Touch of Death
The sun shone down on the Isle of Berk and Dragon Island. Both islands were waking up. The vikings started on their daily chores and the dragons went fishing. The royal dragons readied themselves for a day in the arena. King Re wanted to test the younger Draconians on fighting from the air. They were all excited.
Chris woke up as the sun finished clearing the horizon. He got out of bed and got dressed. He strapped on his swords, though he didn't expect to use them today. He was just about to leave the room when his wife, Serenity, stirred.
"You going to the arena?" she asked, as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up.
"Yeah, training is going to be in the air most of the time though," Chris said. Serenity got to her feet and threw her arms around him.
"Please don't get hurt," she begged. Chris hugged her back.
"I won't, I promise," he assured her. "As long as you don't get hurt."
"Fair enough," said Serenity. She released him just as Windwalker landed outside.
"Come on Chris, we're all waiting on you," the dragon called.
"You should go," said Serenity, taking a step back. She looked at the ground and turned to leave. Chris grabbed her hand.
"Hey, wait," he said, quietly. Serenity paused and looked him. "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah, it's only once a week," she said. "I'll be fine." Windwalker snorted impatiently. Chris quickly kissed Serenity on the cheek, then mounted his dragon. They took off and headed for the arena. Serenity sat on the bed, debating weather or not she should go back to sleep or not. Tenor had canceled their morning flight to help Black Widow with improving her sonar. He planed to take her on a night flight to make up for it. So with nothing to look forward to, Serenity laid back down and fell asleep.
Down at the arena Chris and Windwalker joined the rest of the family. They were all pacing impatiently.
"There you are Chris," Re said. "You're late."
"Sorry," Chris said, dismounting. "I wanted to make sure Serenity was okay." They seemed ease up at that.
"I feel pretty guilty canceling the morning flight," Tenor said.
"She'll forgive you," said Aurora. "Tonight will be clear enough for a night flight." Tenor nodded.
"Let's get going then," he said. With that Chris and Edelweiss mounted their dragons, and they all took off.
Back on the balcony Serenity was laying in bed, wide awake. She tried to come up with something to do. She then thought about the other dragons that lived on the island. They were all aware of the three humans the came with the royal dragons every year. Serenity decided to walk around the island and try to find some of them.
She got out of bed and got dressed. Rather then put on her riding uniform, she put on a yellow cotton dress with green dragon scales around the waist and hems. She left her hair down but put an elastic in her pocket, just in case. She then left the room and headed down the stairs that lead to the throne room. When she got there she walked out onto the beach. The sky was all clouds, no sun shone. Serenity guessed it would rain at some point. She wasn't concerned yet.
She walked along the beach, before heading inland. She was't wearing any shoes, and felt the smooth stone under her toes. Then it turned to soft grass. So far she hadn't seen any dragons, most likely they were out at sea. Serenity climbed a grassy hill that looked over the tide pools and sea beyond. She sat down in the grass and arranged her skirt over her legs. The light breeze blew her hair around. She laid down on her back and closed her eyes. She heard the sounds of waves crashing on the shore, smelled the brine from ocean, and felt the cool breeze on her face. Occasionally she heard the whoosh of a dragon flying overhead. It made her smile and she forgot her loneliness.
Serenity must have fallen asleep, because she was suddenly jolted awake by the roar of a Night Fury. She sat up and saw Toothless flying towards her little hill. They seemed to be heading for the ground at a rapid rate. When they were a few feet above the ground Hiccup jumped off the dragon's back and landed hard in the dirt. Toothless glided to the ground, but landed roughly and ended up on his back. Serenity hurried down the hill towards them. She reached Toothless first.
"Are you okay?" she asked, as Toothless got to his feet.
"I'm okay," he said. He shook the dirt off his scales.
"What were you doing?" Serenity asked.
"Hiccup wanted to try dismounting from the air," Toothless said. He looked at her and his eyes went wide. Serenity's yellow dress stood out vividly against the green of the grassy hill. "Wow, I must have hit my head or something because, you're far prettier today." Serenity smiled and blushed. She stroked his muzzle, making him purr. He wormed his head further under her hand. Serenity smiled wider, and kissed his snout. Just then they heard Hiccup moan. Toothless turned and went to his rider's side. He helped Hiccup to his feet.
"That trick needs some work, huh bud?" he said, brushing the dirt off himself. "Hey Serenity, hope we're not interrupting anything."
"No, not really," said Serenity. "I was just dozing off. You're not hurt are you?"
"Just a bit bruised," said Hiccup. "I have to work on my landing."
"Why are you doing that anyway?" Serenity asked.
"Incase I have to jump onto a place that won't hold Toothless's weight like a tree or unstable rock," Hiccup explained. "I also want to practice mounting while he's flying low."
"You were flying too fast," Serenity said. "If you want to dismount from the air the dragon has to be flying at landing speed, and a bit lower. I'd show you if I had a dragon to ride." She said the last part with a hint of sadness. She took a deep breath and held herself a little taller.
"You riding tomorrow?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm riding tonight," Serenity said. "I don't know what we're doing tomorrow." Toothless wormed his head under her hand again, and she stroked his muzzle.
"Well, we should get back," Hiccup said. "Things to do."
"I probably should get back too," Serenity said, glancing back towards the hill. Hiccup mounded Toothless and they took off. Serenity stood there quietly. She sat on a rock and looked out over the tide pools.
As the sun went down Serenity went back to laying on the grass at the top of the hill. She didn't really feel like going back to her room. She felt better out in the open. She watched he sun go down and the stars come out. The moon was a waxing gibbous, and shone down one her little hill. It was so peaceful up on that hill, and she didn't feel cold at all.
Suddenly there came roars of dragons coming her way. She sat up as Chris and Windwalker landed near her.
"Serenity here you are," Chris said. "We were looking all over for you."
"I'm sorry," Serenity said, very quietly. "I was really liking it up here." She combed her fingers through the grass. Chris sat beside her, and Windwalker laid down behind the two of them.
"You've been out here all day?" Chris asked.
"All day," Serenity said. She avoided his eyes, and looked at the ground. Windwalker nuzzled Serenity's hand, the one that was stroking the grass.
"Are you okay?" Chris asked. Serenity took a deep breath.
"I think so," she said.
"Tenor still want's to take you night flying," Windwalker said. "If you still want to go."
"I do," Serenity said. "What are we doing tomorrow?"
"We're going to Berk," Chris said. "Windwalker wants to unlock Avalon's titan wing." Serenity looked at Windwalker.
"You won't hurt her will you?" she asked.
"No," said Windwalker. "No one's ever gotten hurt on my watch." She looked up and shot a plasma blast into the sky. A few minuets later another one was shot into the sky from an unseen source.
"Tenor's on his way," Windwalker said. Serenity seemed to cheer up a bit. Chris and Windwalker got to their feet. Chris held his hand out to Serenity. She grasped it and he pulled her to her feet. Just then Tenor landed beside them. He beamed when he saw Serenity.
"Serenity, wow," he said. "That's a very pretty dress."
"Thanks," said Serenity. She stroked his snout. "It's good to see you Tenor."
"Are you mad at me?" Tenor asked.
"No," said Serenity. Tenor narrowed his eyes. He looked her in the eye.
"Come on lovely, what's on your mind?" he said. "You don't look happy." Serenity sighed again.
"I feel like I could loose you guys at any time," she said. "In a tragic training accident. Hiccup and Toothless get to spend every minuet of everyday together. I have to take what I can get. Whenever I'm with you guys I try to cherish every second of it. I don't want to take you for granted knowing you could go out one day and not come back. I guess today I've started to get used to being alone." They all exchanged a glance. "Ruby and I woke up one morning, planning to go to Appleoppolis and the next thing I know he's gone." Chris threw his arms around her, and she hugged him back.
"Don't worry, one day you'll never have to worry about loosing us again," he said. "The titan wing will be the final stage of the dragonets' training. Then we won't be in the arena so much. It'll be okay." Serenity buried her face in his chest, she could hear his special heartbeat. Tenor huffed impatiently. Serenity let go and turned her attention to her dragon. She stroked his muzzle. She then turned back to Chris.
"You can come if you want," she said, quietly. Chris smiled appreciatively.
"Believe it or not, being in that arena all day has worn me out," he said. "I should head for bed." Serenity looked both disappointed, and understanding. She quickly kissed his cheek, then she mounted Tenor, and took off.
They flew in complete silence, under the stars. The water below was clear and smooth. The way it reflected the stars, it made it hard to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. It looked like they'd left the Earth entirely, and were now flying through outer space. The only light came from the waxing moon. The moonlight turned the edges of Tenor's scales silver. Tenor glanced over his wing at Serenity.
"How're you doing?" he asked.
"Better," said Serenity, still fixated on the stars. Tenor's special eyes spotted a sea stack below. He veered towards it and landed on top. Serenity dismounted. Tenor laid down, and Serenity sat beside him. She leaned against his side. It was only then that she realized she was falling asleep. Tenor smiled down at her.
"Time for bed I think," he said. They got back to their feet. Serenity mounted her dragon and they took off.
They headed back to Dragon Island. Serenity fell asleep half way there. Tenor flew over the quiet ocean, anxious to get his rider home. He failed to see the one small ship bellow, heading for Berk. But if he had seen it, and known the owner's intention, Serenity's life might have been saved.