that forever; he had to figure out a way to get the upper hand before the Vishian sorcerer could do the same thing.

 

Both magic-users had been doing their best to keep an awareness of their surroundings; they were duelling in the middle of a battlefield, after all, and even if they had no obligations to assist their kingdom’s army, they still had to avoid getting stabbed, sliced, speared, and so forth. And so, Eli was moving out of the way of a Voluderian knight fighting with a Vishian soldier when he realized who that Voluderian knight was.

‘Layne!’

 

Several things then occurred in rapid succession. Layne glanced over at Eli, which gave Layne’s opponent just enough chance to attempt a near-lethal blow. Eli, however, saw what the Vishian was doing, and released a burst of magic energy towards him, sending the soldier flying backwards before his sword could finish reaching its target. But at the same time, this had given the enemy sorcerer the moment of distraction he had been hoping for, and he began to cast a spell that would bring the duel to a definite conclusion. Eli realized what was happening, and looked back to see the Vishian sorcerer’s hands surrounded by swirling purple magic, which glowed and flashed as the hands started to reach out towards him. Eli knew there was no time to cast anything to block the spell, not that he could think of much right now anyway, so he just turned away, covered his face, and hoped that at the very least, it would all be over quickly.

 
But a couple of seconds passed, and nothing came. Slowly, Eli uncovered his face, straightened up, and turned around. First he saw Layne, standing between him and the other sorcerer, and for a horrible, heart-stopping moment, it appeared that Layne had taken the hit instead of Eli – it certainly seemed like he had intended to. But Layne was totally unscathed, opening his eyes and lowering his arms, looking just as confused as Eli was. But then the two of them both shifted their attention to the Vishian sorcerer, who was standing frozen and wide-eyed, with a glowing arrow having struck him right above his nose. Another one then speared him in the chest, which sent him staggering backwards until he tripped and fell to the ground. Layne and Eli quickly looked away, not wanting to watch anyone be trampled upon, and turned their sights to a familiar figure approaching them, wearing a brown huntsman’s outfit.

“Selene! Finally!” said Eli, greatly relieved. “We were worried that you had changed your mind or something!”

“I apologize for not getting here sooner,” Selene replied calmly, “but do not worry; additional reinforcements are coming.”

“What reinforcements?” Eli asked, but he didn’t get to hear her answer, as both he and Layne were set upon by a couple more Vishians, all of whom were apparently intent in making sure every Voluderian on the battlefield received more than their fair share of combat. Eli was forced to stop after a couple more moments, though, as he brought a hand to his forehead and a wave of panic washed over him. ‘Oh no...’

“Eli! What’s wrong?” asked Layne worriedly, while Selene helped him fend off attackers.

Eli did his best to breathe and stay aware of the battle surrounding him. “The castle… Someone’s inside… A magic-user has infiltrated Sunlight Castle!” And there was nothing he could currently do about it.

Selene, however, seemed largely unfazed, and merely shook her head a little at the news. “Then they are a fool for their decision,” she replied.

Right, Aurora was helping to guard the castle, wasn’t she? Well, if Selene felt confident that the castle and its inhabitants would remain safe, then it was best for Eli to trust that everything would be okay. He shook himself off and was just about to assist Layne, who was starting to be outmatched now that Selene’s attention was elsewhere, when suddenly Layne’s opponents froze, and their weapons tumbled from their hands. The two Vishians had gone white as a sheet, as they stared at something up in the sky.

Eli had barely begun to turn his head to see what was causing such a fright, when he heard it: a loud, almost earth-shaking, almighty *ROAR.*

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Liana stepped into the guest bedroom in Sunlight Castle, where her burns had been treated by Aurora some months ago. The room was unoccupied, as expected, and she knew that the master bedroom would only be a few short steps away.

Liana crept towards the door, hearing people walking through the corridor on the other side – servants, perhaps, or maybe even a guard or two. She waited until the sound of footsteps died away completely, and then turned the handle, opened the door just a crack, and poked her head into the hallway. There was not a single person in sight. Good. 

 

It had briefly crossed Liana’s mind that there was a slight possibility that The Huntress had been called upon to help protect the child, but if Selene wasn’t here already, then she wasn’t worth worrying about. Of course, there was also a chance that Liana would come face-to-face with the Dragon’s mate, but that was of no matter, for she was just a mere human, with no powers to speak of, and Liana had no qualms about killing her, especially when it would bring the Dragon even more pain. And who knows – maybe eventually, once the child was fully under Liana’s care and control, she would set some bait for the Dragon. He would be desperate to find his son, (especially if he also no longer had his beloved mate by his side), and all Liana would have to do was give him a false sense of hope, to lure him right into her clutches. She could force the Dragon to do her bidding, and then not even The Huntress would be able to defeat her.

 

Liana shook herself slightly, back to present-day reality. Right now, her main goal was to grab the child, take him back to her hiding place, and then lay low for a while.

 

The witch darted over to the door at the end of the hallway, and swung it open. The Dragon’s mate was nowhere to be seen, but nor was the Huntress, and what Liana could see was a wooden crib over on the left side of the room, just as hoped.

With bated breath, she tiptoed over to it, already starting to reach out her hands in anticipation. But as she got closer, she looked down into the crib and-

 

Empty.

 

Liana barely had time to curse in frustration before she heard a voice behind her.

“The child is currently hidden away, and you will not find him. You have just found me, instead.”

Liana whirled around to see Aurora standing next to the bedroom door, which she pushed shut. She then took a few steps towards Liana, glaring at her coldly. “I have spared you once, foolish one. I will not make that mistake again.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For a single fleeting moment, the battlefield went almost fully quiet as everyone stared up at the giant dragon flying towards them. And this wasn’t just any old dragon, Eli knew; this was Geoff Castellucci, The Dragon of Sunlight Castle.

Eli glanced around at his friends and comrades, while his own mind was racing with questions. Layne’s agape expression was quickly turning into a grin, and Selene wore an equally-pleased smirk on her face. Some of the other Voluderians, meanwhile, had wisely decided to put some space between themselves and the enemy side, as Geoff swooped down and released a blaze of fire, sending Vishians scattering.

Well, some Vishians were sent scattering; but others were not so lucky.

 

Geoff circled above the battlefield, staying close to the rear lines and outer edges of the Vishian army. A few of the soldiers brandished swords and attempted to attack his legs as he swooped lower, but he merely swatted them away, knocking them to the ground. Then Eli saw one Vishian jump and grab a hold of the end of Geoff’s tail, but he only hung on for a second before the tail flicked upwards and outwards, as if an instinctual response, sending the soldier flying far off into the distance.

Yet still, the remaining Vishians were undeterred, and many were now arming themselves with bows and arrows, or brandishing spears and aiming it at their winged adversary as he gained more height.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ thought Eli. He began summoning a glowing ball of blue energy, ready to fire it, but the glow dimmed as he was startled by Selene placing a hand on his arm. She held up a finger, as if telling him to wait, and then she spoke loudly, addressing the Voluderian army.

“He is drawing their attention! Use it to your advantage!” Selene instructed, her voice cutting through the commotion just enough to be heard by all those she was speaking to.

Deejay came to join Eli, Selene, and Layne at the front of the throng. “I wish somebody had told me sooner that Geoff would be lending a helping claw,” he said, “but I’m certainly not complaining that he’s here!” Then he turned to his troops and raised his voice as Selene had. “Soldiers! Defend that dragon!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Aurora wasn’t going to let the Wandering Witch escape this time.

“Repello!” she cried, knocking Liana into collision with the baby crib before she had a chance to speak. Her back hit the wood with a heavy *thud*, but she quickly recovered, getting up and throwing a spell back in retaliation. Aurora was ready, however, and threw up a shield before it could hit her.

For a moment the two witches circled each other, like tigers assessing their prey, determining the perfect time to pounce.

“I told you to leave Voludera and to never return again,” said Aurora darkly. “What part of that did you not understand?” She picked up a candelabra and hurled it at Liana, who blocked it, but was then caught off guard by Aurora charging at her, resulting in the pair being locked into a grapple. Liana managed to yank her hand out of Aurora’s grasp, and the healer was forced to dive to the side to dodge a blast of magic.

 

The fight was getting ugly, both in the blows being exchanged, and in the mess being made in the room, which Aurora couldn’t help but feel a small pang of guilt about. She had needed to wear Liana down a little, all the while stopping her from having a chance to summon a portal to escape. But now Aurora knew it was time to finish things.
With a burst of magic, she managed to hit Liana on the shoulder, and it was enough to make her stagger backwards towards a set of drawers. Before she could regain her footing, Aurora shouted another spell.

“Adflicto!”

It was her third attempt at using it on Liana, with the other witch dodging it the first time, and Aurora taking a hit on her arm before she could finish saying the word on her second try. But this time, it was a direct hit, and Liana cried out in agony, knees buckling. Aurora didn’t slow down, though, and she stepped closer, arm outstretched as she made her final attacks.

"Suffoco. Siccesco.”

Liana gasped and stared at Aurora in shock, but only for a second, before her eyes went unfocused. She collapsed to the floor, one hand grasping helplessly at her throat, her breaths coming short and shallow as her skin went pale, with a sickly grey undertone.

Aurora turned away as Liana coughed and wheezed her last breath of air, before becoming completely silent; lifeless.

The healer looked around the bedchamber, surveying the chaotic state it was now left in, and frowned. ‘Of all the rooms in the castle to have a fight in…’

 

.

 

“Revelare aperire!”

Aurora stood facing a wall next to Sunlight Castle’s magic room. She watched as a door materialized in front of her, and then swung open. Cesar stepped out and looked around, and Kathy followed behind him, holding William in her arms.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now,” said Aurora. She figured she must look somewhat dishevelled after the fight, with perhaps a bruise or two, for Kathy’s expression grew even more worried when she looked at her.

“Gods, Aurora, what happened?” Kathy asked. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, it’s nothing I can’t heal by myself,” Aurora replied. “I just had an encounter with the Wandering Witch, Liana.” 

Kathy and Cesar both gasped, but Aurora held up a hand before either of them could speak. “Do not worry; I promise that she won’t be a threat ever again, to anyone.”

Kathy stared at her. “Aurora, did you…”

“I did what had to be done. Liana sealed her fate when she decided to return to this castle, despite me having told her to avoid Voludera completely,” said Aurora. “But for now, I must advise both of you to avoid the master bedchamber. It requires some cleaning and tidying, shall we say, including the kind that my sister would be better suited to deal with than I.”

 

Kathy turned and gazed out of one of the hallway windows, and Aurora didn’t have to ask to know what (or who) she was thinking about.

She placed a hand on Kathy’s shoulder. “Would you like some herbal tea?” she asked. “It may help to calm your mind.”

Kathy looked hesitant, but she glanced at Cesar, who was nodding in support of Aurora’s suggestion.

She sighed. “Okay, yes, thank you, that would be nice,” she said. “But he- they will all be back soon, right?”

Aurora smiled at her reassuringly. “Geoff and the others will return once they are able to. We just need to have faith.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Voludera hadn’t been decimated almost as soon as the battle with Vishia began, it was seen as a small blessing, but one that likely wouldn’t make much of a difference in the long run. But now, with Geoff on the defending kingdom’s side, the balance had shifted.

They were implementing a simple-yet-effective strategy: the Voluderian knights would defend Geoff, and Geoff would defend them in return, with Eli and Selene helping to deal with any hostile Vishians that were otherwise missed. Any Vishian that tried to attack the giant dragon above them would risk being caught unawares by a Voluderian knight, and vice versa, and if neither knight nor dragon came to stop them, then a magic-user certainly would.

 

In barely any time at all, the Vishian army was showing signs of defeat. They now had fewer men left standing than what Voludera had to start with, and some appeared to be having second thoughts about the whole fighting thing, as some were backing away from the action, while others were huddling a short distance away, seemingly engaged in conversation. Then, the Voluderians heard what they had been desperately hoping for.

“Alright! Enough!” yelled the captain of the Vishian army. “Vishians! Retreat! We are leaving this kingdom alone!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Geoff breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that Vishia was indeed going to accept defeat, but he knew he couldn’t rest just quite yet.

He flew back and forth around the edges of the now-retreating Vishian army, shepherding them back in the direction from whence they came, and growling at them to make sure they did as they were told.

It was just as Geoff was seeing off the last of them that he noticed a figure hot on the tails of the last retreating soldiers; a figure who most definitely wasn’t wearing a Vishian soldier’s uniform. Selene. 

Geoff shifted his attention to the huntress, swooping down with his head low, and very gently bumping her with his snout as he came alongside her. With the added effect of her not seeing it coming, it resulted in Selene falling to the ground and landing on her back, but she was otherwise unhurt. 

He landed next to Selene, and put one of his front feet on her, lightly pinning the huntress without actually squishing her. “Aurora said not to go after them,” said Geoff, as softly as he could, given his current circumstances. “Let them go.”

Selene blinked up at him, in a rare instance of being genuinely caught off-guard. “…Okay,” she replied in a quiet voice.

Geoff smiled, and lifted his foot off of Selene, before walking a few steps closer to where the Voluderians had gathered. He lowered his body down to the ground, and watched Eli and Layne come over to him.

“…So I have several questions,” Eli began, “but first and foremost: Are you okay?”

“I could ask both of you the same thing!” Geoff replied, not unaware of the fact that they each were sporting more than a moderate amount of bruises, cuts, and other such wounds. “But I’m alright- well, as alright as I possibly can be right now. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys about… This… And I know you said I didn’t need to get involved, Eli, but there came a point where I felt like I had to do something, and I realized this might be the best way to help, and-”

“Waitwaitwait, hang on,” said Layne, holding up his hands as he cut in. “You’re saying that you willingly got yourself turned back into a dragon, just to help ensure that we won the fight against Vishia?”

Geoff nodded, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. “I had to keep my family safe, including you guys,” he replied.

Layne slowly walked closer to Geoff, locked in eye contact with him, his expression unreadable. Then, when he was a mere few inches away, Layne dropped his gaze and threw his arms around Geoff’s neck. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said. Then, very quietly, just loud enough for Geoff to hear: “…But thank you.”

Geoff looked at Eli, who smiled and nodded at him, silently echoing the same sentiment.

 

Deejay walked over to join the trio. “I didn’t think we’d ever see you looking like this again, Geoff!” he remarked, not unkindly.

Geoff made a soft rumbling noise as he chuckled. “Neither did I until yesterday, honestly!”

“Well, I’d love to hear more about it, but I’m sure you’ll be wanting to get back to Kathy and William as quick as you can, hey?” Deejay replied, before turning to Layne and Eli. “Most of us will be heading back to The Palace to debrief and to get extra medical assistance for the badly-wounded, but I’m happy to let both of you head home with Geoff instead.”

Then he was startled by Selene appearing next to him, though he swore she wasn’t nearby a minute ago.

Selene looked at Layne, Geoff, and Eli. “Are you all ready to return to the castle?” she asked. “I can cast a portal spell so that you need not worry about walking back.”

“Thanks Selene, I appreciate it,” said Eli. 

“I’m ready when you are!” said Layne.

Geoff nodded, and smiled down at his friends, who were now standing beside him. “Yeah, come on guys. Let’s go home.”

Notes:

I know I've already thanked @MountainSunrise on both the past two chapters, but I'm thanking her here as well! This chapter was the biggest collaborative effort of the whole story - she had most of the ideas, and I turned them into proper written scenes! (There are a *few* small bits in this chapter here and there that were solely my idea, but mostly I'd either tell my ideas to Rose and she'd add onto them, or vice versa). Seriously, there's no way I would've even *considered* writing a massive battle between two armies (plus a giant dragon) if not for Rose.
Chapter 4 will be up this time next week, or maybe a few days earlier. depending on whether I wanna split the ending into two chapters or not (and depending on whether I can get everything written in time). See you soon!

Chapter 4

Notes:

This chapter ended up being almost as long as chapter 3!

Layne, Eli, and Selene went through the portal first, with Geoff following behind as the four of them stepped through to the grounds of Sunlight Castle.

Geoff kept his head lowered, and had barely pulled the end of his tail out through the portal before he saw Kathy and Cesar hurrying out the front doors.

Kathy raced up to Geoff and threw her arms around his neck as Layne had, holding him tight. Carefully, Geoff lifted up one of his front feet, and rested it against Kathy’s back, in his best effort to reciprocate the gesture. He saw that Cesar had pulled Layne and Eli into a close hug as well, while Aurora was talking quietly to Selene a bit further away, and directing her to go inside the castle.

 

Geoff put his foot back down and Kathy took a step back. “Oh Geoff, are you okay?” she asked. “Are you hurt? Did you… Did it work?”

Geoff looked at Eli, Layne, and Cesar again, who were coming over to join him. “Well, everyone made a huge effort, and we fought as hard as we could… and it worked. Vishia was forced into retreat.”

Kathy smiled from ear to ear, putting her hands on either side of Geoff’s snout and kissing his mouth. “I’m so proud of you, Geoff! You were so brave…” she glanced at Layne and Eli. “All of you were brave!”

Layne rubbed the side of his face with his hand. “Right now, all I am is tired,” he said. “And kinda sore.”

Cesar nodded sympathetically and patted Layne’s arm. “Come on, let’s all head inside so you guys can rest and recover.”

Geoff took a look at the castle’s front doorway and frowned. “Am I even gonna be able to fit through there?” he asked. “I mean it’s been a while…”

Cesar looked between Geoff and the double doors, comparing sizes. “I don’t think it’s impossible,” he said. “We just have to open both the doors up as wide as they can go!”

 

And so, with the combined efforts of Layne, Eli, and Cesar, one door was pushed open, and then the other.

Kathy kissed the side of Geoff’s snout. “It’s alright, just take it slow,” she said.

Geoff lowered his head even further down than it already was, and slightly lifted his wings while still keeping them folded, so they weren’t sitting either side of him. Then, he slowly crept through the open doorway into Sunlight Castle, guided by Kathy, who stayed within his vision as she walked alongside. A few castle servants did double takes as they passed by, stopping stare in wide-eyed shock, and Geoff supposed he couldn’t be surprised – knowing that you worked for a man who once took the form of a large dragon was one thing; seeing him as a large dragon in the present day was another. Geoff did however also notice Kathy shooting hard looks at any of the staff lingering around, as if daring them to say anything about it.

 

Geoff came to a stop inside the main hall, across from the staircase, and slumped himself down into a lying position.

“Can I get you anything?” Kathy asked. “Are you hungry at all?”

Geoff twitched his head to the side, in what would’ve been a head-shake if he had had more energy. “No, I’m fine, I just wanna rest here for a little bit if that’s alright,” he replied. “How’s William been? Is he alright?”

“Of course it’s alright!” said Kathy, kissing his head. “And William’s been fine. He’s just with a nursemaid right now.” (She decided that the recount of the castle’s goings-on could wait until later.)

Geoff nodded, and was about to put his head down and take a well-deserved nap, when he saw Aurora approaching.

“Layne and Eli are in the parlour right now,” said Aurora. “They’ve both got at least a couple notable injuries, as well as a handful of cuts and bruises, but it’s nothing that I can’t help to heal, and I can assure the both of you that they will make a full recovery.”

“Thank you Aurora, I’m really glad to hear it,” said Kathy.

Geoff smiled, and shifted himself slightly to make himself more comfortable. He curved his neck around and rested his head on his front feet, before closing his eyes.

“Geoff? Are you sure you don’t need any healing treatment as well?” asked Aurora.

Geoff didn’t bother to even open his eyes. “You can check me over if you want,” he replied in a half-mumble. “Make sure I’m fit to be turned back.”

He didn’t hear any response from Aurora or from Kathy, and in barely any time at all, he had fallen asleep.

 

---

 

When Geoff stirred awake sometime later, he first wondered why he felt so heavy, and why he seemed to be laying on hard floor.

Then he remembered: Oh, right. Dragon again.

However, Geoff then registered the sound of someone talking very quietly. He cracked open his eyes and saw Kathy standing a short distance away from him, holding William in her arms and talking to him. She looked up at Geoff and noticed he was awake.

“Oh, hey honey, did I wake you?” she asked softly. “I was just showing William what you look like now. And look, he’s not scared at all!”

She took another step closer, as William looked at Geoff with apparent intrigue, burbling and waving his arm out towards his father.

Very, very slowly, Geoff lifted his head and moved it forward ever-so-slightly, until his snout made contact with William’s hand, which was barely as big as a single scale.

“Hey there, William,” said Geoff, in his best attempt at a whisper. William flapped his hand and made a giggling noise, which Geoff couldn’t help but smile at.

 

Kathy took a few steps back so Geoff could speak at a more regular volume without it being too loud for William.

“How long was I asleep for?” asked Geoff.

“A good few hours or so,” Kathy replied. “Also Aurora said that you’ll probably feel a bit stiff and sore tomorrow morning, but otherwise you’re perfectly alright.”

“Good to know. I am feeling kinda hungry now, though.” Geoff turned his head to look out one of the windows. “I don’t suppose it’s close to dinner yet, is it?”

“Not really, no, but that’s okay! I can still get you your meal for you now if you want? The pheasants and the deer should last you through the night anyway, right?”

Geoff nodded. “Thanks, Kath. I’d prepare the food myself if I wasn’t worried about fitting into the kitchen. You can just bring them out as is – I’ll manage from there.” In some ways, he supposed, it was easier being a full-size dragon when he had been alone in the castle – there had been less furniture about, and less reason to worry if things got bumped into or knocked over.

“How about the dining room?” Kathy suggested. “It should be big enough for you if we moved the table and chairs out! I’ll go put William to bed and then I’ll get some servants to help.”

 

.

 

After being cleared of furniture, the dining room was indeed spacious enough, and once Geoff had sat himself down in the room, a few chefs brought out the two pheasants, which had been fully plucked and were each sitting on a large serving platter, and then the deer.

“Is there anything else you want?” Kathy asked. “Seasonings? Herbs? Garnishes?”

Geoff shook his head. “No, it’s fine, I can’t be bothered with such things right now. I just wanna eat. But actually, would you mind if you left me to it for a while, please? It could get a bit hot in here. And messy.”

Kathy sighed. “Fine. I’ll give you half an hour, and then I’ll come check on you, alright?” She kissed the side of his neck. “Don’t eat too fast!”

 

---

 

It certainly wasn’t one of the most fantastic meals that Geoff had ever eaten, but he managed to not over-scorch the pheasants or the deer, and he consumed them all without too much trouble.

 

When Kathy came back to the dining room, she wasn’t alone, as Cesar bounced in alongside her. There had been one chair left in the corner of the room, and Kathy moved it closer to Geoff before sitting down.

“Hey Geoff!” said Cesar brightly. “How was the meal?”

“It was alright, I guess,” Geoff replied. He was lying down on his stomach again, to rest while he let his food go down. “How’s everyone else been doing, including yourself?”

“Not much to report on my end,” said Cesar, coming over and leaning up against Geoff as he sat down on the floor. “I’ll probably be needed at The Palace in a day or two, though. Tony’s gonna be up to his ears in uniforms that need mending, if not replacing entirely! Oh and did you hear about Cyndi?”

“You mean the woman that Layne’s been kinda-sorta seeing? What about her?”

Cesar grinned. “She came here! To the castle! It was an hour or two after you fell asleep, I think. Apparently news has been spreading about the win over Vishia, and a lot of the knights are starting to head back home, and so Cyndi wanted to make sure that Layne made it back in one piece!”

Geoff snorted. “Bet he suddenly felt much better after she arrived!” he said.

“Well, you know Layne, he was all like ‘it’s no big deal, don’t you worry about me’, but Cyndi really seemed to want to take care of him, so she ended up staying a while to keep him company! It was honestly really cute.”

 

Geoff wanted to ask how Cyndi had reacted to seeing a large dragon asleep in the castle, and how much the villagers were hearing about what went down in the battle, but he looked at Kathy and noticed her grim expression, as if she had bad news to share.

“Speaking of visitors to the castle…” Kathy began.

 

Geoff felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly when Kathy began telling him that Liana had got into the castle – went right up to the crib where William slept, in fact, and might have even succeeded in her plan had Aurora not been there.

 

“But I can promise you that she’s never going to be able to hurt us or be a danger to William ever again!” said Kathy.

“Really? That’s what we thought the last time, and look what happened!” Geoff replied. “How can you be certain?”

“Because she’s dead, Geoff. Aurora killed her.”

 

Oh. Yeah, that’d do it.

Geoff didn’t know how to respond to this, but thankfully Kathy kept talking anyway. “Liana’s body was still in the master bedchamber when you got back, but Selene went and dealt with it. However, the room is still in a bit of a mess, and William’s crib will probably need replacing. It’s not completely destroyed though, and it seems usable enough for now until we can get a new one.”

Geoff nodded. “Well, it’s not like I was likely sleeping in that room tonight anyway,” he said.

Kathy got up from her chair to come over and kiss his snout. “We’ll sort something out, don’t you worry,” she replied, stroking his scales.

 

Cesar appeared thoughtful, having not paid full attention to Geoff and Kathy’s conversation. “You know, I bet nobody’s ever made clothing for a dragon before!” he mused. “Now there would be a real tailoring challenge!”

Geoff chuckled. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don’t plan on staying like this for longer than I absolutely have to, so there’s probably no point in getting any ideas,” he replied.

Cesar pouted. “Oh come, can’t I at least take your measurements?” he asked. “Please?”

Geoff rolled his eyes and smiled. “Fine, knock yourself out.”

Cesar clapped his hands excitedly. “Awesome! I’ll go get my things!” he said, and dashed out the room.

Kathy watched him leave, then turned back to Geoff. “I’ll leave the both of you to it for a while,” she said, smiling. “Call for me if you need me!”

 

.

 

When Cesar returned, he had a measuring tape, a notepad, writing implements, and also an old-looking piece of cloth.

“I figured I could maybe help clean and polish your scales while I’m at it!” said Cesar. “If that’s alright with you, of course.”

Geoff smiled. “That would be nice, thank you,” he replied.

 

---

 

Geoff lifted his wings, straightened his tail out, stood up, sat down, and shifted his body in various ways so that Cesar could take various measurements and clean different parts of him. Cesar also asked him various questions about flying and fire-breathing, which Geoff did his best to answer. And by the time Cesar was just about finished, Kathy poked her head back in the doorway.

“Thought I should let you two know that it’s almost dinnertime!” she said.

Geoff nodded, and walked out the dining room, expecting that the table and chairs would be moved back in there, but he was slightly confused to see the table set up in the centre of the main hall, with chairs around all but one side of it, as if it was meant to be there.

“Uhh, doesn’t all of that need to go back in the dining room?” Geoff asked.

Kathy shook her head. “Not tonight! We decided that we’d eat in the main hall with you instead!” she said.

Geoff ducked his head bashfully. “Oh you don’t have to do that, I mean I already ate and everything!”

“I know we don’t have to,” said Cesar, “but we want to! All of us! You’re still part of the household too, you know!”

Geoff decided not to argue any further, and instead went over to the side of the table without any chairs, lying himself down a couple of feet away from it. He watched as Eli, Layne, Selene, and Aurora all filed in and sat down at the table, greeting them all in turn. Geoff noticed that Eli and Aurora seemed a little quieter and more reserved than usual, but he really couldn’t blame them after the events of the day. Overall, though, everyone appeared to be in good health, and chatter flowed easily, and for a moment Geoff felt almost normal. Almost.

 

Towards the end of the meal, when conversations had died down, Eli cleared his throat, glancing at Aurora before looking at Geoff.

“So uh, Geoff, do you think you’re gonna be able to handle being a dragon again long-term?” he asked, attempting to sound casual despite his nervous expression.

Geoff went tense. “What do you mean?” he replied. “You or Aurora can turn me back, right?”

Aurora sighed. “I apologize. I should have told you this when you asked to be turned back in the first place, but you seemed so insistent on the matter, I was unsure if it would have changed your mind anyway,” she said.

‘What are you talking about?’ is what Geoff wanted to say, or scream, but he feared that he might set the whole table alight if he did, so instead he just stared at Eli and Aurora, conveying it through his expression.

“You became a magic-user in your alternate form!” said Eli. “That’s practically unheard of! I mean, literally, there aren’t any existing transformation spells to really account for your current situation. And trying to create one would be risky; it’d almost certainly require more magic power than a typical human transformation spell, and even then, it still might not garner the exact desired results anyway, if it worked at all!”

“So what? Just use the same spell you used last time!” said Geoff, desperately. “I don’t care if I lose my fire powers and I’m just a regular human again! Just… please!”

Aurora looked at him sadly. “It’s not that simple, I’m afraid,” she said.

“I’m really sorry, Geoff,” said Eli, and he looked it, too. “I’ll keep looking through the books and scrolls in the Magic Room, I’ll try to see if there’s anything I’ve missed, anything that might provide a solution or even just give us better odds! I want to help you, you know I do! But if we got this wrong… there’s a chance that we might never be able to get it right.”

 

Geoff felt like all the fire had been knocked right out of him, and his thoughts were spiralling out of control.

“…I think I’m gonna go take a walk,” he said, after a few seconds of excruciating silence. Geoff stood up and began moving towards the front doors, which were very quickly opened by a few nearby servants. He heard Aurora call out to him, but he didn’t stop, instead walking outside into the cool night air.

 

.

 

A few minutes later, Kathy found Geoff sitting just outside the castle gates, staring up at the bright full moon above.

“Didn’t feel like stretching your legs much after all, hey?” she asked, coming over and sitting down next to him.

Geoff made a non-committal sound, resembling a grunt.

“Well, you could always stretch your wings instead, if you wanted to,” she said.

Geoff looked at her, and she shrugged. “I’m just saying, why not? Like yes, I know you didn’t really do much flying back during the days of being by yourself, but what’s stopping you now? I mean, if I had wings, I’d probably use them as often as I could!”

Geoff couldn’t hide the small smirk on his face. “Thought about this before, have you?” he asked.

Kathy looked away shyly. “Maybe just a few times,” she replied. “It’d be an experience like no other, wouldn’t it? Soaring through the air, seeing everything from a whole new perspective…”

 

A thought suddenly occurred to Geoff. An idea, you could even call it. It was too intriguing to ignore, but gods, he hoped he hadn’t misread the situation.

“I don’t suppose, have you ever thought about…” Geoff lowered himself down and flattened his body along the ground. “…riding a dragon?”

“Geoff, are you asking me if I want to go flying with you, right now?”

“Uh, only if you really want t-” But Kathy was already climbing onto Geoff’s back, and seating herself in between his wings.

“My parents gave me horse-riding lessons when I was younger,” said Kathy. “I’ve even tried bareback, But I certainly trust you far more than I would a horse!”

“Okay, well, I’ll try not to go too fast,” Geoff replied, quietly wondering if this was a good idea. “Now hold on tight and brace yourself!”

Before Geoff could change his mind, he stretched out his wings and began galloping forward, letting his wings catch the breeze, before he leapt and became airborne, while Kathy gave a shriek of delight. 

 

.

 

Geoff flew at a leisurely pace, gliding on air currents and only flapping his wings when needed to keep height.

“You doing alright, Kath?” Geoff asked. “Not slipping or getting ‘airsick’, I hope?”

“I’m having a wonderful time, don’t you worry!” Kathy replied. “I can see distant castles, and the lights of houses down below, and maybe even the ocean off to the east! I bet you could see the whole of Voludera from up here during the daytime!”

Geoff’s smile had a tinge of sadness to it. “Yeah, another time perhaps,” he said, quietly.

 

Geoff didn’t feel like going back to Sunlight Castle immediately, and so, after a short while of flying, he found a place to land, next to a lake on the west side of the kingdom. He and Kathy had found the lake some time ago, on one of their particularly long walks. They had been back there a few times since, such as when they borrowed Deejay’s horse and cart to bring everyone for a picnic. And, on one memorable occasion, Kathy and Geoff had gone there to cool off in the water together.

 

“It might be a bit too cold for swimming!” said Kathy, sliding off of Geoff’s back after he sat down.

Geoff snorted. “I figured it might be a better fit for me than the tub at home,” he joked.  He dipped a front foot into the lake, but almost immediately yanked it back out again. “Okay, maybe it’s a little chilly right now.”

Kathy laughed, and Geoff grinned at her, but then his face fell, as he stared into the water, and a huge dragon stared back at him.

“What’s on your mind?” Kathy asked softly, noticing Geoff’s sudden change in demeanour.

 

Many things were on Geoff’s mind at that moment. There were of course all the things that he was already sorely missing about being human, but also there was a somewhat deeper thought that had been eating away at him.

Geoff took a deep breath in. “When you told me that Aurora had killed Liana, it made me think about how I was in the battle earlier today,” he began. “It was kinda like a different part of me took over… And I know, yes, Voludera is safe now, which is great, obviously, but still, I killed people, Kath. And that ‘different part of me’ is still me, and I have to live with that… I thought– hoped that if I got to be human again, then it’d be easier to not think about it; that I could just put it all behind me. But I guess I’m stuck like this now: a dragon who has very definitely killed people, and one who’s every bit as monstrous as the old stories make him out to be.”

Kathy shifted her body around so she could face Geoff directly. “Geoff, look at me,” she said. He did as instructed. “At any point during the battle, did you even slightly scorch any of the Voluderians? Did any of our knights get a bit too close to your claws?”

“No! Definitely not! I made sure to only focus in on those wearing a Vishian uniform.”

“Okay, and when the Vishians began retreating, did you try to attack any of them some more, deciding that you weren’t done with them yet?”

Geoff shook his head vehemently. “I made sure they were all retreating, and heading in the right direction, but that’s it! Actually, I had to stop Selene from going after some of the Vishian soldiers, but don’t tell Aurora.”

Kathy threw her hands up. “See? You’re not just a mindless beast! You have self-control and restraint!” She looked at him earnestly. “Geoff, you only killed because you had no other choice, but the Vishians were ready to kill because they wanted to. And look, I won’t pretend like I fully understand everything that’s going through your mind, and I’m not saying that it’s a simple matter to deal with, but I’m here for you, alright? All of us are – Cesar, Eli, Layne, me – if you ever want to talk, just… We’re not going anywhere!”

Geoff managed a half-smile. “It’s gonna be different in the castle, you know. With me like this. Probably will need an adjustment period.”

Kathy made a beckoning motion, asking Geoff to move his head down closer to her, which he did. “I know, and it’s okay,” she said. “You’ll still be Geoff; you’re still my husband, and I’m still your wife. In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, human or dragon.” 

She kissed him fondly, and Geoff nuzzled her affectionately in response.

 

The two of them stayed there a little while longer, enjoying the peace and quiet, before they eventually decided to head back home.

 

---

 

Layne, Eli, and Cesar were there to greet them when Geoff and Kathy walked back inside Sunlight Castle. Eli stepped forward, appearing both nervous and apologetic.

“Geoff, look, I-” he began, but stopped when Geoff held up a front foot.

“It’s okay, Eli. I’m not mad at you,” said Geoff, softly. “I chose this; you weren’t even here for it! But what you did do was help give me the best 21 months of my whole life! And hey, we’re still friends now, aren’t we?”

Eli smiled. “Of course we are,” he replied.

“Yeah, you’re stuck with us now!” Layne added, jokingly.

 

---

 

 

After a suggestion from Cesar, Geoff and Kathy decided to settle down in the library for the night. The couch and armchair were pushed against the wall, and William’s crib was carried in. It was cracked in a few places and some of the wood had pieces broken off of it, but the mattress and blanket were undamaged, and the structure of the crib was still stable enough to last until a replacement was obtained.

 

There were many things that Geoff still wanted to discuss with Kathy, regarding life in his current form, but fatigue was creeping up on him, despite the nap earlier that day, and so he was all too willing to curl up on the large rug in the middle of the library floor. Some pillows and blankets were brought to Kathy, and she made herself comfortable up against Geoff’s side, humming contentedly as he draped a wing over her.

“Goodnight Geoff, sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Kath.”

 

---

 

Geoff awoke to the sound of William crying.

For just a moment, he felt the urge to get up and go comfort his son, but then he remembered his current situation.

Kathy was still asleep, so Geoff lifted his left wing, and gently nudged her with his tail. 

“Hey, Kath, wake up, it’s William,” he said, quietly.

“Huh? Wha-?” said Kathy as she stirred awake. “Oh, right, of course, yes.” 

She slowly got to her feet, and walked over to William’s crib, guided by the pair of glowing lanterns placed nearby for such purposes, as it was still completely dark out.

 

Geoff couldn’t help but feel a great pang of sadness as he watched Kathy lift William out of the crib, soothing him and holding him close.

He had already gotten so much joy out of being a father, and he’d been so eager to watch William grow up, sharing different experiences with him along the way, but it’d all be different now. In some ways, it felt like he’d now be reduced to a mere spectator of his son’s life. He’d never be able to hold William’s hand as he learned to walk. Never again could Geoff rock his son gently to sleep. He’d never get to play piano for William, or to teach him how to play it himself. And that was without even thinking about all the things he’d never be able to do with Kathy and his friends again!

Oh, how desperately he wanted to be a human again! He wished-

 

Suddenly, Geoff went tense as his body started tingling, just faintly at first and a warm feeling began to slowly grow inside of him. Kathy must have noticed something happening, as she quickly put William back in his crib, before staring at Geoff with wide eyes. She appeared worried, but whatever was happening, every part of Geoff was telling him to lean into it.

 

Geoff closed his eyes. He wished to be back to his human self again.

 

The tingling sensation got stronger, until Geoff couldn’t even feel the rug beneath him, and the warm feeling inside became hotter and hotter till it was almost too much to bear. The air whirled around him with a great whooshing sound, and then suddenly, everything stopped, and he wound up collapsed in a heap on the ground.

 

.

 

Geoff felt Kathy’s hand on his shoulder, gently shaking it.

“Geoff? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” she asked, gently but with more than a hint of concern.

He groaned. “Ughhh, what happe-” he began, but he cut himself off as realization suddenly hit him. His voice. It sounded… Could it be?

Geoff opened his eyes and looked down at his pair of normal, human hands, poking out of the sleeves of the shirt he had been wearing that morning. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, and then slowly turned his head to face Kathy, who was back to being only slightly smaller than him, in comparison to being a mere fraction of his size. 

For a moment the pair just stared at each other.

“Is… Did it… Am I…?” said Geoff, struggling to find the right words.

Kathy’s face broke into a wide smile. “Yes, Geoff, it’s you! Just as you were before,” she said, beaming.

 

Geoff felt so overwhelmed with joy, he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to kiss Kathy first or just throw his arms around her in a delighted embrace. But before he could do either, he heard the sound of somebody clearing their throat, and so took notice of Eli, Aurora, Selene, and Cesar, standing just inside the now-open door, all staring at him in varying degrees of shock, surprise, and amazement.

“Uhh, how long have you been standing there for?” asked Geoff.

“Selene and I detected a large and sudden force of magic coming from nearby, and I assume Eli did too,” said Aurora. Eli nodded in agreement, still looking completely stunned.

“And I got woken up by the commotion,” said Cesar, “so I tagged along to find out what was going on! And then we came here and saw this big glowy ball, which got smaller and then faded away, and then it was you! It was so cool!”

“Yes, you’ve certainly defied odds and expectations at practically every turn, it seems,” said Aurora. “I’m curious to hear about how you’ve managed to pull off such a feat, if you’re willing to share details, but I’m happy to leave the questions till morning.”

Geoff rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to give you anything all that useful or interesting, but I’m still happy to tell you what I can about it tomorrow morning,” he replied. “Oh and is Layne asleep, still? I should probably go let him know about what happened as well.”

He began to try to stand up, but to his surprise, Selene walked over and offered him a hand. He took it, and she helped pull him to his feet, her grip being as strong as expected, if not even moreso. Geoff’s legs were a little weak and shaky at first, but it only took a few steps before he got the hang of it again. He released his hand from Selene’s, grabbed one of the lanterns, and headed down to the bedchambers.

 

.

 

Geoff knocked on Layne’s bedroom door. “Hey Layne! Are you awake?” he called out.

“Well I am now!” yelled a disgruntled Layne from inside the room. “It’s the middle of the night, Geoff! What are you-”

There was a sudden silence, and then two seconds later, Layne flung open his door, looking just as surprised as everyone else had.

“Geoff! You’re human again!” he said. “Did Eli or Aurora manage to find some previously-hidden solution or something?”

Geoff shook his head, unable to stop the grin on his face. “Nope, I did this all by myself!” he replied.

Layne’s eyes practically boggled out of his head. “You what?” he cried. “You can do that?”

“I guess?” Geoff replied, shrugging. “It’s not like I exactly planned to do it; it just kinda happened! Eli, Aurora, and Selene got woken up by it, and Cesar got woken up by them, so I thought I’d come disturb your slumber too, so you didn’t miss out.”

“How kind of you,” Layne replied dryly. Then he put his arm around Geoff in a one-armed hug. “But seriously, I’m really happy for ya, buddy,” he said. 

“Thanks, Layne. I’ll let you get back to sleep now,” said Geoff. “See you in the morning!”

“Goodnight, Geoff!”

“Night!

 

.

 

With Geoff having a human form again, he wasn’t too keen on spending the rest of the night on the floor, (not if there wasn’t a roaring fireplace nearby, anyway), but he also knew that the master bedchamber was still yet to be cleaned up and made fit-for-sleeping-in again. Fortunately, though, Eli had managed to snap out of his dazed stupor enough to help out, casting a spell to elongate the library couch into a decent bed.

 

“I would’ve missed this so much, you know,” whispered Geoff, as he and Kathy lay together on the couch-bed. “I was missing it already!”

Kathy smiled. “You know I still would have loved every moment with you nonetheless,” she replied. “But I get what you mean, and I can’t say that there aren’t things to appreciate about you being human again!” 

She moved in closer, and Geoff closed the gap, bringing a hand to Kathy’s cheek as the two of them kissed. And even when they pulled apart, they still held each other close, and stayed that way as they both fell asleep.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“A statue? Of me?”

 

A few days had passed since The Battle For Voludera and all the associated happenings at Sunlight Castle. The morning after Geoff had turned back to a human, he had confirmed that he still had his fire magic, as well as his ability to use his Dragon Voice, plus his few other bonus dragon traits. But that wasn’t all; thanks to a question from Aurora, Geoff had learned that he could shift between both of his forms at will, which he had to admit certainly opened up a few possibilities. 

 

Currently, Layne was telling Geoff, Kathy, Eli, and Cesar about his trip to The Palace. Now that things had started to settle down again, the Palace apparently had an idea to honour a certain individual who had played an invaluable role in winning the fight against Vishia.

 

Layne nodded. “Yeah, a large dragon statue right in town! Probably a little smaller than life-size, though.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like I was the only one fighting for the kingdom,” said Geoff. “It was a team effort; no way would I have felt confident to take on the Vishian army by myself, in either form! And besides, it’d just feel kinda weird, having to see a stone version of myself every time I went to the village, you know?”

Layne shrugged. “Well, if you’re not interested in that idea, there was also the suggestion of making you a knight.”

Geoff nearly choked on his drink, having chosen the wrong moment to take a sip. “You’re kidding,” he said, wiping his mouth. “You’re messing with me, surely.”

Layne grinned. “Nope, I’m not kidding! But don’t worry, it’d just be an honorary knighthood; you wouldn’t need to join in on training sessions or anything like that,” he replied.

Geoff sighed. “Well, a lot of the castle staff do call me ‘Sir Geoff’ or ‘Sir Geoffrey’ anyway... But I dunno, maybe I’ll just go and have a talk to the Palace about it.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you should go for it,” said Layne. “And plus, the Palace seemed pretty eager to do something for you, and they’ll probably just keep throwing out ideas if you say no to this one. They might even try to name a building after you if you’re not careful!”

Geoff chuckled. “Good to know,” he replied. He began to get up from his chair, and turned to Kathy. “You wanna come too, Kath?” 

Kathy smiled. “I’d love to,” she said.

 

.

 

Once outside in the castle grounds, Geoff shifted into his dragon form, and waited for Kathy to climb onto his back, before he flapped his wings and took off in the direction of The Palace.

Eli watched the pair leave, with a small smile on his face. Aurora had called Geoff a ‘truly remarkable individual’, and Eli definitely agreed; you wouldn’t meet somebody like him every century! 

 

Eli thought about all the books and scrolls in his Magic Room. Despite all the spells, potion recipes, guidebooks, history books and more at his fingertips, the information available regarding dragons was relatively limited, and even then, some of it was inaccurate, misleading, or just complete slander.

Geoff was a rarity, but there was still every chance that he wasn’t the only one of his kind, and nor the last. There could likely be other dragons in future lifetimes – ones who were quite tame, or even friendly, and ones who might develop such a great fondness for human life that they wished to participate in it themselves. They could benefit from knowing Geoff’s story, and so could other magic-users, quite frankly, and hey, it could make for an entertaining tale for regular folk, too.

 

Eli headed upstairs to his Magic Room, closing and locking the door behind him. He grabbed a quill and inkwell, plus a stack of paper bound together with string. Then he sat down and began to write.

‘Once upon a time, there was a dragon who lived in a castle…’

Notes:

And so we finally bring Geoff's story arc to its absolute finale!
As I mentioned at the start of this story, this is going to be the last major (i.e. multi-chaptered) story I'm gonna be writing for this AU, but I also don't wanna say that the series is *completely* finished, in case I ever get an idea or two for a one-shot or something. Regardless, don't expect any new Sunlight Castle Stories from me anytime soon.

Fun fact: When I was close to having the first chapter of this fic ready for uploading, I realized that I had an opportunity to time it so that the final chapter would be posted on a very special date (when following a weekly upload schedule), and I took it! Today is the 2nd of February, which is my birthday, *and* it's the one-year anniversary of when I uploaded my first ever VoicePlay fic to AO3, The Toymaker! So we're kinda bringing it full circle here.

Once again, a big thank you to @MountainSunrise for helping me with this fic (I only wish that I could have included even *more* of her ideas!) and for writing two of the fics in this series, just because you wanted to! And a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who's gotten this far! Seriously, the series is now like 120,000 words long, it's crazy. I hope you all enjoyed reading this, I'd love to hear your thoughts if you did, and hopefully I'll see you all again with a brand new fic someday!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 6 of Sunlight Castle Stories