A/N: Started this before S4, but never got around to posting it until now, so I guess we'll see how accurate my predictions are. Also, I attempted to make the second half of this in the shape of an E for Elsa. How's it look?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Once Upon a Time, but if I did, you'd probably be watching this instead of reading it.


"Most people do not know how to love anymore. They don't know how to give it, or worse, even how to receive it. They have been so hurt by the world that they have to put up walls to protect themselves, but at the same time, these walls have shut out the people that love them." —José N. Harris


Prologue: Back to Square One

"You did this?"

All traces of hope drained from Emma's features as the weight of truth settled heavily on her shoulders, air rushing from her lungs like she'd just been punched in the gut, and suddenly the diner didn't seem so big, its occupants distant and foreign—from another time, another place, another world. Because the notes of anger and sadness in Regina's heartbroken accusation struck something deep in the Savior's soul. Because Emma could see the pain welling in the former queen's eyes as she struggled to keep her walls from tumbling down. For a moment, it didn't matter that she had broken the Evil Queen's curse, been the hero, the White Knight—the Savior. Because she had failed to save the one person who deserved it more than anyone.

"I just . . . wanted to save her life," Emma admitted finally in a small, small voice.

And she had.

But at what cost?

Slowly, Regina shook her head. Mustering all the fury and scorn she possessed, her default reaction was to lash out, make Emma pay for the pain she'd inflicted. "You're just like your mother," Regina—who abruptly reminded Emma of the Evil Queen in that instant—spat. "Never thinking of consequences."

"I didn't know—"

"Of course you didn't!" The hurt in Regina's eyes vanished, replaced with a look the Savior recognized from her early days in Storybrooke, back when Mayor Mills believed her adopted son would be whisked away by Emma Swan, ex-con—pure hatred. Not so long ago, but apparently not long enough.

Because now Emma had stolen happiness from under the former queen's nose yet again, and somehow, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming couldn't picture emerging unscathed this time. Or ever.

"You just better hope to hell you didn't bring anything else back."

So Emma did.


Pop.

The golden lid separated from its container with a barely audible sound, an electric blue substance spilling forth into the grooves of the mystic symbol Rumpelstiltskin had been forced to carve. The liquid moved of its own accord to pool in the center, bending and twisting upward to form a humanlike shape, the figure straightening, the temperature of the farmhouse dropping like mad, a sense of power building and building—

And then it breathed.

The glowing blue liquid had transformed into a young woman with blonde hair. Though her sparkling aqua-colored dress failed to completely cover her shoulders, the icy chill in the air did not seem to trouble the newcomer, nor did the unfamiliar location. In one smooth motion, she yanked a glove from her hand and sent a chilling blast in the direction of the golden container. It froze instantly and shattered into a million pieces. The woman calmly moved out into the night, freezing the ground with every step, leaving an icy path in her wake.

There was work to be done.

With a great sweep of her arms, Elsa whirled up a snowstorm, which rapidly covered the ground around her in a white blanket. From beneath the fresh precipitation, a magnificent ice castle began to ascend, piercing the farmhouse—broken bits of the structure tumbling out of sight—and in its place stood, tall and strong, Elsa's refuge. She climbed to the balcony, where she could gaze out over the town, unseen, through a gap in the raging storm. A terrible smile lit up her pale face.

And the town of Storybrooke froze overnight.