Together we are One
The seven Draconian dragons and their two riders flew through the starry sky. Tenor was in the lead because he was the best at navigating at night. He was a black Night Fury/Blackfang hybrid with glowing green eyes and black teeth. He wore solid black armor with his personal crest on the head plate/crown, the insignia was a silver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars. On he back was his rider Serenity who was a beautiful, young dragon healer who had been riding dragons since she was five. She wore a green shirt, blue leather jacket and trousers, dark brown boots, black leather fingerless gloves, a wide brimmed hat completely covered in black scales. She had just recently been told something that overwhelmed her.
Behind Tenor was his mate Windwalker, a lovely black Night Fury with golden yellow eyes. She too wore black armor. On her back was her rider Chris, a young man who had been raised from a baby by dragons. He was a very skilled soldier, a great Dragon Rider, and Serenity's husband. He wore a dark blue shirt, a black overcoat with fur trims, brown leather pants, dark leather boots, and the same kind fingerless gloves that Serenity wore. On his waist was his twin swords.
Next to Windwalker was the Dragon Queen, and Chris's adopted mother, Aurora. She was sapphire blue with a deep turquoise underside, and silver eyes. She wore silver armor with an insignia of a snowflake made of sapphires and turquoise stones on her head plate/crown. She was one of the few dragons in the whole world that had the gift of magic like her father the Dragon God, Draco.
Behind the Queen was the Dragon King, and Chris's adopted father, Re. He was emerald green with blue eyes and lighter green underside and wing membranes. He wore gold armor with the Draconian crest on his head plate/crown, the crest was a blue circle with a green dragon in the center with his wings open, a gold apple in one back paw, and a golden music note in the other.
Behind Re was the young Dragon Princess, Avalon. She was teal green with violet purple horns and spines, she also had lavender eyes. She wore purple armor with a big green maple leaf insignia on her head plate/crown. She was only a year old and the size of a piglet, but her wing muscles were almost fully developed.
Beside Avalon was her younger brother Apollo. He was blood red with gold horns, spines, and eyes. He wore armor that was a slightly darker shade of red with a gold insignia of a dolphin leaping over a lyre, surrounded by a wreath. Both Apollo and Avalon were born with the power of magic, but were amateurs in the art and were only allowed to use their magic as a last resort and never in front of humans, except for Serenity and Chris.
The Draconians were on their way to Berk for an annual visit. They had left home earlier that morning. They expected to arrive at their destination by the next morning. They wanted to tell the vikings and dragons of Berk Serenity's big news.
"Are we nearly there Mama?" Avalon wined. "I'm getting tired."
"Me too," said Apollo.
"We still have many miles to go," said Aurora. "You can ride whenever you want."
"But that's not fair to the other dragons," said Apollo.
"You don't need to worry about that," said Re. "It's very noble of you to say so, but we are just fine."
"Okay," said Apollo. He and his sister landed on their mother's back and curled up, falling asleep at once. Chris pulled Windwalker alongside Tenor and Serenity.
"How are you doing?" he asked his wife.
"I'm doing okay," Serenity said quietly. "I just can't believe I have to give up riding and healing for so long." She gripped the reins and Tenor felt the tension in his bridle.
"You'll be alright," he said. "It's not going to be forever."
"I know, but I've never been off the saddle for that long before," Serenity said. She was overwhelmed with emotions, this had never happened her before. Windwalker slid back into her spot and they continued.
Early the next morning Apollo and Avalon were rested enough to fly again. Re and Tenor switched spots so that the King was in the lead. They began looking for the Isle of Berk Avalon and Apollo were excited about seeing their Berkian cousins. They had seen them last year the day after they hatched. They flew up along side Re, so they could be in front as well. Re didn't mind though. The two hatchlings began doing acrobats in front of the adults. Suddenly Apollo saw something on the horizon.
"Hey is that it?" he asked.
"That's it," said Re as the Isle of Berk appeared.
"Can we go on ahead?" asked Avalon.
"Yes you may," Re said. "But don't tell them about Serenity until we get there."
"Okay," said Avalon and Apollo in unison. They sped off towards the island, racing each other. They soon zipped over the docks and the village. They landed in the plaza and looked around. The village was very quiet, no one was up yet.
"Where is every one?" asked Avalon.
"They probably decided to sleep in," said Apollo. He sneezed out a jet of red flames.
"Bless you," said Avalon. "Let's look around, while we wait."
"Good idea," said Apollo. They began walking around the village, starting with the great hall. They went inside and gasped at the sheer size of the room.
"Didn't Mama say she crashed into this room?" asked Apollo, as Avalon lit the big fire pit with her jade green flames.
"Yeah she did," she said. "Hey look pictures." She went over to the Chief Wall of Fame, where portraits of past chiefs and their sons hung.
"Wow, those are really big humans," said Apollo.
"Hey look that must Hiccup," said Avalon, pointing to the last portrait.
"He's a lot smaller than the others," said Apollo.
"I wonder what happened to his leg," said Avalon. "Daddy just said he lost when he was young." At that moment the doors to the great hall opened and the two young dragons spun around. Hiccup came in with Toothless at his heels.
"Here you guys are," Hiccup said. "Your parents are looking for you."
"Oh okay," said Apollo. He and Avalon ran back outside to find the other Draconians in the plaza. The village was awake by now and gathered around there allies. The two young dragons ran into the plaza and stood next to Aurora.
"Are guys going to move back into Dragon Island?" asked Hiccup. "It was nice having you at hand."
"It was nice," said Re. "I plan to turn the volcano into another castle and make it a summer home. So you will still have us at hand but only during the summer."
"We don't get very long summers here," said Hiccup. "Nor very warm ones."
"Neither do we," Re said. "I've seen very heavy blizzards mid summer in our lands." At that moment Chris dismounted off Windwalker, then Serenity got off Tenor. She almost fell over when she hit the ground. Tenor steadied her with his strong neck.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Astrid. "She sick?"
"Nope," Re said excitedly. "She's pregnant." Everyone gasped at this news.
"Really?" said Astrid.
"Yes, we discovered it yesterday," Serenity said, still clinging to her dragon's neck.
"When are you...?"
"Nine months," Serenity answered Valka. "In just one month I have to give up Dragon Riding and healing for eight months." She seemed sad about it as she stood on her own to feet.
"So I want to spend my last month riding out here," Serenity continued.
"You should sit down," Valka said, who had had children before.
"Good idea," Serenity said. "But I don't think I can mount Tenor now, It'll make me lightheaded."
"I'll walk you up to your hospital," Chris said. He put his hand around her shoulders and led her away, Windwalker followed.
"Eight month without riding?" said Astrid.
"Hmm, she's not looking forward to it," said Aurora. "And that's not all she'll have to give up in a month. I've recently read up on what pregnant women should avoid and among that list were: heat, smoke. And reptiles."
"What no dragons at all?" said Hiccup. "That's a lot to give up."
"Sure is," Re said. "So we plan to keep her safe in our castle with Chris, while we start the construction of the Dragon Island Castle."
"Can we help in any way?" asked Hiccup.
"No thanks," Re said politely. "We just dropped by to visit."
"How long are you staying?" asked Hiccup.
"One night," Re said. "We plan to head to Dragon Island this time tomorrow."
Up at the dragon hospital Serenity sat in her chair in the shade of her golden apple tree. Chris sat next to her, holding her hand. Windwalker laid in the lawn of Dragonnip next to her rider.
"Are you willing to do this?" Windwalker asked Serenity.
"Yes," Serenity said. "I know dragons will be back in my life once this baby is born."
"And you'll be able to carry him with you in the saddle," Chris said.
"And soon he'll find a dragon of his own," Serenity said. "Of course we don't even know if it's a boy or girl."
"Mom will know," Chris said. "She already saw you getting pregnant."
"She said she saw a white flower, that was courageous, noble, and a bit daring," Serenity said.
"There is actually a flower that symbolizes all that," Chris said. "It's called Edelweiss, it grows in the European Alps. I looked it up."
"Edelweiss," Serenity repeated. "Nice word." At that moment the Draconian dragons came up the hill. Avalon and Apollo began playing in the Dragonnip.
"You doing any better?" Tenor asked his rider.
"Yes," said Serenity. She leaned back in her chair.
"Can we go exploring Mama?" Avalon asked, looking at the woods.
"Yes you may," said Aurora. "I'll summon you when it's time to come back, be careful." The two young dragons spread their wings and took off.
They flew over the island, through the trees. They landed after a while, right at the edge of the Cove. They looked down into it. The Cove looked the same has it did when Toothless lived there. The pond rippled in the breeze and the dragons could see small fish. At the shore of the pond was the pavilion of tree roots, covered in moss. To the young dragons the place felt enchanted, as though ferries lived there, or there were water nymphs in the pond. The dragons spread their wings and glided into the Cove.
"This place is beautiful," said Avalon.
"Yeah, you think they're any mermaids in that pond?" asked Apollo.
"It's too small," said Avalon. "Mama says mermaids live in big, deep lakes that have a river to the ocean."
"Oh," said Apollo sadly. "I was hoping there were other creatures of myth out here, as well as dragons." He went over the edge of the pond and watched the fish swim around. He went into a crouch, swinging his tail back and forth, his eyes fixed on his prize. Then one salmon stopped right in front of him. He pounced on it, and missed. He splashed around in the pond trying to get his fish, but all he got was wet. Avalon laughed at him. Apollo stopped and glared at her.
"What and I suppose you can do better?" he snapped. Avalon smirked at him and joined him in the pond. She stopped and stuck her head into the water looking for fish. She was very patient. Apollo watched her, he couldn't help but be intrigued. Avalon continued looking for fish. Then a nice big one swam passed her mouth. As quick as a snake she snagged it and pulled it out of the water. It wriggled but Avalon held firm. Then she tossed it to shore where it flapped around. She ran out of the water and pinned it down with her talons. She roasted it with her jade green fire. Apollo came out of the water as well. The fish was too large to swallow whole, so Avalon split it in half.
"Heads or tails?" she asked Apollo.
"Tails," said Apollo. Avalon threw him the fish's tail and he caught it. He and his sister sat under the pavilion and ate the fish.
When they were done they left the Cove and continued exploring. As they went about their business they failed to see a small group of bandits dressed armor made of steel and leather. They all held weapons and sat on the backs of horses. They watched the young dragons fly and play freely. Avalon and Apollo flew to the far side of the island. They perched on a tall plateau and looked out at the sea. The sun was setting turning the water gold.
"Avalon look," said Apollo. He pointed to a ship hiding between two sea stacks. It looked like a huge viking ship with a horse head on the prow instead of a dragon head. The symbol on the big sail was a celtic cross. It gave the two dragons a sense of foreboding. They moved closer to each other.
"Let's get out of here," said Apollo. He and Avalon took off again and headed back the way they came. The sense of foreboding only got worse. Suddenly bolas came at them and bound their wings and legs. They crashed to the ground wriggling. Then they heard the whinnies of horses and the sound hooves. They surrounded the frightened dragons. The men mounted on the horses threw water at them, preventing them from breathing fire. Then one man got off his horse and approached them. He knelt down holding chains and shackles. Avalon snapped her jaws at him, Apollo did the same. The man just laughed.
"Fighty little dragons aren't you," he mocked. He then kicked both dragons in the head, stunning them. This gave him the opportunity to replace the bolas with metal shackles and chains. He then muzzled them with metal bands covered in leather. The man stood up and tugged harshly on the chains and the little dragons got up.
"Lets go devils," said the man harshly. He tied one end of the chain to his saddle and mounted his horse. The men began riding off, dragging Apollo and Avalon behind them. They headed back to their ship, leaving behind Apollo's crown which had fallen off when the man kicked him in the head. The men dragged the victims away, Apollo and Avalon weren't able to respond to their mother's homing spell, which just appeared.