Aftershock

"Life is a journey for us all. We all face trials. We all have ups and downs. All of us are human. But we are also the masters of our fate. We are the ones who decide how we are going to react to life." ― Elizabeth Smart

Chapter 1

It was the beginning of summer on Berk. The Vikings were already out fishing, gathering food for winter. The dragons were helping out in anyway. Hiccup and Toothless were overseeing everything. They both kept looking up at the sky excitedly. It was summer and the Draconians were due to arrive and spend the summer at their summer castle on Dragon Island. The whole village were looking forward to seeing their allies again. The dragons were excited about seeing Serenity again, and were wondering if she had fully recovered after being kidnapped and very nearly killed by a vengeful Changewing.

But the day came and went without any sign of them. Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a glance. They usually showed up the very first day of summer.

"Do you thing we should contact them Toothless?" Hiccup asked. Toothless gave a nod. Hiccup then turned and went back inside. He sat at the table and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a charcoal pen. He quickly wrote a note to the Draconians.

Hey Re,

Since you haven't arrived yet we were all wondering if anything was wrong that's keeping you all from coming up. We're all waiting for your arrival.

Sincerely, Hiccup.

He rolled up the parchment and left the house. Toothless was waiting for him with Sharpshot, a small, green Tiny Terror that Hiccup had trained to carry messages similar to Draconia's Hermes Dragons. Hiccup tied the scroll to Sharpshot's leg.

"Take this to Re at the Draconian Castle," Toothless said in Dragontongue.

"Yes of course, right away sir," Sharpshot said eagerly. He spread his tiny wings and took off. At that moment Stormfly landed with Astrid and Hegan on her back. Serenity had graciously gave her the baby sling she made for Edelweiss. Astrid dismounted.

"No sign of them?" she asked.

"No, I just sent them a message with Sharpshot," Hiccup said. "All we can do is wait."

And they did just that. They waited for two more days before Sharpshot returned with Re's answer. The Tiny Terror found Hiccup in the forge. He paused in his work to read the replay. He read it to himself then read it aloud to Toothless who was sitting nearby.

Ah sorry if we worried you. I don't plan on coming to Dragon Island this summer. Serenity is not doing so well. She suffers from paranoia and is easily prone to panic attacks. She's convinced that someone else is out there plotting to kidnap her, or something equally terrifying. I want to keep her behind my walls where she can't be harmed, at least until we find someway to help her. So we plan to stay home this summer. We will see you all next year.

Sincerely, King Re.

At the bottom of the note was the Draconian crest. Toothless let out a sad croon. He was really looking forward to seeing the Draconians. Not to mention he was also worried. Serenity almost never got scared, at least not to the degree the Dragon King was referring to. Toothless figured she must have had quite a frightening experience when she had been held hostage by Hael. Toothless nudged Hiccup's arm and gave him his big sad eyes.

"Well bud, looks like we have to do without them this year," Hiccup said. He folded the message and put it in his pocket. He turned back to the task he had been working on.

Latter Hiccup checked up on he friends. They gathered in the Great Hall. When they were there Hiccup read Re's note to all of them. All the dragons groaned in disappointment. Everyone was disappointed. But the disappointment turned to worry.

"So they're not coming at all?" asked Astrid. "Serenity must really be messed up."

"Are we going to help at all?" asked Eret. "Perhaps a visit to Berk will help her."

"Yeah and maybe Gothi will know what to do," said Fishlegs. Hiccup considered.

"I will ask Re," he said finally. "But if he says no, it means no." He got another paper and pen and wrote another note to Draconia.

Re, my friends and I discussed the note you sent. We want to help. Maybe Serenity will feel better if she comes up here. And maybe Gothi will know what to do. Please let us help. She's helped all our dragons and now we want to return the favor. Hiccup.

He rolled the note up and sent Sharpshot on his way with it.

The little dragon returned two days later with Re's reply.

We asked Serenity if she wanted to come to Berk. She said she will come up if we don't leave her side. I will accept Gothi's help as long as she doesn't hit Serenity with that staff of hers. We will be up there tomorrow evening, Aurora wants to try something. I appreciate your offer. You brought up the very thing that's eating us up. Serenity has helped all of us and saved thousands of lives. The fact we can't help her despite all she's done, it's just hart breaking. We'll fill you in when we get there. Thank you Re.

Hiccup read this note to everyone in the Great Hall. The dragons cheered up when they heard Serenity was coming to Berk and that they were going to get an opportunity to help her, like she helped them. They grew excited. Everyone went back to their daily activities. The dragons all gathered under the Golden Apple Tree which was growing on a large ledge way up near Gothi's house, behind the Great Hall. The tree was way bigger than a normal apple tree, even bigger than an oak tree. Everything on it was a rich golden color; the leaves, the bark, the wood, the apples, even the shade. The only thing that wasn't gold was the blossoms which were a blue white color. The trunk was big enough that a small bed room could be placed inside it. Serenity had grown the tree in her early years on Berk. It was one of her most valuable possessions and she decided to give it to the dragons of Berk. This was one of the reasons they were so determined to help her.

They grazed on the apples while they talked among themselves.

"It must have been really scary for her when she was kidnapped," Stormfly said. "She's never been paranoid before."

"I wonder what Hael did to her before we got there," Hookfang said.

"She got stung by a Speed Stinger," said Meatlug. "And that's terrifying enough, not to mention painful."

"Yeah but what else happened?" asked Hookfang.

"I don't think this will be a very good thing to ask her," Toothless said. "She's already been through that experience once, I don't want her to have to relive it." The other dragons murmured in agreement. They grazed on apples until sundown and their riders came looking for them. They all fell asleep already thinking up ideas on how to help Serenity.