Two more months had passed since Edgar and Henna's hectic shipwreck. Now the two were fully recovered and healthy.
Unfortunately, there was one member for the family that wasn't feeling well.
Zenna's face was creased with worry as El fussed in her arms, crying feebly as the fever raged through his tiny body. Henna and Edgar were visibly distraught as they tended to their ailing baby boy. Edgar soaked rags in cold water while Henna, with Stryka's help, heated water in the soapstone cauldron to brew a remedy Gothi had prescribed to them.
El whimpered and squirmed in the little portable nest of blankets and furs. Serpent and Serpentine both peered through the window of the Fiersome house and cooed comfortingly to him.
"There, there, El…We'll have you healed up in no time…" Aurora murmured soothingly as she gently pressed one cool rag to El's fever-red skin. Henna finished making the brew and poured it into a bowl.
Zenna sighed and looked out the window. The day was a rainy one and not a Viking or dragon was out in the downpour. And the cold wasn't doing any good for El, who trembled despite the heavy heat of his fever.
When Henna tried to give him a bit of the brew, El cried out and looked up at his big sister Zenna with wide, terrified eyes. "I know you don't like the look of that icky medicine, sweetie…But it'll make you feel better so you need to take it…" the one-eyed Fiersome lady said soothingly.
Taking his older sister's word for it, El let his mother give him the green brew. The little boy forced himself to swallow but puckered his lips in disgust. The brew mostly consisted of herbs and some spices, flavored with honey to make it tolerable enough to swallow, and had a horribly bitter taste.
"That's my brave little one…We'll have you all better in no time…" Henna said softly.
El then yawned, beginning to feel tired. "I'll take him upstairs so he can sleep. Our room's warmer," Zenna offered. Henna and Edgar nodded and Stryka followed her Rider up to her room along with Aurora and Dart.
In Zenna and Aurora's room it was a lot warmer so it was more comfortable for El to sleep there. But as Zenna was about to place El on her bed, her little brother waved his chubby little arms at the shield portrait of Zenna and her family. Zenna followed El's violet eyes and noticed that he was looking at Elias…their big brother.
The one-eyed Dragon Doctor smiled sadly as she remembered her dear big brother…whom El would never meet until the time came for him to go into Valhalla…
"Would you like to hear a story, El? A story about that brave boy on the painting?" Zenna whispered. El cooed softly, indicating that he was listening.
"It wasn't so long ago when I met that brave boy…I was only a little baby, just like you, when I met him. He was the most amazing and most loving person in the whole world. That brave boy was always there to protect me. Whenever I was scared, he was the first to comfort me. If I felt like I was too different for the world, he inspired me to embrace being different. And you know what, El? That brave boy was best friends with me and Uncle Hiccup. He always had a lot of fun ideas for us to try…and he even inspired us to question about the previously bad relationship we Vikings had with the dragons. Back when Uncle Hiccup and I were little, we thought dragons were bad guys. But the brave boy thought different…"
Zenna suddenly felt choked up and paused for a little while to stop herself from crying. Then she continued her story.
"Unfortunately…that brave boy died early. He was killed in a dragon raid before he got a chance to see if Vikings and Dragons could become friends. Uncle Hiccup and I were so sad that he was gone. But, over time, we moved on because we knew that the brave boy wouldn't want us to be sad forever. And Uncle Hiccup and I did it. We proved that Vikings and Dragons can become friends for him. And even if he's no longer on this earth, that brave boy is in Valhalla and always looking after all of us. I've been visited by him in my dreams a lot of times…and he always tells me that he's proud of us and happy to see us happy…"
At this point, Zenna let her tears flow down her cheeks and they dropped onto the blankets and furs swaddling El. The little baby boy gurgled unhappily and reached out a warm hand to try brush the tears off his big sister Zenna's face. Aurora and Dart comforted Zenna.
"You know who that brave boy is, Elias II Stoick Fiersome?" Zenna asked softly, bringing her baby brother closer to the painting. El gurgled and cooed, reaching out to touch the painted boy next to his big sister on the shield. "That brave boy's name…was Elias Fiersome. Our big brother," Zenna told him as she brought El's face to hers. El's infant brain was surprisingly fine-tuned for his age and he understood.
He now knew why he was called Elias II. It's because he had a big brother who had also been named Elias. His big brother was Elias the First while he was Elias the Second. And the reason why his big sister Zenna was crying now was because she missed big brother Elias. El couldn't quite understand why his big brother was gone, but he knew that his passing made Zenna sad.
El cooed and patted Zenna's face with his little hands and smiled a weak gummy smile. Zenna smiled gently and softly kissed El's forehead.
"Let's get you all ready for bed," she said softly as she gently placed El on her bed, adjusting the blankets and furs to keep him cozy. Yawning El fell asleep with Stryka curled around him to keep him from getting cold.
Zenna sighed and looked at her family's shield portrait. She made a mental note to have Bucket paint her family a new portrait that had little El with them and their dragons. But she made sure to remember to keep Elias in the picture. She knew her older brother would want that.
'Oh, Eli…I wish you were here…' Zenna thought before a soft voice from behind her suddenly spoke.
"But I am here, Zen…"
Startled, Zenna spun around to see the ghost of her big brother kneeling right next to El. Stryka had also fallen asleep and was oblivious to the ghost next to her. Zenna stared at Elias with wide eye until she dared to speak.
"E-Eli…?" she squeaked out, just as her parents came upstairs. Henna covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming while Edgar's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Hi, Mom. Hey, Dad," Elias smiled as he looked at his sleeping baby brother.
"Odin's ghost…what's going on here…?" Edgar muttered, completely confused.
"El was feeling bad so I came here to check on him. I think he'll be fine by tomorrow," Elias shrugged lightly and smiled lovingly at the sleeping baby boy.
"Elias…Elias is that really you…?" Henna whispered, reaching out to touch her son only for her hand to go right through him.
"Yeah, Mom, it's me…" Elias said softly. Zenna got over her initial shock and went to her older brother.
"He's amazing, Zen…I love him so much…" Elias whispered, tears trickling down his ghostly face. "Eli, why are you crying?" Zenna asked softly.
"I just wish that I hadn't left so soon…I could help you three raise him…" Elias said, crying a little.
"That's what your mother and I wish sometime, too, son…" Edgar sighed as Henna began to cry a little herself. Zenna smiled as she watched El sleep.
Suddenly, Aurora's crown began to shimmer and glow brightly. "Aurora, what's with your crown?" Zenna asked. Aurora took the crown off of her head, "I-I don't know..."
Then, her Amulet sent out a beam of light towards Elias's ghost form... and to everyone's utmost shock... his ghost form became real...!
The whole family was completely speechless. Aurora's Amulet... had brought Elias back to life..!
Elias looked over his body and saw that he was wearing a green tunic with a brown fur vest along with a pair of brown pants and boots with fur on the inside. "E-Elias...i-is that you...?" Zenna stammered, reaching a hand out to her brother. Elias did the same thing... and they pressed up against each other...! Zenna gasped as tears fell from her face and she lunged at her brother, hugging him with such joy.
Edgar and Henna soon followed after, both astonished that their eldest son was finally back with them. The commotion woke up El and he cooed the hugging family. Hearing his coos, the family separated and El gave a confused look to Elias. Elias went over to the little baby and reached out a hand to him "Hey there..." he cooed.
El cooed and babbled, and reached out, grabbing Elias's fingers and he giggled even with the fever. Aurora placed her crown back on her head and just smiled at the reunited family.
"You're doing a great job protecting him…" she reassured him.
"Hey, that's what big brothers do," Elias finally laughed. Dart and Stryka cooed and nudged Elias. "Hi Dart, Hi Stryka.." Elias greeted earning gummy smiles from the two dragons. Then Elias turned his attention to Aurora, "Hey there.."
"Hi..." Aurora said shyly.
"I'm guessing you're Aurora, huh?" Elias questioned. Aurora nodded and Elias smiled, "Thanks for looking after my sister for me."
Aurora grinned, "Y-Your welcome..." Edgar, Henna and Zenna smiled at the two.
The next day, El was completely better and babbling happily.
You can bet, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, Stoick and Gobber were jawdropped to see Elias Fiersome actually alive!
"H-How..?" Hiccup managed to ask.
"Turns out... Aurora's crown can defy life and death.." Zenna joked, gesturing to her brother.
"Unbelievable.." Fishlegs gasped. The twins and Snotlout had no words.
Stoick and Gobber were equally shocked to see the Fiersome teenager.
"So... what did I miss out on..?" Elias asked everyone.