YCH from the talented  sasha_shkip!

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"A truly handsome piece, is it not?" the king proudly proclaimed, his elderly hand running over the oaken frame of the painting. "I spared no expense in choosing the artist. I wanted to be sure that your likeness was perfectly captured."
"It is very well done," I replied as I inspected the portrait. I could not deny that the atention to detail was stunning. Even my broken horn was chipped in all the right places.
"I plan to have it displayed in the city hall," he said, "so that all may see it and be inspired by our tales of your heroics, so that it may be the first thing visitors to our city see. When I heard of the stained glass window you had over in Starhaven, Of course, when I told the artist what she would be painting, she was overjoyed! Could not wait to make her contribution to the history of the kingdom!"

I glanced over to the king and tensed up. This painting was not a mere icon of gratitude.
"Easy there, Sir Arix!" he said, resting his hand upon my shoulder. "Just a gift to thank you for your dedication to protecting our fair kingdom."
"I protect whoever needs it," I said. "And I am not..."
"Of course you do. That's exactly the kind of selfless dedication that the peasantry look up to. It gives them hope, Sir. It gives them rest at night." He turned his gaze from the painted dragon to the real thing beside him. "That is why I wish to..."
"Your Maj..."
"...knight you."

For a moment, silence hung in the air between us.

"I know some kingdoms make a fuss over knights being of noble birth, but I have always thought nobility should come more from the heart than the blood, don't you agree?"
"No. I mean, yes, of course it should, but I..."
"We can hold the ceremony at your convenience. You will be given a permanent home here, of course. You will be able to..."

His voice faded, overtaken by the sound of my own racing heart. Knighthood. Some saw it as a high honour, as glory. But already I felt the shackles close around my wrists, my throat. I saw a deadly shadow enveloping a far off land, and I could not reach it, chained to the walls of this castle. An ancient ruin uncovered in the forest, and I could do nothing but watch from these parapets. My breathing quickened. Thump. Thump. Thump. I heard blood rushing by my ears. My wings, unable to give me lift underneath the weight of the palace.

"...to it. Wouldn't you agree, Sir Arix?"

Silence once again shrouded the hall. My eyes darted back and forth. The painting on the wall. The elderly human king. The grey stone walls. The open window.

My wings opened and I leapt into the air, and without thinking, I was once more in the wide open.