Chapter 7

Edelweiss was woken up at the crack of dawn by Avalon. She said good bye to her friends and left the hideout. She went back to the group and waited quietly for them to wake up.

When they did, Valka and Fishlegs called their attention. They quieted down and gave their instructors their full attention, although Dogsbreath was glaring at Edelweiss.

"These next few days will be yours to explore the island at your leisure," Fishlegs said. "Re and his comrades will be watching you in case something goes wrong. You'll also be on your own for camping for two nights. Dismissed." The group got to their feet.

"And Edelwiess," said Valka, before Edelweiss left. "Don't spend your whole time in that hideout."

"I wasn't planning on it," said Edelweiss. "I just plan to spend nights there. Am I allowed to speak dragontongue now?"

"Yes you are," Valka said. Edelweiss smiled and untied the string from her finger. She put it in her pocket and walked away.

She met up with her friends outside the hideout. She told them that she had the next few days to herself. They were very pleased.

"So what should we do?" asked Eider.

"I'd like to go see my parents," Edelweiss said. "I miss them."

"I'll take you up there," said Black Widow. Edelweiss turned to the others.

"We'll meet you at the tide pools later," she said.

"Sounds good," said Avalon. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow and they took off.

They headed up to their rooms and landed on the balcony. Edelweiss found her dad making his and Serenity's bed. Edelweiss dismounted.

"Hi Daddy," she said. Chris glanced up and smiled.

"Hey, Edel," he said. "You taking a break?"

"I have the next few days to myself," Edelweiss said. She looked around the room. "Were's Mother?"

"Windwalker caught a high fever last night," Chris said, sounding both worried and confident. Black Widow became alert at this.

"Mama?" she said, worried. Before anyone could stop her, she ran through the room and into the tunnel. Edelweiss and Chris followed her.

They went through the tunnel to Tenor's and Windwalker's room. Tenor was standing with Black Widow, watching Serenity attend to Windwalker, who was dozing off. She was weezing slightly with every breath. Serenity glanced up from her work.

"Hello Edel," she said calmly.

"I Mama," Edelweiss said. "Can I help you?" Serenity considered.

"You may, for a little bit," she said. Edelweiss joined her mother. "What's the matter with her?"

"Very high fever, dehydration, and trouble breathing," Serenity said.

"Dragon flu?" Edelweiss asked. "Very bad case of it?"

"Yup," Serenity said. She handed Edelweiss an oral syringe, filled with medicine. Edelweiss carefully pried open Windwalker's jaws and slipped the medicine into her mouth. Windwalker gagged, but Serenity was quick to give her water to wash out the taste. Windwalker relaxed, and her breathing steadied. Tenor allowed Black Widow to get closer to her mother.

"Mama?" she whispered. Windwalker slowly opened her eyes.

"Hi Black Widow," she said weakly.

"Are you okay Mama?" Black Widow asked. Windwalker nuzzled her assuringly.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said. "Just relax." Black Widow laid down under Windwalker's wing. Windwalker held her dragonet close.

"Are you still coming to the tide pools?" Edelweiss asked Black Widow.

"Maybe later," Black Widow said as she closed her eyes. No one objected and let her be.

Edelweiss hugged both her parents before hiking down to the tide pools. She was pretty sure Windwalker would be fine, her mother was the best healer in the world. She also knew that the higher the fever, the longer it took to recover.

She reached the tide pools to find the rest of her friends waiting for her. They were wrestling together in the shallow water. They stopped and smiled when Edelweiss joined them.

"Where's Black Widow?" asked Apollo.

"Windwalker's very sick, and she wanted to stay," Edelweiss said. "She'll be okay though."

"Sure she will," Avalon said. "You're mother could probably cure dragon flu in her sleep." Edelweiss smiled.

"What are you playing?" she asked.

"I wonder if being dragonborn has any effect on your ability to play Catch the Crab," said Eider mischievously. He pawed the water.

"Let's see," Edelweiss said. She found a crab in the shallows, and took off running. The dragonets took off after her. She ran though the water and jumped over rocks. Being dragonborn did effect her ability. She ran just as fast as her friends and could jump over the rocks with ease. But eventually, Avalon caught up and snatched the crab, taking off with it. Edelweiss ran after her, turning on a dime. She caught up with the princess, but wasn't quite fast enough to get the crab. She jumped onto a large rock and jumped onto Avalon, tackling her into a near by pool. Water flew everywhere and Avalon roared in surprise. Edelweiss grabbed the crab, got to her feet and ran off. The dragonets chased her all over the tide pools.

They played the game for about an hour until they got tired of it. Apollo, who had the crab, tossed it into the shallow water. They sat down to take a break.

"You've gotten better Edel," Avalon said. Edelweiss smiled and scratched Avalon behind the horns.

"What should we do now?" asked Eider. "I don't feel like running anymore."

"Lets go keep Black Widow company," Apollo said. "She could use the support of friends when she's so worried about her mother."

"Windwalker will be fine," Edelweiss said.

"It's still hard to see her mother in that condition," Avalon said. "Black Widow looks up to both of her parents, and seeing such a strong dragon so weak makes her very emotional." They all got up and headed back inside.

They found Black Widow still beside her mother. She was grateful to have her friends with her. Windwalker was still asleep, breathing steadily now. Tenor was next to the door that lead outside, munching nervously on a pile fish. He didn't mind the other dragonets there, since they were being quiet.

"So does this mean you won't come back to the Academy with me?" Edelweiss whispered. Black Widow considered.

"Serenity said Mother will not be on her feet for another week," she whispered back.

"She's strong enough to fully recover on her own," Eider said. "She'll be fine whether you're here or not." Black Widow glared at him.

"Says the dragonet who doesn't even have a mother," she hissed furiously. Eider froze, looking a touch scared.

"That's enough," Windwalker moaned, shifting slightly. Both Black Widow and Tenor looked at her.

"You okay Mama?" asked Black Widow.

"I'd feel a lot better if you guys would quick bickering," Windwalker said. The dragonets quieted down at once. Windwalker went back to sleep and Tenor went back to his fish. Edelweiss changed the subject.

"I kind of want to go find this Dragon's Edge," she said. "Since Tenor has such great memories of it." Tenor smiled but said nothing.

"Do you know where it is?" Avalon asked.

"Toothless told me where it was," Edelweiss said. "He seems to have fond memories of it as well."

"I'm sure we can find it," Apollo said. "Hiccup or someone will have a map that shows where it is."

"Do you think we'll be allowed to go?" Eider asked. "It's a very long flight." The dragonets exchanged a glance.

"Couldn't hurt to ask," Edelweiss said. "I'll ask Valka when we meet up again."

"And we'll ask our parents," said Apollo. "I'm sure they'll trust us enough to go out there."

They talked more amongst themselves, keeping their voices low so they didn't disturb Windwalker. They talked more about Dragon's Edge. They knew so little about it. They didn't know what it looked like, what had happened there. But Avalon remembered seeing a pair of artifacts in the Draconian castle, that her mother had collected from Hiccup when he deemed them too dangerous for any human to have. She had called them the Dragon Eyes. Hiccup had found one of them before they found Dragon's Edge, and he'd made the second one during their stay at Dragon's Edge. Hiccup had asked to Aurora lock them up in her castle along with all the other artifacts she'd collected over the years.

"Mother said the Dragon Eyes showed so much information about the different dragons," Avalon said. "Enough to either train them, or kill them."

"Yeah, I'd want that locked up too," Black Widow said. "No human should have that much information about dragons, including where they live."

"You don't suppose these Dragon Eyes know anything about the Night Furies?" Edelweiss wondered out loud.

"The Night Fury was the one dragon the Dragon Eyes had no information on," Tenor said, who had clearly been listening. He swallowed his last fish. "I reckon that first Dragon Eye was made before a Night Fury was even seen."

"Can you tell us your stories of Dragon's Edge daddy?" Black Widow asked. Tenor smiled wider.

"I sure can," he said. "Lets go outside, and I'll tell you all about those fun times." He lead the way outside, leaving Windwalker to rest in peace.

They sat on the beach in front of the white doors. Tenor told them all about the times the riders had spent on Dragon's Edge, fighting dragon hunters and other forms of human scum as he put it. He also told about all the allies Hiccup and the riders had made, both human and dragons. He told them as many stories as he could before the sun set.

"Wow, Father actually shoved this, Viggo Grimborne, into a volcano?" Apollo said.

"Yeah," Tenor sighed. "It was awesome. Didn't do any good though. Viggo never hit the lava, and came back to reek more havoc."

"I didn't know Father was capable of doing something like that," said Avalon. "Did you kill any villains?"

"No," said Tenor. "I killed several minions, but no mastermind."

"So with that Johann guy dead, how does Berk stay well supplied?" asked Eider.

"Their allies trade with them," Tenor said. "Draconia included."

"Oh good," said Edelweiss. "We should go find Dragon's Edge."

"No today," said a strong voice. They turned to see Re and Aurora approaching them.

"We'll all go back to Dragon's Edge," said Aurora. "Maybe after Edelweiss is done at the Academy. Valka hasn't seen the Edge either." Edelweiss changed the subject.

"Draco said I have the ability to control fire," she said. "I want to try that."

"Let's get back to our hideout," said Avalon. "And you can give it a try."

"I want to spend the night with Mother," Black Widow said.

"As long as you go with Edelweiss back to the Academy when the Berkians leave," said Apollo.

"All right, deal," said Black Widow.

The five of them headed for their hideout and went inside. They gathered around the fire pit, and Avalon lit it.

"Ok, here it goes," Edelweiss said. She reached towards the jade green flames. She cleared her mind and focused on the fire. Soon the tips of her fingers were right over the fire. She couldn't feel the heat at all, the flames danced around her fingers no matter where she moved them. She pulled her hand back, finding it untouched. She took a few deep breaths, then thrust both her hands towards the fire. The flames expanded with a loud whoosh, and almost engulfed Apollo had he not jumped out of the way.

"Wow, that was cool," said Eider, with wide eyes. Edelweiss smiled, proud of herself. She made the fire bigger, than smaller, then enormous.

"Careful Edel," said Black Widow. "Don't burn down our hideout."

"Sorry," said Edelweiss, giddy with excitement. "I'll practice more tomorrow." She returned the fire to normal.

"I wouldn't do it in front of the vikings though," said Avalon. "They wouldn't react well, unless the situation calls for it."

"Good idea," said Edelweiss. She settled down beside her future queen. Black Widow got to her feet.

"I'm going to check on Mama," she said. She left the hideout, and no one objected.

She flew back up to her parent's cave and went inside. Windwalker was awake, but hadn't really moved. Black Widow laid down beside her.

"Hi Mama," she whispered, nuzzling her mother's neck.

"Hi Black Widow," Windwalker said weakly. "Shouldn't you be with your friends?"

"I want to be with you Mama," Black Widow said, worming closer. Windwalker purred and wrapped her tail around her dragonet.

"I've survived worse then this you know," she whispered.

"I know," said Black Widow. "But I'm still scared." Windwalker nuzzled her softly. Just then Tenor entered the cave. He seemed to be in a very good mood. Black Widow ran to his side and rubbed against his legs.

"You excited to go to the Academy with Edelweiss?" Tenor asked.

"Yeah, I am," said Black Widow. "I hope my being with her will make her time at the Academy more fun."

"No doubt," Tenor said.

"Edel's started practicing fire control," Black Widow said. "But she's agreed to not use it around or against those other humans."

"A wise choice," Tenor said. Black Widow laid back down beside her mother. Tenor's eyes softened. "I take it, you're spending the night here."

"It's my cave too," Black Widow said. "And just for tonight."

"Your friends probably need you more than I do," said Windwalker. Black Widow looked at bit sad.

"You don't want me here Mama?" she asked.

"Of course I do," Windwalker said, nuzzling her again. "But Tenor and I won't be on this earth forever. Draco will call us to the Dragon Heaven someday and you'll be on your own. You'd be better off with your friends. I don't mean to make you sad, I just want you to be prepared. My mother told me this when I was your age."

"Yes Mama," said Black Widow. Tenor laid down on Windwalker's other side and entwined his tail around hers.

Down in the Red Death Hideout Edelweiss and the remaining dragonets were settling down as well as the sun went down. Edelweiss slept beside Avalon. After singing a few quiet songs, they all fell asleep.