Chapter 3

"Dragon skin?" said Edelweiss, shocked. "Am I turning into a dragon?" The king and queen exchanged a glance.

"I'm not sure," Aurora said. "I've never seen this before. Father will know, I'll ask him."

"Will he come down here?" Edelweiss asked.

"Most likely," Aurora said. "Until then..." She placed her paw on Edelweiss's back and used her magic to ease the itching. "That should help some."

"Thank you," Edelweiss said. "Should I keep going to the Academy?"

"Yes," Aurora said. "I don't foresee this killing you." She felt Edelweiss trembling. "Hey, it's okay. We'll work this out."

"I don't want to turn into a dragon," Edel said. "I like being what I am."

"We'll figure it out when Father comes," Aurora said. "Why don't you go back to the hideout."

"Thank you Grandmother," Edelweiss said. She got up and hugged Aurora. Then she left the throne room.

She rejoined her friends at the hideout. Apollo opened the Red Death's jaws to let her in.

"What did Mother say?" asked Avalon.

"She says I'm developing dragon skin," Edelweiss said. "She doesn't know why. She's going to ask Draco." The dragonets exchanged a glance.

"Are you turning into a dragon?" Black Widow asked.

"I hope not," Edelweiss asked. "Draco will have all the answers."

"Well good," Apollo said. "Come on let's play. There's nothing else we can do now." They all agreed.

As they all climbed all over the hideout. The dragonets asked Edelweiss about her first day at the Academy. She told them all that happened.

"Did Hiccup like his present?" Avalon asked, as she perched on a swing.

"He did, he was quite surprised," Edelweiss said. "I'll be camping here for a week soon."

"Cool," Apollo said. "You can sleep in this hideout with us." Edelweiss smiled.

"Does Father know about this?" Avalon asked.

"I'm sure he will," Edelweiss said. "It'll be fun. And maybe Black Widow can go to classes with me after that." Black Widow beamed at that. They ran all over the hideout, and dived into the water bellow.

They spent the rest of the day in their hideout until the adults came to get them. Black Window and Edelweiss went back to their room and crawled into bed. Edelweiss's itching had gone away and she was able to sleep, also her nerves about the Academy had gone down. She looked forward to seeing the Berkian dragons again.

The next morning Re and Aurora had already informed Chris and Serenity about Edelweiss's conditioned. They were worried but Aurora assured them that Draco would have answers. Edelweiss strapped on her sword, kissed her parents goodbye and mounted Black Widow. They took off and headed for the Academy.

They landed next to the entrance, the other viking students were there already with the instructors. Edelweiss dismounted.

"Are those guys mean to you?" Black Widow asked, looking down at the other vikings.

"I can ignore them," Edelweiss said.

"Okay, but if it gets bad let us know," Black Widow said. "We'll come and back you up." Edelweiss smiled. She hugged her dragon and went into the arena. Black Widow took off and headed back to Dragon Island. The other vikings looked up at her as she entered.

"What's the matter with your face?" asked Igor, pointing at Edelweiss's left cheek. Edelweiss ran a hand over her left cheek and felt the incoming scales.

"We don't know," she admitted. At that moment Fishlegs called attention.

The day was spent talking about the different classes of dragons and what dragons fell into what category. Edelweiss listened quietly, asking occasional questions. They started with the Stoker Class dragons; such as the Monstrous Nightmare, the Typhoomerang, and Tiny Terror. Fishlegs told more stories about the rider's encounter with each dragon. After the Stoker Class, they moved onto Boulder Class Dragons; such as the Gronckle, Whispering Death, and Eruptadon. Fishlegs told them about Dark Deep, the ancestral home for all Boulder Class dragons. Then they moved onto Sharp Class dragons; such as the Deadly Nadder, Timberjack, and Razorwhip. Fishlegs told Edelweiss personally that her grandparents fell under Sharp Class since they were a distant cousin of the Razorwhip. Then they learned about the Fear Class Dragons; such as Zippleback, and Snapptrapper. They then talked about the Tidal Class Dragons; such as Scauldron, Thunderdrum, and Subbmaripper. Edelweiss was interested in the story of when the riders freed a Subbmaripper from dragon hunters. After that was the Mystery Class Dragon; such as Changewing, Boneknapper, and Arromorwing. Fishlegs told them all about when the riders went with Gobber to find a Boneknapper that had been stalking him to get the last bone he needed.

"You went without your dragons?" Edelweiss asked. "I thought you went everywhere with them."

"Gobber didn't have a dragon at the time," Fishlegs explained. "We had to help him row the ship."

"Oh," Edelweiss said and she went back to listening.

"And finally, the Strike Class Dragons," Fishlegs continued. "These dragons are the most advanced. They have high intelligence, can travel at supersonic speeds, and very strong jaws. The first dragon in this class is the Skrill. My fellow riders and I have seen this dragon in action. They have the ability to channel lightening, and shoot it at their enemy. They can also use the lightning to store energy for hibernation. They can stay frozen in a block of ice for centuries. There's not much that can take down a Skrill, except water. You put them in water, they can't channel lightening.

The dragon that is even more advanced than the Skrill, is the Night Fury. Night Furies can be very lethal, and are the biggest mystery in the Archipelago. Until Toothless was shot down, we didn't even know what they looked like. Even to this day we know very little about them, we don't even know where Toothless came from."

"I'm sure he does," Edelweiss said. "He knows where he came from." Fishlegs ignored her. He went on about the different dragon classes and Edelweiss zoned out for the rest of it, running her hand over the scales on her cheek.

At long last the class ended and Edelweiss went back up to the village to wait for Black Widow to pick her up. She sat on a bench in the plaza and waited. Toothless spotted her and sat beside her to keep her company.

"What did you guys talk about today?" he asked.

"Dragon classes," Edelweiss said, watching the sky. "It sounds kind of silly to me, especially with hybrid dragons like Black Widow."

"It's silly to us too," Toothless said. "But it's harmless."

"Apparently no one here knows where you came from," Edelweiss said, looking at him. "But I bet you know where you came from."

"I do," Toothless said. "But I don't talk about it. There are things about my past that I wish to forget." Edelweiss didn't push it. She stood up on the bench so she was as tall as the Night Fury.

"Have you seen any other Night Furies before you met Hiccup?" she asked.

"Nope," Toothless said. "I was kind of a loner before I met him." He looked up at the sky. "No sign of Black Widow yet?"

"No, but I'm sure she'll come," Edelweiss said. "She would never forget about me."

"Well if she doesn't, you can stay in our house," Toothless said. Edelweiss glanced up at the big house next to the Great Hall.

"My mother has a house in this village," Edelweiss said. "I can stay there."

"Oh yes," Toothless said. "But it would be awfully lonely up there with out your family."

"It would," Edelweiss agreed.

Just then they heard the roar of an approaching dragon. Edelweiss jumped off the bench expecting it to be Black Widow. But the dragon that landed in front of her was certainly not Black Widow. This dragons was as large as house. He had emerald scales, and dark blue wings. His claws, horns, spins, and eyes shimmered gold. He wore a gold head plate on his head. He was the most beautiful dragon Edelweiss had ever seen, and although she had never seen this dragon in recent memory, she knew exactly who he was.

"Draco?" she said.

"Hello Edelweiss," he said. His voice sounded young and warm.

"Where's Black Widow?" Edelweiss asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's just fine," Draco assured her. "I told her I would pick you up today. It seems have some explaining to do." He lowered his head to get a better look at her. He then looked over at Toothless. "Thank you for watching her soldier, I'll take it from here." Toothless bowed and left. Draco looked back at Edelweiss. "Don't be afraid." He put his head on the ground in front of her and motioned for her to climb on. She got on behind his golden horns. Draco lifted his head and turned around. He spread his massive wings and took off.

He glided over the ocean silently. Edelweiss clutched his horns.

"Well, where should I start," Draco said. "You know that your mother was given dragon's blood when she was around your age."

"Yes," Edelweiss said. "Daddy said she was mauled by wolves and Grandfather gave her his blood."

"In doing so, Re's blood made her half dragon," Draco said. "That gave her some of a dragon's strength and immortality."

"Am I turning into a dragon?" Edelweiss asked. Draco took a deep breath.

"No, that's been done before," he said. "Your mother passed her dragon's blood to you. You were born half dragon." He chuckled as though he was pleased with himself. "Now that you're older, the dragon in your DNA is becoming more dominant. That's why you're developing dragon skin."

"What else is going to happen to me?" Edelweiss asked.

"You'll develop the strength, speed, stamina, and immortality of a dragon," Draco said. "You will not only be immune to fire, but you'll be in control of it. In addition to the scales you'll also develop dragon eyes."

"Will it hurt?" Edelweiss asked.

"Nothing too agonizing," Draco said. "The dragons will like this change, but the humans will not. No human will except you, except your parents, so don't be too trusting of them."

"What about Hiccup and his riders?" Edelweiss asked.

"They'll except it fine," Draco said. "But they won't be around forever." He picked up speed as he neared Dragon Island. "I'll stay around until the transformation is complete, it shouldn't be too long."

He reached Dragon Island and landed on the beach in front of the Red Death Hideout. He lowered his head and Edelweiss got off. They approached the giant skull. Draco looked at the skeleton with a look of sadness. He shrank to the size of a bull moose. He knocked on the skull. Avalon stuck her head out and was stunned.

"Grandfather," she said. Apollo stuck his head out.

"Hello my children," Draco said pleasantly. "May we enter?" Apollo ducked back in and a moment later the jaws opened. Draco ducked inside and Edelweiss followed. Once inside Apollo closed the jaws.

"Do you like our hideout?" Black Widow asked, who was perched on a ledge. Draco glanced around.

"Very unique," he said.

"You're not angry that we made a hideout out of the skeleton of one of your soldiers?" Draco snorted.

"The Red Death was no soldier of mine," he said bitterly. "I gave her this island over 300 years ago to be come allies with the humans. But that failed when she became a tyrant and enslaved the local dragons here." He glanced around again. "I no longer care what you do with her skeleton." He laid down and lit the fire pit with his golden flames.

"So, Edelweiss is half dragon," Avalon said.

"Yes," Draco said. He looked so pleased with himself. "She's the first human to be born half dragon."

"Does she have a dragon's heart like my brother?" asked Avalon.

"No, she was born before Chris was giving a dragon's heart," Draco said. "However, I might give Black Widow the power to do the same should it be necessary." Edelweiss and Black Widow exchanged a glance. Edelweiss heard her belly rumble. Draco looked at her.

"Time to eat I think," he said. "But first, perhaps I can add something to this hideout." He looked at the crank that opened the Red Death's jaws. He shot his golden flames at it. The crank was gone when the fire cleared.

"What did you do?" asked Avalon.

"Put a small charm on the hideout," Draco said. "Now the jaws will open by themselves, but only when the password is spoken, and when you want to exit."

"Oh, thank you Grandfather," said Apollo. Draco smiled.

They left the hideout and went back to the ledge throne. The adults were there already. They all sat around the bonfire and feasted on smoked meat. Draco explained to everyone about Edelweiss being born half dragon. He told them not to worry, as long as there were dragons around she wouldn't be harmed.

Once everything was explained the subject was changed.

"What's it like where live?" Black Widow asked Draco. "It must be so amazing."

"Very amazing indeed," Draco said. "Rastaban is the name of my home. A shining place. My glass palace sits on a vast ocean that allows me to see all that goes on, both in the Dragon Heaven and on Earth."

"Is that where my parents are?" Eider asked. Draco looked at him.

"Your parents are living with family on the edge of a large lake," he said. Eider looked at the bonfire sadly.

"I miss them," he said.

"Yes, they miss you too," Draco said. "But they're very happy that you've found these friends." Eider smiled. "I think it's time for the young ones to go to bed."

"I agree," Aurora said. Edelweiss and the dragonets looked at each other. Avalon yawned.

"I wonder if we can bring the Red Death Hideout to Draconia when we claim the throne," Apollo wondered aloud.

"You can do what you like," Draco said. "Now off you go." Edelweiss mounted Black Widow and they all headed up to Edelweiss's room.

Draco bid everyone good night then left the room. He swelled to the size of a house again. He spread his wings and took off. He circled to the peak of the of the volcano and perched on the rim. He looked at Berk far in the distance. Just then his daughter landed beside him.

"Thanks for coming Father," Aurora said.

"It was my pleasure," Draco said. "That girl has quite a unique future ahead of her. Those young ones will certainly have a lot of fun when they take the throne." He heaved a sigh.

"What?" Aurora asked.

"The age of dragons is nearing an end," Draco said. "We draw closer to the day when dragons will fade into mythology and legend. It's safer that way."

"It does sound a lot nicer," Aurora said. "What can you see for these vikings of Berk."

"Berk will soon be forgotten by mankind unfortunately," Draco said. "The vikings there will either die, or leave after their dragons fly to Draconia. The village will become a ruin. The humans will forget it, but the dragons will remember it." He shifted his weight and flexed his wings. "They will fight one last battle before it all ends." He turned to Aurora. "You should get some rest. Re is waiting for you." Aurora nodded.

"Good night Father," she said. She spread her wings and glided back down. Draco settled on the rim of the volcano to watch the dragons of Berk.