Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and any unrecognizable characters.

Sorry for the long wait! This chapter is a little short but the next one should be longer, hopefully.

"You mean well, but leave me be
Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free"

-For the First Time in Forever Reprise, Idena Menzel

I looked around the ball room curiously, wandering around and was only dimly aware of the bowing people as I passed them.

As if in a daze, I heard myself calling out to a redheaded girl, who quickly ran up and embraced me tightly, her lightly freckled face filled with excitement.

"Come on, Elsa!" I heard myself laugh, allowing her to pull me through the crowd, though in my mind I was confused.

'Elsa?' I wondered, feeling hazy and distant from what I was doing and seeing.

"Where are you taking me, Anna?" I heard the words come out of my mouth, felt my lips curve into a smile as the girl in front of me, Anna apparently, smiled sheepishly at me.

"Well, since it's your birthday and I knew you were missing him-" She broke off, her eyes widening as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry!" She squeaked through her hands while I covered my mouth, chuckling lightly before I looked towards the open balcony.

"Thank you, Anna." I hugged her again before I started off towards the balcony, resting my hands on the edge before I heard a teasing voice.

"Aren't you cold?" I looked up, smiling softly at the sight of a white-haired, young man floating in front of the moon and when he offered me his hand, I quickly placed my hand in his.

"You know the cold never bothers me." I shot back and his grip tightened in my hand, the playful expression on his face melting away to a serious, grave one.

"Elsa, you have to wake up." I tried to tug my hand away but he held fast, leaning closer. "You have to remember. For Anna..." He blinked, looking unsure before his icy. blue eyes locked with mine. "For me."

I ripped away from him, sudden, icy clarity consuming me for a brief second, long enough for me to realize I was dreaming, and I backed away from him before turning around and running from him, one name echoing in my head.

"Elsa!"

"Erin!" I jerked away with a gasp, shooting straight up in my bed and looking around wildly as my heart attempted to beat its way out of my ribcage. I caught sight of Ruby sitting next to me on my bed, clad in her pajamas and robe. "God, you scared me!"

"W-what?" I asked, my head heavy and throbbing as I tried to formulate a response to my friend's words.

"You were moaning and thrashing around in your sleep!" I winced at how loud her voice was and she blinked, her expression turning contrite. "Sorry," she whispered and I managed a shaky smile in return. "But, you had me worried like hell."

"I...I had a bad dream." I admitted, reaching up to rub my head softly and she nodded, reaching out and touching my shoulder.

"Wanna talk about it?" She offered and I stiffened inwardly, careful to keep my face blank.

"I don't really remember it, to be honest." I smiled sheepishly and she nodded, clearly believing the white lie I'd just spoke. She stood up, leaving quickly after I assured her twice more that I was fine.

I fell back onto the bed, inhaling deeply as fragments of the dream flashed before my eyes. The girl had definitely been Hanna. Or Anna. Whatever her name really was and...the boy reminded me a lot of Jackson.

I laid there for hours before I sighed deeply and glanced at the clock, smothering the shriek that almost escaped.

The bright red numbers glared at me through the room as the sun began to peek into the window.

I spent the rest of the morning in a groggy haze, consuming more coffee than was healthy and only stopped because Granny cut me off.

"Erin, honey?" I blinked and looked up, my head moving from its resting place on my hand, to meet Mary's worried gaze. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," I stuttered out, stifling a yawn as I did so. She smiled understandingly and nodded before she slid away from the bar and headed for her usual table, where Emma already seated.

"White-haired stalker, twelve o'clock." Ruby mumbled as she passed carrying her tray and my head shot up in time to see Jack enter the diner, his eyes wary and sad. For the briefest of moments, the dream took over and I reached for him. His eyes widened and reality crashed back into me, forcing me to turn from him and all but run to the inn's front desk and collapse behind the wooden structure.

"Erin."

I jumped up, convinced I was about to have a heart attack as my uncle made his presence known. He raised an eyebrow as I placed a hand over my heart, as it was currently trying to break through my ribcage, but said nothing and simply stared at me.

"What?" I hissed out after several moments of silence and, after a few more, he let out a soft chuckle before he turned and gestured to the door.

"Might I trouble my niece to help her crippled uncle to his car?"

I arched a brow and he just smiled back innocently, his face serene and betraying nothing of what he was thinking. I stood and brushed off my skirt with a huff before I turned back towards the diner.

"I'll need my coat."

"A genie?" I asked curiously as Snow and I strolled through the gardens, bundled up against the winter chill. Well, she was. I wore the bare minimum of required winter clothing and, as we passed the fountain, I reached out and twisted my hand.

"Yes, a genie. From Agrabah." Snow teased, smiling widely when she saw what I was doing with my magic.

She gasped with delight as the frozen water twisted around into an arc shape and she smiled widely at me, a thoughtful smile on her face.

"You know, we could invite Anna to the celebrations-" She stopped mid-sentence, her words twisting into a gasp of shock as the ice I manipulated shattered. I pulled away from her, my arms crossed over my chest as my breath accelerated, the mere memory of Anna's injury destroying my control. "Elsa?"

I pulled away from Snow's soft touches and held out my hands to ward her off, still not turning to her.

"Don't! Snow," I whispered, trying to soften the sharpness of my voice. "Just, stay away for a little bit."

Breathing hard, I focused on controlling the storm tagging inside me, careful to use what Rumple had taught me and not what my parents had always told me. Concealing did nothing to help me, it made it worse, as did withholding my emotions.

After taking several extra minutes to make sure I was calm, I slowly turned back to Snow, prepared for the fear and pity in her eyes. What I saw, made me feel like I'd been punched in the chest. Sadness was predominate but, I also caught sight of acceptance and I swallowed thickly before I fell into her open arms.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as she hugged me tightly, her embrace so similar to Anna's another crack was added to my heart.

"Don't worry." Snow soothed, pulling back and reaching up to wipe at my tears with her gloved hands. "We all make mistakes. You'll get this," her smile widened with hope. "One day, you'll be able to see Anna and you'll never be afraid of hurting her again."

Hours later, I was seated near the queen as Leopold thanked everyone for his birthday celebration, setting the spotlight on Snow once again and brought up his dead wife as well. I felt for the man, truly I did and my lessons stopped me from commenting that he was holding on to the memory of his dead wife far more than what was healthy.

I chanced a look at Regina to see despair and pain etched across her face for all to see, not surprised to see her stand and rush from the room in a flurry of silken skirts.

What I didn't expect to see, was the genie Snow had introduced me to an hour before, follow the distressed Queen towards the gardens. My eyebrow raised but, all thoughts evaporated of the two when Snow quickly dragged me to the dance floor as the music started.

Days later, I wished I had acted on my suspicions about the Genie when word traveled to Rumple's castle that King Leopold had been murdered by a snake only found in the Genie's homeland of Agrabah.

"I know you're angry with me, dear." Gold started and I held in a scoff, aware that this was his own special way of apologizing. I hadn't gotten a simple 'I'm sorry' since I was five and I didn't expect to now. "But, I am only doing this to protect you."

"So you've said, many times." I reminded him and he sighed deeply, groaning with relief when he settled onto the park bench. What was supposed to be a simply escort to his car had turned into a walk through the park. A walk that almost had the same path I'd taken with Jefferson jus the other day. "But, Uncle, I'm an adult. Why don't you think I can handle this?"

I sat next to him and took his hands, holding them tightly as he smiled softly and shook his head, gently tightening his grip on my own hands.

"It's not that dear...it's just," he looked up and I saw resignation in his eyes, causing excitement to bloom in mine. "It's dangerous. For you to know, I mean."

"Does this have something to do with the water freezing that night?" I asked archly and he nodded, unable to hide the small wince at the reminder of that odd night.

"Yes and, I caution you to, for the present time, avoid spending anymore time with young Ms. March." He stood, gripping his cane tightly as he did so. I stood as well, gently helping him to stand fully, as the cold weather was horrible for his limp.

"But, why?" I asked softly as we walked back towards the town, my arm slipped through his. He looked around, his eyes landing on one spot and he stared at it as we walked. I followed his line of sight to see Regina stalking along the street, a smirk curling her lips up.

"It's best you know less, dear. The more you know, the more danger you'll be in."

He left me with that and I frowned heavily as I entered the diner, nearly running smack into a clearly drunk Sidney.

"Sorry-Sorry," his eyes widened when he realized who he'd bumped into and he pulled away, giving me a wide berth as he shuffled to the door. I rolled my eyes and removed my coat, stalking towards the bar to meet an amused Ruby.

"Well, I guess there are perks to having the last name Gold." She teased, ducking when I threw my coat at her with a laugh. I rolled my eyes again, a playful smile on my face before I quickly got back to work, earning a smirk from my boss as she rang up a customer.

"Ms. Gold." I turned, forced a polite smile on my face and tried to not punch the woman in front of me. These violent urges, along with odd memories of freezing Regina against a wall, had only increased ever since Graham's death.

"Yes, Madame Mayor?" I asked, keeping my voice icily distant, struggling to keep it a polite as I could. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be able to watch Henry for a few hours during the week."

I raised an eyebrow at that, unable to keep the scorn out of my voice. "So, now that Emma is in town and Henry wants to spend time with her, you've lowered yourself to asking me for help?"

Her eyes widened, surprise flashing in them before an offended look crossed her face, along with anger.

"How dare you-"

"I dare, because you have done nothing but hate me my entire life and never given me a reason for it, and because Emma makes Henry happy." I hissed back, my voice cold and hard, making Regina take a short step back. "And as his mother, you should only want his happiness."

"You should learn to hold your tongue." Regina threatened and for the briefest of moments, I saw her standing near a throne, clad in black velvet and silk.

"And you should learn to never mess with a Gold." I heard myself hiss back, a completely different set of words echoing in my head as I did so.

'And you, should learn to never mess with the powers of ice and snow.'

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

Also, check out my new story 'Light in the Dark'. It's a Loki/OC story set during the Avengers.