Chapter 4

The next morning Edelweiss and the dragonets woke up as the sun came over the horizon. The fire was long out. They all got up, and stretched. Avalon used her magic to give Edelweiss a change of clothes. Once that was done, Edelweiss mounted Apollo.

"Which way to Breakneck Bog?" asked Black Widow. Avalon conjured up a map and spread it out on a flat rock. It showed the whole archipelago. Avalon pointed out Berk and Dragon Island.

"We are here," she said, pointing to the island the farthest from Dragon Island. "Breakneck Bog is way on the other side of Dragon Island." Black Widow looked at the map, memorizing it.

"Okay I think I can get us there," she said after a while. Avalon rolled up the map and made it vanish.

"What about weather?" Edelweiss asked. Apollo instantly stared strait ahead with a blank look on his face.

"I don't see any bad weather happening," he said finally. "Do you Avalon?" Avalon mimicked his expression.

"There will be bad weather, but yeah nothing for today," she said.

"Come on then, what are we waiting for?" said Black Widow. She shuffled her wings anxiously. Apollo looked over his wing at Edelweiss.

"Hold on tight," he said. Edelweiss gripped the saddle. The dragonets spread their wings and took off. Black Widow led the way towards Breakneck Bog. They flew in formation. They sang songs the whole way. Avalon used her magic to create a tail wind.

They soon lost sight of Screaming Island. They flew passed other islands and sea stacks. There were other dragons out fishing and socializing. They paid the dragonets no heed. They steered clear of Dragon Island. When they were well passed it they picked up speed. They headed east towards Breakneck Bog.

Back at Screaming Island Banshie emerged from his cave for a fishing trip. He suddenly spotted the chard logs and ashes where the dragonets had camped. He flew down to investigate. At that moment Queen Fireworm landed on a tall column, followed by many of her workers. Banshie turned to acknowledge her.

"What brings you way out here Queen Fireworm?" he asked.

"The Draconian King and Queen just sent me a Hermes Dragon," Fireworm said. "Apparently the young Draconian heirs have gone missing. Re and Aurora have the whole archipelago looking for them. Have you seen them?" Banshie considered. His gaze fell back on the chard logs.

"I haven't seen them no," he said. "But someone came here, it might have been them."

"Well if you do see them, report it to Dragon Island," Fireworm said. Banshie nodded. Fireworm turned and flew off.

The dragonets were approaching Breakneck Bog. They went in for landing. Suddenly they were surrounded by dense grey fog. The dragonets remained calm, as they new what the fog was.

"Hello Smokebreaths!" Avalon called. A large silver and black Smothering Smokebreath hovered in front of them.

"Ah, the runaways," he said.

"We prefer the term, explorers," said Apollo. "Are you Pirate?"

"Yes," Pirate said. "Your parents are looking for you."

"We'll go back to them," said Black Widow. Edelweiss reached into Apollo's saddlebags and pulled out the metal candlestick.

"Can we trade this for one night on your island?" she asked. Pirate looked at the candlestick and considered.

"I suppose," he said finally. "But on the condition that you return to Dragon Island tomorrow." The dragonets looked at each other.

"Alright, it's a deal," Black Widow said, crossing her talons where Pirate couldn't see them. Pirate took the candlestick and the Smokebreaths flew off. The dragonets descended towards the island.

They flew through the trees, looking for a clear place to land and set up camp. But the air was filled with fog, which made seeing very difficult. The dragonets flew even lower. Then suddenly Black Widow smacked into a large pine tree. She fell to the ground dazed. The other dragonets landed near the tree, and Edelweiss dismounted. All of a sudden the tree started to fall towards Black Widow.

"Look out!" Edelweiss cried, she ran towards her dragon. Black Widow looked up at the tree. She went to move out of the way, but the tree landed on her tail. She roared in pain. The other dragonets rushed to her side. Her tail was pinned under the tree trunk.

"Are you okay Black Widow?" asked Apollo.

"It got my tail," Black Widow groaned, clearly in pain. Apollo, Avalon, and Eider tried to roll the tree off her tail. But the tree was big, and very heavy.

"Edel, come help," Avalon called. There came no answer. The dragonets grew concerned. They left the trunk for the moment.

"Edelweiss!" Apollo called. "Where are you?" Suddenly there came a loud cry, from the top of the tree. The went over to investigate. Eider ran along the top of the trunk. He spotted Edelweiss pinned to the ground under the tree's branches. Apollo and Avalon crawled through the branches to her. Avalon nudged her.

"Edel, are you okay?" she asked. Edelweiss opened her eyes. Her face had been scratched up by the rough bark, her face was covered in blood.

"We'll have to lift the tree off both of them," said Eider.

"How?" asked Apollo. "This tree's way too heavy." Avalon sighed.

"I wish our parents were here," she said. "They would know what to do."

"You're right," said Eider. "Well we should at least get Edel out." The three of them began breaking the branches around Edelweiss.

They kept at it for a long time. Avalon helped Edelweiss worm out from under the tree. After an hour and a half of breaking branches, she came free. Avalon flew her to an open patch of grass and began checking her injuries. She didn't have any broken bones, just a lot of bleeding cuts. Apollo and Eider turned their attention to Black Widow.

"Can you use your magic to get the tree off?" Eider asked. Apollo looked up at the big tree, intimidated.

"I've never moved anything that big before," he said. Avalon walked up next to her youngest brother.

"I'll help you," she said. "Eider will you keep Edel company?" Eider nodded and obediently trotted over to Edelweiss and laid next to her. Avalon and Apollo faced the tree. Black Widow watched them with curiosity.

"Has this ever been done before?" asked Apollo. "Two dragons combining their magic?"

"No," said Avalon. "No royal family has had two dragons with magic before." She turned back to the tree. Both she and Apollo focused on the task at hand. They combined a levitation spell, and focused everything on the large tree. Then it slowly began to lift off the ground. They didn't lift it far, just far enough so that Black Widow could slide her tail out from under it. Once she was free, she joined Eider and Edelweiss. Avalon and Apollo set the tree down. Black Widow looked down at her tail fins. They were both intact, but the little bones jutted out at disturbing angles. She tried to move them, but ended up screaming in pain.

"Oh, I think I broke my tail fins," she moaned. Avalon examined the damage.

"Yes, in both of them," she confirmed.

"Can you fix them?" Black Widow asked.

"I can set the bones, but they will have to heal on their own," Avalon said. "If I were you, I wouldn't try flying for a while." Black Widow's face fell.

"So we're stuck here?" asked Apollo. Avalon nodded.

"Afraid so," she said. Edelweiss started crying.

"How do we get home if we can't all fly?" asked Apollo. They all thought for a minuet.

"We could ask Pirate for help," Eider suggested. "I'm sure he can get us home."

"Or we can make our own way home," said Avalon. "We got ourselves into this mess, we should get ourselves out."

"Okay, then what do you want to do?" asked Black Widow. Avalon considered.

"We could build a raft, put Edel and Black Widow on it then fly it back to Dragon Island," said Apollo.

"Great idea," said Eider. "What will we use for rope?"

"We'll use vines," said Apollo. "They're all over."

"First things first, we have to get to the coast," said Black Widow. Avalon turned her attention to her friend's broken tail fins. She took in a deep breath, and exhaled it on the tail fins. Instantly the bones straitened and Black Widow roared in pain. But as soon as the pain came, it went away and she could breath easy again. Apollo helped Edelweiss onto his back and the group of five made their way towards the coast. The dragonets could smell the ocean and followed the sent. Black Widow could still feel her broken tail fins every time she swayed her tail.

The sun began to set as they reached the ocean. They found a place to camp for the night. They decided to start building the raft first thing in the morning. As they all watched the sun set and the stars come out, they thought about their elders. They were really starting to miss them.

"I'm so sorry guys," Black Widow said quietly. "If I hadn't suggested we run away from home, we'd all be safe at home in our beds."

"Ah, don't worry Black Widow," said Avalon. "We'll get home"

"I guess being on your own didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped," said Black Widow.

"We're probably going to be in big trouble when we get home," said Apollo.

"That's okay, at least we'll be home," said Avalon, nuzzling his neck.

Edelweiss meanwhile was laying next to Apollo. She was trying to fall asleep, but she wasn't sleepy at all. She sat up and leaned on Apollo's shoulder, she was close to tears.

"It's no use, I can't get to sleep without my mommy," she said sadly.

"You miss her huh?" said Eider with sympathy. Edelweiss nodded. Then she did what her mother would do in this situation, she started singing a song and the other dragonets joined in.

Edelwiess

When the sun went down

And everyone was sleeping

If I heard a sound

Like things around me creeping

She would wrap her arms around me

And tell me "Don't be scared"

And I knew that I was safe because

She's always there

Black Widow

When the storms would come

And things would seem so bad

And I'd wanna cry

Almost

I'd listen to my dad

He promised that the rain would pass

The day would soon be fair

And I never was afraid because

He's always there

Together

Always there

Someone you can count on

To comfort you

Always there

Like a green, green valley

You can come home to

Eider

I remember now

Like it was yesterday

She would hold me close

And then I'd hear her say

"You know I'll never leave you...

You can find me everywhere

In the morning light, the evening star

I'm always there"

Together

Always there

Someone you can count on

To comfort you

Always there

Like a green, green valley

You can come home to

The song came to an end, and they all felt slightl better. They curled up together. They said a silent prayer to Lord Draco, telling him they were sorry for being so restless, and asked him to help them get home. Then they fell asleep.