Survivors
Serenity sat in her chair on Dragon Island. The rest of her family were all down at the arena training like they did everyday. Her daughter, Edelweiss, had chosen the bow and arrow and the sword as her signature weapons. She practiced fighting with both. She also practiced fighting on and off her dragon Black Widow.
Serenity hardly went to the arena anymore. She always got nervous and sometimes it made her sick. So she stayed in her room alone. They had been training, and/or sparring for two weeks now. She saw so little of her family nowadays, that she was really starting to miss them. They woke up at the crack of dawn and go clear until sundown.
Having nothing to do she got up from her chair and made her way down to the arena, she could at least check to make sure no one had got hurt. When she got there, she saw Black Widow wrestling with Apollo. The others were watching, whispering to each other. They were so into the match, that none of them noticed Serenity watching them. She sighed and left, putting her hands in her pockets.
She walked down the beach outside the throne room. A few wild dragons filled the air. Serenity watched them dreamily. She missed flying as much as she missed her family. She hadn't gone flying since they had arrived at Dragon Island for the summer, three weeks ago. Her dragon Tenor, was always busy with training Black Widow and sparring against Windwalker. Whenever she got the chance, Serenity asked him if they could go flying and every time he said no.
When she got tired of walking she went back to her room. The sun was setting and her family would be in soon. She changed into her night gown and got into bed. She waited for them for as long as she could. She fell asleep before they came in. The last thing she felt before she was out completely was Chris arm around her.
The next morning Serenity woke up to find that her family had left already. She sighed sadly and rolled onto her back. The sun was well up, but she didn't feel like getting out off bed. She had nothing to do. Just then Tenor landed outside. Serenity sat up and leaned on her pillows.
"Hey you still in bed?" he asked, lightly. Serenity sighed.
"I don't have anything to do," said Serenity. "What's the point of getting up." Tenor gave her a look of sympathy.
"Well, I forgot my head plate," he said. Serenity just nodded. Tenor headed for his cave. Serenity sat there in silence. She could feel tears in her eyes. Tenor came back with his head plate in place.
"Tenor," Serenity said. "Can we please go flying?" Tenor looked at her.
"Not today," he said. Serenity looked away and buried her face in her knees. Tenor went up to her.
"Hey," he said softly, nuzzling her. "Don't cry. We'll go flying again, I promise." Serenity stroked his neck.
"When?" she asked.
"I'll talk with the others," Tenor said. "You should come down, get out of bed." Serenity sighed. She got out of bed.
"I'll meet you down there," said Tenor. He turned and left. Serenity got dressed and headed down to the arena.
The training had already started. Tenor watched a match between Chris and Re. He decided to wait until they were done before bringing up Serenity. He looked up to see her watching from the spectator's area. He had noticed a few changes in her. She almost never came to the arena anymore. And whenever training was brought up, she didn't protest like she used to. She never spoke and she never smiled. She didn't seem to mind being left alone anymore, and didn't try to stop them from sparring. It was like she'd given up.
Just then the match ended with Chris coming out on top. Re got to his feet beaming with pride. Re turned to Tenor.
"So, who do you want to take on next?" he asked.
"Actually Re," said Tenor. "I wonder if I might take the next few days off. I'm worried about Serenity." Re paused.
"What's the matter with her?" Re asked.
"She's lonely Re," Tenor said. "And I promised her we'd go flying sometime, and I've been promising her that for weeks." Re turned to the rest of the family.
"Take a break," he said. They disbursed. Chris, Aurora, and Windwalker noticed the two males talking quietly. They went over to investigate.
"What's up?" Aurora asked.
"It's Serenity, I'm worried about her," said Tenor. "I keep promising her a flight, but I haven't been able to keep that promise. And she's not happy either."
"She's never happy when we're in here," said Windwalker.
"And yet, she hasn't tried to stop us recently," said Tenor. "It's like she's given up trying." He looked up to where Serenity was watching, only to find that she wasn't there anymore.
"Hey, where'd she go?" he said. "She was right up there now she's gone." Aurora's face suddenly went blank.
"She went to the throne room," she said. "Oh my! She does look pretty defeated and lonely."
"I'll go keep her company for a while," Chris volunteered. "I haven't seen her very much lately." He turned and left the arena and headed for the throne room.
When he arrived he found his wife laying sideways on her armchair. Her eyes were closed but her breathing wasn't steady enough for her to be sleeping. Chris went over and knelt down in front of the chair.
"Serenity," he said softly. Serenity opened her eyes. She seemed pleased to see him, but she didn't smile.
"You taking a break?" she asked. Chris nodded.
"How are you?" he asked. "And please be honest." Serenity sighed.
"I miss flying," she said. "And I miss my friends on Berk."
"How come you haven't said anything?" Chris asked.
"I tried," said Serenity. "I asked Tenor to go flying and he kept saying no. I figured whatever was going on down in that arena was awfully important. So, I didn't feel the need to protest. Once long ago I thought Tenor loved fighting more than me."
"That's not true," Chris said. "We might not be able to spend every minuet of the day with you, but that certainly doesn't mean we don't love you." Serenity said nothing.
"Besides," Chris went on. "He was the one who noticed you weren't putting up much of a protest anymore when we went into the arena." Serenity looked up at the ceiling.
"There's no point," she said. "I'm fighting a loosing battle with this. I know I can't stop you from going into the arena, so why bother trying?" Chris cupped her face and gently turned it so she was looking him in the eye.
"I love you Serenity," he said, seriously. "What goes on in that arena is important, we have to teach those kids to defend themselves and each other. But that doesn't mean we're leaving you out. We don't want you near the arena because you're the only one who does get hurt." Serenity took a huge breath.
"I can't take it anymore," she said. "This loneliness and all this waiting."
"I know," Chris said, clutching her hand. "Tenor's asked for a few days off. He wants to take you flying, and I want to go with you." Serenity was taken aback by this, she blinked in surprise. She sat up slightly.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah, if you want," Chris said. Serenity threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back.
"Thanks," she said.
"Besides, I haven't met all of your dragon friends up here," Chris said.
"I don't have as many as you do," said Serenity. "But, they're pretty rare dragons." She sat back in her chair.
"I have to get back," Chris said. "Break time's almost over." Serenity just nodded. He kissed her forehead, then got up and left.
He made his way back to the arena. The others were waiting for him. The younger Draconians were wrestling playfully with each other. Chris went up to the adult dragons.
"So, how'd it go?" Re asked.
"She said she know's she can't keep us from coming in here," Chris said. "So she doesn't see any reason to try."
"Oooooh," said Tenor. "As much as I hate giving up, I have to admit that she's right."
"She was also under the impression that we love fighting more than her," Chris explained.
"What?" said Re, loudly. "That's not true at all."
"I told her that Tenor would take her flying," Chris said. "And I said I would go too." He saw them exchange a glance.
"Was I lying to her?" he asked, with a slight sense of dread.
"Oh, no," said Re. "We have been unfair to her, she's earned it." Tenor turned to his mate.
"You can come too Windwalker," he said. Windwalker inhaled.
"No, that's okay," she said. "I'll stay here and babysit those two." She gestured to Black Widow and Edelweiss.
"You sure?" said Tenor.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Windwalker.
"We should wrap up this training," said Aurora. "Then we can turn in early."
"I'm turning in now," said Chris. "She shouldn't be alone. You coming Windwalker?" Windwalker turned to Tenor.
"You okay with taking over Black Widow's training?" she asked. Tenor nodded, he seemed excited by the idea. Windwalker turned back to her rider, he mounted her and they took off.
Serenity had lost interest in sitting around and was walking the beach again. She tried to come up with something to do. Her eyes locked on a tall rock. She toyed with the idea of climbing it. She'd rock climbed before, but back then there had been a dragon to catch her. This rock didn't look as tall the previous one, and when she wanted to get down, she could just jump. It wouldn't kill her, just give her a few bruises, which wouldn't be the worst injury she'd every gotten. She heaved a huge sigh and went over to the rock. She took off her gloves, jacket, hat, and boots. She put them on a boulder. Then she began scaling the tall rock. Her bare feet helped her grip the rock better.
After several minuets of find hand holds and foot holds, she reached the top. She found a ledge large enough to sit on. She made her self comfortable, leaning against another larger rock. She looked out at the ocean crash casually onto the stony shore. The local dragons had gone several miles from the island to fish. The place was relatively quiet. Serenity leaned her head on the rock behind her. She looked out towards the horizon, just in time to watch a pod of Whale Dragons come up for air, followed by a few Sea Shockers. Serenity half hoped they out come towards the shore, but wasn't surprised when they didn't. They went on their way. Serenity closed her eyes and dozed off. She didn't care that her back was getting sore for sitting on rocks for so long.
She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew the roar of a Night Fury jolted her awake. She looked up to see Windwalker land on the rock next to hers, and Chris dismounted.
"What're you doing up here?" Chris asked.
"Nothing," Serenity replied, in laid back tone. Chris carefully made his way over to her. Windwalker looked down at the side of the rock.
"How'd you even get up here?" she asked.
"I climbed," said Serenity. "I've done it before, on a rock much taller than this. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well do something challenging."
"Rock climbing's dangerous without a second person," Chris said.
"I know," said Serenity. "But I couldn't think of anything else to do. This day seems to go on forever."
"I know It's been a rough couple of weeks for you," said Chris. "With everyone in the arena." Serenity sighed.
"Am I going to have to spend the rest of my life like this?" she asked.
"No," said Chris. "We'll work something out, so you're not alone so much." Serenity looked up at him, and she seemed relieved.
"But we can't be with you all the time," said Windwalker. "We've got work to do."
"Yes, I know," said Serenity. "There's no stopping it is there?"
"I'm afraid not," said Chris. "But I don't think we'll be in the arena this often. We should get back so we can talk about it."
"Okay," said Serenity. Windwalker looked down again.
"How did you plan on getting down?" she asked.
"Jump," said Serenity.
"Jump!?" said Chris and Windwalker in unison.
"It wouldn't hurt that bad," said Serenity.
"Well, we can fly you down," Chris said. "Save you a twisted ankle."
"Good idea," said Serenity. She slowly got to her feet. Chris mounted his dragon, and waited for her. Suddenly she stepped on a loose pebble and screamed as she fell off the rock.
"Serenity!" Chris exclaimed. He pinched a spot on his left wrist. Then he flew Windwalker down to the ground. Serenity had landed on her side, and hadn't got to her feet yet. Chris dismounted and knelt beside her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, just winded," Serenity panted. Chris helped her to her feet. He could feel her trembling slightly. She leaned heavily on him. She took a few minuets to catch her breath.
"What'd you pinch yourself for?" Windwalker asked.
"It lets Dad know that there's trouble," said Chris. "We came up with that last week." He turned back to Serenity, and noticed that her face was all scrapped up. There was a ten inch scratch on her forehead, and some skin had been scratched off her cheek, and her chin. There was a tiny cut on her upper lip.
"Oooh, you've got a few scrapes," he said, holding her face still. Then he looked at her hands. Her fingertips were all bloody, and more skin had been scraped off her palms and wrists. Her bare feet were the same; all four of them were covered in dirt, as was her face.
"Oh Serenity," Chris sighed.
"I've had worse," said Serenity. At that moment Re, Aurora, and Tenor landed next to Windwalker.
"What happened?" Re asked. The dragons saw Serenity's face, hands, and feet.
"She was up on that rock," Windwalker exclaimed. "She took a bad step and she fell."
"I was rock climbing," said Serenity.
"By yourself?" asked Aurora, slightly stunned.
"Yes," said Serenity. "It's no more dangerous than climbing a tree."
"Well, we should get inside," said Re. "And clean you up." Serenity nodded. She picked up her things and mounted Tenor.
They flew back to the throne room. They sat around the fire pit, which Tenor lit. Chris dismounted and helped Serenity get down. She was still trembling, but getting better. She sat in her chair and Chris sat in his. The younger Draconians were running around on the beach, using up the last of their energy before bedtime.
Serenity found her medical bag and opened it. Her hands were shaking as she rummaged around in her bag. Chris got up and sat on the armrest of his chair facing Serenity.
"Here, let me," he said. Holding her hands. He carefully took the bag from her and dug through it.
"You not going to go into shock are you?" asked Re.
"I don't think so," said Serenity. "I've fallen out of a tree before, same height."
"But those falls usually ended in grass and dirt," Tenor pointed out. "Not solid rocks." Chris found the big jar of Night Fury saliva and a rag. He soaked the rag in it, and dabbed at the cuts on Serenity's face. Windwalker licked the cuts on her feet.
"So, do you think you can handle being alone for at least once a week?" asked Aurora.
"Once a week is better then all the time," said Serenity. "I want you guys to be happy too."
"We don't love fighting more than you," said Re. "None of us do."
"I knew that," said Serenity. "I'm sorry for thinking like that."
"No need to be sorry," said Chris. Who was now cleaning her hands. Serenity decided to change the subject slightly.
"When can we go on that long flight?" she asked.
"When these cuts go away," said Tenor. "So in a few days."
"Alright," said Serenity. Chris finished up and put the jar and rag away. Windwalker stopped too.
"Thank you," she said.
"I learned by watching the best," Chris said, giving her a small smile. She smiled back, and scratched Windwalker behind her ears. The dragon just melted at her touch.
"It's nice to help the hard working dragon healer once in a while," she said. Serenity yawned.
"We should head to our room," said Chris. "I bet all that climbing has worn you out." Serenity nodded.
"And falling off," she said. She carefully got up, and Chris followed suit.
"Tomorrow we'll go to Berk," said Aurora.
"Good idea," said Serenity. She mounted Tenor and Chris mounted Windwalker. They rounded up Edelweiss and Black Widow, and headed for their room and bed.
When they got there. Serenity and Chris put their children to bed. When Edelweiss asked why her mother was bleeding, Serenity said that she stumbled and fell. Edelweiss hugged her parents in turn, then snuggled in bed with Black Widow. Serenity and Chris headed for their room.
"Serenity," Chris said quietly. Serenity stopped and looked at him.
"Yes," she said.
"Just so you know, fighting doesn't make me happy," Chris said. "You do." And for the first time in a long while, Serenity's face bloomed into a big smile. Chris sighed with relief, she was happy again. He pulled her into his arms, and she hugged him back. He drew back slightly so he could kiss her. They separated and Serenity hugged him again, not wanting to let go.
"I love you Serenity," he said. "I love you far more than any sparring match." Serenity sighed with pleasure.
"I love you too," she said. They finally let go of each other and got into bed. They soon fell asleep. Serenity didn't feel lonely anymore.