The Return of the Dragons

Part 24 Through the Misty Shroud - Zephyr POV

I struggle in the water. The cold ocean is coming up all around me and threatens to close of my breath swallowing me whole into it's fatal depths. I look down and all I can see is deep deep ocean as far as the eye can see. Perhaps there is something huge moving under me or whatever that large blurry matter is that interrupts the otherwise unbroken blue. My spine tingles. Fear rushes up and down my whole being. I jerk myself out of the sort of trance that I have fallen into and I look over at my brother who is also struggling next to me.

"Nuff." I say trying to be strong for him. "It's okay. Just calm down."

"Sis we're gonna die!" he cries. He had been violently struggling but now his harsh movements have ceased and he seems to be giving up. His head begins to sink under the water. Okay that's it!

"Nuffink Horrific Haddock the Second! Snap out of it and get your head out of the water!" He immediately obeys and starts treading water again.

"You are not gonna give up on me Nuff! I won't let you!" I cry looking him straight in the eye

"Then what ARE we going to do?' he asks. "Our ship has been taken and we are out in the middle of the ocean and sis." he whimpers beginning to tear up. "I'm scared."

I sigh. "I know you're scared Nuff. I'm scared too. But we've just got to figure out something. We have to do this. For Daddy, and for Mommy and... and for Sieglinde.

He nods. "Okay." he says, "I'll do it for them."

I love my little brother. He is more like my daddy than he thinks he is. He does get scared a lot, but he is determined to try his hardest for those he loves. Sometimes he just has to be reminded of who he's fighting for.

I look around me. All I see in most every diresction is water; miles and miles of water. The big ship is too far away to swim to and so is ours that those good for nothings hyjacked. But wait! I see something brown floating on the water just ahead of us!

My poor brother is struggling and if I am honest with myself so am I. My arms and legs are getting tired, and every bit of me hopes that what I see is a piece of wood. "Come on Nuffink!" I pant. "Swim with me, you can do this!" He swims feebly along with me until we finally reach what I most happily find to be a wooden plank. "Here Nuff, grab onto this."

Nuffink slumps his arms over the plank grabbing onto it and his tired limbs relax. I am quite relieved myself to be able to hang onto something. My mind is turning over and over, processing all the information and that has been thrown at me in the past half an hour. Our ship is low long gone and we are stranded in the middle of the ocean with no means of getting home, or anywhere for that matter.

Tears begin to come to my eyes as I realize something. I have failed. I failed my mission. My mission was to make Daddy and Mommy happy again but now if Nuffink and I die out here in the ocean we will only break their hearts even more. I lay my head down on the plank resigned to my own demise. Now I only wait to die. But no! there has to be a way! I can't see it but I know it's there. Daddy wouldn't want me to give up! I have to think of something.

Suddenly, in the silence I hear a roaring. When do you hear any kind of a roaring in the ocean? There was no storm but I began to notice a mist rising over my head as my brother and I floated aimlessly across the ocean. Wait, When DO you hear a roaring sound in the middle of the ocean...?

WHEN THERE'S A WATERFALL!

"Nuffink! I shout" we have to paddle! I'll steer, you just paddle!"

"What? Why?" he asks.

"Why, because we're gonna live that's why!" I cry.

"For Daddy and Mommy." I head him mumble and he begins to paddle his heart out.

"That's it Nuff!" I shout over the roaring of the water which is getting increasingly louder.

I squint looking through the mist and I see something I never thought I'd see again. A black head with two green eyes glaring at us pokes through the misty shroud. It's the alpha... Toothless.