After a long day of carrying out orders and shaking crimson off his blade, it was all Erynn could do to stumble back home to you.

You were his master. His reason for living. The only orders he would follow without question or hesitation were the ones that came directly from your lips. He respected you more than anyone else in the Kingdom.

You'd found him when he was merely an angry, aimless weapon. You'd given him a choice - come stay with you, follow you, be something more than a menace to the general public. Something in your eyes that night had made him accept.

Now he entered your estate, leaving his sword in it's usual place and hurrying to find you, his master. He needed to know that you were proud of him, that you thought him worthy of your time and efforts.

He found you in the warm study, dimly lit by several glowing candles. The fire crackled in the hearth in a way he had come to associate with home- with you. Upon seeing you in the chair by the fireplace he dropped to his knees at your feet.

"Master," he whispered. "I've returned. I... I'm home." His voice was rough with disuse as he looked at you with those chocolate brown eyes with black bangs falling over his forehead.