Chapter 2
The next morning the itching was still there. Edelweiss scratched it feverishly. Black Widow jumped down from her web and looked at her friend.
"It's not worse is it?" she asked.
"No, but won't go away," Edel said. Black Widow ran to the other room and got Serenity. They came back, Serenity carrying her bag.
"You itching Edel?" she asked.
"It started yesterday," Edelweiss said. Serenity sat behind her and lifted her shirt. She was surprised to see how big the rash was. It covered her back on either side of her spine. It ran all the way up her neck.
"Wow, that's a pretty big rash," Serenity said. She opened her bag and pulled out a bottle of ointment. "This should help." She opened the bottle and rubbed the ointment all over the rash. Edelweiss felt the itch die down.
"Thanks Mama," she said as Serenity finished.
"You're welcome, that should help," her mother said. "Let me know if it itches again." She put Edel's shirt back down.
After breakfast Edelweiss and the dragonets went back to the Red Death and started turning it into their hideout. They ripped apart the shipwrecks for their wood and canvas. Edelweiss didn't itch the whole time. She helped plan what they wanted to do with the hideout. They decided to use the skull as shelter when it rained. Inside it was a large ledge right behind the nasal cavity that was plenty big enough for all five of them.
They started digging a large hole under the giant ribcage for a swimming pond. Edelweiss rummaged through the piles of debris around the skeleton, looking for things they could use. She pushed some planks of wood aside and found an old rusted contraption. Five metal rods at different lengths protruded out of a thicker, flatter metal rod. The rods were bend, and some had pieces of burnt leather hanging from them. Edelweiss didn't recognizes it as anything. She ran it back to hideout to show the others.
"Hey guys, look what I found," she said. She held up the item. The dragonets looked at.
"What is that thing?" Eider asked.
"I have a pretty good idea," said Avalon. She took the item and set it on the ground. She then waved her talons over it. The rods straitened, the rust vanished, and a sheet of leather appeared between the rods. Suddenly they could all recognize it.
"That must one of Toothless's old tail fin," Apollo said. "The one Hiccup made for him."
"Wow," said Black Widow, looking at her own tail fins. "You think we should return it to him?" They all exchanged a glance.
"It is theirs," Edelweiss said. "I'll give it to Hiccup tomorrow when I go to the Academy."
"We'll keep working on this while you're over there," Apollo said. Edelweiss picked up the tail fin and propped it against the Red Death's jaw.
They worked on their hideout until the adult dragons came to get them. The dragonets looked at them as they landed.
"You should get to bed Edel," Aurora said. "You've got a big day tomorrow." Edelweiss gulped and stepped closer to Black Widow.
"All right," Edel said, in a small voice. She mounted Black Widow and they flew up to their room, taking the tail fin with them.
Edelweiss had trouble falling asleep that night. She was so nervous about going to the academy, without Black Widow. She tossed and turned trying sleep. She turned over again, facing the tail fin propped on her bed post. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the popped open one second later. She sat up and put her face in her hands.
"I can't sleep Black Widow," she said. Black Widow looked down from her web, concerned.
"Are you itching again?" she asked.
"A little," Edel said, scratching her back. "But I'm so nervous about tomorrow." Black Widow flew down and landed on the bed.
"I'll miss you too," she said. "But if you dad can survive ten years without his family, I'm sure you can survive a few hours without us." She gently pressed her forehead to Edelweiss's forehead. Edel hugged her, and the dragon purred. This calmed Edelweiss down enough to fall asleep.
Edelweiss was woken early by her friends. Avalon was licking her face. When Edel opened her eyes Avalon jumped down.
"Come on, everyone's waiting for you in the throne room," she said. "Mother wants to give you something." Edelweiss got out of bed, sleepily, and scratched her back again.
"You itching again?" asked Apollo. He looked at Edel's rash. It had gotten redder.
"Ouch, that looks painful," Avalon said, looking at the rash also. "Maybe I can heal it." She inhaled then let out a long warm breath right at the rash. The spell made the rash fade and stop itching.
"Thanks Avalon," Edel said.
"Now come on, we don't want to be late," Avalon said. Edelweiss grabbed the tail fin and mounted Black Widow. They all flew down to the throne room.
The adults were waiting for them. The dragonets landed and Edel dismounted.
"Ready for your first day?" Re asked.
"Not really," Edelweiss admitted.
"Perhaps this will help," said Aurora. She inhaled deeply, then shot her blue fire at Edelweiss. The fire didn't burn her, but it did feel very warm. When the fire cleared her clothes had changed. She now wore black pants, green long sleeved shirt, a black leather vest with the Draconian crest on the shoulder, fitted black leather booths, and black leather fingerless gloves. The old sword she'd used in the sparring arena was strapped to her waist via belt that had an edelweiss flower on the buckle. On her back was a bow and quiver of arrows. Edel took the quiver off and admired it. The same flower was stamped into the leather and the bow had it on the grip.
"Thank you Grandmother," she said. Aurora smiled. Edel put the quiver back on and turned to her parents. She hugged her mother first, then her father.
"Good luck," Chris said. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow, and they took off with the old tail fin clutched in Black Widow's talons.
They flew to Berk as the sun cleared the horizon. When they reached Berk, they circled the big arena getting a good look at it. The chain dome was raised and there were a few young vikings in the middle of it. Fishlegs, Hiccup, and their dragons were positioned next to the entrance. Edel and Black Widow hovered over the entrance, then landed on the sea stack. Edelweiss dismounted. She heard loud wingbeats behind her. She turned to see Valka flying towards them on Cloudjumber. They landed on the sea stack and Valka jumped off.
"Hello Edelweiss," she said. "Glad you came."
"I've got dragonflies in my stomach," Edel said, clutching her stomach. Valka put a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll be okay," she said. "Everyone gets nervous, you're not the only one." Edelweiss took several deep breaths and calmed down. She turned to Black Widow, and threw her arms around her. Black Widow returned the hug.
"I'll see you this evening I suppose," Edel said sadly.
"Yeah, we'll meet up at the new hideout when you get back," Black Widow said. She stepped back and handed her rider the tail fin. Then she spread her wings and took off. Edelweiss watched her fly away.
"Don't worry," Valka said. "You'll be sharing classes together in no time. Now come the first lesson will start soon." She lead the way towards the arena. Edel took a deep breath.
"Hi Cloudjumber," she said, clutching the fin.
"Hey Edel," Cloudjumber said. "You look very nice, ready for riding." Edel smiled at him. They crossed the bridge and approached the entrance. Hiccup smiled as she came up.
"Welcome Edelweiss," he said. "Glad you came."
"Hi Hiccup, hi Toothless," Edel said. "We found this for you yesterday." She handed Hiccup the tail fin. Hiccup took it, surprised. He spread the fin out. He recognized it at once.
"It's the first tail fin I every made," he said.
"I found it on the beach, and Avalon fixed it for you," Edelweiss said. The fin was much to small for Toothless now obviously, because he grown bigger. But Toothless remembered it well.
"Thanks Edelweiss," Hiccup said. Toothless nuzzled her. Hiccup set the fin down. Fishlegs and Meatlug came up.
"Hey Edelweiss," Fishlegs said. "You ready to train dragons?"
"Yeah," said Edel. "Hi Meatlug." She hugged the Gronkle's face. Meatlug nuzzled her.
"Go join the others," Hiccup said. Edelweiss went over the group of vikings her age. She took several deep breaths and stood next to them. There were ten other young vikings in the arena. They all wore helmets and carried different weapons. Edelweiss removed the bow from her back and clutched it. She examined her classmates. There were four boys, five girls, and one that Edelweiss couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. They all looked back at her.
"You're no viking," one of the boys observed. Edelweiss glared at him, her free hand gripped her sword. The boy noticed this. "I bet my sword is better than yours." He held out the sword in his hand. It was very big and very heavy looking. The hilt was wrapped in worn leather, and he blade was heavily sharpened. Edelweiss drew her sword. It was made of a black metal that shimmered in the light. Two dragon heads were tucked at the base of the blade where the black metal twisted into the hilt. It had a sharp point, and one sharp edge, similar to a cutlass. The boy looked at it, smugly. The other classmates held up their weapons; some were swords, one was a mace, one was a double headed ax, and the unidentified student held a gnarly looking spear.
Just then the class was called to order. Everyone looked up at Valka and Fishlegs.
"You can put your weapons away," Valka said. "You won't need them today." The students did as they were told. Edelweiss sheathed her sword and put her bow across her back with quiver.
"Welcome to the Berk Dragon Training Academy," said Hiccup. "Here you will learn about the dragons of the Archipelago, and how to handle them. Just like my friends and I did."
"So when do we get our own dragon?" asked the boy who spoken to Edelweiss.
"Soon, when you're ready," Hiccup said. "Now, here's how your curriculum is going to go. First; Fishlegs and my mother will teach you everything we know about dragons and the different species. Then, we'll take you on a week long campout on Dragon Island so you can see some of these dragons in the wild, and perhaps you'll find the dragon for you there. At the end of the campout, you'll have a test on what you've learned so far, by training your own dragon, and we'll go to that point."
"But that one already has her own dragon," said one girl, pointing at Edelweiss.
"She will still have to take the test," Valka said. "She has never trained a wild dragon before."
"So what are we doing today?" Edelweiss asked.
"Today we'll all introduce each other, then Fishlegs and Meatlug will take you on a tour of Berk, and tell you our history with dragons." This seemed to get everyone excited.
The students all introduced themselves. The unidentified student, which appeared to be a girl, was called Hildagaurd, the boy who first spoke to Edelweiss was called Dogsbreath, the girl who had pointed at Edelweiss earlier was called Camicaze, the other students were called: Bertha, Eerika, Gull, Haskell, Igor, Salazar, and Tad. When Edelweiss said her name they all laughed.
"A flower?" said Dogsbreath. "What ever came from a flower?"
"Yeah, my name means 'ruling forever'," said Erika.
"And mine means 'cauldron of the gods'," said Haskell.
"Even my name means more than a bird, it means 'goddess'," said Gull dreamily.
"My flower is a symbol of nobility," Edelweiss defended herself.
"It's still just a flower," said Dogsbreath. "It's not even remotely intimidating."
"All right, all right," Hiccup said loudly. "I'll turn the floor over to Fishlegs." He stepped aside and Fishlegs stepped forward.
"Okay, Meatlug and I will take you around the village," he said. "And show you points of interest that played a roll in our history with dragons." Meatlug stomped forward excitedly. The students rushed forward eagerly, all except Edelweiss who waited patiently. Fishlegs managed to get everyone under control.
"Edelweiss, you first," he said after a few minuets. Edelweiss got on Meatlug, after giving her a friendly pat. She sat behind the Gronckle's head, while everyone glared at her. They all got on behind Edelweiss, and Fishlegs lead his dragon out of the arena, and headed up to the main village.
When they got there they went up to the Great Hall. Fishlegs told them about a time when Berk faced a ferocious snow storm that they weren't prepared for. Everyone had to take shelter in the Great Hall. The riders and their dragons had to round up all the farm animals that had gotten loose. They had gotten lost in the snow, but their dragons had kept them all warm.
"So remember, your dragons can save your lives out there," Fishlegs said.
"Black Widow has saved my life many times," Edelweiss said.
"Yup, and she'll probably do it several times more," Fishlegs said. "Hopefully you'll be able to save her life too soon." Edelweiss smiled. They headed up the hill to the Golden Apple Tree. The grass was very green, and the tree was very bright. Fishlegs told them about when this patch of land belonged to an old, cranky, cabbage farmer named Mildew, and the land was once a grubby cabbage field. He told them how Mildew would try his hardest to get rid of the dragons, no matter how many good deeds they did. Mildew did eventually succeed in driving the dragons from Berk. Stoic had banished all the dragons to Dragon Island. Meatlug crooned sadly at the memory.
"Even Toothless was banished?" Edelweiss asked.
"I'm afraid so," said Fishlegs.
"But he can't fly without Hiccup," Edel said. "What did he do for food if he couldn't hunt?"
"You know I'm not sure," Fishlegs admitted. "But we got them back, so they weren't there for too long." He lead them all back down the hill, continuing his stories. Edelweiss zoned out.
"Do you know how he survived Meatlug?" she asked in Dragontongue.
"Your mother took care of him," Meatlug said. "She came with us, and made our banishment a touch more bearable. Draco himself was there too." Edel smiled wider.
"I want to be like her," she said. "And my daddy too. Windwalker said he saved many dragon's lives. My parents didn't train dragons, they made friends with them."
"I'd say you've got a great start already," Meatlug said. "You have an excellent connection with dragons. But your parents made friends with many different species of dragons, and didn't stick with just one or two."
"Yeah," Edelweiss agreed. "I guess I owe it to my friends to learn all I can so I can have their back as much as they have mine." She stood up taller. But then she felt the itch on her back again. She scratched it, though it didn't do any good with all the leather. She squirmed in discomfort.
"You okay?" Meatlug asked.
"My back is itching again," Edelweiss said. Then her arms and neck started itching. She bent over in agony. "When can I go home?"
"Soon," Meatlug said. "You think you can last?"
"I think so," Edelweiss said. "I should let my mother know when I get back." She took a deep breath, the itching died down a bit. "Maybe I'll ask Grandmother too. She might know what's going on."
"Good idea," Meatlug said.
They made their way though the village and Fishlegs told all his stories. Edelweiss liked the ones were her mother helped out. It made her looked up to her dear mother even more. Soon they ended up back in the arena. Here Fishlegs told them about Hiccup entering this very arena assigned to kill a Monstrous Nightmare, but was nearly killed by the dragon. Toothless exposed himself and risked his life to come to the rescue. It had made Stoic so angry that he chained Toothless up and made him lead everyone to Dragon Island.
"I'll tell you the rest when we head out for the campout on Dragon Island," Fishlegs said. "We'll show you where the Red Death fell. But we're out of time." He helped all the students off Meatlug, Edelweiss came down last. They left the arena and headed back to the village. When Edelweiss got there she sat on a bench to wait for Black Widow. She wondered how their hideout was coming along. Just then Toothless walked passed, and noticed her.
"How was it?" he asked.
"It was ok," Edelweiss said. "I was sorry to hear all the terrible things that happened to you; being chained to a ship and all." Toothless smiled at her.
"I'm over it now," he said. "That happened a long time ago. I'm now exactly where Lord Draco needs me to be, I'm in his service." Edelweiss stroked his muzzle.
"I also heard that my mother was a big help to you," she said.
"A very big help," Toothless said. "I owe her a lot. She has such a big, kind heart."
They sat there until Black Widow landed in the plaza, announcing that the hideout was finished. Edelweiss mounted her and they took off. They flew back to Dragon Island.
When they got there they landed beside the Red Death skeleton. A tall wall of rocks stood in front of the skeleton with the skill in the middle of it. Edelweiss couldn't see the rest of it, since it was blocked by the wall. Edelweiss dismounted and looked up at the hideout.
"Wow, you guys did all this in one day?" she asked.
"With a little magic," Black Widow said. "The password is 'Draco forever'."
"In Dragontongue," Edelweiss said, it wasn't a question.
"Yup," Black Widow said. "But since you're one of us, you get in free." They approached the hideout. Apollo stuck his head out through a big gap in the Red Death's teeth. He beamed when he saw who was there.
"Edel you're back!" he exclaimed. "We missed you."
"I missed you guys too," Edelweiss said. "Sorry I wasn't here to help you build this."
"You're fine, we're still adding finishing touches on it," Apollo said. "You can help with that." Just then Avalon stuck her head out.
"How's your back?" she asked.
"I think the rash has gotten bigger," Edelweiss said. "I plan to ask Grandmother later, she might know what's happening."
"Well, come in and see this place first," Avalon said. She and Apollo went back in. A moment later the Red Death's jaws opened just wide enough to let Edelweiss and Black Widow inside. They walked between the bottom teeth and into the hideout, and the jaws closed again. Edelweiss looked around the place. Inside the skull were several perches for the dragonets to roost on. The ledge behind the nasal cavity had a ladder leading up to it, and a slide leading down from it. A large fire pit had been dug in the middle of the floor. Edelweiss spotted the pulley system that opened the jaws, and the crank that operated it. She then moved out to the rest of the hideout. The ground beneath the spine and ribs had been turned into a large swimming pond that was plenty deep enough for diving into. The rest of the space was taken up by what looked like a massive jungle gym. It was made up of ladders, ropes, nets, bridges, swings, platforms, hammocks, and more slides. Large canvas sails had been strung across the giant ribs.
"Mother put a spell on this place to keep all weather off the hideout, as well as ocean waves," Avalon said.
"This place is amazing," Edelweiss said. "And looks like a lot of fun."
"You want to hang the flag?" asked Eider, handing Edelweiss a folded Draconian flag. She took it with reverence.
"It would be my honor," she said. Eider gestured to a flag pol that was set between the skull and the spine. Edelweiss went up to it and attached the flag to the hooks.
"This one too," Avalon said, handing her a second flag. This flag was divided into four sections, and each rectangle was a different color and had a different insignia in each rectangle. There was a red one with Apollo's golden insignia of a dolphin leaping over a lyre surrounded by a wreath, a teal green one with Avalon's purple maple leaf, a black one with a red hour glass insignia, a purple one with the head of a king eider duck, and in the very center of the flag was a large edelweiss flower. Edelweiss attached it to a second set of hooks. When flags were secure, she raised them to the very top of the flagpole and secured the loose ends. They all stood back to watch the two flags fly high over the hideout.
"The other classmates made fun of the fact that I'm named after a flower," Edelweiss said.
"I'm named after a duck," Eider said. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. We're Draconians, not vikings." Edelweiss smiled. Then she scratched at her rash.
"I should go see Grandmother," she said. "I'll be back." She turned around and headed for the way out. Apollo opened the jaws for her and she left the hideout.
She headed for the throne room and found her grandparents sitting on the ledge throne with Tenor and Windwalker. They looked down at her.
"Grandmother, I need you help," Edelweiss said. Aurora flew down to her, looking concerned.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I have this terrible rash," Edelweiss said. "And it's gotten bigger. Mother doesn't know what's caused it."
"How long have you had it?" Aurora asked.
"Since the day we found the Red Death," Edelweiss said. "It's really itchy." Aurora laid down and beckoned her over. Edelweiss knelt in front of the queen with her back facing her. Aurora lifted her shirt and looked at the rash. She paused at what she saw.
"What is it?" Edelweiss asked. "Is it bad?"
"I, I don't know," Aurora said, stunned. She ran her talons gently over Edelweiss's back. "I have never seen this before. Re!" Re flew down and joined them.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Look at this," said Aurora. Re looked at his granddaughter's back. The skin was red but also slightly lumpy.
"Looks like hives," Re said. "A lot of them."
"Feel it," Aurora said. Re touched the skin. It felt hard, rough, and oddly familiar.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.
"Has to be," Aurora said. "Edel, where else are itching?"
"On my neck and arms," Edelweiss said. Aurora examined both those areas. The skin felt the same.
"It's the same here too," she said. Edelweiss felt the skin of her arm where she was itching. It did feel different. She trembled.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Edelweiss, I think you're developing dragon skin," Aurora said, in surprise.