Ruby ambles through the forest near the edge of town, aimless and unhurried. The full moon is a few days away and she's beginning to feel the pull of her wolf nature. With it comes an excess of energy that Granny can only put up with for so long before yelling at her to 'go running or something!'. She sighs. Storybrooke really isn't big enough to let her run as much as she wants to. She could run for days back home. Home. The magic bean didn't work and so she didn't get to go back and see if she could find... something . She's not even sure you can find a thing if you don't know what you're looking for, but she just knows that something's not right and she doesn't know how to fix it.
After the bean refused to grow, Regina had offered to look into some alternatives for her, but the Queen has problems enough of her own right now, what with Robin's dead wife being back on the scene, so Ruby hasn't bothered her about it.
Letting out a deep sigh, Ruby looks up and finds that she's almost at the edge of town. The magic of Regina's protective barrier crackles in the air. Ruby's pretty sure not everyone can 'hear' it, but as a magical being herself, she's able to sense the supernatural better than most. She approaches the town line, holding her hand out and stopping when she feels the magic creep like gooseflesh up her arm. She curls her fingers into a fist, her jaw straining with the effort of resisting the temptation to keep walking.
Sometimes, it's all she can think about. She could cross that line and just be Ruby again. She could go and find a job in some little town, get an apartment, just be normal . She'd worry about normal things like money and her weight and whether her favourites would be eliminated on The Bachelorette. She'd have friends. Maybe she'd meet a nice boy and settle down. Or a nice girl.
And best of all, that version of Ruby wouldn't wake up screaming from nightmares so real she'd swear she can taste blood in her mouth. That Ruby would have no memory of ever being a bloodthirsty monster. She'd be completely unaware that she'd killed and eaten her first love. She'd have no idea of the darkness lurking inside her.
It would be so easy, she thinks, as she takes another step closer to the barrier, its magic fizzing against her fingertips. It's not like she'd be missed. Not for long, at least. And not by many. She tries not to think about Granny and what it might do to her to lose another person that sh-
Before she can even complete the thought, she's thrown off her feet and lands with an 'oof' on her back. She scrambles to her feet on the unsteady ground, from which something is erupting. It...it looks like...ice? Shards of thick ice shoot well up into the air, towering over the surrounding trees. Ruby watches, her mouth hanging open, as shard after shard grows and joins the others, weaving an imposing wall of ice.
"What the fuck?" she whispers. Ruby can feel magic coming from the wall, but it's not like Regina's. Regina's magic permeates the entire town and the smell and feel of it are almost a comfort to Ruby; a signal that all is well. This new barrier is not Regina's work. It smells lighter, the magic dancing in the air rather than crackling. It's not dark magic, Ruby knows that much. And probably not a coincidence after that huge fucking snowman that rampaged through the town.
She starts to walk along the wall, towards the road, wondering how far it goes. She trails her fingers over the cold surface as she goes, letting her nails scrape patterns on the ice, fascinated by how it seems to heal itself in her wake. Lifting her nose into the air, she sniffs once, then twice. The smell of the ice magic is getting stronger and Ruby picks up her pace, wondering if she's getting closer to the source of it.
Letting her wolf loose, her legs pump faster and before long, the road is in sight. Her eyes catch the glint of something blue a second before her nose confirms the presence of another person.
"Hey," Ruby calls out as she slows herself down.
The other person, a blonde woman wearing a beautiful blue gown turns, visibly jumping at the sight of Ruby. Ruby stops dead in her tracks. The woman is almost frighteningly beautiful. Blondes aren't usually Ruby's 'type', but this woman transcends any of that. The bluest eyes she's ever seen pin Ruby in place for a moment before the woman turns and flees into a space in the ice. Without thinking too much about how stupid this could be, Ruby follows her. Inside, the wall feels like a maze made of ice. Using her nose, Ruby weaves in and out of the shards until she catches sight of the woman.
"Hey, you!"
The woman spins, obviously not expecting Ruby to have followed her. Her hand is stretched out in front of her, ice swirling in the palm. Ruby stops walking and holds her own hands up.
"Hey," she repeats, much softer this time. She takes in the woman's wide, frightened eyes and defensive posture. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Slowly, watching Ruby the whole time, the woman lowers her hand and nods. "Okay," she says.
Ruby nods to the ice. "This is your handiwork, huh? Impressive."
The blonde glances around herself before returning her uncertain gaze to Ruby, as if trying to decide whether or not she's being sincere. "Thank you," she ventures.
"I'm Ruby." She lowers one hand and holds it out towards the other woman, who regards it curiously. After an awkward moment, Ruby withdraws the offer of a handshake and wipes her hand on her jeans, clearing her throat. "What's your name?"
Those huge blue eyes meet her own again. "Elsa," she says, softly, with the first hint of a smile that Ruby's seen since encountering her.
"Nice to meet you, Elsa," Ruby says, letting her own smile show, hoping to set Elsa at ease. "You're new in town, huh?" What a stupid thing to say. Of course she's new. Ruby knows everyone in town.
"Yes," Elsa says. "I...I don't know how I got here."
"That's okay," Ruby says, taking a step closer to the young woman, but stopping when Elsa takes a step backwards. "I can help you figure it out, if you want. Well-" she falters, biting her lip. How is she gonna do that? "-I mean, I have friends who can help you. I can take you to them, if you want."
"How can they help me?" Elsa asks, her eyes still guarded. "Do they know where my sister is?"
A lost sister, okay, Ruby can work with that. "What's your sister's name? If she's in Storybrooke, I'll know her."
Elsa holds up her left hand, some kind of pendant dangles from her first. Ruby wrinkles her nose; it's been in Gold's shop.
"This belongs to her. I found it here. So she's been here." She gestures to the immense wall of ice in front of them. "I wanted to make sure she didn't leave before I found her."
Ruby nods. "Okay, the necklace is a good start. But her name would be a little more straightf-"
A clamour starts up behind them. Ruby had been so intent on Elsa she hadn't picked up on anyone else arriving, and she spins in place to find David and Emma, guns drawn, calling her name. Ruby sighs this is not going to help with the trust thing she's trying to build with Elsa.
She shakes her head. "Guys, guys, it's okay!" she tries to reassure them, but the voices and the weapons have freaked Elsa out completely and once again, Ruby finds herself on her back as ice and snow explode all around her. Emma and David's voices fade and soon the only thing she can hear is the creaking and groaning of the ice as it knits itself tighter around them.
When the noise stops, she turns to find Elsa lying on the ground, motionless. For a heartstopping moment, she thinks maybe one of the guns went off in all the chaos. But a cough confirms that the young woman is alive. Ruby jumps to her feet and rushes over to help her up. Elsa reaches out to take Ruby's offered hand, but rethinks at the last moment and draws her hand back sharply, pulling it to her chest. Ruby can't deny that it hurts a little to have her offer of help rejected, but she steps back a little and allows Elsa to get to her feet unaided.
"I-I'm sorry."
Ruby's head snaps up; she hadn't expected an apology. "What for?"
Elsa gestures to Ruby's hand. "You just wanted to help me, I know that," she begins, turning away. "But I...I'm not used to...to touching people. Or being near people, really. Except Anna."
Finally, a name. Not one she knows, but with all the curses and such, names are kind of fluid in Storybrooke. "Anna's your sister?" Ruby asks, still keeping a respectful distance from Elsa. "What's she like? Maybe I know her."
Ruby notes that she can hear voices and, if she really concentrates, she can tell that one is David and one is Emma. But it sounds like they're very far away. Which means that this ice is thick . She can't make out their words and she knows that they would have no chance of hearing her if she were to try yelling back at them. She's on her own for the moment with a very powerful sorceress.
Glancing over her shoulder, Elsa smiles. "Oh, Anna is very much 'once seen, never forgotten'. If you'd met her, you'd remember her."
Ruby takes a seat on the ground. Her werewolf blood runs hotter than most people, so she can stave off the cold for longer. But not forever, so she needs to win Elsa over and get them out of this ice cave before it becomes an ice tomb.
"Listen, Elsa," she starts, suppressing a shiver. "Why don't you tell me your story? How you got separated from your sister? I'm a really good listener and I'm pretty good at finding people."
It takes a few minutes, but a little more of the tension leaves Elsa's features and she lets out a sigh, finally turning to face Ruby.
"I...I don't know how I got here," she begins, biting her lip. "I was trapped in a...in some kind of magical object and then the next thing I knew I appeared in a farm building. I walked until I found your town." She crosses her arms over her stomach. "I...I hoped Anna would be...that I'd find Anna. But I found nothing except her necklace." Her eyes grow shiny. "I need to find her."
"Is Anna your only family?" Ruby asks, gently, receiving a nod in return. Ruby can relate to that. Her whole life, Granny was the only family she knew. And while Snow sometimes refers to their relationships as 'sisters', she knows it's not the same. Particularly when she used to harbour some very unsisterly feelings about Snow.
"Our parents died when we were both quite young. Anna...well, she's always been there for me. Even when I couldn't be there for her."
Ruby can feel the cold seeping into her skin, down to her bones and she wills herself not to shiver. "W-where do you come from?" The more she knows about Elsa and her sister, the more chance she has of helping to reunite them.
"Arendelle." Elsa gives her a crooked smile. "I'm...uh, I'm actually the Queen of Arendelle."
Shaking her head, Ruby lets out a barking laugh, which doesn't appear to be the reaction Elsa expected because she's frowning. "You don't believe me?"
"No, no. I believe you!" Ruby holds up her hands. "I just...we have more Queens around these parts than we know what to do with and now we have another one."
"You...have more than one ruler in this land?" Elsa moves a little closer, her curiosity piqued.
"In this land? In this town ," Ruby says, smiling. "Though, I guess we all really just think of Regina as the Queen most of the time."
"Regina?" Elsa whispers, her eyes growing impossibly larger. "The Evil Queen of Misthaven? She's here?"
"We don't use the E-word these days," Ruby says, unable to contain her shivering any longer, her muscles rippling with involuntary spasms. She wraps her arms around herself, rubbing her biceps. "She's just Regina. She's harmless. Mostly. At least she is after she's had her coffee." In truth, Ruby and Regina have struck up something of a bizarre friendship over the last few years. Regina denies this, of course.
"Coffee?" Elsa tilts her head to the side and Ruby's heart does some weird flippy-floppy thing in her chest. Shit. Not again.
"You don't have coffee in Arendelle?" Ruby asks. "Well, when we get out of here, the first place we are going is the diner. And I will introduce you to coffee. And a burger. Which is a thing you eat."
Elsa's face scrunches in confusion. "I've trapped you inside a wall of ice, and you're inviting me to dine with you? Why would you do such a thing?"
Yeah, desperate much, Rubes? Ruby sighs, although it comes out more shakily than she expected. "Look, from w-what I've s-seen, all y-you want to do is find your s-sister, right?" She really wishes she was wearing her cloak right now. "M-my friends startled you and y-you reacted to prot-tect yourself. You haven't done anything wrong, Elsa."
The young Queen looks down at her hands, holding them palm up. "You're not afraid? Of what I am? What I can do?" Her voice is barely above a whisper and suddenly some of her other behaviour makes sense; her reluctance to touch, her desperation to get back to her sister. She's afraid of her own power. Or other people are afraid of it. Perhaps both. Well, Ruby knows a thing or two about that.
Forcing herself to stand, she shakes out her cold, stiff limbs. Elsa takes a step away from her and Ruby now recognises that look in her eyes. She's terrified she's going to hurt someone. Inhaling deeply, Ruby decides to put herself out there, in the hope that she can win Elsa's trust.
"Elsa...I'm...I'm a w-werewolf." She holds herself tall and strong, keeping eye contact with the Queen.
"You're a...what?" Elsa's eyes roam over her body, looking for what Ruby's not sure.
"When the moon is full, I have the ability to transform into a wolf," she explains. "It started happening when I was a teenager. Back then, I had no control over my transformations and I didn't even know that I was changing. My Grandmother tried to protect me by not telling me and by making me wear a magic cloak to contain my powers."
Elsa has moved a little closer while Ruby has been talking; a good sign. "How did you discover what you could do?" she asks.
Ruby looks away. She still finds it difficult to talk about what happened with Peter, even though she has mostly accepted that it wasn't her fault. That there was nothing she could have done to have prevented it because she had no knowledge of it. "One month, during a full moon, I…w-went to meet a b-boy I liked." Elsa doesn't need the whole story about Snow or thinking Peter was the wolf. "I changed and I...k-killed him. That's how I found out."
Elsa's hand flies to cover her mouth, her eyes growing bright with tears. But there's no fear in her expression. There's only compassion and understanding and it makes Ruby feel a little warmer inside.
"I almost killed Anna when we were children," Elsa confesses, in a rushed whisper. "I...I didn't mean to. I was trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself. But I couldn't control the strength of my powers and I...I almost killed her." She looks away. Ruby reaches out a shaking hand to touch her arm and, although she flinches slightly, she doesn't move away. She turns back to meet Ruby's gaze. "My parents...wanted me to suppress my abilities. I spent years locked in a room. Terrified of what I could do."
Ruby nods. "After I killed Peter, I was f-frightened I would hurt s-someone else. For a long time I didn't t-trust myself." She smiles. "But I learned to c-control it. And, by the looks of things, s-so have y-you." Her teeth start to chatter. This seems to jolt Elsa into awareness of how cold Ruby is.
"Oh, Ruby! I'm so sorry, you must be freezing!" She closes the distance between them and rubs Ruby's arms with her, very cold, hands. Ruby tries to smile her gratitude, but she's not sure her lips are working all that well.
"I've b-been warmer." She winks.
Wrapping one arm around Ruby's shoulders, Elsa turns to the wall and holds up a hand. The ice starts to disappear. Not melt . Disappear. Like it's being absorbed back into Elsa's body or something. Ruby leans into the other woman, grateful for any fragment of warmth she can draw from her.
Voices start to sound closer. There are more of them now. Emma and David are still there, but so is Regina. Granny's there too. And Robin Hood. And some of the dwarves. A small hole opens in the ice and she can see out to the road. It widens to reveal Regina, fireball in hand, ready to strike against any danger. She feels Elsa flinch beside her and the ice starts to close in again.
"S'ok-kay R'gina," Ruby calls out. "We're f-fine. Put the f-fire away."
She hears a huff, but the fireball is snuffed out and Ruby turns to give Elsa an encouraging nod. "Go 'head. I'll m-make sure nobody hurts you."
It takes a moment, but Elsa returns her nod and continues to remove the icy barrier between them and the others. As soon as it's large enough, David's there, holding out his arms and scooping Ruby up in them. Normally she might grumble about being picked up like a baby, but her legs are shaking so badly now that she can barely stand.
"She's very cold," Elsa is telling David. "She needs to warm up."
David carries her out from inside the wall and immediately the temperature rises, causing her to shiver even harder, her body confused by the change. Then she's sitting on something and Regina and Granny are in front of her, arguing about something that she can barely wrap her brain around. Over Granny's shoulder she can see Elsa speaking to David and Emma. Probably about the wall thing.
"She needs a warm bath and some hot cocoa." Granny's answer to everything.
"A bath will heat her up too quickly," Regina argues. "It might kill her."
"Werewolves are tougher than most, your majesty. She'll be fine."
"I think we'll do it my way, rather than test that theory, hmmm?"
And then Regina's hands are on her cheeks and...oh, oh ...the most wonderful warmth is curling from her belly up into her chest, spreading out along her limbs as if it's travelling through her blood. Her muscles loosen and the shivering stops. She looks up at Regina, her brain finally starting to operate at its normal speed, and offers her a wide grin. Regina raises an eyebrow.
"Better, Ms Lucas?" Regina enquires, removing her hands from Ruby's face.
"Much, Madam Mayor." To demonstrate the truth of her words, Ruby springs to her feet, shaking out her shoulders and jumping on the spot a few times.
Granny huffs, shaking her head. "How the hell did you end up inside an ice wall in the first place, girl?"
"Yes, dear, there are easier ways to meet women," Regina says, with a teasing smirk.
She scowls at both of them, playfully. "Everything would have been fine if the Charming crew hadn't shown up all Miami Vice with their big guns. Elsa got scared and we ended up in the wall. And that's a-"
"Are you alright, Ruby?" A sweet voice cuts into their conversation and they turn to see Elsa, examining Ruby with great concern.
"I'm great, Elsa," Ruby assures her, with an easy smile. She takes a few steps towards her and reaches out to touch her arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," Elsa says, quickly. Although her body language, and the way she's looking around at everything that's going on says otherwise.
"How about we all head to the diner, huh?" Ruby suggests, looking to Elsa. "I'll get you that burger I promised-" She doesn't miss Regina's raised eyebrow. "-and then we can see about getting you back to Anna, okay?"
The nod and smile she receives make Ruby's chest do that stupid thing again and she sighs as they all turn to head back towards the centre of town. She's probably setting herself up for another heartache, but for now, she'll let herself enjoy the butterflies that take flight as Elsa's arm brushes against her own as they walk.