A/N: Thank you to everyone who had reviewed, followed, and favorited so far.
Off Script
Chapter 11: Resilient Hearts
~Catspook
It turned out that the Wishing Star was not powerful enough to bring Emma and Henry to the Enchanted Forest. As he watched Snow and David embrace each other and Regina clench her fists and glare at the floor, it struck Bae how unfair the entire situation was. He remembered Henry's speeches about the good guys always winning in the end, but that hadn't happened here. Emma, Snow, and David were the 'good guys', and they'd lost their family. His father was not, and he'd won a second chance - on the backs of Snow, Emma, David and many more.
But they still had the Sorcerer. When they had time, Bae would ask his father if the Sorcerer might be able to help Snow and David. And whether he had any more people lying around in urns or turned into puppets. (August had explained about his grandparents - Marco hadn't tried to wake them up yet, and August was trying to convince him it was time.)
But that was for later that evening. Snow, eager to brush past their failure to retrieve Emma and Henry, immediately asked. "Who will make the wish to free Elsa?"
Bae looked at Belle, but August spoke up first. "I nominate Jiminy," he said.
"Yes," Belle immediately agreed. "Archie has a pure heart." Bae glanced at Regina, who frowned and shifted uncomfortably.
"Does the wisher have to be human?" Archie asked Papa.
"I guess we'll find out," he said, "As long as no one objects."
"No," Snow said, "I think Jiminy is the perfect choice." With a longing look at the pendant, she laid it on the table in front of Jiminy. He lifted it up on one point, while laying one tiny, green hand against the stone.
"Only summon the urn," Papa said. "When we are ready to open it, it would be best if the only people present have a True Love that can wake them if Elsa freezes their hearts."
"Very well," Archie said, and he lowered his head. The air shimmered, and a silver urn appeared on the table next to him.
"That's it?" David asked.
"Yes," Papa confirmed.
"Shouldn't we open that thing somewhere outside the castle?" Regina suggested, "Like the middle of the Endless Forest?"
"Technically speaking, the Endless Forest does not have a middle," Papa said. "And I'm not sure that waking up there would improve her frame of mind."
"That's right," Snow said. "She'll need friendly faces to feel welcomed."
"Well, that rules out Gold," Leroy said. Regina smirked.
"That might actually be a good point; could she recognize you?" David asked.
Papa shook his head. "I only ever had dealings with Anna, never Elsa."
"So who stays? If you get frozen, Bae or Belle can save you. Snow's got Charming. Who else?" Leroy asked.
"Mr. Booth," Papa said. "Possibly Nova, but now might not be the time to test that."
Nova and Leroy exchanged a look. "Yeah, three's enough," he said.
"Dreamy-"
"I'm not taking the chance," he said, "Not with you."
"Three is fine, Nova," Snow said. "We don't want to overwhelm her."
David took her hand and squeezed it. "You'll be all right?"
She smiled at him. "Of course." Regina rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you two are done, I'd like to get on with it sometime before the New Year."
Papa looked at Belle and smiled. She smiled back, but it seemed subdued. "Elsa can save Anna, can't she?" she asked.
Papa nodded. "They are very close. As long as Elsa hears us out, Anna will be fine."
Regina huffed again, and started walking out. Leroy and Nova got up to follow her, and Archie took flight.
He said something to August that August responded to with a mumbled, "Thanks."
Bae give his father what he hoped was an encouraging smile then looked at Belle. "Come on."
Head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her, she did. She wasn't taking this well; Bae really hoped that his father didn't have anyone else trapped in a magical item somewhere.
Before he'd left, Jiminy had offered August a word of encouragement, telling him he had a way with people. While it was nice of him to say so, August had still been planning to let Snow and Rumplestiltskin do the talking. That had probably not been the best decision.
Dark One or not, Rumplestiltskin was still sharp and sarcastic, which had immediately put Elsa on the defensive, and Snow's overbearing attempts a friendliness were not helping. Elsa looked like she was about the start hyperventilating. "Hey," August said softy, adopting a non-threatening posture. "I know you're freaked out, but we want to help you."
"Help me? Where am I? How did I get here?"
"That's a really long story, and we'll explain everything, but I think what you really want is to find your sister, right?"
"Anna? What have you done with Anna?!" The temperature dropped alarmingly.
"Nothing! The same person who put you in that urn put a spell on her, but we want to help you save her."
"What kind of spell?"
"An ice spell; one you'll have no trouble reversing if you listen to us," Rumplestiltskin said. August didn't think it was intentional, but he'd made that sound like a threat.
"Please," August said again, "We only want to help you." Perhaps not technically true, but not enough of a lie to make his leg burn.
"Why? Who are you? Where is this place?"
"You're in Misthaven," Rumplestiltskin said, "The Enchanted Forest."
"I'm Queen Snow White," Snow said. "And these are my advisors. August Booth and… Mr. Gold."
"Misthaven? I need to get back to Arendale! I need to find my sister!"
"You can," Rumplestiltskin said. He picked up the pendant, "You remember this, don't you?"
"That's Anna's!" she said, snatching it away from him, "How did you get it?"
"She dropped it. I picked it up to prevent Ingrid from taking it."
"And who is Ingrid?" Elsa asked, examining the pendant longingly. "Is she the one who cursed us?"
"She is."
"Please," Elsa said desperately, "I need a ship back to Arendale."
"That is unadvisable," Rumplestiltskin said. "The curse that afflicts Anna afflicts all of Arendale, and even you cannot reverse it. But, with that, you can bring Anna here and break the curse over her."
"Now I know you're lying! I made this pendant; it can't do that!" The temperature dropped again, and ice crystals started forming on the walls.
"It's not the pendant," August said hastily, "It's the stone; it's something called the Wishing Star."
"The stone…" Elsa shook her head. "How can I trust you? How do I know you didn't put me in that urn?"
Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "Wish for Anna to be brought here. If it doesn't work, you'll know we're lying."
"You can trust us," Snow said, "We only want to help you!"
"Why?"
"Because we're under attack by a Wicked Witch and we need your help," Rumplestiltskin said bluntly. Snow glared at him, and August braced for another temperature drop, but Elsa only stared.
"Very well," she finally said. "I'll try it. And if you're lying to me, things will not go well for you."
"We're aware," Rumplestiltskin said.
Elsa glared at him, but then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, not one, but two figures frozen in ice appeared in the room. "Anna!" Elsa sobbed, running up to the female figure.
Rumplestiltskin followed her. "You know how to reverse this," he said quietly. "Melt the ice and kiss her."
She looked at him, then back to Anna, laying her hand against the ice around her face. Slowly, it peeled back, revealing Anna's disturbingly pale visage. Tears in her eyes, Elsa leaned forward and kissed her sister's forehead, and the rest of the ice quickly vanished.
"Elsa!"
"Anna!"
They hugged, and the temperature in the room corrected itself, the ice vanishing from the walls. "Where are - Kristoff!" Anna ran over to the frozen man, Elsa trailing behind her.
"I can melt the ice," Elsa said, "But you have to wake him."
Anna nodded. "Yes." Rumplestiltskin watched with naked curiosity as Elsa drew the ice away from Kristoff's face, and Anna kissed him. Thankfully, the kiss worked, and the man stumbled forward, shivering. "Brr, that's cold."
"Kristoff!" Anna cheered, throwing her arms around him.
"Elsa? You defeated Ingrid?" Kristoff asked with a grin.
"Ingrid?" Elsa asked.
"You know, your crazy aunt? Also with ice powers, but evil?" Elsa blinked at him in confusion.
"No?" Elsa said in confusion. August heard footsteps and glanced behind him; David must have decided that the coast was clear, because everyone was trickling back into the room.
"Elsa does not recall Ingrid because she took her memories before placing her in the urn," Rumplestiltskin explained.
"Who are you?" Anna asked. "How do you know that? And where is this place?" Anna glanced around, and her gaze fell on, "David?"
"Joan? You're Princess Anna?" August raised an eyebrow.
"Wow! You've really moved up in the world. Did you take all this back from Bo-Peep?"
"No," David said with a chuckle. "I married into it. Please meet my wife, Queen Snow White."
"Oh! Hello! I'm Princess Anna. But David knows me as Joan. It's not that I mean to lie or anything… I mean, I guess, technically I did, but I was on a secret mission, and I didn't want anyone to know I'm a princess-"
Snow laughed. "I spent several years living as a bandit; I know how it is."
"A bandit? Why? I mean, you don't have to tell me, it could be personal-"
"Anna," Kristoff said fondly, "Why don't we finish introductions, figure out where Ingrid is, and then we can chat."
Anna looked at him. "Since when are you big on introductions?"
"I'm big on catching Ingrid," he said.
"Is she the witch you mentioned?" Elsa asked Rumplestiltskin.
"No. But I can tell you where she ended up after leaving Arendale, if you'll have a seat."
"All right," Anna said trustingly, taking Kristoff's hand and dragging him towards the table. Elsa followed more cautiously. As they walked, Snow made introductions, once again leaving Rumplestiltskin for last (except for Belle, who had not yet returned - Bae explained that she was retrieving a book from the library).
"And this is Mr. Gold. He is Baelfire's father, and he is… advising us."
"Not a member of the Council?" Anna asked blithely.
"No," he said. "That would place Queen Snow in a politically difficult situation. You see, Mr. Gold is not the name I use here. I actually go by Rumplestiltskin," he said, bowing slightly, a smirk on his face.
Anna laughed. "Like, the Dark One?"
"Yes," he said simply.
Anna shook her head. "I don't know what he told you," she said to Snow, "But he is not Rumplestiltskin. I have met Rumplestiltskin, and Rumplestiltskin is sparkly."
Regina guffawed while the rest of them exchanged looks and Kristoff mouthed, "Sparkly?" to himself.
Anna kept speaking. "And he's evil. And his hair is curly. And he wears- oh, My God! You're wearing Rumplestiltskin's clothes! Why would you do that? Did you steal them? He's going to be so angry-" Bae and Leroy lost it, their laughter joining Regina's and drowning out whatever else Anna had to say. Only fear of imminent death kept August from doing the same (Dark One or no, he knew it was a bad idea to piss of Rumplestiltskin).
Gold rolled his eyes and sighed mightily. He waited for Bae's laughter to die down then asked, "Are you quite done, Baelfire?" Bae just looked at him and started snickering again.
"See! He can't be Rumplestiltskin! Rumplestiltskin would curse you for laughing at him like that!"
"Yeah, Rumple," Regina chortled, "Curse us."
"Don't tempt me, dearie, I could do it," he said, "Potions and talismans are not beyond my reach."
"No curses," Snow said sharply. "But show some decorum, Regina. And you, Grumpy. I assure you, Anna, this is Rumplestiltskin. His appearance has changed because Baelfire broke his curse."
"Which curse?"
"The curse that made him the Dark One."
Anna narrowed her eyes in a way that she probably intended to be intimidating but really, really wasn't. She walked around Rumplestiltskin like a kid playing Drill Sargent. "If you're really Rumplestiltskin, you'll know that he stole something from me. What was it?" she asked, turning sharply and pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Your tear," he said blandly. "After you contemplated killing me and decided against it."
"Oh, My God! You really are Rumplestiltskin!" She grabbed Elsa and tried to pull her behind her. "Stay away!"
"Oh, I have got to hear the rest of this story," Regina said, grinning.
Anna was only too happy to oblige. "He tried to get me to poison an old man! Only it wasn't poison, it was the antidote! When I couldn't do it, he was going to lock me a tower! And he turned that poor, old man into a mouse and stole his hat! The hat - the hat!" Anna told Elsa, who was blinking rapidly, trying to keep up with Anna's story.
"Hat?"
"The Sorcerer's Hat! He was going to use it free himself of the dagger, but I took it; he must be after it-"
"He's not," Bae said. "He doesn't need it anymore; he's already free of the dagger."
"And I'm aware that you no longer have it in any case," Rumplestiltskin explained with a shrug.
"Who does?" Regina asked.
"Ingrid took it, although I suspect that the Apprentice retrieved it from her at some point. I offered her a deal for it, but she never got back to me."
"What did you offer her?" Anna asked accusingly.
"The urn."
"You had the urn?" she accused. "I told you, he's evil!"
"You would have rather I let Ingrid keep it?"
"No!"
"Please," Snow said, "Let's all calm down." It had gotten cool again, but no ice had formed yet. "We understand that Rumplestiltskin has done terrible things, but he is our ally now. We need his help against Zelena just as we need yours. Please."
"Who is Zelena?" Kristoff asked.
"The Wicked Witch," Rumplestiltskin said.
"You can't trust him," Anna insisted.
Regina snorted. "Belive me, I don't."
"Good," Anna said, nodding decisively.
"How far are we from Arendale?" Kristoff asked, trying to divert the conversation.
"We're in the northeastern corner of the Enchanted Forest," David said, "I'm not sure how far that is from Arendale."
"Wait," Elsa said to Rumplestiltskin, "You said that Ingrid froze all of Arendale."
"Yes."
"I don't believe you," Anna said, even though she'd apparently been there.
"By all means, see for yourself."
"How?" Elsa asked.
"Through a mirror. One made of ice will do."
"I… I don't know how to do that."
"I can teach you."
"Don't trust him," Anna said, "He'll teach you dark magic."
"Tell me about it," Regina grumbled.
"What profit would there be for me to do that?" he asked. "Do either of you deny that nothing I did was without reason?"
Regina shrugged elegantly. August suspected she was just egging Anna on for own amusement; it wasn't like she had the moral high ground over Rumplestiltskin, and they all knew it. Anna bit her lip and looked at Elsa.
Bae spoke up. "I'm sorry that my father deceived you," he said. "But he won't do it again; he has too much to lose now." Bae and Rumplestiltskin shared a significant, glance, and the former Dark One nodded.
"Like what?" Anna asked.
"Me. He knows I won't tolerate that."
Anna looked torn, but Elsa's expression was thoughtful, and the room warmed up again. "Well, if he's on the straight and narrow now, where is Ingrid? You said you could tell us that," Kristoff said.
"No, I said that I could tell you where she ended up after casting her curse over Arendale. She was taken to Earth by Regina's curse, as were we all. With that curse now reversed, she has been returned to wherever it took her from."
"And where was that?"
Rumplestiltskin looked a Regina. "Why are you looking at me?" she asked, "I've never heard of this person."
Rumplestiltskin blinked at her. "Sarah Fisher."
"Who?"
"The proprietor of Any Given Sundae."
"Her? She was a weather witch?"
"You didn't know?"
"No!"
"Hm."
"You can find her with the crystal ball," Bae said. "The one I traded to you."
Regina shrugged. "Why not?" She conjured the ball and looked into it, frowning. "It's not working; she's shielded herself somehow."
"Hm."
"You have magic," Elsa said to Regina. "Can you teach me?"
Regina looked unexpectedly flattered, then laughed and shook her head. "If you don't want to learn dark magic, I can't help you there."
Anna backed up a step. "Your magic is dark?"
"Didn't the outfit tip you off?" Leroy asked. "Regina here was the Evil Queen. And she's been 'reformed'," he actually made air quotes as he said this, "For a lot shorter time than Gold has."
Baffled, Anna looked at David and Snow. "We believe in second chances," Snow said firmly. "Both Rumplestiltskin and Regina have done great evil, but they are now our allies. If he says that he will teach you only light magic, he will keep his word."
"You can get it in writing," August offered, "He does that."
"I know," Anna said darkly.
"Yes, you do," Rumplestiltskin said. "And now you know to read it carefully, don't you, dearie?"
"Papa," Bae said warningly, "Stop it."
Rumplestiltskin looked at him, then inclined his head. "As you wish, Bae."
"You're really his son?" Anna asked Baelfire.
"Would he do that for anyone else?" Leroy asked.
"And you broke the curse that make him the Dark One," Anna said carefully. Bae nodded. "How?"
"True Love's Kiss. It can break any curse, even that one."
Anna frowned, then marched right up to Rumplestiltskin, her hands on her hips. "Are you sorry?" she asked.
"Not particularly. But I can tell you that I am if you prefer platitudes to honesty."
Anna huffed. "I don't like you."
"I'm not asking you to like me. I'm not even asking you to trust me. I'm offering my knowledge in exchange for your sister's assistance with Zelena - nothing more or less."
"And if we say no?"
"Then you're free to leave; no one here will stop you."
"What about this Zelena person?" Kristoff asked.
"If you see any flying monkeys or a lady with green skin - run," Leroy said dryly.
"Flying monkeys?"
"Zelena has a strange sense of humor," Rumplestiltskin explained.
"Please," Snow said again. "We need your help. And we would like to help you; I'm sure that Rumplestiltskin's knowledge can help you lift the curse on Arendale."
He shrugged. "Perhaps. If we can locate Ingrid, she can certainly do it, or if Elsa's powers can rise to match hers."
"Then I agree," Elsa said quickly, "If what I see in the mirror confirms what you have told us."
Anna huffed again, and pointed her finger at Rumplestiltskin. "I'll be watching you," she said.
"Of course," Rumplestiltskin said with a bow. He turned to Elsa. "Can you create a mirror?"
Elsa took a deep breath. "Yes." She extended her hands, and a swirl of snow and ice appeared before her, coalescing into a floor-length mirror with an elaborate, white frame of snowflakes and reindeer.
"Very nice," Rumplestiltskin said appreciatively. Elsa blushed. "Now stand directly in front of it." She did. "Now think of your home. Your people. Think of why you need to see this."
"All right."
"Picture a specific place that you know, always keeping those feelings in the forefront of your mind. And look."
The mirror shimmered, and the reflection of Snow's council chamber was replaced with an image of a desolate castle courtyard, caked in ice under a gray sky. Elsa sobbed once. The image changed to a clearing, a collection of perfectly round boulders scattered about, all frozen. Last was a stable housing a reindeer, with, oddly enough, a short snowman built right next to the door. Deer and snowman were as frozen as Anna and Kristoff had been. The mirror collapsed, and Anna grabbed her sister; they were both crying. Kristoff swallowed hard.
"You can show her how to reverse this, right?" he asked Rumplestiltskin.
"I can teach her everything Ingrid knows. The rest is up to her."
Elsa pulled away from Anna and wiped her eyes. "Show me," she said.
He nodded. "Very well."
"Having trouble finding your book?" Baelfire asked.
Belle jumped. "Bae! You startled me!"
He gave her a look that was far too knowing. "Anna and Elsa are OK, and Anna's fiancé Kristoff made it over too. They've agreed to stay and help with Zelena, in exchange for Papa training Elsa to break the curse Ingrid cast over Arendale."
Belle looked down at the book that she had not been reading. "Good. That's good."
Bae crossed his arms. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing," she lied. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she looked back down at her book. "You have enough burdens, Baelfire, I won't add to them."
"Oh, bullshit," he said angrily, "That is the same excuse my father has been using for forever, and you don't let him get away with it! What happened? It has to do with Anna and Elsa, right? We need to know!"
She inhaled sharply. He was right. She was doing exactly what Rumple had done for so long; she wasn't setting any kind of example for him or Bae. "I made a terrible mistake a long time ago," she finally admitted. "I never told anyone, not even your father."
"And it had to do with Anna and Elsa?"
"Yes."
"What did you do?" he asked quietly.
"Years ago, before I met your father, I traveled to Arendale to retrieve some of my own memories; they have rock trolls there that can do this. I met Anna on my journey, and she helped me speak with them. On our way back, Ingrid attacked us. I chose to try to save my memories instead of helping Anna, and when Ingrid took her, I ran and told no one. I thought… it doesn't matter what I thought. I should have helped Anna. I should have told the truth a long time ago. I should have asked Rumple to help. I'm sorry, Bae; I'm not the person you thought I was."
He looked at the ground, thoughtful. Then he pulled out a chair, twisting it around so he could sit on it backwards, his arms crossed over the back. "Could you have stopped Ingrid?"
"I don't know; I didn't try," she said tearfully.
"Why not?"
"At first… I thought I could save Anna after I saved my memories. And then she fell, and Ingrid appeared, and I told myself there was nothing I could do. So I went home, and tried to forget."
"You were ashamed."
"Yes."
"And scared."
"Yes." She was the worst sort of hypocrite. What right did she have to castigate Rumple for keeping secrets or acting out of fear when she had done the same and refused to admit it? And she hadn't been possessed by an evil curse at the time, or suffered the horrible blows in life that he had.
"You should tell my father."
"Yes." She was almost certain that he would love still love her, but what would he think of her? He had worked so hard to change, and she had not even had the courage to admit her own sins to him.
"Did you see the Apprentice?"
"What? No."
Bae sighed. "Do you know where Ingrid might have gone?"
"No. I would say if I knew; I swear."
"I know. It's just that Papa thinks Ingrid might have made a deal with the Apprentice; we still need to find him to get Wendy back to Earth."
"I never saw him, Bae. And Ingrid was still in Arendale the last time I saw her."
Bae nodded and got up. "I'll tell Papa to meet you here, and I'll try to keep Anna out of your way."
His manner wasn't angry. Or betrayed. Belle couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Why?"
He looked at her confused. "Do you want to talk to Anna?"
"I should," she said, getting up herself. "I need to apologize."
He nodded. "That might actually help. She wanted to know if Papa was sorry for what he did."
"Is he?" He gave her a jaded look. "No, I suppose not. His curse…"
"He's not cursed now."
"Please don't be angry with him Bae, he's come so far."
"I know. I accept it; it doesn't mean I like it."
"Are… are you angry with me, Bae?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "After what he's done, how could I be?"
"He never lied about the kind of person he is or the things he's done. I did."
Bae shook his head. "He was that way in the beginning. Worse, even, because he did not understand what he was doing was wrong. I'm tired of being judge and jury. He figured it out. You did too. We need to focus on Zelena and finding the Apprentice. If you want someone to beat you up over what you did, ask Regina; I'm sure she'd be happy to do it."
She was starting to understand why Rumple sometimes looked at her and Bae as if their very presence was a gift. To be accepted and welcome after expecting rejection and recrimination; it was a gift. "Thank you, Bae." He smiled at her, and she put her book aside, steeling herself for her confrontation with Anna.
"So I had the Wishing Star to whole time?" Anna asked.
Rumplestiltskin nodded. "Blackbeard sold it to your parents. What they didn't realize at the time was that their wish to remove Elsa's powers was too selfish a wish for the Star to grant."
"So he tricked them," Anna said, but she couldn't be angry about it. They had been trying to take Elsa's powers after all.
"Yes. Sweetheart!"
"Sweetheart? Don't call me…" but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking behind her.
"There you are; I was getting worried." he said, his expression suddenly soft.
"I'm sorry, Rumple. I'm here now." That voice sounded familiar to Anna, and she turned, spotting Baelfire with someone she never thought she'd see again.
"Belle!"
Belle clasped her hands in front of her and shuffled nervously. "Hello, Anna. How are you?"
"All right! I mean, Arendale is frozen, and Ingrid is on the lose, and there's this Wicked Witch going around turning people into flying monkeys, and Rumplestiltskin really, really creeps me out, but I'm all right. I thought Ingrid must have frozen you!"
Belle shook her head. "No. Anna, I am so sorry. I should have helped you when Ingrid attacked. Instead I let you fall, and then I ran and never told anyone; not even Rumple. He could have helped you if I'd said anything-"
"Uh…" she looked back at Rumplestiltskin, who was watching Belle in concern. What? "Who's Rumple? Do you mean Rumplestiltskin? 'Cause he knew the whole time. He took my necklace and locked Elsa up in his vault and everything. Which I'm still mad about, by the way!"
He only shrugged, walking towards Belle and still looking concerned. "You encountered Ingrid?" he asked.
Belle nodded, looking tearful. "And Anna. I'm so sorry, Anna. I repaid your kindness with selfishness, and I'm sorry."
"That's true, I guess. But, I mean, I can get how needing to know the truth about your parents can make you do stupid things. I made a deal with him!" she said, pointing to Rumplestiltskin. "And you are sorry. Are you going to help us fight Zelena?"
"If I can," she said.
"Then good! I forgive you."
"Thank you," she said fervently. Rumplestiltskin reached out and placed his left hand on Belle's arm (he carried a cane in his right, something Anna was dying to ask about, but knew would be rude - even if it was Rumplestiltskin). Belle put her hand over his and leaned into his touch, smiling. Whoa.
"Wait… Sweetheart?"