Chapter 7
The next morning Jun came out onto the pool deck with her deck of tarot cards. She spotted Avalon next to a dragon shaped mannequin, with several large trays around it, filled with deferent colored gems, pearls, stones, and seashells.
"Good morning your majesty," Jun said.
"Morning Jun," said Avalon. Then Jun spotted the head piece Avalon was working on. It was made of gold wires twisted and looped across the mannequin's forehead and up each of its horns. Avalon was attaching tiny flowers made of pale blue stones to the head piece.
"Wow, that's really pretty," Jun said.
"Thank you," said Avalon. She added another tiny flower to the wires around the left horn. "I got this collection of blue chalcedony a few weeks ago." She pointed to the tray that held the pale blue stones that were attached to each other in the shape of flowers. "It goes very well with gold."
"Blue chalcedony?" Jun repeated. "A stone that is said to enhance calmness and composure."
"That's nice," said Avalon, nonchalantly as she added another flower. Jun looked at the other trays. She saw gemstones in every color of the spectrum. There was also pearls, shells, silk ribbons.
"You bring all this from home?" Jun asked.
"The chalcedony I brought from home," said Avalon. "Everything else I already had in my chambers on this boat." She picked up another flower and added it to the head piece.
"So you have a big hoard of treasure like dragons in the stories I read?" Jun asked.
"Yes," said Avalon. "It's locked beneath our castle back home. Any of our citizens are free to it anytime they want. Edelweiss used it to buy this boat and everything on it, and she used some of it to buy ICARIS."
"I've also read about dragons who could do magic," Jun said. Avalon paused briefly, which caused her to drop the flower she'd just picked up. Jun picked it up and handed it back.
"Magic eh?" Avalon replied taking the flower. "In my opinion any dragon with magic would be wise enough to keep it a secret. Magic can so easily corrupt you. I've heard stories about magic being used to hurt others."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Jun agreed. Avalon applied the last chalcedony flower.
"There," she said. "Now for the center piece." She tapped the forehead of the headpiece where there was a large round hole in the wires. She turned to the trays and combed through the gems with her talons.
"How many pieces of jewelry have you made?" Jun asked.
"Quite a few," said Avalon. "Except for my queen's crown, all my jewelry I made by hand." She picked out a sapphire the size of a ping pong ball. She fitted it into the hole.
"And you like flowers," Jun observed.
"I like all plants, not just flowers," said Avalon. "But yes, I grow a vast number of flowers." Then she perked up and smiled. "My family has also been blessed with the finest flower in the world." At that moment they could hear Edelweiss and Tom talking as they headed for the pool deck, they appeared to be talking about Ancient Rome.
"So your dad really fought in the Colosseum?" Tom asked.
"It's nothing to be proud of Tom," Edelweiss said. "He was lucky to get out of there alive. It wasn't like your football games. That place was terrible pit of death."
"Have you been to Rome?" Tom asked.
"I have, a few times," said Edelweiss. "I always stayed in places that had no people, including the mouth of Mt. Vesuvius itself."
"Whoa really?" Tom asked. "Right in the crater?"
"Yeah," Edelweiss said, sitting in one of the chairs. "I've visited many famous mountains and volcanos."
"My mom said you've never been to Yellowstone," said Tom.
"I have not," Edelweiss said. "I would like to go there. Perhaps in the winter, when there's fewer people."
"My mom's been assigned to Yellowstone, maybe you can join us there next summer," Tom suggested. "And maybe you can bring Black Widow."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Avalon said. "Yellowstone is a popular place, even in the winter. It'd be so risky to have Edelweiss out there, and even riskier for Black Widow."
"Just a minuet your majesty," Jun said. "It might not be so bad to have the world know about just one dragon. They don't have to learn about all of them." Avalon sat on her haunches, considering this. Then she spotted Apollo and Eider returning.
"We'll talk about this later," she said. She closed up her trays as the two male dragons landed among them.
"Everything's set up," said Apollo. "And I've scouted the area. It should be clear skies for most of the day."
"Splendid," said Avalon. She turned to the riders. "Saddle up and meet us in the arena for race." Then she spread her wings and headed towards the arena, Apollo and Eider followed.
An hour later the riders and dragons headed for the old arena. Inside they saw what looked like two giant basket ball hoops. One had a blue net, the other had a green net. Avalon, Eider, and Apollo stood beneath them. Eider and Apollo both had black and white stripes painted on their wings and snouts. Avalon wore her new heat piece. At Avalon's feet was a large dark grey buoy ball.
"Welcome," Avalon said enthusiastically. "You all ready for this race?"
"Heck yah!" Eugene exclaimed.
"Good," said Avalon. "We've made a few changes from what Hiccup did. First off, they used sheep. But since we don't have sheep, we're using these." She gestured to the buoy ball. "There are twelve white balls scattered around the island, each worth one point. You will find them, bring them back here, and place them in these baskets." She gestured to the giant baskets. "Once they've all been found, and brought back, we will launch this one." She pointed to the black ball. "This one is worth five points. The team that gets into their basket first usually wins. Now the rules. No dragon is allowed to blast, or bite, or scratch." She then turned to Feathers and Thunder. "And we'd much appreciate it of you two didn't cloak yourselves and stayed where we can see you." Thunder and Feathers exchanged a glance, then both nodded in agreement. "Great! Next rule; no riders is allowed to jump off their dragon and onto another, everyone stay in their own saddle. Anyone who causes injury it out. Anyone who knocks another rider off their dragon is out. Eider and Apollo will be acting as referees. They will be flying around making sure everyone plays by these rules, and they're on hand in case of an emergency. And any major emergency that does occur, the race will get shut down so the issue can be addressed. I will be staying here to guard the black ball, and to count the points. Are there any questions?" The riders exchanged a glance.
"Do we get a trophy and cash if we win?" Eugene asked greedily.
"You are racing for glory," said Avalon. "Not for a physical prize." Eugene slouched in disappointment. Avalon turned to her comrades. "Am I missing anything?"
"I don't think so," said Apollo.
"Very well," said Avalon. "That just leaves picking the teams."
"Can we pick our teams?" Jun asked. The other riders got excited. Avalon considered, then shrugged.
"Very well," she said. She glanced at each of the riders. "But if you can't pick fairly, I do have an alternative." She gestured to a small basket next to the black ball. "I will need two volunteers to pick the teams." Jun put her hand up at once. "Jun, you're on the green team." Jun went to stand under the green basket. Then Tom put his hand up, mere seconds before anyone else. "Tom, you're blue team." Tom went over to the blue basket. "You get first pick." Tom looked at the remaining riders, deep in thought.
"Edelweiss," he said. Edel led Black Widow over to the blue basket. Then it was Jun's turn.
"D'Angelo," she said.
"Yes!" D exclaimed as he and Plowhorn went over to the green team. Then it was Tom's turn again.
"Alex," he said. Alex shrugged, and led Feathers over to the blue team.
"No, you're not sticking me with Eugene," Jun protested. "He's going to make us lose."
"I happened to be on my high school volleyball team," Eugene boasted.
"That was gym class," Jun clarified. "This is a real game."
"Come on Jun, one of us has to have him on their team," Tom said. "I don't want him on my team anymore than you want him on yours." Suddenly there came a loud whiplash from Avalon's tail. They all instantly quieted down and looked at her.
"The teams are set, no take backs and that's final," she said sternly. "Now shut up and mount up." She then nodded at her comrades, who took off at once. As the riders mounted their dragons, Avalon then went to a rack that held leather ribbons that held blue or green reflective strips. She took them down one at a time and tied them around the dragons' legs, matching their team color.
"All right," she said, when she finished. "Dragons, riders, prepare yourselves." The dragons opened their wings, and their riders grasped onto their saddles. All facing the arena's gate. Avalon went to stand in front of them. She lashed her long tail dramatically. She then whipped the air with another loud crack, and the racers took off.
The two teams flew over the island looking for the buoys. It didn't take long before the buoys were found. The riders and their dragons snatched them up and got them back to their nets as fast as they could, trying to avoid the other team trying to intercept. One by one the buoys were dropped into the baskets in the arena, under the careful watch of Avalon, Apollo, and Eider. It eventually got rough, but not too rough. There were several collisions in which a buoy was lost by one rider and dragon and picked up by another.
At long last the last of the white buoys were dropped into the baskets. Avalon counted them and both teams were tied six to six. She grabbed the black buoy ball in her talons and took off over the island at full speed. The racers chased her. Avalon flew very high above the woods then she dropped the buoy, then sped back to her spot in the arena. The racers scrambled to get the black ball. Soon it was Plowhorn who snagged it. She sped back towards the arena. But the ball was knocked out of her grip by Alex and Feathers. They saw Tom and Thunder out ahead of them, Tom waving his arms at them. Feathers hit the black ball in their direction. Both Jun and Eugene saw a chance to intercept it, and sped up. They were both just about to grab the black ball, when their two dragons collided in the air. They managed to stay on their dragons and stay in the air, but lost the buoy. Edelweiss snagged it, and headed towards the arena, which was with in sight. Black Widow flared her wings, then shot forward with a loud whistle. They reached the arena and dropped the black ball into the blue basket. The race was over and won.