Title: Frozen Heart
Rating: K
Pairings: Snowing, CaptainSwan, eventual GoldenQueen, mentions of RumBelle and OutlawQueen
Spoilers: Very few, if any. Blink and you'll miss them.
Summary: AU of Season 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or Frozen, they belong to ABC and Disney. I'm just borrowing!
Author's note: This is my first OUAT fanfic, so please be kind with the reviews. I saw the premiere, thought it was okay. This is my idea of another way it could've gone. Enjoy!
She stood outside the barn doors, looking up at the full moon.
Reveling in her newfound freedom.
The air was soft and cool, no wind, not even a breeze. She was so glad to finally be free of that wretched prison the imp had trapped her in. How she had escaped, she didn't know. And she didn't care to know. She was just grateful to be out. Even the stars seemed to be celebrating her release, twinkling brightly in the night sky.
Wait. What?
A look of confusion spread across her face.
The stars. They were all wrong.
A gust of wind suddenly blew through the trees, drawing her gaze to the town below. That didn't look right either. The lights were too bright to be from fires. The roads were smooth. And the buildings were strange, unlike any she'd ever seen before.
Now that she thought about it, the barn wasn't right either. True, she couldn't see much in the dim light, but it still felt different somehow. She glanced back at the strange little town with its too bright lights, her heart pounding in her chest.
Where am I?
"You better hope to God you didn't bring anything else back!"
Regina glared at Emma, eyes burning with fury. She looked dangerously close to reverting to her old self.
Emma couldn't really blame the queen for being angry. She'd just accidentally thrown a wrench—in the form of Maid Marian—into Regina's new relationship. Not exactly trust-inspiring. In spite of everything, though, Emma suddenly felt sorry for her. The poor woman had her happy ending ripped away from her once before. And now again…
Regina took a step toward Emma, hand poised to conjure a fireball, but Emma refused to back down. Both Henry and Robin protested, but their words fell on deaf ears. Regina's head was clouded with anger.
David and Hook moved to protect Emma, but she held up a hand to stop them. This was her mess. She should be the one to clean it up. Besides, she could handle Regina. This was not the first time she'd been confronted by the powerful woman.
Straightening her shoulders, Emma told the queen in a quiet but firm voice, "Look, I'm sorry. Really. If I'd known who she was, I—"
"You'd have what?" Regina cut in. "Left her behind to die?"
Emma hesitated. There was no right answer here. "I don't know…maybe."
Robin, Henry, and both her parents stared at her, horrified.
When she saw Regina's face turn red, Emma got ready to face another burst of temper from her, but it didn't come. Instead, the queen took a deep breath, lowered her hand, and said, "No, you wouldn't."
"You're the savior." She glanced over at Henry and smiled a small, sad half-smile. "You're a hero, not a villain."
"I don't know what's going on," Marian said, speaking up for the first time. "But I feel as though I've done something wrong."
Robin shook his head, taking her small hand in his. "You've done nothing, my love. I'm afraid the fault is mine."
Regina knew by the anguish in his eyes that Robin cared for Marian more deeply than his simple words expressed. There was a bond between the two, evident the moment they reunited, that made her long for such love. Something that she, no matter how much she wanted to, could never have with him. Tinkerbell was wrong. There were no such things as soulmates.
She tried to quell the upwelling of jealousy that washed over her as she watched Robin squeeze Marian's hand reassuringly.
"You were right, Rumple." She sighed resignedly as she turned away from them, lifting a hand to her face to hide a tear. "Villains don't get happy endings."
Gold gave her a strange, indiscernible look before averting his gaze, unconsciously concealing the new ring on his finger.
Emma couldn't stop the waves of guilt that washed over her. She felt awful.
"Regina…" she began, trying to make her voice gentle.
Maybe there was some way to work this out. Some way to fix this.
But before she could say anything more, a commotion outside the diner drew everyone's attention.
"Storybrooke?"
The sign was meant to welcome visitors. But for her, it just made her feel more lost.
As soon as she set foot in the strange town, she was met by several pairs of eyes turning to stare at her. Not with fear though, which surprised her, but with curiosity. Her eyes went in search of anything familiar. But there was nothing. Everything was different. The buildings, the clothes, the people. All of it. A couple walked close by, and the man gave her a quizzical look. She felt the tingle of magic at her fingertips, but held it back. The man was no threat, and she'd rather not draw attention to herself even more than she already was. Besides, it was probably her own stare that started it.
So she opted for a smile instead. He gave her a small one in return then continued on his way.
All these people were real enough, of that she was certain, but she didn't recognize any of them. She could feel her stomach tightening and her hands starting to shake. Her control was slipping.
She took a deep, shaky breath.
As a child, she had been taught to hide her magic. It wasn't until she found the most powerful magic of all that she learned to control it. But that kind of magic had been in short supply during her imprisonment. So she reverted to the old way.
"Conceal it. Don't feel it. Don't let it show." She repeated this mantra to herself as she wandered further into the town.
She caught a sideways glance from a portly man wearing a red knit cap. She quickly averted her gaze. The man kept going.
She passed a rather large building housing a library (who knew there were that many books in the world?), a school unlike any she'd seen before, and something called a Pawn Shop.
An old man and a young red-haired boy crossed the road in front of her. The boy waved at her smiling, innocent. She gave a small wave in return, smiling a small, sad half-smile. The boy reminded her of her sister.
It was obvious by now that she was far from home. Far from her friends. Her family. Far from everything she knew.
All these people were strangers. Even the buildings, the roadways, the signs…all strangers.
She cautiously approached a brightly lit building where many of the townspeople seemed to be gathered. A sign outside read, "Granny's Diner."
She was wondering what a "granny" could be and why one would have ownership of a meal guest, when a big, metal box on wheels suddenly roared past. She stumbled backwards in surprise, pressing herself against a wall. Her hand went to her chest, her heart pounding. She felt her restraint falter.
A man walked by with a funny thing in his ear, talking out loud to someone who wasn't there—
"… so she's off the pain medication. Did that bloodwork I ordered come in, yet? Good…I'll be back in half an hour."
When he noticed her, he touched his ear then turned to meet her gaze, a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right?"
She edged away from him. "I…I'm fine."
She was drawing more stares now. Fighting panic, tears stinging the corners of her eyes, her hands trembling, she was getting noticeable and couldn't help it.
A kind-looking man accompanied by a spotted dog approached, giving her a pleasant smile. "Miss, are you lost?"
"No, I…"
She backed away and nearly fell. He reached out to help her, but she jerked away from him as if she'd been burned.
"No! Don't touch me. Please…I don't want to hurt you."
"Hey, now, take it easy. We're just trying to help."
More strangers, curious and concerned, came close.
Too close.
Emma was hit by a wall of cold air as she stepped outside. "Whoa! What the…?"
She hugged her coat closer to her body, glancing up at the night sky. Dark clouds had gathered, blotting out the moon and stars. An icy wind blew through the trees. A storm was coming.
"It's freezing," Hook remarked, pulling up the collar of his coat against the sudden chill. "Is it winter already?"
Regina frowned, rubbing her gloved hands together. "It can't be. It's the middle of September."
That's when Emma noticed the crowd of people gathered out in the street. "What's going on?"
The crowd parted like the Red Sea as Emma and the others approached, revealing a very confused young woman. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, had fair skin, blue eyes, and wore a flowing, icy blue gown that hugged every curve of her body perfectly. Her long hair, white as snow, was tied up into a single braid that rested elegantly on her left shoulder.
"She's beautiful," David commented, eyes transfixed on the girl.
"Aye, that she is, mate," Hook agreed.
Emma gave both men a look. "Really?"
Snow just glared at her husband before smacking him on the shoulder. He smiled at her sheepishly.
"No, it can't be…." Gold moved like lightning, pushing past them toward the girl, a troubled look on his face. "That's impossible!"
The girl's eyes widened when she spotted him. "You!"
She suddenly thrust her arm forward in a gesture they recognized all too well. She had magic! But before she could actually do anything, her right arm suddenly snapped back down to her side followed by the other. Then her entire body stiffened as if she'd been completely bound in invisible ropes. She glared at her captor as she felt her feet leave the ground. Rumpelstiltskin just glared back, holding her there with his own powerful magic.
"How did you escape?" he demanded.
"Rumple!?" Belle rushed forward, shocked by the man's sudden change in demeanor. He'd gone from calm to furious in less than two seconds. "What are you doing?"
"Let her go, Gold," Emma ordered, instinctively pulling her gun on the sorcerer. "Now!"
He lowered the girl back down to the ground, but didn't release her. "I don't think you really want me to do that."
"Why?"
"She is dangerous!" He looked at the girl with disdain. But there was something else there, something he was trying very hard to hide: fear. Emma's "superpower" had allowed her to see it, and it piqued her interest. There were very few people who could instill fear in the Dark One.
"Who is she?" When she didn't get an answer from Rumpelstiltskin, she turned to the girl. "Who are you?"
"My name...is Elsa," the girl responded, struggling fiercely against her captor's hold. "Queen Elsa…of Arendelle."
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