The roar echoed again.
Closer.
The forest trembled with it.
Birds scattered violently into the sky.
Trees bent beneath pressure that wasn't wind.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Predatory.
---
Elsa stood completely still.
Every instinct inside her sharpened at once.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Something deeper than thought.
---
The old man rose slowly from the log.
For the first time since she met him—
He looked tense.
---
"That's impossible," he muttered quietly.
---
Elsa's gaze remained fixed toward the mountains.
The roar carried something strange beneath it.
Pain.
Rage.
Hunger.
---
And familiarity.
---
The soldiers who had fled earlier were long gone now.
Good.
Because whatever this was—
Humans would not survive standing near it.
---
Another roar split through the air.
This time the ground shook beneath them.
Closer.
Far too close.
---
Elsa's horns pulsed faintly.
Heat rising instinctively in response.
Not aggression.
Reaction.
Like blood answering blood.
---
"…Dragon."
The word left her mouth softly.
Almost unconsciously.
---
The old man looked at her sharply.
"You can feel it?"
---
She nodded slowly.
"It's angry."
A pause.
"…And hurt."
---
Then suddenly—
Silence.
Complete.
The forest stopped moving.
No wind.
No birds.
Nothing.
---
The old man's expression darkened immediately.
"…Move."
---
Too late.
---
The trees exploded apart.
A massive shape crashed through the forest line in a storm of shattered wood and heat.
Black scales.
Burning gold eyes.
One wing torn almost completely open.
Huge.
Ancient.
Dying.
---
Elsa's breath caught.
Not from fear.
From instinct.
Something inside her recognized it immediately.
Not individually.
Racially.
---
Dragon.
True dragon.
---
The beast staggered heavily into the clearing.
Blood poured from deep spear wounds along its side.
Kingdom weapons.
Recent.
---
Its burning eyes locked onto Elsa instantly.
And everything stopped.
---
The old man moved carefully backward.
Not running.
Just understanding he no longer mattered here.
---
The dragon stared at her.
Long.
Silent.
Then—
A sound.
Lower now.
Not a roar.
Something closer to disbelief.
---
Elsa stood frozen.
The pressure rolling from the creature should have crushed her.
Instead—
It felt familiar.
Warm.
Terrifyingly familiar.
---
The dragon took one step forward.
Then another.
Its wounded wing dragging against the ground.
---
Elsa's body tensed instinctively.
Not to fight.
To endure.
---
Then the dragon spoke.
Not aloud.
Not truly.
A voice pressed directly into her mind.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Burning.
---
**"…Her blood."**
---
Elsa's eyes widened.
---
The dragon lowered its massive head slightly toward her.
Studying.
Searching.
---
**"Impossible…"**
---
The old man's expression changed instantly.
He understood now.
At least part of it.
---
Elsa swallowed slowly.
"…You know my mother."
---
The dragon's eyes narrowed sharply.
Pain flashed across its expression.
Then rage.
Violent.
Immediate.
---
The heat in the clearing exploded outward.
Trees igniting instantly.
The old man shielded himself behind shattered stone.
---
**"Humans."**
The voice thundered through her mind.
**"They killed her."**
---
Elsa's chest tightened violently.
Not because of the words.
Because of the emotion behind them.
Grief.
Real grief.
---
"They killed my father too."
The words slipped out before she realized it.
---
The dragon froze.
---
Its burning eyes studied her again.
More carefully this time.
And slowly—
Something shifted.
---
Not hostility.
Recognition.
---
**"You survived."**
---
Elsa didn't know how to answer that.
Because some part of her wasn't sure she had.
---
Suddenly—
A sharp metallic sound echoed through the forest.
Then another.
---
The old man cursed quietly.
"…They tracked it."
---
Voices carried through the trees.
Armored movement.
Military formation.
Kingdom hunters.
Many.
---
The wounded dragon lifted its head sharply.
Instinctively hostile.
The heat around it surged violently.
---
Elsa felt it immediately.
If the soldiers attacked—
This forest would become a graveyard.
---
The old man looked toward her.
Not commanding.
Not pleading.
Just knowing.
---
This moment mattered.
---
The hunters burst into the clearing seconds later.
Heavy armor.
Dragon spears.
Runic chains.
Prepared for war.
---
Then they saw Elsa standing beside the dragon.
And every face changed instantly.
---
One hunter whispered in horror—
"…There are two."
---
Fear spread immediately through the formation.
---
The dragon growled deeply.
The sound alone made several soldiers stumble backward.
---
Weapons raised instantly.
Orders shouted.
Chaos beginning.
---
Then one of the hunters pointed directly at Elsa.
Recognition.
"You!"
Another shouted—
"The dragon-blood is controlling it!"
---
Wrong.
Completely wrong.
But fear never waits for truth.
---
The dragon's rage surged.
The forest ignited around them.
---
Elsa stepped forward instinctively.
Between both sides.
---
"Stop!"
Her voice cracked through the chaos.
For one brief moment—
Everyone hesitated.
Humans.
Dragon.
Even the fire itself seeming to pause.
---
Then a hunter screamed—
"Kill them both!"
And threw the first spear.