A/N: Ever since I took part in the CSSNS event last year I've been wanting to write something with dragons and CS. So yeah I went in a whole different direction than the usual monster dragons you will find in Game of Thrones. My kids have been watching the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" for years now, including the animated series in the same franchise. I always found the story good and the dragon Toothless just so funny and cute. And Hiccup and Astrid's story is sweet and romantic. So this is a CaptainSwan take on the same setting as in those movies and add some slight steampunk elements in there too, and you get this. It won't follow any storyline from the movies, so it's all purely from my imagination. And there are no Vikings in this, I have switched the Viking realm out with a pirate realm.
The title is inspired by the franchise, the name Caldera is the place they call "the hidden world of dragons." I have also used the dragon species and names from the movies.
The wonderfully talented Fitbit has created a beautiful mood board for this. Two of the pictures are edited by myself, using AI, trying to make Emma and Killian look more steampunk-ish. I'm usually not a huge fan of AI in general but sometimes it's fun to tinker with, but I would NEVER use it for a cover for a book I'd be selling.
I've had the pleasure to have killiansprincess82 (On Tumblr: th3capta1n) as my beta through this process and I'm so grateful for her help.
Last note: it will be a multi-chapter thing, not sure how long as of yet. (currently, have 11 chapters written.)
ENJOY
Chapter 1"Oy, Captain." The shout nearly missed him from the rushing wind in his ears, but Killian shifted in the saddle on Toothless and glanced behind him. Ruby and Graham flew on their dragons towards him at breakneck speed, Ruby did a daring swoop and loop before she sided with him. "Your brother is requesting your presence."
Killian didn't have to look at her to know that she most likely had rolled her eyes at this, everyone on his ship knew the strained relationship between the Jones brothers.
Gently he nudged Toothless and called, "Let's fly home." His dragon snorted in a show of protest, Killian knew Toothless would think today's flight had been far too short. Well, the dragon just had to go off on his own once they reached Rum Island, their little pirate kingdom perched on the western side of the known world.
With practiced ease, Toothless landed on the new structure they had built on the side of their large housing. Nestled on top of the hill, overlooking the pirate village below, their king, his brother Liam, could gaze over the main city of his kingdom. Rum Island was a small realm that lived off the ocean and what their airships could haul in loot. Despite being called pirates it was seen on occasions that they traded with their neighboring realms.
Once he had his feet on the ground he quickly removed the saddle from Toothless and patted the dragon's neck, "Go hunt in the woods, I'm fairly sure this will be a long one." His dragon snorted in reply and flapped his wings a few times before he took off to the woods beyond the village.
Killian hurried to his brother's private room and knocked on the door.
"Enter." Liam's voice sounded tired and this had Killian worried again.
"Have you not eaten your food?" Killian scanned the table near the fire, a half-eaten piece of bread was still resting beside a barely-eaten bowl of stew.
"No worries, our healer Whale has been here to check up on me," Liam waved him off and scuffled towards the large window resting his hands on the high windowsill. "How was your flight?"
"Ah, good as ever." Killian regarded his brother with a weary look, his brother was sick and no one really knew how to heal him.
"Stop worrying about me." Liam sighed and twisted his head to look at Killian.
"You're my only family. I'll be damned to see you lose your will to live like our father." Killian growled and stepped closer to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Liam shrugged, "Whale has called for a colleague from Camelot, who he thinks can help figure out what is needed to cure this." He swiped the feverish sweat off his forehead with a sweat-stained handkerchief.
Killian shook his head, "You're as stubborn as our ol' man." He walked to the table and found the water pitcher and poured his brother a drink. When he returned to Liam's side he said, "Drink."
"Hmm." Liam absentmindedly took the goblet and sipped the water slowly. "Thanks."
"Now why don't we go to finish your evening meal?"
"Hmm." Liam gave a small nod and followed Killian to the table.
The brothers talked about the ins and outs of their realm. Liam reminisced about how Killian single-handedly had changed how their realm had viewed the dragons roaming the skies. Going from hunting and killing the beasts to now riding and training them to aid their defense lines.
Their father, Brennan Jones had been very opposed to this idea and it had taken a lot of courage from the youngest Jones brother to stand up to his beliefs. But when he found Toothless it changed his life, from being the scrawny younger brother to a full-on dragon rider.
The next day Merlin sent the royal abode into a world of uproar, especially when the warlock suddenly showed up in a puff of smoke in the middle of the courtyard.
Killian paced the hallway leading into his brother's rooms, Merlin and their own healer Whale had joined forces to figure out how to heal the king.
When the door was finally opened, he rushed inside and found his brother laying in bed looking tired.
"So?" Killian asked, "What can be done to heal my brother?"
"Your Grace." Merlin bowed his head and glanced over at the king, "Your brother has fallen ill on his latest travel to Neverland, it seems as if something followed him back home."
"What?" Killian rushed to Liam's side, "You never mentioned this?"
"I didn't want to concern you."
"Concern me!" Killian bellowed and tugged at the hairs at the back of his head, "Bloody hell brother, I thought the quest to Neverland had been a success?"
"We did find the missing fairies and helped them escape the wretched place." Liam smiled, but then he looked at Merlin and Whale, "But it seems as if I wasn't as careful as I thought. There's a certain plant on that island which is poisonous."
"How?" Killian turned his focus on Merlin, expecting him to explain further.
"Your Grace, Dreamshade is only found on Neverland and whoever is stung will die a slow death if not treated."
Killian gulped down, "How long? How long do we have?"
"At best three months." Whale said with a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry Your Grace."
"And at the worst?" Killian swallowed thickly.
"A month." Merlin provided and started to sort out a long line of medicine and herbs, "These can only slow it down, but it will never fully cure him."
"What do we need?" Killian asked urgently.
"There's a fabled flower called Phoenix Flower that is said to be growing in the Hidden world of Caldera, the birthplace of dragons."
"Bloody hell." Killian slammed his hand against the solid bedpost of Liam's bed, "That place is all but a myth." He clenched his hands and recalled how he'd been searching for that very same realm a few years back, but had eventually given up when his father died.
Merlin waved his hand in the air and an old scroll emerged in his hand, "I have found this in my travels to the south."
"What's that?" Killian asked and stepped closer, curious if this might help them.
"When the dragons roamed the skies some brave explorers sailed towards the End of the World, beyond the great waterfall they found a land filled with dragons," Merlin explained and gave Killian the scroll.
Killian rolled it out and glanced at it, it showed areas he'd never traveled, Neverland was the furthest southern island their ships had ever traveled.
"So that flower is in the realm of the dragons?"
"Killian don't be doing anything…" Liam interrupted.
"Stop right there Liam, if there's a cure to this I'll bloody well find it," Killian vowed, and pointed at his brother, "And don't even try to stop me, brother."
Liam took a long look at Killian before he nodded in understanding, "Please do nothing stupid, prepare for the quest, and don't make hasty decisions. Promise me." His brother's blue eyes begged for him to agree with this, and Killian knew he owed his brother as much.
"Agreed." Killian swirled around and announced, "I'll begin my preparations right this minute."
The next two days Killian called on all the favors he could remember someone owning him. Stocking up his ship The Jolly Roger to the brim with provisions and weapons for the long expedition. His crew was informed of their destination and given a choice to stay on board or disembark within the day. To his luck, most of his men were loyal to both him and their king, Liam Jones.
On a final visit with his brother to get his blessing for the oncoming quest to find the Phoenix flower, the brothers shared a long talk about the future. Liam had made sure that the succession to the crown would fall upon Killian should he die before the Jolly Roger returned to Rum Island. Killian was far from happy about this information, but he understood Liam's need to make sure that the crown was secured.
One week later the Jolly Roger sailed over the skies, her fairy-dusted sails lifting it away from the water, accompanied by the lodestone the airship was able to sail through the skies like birds and his beloved dragons.
Killian searched the sky and smiled when he spotted Toothless and the two other crew dragons, sailing through the tall clouds above them. His dragon was always ready for a new adventure and this time it seemed it would be the longest yet. He set their course for them to pass Misthaven within a few hours.
So far their quest had gone without a hitch, but he knew that a few rogue pirates had opted to use the waters south of Misthaven to wreak havoc to trade ships and fellow pirates alike.
Suddenly a shout could be heard from the crow's nest, "Enemy to starboard."
Everyone rushed to their posts and Killian ordered his crew to maneuver his ship into a better position to attack whoever came at them. He found his telescope and searched the sky, when his eyes landed on the familiar flag of Blackbeard, he cursed and whistled for Toothless to come closer to the helm. Once he'd begun training the dragons, he'd changed the Jolly Roger a little making a platform for them to land on, as well as being able to extend the deck to the sides if needed.
"Ruby, Graham, call your dragons, I want us in the air so we have a better view of things."
His two most trusted friends and fellow dragon riders signaled for their dragons to come to pick them up. Soon the three of them soared over the ship, their eyes focused on the oncoming ship.
He knew Blackbeard was ferocious in his approach to anyone he wanted to attack and he loathed the dragon rider pirates to his very core. Once he'd been part of Rum Island, but when the changes had happened with the dragons some seven years ago he'd gone rogue with a few other pirate captains. Now sworn enemies to the Pirate King, Liam Jones.
The battle was intense and Killian was busy keeping an eye on everything going on, his position from Toothless' back gave him an advantage, but he also knew that Blackbeard fully intended to shoot and kill the dragons. Though he'd heard rumors about the black pirate having been seen flying on a dragon. The same rumors claimed that Blackbeard had found a wicked way of controlling the beasts in the most cruel and evil way. Using their own fire elements to control the dragon's mind. It was their luck that Blackbeard had not brought his dragons to this fight.
Both ships sustained damage, when Blackbeard lost his main sail he made a last attempt to fire at the heart of the Jolly Roger before he scurried back into the clouds with his remaining sails intact.
Killian rushed to the helm and looked at the damage and his heart sank when he realized that the Lodestone had been blown to pieces, it would only be a matter of pure damn luck if they reached the port of Misthaven.
Soon every available sail was set and Killian used his last saved fairy dust to keep his ship afloat in the air. The water into the Misthaven waters was littered with sharp reefs and he wanted to avoid those if he could.
Everyone held their breaths as the Jolly slowly moved closer and closer to the water. But moments later the Jolly hit the more shallow waters beyond the reef and they maneuvered the ship into port.
"Captain, what's the plan?" Graham asked.
"We'll figure out if there's a reserve of lodestones somewhere in this realm, if not we're screwed." Killian slammed his fist into the railing and cursed, "We need to make haste and find a bloody lodestone."
"I'll send word to the men and have them search and ask around to see if someone knows a thing about it," Graham said and scurried to do as said.
Killian secured his cutlass at his belt, tugged up the collar of his leather greatcoat, and stepped off his ship.
It had been a long time since he'd been in this port so he spent the next half hour trying to locate the tavern he'd visited and once he located the building, he made a double take. It seemed as if the establishment had changed ownership as it was now called Arendale Inn.
"Bloody hell, where did the old Rabbit Hole go off to?" He asked no one in particular, but soon he felt someone tug at his sleeve. When he looked down, a pair of brown young eyes looked up at him.
"Mister, the Rabbit Hole closed a few months ago." The little boy informed him with a shrug, then pointed at the Inn, "But Miss Winter makes the best pies this side of the realm. Oh, and she has icy treats too."
"You don't say, lad?" Killian lifted a bemused eyebrow, "I guess the nutty Jefferson finally lost his last marbles."
"Nah, my Mother said he moved to another realm trying to locate his daughter." The boy scratched his nose.
"So does this Miss Winter perhaps know where one can find a lodestone?"
The boy shrugged again, "Perhaps her sister does, she took my school class to the old quarry recently, she knows her rocks and stuff."
"Aye, well thank you, lad," Killian ruffled the boy's unruly brown hair and walked to the entrance.
The place had certainly undergone some major changes, the room itself seemed bigger and brighter. Far less scruffy and grubby than when Jefferson owned the place. To his luck he could see they still served ale and rum, so he sauntered up to the counter where a young red-headed girl served out drinks to another patron. When she was done, she turned her focus on Killian; it was only a small twitch of her nose that gave away that she clearly knew he was a pirate. The next moment she smiled, "What can I get you?"