The narrow hallway outside of Elsa's chamber felt colder than the rest of the castle, as if the very air itself feared what lay on the other side of that last door. John walked beside Merlin, but his heartbeat was so loud he could hardly hear the old man's footsteps. With each step forward, a strange, gripping pressure took tighter hold in his chest, one he'd never felt.
He tried to calm himself, tried to breathe the way his father once taught him, tried to pretend this trembling inside him was just worry… nothing more.
But with each heartbeat, the truth pulsed louder.
Why am I feeling like this for her?
He didn't fully understand it, not yet, he only knew the very idea of Elsa in pain broke parts of him he never knew existed.
They reached the door.
Merlin stopped. His hand rested on the wood as if he needed courage to even push it open.
