Chapter 7

Nessie swam up her lake new new friends following her. They were very quiet so they wouldn't be found out. They had lost sight of the castle, and now saw nothing but moonlit landscape as far as the dragon eye could see. Nessie ducked her head underwater so only her fin and her hump stuck out of the surface. Toothless laid down and watched the other dragons fly around. There was no sound; except for the beating of wings, and the sloshing for water made by Nessie's flippers and tail. She would occasionally blow her spout like a whale. They didn't need the steam cover any more since the castle was long out of sight.

Soon they saw the end of the lake. There was another small village with boats docked on the water. Nessie steered clear of it and headed for the shore. She heaved herself onto the sand and the dragons landed around her.

"Thank you," Toothless said, as he jumped to the ground.

"Why not go back to the river?" asked Scauldy as he came onto the land.

"Too many humans," Nessie said. "They will defiantly find you there. This way you can get a head start."

"Won't you come with us?" asked Torch. Nessie chuckled.

"I can't move over land," she said. "I was born in this lake and I plan to die in this lake."

"We need to get moving," said Windwalker. "Thank you for your help Nessie."

"My pleasure," Nessie said, then she turned to Eider. "I'm sorry about your parents Eider. I wish I could have stopped it." Eider looked at her with sad eyes.

"It's okay," he said. "They're with Lord Draco now, in the Dragon Heaven."

"Please feel free to come back and visit me anytime," Nessie said happily. "I don't get too many dragon visitors, mostly humans who try to catch me for money."

"We certainly will," said Windwalker. "When that man is long gone." Nessie nodded and began to scoot back into the water. She turned and swam towards the middle of the lake. When she was far enough she dove under the water and disappeared with one last wave of her tail. The dragons turned towards each other.

"Let's go," said Toothless. Eider got on his back and they set off. They ran through the heather and headed for the top of the nearest mountain.

"We can all fly back to Berk," said Torch. "I can give Toothless a lift, and we will be home in no time."

"Yeah," said Eider, Avalon, and Apollo in unison.

"Do you know the way?" Toothless asked Torch. The Typhoomerang looked at the ground.

"No I don't," he said. "Dose anyone know the way back to the archipelago?"

"I don't even know where we are," said Fanghook. "I was kept in the dark the whole trip up here."

"It's warmer here," Windwalker said. "So we must be south of the archipelago, but I don't know how far. Tenor's better at navigating than I am."

"Well I guess we have to stay here somewhere until help comes," said Toothless. Avalon looked at Eider. He was slumped over Toothless's back his bad paw dangling over the side.

"Where's home for you?" she asked.

"My original home was destroyed in an earthquake and an avalanche," said Eider. "My parents and I were on our way to look for a new home. I heard my mother talking about Draconia."

"Cool will you go there after all this?" asked Apollo, who couldn't help but join in. "You can live in our big castle."

"Thanks, I'll think about it," said Eider. He still didn't look happy. Avalon jumped onto Toothless's back and laid next to him.

"What were your parents like?" she asked. Eider sighed.

"My father was a Blackfang and my mother was a Whipertail," he said. "They loved to travel and hunt for exotic foods. They always told me about their travels for nest time stories. They took me on some travels as well and would bring back some of those exotic foods they hunted. They hunted animals that humans have never even heard off, like these things called elephants. Then they told me that they were going to give me siblings so I would have someone to play with while the hunted. That's what they were going to get started on when we got to Draconia." He started crying again.

"I'm really sorry Eider," Avalon said. "I wish there was something I could do for you. But you always welcome to play with Apollo and me."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be much fun with this busted paw," Eider said he flicked his broken paw. He suddenly hissed when his paw started hurting again. Avalon tried using her magic again, but it didn't work.

"Oh dear, looks like I'm not as good as my mother when it comes to magic," she said sadly. "She's way better than me."

"Well thanks for trying," Eider said. He kept flinching with every movement he made.

"I'll try again later," said Avalon. "It's probably because I'm tired." She yawned and stretched her wings. Apollo looked really bored.

"Come on up Apollo," said Avalon. "There's room for you." Apollo jumped up and laid on the other side of Avalon. Toothless didn't seem to mind having all three of them on his back, he was used to having something there that it made him feel at home. They continued to walk through the heather and the moonlight. They all stayed on the ground so Toothless wouldn't be isolated. The three youngest dragons soon fell asleep, curled up in a ball between Toothless's wings.

Back out at sea Eret had successfully steered his ship through the huge typhoon that blew them far off course. When it was passed Eret was totally exhausted. The other riders and dragons had taken shelter in the lower deck. Chris continued carving something out of wood. He spent hours on it until he fell asleep. When anyone asked him what he was making all he said was that it was a surprise for Serenity. They had been as sea for two months, going on three. Now with the storm having blown them of course, they worried about ever getting there. Skullcrusher went up to the Queen.

"I need another sniff your majesty," he said. Aurora used the tip of her tail to reach into her saddlebags and took out her youngest son's crown. She looked at it sadly.

"It's been so long since I sent those two out to play," she said. "I know they'll be okay, but I still miss them."

"We'll find them your majesty," said Skullcrusher. "We'll do whatever it takes." Aurora nodded and held out the crown. He sniffed it then sniffed the air.

"Hey the sent's stronger," he said. "Not by much, but it's definitely stronger."

"We're getting closer?" said Aurora. Skullcrusher nodded. The Queen breathed a sigh of relief. She used her magic to fill the sails with wind. Skullcrusher went up to Eret and guided him in the right direction. The ship picked up speed and they zipped across the water. The dragons and riders sat on the deck and watched the ocean go by. At that moment Serenity's Hermes Dragon flew down and landed in front of Chris. She had a scroll in her talons. She gave it to Chris then waited. Chris put down what he was doing and opened the scroll. He read it to himself.

Dear Chris. Here's the update with Edelweiss. She's growing really well, nothing's showing yet, but she gets really hungry. It's a good thing I have this apple tree because Edelweiss doesn't seem to like fish. The dragons are staying away like I asked them. I mostly spend my days cooking or making baby clothes, a blanket, and a baby sling so I can carry her with me in the saddle. How's the search going? Right back soon.

Love,
Serenity and Edelweiss.

At the very bottom of the paper Serenity had drawn a white flower with green leaves and a yellow center. It was very pretty. Chris looked at the thing he had been carving. He was almost done with it, so he decided to finish it before sending it back to Berk with his reply. He dismissed the Hermes Dragon and went back to his carving. Aurora put a lot of wind in the sails so the ship would go at top speed. The ship sped across the water for one more month at sea.

Elsewhere the dragon fugitives had stopped for the night. When Avalon woke up she found herself laid beside Eider and Apollo, sandwiched between the two Night Furies. Above her, Avalon saw that Torch had used his wings to form a shelter over all of them. All the dragons were in the shelter, except Scauldy who liked sleeping under the stars where he could soak up the morning mildew. Avalon yawned and got up, stretching her wings. She went outside to bright sunlight. It was quite warm, but very wet. They were high on a hill with no water in sight. The landscape was uniquely beautiful. Avalon thought she was looking at one of the paintings in the castle gallery. She turned to see Scauldy fast asleep, and blending in with the green grass. Avalon was about to go back inside and wake the others when a herd of deer ran passed. Avalon thought she would catch everyone breakfast. She spread her wings and flew after the deer. She flew over the herd and picked out a deer to catch. She wasn't ready to take down the big buck, and it was against dragon law to hunt the females and fawns. So she picked out a decent sized stag and followed its every move. She waited until the deer came to a stop then circled it. She quickly dove down and shot jade green flames in a ring around the deer, isolating it. The animal roared for the help, but the rest of the herd had run off. Avalon then dove at her prey and landed on its back. She dug her claws into its flesh at it thrashed around. She waited until it wore itself before she went in for the kill. She pounced on the deer's head and used her talons to slit its throat. The deer fell over and died. Avalon threw back her head and roared a cry of victory. Then she picked up her kill with all four sets of claws and flew it back to the others.

She arrived just as the others were waking up. She flew down and dropped the deer in front of them. She landed on top of it looking proud of herself.

"Wow you caught that?" asked Torch.

"Yup," said Avalon. "I caught you all breakfast." She jumped off her kill and Toothless brought it into the shelter. While Fanghook cooked it Apollo watched with the other two hatchlings.

"I wish I could hunt that well," he said. "But I couldn't even catch a fish, or a rat."

"Well we can teach you how to hunt," said Windwalker. "Just like we taught you to fight."

"Okay," said Apollo. "What about you Eider?"

"I already know how to hunt," said Eider. "My parents taught me everything they knew. But with this broken paw I don't think I should be hunting." He flinched as he shifted his weight.

When they finished breakfast the dragons continued moving to a save place to hide from the humans. Avalon and Apollo rode with Eider on Windwalker's back. They went between the mountains. There weren't many trees, at least not enough to make a forest. They crossed a brook and entered a narrow valley. They kept their eyes open for a cave. As they walked and searched Windwalker filled the hatchlings in on what plan they had come up with while they were sleeping. They planned to find a cave so they could hide while they waited to be rescued. They figured that the Draconians and the Berkians were looking for them, and Windwalker planned on making it easier for them. The hatchlings liked this idea, since flying was out. They helped look for a cave. They looked all day. Fanghook caught everyone pheasants for lunch. Then they came to a wide river.

"Maybe there's a waterfall we can hide behind," said Avalon.

"Good thinking," said Toothless. "Let's follow the river." They changed their course and went parallel to the river. Scauldy went into the water and swam alongside them. They soon came to a huge waterfall that was wider than it was tall. Scauldy swam under it to look to see if there was a cave behind it. Sure enough there was a very big cave behind the water fall. The floor of the cave was a bit higher than the water level. The ceiling was very high. Scauldy couldn't tell how big the cave was, as it didn't have a visible back wall. There were several cliffs and ledges on the side walls. It looked perfect for a hideout. Scauldy swam back out to the others.

"Come in, this place is perfect," he said. The other dragons followed him into the cave and onto the floor. They shook the water off their scales and looked around.

"Wow, this place is huge," said Apollo.

"Let's set up and make ourselves at home," said Windwalker. "We don't know how long we'll have to wait here." The dragons explored the cave, which went deeper into the mountain. There was a passage that led to an even bigger cave. Toothless lit it up with a plasma blast. Avalon looked up to see openings in the ceiling of the cave, perfect for coming and going.

"This place is perfect," said Windwalker said.

"Yeah, it like Lord Draco put it here just for us," said Apollo.

"Maybe he did," said Torch. "Either way, we'll be very safe here." The others couldn't agree more.