Chapter 3
It took two days to build the glider. Serenity worked around the clock. She hardly ate or slept. She kept her focus on the glider, and it helped take her mind off the family that left her behind. She built the glider following the blueprints in the flight book, taking the occasional nap. No one bothered her the two days she worked. She worked until she could work no more, and fell asleep on the soft grass.
She woke up the next morning to a perfectly constructed hang glider; made of lightweight wood and canvass. It had triangular wings and stood perched on its triangular control bar. The only thing left to do was to paint the wings. She considered for a moment. She could paint it blue and green, but those colors were all over the place. Then she thought of painting it to remind her of Berk. She smiled when she came up with the perfect paint job. She grabbed the paints that Alto had sent while Serenity was building the glider. Serenity began painting the glider. She painted the right wing black and the left one red. She then painted a white Night Fury skull on the red wing. The glider now resembled Toothless's tail fins.
"Hiccup won't mind," she told herself. "He's never going to see this thing anyway." She picked up the paint cans and carried them inside, deciding to let the paint dry before trying the glider out.
After she ate breakfast and a nap, she was ready to fly the glider. She carried it up the nearest hill, towering over the lake. It was a bit breezy, she could feel the wind lifting the glider. Serenity took a deep breath, hoping the glider would hold itself together. She ran and leapt off the hill, holding the control bar as tight as she could. The wind caught the wings and Serenity found herself gliding smoothly over the water. It was very different from riding a dragon. It was silent and Serenity saw world below. She used her weight to steer the glider, and make it go higher and lower.
Serenity soon mastered the art of flying the glider, she spent all day in the air. Then she was faced with landing it. She'd seen dragons land on the ground. They always kept their eyes on the spot they wanted to land on. Serenity looked towards the hill she'd taken off from and steered the glider towards it. She angled it downwards. When she was low enough over the ground she dangled her feet and touched down. She stumbled and fell onto the grass, the glider not far behind. Serenity got to her feet and stepped away from the glider. She turned and glanced at it. She smiled for the first time in a long while. Flying the glider had been like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It was smooth, silent, graceful, and she was in total control. With the glider and the canoe, the summer was going to go by much faster. She was certain that if her family every came back for her they would be impressed, and not a little proud. She build a glider, and learned to fly all by herself.
"You guys are going to love this thing," she said quietly, giving the glider a delicate pat. She carried the glider back down to the house and set it on the front lawn and tied it down. She went inside and went to bed, exhausted from all the hours she spent building the glider.
The next day she decided to take out her canoe, not wanting to neglect one item for another. She hopped in and paddled out of the cove. She paddled the canoe clear out to the middle of the lake, then let it drift. The lake was pretty quiet today. It was also very warm. She dipped her fingers into the water. It was cold, but not freezing. She considered going swimming later that night. She lowered herself onto the very bottom of the canoe and laid her head on the seat. She closed her eyes and let the water rock her to sleep.
She was suddenly woken up by the sound of a Night Fury approaching the lake. Serenity quickly sat up and saw the riders of Berk heading her way, the Draconians right behind them. At first Serenity thought she was dreaming. But then the dragons zoomed low over her. Serenity ducked, but leaned on the side of the boat too far causing it to capsize. Serenity splashed into the water, under the boat. She swam out from under it and to the surface. She coughed and pulled her wet hair out of her eyes. She treaded water and looked up to see the riders and dragons still there. They circled overhead. Serenity swam back to the overturned canoe and flipped it right side up. She grabbed the mooring line, to prevent the boat from drifting away. But all of a sudden she was pulled out of the water by Hookfang, carried high over the water. Serenity struggled.
"Put me down Hookfang," she ordered, sharply. Hookfang let go and Serenity fell towards the water. There suddenly came the whistle of a diving Night Fury. Serenity landed on Windwalker's back and felt strong arms around her. She opened her eyes, having closed them when she was falling. She saw Chris smiling at her.
"You're here," she said, surprised.
"Yes we're here," said Chris. "The Berkians could tell that we missed you a lot. So they decided to send the summer here, so we wouldn't have to be separated." Serenity smiled and sighed with relief. "Not to mention the fact that the dragonets refused to train or spar without a dragon healer." The dragons turned and headed for the hill Serenity had launched her glider from. They landed and the riders dismounted. Serenity began wringing out her wet hair. Then she remembered her canoe.
"Oh, my canoe," she said. She quickly ran to the edge of the hill and saw her canoe still floating in the water.
"I'll go get it," said Aurora. She took off and retrieved the canoe. Meanwhile the others made their way down to the lawn in front of the house. The first thing they saw was the hang glider.
"What is that?" asked Hiccup, pointing at it.
"That's my new hang glider," said Serenity. "I built it all by myself."
"Interesting colors," Hiccup said. Serenity gave a sheepish shrug.
"I can change it," she said.
"No, it's okay," said Hiccup. He walked around the glider, admiring it. The other Berkians were interested in the glider as well. The Draconinan dragons, however, looked at it with deepest dislike. Chris looked like he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Serenity became nervous.
"Have you flown it yet?" asked Astrid.
"Yesterday," said Serenity.
"That thing actually flies?" asked Snotlout.
"Yes," said Serenity.
"Where'd you learn to build it?" asked Hiccup.
"From a book full of blueprints of flying machines," said Serenity. "This was the easiest."
"Can we see it fly?" asked Tuffnut, excitedly. Serenity considered. Now that her family had returned she really didn't see the need to fly the glider.
"Well, alright," she said. "Meet me at the top of that hill you landed on." She pointed it out. The riders and their dragons made their way up the hill. Serenity untied the glider and followed them. The Draconians exchanged a glance.
"Why would she build a hang glider when she has us?" Tenor asked.
"That's not all she's done," Chris said, pointing at the plowed ground around the house. Some of the crops and flowers had started to grow.
"Still the hang glider wasn't necessary," said Re.
"You're not going to destroy it are you?" asked Chris.
"No," said Re. "Not yet. I will ask her to put it away, but if she continues to fly it I may destroy it. It's things like that that will put dragons out of business."
"Perhaps when Serenity finishes flying it, she could focus on feeding herself," said Windwalker. "She's not looking so good."
"Good thinking," said Aurora. "I've notice that too. She must have spent all her time on that glider."
"No good will come from that thing," said Re boldly. "I'm almost certain of that." He laid down on the grass. The others joined him. Chris glanced up the hill where the Berkians were gathered. He wondered what going to happen Serenity now.
Up on the hill Serenity finally reached the top with the glider. The riders waited, eager to see the glider fly. They stood back to give Serenity room to take off. Without saying a word Serenity ran and leapt off the hill. The glider soared over the water. The riders watched in amazement. Serenity steered it back towards the hill, and circled over it.
"You guys coming up?" she called. The riders quickly mounted their dragons and took off. They flew beside the glider, giving it plenty of room. Hiccup was very interested in the glider. It reminded him of his flight suit. He wondered if Serenity would let him fly the glider afterwords.
They turned and headed back to the hill. The riders let the glider land first, then landed beside it. Serenity dusted herself off.
"Very interesting indeed," said Hiccup.
"I haven't mastered landing gracefully yet," said Serenity.
"But does this mean you won't be riding dragons anymore?" asked Fishlegs.
"I'll still ride dragons, when they have time," said Serenity. "Besides, this glider was not intended to replace dragons. I can't really travel with it, nor can it carry any camping gear. So I'll only fly it around this lake, and when I'm here by myself."
"Can I fly it?" asked Hiccup.
"We want to fly it too," said the Twins in unison. This started an uproar from the other riders, all wanting to fly the glider. Serenity stood there looking quite amused, she'd never been this popular before. Then she emitted a sharp, loud, shrill, whistle, that shut them up almost at once.
"You can all fly it one time if you think you can," she said. Then they got in an argument about who would go first. Serenity whistled again and the quieted down.
"I'll decide who goes first," she said. She glanced around at them all for a few minuets. Hiccup was the only one who had not taken part in the arguments. She decided to let him go first.
She gave them a quick lesson on how to fly the glider. Then Hiccup took off with the glider. Serenity watched from beside the riders' dragons. Toothless nuzzled her. Serenity absentmindedly stroked him behind his ears, making him melt into her touch. Serenity couldn't be happier being around her friends. Her family was still down by the house. They clearly didn't have any interest in the glider. This confused her a bit. They wanted her to be independent; but they didn't seem to like the independent life she'd started. Hookfang seemed to read her mind.
"They don't seem to like this glider," he said.
"I thought this was what they wanted," said Serenity. "For me to be independent and be on my own. Chris at least doesn't straight up hate the glider."
"Those dragons have an odd way for showing you that they like you," said Hookfang. "They leave you behind with no family. You try to make the best of it, then they come back and they don't like it. It seems they only want you to live the way they tell you."
"They don't want me to get hurt," said Serenity. "Besides, they're all natural born leaders and have accomplished big things in their life. I'm just a healer."
"You have the most important job of them all," said Toothless. "They owe you their lives." At that moment the riders finished with the glider. Thankfully no one had crashed. Serenity went over to them.
"Thanks Serenity," said Hiccup.
"Sure," Serenity said. "I'll meet you back at the house. I want to fly it one more time before I put it way."
"Why would you put it away?" asked Hiccup.
"I don't need if the dragons are here," said Serenity. "It sure would make them a lot happier." She looked in the direction of her family. She picked up the glider and took off. The riders and dragons made their way down to the house.
They all watched Serenity fly the glider over the lake. Then she turned and headed towards the house. She flew lower and lower, until she touched down on her front lawn. She stumbled a bit then set the glider down. She stepped away from it and stretched.
"Very impressive flying," said Re, sourly. Serenity turned to face him, slightly nervous.
"You don't don't like the glider do you?" she said, her voice was shaky. "Don't worry, I'm putting it away now."
"Why did you build it?" asked Aurora, slightly hurt. "We were coming back for you." Serenity sighed.
"Arson and BlueSky didn't have a whole lot of time to take me flying," said Serenity. "And I was really missing it. So I built this glider and would fly it until you guys came back. You're here now, so I don't need it." She carried the glider over and placed it beside the house. She turned back to the dragons and held her hand up in innocent surrender. They relaxed a bit.
"I didn't replace you, I swear," she said. The dragons didn't look convinced. Chris however, was looking Serenity up and down. He noticed that she wasn't looking so good. She'd lost a lot of weight and there were dark circles under her eyes.
"You okay?" he asked. "You look hungry." Serenity looked down at herself.
"My crops aren't ready yet," she said. She gestured to her crops, which had just started growing.
"You're going to starve to death before they're ready," Chris said.
"I haven't any other food," said Serenity.
"Didn't you look in your cabinets?" asked Aurora. Serenity paused and then went into the house.
She went into the kitchen and opened the cabinets. She found them full of bread, fruit, meat, and cheese. There was enough to last her the whole summer. Serenity felt awfully silly. Just then Chris entered the room and she looked at him sheepishly.
"Oh," she said. Chris smiled at her
"We weren't going to let you starve to death," he said. Serenity yawned.
"You don't hate my glider do you?" she asked.
"I don't hate it no," Chris said. "I don't think it was necessary, but I certainly don't hate it."
"I was really missed flying," said Serenity.
"I know, I would too," Chris said. "But flying is even better if you haven't done it after a while." He turned his attention to the fire place in the living room. He could tell it had never been lit. Serenity followed his gaze.
"I've never lit a fire before," she said.
"Huh, you know I haven't either," Chris said. Serenity gave him a small smile, feeling slightly better. She walked closer to him.
"Thank you for coming back," she said quietly. Chris wrapped his arms around her.
"Thanks for waiting," he said. Serenity yawned again. "You tired?"
"Yes," said Serenity. "But it's not sundown yet."
"That's okay," said Chris. "I'm feeling a bit jet lagged." He carefully guided her towards the bedroom.
"Hopefully by the time I wake up again, the dragons won't be so mad at me," said Serenity.
"When someone gets mad at you, it's best to just stay out of their way," Chris said. "Eventually they come round." They made it to the bedroom. The sun was just starting to set, nevertheless they both changed into their night clothes and got into bed. Serenity fell asleep in seconds, her sleepless nights finally catching up to her.