The rain was hitting the window of my room. I woke up of the thunder, the blinking, the… the howling wind. I had no lust of waking up now. I didn't know what time it was, but at the same time it wasn't really my thing to follow the time anyhow. My father had given me a watch to my birthday last year – another new invention, probably found in a Dwemer-cave that someone took for themselves. At least, the credit for the invention. Nevertheless, I stared out of my window. I didn't move, I just wanted to watch the raindrops dance on my window. It was quite the storm, and I was protected by the walls surrounding me. After some time serving my bed, I got up and walked to my wardrobe. I opened it at pulled out some clothes. Light-brown linen with a green shirt over it, that reached to the middle of my thighs. I pulled on some pants and some boots, and fastened a steel dagger to my hip, just because my father always complained that I never did, and I didn't feel like hearing any complaints this day. Not with this weather. Not when I was supposed to walk from the castle, down to the city with a guard, to do some good deeds. My father always said, helping the people will help me in return when that day comes that I need to be helped. I went down two floors, and into our dining hall. There were my other siblings – two other boys and two girls. I was the oldest one, the one with the most responsibility. I was the prince. I sat down and reached after some bread while my mother entered the room. She sighed and closed the door behind her. I could see it in her face that something was up. Something between my mother and father wasn't right to me, these last couple of days. As if they were having a fight, but they had never… never had a fight before. Which was kind of strange, seeing how different their pasts were. How different their destinies had been, and how it had brought them together. My mother, the cook for the High King in over a decade, and my father, the soldier. The strangest had to be, that they had gotten married after a couple of weeks of love-making. That was in the history-books already. My father was mentioned in many books as the hero of Skyrim. He had been a soldier, as I had understood it, and suddenly, he was High King. He had never paid much respect for a King before – what on earth had made him wanting the throne?
"Your father will be gone for a couple of days, so we need you to take his post at the Throne Room, William." I turned my head towards her again – had she just said that my father relied on me? Not in those exact words, but was it like that?
"Why? Where is he going?"
"Obviously, not our business to ask." She said and sat down. She started to rub her head, then she grabbed some bread and cut it open. I reached for a mug and filled it with water.
"Father doesn't travel much, he usually sends other people to do stuff. This must be important." I said after some time. I heard my siblings, and my mother, sigh.
"Let's just leave it be, shall we?" she asked as she leaned over the table. She seemed tired, but I couldn't understand what was going on. Father never leaved the castle. He hadn't for as long as I had lived, or as long as I could remember. Except for on the late night, and it usually was with a racket. When I finished with my food, I went to the Throne room to see how it looked. Much hadn't changed, but after the stairs up, there were now a wall and a gigantic door on each side of the stair. The stairs split up to two stairs at the bottom, both going in a half-circle, never to meet again. It was just a couple of years ago that wall had been put up, and the torches had been changed with dragon-skulls with torches inside of them, lightning up the skull. I looked behind the Throne – there was a painting of my father, that selfish bastard. I sat down on the Throne, as my father's steward, a lady named Delphine, entered the Throne room and looked at me.
"Young, master Dragonborn. I wasn't waiting to meet you here. Where's your father?" I lifted my shoulders up a bit to show her I wasn't sure.
"He wouldn't tell where he was going."
"Dammit, that idiot, he's going to get himself killed… okay, if he's not in the castle today, which means the Throne falls upon your shoulders. I could take the task myself, but you wouldn't be here if he hadn't asked you. You need to be groomed anyhow." She babbled and started to wander about in there.
"… I was going to mention to him about the threat of Giants down south. But I guess this matter falls upon you."
"Down… south… Giants? Is there such a thing?"
"Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it isn't a real threat. Now, my Lord, what should we do? The Giant have attacked Rorikstead on several occasions now." I leaned backwards in the Throne. It came to be quite comfortable in it, even if it looked like it was just made of rock and iron. But it was so soft.
"Where is the men placed?" I asked while she opened a letter. She read out where my father's different men were placed and told of the threats thereabouts.
"Tell five men, whom are in Gallows Rock, to go to Rorikstead to defeat the beast. Then they travel back to Gallows Rock to wait for further orders from my father." she nodded and wrote his orders down.
"Thank you, sir. Now, we have a few more matters on hand. After we speak together now, there will come some people seeking your audience."
"Very well." I claimed and clapped my hands together.
"There have come some complaints about the Bards College here in Solitude. People are getting scared of them, and wants it closed."
"This matter has been discussed here before – my father is a member there and wants it going, no matter what the people say. It brings tourists, doesn't it?"
"It does, your Grace." She wrote down on the letter again, and now she walked a bit closer to me. I was almost shocked when I saw how beautiful her eyes really were.
"And then there's something I need your help with, Lord. Your father used to help me all the time before he was the High King. And now I need to ask for your help with a matter." I jumped out of my seat, while she started to follow me. I got the weirdest thoughts to mind – what if she wanted children? Or something worse; a marriage?
"Wh… what is it you need help with?"
"It has come to light to my order that there is a dragon alive to this day." I backed off into the wall. There was no such thing, they were dead. That had my father told me – the dragons didn't exist any longer.
"I would love to send my own people to do the job, but I need a Dragonborn to take care of this case. I don't say you for certain are Dragonborn, but your father is – it is only logical that you should be too." I shocked my head while she looked to her shoes.
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
"I… it's not that I won't do it… it's more… impossible. Dragons don't… exist… they're extinct… aren't they?" she shocked her head.
"Your father was under the belief they were – but I have found one dragon. Here, in this castle. You father have kept him as a… pet." She tried to choose her words wisely, while not showing her hate for dragons. She failed.
"I have… what?"
"In your sleeping chamber lies an old sword your father used to have when he were out fighting dragons – he haven't noticed it have been missing for years. The sword is called Dragonbane, and has served many Dragon slayers." She said. He shocked his head in misbelief, but accepted.
"You must wait until your father returns. I will show you where the dragon is then – but now, I am afraid he is riding the damn thing across Tamriel to wherever he is headed." I nodded and knew I had no other chance than to go through with this.