Prompt: You, a bored dragon, knock on the Knight’s door to see if he’s up for a battle...

"Absolutely not."

"Oh come on, Arthur," I said, holding a talon up to the door before he could slam it in my face again. "What's gotten into you? You used to trek halfway across the world to find me, and now that I'm at your door willingly, you turn me away like some unwanted peddler?"

The knight sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just...not in the mood for this right now," he said, not meeting my eyes.

"Mood?" I said incredulously, ruffling my great fiery wings, "How can you not be in the mood to vanquish a beast of destruction like myself! A beast of power, death, and tragedy! For thousands of years I have laid waste to -"

"Yeah I know, I know," he cut in, waving his hand in front of him. "Look, I'm just a bit busy at the moment, but maybe in a few months -"

"Busy?" I growled, stopping him short. He watched warily as I leaned back, towering over the small stone shack he'd made his home out in the hills. I bared my teeth, all two hundred of them gleaming like knives in the sunlight. I spread my wings, thrusting his hilltop into a deep molten glow as the sun meekly filtered through my stretched red skin. I grumbled low in my belly and a fiery heat poured through my veins. This mere man would turn me away like a common whore? I, who had been given a thousand and one names, each telling of a greater nightmare than the last? Perhaps he had forgotten who he was speaking to.

Well, I'd just have to remind him through flame, blood, and ash.

Arthur closed the door behind him and stepped out towards me. I smiled, further baring my hellish fangs. "Excellent," I roared, shaking the ground and causing birds to burst into flight for miles around. "So you have finally come to...what are you doing?"

The man had begun pacing back and forth, muttering to himself, occasionally shooting me glances filled with...guilt? Moreover, where was his sword of legend? Where was his shining armour of nobility that granted him the strength and wit of a hundred men? I ran my eyes over him and was suddenly struck by how old the man looked. His blond hair sagged over his face, he walked with his back hunched, and his normally piercing blue eyes had dark bags around them. As he paced, the occasional gust of wind tugged at his loose shirt, and I was shocked to see him look so...round?

I folded my wings and sank onto my haunches. "Arthur?" I asked, surprised by the concern in my voice, "is everything okay? You don't look like yourself."

The man stopped pacing and looked at me tiredly. Yes, now that I paid closer attention, he had definitely put on some weight. That proud sharp jaw of his was softened and rounded. I suddenly wanted to poke his cheeks.

"I've been meaning to tell you," the man said, a hint of guilt bleeding into his tone, "but things have just been so crazy...."

I tilted my head. "Tell me what?"

There was a pause. "Marci and I got married," he said, avoiding my gaze. "We had a child a few months ago."

The hilltop was silent for a moment, save for rustling of grass in the wind. "That's...I mean, congratulations," I stammered. This was hardly what I'd been expecting. "I knew you two would make...wait. Marci? Our Marci?"

"She's not yours," he said sharply, an old familiar glint of hardness entering his eyes. Then he looked away abashed. "But yes. Her."

I didn't know how to feel about this. "I thought," I said slowly, "after everything, I'd at least be invited to the wedding. You all but bragged about it to me when you came to rescue her!"

"Totally, totally," Arthur said hurriedly, holding his hands up in front of him. "But it was a tiny occasion. Just a handful of guests. We didn't want to really bother anyone. Really. And I meant to send you a scroll but I heard you were off ravaging Sardonia."

"Oh yeah," I chuckled. The sound came out like iron grating iron. Sardonia had been a far off kingdom but they'd been a good sport. "Well, nothing to do about that I suppose."

"Right," Arthur said, looking relieved. There was an awkward pause. "Would you like to see the baby?" he asked.

"Of course," I said brightly. "Bring that little hatchling out here!'

"Okay, but no flames or anything too scary okay?"

"Yes yes, I know" I said testily. I'd devoured thousands of children over the years. I knew their ins and outs better than anyone else.

Arthur made a gesture towards a window and I saw a figure flit away from it. A moment later, a woman walked out, golden hair whipping around her, proud faced and elegant, holding a tiny swathed babe in her arms.

"Ah Marci," I said fondly, "beautiful as ever!"

"Destroyer," she said cooly. "Try not to burn anything."

I held back a chuckle for the sake of the baby. "Oh, I've missed your flare," I said, smiling. "You know you're welcome back at my lair anytime right? It's a lot more spacious than this" - I waved a talon over the small stone building - "travesty Arthur has put you up in."

She snorted. "I'd rather die than go back there, you lizard." She looked angrily over at Arthur who wilted under her gaze. I shook my head to myself. Poor man. He could hold his ground against a dragon but even the best of men falter against a good woman.

"Let me see the babe," I said before the knight completely melted into a puddle under her wrath.

Grudgingly, Marci held up the baby for me to see and I couldn't help but coo over it. "It's adorable!" I said, feeling a thrumming within my heart. Ah, I'd forgotten the beauty of budding life. "You're going to grow into a big and strong warrior aren't you," I said. "Just like your father!"

The baby stared at my wide eyed, but to his merit didn't cry out. Arthur chuckled and walked over, taking the baby into his arms. "This is your uncle Argoth the Destroyer," he said lovingly to it. "One day you'll grow big and strong and beat him up just like Daddy did!"

I smiled, drawing closer. "Indeed, train him well, Arthur. I look forward to testing claw against steel with you, young one. We shall bond over blood!"

Marci made a disgusted noise as the two of us laughed and ribbed each other good-naturedly. She grabbed the babe, storming back into the house. We watched her leave, and then looked at each other, trying to hold back smiles.

"Women," Arthur said, finally, and I nodded in assent. Women, indeed.

"So, this is why you haven't out and about, then?" I asked, settling back and rustling my wings. The knight nodded.

"Understandable." I looked off wistfully into the distance. Seeing these two together made me itch for something...more meaningful myself.

Perhaps Arthur had sensed the same. "You know," he started, "I've heard rumours from the north. Rumours of another dragon spotted. Female." He said that last word carefully, and it hung between us for a moment.

"Really?" I said, trying not to sound too interested. "Near the Kholani range?"

He nodded. We sat in silence for a moment more before a voice from inside the house made Arthur turn. "I should head back," he said. Then, hesitant, he reached out a hand.

I smiled, holding out a blunt edge of my talon and bumping it. Then he left.

I stared out at nothing for a few minutes then gathered myself. I knew what I had to do. It was time for the Destroyer and Bringer of Woes to become a conquerer. A conquerer of the heart.

I leaped off the hilltop and angled my wings, soaring on the streams of the wind. Northward.