I have gotten several requests for an Emma age back story. I went back and forth on how young I wanted to make her and decided there were a ton where she's turned back into a toddler/young child, so I'm doing mine a little differently. I'm basing this during 4A, more specifically around 4x06. So, before Snow showed that she was fearful of her child's powers. Emma said when showing her family, the video of her at Ingrid's she was probably 13 or 14, I'm going with 13 because the younger the better haha. Can't say I'll update this as often as everything else but as always, tell me what you want to see. Unlike my other stories, I have no clue how I'm going to end this. One last note, even though she was still Mary Margaret back then, I'm calling her Snow in this story for convenience.

Chapter One: Turning Back the Clock

Snow still couldn't get over the video Emma had shown them. Her daughter had been so little. Yes, she was a teenager, but she seemed so tiny. She was just a baby back then, bouncing from home to home. Then she somehow ended up with the Snow Queen of all people. Emma couldn't remember her time with her, but had found a folder full of artwork and letters that Ingrid had saved, including a card that the then teen had signed "Love, Emma". Snow felt jealousy over this woman. She seemed to be so evil but she clearly had been loving to her daughter, a mother to her.

When she sent Emma through that wardrobe, she didn't know what was going to happen. Adoption was a thing in the Enchanted Forest and she did wonder if that's what would happen. She just didn't picture her being alone for all that time. And then she wasn't, for at least a good chunk of her early teens. Clearly something had happened, though. Emma had never been adopted, just a few short years later she would've met Neal. Emma's main focus was how to take down the woman, but Snow wanted questions answered before that.

"Mom?" Snow looked up and saw Emma standing there. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine." She faked a smile and stood up.

"You know I can tell when you're lying," her daughter reminded her.

"I really am okay. Where's Elsa?"

"Upstairs, sleeping."

"I think I'll head to bed as well," Snow said, kissing her cheek. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too…" Emma trailed off as she watched her mother walk off. Something was up with her, she had been acting off since they were all at the station. They had made so much progress, she didn't want to ruin it now with more secrets.

The savior decided it would be best for her to just go to bed as well. Given all she had been through lately; she was a little sleep deprived so she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Hours later, Ingrid appeared in the room. She looked lovingly at her niece and former foster daughter. It was only going to take a little time before they would be her sisters, everything could be complete again. But she had come to realize, possibly the only way to get them to agree would be to turn back the clock. When she was a teenager, Elsa had been locked away, feeling unloved and unwanted. She had yet to realize how much Anna loved and wanted her. At 13, Emma was at the height of resenting her birth parents. She wasn't privy to who she really was, a princess who's life had been in danger. She had no clue that it was their only option to keep her safe.

Emma would be first, to Ingrid it almost seemed like she needed it more. She moved her hands to cast the spell, but the light woke Elsa.

"What…" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and shot up. Before she could move, her new friend went from being a tall 29-year-old to a petite teenager. Her eyes glanced up to Ingrid. "What did you just do?!"

"Elsa," Ingrid was caught off guard. "Just go back to sleep, darling, it'll…"

"SNOW! DAVID!" Elsa screamed. "THE SNOW QUEEN IS HERE!"

Ingrid found herself in a jam. Their footsteps were increasing, damn those people could run fast. With turning back the clock, Emma would remember her before she rushed into everything. She'd want Ingrid and would go looking for her. Elsa could wait. She moved her magic to poof out of the room just as Snow and David stormed into the room.

"What's going on? Where is she?" David demanded.

"She poofed herself out of here. I woke up and she was casting a spell on Emma, now…" The queen pointed to the bed beside her and the parents gasped.

It was Emma, there was no mistaking that. But it wasn't the Emma they had gotten to know over the past few years, it was the one from the video. She had to be 13. Snow felt just as in awe as she did over the video. Her daughter, her little girl…an actual little girl once again. Of course she had slept through all of it, teenager or adult, once Emma was asleep, she was dead to the world. David had the same feelings as his wife. She seemed so tiny, she always did in her sleep. Typically, she could pass for a teenager, but as an actual teenager, she looked even smaller.

"I don't…I don't understand," he murmured. He so badly wanted to walk over and scoop her up into his arms, but didn't want to scare her if that woke her up.

"We need to call Regina," Snow decided. "It's late but this can't wait."

Neither parent moved, so Elsa volunteered to call the former mayor. David and Snow sat on either side of their daughter, taking her in.

"Why would the Snow Queen do this?" David asked.

"I don't know. Clearly Emma is of more used to her as a teenager."

"She's not getting her. We'll see to that."

Snow took his hand. "Of course."

It didn't take long for Regina to poof into the room. She was in her pajamas and looking very annoyed.

"What do you two want at this hour?" She seethed.

"Didn't Elsa explain?" Snow questioned.

Elsa walked back up. "I tried, she wouldn't let me."

Regina looked at Emma and raised an eyebrow.

"Am I still exhausted or is Swan a teenager?"

"The Snow Queen did it," Elsa told her, quietly. "And then she poofed away."

"She turned back the clock," Regina explained. "Impressive move."

David gave her a Look. "What does that even mean? Turning back the clock?"

"Not only did she make Emma a teenager again, but all her memories as an adult have been erased. All she'll remember is the first 13 or 14 years of her life."

"Which means her happy life with the Snow Queen," David said, slowly.

"Probably before Dairy Queen screwed it up or whatever happened to separate them. When Emma wakes up, she'll think she's supposed to be with her. She won't know why she was given up or even remember Henry." This made her frown.

"Well, can you fix it?" Snow asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know how to," Regina admitted. "Turning back the clock normally isn't reversed, people who use it tend to not want to go forward. I'm sure I could find it eventually, but our number one priority should be to get that icy wench out of here."

Snow nodded, a selfish part of her feeling a little happy that it couldn't be turned back right away. Of course she loved Emma the way that she originally was, but it would be nice to care for her, actually get to act like a mother. "Maybe you're right."

"Elsa, I'm going to assume that she'd come after you next. If she turns back the clock, you'll be a teenager, which was before you learned to control your powers, correct?" Elsa nodded. "You'd be a danger to everyone."

"I'll do whatever we need to keep the town safe," she told her. Everyone had been so kind to her. Plus, she couldn't very well find Anna as a teenager, either.

"What about Emma? And her powers?" David asked.

"She didn't come into them until after she moved to Storybrooke, so I'm going to guess that she won't have any. Which is also I'm sure what the queen is counting on. You two need to keep a close eye on her."

They didn't have to be told twice. Regina lead Elsa out, taking her back to her place where Henry was still soundly sleeping. Emma hadn't woken up despite all of the commotion.

"We should get to bed," David said, softly. "I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"I don't want to leave her," Snow whispered.

"I know, but if she doesn't remember who we are, it might be creepy to wake up and find you here."

Snow sighed, knowing he was right. "Maybe we shouldn't try to convince her of what her life really is. That's just going to confuse and scare her further. We'll come up with something."

"Agreed." He kissed the top of Emma's head before standing up, leading his wife downstairs.

Emma woke up the next morning, feeling different. She blinked and looked around the room, it wasn't her room. There were just two beds and it seemed to be in an almost attic. She got out of bed and walked to the window. The view below was not her neighborhood, it was a street view. Panic filled her. The last thing she remembered was saying goodnight to Ingrid and heading to bed. Had she been moved in the middle of the night? Abducted? Her baby blanket was on the bed and she hadn't been tied to it or anything. Did she just block out something traumatic?

She ran to the door and flung it open, speeding down the steps. The area was an open space and she could see into the kitchen. A blonde man was making breakfast, while a brunette woman was feeding a baby. She couldn't help but notice a vague resemblance between the three of them. She had seen that chin in the mirror, same with those eyes…

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded.

Snow and David looked up, seeing Emma standing there. They took a deep breath and slowly walked over to her.

"Emma, my name is David," he said, gently.

"And I'm…people call me Snow, as a nickname," Snow added.

"Where am I? Where's Ingrid? Did you kidnap me or something? Was I sent back?"

"Please, sweetheart…"

"Sweetheart?" Emma slowly backed up. "Who are you? And where is Ingrid?! Did she put me back into the system? I thought she was going to adopt me!"

Snow felt a pang in her heart. That woman had promised to adopt her daughter?

"Emma," David tried to stay calm. "We're your biological parents."

Emma's brow furrowed as she looked deep into his eyes. 13 years in the system had taught her who was lying and who wasn't. This guy…he fell in the latter.

"You know I'm telling the truth, right?"

"Yes…but if that's the case…who the hell do you think you are?! You abandoned me when I was a baby! I want Ingrid, she's my family!"

Both of them were trying so hard not to break down. Their daughter forgot who they were, thought that they just threw her away. She didn't want Snow…she wanted another woman. "We didn't abandon you," Snow told her, gently. "At least not in the way that you think. We had to put you in the system to give you a better life."

Once again, Emma could tell she was being honest, but still… "Well it didn't work! Do you even know what the system is like?! I didn't know what a home felt like until they put me with Ingrid."

Tears clouded Snow's eyes. "I understand, but we had to keep you safe. I know all of this is very overwhelming, but we're going to help you…"

"Screw this! I have no interest in getting to know either of you. From the looks of it, you already replaced me." She gestured to Neal.

"No, sweetie, no." David attempted to cup his daughter's face, but she pulled away. "We didn't want to replace you, not even a little bit. Neal was a bit of a surprise…"

"As I'm sure I was. I guess he better be careful or he'll end up like me. I'm out of here."

Emma stormed towards the door, but David blocked it.

"Move!"

"I can't do that."

"I don't want to be here! I want Ingrid! She's my family!"

"Ingrid's been lying to you, she's not who she says that she is. She is trying to turn you against your mother and I…"

"You don't need Ingrid to do that. I've hated both of you for years anyway!"

David drew in a deep breath, trying not to let her words get to him. "I know and I get it. All of this is so confusing and hard on you. But you have to believe me when I say that Ingrid is not the woman that you think she is. I cannot let you see her. She is dangerous, very dangerous."

Emma stared at him, taking in his words. She could tell he was telling the truth about Ingrid and that was a whole other can of words, though it didn't really surprise her. No one had ever been honest with her in her life. She had been stupid enough to think that woman was different. But she wasn't just going to jump into these people's arms and call them "Mommy" and "Daddy" either.

"Now, as I said, I know you hate us. So, if you don't want to be around us, you are free to go back up to your room. But you are not leaving the loft without one of us."

The teen drew a deep breath. She didn't want to stay with them, but she didn't even know where she was. It didn't seem to be Minnesota and if Ingrid wasn't who she claimed to be, then she didn't want to find her either. She would find a way to leave this place, she always found a way to escape situations. These people couldn't just waltz in 13 years later and try to protect her. Where were they when she really needed protecting?

She turned on her heel and stormed back up into the room she had woken up in.

David sighed and leaned against the door, shutting his eyes. Snow settled the baby down into his Moses basket before walking over, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"We'll protect her," she whispered. "She believes us that Ingrid isn't safe."

"Yeah but she doesn't necessarily think that we are, either."

Let me know what you think. As always, tell me what you want to see and I'll hopefully have the next part up soon.