Chapter 4

Back on Dragon Island the Draconians were sitting in the throne room. No one said anything. They were all worried about their children. They hadn't gone to Berk since they were locked up.

"Their week is almost up," Aurora finally said. "Then we can go get them." Re stretched out his legs.

"Unless Hiccup extended it," Re said sourly.

"Think positive Re," said Aurora. "Maybe we should go to Berk and make amens. I don't want a war to break out over this."

"I personally can't bare to go back there," Tenor said. "Not until they're free." They all murmured in agreement.

"Well, I don't want them to think we abandoned them," Aurora said. "If we make amens now, maybe their sentence will be shortened. If we never make amens, we may never get them back." They exchanged a glance. Re took a deep breath.

"Chris, where's Serenity?" he asked.

"She's still in our room," Chris said. "She wouldn't get out of bed this morning. I don't blame her though."

"Go get her," said Re. Chris got up from his chair. He mounted Windwalker and headed for their room, Tenor followed.

They landed on the balcony. Chris dismounted and entered the room. The bed was empty.

"Serenity!" Chris called.

"In here," came the reply. Chris and the dragons headed to Edelweiss's room. They found Serenity sitting on Edelweiss's bed. She clutched her lace handkerchief in her hand. Tears were running down her face. Chris sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I want her back Chris," she sobbed.

"I do too," Chris said. "We'll get her back, we'll get them all back." He gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"She's all alone over there," she said.

"She'll be okay," Chris said. "Their week is almost up, and we'll get them all back." Serenity took several deep breaths and calmed down. Tenor entered the room.

"Re and Aurora want to head to Berk and get back on good speaking terms with the vikings," he said.

"Okay," said Serenity. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. She and Chris got up and went out to the balcony with their dragons. They mounted up and joined Re and Aurora as they headed towards Berk. Ruby and Harmony joined them as well.

They got to Berk and landed in the plaza. The vikings and dragons were going about their daily activities. Hiccup and Toothless came up to them.

"Long time no see," Hiccup said.

"Yeah, we had to blow off steam," Re said.

"I don't blame you," Hiccup said. "No parent wants their child in jail." Re flared his nostrils.

"We want them back," Tenor said sternly.

"Three days," Hiccup said. "That's how much longer they have, then you can have them all back." Windwalker stamped the ground with her front, left paw. She snorted angrily.

"Anyway," said Aurora. "The real reason we came back here is that we want to be able to move on once they're released. I wish to start now."

"Well, alright," said Hiccup. Serenity dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. Tenor nuzzled her gently. She stroked his snout.

"You have to believe me, I had no desire to lock them up," Hiccup continued. "But I couldn't let trouble like that go unpunished. It was either lock them up in a cell, or let the vikings of this village run them over and possible hurt them."

"Just for chasing sheep?" said Tenor.

"Afraid so," said Hiccup. "We're very protective of our animals. We depend on them for survival. I've seen farm animals die of fright when young dragons chase them." Tenor rolled his eyes at that.

"I'm glad I'm not one of them," he said. "Being a prey animal is not fun."

"You use sheep for Dragon Racing," Re pointed out.

"They've adapted," said Hiccup. "And we're always careful."

"Where are they now?" asked Aurora. "Are they okay?"

"They're okay your majesty," Toothless said. "The other dragons and I take the liberty of checking on them every hour. They're unhappy, but they're alive and unharmed." All the Draconians breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, three more days and you can come get them," Hiccup said.

"Can't you shorten it?" asked Windwalker, and Tenor translated.

"No, I'm done with being flexible," Hiccup said. Windwalker growled. Toothless growled back. The two Night Furies growled at each other. They were about to pounce on each other, when they heard singing coming from the jailhouse. It was Edelweiss singing her tomorrow song. She was singing a lot quieter than earlier, but they caught every word.

"That's beautiful," said Aurora.

"It is," Hiccup admitted. "Shame I had to stop it the other day. The vikings were getting annoyed by it." Re narrowed his eyes.

"How can they find that annoying?" he asked.

"She was keeping everyone up at night, singing the same song over and over," said Hiccup. "The other dragonets were singing it too, very loudly. I had to quiet them down, it was nothing personal."

"Singing is part of our culture," Re said, his voice rising. "I reckon it was all they had left. They should be allowed to sing as loud as they want."

"Re," Aurora said sharply. Re took several deep breaths and calmed down.

"Sorry," he said after a while.

"I know you guys are upset," said Hiccup. "I'm keeping them as safe as I can. Folks are still unhappy with them. If I let them out now they'll get trampled." Re sighed.

"Very well," he said.

"Also this will make sure they don't do it again," said Hiccup. "Then they won't be locked up again."

"Alright," said Re. "We'll be back in three days for them." Serenity and Chris mounted their dragons.

"We're leaving them here?" Tenor asked.

"There's nothing we can do for them now if we want to keep the peace," said Aurora. "Now that we know we'll be able to move on afterwards, we can go home and come back in three days." Tenor nodded in agreement. Windwalker still looked angry, but she just glared quietly. The Draconians spread their wings and headed back to Dragon Island.

Up in the Dragon's Heaven, Lord Draco had over heard the conversation. He was fully aware of the situation. He too wanted the dragonets released. He glanced down in the seeing pool below him. It allowed him to check on the royal family and their friends. He used his magic to focus the seeing pool on Edelweiss. She had stopped singing and was sitting quietly. Draco noticed the cut on her arm. It was badly infected was making her sick. He heard the child cough roughly. However Draco wasn't concerned. He drummed his talons on the glass floor, deep in thought. Then he smiled as the flames lit up in his mind. He looked back at Edelweiss and her friends.

"Don't worry my children," he said. "You'll be released tomorrow, I will make sure of that. I have a plan." And he got right to work.