Aranhil circled over the small village town one more time. Things looked normal to him. The construction was going well. A few months back, a strong storm had washed out their main bridge. So far, the shepherds had just been flying their sheep across the river, one at a time. But that was tedious, and annoying. The bridge they were working on building was going to be even bigger, and stronger. They had decided that, rather than driving the sheep twenty miles up the river, and crossing at the usual point, then twenty miles back down to the grazing fields, they would just build one beside the town.

The problem with this was that the river had cut a huge gorge in the mountain. Where they usually crossed, the river was level with the ground. But from that point on, the banks got steadily deeper and deeper, until it cut a huge ravine in the side of the mountain. They had agreed that it would be easier to make a bridge across the gorge. Unfortunately this was taking time. Right now, Aranhil was glad that it was. It gave him time to check out the progress and get away from his confounded wife.

With his young soldier by his side, he surveyed the progress with a critical eye. A flap of his wings, and he was sailing away from the bridge, and towards the town. He landed in the town center. Gently, his wings folded to his sides. Most people barely gave him a second glance. As amazing as it was that the future king was in town, they didn't have time to take from their busy lives to gawk.

He shifted into his human form and glanced at the boy beside him. Once that solider had changed as well, he started towards the office of the appointed Mayer. He wanted to talk about the bridge to waste a little more time. He was not looking forwards to going home to his wife.