I will say, this story doesn't have many chapters left. I know it was pretty short, but I have begun planning out my next multi-chapter series. All I'll say is it's an AU of season 1. Anyway, onto the chapter!
Chapter Twelve: The Pain of the Past
Emma, Elsa and Anna made their way into the ice cave, which they found surprisingly empty.
"Ingrid?" Elsa called out. "Are you here?"
There was a gust of ice and the Snow Queen appeared. She saw the two blondes and grinned.
"Emma, Elsa, you're here! Finally, we can…" She trailed off when she saw Anna and her eyes narrowed. "What is she doing here?"
"You're my aunt too," Anna said, stepping forward.
"You don't understand, me or them. Especially not Elsa, you trapped her in an urn…"
"We're not here to try to defeat you," Elsa spoke up. "We're here because we want to bring you with us to Arendelle."
"I can't return there," Ingrid seethed.
"Because of our mother," Anna told her. "We know."
"You know nothing about anything!" Ingrid put out her hand, forcing Anna to fall against the wall. Elsa ran to her side, making sure she was okay. "Don't worry about her Elsa, our lives are going to be so much better off without her in it."
"Is this really how you want us?" Emma asked. "Going with you against our will? Elsa and Anna have something to offer you."
"I'm not naïve, this is a trap!"
"It's not," Anna whimpered, holding her head. "We can be a family, like our mother wanted."
"Your mother didn't want me," Ingrid said. "She didn't believe in me, she couldn't trust me. She saw my magic and she was afraid!"
"She regretted it." She motioned for her sister to grab the scroll from her pocket and Elsa did it. She tossed it to Emma who slowly walked forward, handing it over.
"Emma, don't let this girl fool you, she's trying to take away your powers…"
"Read it." Emma saw Ingrid's hesitance. "Read it, for me. And if you still feel how you do, then I'll stop fighting and I'll just go with you."
"Emma!" Elsa exclaimed.
"It's what she wants. If we can end this, then we should. But we're not going to give up on you Ingrid," Emma told her. "You told me you wanted to be a family, well families trust each other. Just, read it."
Ingrid studied her former foster daughter's face and saw something there that she hadn't ever seen…hope. She bit down on her lip and opened the scroll, carefully reading it. In the meantime, Elsa determined that Anna was alright and helped her up, leading her gently over to where Emma was. Ingrid had tears streaming down her face as she made it to the end of Gerda's letter. With each passing word, she could remember everything. Playing with her sisters when they were children, them making her laugh that night when she was so upset. Everything, the good and the bad. But one thing was clear, her sister did love her. But sometimes people have moments of weakness, they do things they regret.
Gerda didn't fear her, she had wanted her back in Arendelle, to be a part of their family.
Ingrid lowered the letter, staring at the scene in front of her. A frightened Anna and Elsa, a teenaged Emma. She had separated sisters, just as she had been separated from her own. She had taken Emma, the real Emma, the beautiful woman she had turned out to be, away from her family. Away from her son.
"What have I done?" Ingrid whispered.
"It's nothing that can't be undone," Elsa told her. "We know why you did it now. We know you're not evil, you were just scared. But we can help you, teach you to control your magic. We love you Ingrid. But that's not enough, you have to learn to love yourself."
Ingrid smiled through her tears, stepping forward to cup Elsa's cheeks, kissing her forehead before turning to Anna.
"I am so very sorry for what I did to you," she whispered. "I separated the two of you…just as I was from my own sisters."
"I forgive you," Anna said.
"How?"
"Because we're a family. And a family never gives up on each other."
Ingrid nodded and conjured up the stone. She used it to restore her nieces' memories before turning to Emma. She drew back a deep breath.
"All this time Emma, you told me you were looking for a family…you already had one. You just didn't know it yet. And I selfishly took you away from that, from your son. When I lost you, I felt a pain so deep."
Emma looked up at her. She saw true remorse in Ingrid's eyes. She really was sorry, she really had loved her. What she did, it wasn't okay. But choosing to be angry had always just hurt her, more than it really hurt others around her. Maybe for once, she could choose forgiveness. "I know. And I'm sorry I ran away from you."
"I wish…I wish I could give you your memories back," Ingrid said. "But I can't. I removed them with the age back spell and I'm afraid I don't know how to reverse it."
"That's okay." Emma didn't want to go back to her adult life and if she couldn't remember it, that was okay with her.
Before anyone could say anything else, David, Snow and Regina appeared in the ice cave. Snow had her bow and arrow, David had his gun and Regina looked about ready to throw out a fire ball at a moment's notice.
"Step away from my daughter," Snow barked.
"Mom, it's okay," Emma said. "She's not going to hurt anyone else."
"Emma, get away from her, she's just going to hurt you…"
"No, she's not!" Emma exclaimed. "I know you two are scared, but you have to trust me, trust us. It's over."
"Emma's right," Elsa said. "Ingrid's agreed to come back with us to Arendelle."
"How can we believe you?" Regina asked. "On top of being a Dairy Queen, you're a master of manipulation. How do we know you're not fooling these girls?"
Ingrid stepped forward, holding out her wrist.
"Put a cuff on me, stop my magic until I can get back to Arendelle. If you think I don't even deserve to go back there, then you can even arrest me." Ingrid offered up her other wrist as well. "I surrender."
David exchanged a look with his wife and step-mother-in-law. They had to act fast, in case it really was a trick. Regina conjured up a cuff and zapped it on Ingrid's wrist without being able to go near her. David then stepped forward and handcuffed her.
"Dad," Emma whimpered.
"It's okay, Emma," Ingrid said, soothingly. "I deserve this. I hurt a lot of people."
"We'll take you to the station and decide if we can trust you," David said. He lead the Snow Queen out the door, with Elsa quickly following along with her sister. Hopefully the two of them could talk some sense into the sheriff and allow them to handle it.
Snow rushed over to Emma, pulling her into a tight hug. Emma wrapped her arms around her mother's torso, burying her head in her chest.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I had to do it."
"I could've lost you!" Snow told her, she pulled out of the hug enough to cup Emma's face. "I already have numerous times, I can't let that happen again!" It was then Emma saw the tears streaming down her mother's face. "You and your brother are the most important thing on this Earth to me. I need to make sure you're safe."
"I didn't want to worry you," Emma told her. "But we did it, we stopped her. She gave Elsa and Anna their memories back."
Snow sniffled, raising an eyebrow. "She did?"
"Yes. She said she would do the same for me but in order to that, she'd have to reverse the age back spell and she doesn't know how. Mom, you know I can spot a liar from a mile away. She's telling the truth, she's sorry. You don't understand what she's been through. She's not evil, she just has a broken heart."
Snow had never heard Emma talk about anyone like this. She had never had this much hope in someone, except for maybe Henry. Even then, she was also a skeptic, always the first to say that something wasn't right. With Tamara, when the whole town practically told her she was just a jealous ex-girlfriend, she insisted there was more. Emma was a teenager now and they are known for being naïve, but something about this spoke to Snow. Her daughter had hope. Something she had rarely seen in her.
"You are still in so much trouble for sneaking out, but just come with me and Regina, explain everything."
Ingrid sat in a cell at the station, watching David pace in front of it. Snow had texted saying Emma could explain all of it, so he was waiting to hear back about whether or not they could release her. He had Elsa, Anna and Kristoff wait in his office, just in case.
"I am sorry," she said.
"Please don't talk."
"I do really care about Emma. I didn't just want her for her magic, I did grow to love her."
"I said don't talk."
Ingrid was quiet for a few more minutes.
"She is a really special girl and I know that you and Snow are the right parents for her."
David looked back and saw the sincerity in her eyes. He wanted to keep a wall up, in case she was manipulating him. But she was behind bars, a cuff on her wrist. What could he do?
"Thank you," he said quietly. "And thank you for giving her a good home when we couldn't."
"I screwed up, I moved too quickly."
David bit his tongue from screaming at her for pushing his daughter in front of that car. She was trying to actually be nice, he could be too. "After Emma was removed from the Swans, she had a hellish childhood. Heartbreak after heartbreak. You were her longest stretch. For 6 months she felt loved and wanted, probably for the first time since she was a toddler. It was too short a time, but it's good she had that nonetheless. She has you to thank for that."
"I just wanted her to have what I didn't."
The sheriff sighed. He had learned by now that most villains have a story. They're not just evil for no reason. Even if their vengeance isn't the right course of action, no one does anything "just because".
"What happened to you?"
"I came into my powers and wasn't taught that I could be loved because of them. Well, except with my sisters. An accident occurred and one of them died, not intentionally, but as a result of my magic. My other sister lost faith in me, she was afraid."
Suddenly, Ingrid's words made sense. She once said people are scared of what they can't understand. David realized just how much pain she had been through.
"That can't have been easy, I imagine."
"You saw what it did."
"And yet you willingly gave yourself up."
"I need to take responsibility for my actions."
"If we let you go back to Arendelle, would you stay there?"
Ingrid nodded. "I want to make it up to my nieces, I want to be a good aunt to them. Especially Anna. I thought she was just like her mother, but maybe that's not so bad after all."
The door to the station opened and Snow walked in, an arm around Emma, Regina trailing close behind. David looked back at her and Snow gave him a small smile, but she didn't speak. Instead, Regina did.
"We're going to remove the cuff on the grounds that you remove the ice wall," the former mayor explained, diplomatically. "We will then find a way to get the four of you back to Arendelle, I think I know how to create a portal. You are to stay there with your family. If you dare to return and cause havock we will not be this nice."
Ingrid beamed, spotting Emma who was also smiling. She couldn't believe after all she had done to the girl, that she had helped her out.
"I dearly appreciate it, thank you," the Snow Queen told them.
"David, let her out, please. I'm creating the portal now."
The sheriff complied and Ingrid walked out. Emma broke away from her mother and rushed over to her former foster mother, hugging her. David protectively hovered nearby, just in case. But, he was willing to allow a goodbye between the two. Ingrid hugged her back, kissing her head.
"I am sorry Emma, for all I've done."
"It's not okay, but you're going to be better now, right?"
"Yes."
"Thank you…for giving me a home."
Ingrid smiled, kissing the top of her head once more. "And thank you, for being my family."
Regina had gone to fetch the other Arendelle residents and returned with them. Snow and David said goodbye to their old friends first, promising to visit if/when they could, especially David now that he knew the real alias of "Joan". Emma said her goodbyes to them next, thanking Elsa and Anna for their help. Ingrid gave her one last hug before leaving with her family. The tears filled Emma's eyes and she sunk down into the chair at (unknowingly) her desk. She began to cry, another person lost, even if it was for the best.
Snow walked over and crouched down in front of her daughter, hugging her tight. Emma tried to stop crying, tried to pull away, but her mother soothingly rubbed her back. In that moment, it didn't matter how she felt about the Snow Queen. All that did, was that her baby was hurting.
"Let it all out baby, it's okay to cry. I've got you. I know how hard all of this has been for you."
Emma buried her head in her mother's shoulder, continuing to cry. David walked over and knelt beside his wife, slowly stroking Emma's curls. They would get her through this, no matter what. She wasn't out of the woods for sneaking out, but that could wait. For now, they would gratefully accept the opportunity to comfort their daughter. Who knew how often that would occur?
I hope I pleased everyone with how I handled Ingrid. I know I got requests to change up how the show did things, so I did, kinda. Anyway, next chapter Emma and her parents have to have a little talk about what she did. How will that go? As always, thank you for your great reviews and tell me what you want to see!