Change pt. 2
Chapter 1
The sun rose over the land of Draconia. The Nightly dragons came in from hunting and fishing, and the day dragons were just waking up. In the Draconian castle Serenity, the only human in the country, woke up to bright sunlight streaming through her window. She sat up and yawned. She then swung her legs over the side of the bed. She glanced around her room. Her eyes fell on the enormous Round Table in the middle of the room. It was one of Queen Aurora's many rare antiques. Serenity got out of bed and went over to it. She loved the table and not because it was famous, but because there were a lot of memories surrounding it. Then her gaze shifted to the glass case on the wall near her bed, that held the famous magical sword Excalibur.
Once all the nostalgia wore off Serenity decided to get dressed. She changed out over her velvet nightgown and into a pale blue blouse, and a blue skirt that was decorated with silver snowflakes. Though winter hadn't started yet, the air was getting cold and snow was imminent. Once she was dressed, she left the room.
Serenity didn't have any plans for the day. She walked the halls of the castle. There was a large, empty void within the castle. It made her feel sad and lonely. Her dragons were out fishing together, so she had the place to herself. She made a snap decision to visit the gallery that held Queen Aurora's other antiques.
She crossed the castle to the gallery. She crossed the stone bridge and through the door. She glanced around the room. There were quite a bit of memories in this room too. The various items were sitting on pedestals, or hanging on hooks. She walked through the room to the ramp that led to the floor below. She entered the second part of the gallery, that held the Argo and the Trojan Horse. There weren't as many memories in this room. She went over the Trojan Horse and sat on its platform. She let her mind go back in time to when she was a child. Those days were some of the happiest of her life, up there with spending long hours under her Golden Apple Tree in the little viking town of Berk.
She leaned against the wooden wheel of the horse. She absentmindedly fiddled with the red orange dragon scale locket around her neck. The locket held photographs of two very special friends of hers. One friend was alive and well, the other was not. This friend was the one who had left the huge void in the castle, and in her heart. The locket felt like a bandaid over the empty space. She hoped the dragons would be home soon, so she wouldn't be so alone.
She made her way back to her room. She made herself breakfast and at it at the Round Table. She watched the dragons flying over Draconia's capital city, Bluegreen. The city fanned out at the base of the castle and extended down the cliffs and hills on either side of the massive lagoon that was also at the base of the castle. In the far distance Serenity could see the huge wall that closed off the lagoon and the Golden Gates. Then her eyes looked at the locked cabinet near the window, that contained her fairy tale books. On top of the cabinet was her favorite fairy tale, Cinderella. She had started reading it ten years ago, for the hundredth time, but she had stopped at the point when Cinderella's stepsisters head off to the ball, leaving Cinderella alone. She hadn't finished it since. Her happily ever after seemed so far away.
Her heart gave a little jump when she heard a tapping on her door. Serenity tore her attention from the book and looked at the door.
"Come in," she called. The door opened and the three royal dragons came in. King Re, Queen Aurora, and Tenor the Prime Minister. All three of them were clad in shiny armor, keeping them warm while fishing out at sea.
Re was a handsome emerald green with a kelly green underbelly, and ocean blue eyes. He was as tall as a draft horse, and ten times stronger. He had the body and legs of a wolf, lizard like paws. He had a long, thick neck, narrow lizard-like head, and a pair of horns at the back. His tail was long and thin. The last third of it had no bones, just flexible muscle. It could be used as an extra hand, as a whip, giving his breed the name of Whippertail. His armor was gold with the Draconian crest on his head plate, which doubled as his crown.
Aurora looked very similar to Re, except that she was sapphire blue with a tropical blue underbelly and silver eyes. She was slightly slimmer than Re. Her armor was silver. On her crown was a large snowflake made of sapphires and turquoise stones. She was one of the very few dragons in the world that had the gift of magic, like her father the Dragon God, Lord Draco.
Tenor was a very different dragon. He was a Blackfang, Night Fury hybrid, the only one in existence. He was as tall as an Arabian stallion. He had the body, green eyes, wings, fins, sonar flaps, spins, and glossy black scales of a Night Fury. He also had a long, thick neck, narrow head, square forehead and the legs of a panther. In his mouth were a set of teeth so venomous they were jet black. One bite would kill a victim quicker than blinking.
Serenity felt better, now that they were home. The place didn't feel so empty.
"Hello my dear," said Re.
"Hello dragons," Serenity said, quietly. Being dragons, they were quick to notice her mood.
"Why are you so quiet?" asked Re. Serenity sighed. She wasn't sure if she should bring up this subject with the dragons, she knew Re still blamed himself for it.
"I don't know," she said after a few minuets. "I guess I'm just enjoying the quiet." She knew it was pointless to lie to a dragon. They had the talent of spotting a lie a mile away.
"You guess?" said Aurora, her eyes narrowed slightly. Serenity sighed and leaned back in her chair. Tenor lowered his head and gently nudged her shoulder.
"Come on Serenity," he said. "You can tell us anything." Serenity absentmindedly stroked his muzzle.
"You guys really want to know?" she asked. She figured she couldn't avoid the subject forever. The dragons all nodded. Serenity took a deep breath.
"I'm, thinking about him," she said. For some reason she found hard to say his name.
"You're going to have to be more specific than that," said Re. Aurora thought a moment.
"Wait, you mean..." she stopped, unable to finish the sentence.
"It's been ten years, and yet I feel it happened yesterday," said Serenity, close to tears. Re hung his head.
"It's all my fault too, if I had just..." he couldn't finish either. Aurora wrapped her wing around him.
"Hey, it's not your fault," she said gently. "It's impossible to search the entire ocean. You gave it your best and no one blames you. I still love you." She nuzzled his neck. He nuzzled her back.
"Well, I'm not going to loose anyone else on my watch," Re said. "Ever again."
"Good, and we'll help you too," said Tenor. Re glanced around at everyone gathered around Serenity's table. They all had looks on their faces that told Re they were thinking the same thing. He smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, everyone," he said. Serenity still felt bad about bringing it up, as it caused her king pain.
"I'm sorry your majesty," she said. "I know it's not an easy memory for you." Re cleared his throat, getting a hold of himself.
"It's okay Serenity," he said. "I prefer no secrets be kept in this family." Serenity turned her attention to the window, trying to come up with a change of subject.
But she suddenly spotted a dark speck flying over the gates. She sat up, pleased with the distraction.
"It seems we have a visitor," she announced. The dragons turned their attention to this distraction. Then they exchanged a glance. Serenity got to her feet. She grabbed her hat and mounted Aurora. The queen used her magic to open the massive window. Then the three dragons spread their wings and flew out to see who had come.
It was Astrid and Stormfly. Serenity was surprised for sure. This was the first time one of the Vikings or dragons of Berk had come to Draconia. They hovered over the lagoon.
"Astrid, Stormfly," said Serenity, with surprise. "What brings you here?"
"Can we land?" asked Astrid. "It took us all night to get here."
"Sure," said Serenity. She pointed to a pavilion perched on a hill top. The dragons headed for it and landed. Stormfly was stumbling in exhaustion and breathing heavily.
"You okay?" asked Tenor.
"Yes...I...just...need...a...quick...breather...," Stormfly panted. Re folded his wings and turned to Astrid.
"So, like Serenity asked, what brings you here?" he asked. "Did you come to see the sights?"
"As lovely as this place is," began Astrid. "I've actually come to ask you for your help." This put the Draconians on alert, and Astrid had their full attention.
"What happened?" asked Aurora.
"Well, we uh, I mean, the village is in trouble," Astrid stammered. "We, er, got raided by dragons." The Draconians looked both surprised and concerned.
"Sorry, what?" Re asked. Astrid took a deep breath before continuing.
"A group of about 20 dragons or so sneak attacked our village last night." She said. "They came in search of a map we found on an abandoned boat in our waters yesterday. What was weird was that, even though we outnumbered them, they held their own, and believe it or not, they could've defeated us if they wanted to. Somehow they, changed mid-battle. I don't know what it was, but they got like a power boost or something, because we had them pinned down, but once they transformed, they got the upper hand."
"Changed?" said Re, interested. "You mean they activated their titan wing?" He paused a moment. "Wait, they ALL activated their titan!?"
"Well whatever it was," said Astrid. "Like I said they handed our butts to us. And they had a female Night Fury with them." The Draconians became more alert at this news.
"Female Night Fury?" said Serenity. She glanced sideways at Tenor. Tenor himself however, looked slightly doubtful.
"And she had a rider with her," added Astrid. The Draconians exchanged a glance.
"Sorry Astrid, but your story is getting harder and harder to believe," said Tenor. Aurora frowned at him.
"It's true," said Stormfly.
"Come on Tenor, she wouldn't have flown all night just to get here and lie to us," said Re. "If Hiccup wants our help, then by Draco we'll help him. Serenity, pack your stuff. Looks like we're going on a trip."
"Yes sir," said Serenity. She turned Aurora around and they flew back to the castle.
When they landed back in Serenity's room and Serenity dismounted, she instantly began to gather her things. She pulled her medical bag out from under her bed. She put it on the table with her tent, sleeping roll, and sleeping bag. Then she quickly changed into her riding uniform. Aurora waited patiently. Serenity put all her things onto Aurora's saddle, she also brought along her Cinderella book. Finally she pulled her hair back into a dragon's tail (braid) and mounted the queen. They turned around and flew off, Aurora closed the window with her magic.
The first thing they noticed when they got back, was that Re seemed to be in a trance. Serenity dismounted.
"Re, wake up," said Aurora. Re snapped out of his stupor and turned to them.
"Oh, you're ready?" he said. Serenity and Aurora exchanged a glance.
"Yes, we've been ready for a few minuets," said Aurora. "What's wrong? You had a blank expression on your face, like you were lost in thought." Re shook his head to clear it.
"I, I think," he stammered. He saw the confused look on all their faces. "Astrid will fill you in on the way." He looked at Stormfly who seemed somewhat restored.
"Are you able to make another long flight?" he asked.
"Yes my king," said Stormfly. Re looked at Aurora who nodded. Serenity quickly climbed onto Re's saddle. Since they were planning on traveling a lot, she decided she would ride each of her three dragons in turn. They spread their wings and took off.
While on the way to Berk Astrid filled them all in on the man and his dragons. She described the man as dark. He had short black hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes, and large ears. He had worn a dark colored shirt, black trousers and boots, and a black trench coat with fur lined sleeves. He carried a pair of twin swords. And the most interesting thing about this man, was that he spoke Dragontongue. Serenity felt like she had been hit by lightening. Everything about this mad sound familiar, except for the swords. Is sounded a lot like the dear friend that was tucked away in her locket. It looked like the distraction, wasn't really a distraction.