One

Glimmers of some distant memory scattered across Casey's fogged mind as she listened to the squabble around her. This was the first she was hearing of the "Snow Queen", as Storybrooke's finest had labelled her. Now, the whole town was panicking because of the giant wall of snow that had them all trapped. Well, not like that was really new; wasn't that what the first curse had done?

Mind you, nobody knew they were trapped at the time; that was the whole point of the curse. Still, everyone was still harboring some resentment over the last curse; it only made sense they would blame Regina for this one too.

But 15-year-old Casey knew it wasn't her doing, and thankfully, Emma had her back on that. Regina had changed, at least for the most part. Sure, she'd been bitter since Marion time travelled back with Emma and Hook, but Casey could still see the gleam of goodness in Regina's eyes. Maybe Casey was biased, though. For reasons she'd never been sure of, Regina had taken her in. Casey, an orphan for as long as she could remember, had been raised in a run-down orphanage in the Enchanted Forest, at least until Regina cast the curse. In Storybrooke, Casey was the mayor's adopted daughter, though Casey wasn't sure if that was really official. She was 12 when the curse was cast, and 12 when the mayor brought her home.

Motives were always unclear, but Casey never bothered to ask Regina what she was thinking, taking her in after the curse. Maybe that was why she was so biased. In her mind, it didn't really matter why Regina decided to keep her nearby. All Casey cared about was that somebody wanted her around. She didn't have to be alone.

Didn't everyone need somebody to love them?

Sure, love was always a strange concept when dealing with the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest, and yeah, that first year was a trainwreck, but Regina's heart had somehow opened to Casey, and Henry too, her adopted brother, who turned out to be Emma's son, and what a mess that had been.

Never a dull moment in Storybrooke.

Actually, Casey hadn't even seen Regina really since Marion showed up. Regina said she needed time, so Casey and Henry were bunking at Snow's loft with Emma, David, Henry, and this new girl, Elsa, who'd just shown up in Storybrooke. Casey guessed Regina needed to deal with the pain of losing Robin Hood, but Casey had to admit, she wished Regina hadn't decided to forget she had two kids who maybe needed her.

Anyway, Regina was somewhat far from her mind during the meeting Snow had called on behalf of Storybrooke, given that she was the new mayor and all. It was weird; all this talk about a Snow Queen sent Casey's mind reeling. It was almost like she could form a picture in her mind of this villain, even though she'd never even seen her. Nobody even described her so what was that about? It wasn't as though Casey had a wild imagination or anything. Why all these flashes?

Flashes that kept growing stronger, even after she left the meeting. Now, as she was sitting across from Henry while they ate lunch at Granny's, the flashes of the Snow Queen grew clearer and clearer. She could see her now, clear as day, with her blonde hair, pale blue eyes and a dress as sharp as ice. It made no sense; how could she possibly know what this woman looked like?

"Casey, you okay?" Henry asked, luring Casey back to reality. Casey blinked, zeroing in on Henry. He knew something was up, it was just the kind of relationship they had. It was weird; she may have been three years older than he was, but he was her closest friend. She could tell him anything. They'd both been through a lot: they'd both been abandoned as babies, and both of them had lived with the Evil Queen and both had been there when Henry's real mother broke the curse. Life had certainly thrown the two some odd curveballs.

But at least Henry's real mother had come back. Casey didn't know anything about her birth parents, and apparently, neither did Regina.

"Yeah I'm fine," Casey said, shaking her head. "I just can't stop thinking about the Snow Queen."

"I know, I'm kind of freaked out by it all too," Henry admitted.

"No, it's not like that. I mean, yeah, I guess I'm freaked out. She does sound dangerous, but...I don't know, it's like...it's like I can see her."

Henry puckered his brow. "What do you mean?"

"In my mind. I know it sounds crazy, but it's like...well it's almost like a memory." Casey rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Henry smiled. "You do know where we live, right? I don't think you're crazy; maybe it means something."

"Maybe what means something?" Casey jumped when Emma dropped into the booth with the two and stared inquisitively at both of them. "What's going on, Casey? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Mom, Casey was just telling me about-"

"Nothing!" Casey spat, grabbing her knapsack and scooting out of the booth. "It's nothing! Henry, you don't have to blab to everyone about everything!"

And with that, she darted out of the diner.

Well what was that all about?

It wasn't like she didn't trust Emma. She was the savior, wasn't she? She had powers, she'd been prophesied to save Storybrooke, and she did on more than one occasion, so why wouldn't Casey trust her with something like this? What was with her defensiveness, and what was with her screaming at her brother like that?

It was almost as though something didn't want her to.

Or someone.

Turning the corner, she felt a sharp pain in her head that drove her to her knees, and that was when a flash hit her hard.

One image after the other.

The opening of a cave in the middle of the woods...icicles...that familiar white dress...pale blue eyes...long fingers hanging over the side of a cradle, Casey reaching up to take them...a memory of a smile, a soft voice speaking over her...white, everything white...cool arms around her...safe...loud noises...darkness...that cave again...HER!

Casey's eyes popped open and she gasped. She realized she was still on her knees behind Granny's, trembling from head to toe. What...just...happened?

That cave on the edge of town in the middle of the woods, that was where the Snow Queen was. Casey saw her there. How, she didn't know, but she knew she should tell somebody. Emma, Snow or even Regina if she could ever find her.

But Casey couldn't bring herself to do it, because she wanted answers. Why all these scattered flashes of the Snow Queen? How could she see where she was? And what was that memory of the Snow Queen's fingers draped over a cradle, a smile that didn't seem to suit a villain? Why would Casey, of all people, have these visions?

Did the Snow Queen know her? Was she somehow sending these images to throw Casey off, or use her somehow?

Casey didn't know, but she was going to find out!