DISCLAIMER: Once Upon A Time and all related characters are the property of Kitsis/Horowitz Productions, ABC Studios and the ABC Television Network. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are the property of the author and may not be used without permission. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, just wanted to pick your brains a little. I appreciate the reviews but I wanted to get everyone's overall opinion of my depiction of Ingrid. Do you love her? Hate her? Are you sitting there thinking: "What's all this drivel about Ingrid? Why isn't Emma in this dang story! It's supposed to be Elsa and Emma friendship! WHERE'S FREAKING EMMA?"
I ask because this is obviously becoming more Ingrid's story than anybody else's, so I figure it would be a good idea to find out what everybody's feeling about her. Just asking you to think about that when you craft your next reviews.
ARENDELLE SISTERS
by Darrin A. Colbourne
The next morning the girls got up more readily and got dressed more swiftly, so Ingrid felt less rushed getting to the cafe. As such, she drove at a slower pace and used the travel time to begin their education in running the shop. She started by explaining that the strange "coffee language" Anna and Elsa had heard yesterday was really a verbal shorthand used to order drinks. She told them a few of the definitions on the highway, though they wouldn't be using them today. Their duties this day would consist mainly of cleaning up and offering refills to seated customers. Also, since they'd done such a good job of it their first time, it would be their assignment to get breakfast sandwiches each morning they were working.
The day was busy for the girls. The cafe was full or mostly full for the whole shift, which meant lots of refills, constant sweeping up, wiping down and emptying of garbage. Anna and Elsa appreciated the half-hour break they got near noon, which felt a lot shorter today than it did yesterday. To maximize their time, they snacked on hot chocolate and the pastries available instead of going to the deli with Ingrid.
Their workday ended when Ingrid's did, at two o'clock, and the girls expected to head straight home after their first busy day, so they were surprised when Ingrid said they had more shopping to do. The trio walked uptown a few blocks until they reached an establishment called a "mobile store." Anna and Elsa marveled at a place made solely to sell little magic mirrors. Ingrid bought two of the devices before they headed out.
At home, while dinner was cooking, Ingrid unpacked and activated the phones. The girls watched in fascination as Ingrid manipulated them in turn, paying particular attention when she raised each device to her face, smiled at it and made it click. When she was done with the little machines she handed one each to Anna and Elsa.
"Okay," Ingrid said, "these are your phones. You have limited internet access and a few features, but they're mainly for emergencies. If I'm not nearby and you need my help, you can call my phone with these. There's a little picture on the screen labeled 'Contacts.' Touch it."
The girls complied. The phones displayed their Contacts screens. Each one showed its owner's name and the phone's number, 911 and Ingrid's name.
"Now touch my name."
They did. Now the screen showed an image of Ingrid smiling at them as well as her number and the label "Aunt."
"When you want to call me just tap the number under my name. I always have my phone with me so I should answer immediately, but if for some reason I don't and it's a dire emergency, dial 911 and tell the person who answers who you are and where you are, and answer any question they have, even if it means telling your secrets. Got it?"
"Got it," the girls said, then they grinned at each other and tapped Ingrid's number simultaneously. Ingrid sighed as her phone rang, then she went to retrieve it from her purse and rejected both calls.
"That's what I get for giving two young girls phones…" she muttered. Anna and Elsa giggled, then Ingrid held up her phone and said, "Smile pretty." The girls put their heads together and smiled and Ingrid made her phone click and manipulated it the way she had the others. When she was done she showed the girls the screen. "Now you're in my contacts."
There was an image of the girls smiling from the phone's display along with the numbers from their phones. "This is wild!" Anna said. "And we can use these to talk to you from anywhere in the world?"
"Well, anywhere in the states," Ingrid said. "They're pay as you go phones."
Anna suddenly had a thought. "I wonder if I could go back in time and talk to myself over the phone like you did?"
"Only if your earlier self had access to a phone...and, you know, you could actually travel back in time. Why? Would you go back to last year and warn yourself about little old me?"
Anna shrugged. "I'd be real nice about it…"
Ingrid just shook her head and continued to teach them about the phones. "Now, each of these comes with a charger…" She gave one to each of them. "You put this end in this hole in the phone and put the other end in an outlet on the wall. That will fill the phone's battery with electricity. I want you to do that each night before you go to bed, so they'll be fully charged by morning, okay?" The girls nodded. "Good, now put these in your room and come back down to the living room."
The girls complied, running their phones up to the bedroom and plugging them into the same outlets as the nighttable lamps. When they came back down they found Ingrid in the living room linking the TV to her tablet again. "I thought we could watch a movie while we're waiting for dinner," Ingrid said.
"Cool!" Anna said. "Star Wars again?"
"Yes and no. We're going to watch the next chapter in the series."
"Woo-hoo!" Anna said. She and Elsa sat on the same couch again and waited for Ingrid to start the film. This time there was no 20th Century Fox monument, but the "Lucasfilm" emblem had fanfare all on its own. Then the blue words came and went, and Anna and Elsa felt a thrill up their spines as the symphony music and the words "Star Wars" heralded the next adventure.
As before, Elsa read the chapter introduction closely, noting that they were watching "Episode V." She blinked when two words caught her full attention. "'Ice world?'" She said. "There are ice worlds?"
Ingrid grinned. "In movies and in real life. In this movie it's covered with the deepest, most beautiful soft snow...so of course this movie's my favorite of the series."
Elsa squealed a little bit at the idea.
Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course, two snow queens would go goofy over an ice world…" she huffed.
"Says the princess obsessed with sandwiches," Elsa shot back.
"At least you can eat sandwiches! You can't eat snow!"
"What about snow cones?" Elsa said with a triumphant smile.
"Girls, you're missing it," Ingrid said. The girls turned their attention back just in time to see the Imperial probe droid hover out of the snow and begin its search. Then they watched quietly until the scene switched to the Imperial Command Ship and then to Darth Vader staring out of the viewport at patrolling TIE fighters.
"OOH! He's back!" Anna said, both fearful and excited.
"I hope he doesn't catch the princess again," Elsa said.
They watched as a clean shaven officer reported to one with a mustache. The two men argued over the report, drawing Vader's attention. The clean shaven officer told Vader what he told the other one.
Vader didn't argue. "That's it!" He proclaimed in his scary voice. "That's the rebel base!"
The mustachioed officer replied in an overly patient tone, "My Lord, there are so many uncharted settlements. It could be smugglers, or perhaps…"
"The rebels are there," Vader said, "and Skywalker is with them." He turned to the first clean shaven officer and said, "Set your course for the Hoth system!" Then turned to another and said, "General Veers, prepare your men!"
"He seems upset," Anna said of Mr. Mustache after Vader and Veers stalked off. "Is there going to be trouble because Vader didn't listen to him?"
Ingrid grinned evilly. "Not for Vader."
"It almost seems like you admire him, Aunt Ingrid." Elsa said.
"Let's just say I can empathize with his single-minded goals."
"I think you're jealous because you weren't as scary as him when you were evil," Anna teased.
"Am not...and I was plenty scary!"
"You were," Elsa said, "but she's right. You were nowhere near as scary as Darth Vader."
Ingrid frowned. "Fine. Next time I turn evil I'll be sure to be 'Darth Vader' scary, all right?"
"All right," The girls said with grins of their own. It made Ingrid laugh.
Later, when Vader force-choked Mr. Mustache to death and promoted Captain Piett to Admiral, Ingrid thought about it. "You're right. I was never that scary."
The next day went much the same way as the last. The Arendelle women got up early and headed into work, where Anna and Elsa cleaned, delivered drinks and ran errands, then they left at two. No shopping this time. They went straight home, where Ingrid explained more about their cell phones, explaining things like the internet, e-mail and Twitter. For dinner Ingrid ordered chinese food, which they ate while they watched Return of The Jedi.
On the third day, Anna and Elsa met her.
It was around Eleven, AM and a quiet moment in the day. Elsa had excused herself to the bathroom. While she was washing her hands, she wondered idly how long it might be before whatever was threatening Ingrid would show itself, and whether or not she and Anna would be ready to face it. They'd learned much about this world, but their education was scarce about real-life villains. The nightly news was filled with bad people, it seemed, but none that needed a snow queen to deal with them.
She heard the screams as she walked to the hand dryer. She stopped in her tracks because it sounded like two women screaming...and one of them sounded like Ingrid.
She bypassed the hand dryer and strode out of the bathroom, the water on her balled fists turning to frost as she activated her power. It would only take a moment to get from the ladies room to the front counter and the whole dining area could be seen from the rest room entryway. She intended to immediately look for the problem and blast it with hurricane strength cold air.
She was so locked into this intent that she almost had her hands up and pointing before she saw what was really going on. Ingrid wasn't in danger. In fact, she was locked in a deep, heartfelt hug with a woman in fancy winter clothes sporting long, straight black hair. She and Ingrid were laughing and chattering while in the embrace, and their greetings had the attention of everyone in the shop.
Fortunately, Anna noticed her before anyone else could. Her little sister whispered "It's okay" and gently clasped one of her wrists. Elsa nodded and closed her eyes, calming herself down and turning off her power. Anna nodded her approval and moved her hand into Elsa's as they returned to watching Ingrid and the stranger's reunion.
After a couple of minutes the two women drew back to half arms' length, but continued to embrace. "I'm so glad you're here!" Ingrid said. "I missed you so much!"
"Oh, tosh, darling," the woman said, a formal cadence to her speech. "I was hardly gone long enough for anyone to miss me!"
"Well it was long enough for me," Ingrid said. "You go on so many business trips I don't get to see you nearly as much as I'd like!"
"Well, I'm here now, and I have all sorts of gossip for you, so let's go to our table and get things rolling, shall we?"
"We shall...oh! First I want you to meet my girls!"
The women turned and gave Anna and Elsa a good look at the stranger as they approached. She had a model's looks, with red, red lips and a wide smile, sculpted cheekbones and flashing green eyes. She was wearing a deep green winter cape, and sported black leggings with black thigh-high boots and long black gloves. Crooked around the wrist of one glove was the handle of a long umbrella.
The stranger scrutinized the girls as she got close, looking them up and down and appraising them. "Oh, mymymy," she muttered when she got to their hair, "powdered sugar and ginger…" She turned to Ingrid. "Honey, you always have the tastiest confections in your shop!"
Ingrid giggled and said, "Mal, behave...these are my nieces…"
"Oh! Your little sister's girls!" Mal said.
"That's right. Anna, Elsa, this is my best friend Mal Fisher."
Mal stuck out a hand for a feminine handshake and grinned as she said, "Charmed, I'm sure."
The girls shook hands with her and introduced themselves, and with that done Ingrid ordered coffees and the women retreated to the booth the girls had sat in on their first day. They were barely sitting down before Mal Fisher began telling stories, and it seemed like Ingrid was paying rapt attention.
The first impression was a little daunting. "Wow," Anna said. "Who is that?"
"That," Tiffany said as she made the drinks, "is the richest woman in the state."
"How rich is that?" Elsa asked, genuinely curious.
"Like richer than Oprah rich. She could buy everybody in Chicago a car!" She pointed at Elsa. "You get a car!" She pointed at Anna. "And you get a car!"
The girls didn't get the reference, but assumed by the way Tiffany chuckled at it that it was at least partially a joke. "Does she come in a lot," Anna said, "like Mister Glass?"
"Every day she's in town, which isn't that often. She's always travelling to places like Milan, Paris, London...heck, she could probably afford to go to the Moon for the weekend."
"She's not that big a deal," Ashley chimed in. "She's a woman, just like the rest of us. She puts her leggings on one leg at a time…"
"Yeah," Tiffany snarked, "her 500 dollar Gucci silk leggings that she bought in Belgium."
Anna's head whipped around to Elsa. 500 dollars for leggings? She mouthed.
Ashley huffed. "You act like she's the Queen of England or something."
Tiffany finished the drinks and turned her full attention to the girls. "You have to forgive Ashley. She's just the tiniest bit jealous."
"Am not!" Ashley said.
"Why would she be jealous?" Anna said.
Tiffany grinned. "Because you two just met Ingrid's girl crush."
That made Anna and Elsa turn and look at Ingrid and Mal. The dark-haired woman and their aunt were leaned in as Mal shared some sort of secret. When she was done they both leaned back laughing out loud.
"Oh…" Anna and Elsa said in unison.
Tiffany handed the drinks to Anna. "You take them over. Ingrid gets the mocha latte."
"Right." Anna put a smile on her face and walked over to the booth. As she got closer she picked up on the women's conversation. "...keep having this discussion," Ingrid was saying. "I'm still happy where I am."
"Happy yes, but you could be overjoyed if…" Mal said. She stopped when she noticed Anna. "Ah, good! Ginger! Perfect timing!"
"Um...it's Anna, actually…" Anna said.
"Well, yes of course it is...now put those drinks down so that I can use you!"
Anna slowly put the coffees down and said warily, "Use me to do what?"
"To talk some sense into your aunt. How much influence do you have over her?"
"As much as any niece, I guess…"
"Good enough! I want you to use that influence to convince her to live in sin with me!"
Ingrid gasped and blushed hard. "Mal!"
"Oh, what!" Mal said. "I just want what's best for you! I need to get you out of that dinky little house…"
"But I don't want you putting ideas in my nieces' heads...and my house is not dinky! It's a three bedroom colonial, thankyouverymuch!"
"It's still not as big as mine."
"Well some of us aren't size queens like you are."
"And now who's putting ideas in the girl's head?"
Ingrid blushed harder. "Oh...behave!"
Anna was still stuck a few sentences back. "Wait...doesn't one of you have to be a man to live in sin with each other?"
Mal suddenly slammed her palm on the table and grinned gleefully at Anna as she said, "No, darling, and that's what I've been trying to tell her!"
Ingrid went beet red as Mal laughed. "Mal, stop!" She turned to Anna. "You just go right back to work, sweetie...and forget everything you just heard."
"O-kay…" Anna said, confident she could do that since she hadn't understood a word of it.
When she was standing next to Elsa again, Elsa asked her, "What's she like up close?"
"I think she's kinda nuts…" Anna said softly.
"Nope," Tiffany corrected, "when they have that much money, the word's 'eccentric.'"
"So…" Anna said, "is eccentric 'nuts' in another dialect?"
Tiffany chuckled at that. "You two might as well get back to work. Your aunt's going to be trapped in Fisherland until her girl crush decides to leave."
"Would you stop calling her that?" Ashley groaned
"Sure," Tiffany said, "when it stops making you squirm."
"You're fired," Ashley said.
Tiffany shrugged. "That's okay. I'll just get a job in one of Ms. Fisher's bajillion offices. Then I'll be her assistant and still get to come here and tease you."
"Okay, you're not fired. That way, when you tease me, I can torture you with grunt work."
As Tiffany and Ashley traded friendly barbs, Anna and Elsa stepped aside. "Do you think this Oprah person is jealous of Ms. Fisher because she has more money?" Anna wondered aloud.
"I have a better question," Elsa said. "How well does Aunt Ingrid know her best friend?"
Tiffany had been right. Ingrid spent the rest of her shift plus an extra half hour talking and joking with Mal Fisher. Anna and Elsa alternated taking refills to the two women, and each time Mal took the opportunity to say something that confused the girls and embarrassed the hell out of Ingrid.
Finally they stood and Mal got ready to leave. "Well, this has been lovely, darling, but I must be off. Let me just pay for our drinks and…"
Suddenly Ingrid got very serious. "Don't you dare!"
Mal simply went to the counter. "Don't be silly! It's no trouble at all!"
"That's not the point!" Ingrid said as she went to the counter. "Ashley! You are not to take a dime from this woman!"
Mal turned to her. "Not a dime? From me?"
Ingrid crossed her arms. "Not a dime. Your money's no good here. Our drinks are on me."
Mal looked slightly aghast. "Oh my, Oh my...what an awkward situation. To think I won't be allowed to spend money somewhere...it's unheard of!" She turned to Ashley. "Young woman, will you truly not accept payment from me?"
Ashley shrugged. "Sorry...I've got to do what the boss says."
"Well, yes of course you must, dear, but there are limits. Let's find out what those are." Suddenly she did a magic trick and two twenty dollar bills appeared in her hand. "Oh, goodness...where did these come from? Why, I've never seen them before in my life! So strange! Well, I can't just walk around with these things flapping around, can I? What to do, what to do? I know! I'll just drop them in this handy tip box…"
Suddenly Ashley rushed over to a register and started ringing, then with a smile: "That will be eleven-ninety for the drinks, Ms. Fisher."
Mal grinned and dropped the twenties in the tip box and got out a credit card to hand to Ashley.
Ingrid looked betrayed. "Ashley!"
"Sorry, boss," Ashley said, "But I gotta do what forty bucks in tips says to do!" The rest of Ingrid's staff wholeheartedly agreed.
When the transaction was done Mal turned back to Ingrid triumphantly and approached. When they were close, Ingrid whined, "Why won't let me treat you just once?"
"Ah ah ah," Mal said. "Remember our deal…"
Ingrid sighed. "You'll never ask for anything from me but my friendship."
"Precisely! That was my promise to you. You wouldn't want me to break my promise, would you?"
"Of course not, but…"
"Tosh, darling! A promise is a promise. I can get free coffee from anyplace in the world."
"But you won't take it from me?"
"Because it's your coffee and your business and I love you and I want you to be prosperous and comfortable, so I wouldn't dream of interfering with your livelihood in even a small way. Now, no more drama. Kisses and hugs!" She spread her arms and Ingrid fell into them and they embraced closely and kissed each other's cheeks. When they pulled apart, Mal said, "I will back bright and early on Monday for more mischief, so keep our table ready."
"I will."
"Good! Now, I'm off! Goodbye, all you beautiful coffee shop people!"
Several customers and staffers waved and returned Mal's goodbye. Ingrid waved and watched wistfully as her friend went out the front door. She kept watching for a minute and sighed...then she gasped when she realized what time it was. "Girls! It's time to go!"
She turned toward the counter and spotted Anna and Elsa already wearing their jackets and head gear. "We know," Elsa said.
"We've been ready for a while now…" Anna said.
Ingrid blushed one last time and walked past them to the staff only entrance. "I'll just get my things…" she muttered.
On the highway back to Evanston, Elsa decided to broach the subject of Ingrid's friend. "Miss Fisher is certainly…" She searched for the word Tiffany taught them. "...eccentric."
It made Ingrid chuckle. "Oh, Elsa...you don't have to be so polite. Mal's a loon."
"She kept calling me 'Ginger.'" Anna complained.
"She called me 'Sugar,'" Elsa muttered.
Ingrid laughed. "It's your hair. She equates it with spices." She pointed to her own head. "It's why she calls me 'Honey' sometimes. Elsa, you're powdered Sugar because you've got that white blond thing going. And Anna...well, redheads are called Ginger all the time. Everybody got it from England."
"Isn't that the country with the Queen?" Anna said.
"Not the only one, but she is the most famous monarch in this world."
"Okay...so, it doesn't bother you that Miss Fisher's a loon?"
"Not at all. Mal and I are friends because she's the way she is. I would never have been able to approach her at the time we met."
"So you've known her a long time?" Elsa said.
"Almost since I've been in this world."
"And you've always been so close?"
"Well, of course not at first, but we've grown very close over the years."
"And you trust her?" Anna said.
"What? What do you mean, Anna?"
"Well," Elsa said, "we were considering the possibility that Miss Fisher might have ulterior motives for being so nice to you…"
"What? Oh, Honestly! Mal has been a good and true friend to me, the best friend I've ever had! How could you possibly think she has ulterior motives?"
"Well, it's not impossible…" Anna said.
"No, but how likely do you think it is that somebody so nice and generous could actually mean me harm? What could have put that notion in your heads?"
The girls looked at each other, then crossed their arms and glared at Ingrid.
Ingrid caught the look out of the corner of her eye and huffed. "Okay, yeah, that one's on me. All right...look at it this way: I set my plans in motion almost immediately after I met each of you. Mal and I have been friends literally for decades. If she's using that friendship to mask a nefarious scheme against me, what's she waiting for?"
Elsa closed her eyes and thought about that. "That is a good point, Anna…"
Now Anna was thinking. "Well...maybe she's waiting for you to move in with her! She did say she wanted to live in sin with you."
"Does that mean the same thing in this world?" Elsa said.
"I don't know...but whatever it means Miss Fisher wanted me to convince Aunt Ingrid to do it. Maybe her nefarious plan only works if you're living with her!"
Ingrid sighed. "Anna...even if that made sense, I've lived with Mal before, for years. We didn't really live apart until I first opened my foster home - which, by the way, Mal financed and helped set up."
"You've lived with her before?"
"Yes, I have. If cohabitation is vital to her plot Mal wasted years of opportunities."
That got both girls thinking again. "Well," Anna tried, "maybe you have to live together in a size queen's house for it to really work."
Ingrid covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. When she'd composed herself, she said, "Anna, Mal wants me to move in with her because she misses us living together...and frankly so do I. It was fun, and hilarious and...and comforting. She wasn't a replacement for your mother and Aunt Helga, but befriending her was the closest I've ever come to it. We've both just...gotten too used to our separate lifestyles to start rooming together again."
There were a few moments of silence as Anna and Elsa contemplated that and everything else Ingrid had said about Mal Fisher. Finally, Elsa said, "And you're sure she can be trusted?"
"Absolutely sure. How can I help you to be?"
"Well, maybe it would help if you told us how you two met."
"Okay, well...do you remember when I told you the first night in a place this strange could be lonely?"
"Yes," the girls said.
"I met Mal Fisher on my first night...and she swept my loneliness away…"
Our World, 1982
Ingrid walked the streets of the strange metropolis, fearful and angry, her senses assaulted by the environment, the harsh, burning lights atop the mammoth buildings, the beacons and loud klaxons that announced the passing of iron carriages without horses pulling them, the garish clothes and bizarre dialects of the passersby.
This was madness! How could she find Emma Swan in such a world? Why would the girl even be here, amid this noise? She needed magic to search, but she no longer had any of her own. If only the soothsayer hadn't been a fraud!
This was the Apprentice's doing! He'd never intended to send her to where Emma Swan would be. He'd meant to strand her in a living hell, leave her to search aimlessly for someone that might not even exist here. The very thought made her livid, but with no magic and no way back home, there was little for her to do about her rage.
So she walked, until the thousand blazing lights dwindled to a few and the procession of iron carriages slowed to single passages and passersby were few and far between. She walked until the giant buildings became two-story dwellings in an old, rundown neighborhood, walked until rage became despair and despair became fatigue. Finally, she stopped at an abandoned brownstone and walked to the top of its front stairs to sit and rest on the top landing.
She covered her face with her hands, wanting to cry but fighting back the tears. She refused to give in to them, refused to surrender to the sadness of the situation. Giving up completely wouldn't help her out of this predicament. She knew that...she just had no idea what would help.
As she realized that, a woman's voice said, "You look like you could use a friend."
Ingrid moved her hands and raised her head. There was a woman standing at the bottom of the stairs. At least, Ingrid assumed she was a woman. She did have feminine features and long black hair, but she was dressed in men's clothing, slacks and some sort of suit coat. Did all women dress this way in this world? No...the fraudulent soothsayer wore a dress. So, what did that make this person?
She sighed. It didn't really matter. "Have a care, stranger," she said, "if your intent is to rob me you'll gain nothing by it. I have no money, no goods, and I just traded my last thing of value to a charlatan for false hope. If it's fortune you seek, seek it elsewhere and leave me in peace."
Instead of leaving, the strange woman started walking up the stairs. She was carrying an umbrella, and she tapped it on each stair as she ascended. "Well," she said, "I don't seek a fortune. I already have one of those."
"Then what do you want of me?" Ingrid said, despair giving way to impatience.
The woman came close enough for them to speak eye to eye and said, "As I said, you look like you could use a friend. I know I could use one. I've come to these shores many times, and while I've several acquaintances here I've made no lasting friendships. I just thought that we could be friends."
Ingrid laughed skeptically. "You want my friendship? Are you serious?"
"What's wrong with that? It's not someting I can rob you of, but it is something you have in abundance and can freely share, and I can freely return."
The woman was smiling, trying her best to put on a pleasant front. Ingrid just looked away. "You're mistaken. I have no need of friends."
"Actually," the woman said, "it seems to me you need all the friends you can get. No money means no shelter and no food, yes?"
Ingrid turned to glare at the woman. She wanted to say she'd be fine, but she grudgingly admitted, "Yes, that's true…"
The woman shrugged. "Well, I have money, and I know of a place where we can both stay the night." She pointed with the umbrella. "It's just a few blocks that way."
Ingrid looked in that direction. "I must have passed it on the way here."
"Normally that would be the smart move," the woman said with a grin. "It's kind of a dive, but it's shelter enough for one night. There are also places that sell food nearby. The food is barely palatable, but again, it's sustenance enough for one night. You can rest, eat, and plan your next move in the light of day tomorrow."
Ingrid's features softened as she thought about the offer. It was very tempting. She was tired, and the mention of food reminded her she was also hungry. A place to lodge and get her bearings sounded like a wonderful idea, and this stranger was willing to provide it for her, but to what end? Was her generosity real, or was she like the soothsayer, and simply playing a much more elaborate trick? "And what do you wish of me?" She asked.
"I told you. I would just like to have a friend, and I would like that friend to be you. I can understand if you're wary, of course...so, let's make a pact."
"A pact?"
"Yes, that's it! For my part, I promise to provide food and shelter and anything you need to get back on your feet, and for your part, all you need to give me is your friendship, as much as you have to give, for as long as we're acquainted."
"All you ask for is my friendship?"
"And that's all I'll ever ask you for. I promise."
"A hard promise to keep."
"Try me, darling. See if I'm as good as my word."
Ingrid bit her lip as he thought about it some more. "You don't even know me," she said softly.
"Easy to rectify," the woman said. "Tell me your name."
"It's...It's Ingrid…"
"And you can call me Mal. See, now we know each other! Progress!" She extended her hand. "Now, let me help you off this filthy stoop before you ruin that beautiful costume."
Ingrid blinked. "Costume?"
"Yes, your costume. It's lovely, and it shows off your figure wonderfully. I was taken with it the moment I saw you. Were you at a party?"
Ingrid shook her head. She thinks my gown is a costume? Well, if most women dressed like men in this strange realm, that would almost make sense. It was at that moment that Ingrid decided to be careful what parts of her past she shared with strangers, even the kind ones. She could see now that there might be no end of misunderstandings if she told the unvarnished truth. Her first encounter tonight was proof of that.
Mal didn't press the issue. "Well, it doesn't matter why. You look stunning in it, and that's reason enough for you to wear it. Now come on. Let's get you off this stoop."
After one more moment of hesitation, Ingrid extended her hand and put it in Mal's. Mal helped her to stand and then led her down the stairs and then away from the brownstone.
As they walked, Ingrid noted, "You have an umbrella."
"That's right," Mal said.
"But it's not raining…"
Mal raised the umbrella and said, "It's my good luck charm. I always have it with me."
"So...her umbrella's a good luck charm?" Anna said.
"To this day, I've never seen her leave home without an umbrella," Ingrid said. "She's had different ones over the years, but rain or shine, she always carries one when she goes out. I don't know why she considers them lucky, and I've never asked. She has her secrets and I have mine."
"And she helped you the first night you were here?" Elsa said.
"Not just the first night. She's helped me every time I've ever asked for help, and offered when I've needed it but failed to ask. She has been a godsend to me since I got here, and refused me any time I've tried to repay her. I had to browbeat her into letting me give her gifts at Christmas and on her birthday."
"And she lives in Chicago? Is that why you were sent here?"
"You've got that backwards. She moved here when I told her I'd settled in Chicago. She wanted to be close."
"Wait," Anna said, "if that's true, why didn't she move to Storybrook with you?"
"I asked her not to. I told her I was going to Storybrooke because I needed to confront some demons…"
"You fought demons?" Anna said.
"Do you think they're coming back for revenge?" Elsa said.
Ingrid sighed. "Calm down girls. In this realm, the phrase 'confronting demons' is a metaphor for facing up to personal problems and weaknesses. I told Mal I was going to Storybrooke to do that and that I needed to be out of contact with her for a while while I was there."
"How did she feel about that?" Elsa said.
"We were both heartbroken, but she didn't try to stop me. I missed her terribly while I was there. I took the name 'Fisher' partly to remember her, but I didn't try to contact her. I didn't want to until my plans had succeeded."
"But they didn't," Anna said, "and you ended up getting sent back in time."
"Right. It's funny. She thinks we've only been out of touch for two years, but for me it's been more than ten. That's why I'm so glad nowadays whenever I see her. Ten years is a very long time to be away from someone you love. Not as long as my sisters, but Mal's absence hurt just the same."
There was silence in the car for a time, then Elsa said, "So you believe she's incapable of hurting you?"
"Utterly."
"How would you feel if you found out you were wrong?"
"I would be devastated. Mal has been my reason to live all these years. I don't think I could go on if she turned out to be my enemy."
That statement frightened Anna and Elsa, mainly because they understood it completely. It seemed Ingrid loved Mal Fisher like a sister, and both girls knew what losing a sister's love could feel like.
Elsa smiled. "I'm sorry to cast doubts on Miss Fisher's intentions…"
"Don't be. Elsa, I want you to go wherever you need to go to discover the truth...I'm just giving you advance warning what my reaction would be if that's the truth you discover."
"Fair enough."
At home, in bed, Anna and Elsa talked about Mal Fisher. "I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt," Anna said, "But I just think it's awfully convenient she showed up when Ingrid was at her lowest."
"Yet we do have to consider how long they've been friends," Elsa said, "and the fact that Ingrid is reaping most of the tangible rewards of their relationship."
"I suppose...okay, maybe Miss Fisher's plan isn't super evil, like she doesn't want to kill Aunt Ingrid. Maybe she wants them to live together so badly she's plotting to force Ingrid to move in."
"I'd never considered that...but then, why are we here? Surely that's not a plot that Ingrid needs us to protect her from."
"What if Miss Fisher kidnaps her?"
"Thinking that just leads back to Ingrid's question: what's she waiting for? She's lived here almost as long as Ingrid and she's the richest woman here. Surely she can hire enough men to take Ingrid to her home any time she'd like."
"True." The girls sighed as they thought about it some more, then Anna said in her Wanna build a snowman? voice: "So...you think maybe this is something Mister Glass would look into for us?"
Elsa smiled. "Yes, I think maybe this is just the thing…but we can't let Ingrid know we're asking him about it."
"Right. We don't want to upset her."
"Agreed."
And with that agreement in place, they traded goodnight hugs and kisses and went to sleep.
TBC...