The heat spread too fast.
Grass blackened beneath Elsa's feet.
The air warped around her.
Not fully unleashed—
But close enough for the soldiers to panic.
---
"Fall back!"
One shouted it too late.
Fear already controlled them.
Spears lowered.
Formation broke.
Instinct replaced discipline.
---
The young soldier who spoke about Edward stepped back trembling.
He hadn't meant courage.
Only fear wearing cruelty.
Now he finally understood what stood before him.
And that realization came far too late.
---
Elsa stared at him.
Gold eyes burning.
Not wild.
That was the terrifying part.
She was completely aware.
---
"You don't get to speak about him."
Her voice shook slightly.
Not from rage.
From pain.
---
The ground cracked again.
Flames curled along her arms.
The trees nearest to her began to smoke.
---
"Elsa."
The old man's voice cut through it quietly.
Not loud.
Not commanding.
Just there.
---
Her breathing faltered slightly.
The heat wavered.
---
The soldiers noticed immediately.
One panicked.
"She's hesitating!"
And thrust his spear forward.
---
Mistake.
---
Elsa moved instantly.
Too fast.
The spear melted before reaching her.
The soldier screamed as heat exploded outward—
Then stopped.
Abruptly.
---
Elsa's hand had closed around his throat.
Not burning.
Yet.
---
The entire forest froze.
Even the soldier stopped struggling for a second.
Because he saw it too—
She was deciding.
---
Heat pulsed violently through her arm.
One moment.
One choice.
That was all it would take.
---
"You could."
The whisper returned.
Closer now.
Stronger.
---
"He insulted him."
---
Her grip tightened slightly.
The soldier gasped.
---
"You know what humans do."
---
Fear.
Chains.
Blades.
Execution.
---
"They'll never stop."
---
The flames climbed higher.
The soldier's skin reddened from the heat.
Tears filled his eyes.
Pure terror.
---
Then—
A memory.
Small.
Quiet.
A child in the rain holding out a torn doll.
"You're hurt too."
---
Her grip shook.
---
Another memory.
Edward's forehead against hers.
"You're doing well."
---
The flames faltered.
Just slightly.
---
The soldier stared at her.
Certain he was about to die.
---
Elsa slowly released him.
He collapsed instantly into the dirt.
Alive.
Barely understanding why.
---
"Run."
Her voice sounded exhausted.
---
The soldiers didn't hesitate.
They fled immediately.
Dragging the shaken man with them.
No pride.
No formation.
Only survival.
---
Soon—
Only silence remained again.
Broken trees.
Scorched earth.
Heat fading slowly into cold air.
---
Elsa stood unmoving.
Breathing hard.
Hands trembling now.
Not from power.
From restraint.
---
The old man watched her carefully.
"You almost did it."
---
She laughed quietly.
A terrible sound.
Empty.
---
"Almost?"
She looked at the burned ground around her.
"The forest says otherwise."
---
"You stopped."
---
"Because of memories."
Her voice sharpened suddenly.
Frustration breaking through.
"What happens when those stop being enough?"
---
The old man had no quick answer.
That frightened her more than anything.
---
She stepped away from him.
Unsteady now.
Not physically.
Inside.
---
"I'm getting worse."
---
"No."
The answer came slowly.
Carefully.
"You're getting tired of fighting yourself."
---
"That's worse."
---
Silence.
Heavy.
Honest.
---
Elsa looked down at her hands.
At the faint heat still rising from them.
---
"When he died…"
Her voice weakened slightly.
"…everything became louder."
---
The old man listened quietly.
---
"The anger."
A pause.
"The hunger."
Another.
"The part of me that wants to stop caring."
---
Wind moved softly through the ruined clearing.
---
"He kept it quiet."
She finally admitted it.
Not powerfully.
Not dramatically.
Like someone realizing they've been falling for a long time.
---
The old man looked toward the distant trees where the soldiers had fled.
"The world won't help you carry that burden."
---
"I know."
---
"Then you'll need to decide something."
---
Elsa looked at him tiredly.
---
"Whether you're trying to survive…"
A pause.
"…or trying to remain yourself."
---
That landed harder than any blade could.
Because she wasn't sure anymore.
---
A long silence followed.
Then Elsa asked quietly—
"…Why are you helping me?"
---
The old man smiled faintly.
Tired.
Sad.
---
"Because once…"
His gaze drifted somewhere far away.
"…someone did the same for me."
---
Before she could ask more—
A distant roar echoed through the mountains far beyond the forest.
Deep.
Ancient.
Wrong.
---
Elsa froze instantly.
Every instinct sharpened.
---
That wasn't human.
---
The old man's expression changed for the first time.
Concern.
Real concern.
---
"…That's bad."
---
The roar came again.
Closer this time.
And beneath it—
Elsa felt something she hadn't felt in years.
Recognition.
---
Dragon.