Chapter 6

The closer it got to the day the egg was to hatch the more overprotective and paranoid Tenor got. Whenever the riders came to see the egg, he would jump into a fighting stance and gnash his venomous teeth. The others were growing concerned that he would hurt someone. He rarely left the apple tree and when he did he was always on edge like he was hunting. As the days went by, Tenor only got worse. The others were so sure that he was going to bite someone.

One night they stayed up late. Aurora used her magic to make Tenor fall asleep. Windwalker laid beside her egg. Re and Aurora joined them after all the children were put to bed. Serenity looked at her sleeping dragon, worried sick about him.

"Well what are we going to do about him?" asked Windwalker. "He's being way more aggressive than usual."

"To be fair he has a very good reason," Re said. "He's waited all his life for a family of his own, and he's not about to let anything bad happen to it."

"But the egg is in or real danger," said Windwalker. "What do you plan to do if he doesn't calm down? The last thing I want is for someone to be killed over this."

"If this continues, we'll have to keep him sedated until the egg hatches," Aurora said. "Serenity, do you have a sedative in that bag?"

"Um, yes I do," Serenity said. She sounded nervous.

"You should have it on standby just in case," said Re. Chris notice that his wife was fidgeting nervously. She was staring right at Tenor, it seemed she didn't hear what Re had said. Chris gripped her hand gently.

"Hey, did you hear what he said?" he asked. Serenity let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I have to sedate my own dragon?" she asked in a small voice. The others looked at her concerned.

"You've sedated him before," Re said. "Every time he got himself badly wounded."

"But never as a punishment," Serenity said. "It seems so wrong."

"Well you don't have to sedate him yet," Re said. "But just keep it on standby. We'll see what tomorrow brings." With that they turned in for the night. Serenity was way nervous the whole time.

The next morning Re, Aurora, and Tenor went down to help around the village as usual. Serenity sat in her chair, her medical bag on her lap. Chris and Windwalker were sitting quietly.

"You should get that sedative ready," Windwalker suggested. "I get the feeling Tenor's going to loose his temper." Serenity heaved a big sigh. She zipped open her bag and slowly dug through it. Chris noticed that her hands were shaking.

"You don't want to sedate him do you," he said, it wasn't a question.

"He just wants to protect his family," Serenity said.

"I know," said Chris. "But we don't want anyone to get hurt or killed." Serenity turned back to her bag. She found a syringe and a small vile of clear liquid. She closed her bag and put it on the floor. She uncapped the needle, here hands shook more violently. She tried to fill the syringe but her hands were shaking too much. She could hardly hold the needle, and almost poked herself several times. Chris gripped her hand firmly.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I know it's not easy, drugging a friend."

"He saved my life once," Serenity said. "He was always there for me, like you and Ruby were. And this is how I repay him, by punishing him for wanting to protect his family."

"You're saving him from guilt," Windwalker said, trying to be reasonable. "And probably saving someone from his venom." Serenity sighed again, and gripped the needle firmly. She managed to get it into the vile and filled it with the sedative. Then she put the vile down. She put the cap back on the needle and set in next to the vile.

"I just hope he forgives me," she said. Chris got to his feet and pulled Serenity to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and she hugged him back.

"He'll be okay," he said, quietly. "You'll see. He will forgive you. Tenor's heart is in the right place, but his head isn't."

"He has a lot to lose," Serenity said.

"That he does," Chris agreed. They stood there for a minuet, then both sat back down. Serenity put the vile and needle back in her bag, preying to Lord Draco that she wouldn't need it.

Down in the village, Tenor was tensed up. He quickly scanned the village for Fishlegs. When he was no where to be seen Tenor relaxed, just a little bit. He walked through the streets. The other dragons and the Vikings stayed well out of his way, seeing that he was not in a good mood. He glanced at the path to the apple tree, incase Fishlegs tried to sneak up to it. Suddenly said viking appeared behind him, he didn't pick up on Tenor's mood.

"Has the egg hatched yet?" he asked. "I would like to make a few measurements before it does." Tenor growled and gripped the dirt in his talons.

"I'll make sure it doesn't leave your sight," Fishlegs continued. Tenor growled louder and slowly turned around. Fishlegs crossed his arms.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way you know," he said. "I'll steal the egg if I have to." This was the wrong thing to say. Tenor whirled around with a loud roar. He pinned Fishlegs to the ground, pressing his talons into his flesh. The other riders came to his aid.

"Tenor, what's going on?" Hiccup asked. Tenor ignored him. Hiccup went to grab the dragon's reins, but quicker than a snake Tenor roared and chomped down on Hiccup's arm. With an amazing stroke of luck Tenor didn't have his venomous teeth out, and to Hiccup it felt like he's slammed his fingers in a door hard. Hiccup shouted in surprise and quickly pulled his hand out. Astrid pulled out her ax and swung at Tenor. The dragon leaped at her roaring again. He caught the ax in his teeth and snapped the blade clean off. The other riders withdrew their weapons as Hiccup helped Fishlegs to his feet. Tenor went into a crouch ready to pounce. He gnashed his black teeth and swung his tail. Just as they were about to attack each other, Tenor was knocked off his feet by a powerful blow. He hit the ground and Re landed nearby. They circled each other snarling.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tenor hissed. "You're protecting the one who threatened to steel my egg?"

"I'm stopping you from doing something you'll regret later," Re snarled back. Tenor roared.

"I will do what I have to do, to keep my egg safe," he said. Then he lunged at Re. Tenor was blinded by fury, which made him easy to defeat. Re pounced as well. Sounds of clanging armor and dragon's roars filled the air. The whole village stopped to watch. Finally Re got the upper talon. He pinned Tenor to the ground, and gripped his throat tightly in his jaws. Aurora landed near by, Windwalker close behind. The Queen approached the two males, neither of which moved. Tenor glared at her and tried to wriggle free, but Re's grip was too strong. Suddenly his scales glowed red as he unlocked his titan wing. He growled louder. He shoved Re off easily. Both Aurora and Re unlocked their titan wing. They all pounced at the same time, and the clang of metal armor rang throughout the village again. The fight only lasted three minutes. Re and Aurora pinned Tenor down. Their grip combined was too strong for Tenor, even with his titan wing. Aurora secretly used her magic to muzzle him and chain him down. Re turned to the riders, all out of breath.

"Sorry about that," he said. "We'll take it from here."

"What do you plan to do?" asked Astrid. "He attacked Fishlegs, and bit Hiccup." Re looked at his ally in surprise.

"Then how are you still standing?" he asked.

"He didn't use his teeth," Hiccup said. "Very luckily too."

"Well, I plan to keep him sedated for a while," Re said. "Until he comes to his senses."

"And it'll work?" asked Hiccup.

"It should," Re said. "As long as Fishlegs doesn't push his luck any more."

"We'll keep Fishlegs out of trouble," said Hiccup. "As long as you keep Tenor out of trouble." Re flapped his wings to keep them from cramping.

"Deal," he said, folding his wings again. "And once I get Tenor under control, I'll even replace Astrid's ax." He then turned and helped Aurora get Tenor up towards the apple tree. Windwalker followed.

"Where's your egg?" Aurora asked.

"Serenity has it," Windwalker said. "I trust her."

"Does she have the sedative ready?" asked Re. "We'll need it at once."

"Yes, I saw her put into a needle just after you left," Windwalker said. "It took some persuading though." They soon arrived at the apple tree. They walked right to the tree trunk and set Tenor down in the shade. Aurora used her magic again to bind him with unbreakable, silver chains. Then she secured him to the tree. Serenity was about to run to him, but Chris held her back. Tenor struggled against the chains, snorting angrily.

"Trust me Brother," Re said angrily. "We don't want to do this, but you leave us no choice. I don't want you to hurt anyone, especially yourself. Serenity do you have the sedative?"

"I do," Serenity said, slightly scared.

"You should inject him with it at once," Re hissed.

"But Re," Serenity started to protest.

"Serenity!" Re said, his voice rising. He gave her a hard look. "That's an order." Serenity took a few deep, shaky breathes.

"Yes sir," she said quietly. She cave the egg to Windwalker and went over to her bag. She pulled out her needle and uncapped it, her hands shaking again. She went to Tenor and knelt beside him. Re and Aurora backed up a bit. Serenity stroked Tenor's neck.

"I'm so sorry Tenor," she whispered, on the verge of tears. Tenor looked surprised. Serenity then injected the sedative into the base of his neck. Tenor let out a long groan as his body relaxed under the sedative. Serenity stood up. Aurora made a few chains vanish, but kept the muzzle where it was. Then she saw the tears on Serenity's face. She lowered her head and nuzzled her.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I know that was hard."

"How long does he have to stay like this?" Serenity asked.

"Until the egg hatches at least," Re said. "Not for too long." Serenity placed a hand over her mouth. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I can't believe I just did that to a friend," she whimpered.

"How long will that sedative last?" Re asked.

"48 hours maximum," Serenity said. Re saw she was weakening.

"You should sit down," he said. "You're about to fall over." Serenity went over to her chair. She sat down and leaned back. Chris sat next to her. Serenity looked over at her dragon, and he looked back at her. A look of betrayal crossed his face. She gave him a look of apology. This was the dragon who had been with her through all her travels, and even rescued her from a Death Song dragon. Windwalker went over and laid beside her mate, and put her egg between them. Tenor felt grateful, and made sure it showed on her face. Windwalker nuzzle his head.

"Don't worry Tenor," she said. "Once this egg hatches you'll be released. It shouldn't take too long." She licked his cheek and laid her head beside his. He slowly wrapped his wing around her and they fell asleep.