Chapter 2

Chris looked very surprised at this. Re and Aurora got to their feet.

"What?" Chris asked. "You're my real parents?"

"That's right," said Rufus. Chris looked at Serenity and she looked back at him. She took his hand in hers and gripped it gently.

"How can you be sure?" she asked Valkyrie.

"He looks the same as he did as a baby, only he's older," said Rufus. "I'd know him anywhere." Chris looked a bit lightheaded. They were all looking at him.

"This cannot be happening," he said finally. "I thought you were dead. That's what I was told." Both Rufus and Valkyrie glared at Re and Aurora. The two dragons looked like they had made a mistake.

"Why would you tell him we were dead you monsters?" hissed Rufus.

"We found him in a burned house, and he was the only surviver we found," said Re. "We thought you had perished in the blaze."

"So you thought you could just take him? Finders, keepers?" Rufus snapped.

"I think we have some explaining to do," said Valkyrie. "These dragons had no way of knowing what happened."

"Fine," said Rufus roughly. "Though I have no intention of telling these devils anything."

"Not for them, for him," Valkyrie explained, pointing at Chris. Rufus was still glaring at the dragons.

"Only if these beasts leave now," he said. Re and Aurora looked at each other again, then at Chris.

"Alright," said Re. "But we'll be back. Avalon, Apollo, Eider, let's go fishing." The young dragons flew out of the tree and landed in front of the King.

"You too Windwalker," said Re. Windwalker sighed.

"I'll be right behind you," she said. The dragons all took off, except for Tenor who was still sleeping. Edelweiss started crying when her dragon flew away. Serenity went over and picked her up.

"How old is she?" asked Valkyrie.

"A year and half," said Serenity.

"Well sit down this is a long story," said Valkyrie.

"Hold it," said Rufus. "That one has to go too." He pointed at Tenor. Chris went over and roused his uncle. Tenor finally woke up.

"Hey you family want you to join them for hunting," Chris said. "They just left." Tenor sat up and yawned.

"Okay, I guess I could hunt for a while," he said. He got to his feet and stretched out his wings to keep them from cramping up.

"I'll be back later," he said. Then he saw Valkyrie and Rufus. "Hey how you doing?" He then spread his wings and flew off. When he was gone everyone sat down. Serenity sat Edelweiss on her lap, she was still crying because she missed Black Widow.

"Well back when you were a baby Chris," Valkyrie began. "We lived in a thriving village, much like this one. Only we didn't have dragons as pets. Any dragon we did see either passed us by or hunted our livestock. Rufus was the chief and I was the healer. We were always under threat from neighboring villages. They seemed jealous of our good fortune. One of them finally attacked our village and set it on fire. Our warriors fought back but we were outnumbered and outmatched. Anyone they killed anyone who put up a fight, and everyone else they took as prisoners. Rufus and I heard the invaders planning to find the next one in line to be chief, ending the dynasty. We broke free of our captors and ran back to our house which was still standing. We rushed in to hide you, but I had just put you in a basket and hid you in the large hearth when the invaders broke in. They demanded to know where you were but we told them never. So they put us both in shackles and forced us out of the house. Then the leader grabbed a torch and threw it on our house. I was afraid you would be burned to death. But Rufus said that since our hearth was made of stone it would keep you safe from the fire. We were put in boats and shipped away from our village. Rufus and I immediately began planning an escape so we could go back for you. The ships were suddenly attacked by a sperm whale. It sank the ship we were on, which allowed us to escape. We swam the best we could away from the ship. Sadly we were the only survivors, the others drowned, there was nothing we could do. We swam all the way back to our village. It took us all night to reach it, but we made it. The village was completely burned down. We went to where our blacksmith shot used to be and found something to get the shackles off with. Then we went to what was left of our house. The hearth was still standing, it was completely untouched. We looked in side it and found you missing. We panicked and looked all over the village but to no avail. Then we decided we had no choice but to leave the village, we figured a hungry animal had carried you off or something. So with a heavy heart we rebuilt one of the ships and set out to start over. I suggested coming here to Berk, but Berk was under threat of dragons and we didn't want to put up with them constantly running a muck. So we found the next habited island. It's a few miles west of here, very large and prosperous. Rufus suggested having another child, but it would have been too much of a painful memory for me so I said no. But now that we know you're alive, you can come home and be with your real family again." Chris said nothing but leaned back in his seat.

"So what'd you say son?" Rufus asked enthusiastically. "You want to come home with us?" Chris thought about this, very hard.

"Well," he said finally. "I am very happy with my life."

"With the dragons you mean?" said Valkyrie. "Those dragons are just animals."

"It's not just the dragons I was talking about," Chris said, looking at Serenity. Edelweiss had finally fallen asleep.

"Well they can come too," said Valkyrie.

"There's not enough room in our house for them though," said Rufus. "Nor in our boat."

"I'm accustomed to camping," said Serenity. "And I could fly over on my dragon. Room won't be a problem."

"No, no dragons," said Rufus. "They are too much trouble, I don't want to have to deal with them." Serenity and Chris looked at each other. Serenity held Edelweiss close to her.

"Don't you have family you could return to?" asked Valkyrie. Serenity shook her head.

"They're dead last I heard," she said. "These dragons are all I have, in addition to Chris."

"Maybe we can expand our house so it's big enough for all three of them," said Valkyrie to Rufus. "Or we could build them their own house."

"That will take a lot of work," said Rufus. "I would have to work overtime for at least a year before we have enough money to even start."

"So if I go with you I won't ever see them again?" Chris asked.

"I never said that," said Rufus. "I only said it would take time before we can add her to the village. It would be a real shame to leave them in the clutches of a dragon."

"I love the dragons," Serenity said.

"So do I," Chris said. "They're aren't monsters to us."

"Well it's your choice," said Rufus. "You can stay with the dragons or you can come with us and be with your own kind. You don't have to decide anything yet, we still have to get our ship repaired."

"Okay," said Chris. "I will think about it."

"Let's get started on your ship," Hiccup said. They all got up and went back down the hill.

The dragons returned shortly afterward. Chris told them everything he had just been told. Re and Aurora were astounded by the story. When he got around to talking about the decision he had to make they looked sad.

"Well we want you to be happy," said Aurora. "It might do some good to be living with your own kind."

"And they are your real family, we're just dragons," said Re. Chris looked all the dragons he had grown up with. Then he turned to Serenity and Edelweiss.

"What do you think I should do?" he asked. Serenity held his hand.

"Well they're related to Hiccup and Valka," she said smiling. "I'm sure they can't be that bad. And it sounds like they want you back, unlike my old parents."

"I wish I could bring you all with me though," Chris said.

"I think you'll be fine without us," Re said. But Chris could tell from the look on his face that he didn't want to believe it.
"I have some time to think about it," Chris said. "A week at least until the boat is fixed." The dragons seemed to drop it for the moment.

Chris thought about his decision for hours, day and night. Every time he asked the dragons, all they said was it was up to him. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make. If he went with his real parents he would be where he was meant to be all along, with his own kind; but he would also have to leave the dragons forever, not to mention not seeing his family for years. On the other hand he wanted to know what it was like to live a normal life. Buy the time the ship was ready to sail he had made his decision.