Chapter 2
That night there was a violent thunderstorm. Huge waves rolled up the lagoon and smashed against the castle. The stormproof windows suffered both pounding rain and waves. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed.
Chris woke up from a nightmare. It was an old nightmare that he had quite often. He dreamt that he was drowning at sea. The shadow of a dragon flew overhead. It would circle over the ocean for a long time, before flying off and leaving him to drown. He tried to swim to the surface, but he only sank deeper. He blacked out only to wake up in cold sweat.
He sat up with a surprised grunt. The waves splashed against the windows, for a moment he thought he was underwater still. He buried his face in his hands. Thunder boomed again, making him jump. The waves backed off for a moment. Chris took a few deep breaths and calmed down. Then he looked over at Serenity, she was still fast asleep. A pang of jealousy rose up inside his mind, Serenity could sleep calmly without any nightmares. All because she stayed in a nice warm castle, while he was fighting for his life everyday. He laid back down, and fell asleep eventually.
The next morning Chris woke up to find Serenity awake and dressed already. She wore a lavender chiffon dress, the shoulder straps made of violet mesh. Her hair had purple ribbons braided into it, and wrapped around the crown of her head.
She smiled when she saw that Chris was awake. Then she saw the troubled look on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Chris got out of bed and went out onto the balcony that ran around the outside of the room. The storm had ended and the sea was still. However, the minuet he saw the ocean he remembered his nightmare. He looked down at the ground below. Just then Serenity came up next to him. She didn't say anything, she just waited.
"I had a nightmare last night," Chris said after a few minuets. "It's one that I've had multiple times before. I see myself drowning in the ocean. Now a days I can't even look at water without my mind bringing it up."
"Aquaphobia," said Serenity. "The fear of drowning."
"Serenity, I know you're an intelligent girl," Chris said. "But please, just give it a rest." Serenity bit her lip, looking sheepish.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Chris scowled, refusing to look her in the eye.
"There's nothing you can do this time," Chris said, harsher than he meant. "You've never been trapped underwater, no oxygen, no way out. You can't help me, so just leave me alone." Serenity didn't say anything, she didn't even cry. She just sighed.
"Okay then," she said quietly. She turned and went back inside.
She went downstairs, not even noticing when she passed Windwalker. She was crossing the bridge when she heard the beating of wings and the thud of talons on stone. She turned to see Harmony right behind her, looking very worried.
"Harmony, what's wrong?" Serenity asked.
"It's Ruby," said Harmony. "There's something wrong with him. I tried to rouse him this morning but he wouldn't wake up. He just moaned and covered his head with his wing. He needs help." Serenity stroked her neck.
"It'll be okay, I'll get Tenor and my bag," she said. "Then we'll set out for Apple Grove."
"Alright, but please hurry," said Harmony. Serenity turned right around and went back inside. Harmony waited anxiously.
Chris still looked out at the ocean. He sat in a deck chair when he got tired of standing. Just then he heard a dragon take off. He looked to see Tenor flying through the spires of the castle, with Serenity on his back. They vanished over the horizon. Chris leaned back in his chair. He wasn't really in the mood to figure out where she was going. He figured she'd be back soon anyway. He soon got up and went back inside.
Tenor and Serenity followed Harmony over the Draconian landscape. No one said a word. They flew as fast as they could. It took them only two hours to reach Harmony's cave. They landed on the ledge. Serenity dismounted and took her medical bag off Tenor's saddle. They followed Harmony inside. Tenor was quite surprised at the design of the cave.
"You like the jungle much?" he asked.
"My kin lives in the jungle," said Harmony. She looked up at the tapestry on the wall.
"The Quetzalcoatl dragons?" Tenor said.
"Yes, that's why I have these feathers instead of webbed fingers like most dragons," said Harmony. She ruffled her feathers. "I'll tell you about them sometime." They looked and watched as Serenity knelt beside Ruby.
Ruby looked like he was in pain. Serenity stroked his neck. He shifted at her touch, but he didn't wake up.
"Ruby? Can you hear me?" she whispered in his ear. Ruby moaned. Then he opened his eyes, not very far, but far enough that he could see Serenity.
"Serenity?" he said hoarsely. He tried to sit up but Serenity pushed him back down gently.
"Shhh," she whispered. "It's okay. Are you not feeling well?"
"No," he moaned. "I feel heavy and my belly hurts." He suddenly began coughing out fire. Serenity stroked him, she noticed a change in temperature. Usually a dragon's scales felt warm, like laundry fresh out of the dryer. But Ruby's scales burned her skin.
"How long have you felt like this?" she asked him.
"Since last night," Ruby coughed. "It wasn't as bad then."
"You mean you feel worse?" Serenity asked, really getting worried now. Ruby nodded.
"Was is something you ate?" Serenity asked.
"Maybe," Ruby said. "But all I ate yesterday was a few fish and a mushroom."
"What kind of a mushroom?" Serenity asked.
"I don't know the name of it, but it looked like a mushroom Emerald fed me once," Ruby said, coughing between words. "It resembled a large brown prune." Serenity pulled over her medical bag and pulled out a small, yet thick, book. She flipped through it. Harmony came up and laid beside her mate. Tenor went over to the pool at the back.
"Don't drink too much of that, it's our winter supply," said Harmony. "Throughout the summer rainwater collects in there, and we use it when the lake is frozen over and it's too cold to go outside." Tenor nodded in understanding. He lapped up a small amount of water. Serenity continued to flip through the book. She landed on a picture of a certain mushroom. She showed the picture to Ruby.
"Did the mushroom look like this?" she asked. Ruby looked at the picture. He recognized the mushroom at once.
"Yeah that's it," he said. Serenity looked at the mushroom again, and read the paragraph below it. Suddenly she looked really upset. She lowered the book.
"That was a False Morel," she said, she sniffed. "It's poisonous, and there's no cure yet." Harmony looked stunned.
"Oh no," she said. She nuzzled Ruby's head. He tried to smile at her, but couldn't find the strength. He moaned and coughed up more flames.
"Isn't there something you can do?" Harmony asked.
"We'll think of something," said Serenity. "Until then, we need to keep him cool." Tenor couldn't help but notice that all three of them looked hopeless. He knew that Serenity would be devastated if Ruby died again.
"If I might make a suggestion," he said.
"We won't be needing your venom," said Harmony.
"Maybe Aurora can do something with her magic," Tenor said, ignoring the comment. Harmony and Serenity looked at each other.
"It couldn't hurt I suppose," said Harmony. "It is her job after all."
"We should get him some water first," said Serenity. "Then I'll go ask her." She reached into her bag again and pulled out her water canteen. She made Ruby drink it, which wasn't hard as he was very thirsty. When the canteen was empty Serenity put it down. She stoked his snout.
"You'll be okay," she whispered. "I won't loose you again." Ruby lifted his head, through pain and heaviness, and nuzzled her face. Then he laid back down and closed his eyes. Serenity stroked his neck one last time, then gathered her things and stood up. She left her medical bag next to the pool. Then she and Tenor went out onto the ledge. Down below they could see Eider swimming in the lake with a few dragonets from the town. Serenity mounted Tenor and they took off, flying as fast as they could towards the castle.
Back at the castle, Chris was wandering about the castle. He was starting to regret snapping at his wife and making her fly off. He was wondering where she had gone. His look of distress was something Windwalker was quick to notice.
Aurora was showing the Berkians her collection. They planned to explore the cost later. Aurora led them across the bridge to the gallery.
"What do you keep in your collection?" asked Hiccup.
"Oh, items of mythological value," said Aurora. "Many of them have powerful magic."
"You sure it's a good idea, showing these things to Snotlout and the Twins," said Astrid.
"Trust me, I have taken that into consideration," said Aurora. "These items are perfectly safe from them." They entered the gallery. Aurora used her magic to make the room big enough for all the Berkian dragons. They disbursed and looked at the various items in the room. Aurora stood by the door as extra security.
"There's more downstairs," she said, pointing to the ramp at the back. Eret spotted Sol's chariot.
"Where did you get that?" he asked. They all turned to see what he was talking about.
"That's Sol's chariot," said Snotlout. The chariot was made of ivory, with gold trim, a golden sun on the front, and on the wheel hubs. The tongue was made of dark, polished wood.
"Yes," said Aurora sadly. "Sol donated it to my collection. As compensation."
"Oh," they all said at once.
"Have you used any of them?" asked Snotlout. Aurora gave a sad smile.
"These items weren't really designed for dragons," she said. "I keep them because they're too dangerous for humans."
The Berkians continued to look at the items. Snotlout went to touch the Cup of Life, but yelled in surprise and pain when it burned him. Aurora looked satisfied.
"I put a spell on these items, preventing theft," she said.
"Can you touch them?" asked Snotlout. Aurora went over to the cup, and picked it up in her talons. She didn't even flinch. She put it back on its pedestal.
They went down the ramp to the floor below, where the Argo and the Trojan Horse was kept. While the others looked at the ship, Hiccup went up to Aurora.
"Is there a forge nearby?" he asked. "One of the rods on Toothless's tail got kinked during the flight."
"The owner of the nearest forge, is Steel," said Aurora. "I'm sure she'll be happy to fix it for you." Gobber overheard this.
"A female blacksmith?" he scoffed. "You seem have things a bit backwards over here."
"She's the best blacksmith in town," said Aurora. "She taught the other blacksmiths everything they know."
"Prove it," said Gobber, crossing his arms. Aurora narrowed her eyes.
"Alright then," she said. "We'll go see her now." They made their way back up to the bridge. When they got there, Hiccup mounted Toothless and Gobber got on Grump. The dragons spread their wings and took off.
They followed the Queen towards the city of Bluegreen. Hiccup was looking at the large city. He noticed that there were no roads or pathways, just strips of dirt and grass between buildings. Aurora flew towards a pillar of smoke in the middle of the city. She soon landed next to a stone and metal building. A tall smokestack in the shape of a dragon's head poked out of the roof. Inside the place was littered with straw and metal shavings. The walls were lined with metal molds, and bits of dragon armor. A huge stone furnace stood in one corner. Next to it was a large anvil, lower than normal, with a strange looking device over it that held a hammer. The forge was empty for the moment. Aurora looked around.
"Steel!?" she called. There came a flutter of wings and a large Blackfang flew down from a loft overhead. Her scales were blue grey, her wings, spines, horns, talons, and eyes were the color of steel. She seemed both surprised and pleased at the sight of visitors.
"Hello your majesty," she said. "What brings you to my forge?" Aurora used a translation spell, so everyone could understand each other.
"This one needs a piece fixed," said Aurora, looking at Hiccup. Steel glanced at Hiccup.
"Humans," she said, interested. "Never had humans in here before. Chris sharpens his own swords." She looked Hiccup up and down.
"You're the blacksmith?" said Gobber. Steel glanced at him with her snout wrinkled in disgust.
"That I am," she said strongly. "And from the stench, I'm guessing you are too."
"Gobber doesn't think a female blacksmith is as good a male one," Hiccup said. Steel snorted and a puff of smoke shot out of her nostrils.
"That be his opinion," she said. "Now, what is it you need fixed?"
"On our way here, we flew through a strong wind that bent a piece of Toothless's metal tail fin," Hiccup explained. "I was hoping to improve it."
"Hmm," said Steel, sounding interested again. "Let me see." Toothless stepped forward and swung his tail around so she could see it. Steel sat on her haunches and bent over the metal tail fin. Her quick eyes saw the damaged rod faster than her venom killed. She carefully removed it. It was bent in a 90 degree angle. She tutted.
"Such fine craftsmanship," she said. "I will have it fixed in no time." She took the rod over to the anvil. She used her own fire to heat up the bent section. She placed the rod on the anvil, under the hammer. She turned a small wheel, which activated the mechanism, which moved the hammer up and down. While she hammered, Aurora heard the roar of a dragon landing outside.
"Aurora!?" came Serenity's panicked voice. The Queen exited the forge and found Serenity and Tenor outside, she instantly knew that something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Aurora asked.
"It's Ruby," said Serenity, trying to stay calm. "He ate a poisonous mushroom that doesn't have an antidote. I was hoping you would use your magic to save him. Please." Aurora put a wing around her shoulder.
"Calm down," she whispered. "It'll be okay. I have something that can help, come." She stepped back and took off. Serenity quickly mounted Tenor and they followed.
They flew back to the castle and went back to the gallery. Aurora landed on the bridge and Tenor landed next to here. Serenity dismounted and they went inside. The Berkians had left by now, and were out over the cost. Aurora went over to the pedestal that held the Cup of Life. She picked it up and handed it to Serenity.
"The Cup of Life?" said Serenity, surprised.
"Yes, it has the power to heal any poison or any injury," said Aurora. Serenity took the cup very carefully.
"There's a trick to making it work however," Aurora continued. "It only works with the purest and cleanest of water."
"Like rainwater?" asked Serenity.
"Yes," said Aurora. "And most importantly; you must have faith that it will work, the minuet you loose faith the magic will stop working, and Ruby will die." Serenity took a deep breath.
"It may take a long time for the magic to kick in," Aurora continued. "But you mustn't lose faith."
"I understand," said Serenity. She put the cup in her saddle bag. "And I'll bring it back when its job is done."
"Thank you," said Aurora. "Now hurry." Tenor and Serenity went back outside. Aurora came out onto the bridge to watch them fly off. Windwalker landed next to her.
"Where are they of to in such a hurry?" she asked.
"Ruby's very ill," said Aurora. "Serenity's going to take care of him, I loaned her the Cup of Life."
"Never off duty huh?" said Windwalker.
"No, no one here is off duty," said Aurora.
"Food and rest are overrated?" asked Windwalker.
"Mmm," said Aurora. "More, they'er not rated enough."
"Anyway, have you seen Chris?" Windwalker asked. "I haven't seen him since this morning, he looked distressed." Aurora became alert. She looked at Windwalker, surprised. Then she stared strait ahead, her face went blank.
"He's in the armory," she said. "He'll be there for a while it seems."
"Thanks," said Windwalker. She turned around and took off again. Aurora went back into the castle.