Chapter 2

Back at Dragon Island Re had just filled the rest of his family in on what had happen with Aurora. They were all very worried about their queen.

"What kind of queen just runs away from her problems?" asked Windwalker.

"Just because she's a queen doesn't mean she's perfect," Re said.

"Will she come back?" Tenor asked.

"Of course she will," Re said, then his face fell. "At least I hope she will; if what the riders said is true and she's turned invisible, than we have no chance of finding her."

"Well what do we do now?" Chris asked. Re sighed.

"We'll have to just, carry on," he said. "Serenity how's Atlantica?"

"I'm pretty sure she can go home tomorrow," Serenity said. "I should probably take her stitches out."

"Go check on her," Re said. "Aurora will contact us if she needs help."

"Yes sir," Serenity said.

She and Chris flew their dragons back to Berk where Serenity checked on Atlantic. She was a lot happier now that she was no longer in pain. Serenity took her stitches out while Atlantica played with Edelweiss. She had already started learning Dragontongue. When the stitches were removed Atlantica sat up.

"Sorry about the queen," she said.

"I hope she's okay out there," Chris said.

"Why did she run away?" Atlantica asked.

"The Berkians found out she has magic," Serenity said. "And she's afraid they'll use her magic as a weapon."

"What makes her think that will happen?" asked Atlantica.

"She's seen it happen before," Tenor said. "An evil man used a dragon's magic to take over the world, and that scares her to death."

"What exactly happened in that battle?" Windwalker asked. "It must have been really bad to scare her."

"It's a bit of a long story," Tenor said. "So make yourselves comfortable."

He told them all what happened in the Battle of the Bewilderbeast, the events that led up to it and the events that followed. Serenity had heard this story before. Tenor told them how the battle was started and how it ended. He explained how Toothless became an alpha, in more detail. When he was finished they all thought it over for a minuet.

"Well that would explain why Aurora's so afraid to tell the humans about her magic," said Windwalker.

"It's not just her fear," Tenor said. "It's Lord Draco's too."

"Where were you that whole time?" Chris asked Serenity.

"I had malaria," Serenity said. "I wasn't able to go."

"Ooh, I've heard of malaria," Windwalker said. "It's not supposed to be curable."

"Well that just shows what a genius Vitamin is," Serenity said. "But I don't think he would have that cure if Aurora hadn't given him the formula."

"So she's done a lot of good deeds with her magic," Atlantica said.

"And that's all she wants to do," Tenor said. "She wants her magic to be used for prosperous reasons."

"I wonder how Re's doing over there, by himself," Windwalker asked.

"He's not by himself," Serenity said. "He has the children to keep him company."

"Still we should all be there for him," Chris said.

"My wings are still functional," said Atlantica. "I can go spend the night there."

"Good idea," said Serenity. She packed up her stuff and put it on the back of her saddle. She then put Edelweiss into her special seat. She and Chris then mounted their dragons and headed back to Dragon Island, followed by Atlantica.

When they got there the found Re sitting by himself of the ledge throne. The hatchlings had gone to the tide pools. Re looked so sad. His head was hidden under his wing, his body curled up in a ball. He clutched his crown in his talons.

"Hello your majesty," said Atlantica softly. "Are you doing ok?" Re peeked out from under his wing to see who had spoken.

"Yeah, I'm hanging in there," he said, coming all the way out. "How's your shark bite?"

"All healed up," said Atlantica. "I will spend the night on this island, then be on my way."

"Very well," said Re. He sat up. Serenity dismounted and removed Edelweiss from her seat and set her down. She walked over to Re.

"Gampa," she said. She reached out her small hand and touched Re's shoulder. He looked down at her and lowered his head to her level. She moved her hand from his shoulder to his face. He purred and licked her face. She giggled, then hugged his snout. Re gently pried his snout free and wrapped his tail around his granddaughter and lifted her onto his back. Serenity and Chris sat in their chairs. Serenity began pulling her hair into a braid (or a dragon tail in her terms). Edelweiss slid down Re's outstretched wing. She squealed in delight as she slid to the ground. She then ran to Windwalker and climbed onto her back.

"Serenity, did you bring Wings of Fire?" Tenor asked.

"Yes," Serenity said. "I have both The Brightest Night and Moon Rising." She reached into a pouch and pulled out the two books. She opened The Brightest Night and began reading.

At the far end of the island the four young dragons were splashing around in a series of large tide pools. They were big enough that the young dragons could learn to swim and practice fishing. They occasionally snacked on crabs and starfish. At the moment Apollo was wading through one of the shallower pools, with his face in the water, looking for wildlife. Avalon, Black Widow, and Eider watch him.

"We should bring Edelweiss down here sometime," said Black Widow. "She'd love it."

"Humans mature slower than we do," Eider said. "She's not old enough for the tide pools."

"Oh," said Black Widow, sadly.

"Yeah," Avalon agreed. "But Mama says that..." She stopped and hung her head. Black Widow and Eider exchanged a glance. Apollo lifted his head from the water when he heard his sister stop talking.

"You okay?" he asked

"Yeah," said Avalon. "I just miss Mama."

"I do too," Apollo said. "I keep expecting her to come around the corner and tell us it's time to go home." Avalon nodded in agreement. Apollo went back to looking for wildlife. Suddenly an eel swam out of its little hole and went right in front of his face. Apollo panicked.

"Ahhhh an eel!" he screamed. "GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!" He scrambled backwards and fell over into another pool, in a rather awkward position. The other three laughed. Apollo scowled at them.

"Oh go ahead laugh," he snapped. He got to his feet and shook the water of his red scales. He then went into a playful crouch, wagging his tail, his eyes on Eider. When he wasn't looking Apollo jumped on him and knocked him into the other pool. They rolled around, splashing water everywhere. The two females laughed. Apollo and Eider chased each other, occasionally splashing water at Black Widow and Avalon. The two females finally joined them and they had a big game of tag through the tide pools. When they got tired of that, they played Hide N' Hunt; a dragon's version of Hide and Seek.

They played for hours. They had a great time. Suddenly a shadow passed over them. They looked up to see Windwalker circling the tide pools.

"I was hoping it would Mama," said Avalon. Black Widow gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe she'll be back tomorrow," she said.

"Yeah," Avalon said, she didn't sound hopeful. Windwalker let out a loud call.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Black Widow said. She spread her wings and flew up to meet her mother. They left the tide pools. The three remaining dragons waited for their parents to come get them. Ruby and Harmony flew over the tide pools, they called for Eider. He said his good bye and followed them, they headed for their cave. Avalon and Apollo looked at each other.

"Maybe Mama will come get us," said Apollo.

"I don't think so," said Avalon. At that moment Re landed in front of them.

"Time to come in," he said.

"Did Mama come back?" Apollo asked. Re shook his head sadly. He spread his wings and took off again. Apollo and Avalon followed him back to the throne room. When they got there Re laid down on the ledge and both his hatchlings snuggled next to him under his wing. He nuzzled them and cover them with his wing. He looked towards the open doors where he could see the stars and ocean. He woke up this morning with his mate right next to him. Now he was going to sleep without her.

"Please be safe Aurora," he prayed out loud. "And please come back to us, we really miss you." He then laid his head down and fell asleep.

It was a very tough night for the three of them. Apollo and Avalon kept waking up thinking that their mother was home, but rushing out of bed only to find that she wasn't. They would then cry themselves to sleep, wanting their mother so bad. Re was having a hard time as well. He really missed Aurora and was worried sick about her. He kept waking up wondering where she was and if she was okay. But he had to be strong for Apollo and Avalon.

Finally at around dawn the three of them were able to get some sleep. When the sun came up Tenor, Windwalker, Black Widow, and their riders came into the throne room. They saw the three dragons sleeping quietly. Tenor lowered his head to his niece and youngest nephew and nuzzled them. Avalon opened her eyes to bright sunlight. She saw a dragon silhouetted against the light.

"Mama?" she said. Apollo then woke up.

"Mama!" he cried. They both jumped to their feet and nuzzled the dragon they thought was their mother. But went they were fully awake, they saw that it was only Tenor. When they realized this they crawled back to their spot, sadder than ever.

"Ah, though night huh?" Tenor said. Re lifted his head.

"It feels so weird not having her there," he said. He stretched his wing out and placed it on the spot where Aurora was supposed to be.

"We miss her too you know," Tenor said. Chris and Serenity sat in their chairs, and Black Widow sat next to her cousins.

"Do you think she's still alive?" Tenor asked. "This is the first time she's been without backup."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," said Windwalker. "She has magic."

"True," said Re. "Hey, Serenity will you keep reading, it helps."

"Yes sir," Serenity said. She pulled out The Brightest Night and continued reading.