"I'm sorry for your loss."

She never hated those words so much until now. Elsa wasn't dead, she was just… gone.

One long week passed since Anna confronted Zelena and paid the price for her foolishness. From overconfidence or a wrong gut feeling at the time, Anna truly believed she could outwit the Wicked Witch and right all the wrongs she committed in town.

Now all Anna had was a broken heart and about a dozen condolence cards in her apartment mailbox.

She tucked the cards under her arm, slammed the door shut on the mailbox and began the trek up to the third floor.

Storybrooke wasn't the same anymore. Winter, already struggling to exist that year, died out completely the day after Elsa was lost. Nothing remained of it but a bitter wind during Anna's morning paper route; a punishment, she believed, for failing the season's avatar.

Zelena was incarcerated for her misdeeds, spared from judgement for now by the grace of her little sister, Regina. The townsfolk returned to their normal lives, and just like Kristoff and Hans, all of the flying monkeys returned to their human form. Everyone was celebrating the passing of another threat, but it seemed to Anna that only her family was concerned that Elsa was literally lost in time.

She considered it a blessing that Ingrid had yet to take it out on her; the last she heard, Ingrid was still looking for the urn, unaware of what happened to it because she fled from the barn before the battle began. Olaf and Marshmallow, the latter especially, were inconsolable. At the very least, Olaf held on to the hope that Elsa could be found and saved somehow, and he did his best to convince his family of it, too.

Anna sighed as she stopped and faced the door to the apartment. She had hope as well, only it was battered and beaten with very little to keep it alive.

The door swung open with a soulless, lonely creak, welcoming her back to a home filled with nothing but painful memories. She kicked the door shut with her heel, unable to escape her failure as soon as she walked in. Elsa's shoes remained on the mat, and her keys hung on the hook with a fine layer of dust.

Anna let her satchel slide off her shoulder and slump to the floor. How could she stay here alone? With Elsa it was fine; their combined incomes took care of all their bills and they each had a friendly face to come home to at the end of every day. Now Anna was just scraping by on her funds, having missed so much work due to monkey attacks and recent grieving. She was willing to keep up the place as long as she hoped Elsa could still come home, but her faith was wavering.

It was too much to think about. All she wanted to do, and all she was capable of doing, was lie in bed and sleep the day away, hoping the next would be easier. Committed to the idea, she breezed through the living room, but paused once she got to the entrance of the hall.

Her bedroom door was closed as she had left it, but the door on the right, painted with blue shields and snowflake-flowers, was open to let the dim light of the overcast day spill into the hall. A thin shadow painted the floor, unmoving in the light but familiar in shape.

Anna's heart skipped a beat and her feet moved before her head could catch up. She hurried down the hall, placed a hand on the doorframe and took a deep breath before she entered the room.

"…Elsa?"

Dressed in blue jeans and a dark knitted sweater, the silhouette looked common compared to the regality Anna last remembered seeing. Still, the white-haired woman turned at the sound of her name, bright blue eyes searching for the familiar voice. "Anna?"

Anna covered her mouth and held back tears when Elsa faced her. It didn't matter how she came back; she was here, alive and unharmed. She was home.

"I was so afraid I'd never see you again!" Anna cried, running up to Elsa and wrapping her arms around her. She was so excited, so relieved that her sister was safe that she didn't notice how Elsa flinched when she touched her. "We were cursed again and we looked everywhere for you and we couldn't find you, so then Regina made us a potion to track you down and then Kristoff turned into a monkey and then Hans turned into a monkey but I got the sword and then Zelena—"

She cut herself off when she realized she was making little sense. "Sorry…" she said as she pulled out of the one-sided embrace. "It's just been so long, and I…"

Anna bit her lip, watching Elsa carefully. She didn't smile, nor did she look amused at all by Anna's relieved rambling. As far as the eye could see, she wasn't hurt, but she also wasn't as happy as her sister by this reunion. "…I have a lot of explaining to do."

Elsa raised her head, and her frown grew deeper as she looked down upon Anna, seemingly unwilling to listen until she got her word in first. Brows drawn together in anger, she opened her mouth to speak, and her first word was drowned out by the sound of floorboards exploding behind her.

The floor of Elsa's room began to collapse from the window, sending all of her furniture plummeting not to the floor below, but into a gaping black abyss. Anna saw the danger and flew out of the room, sliding into the hall where she collided against her closed door.

The apartment shuddered as she looked back, finding Elsa running after her, but the collapsing floor chased her so fast that she didn't stand a chance. Anna pushed off her door just as the last floorboards dropped out from beneath Elsa's feet.

She saw the fear in her eyes as she was suspended for a moment, propelled forward by her last step, but her outstretched hand was too far to catch anything. Elsa was going to fall, lost to the void forever if Anna couldn't reach her in time.

The short steps she took carried enough speed for Anna to drop to her knees, slide to the doorway and grab Elsa's wrist before the darkness took her. Her fingers caught the doorframe just before Elsa's weight sent her toppling over the edge, and she struggled all the same to keep Elsa's wrist from sliding through her grasp.

Anna grit her teeth and closed her eyes, seething through burning muscles as she did all she could to keep her sister from falling. "I've got you!" she yelled, straining to hold her position. "I'm not going to lose you again!"

"…You can't save me, Anna."

Her eyes snapped open, hurt that Elsa would even say such a thing. "Yes I can!" she cried. "I'll pull you up so you can grab the ledge—"

"I can't."

Frustrated, Anna looked over the ledge, about to yell that she could until she saw why Elsa was so sure she would fail. A shackle of ice was cuffed to her right wrist, and the long chain was pulled taut into the darkness, threatening to force her from Anna's hold.

Elsa's eyes turned cold and hard as she looked up at her. "You were supposed to help me," she snapped, hurt and unflinching as two more shackles flew out of the darkness to clasp around her ankles. "You promised me."

"Elsa, please…" Anna begged, faltering against the pull of the chains. "I was scared. I didn't know what to do, so I—"

"So you went against your word?!"

Anna fell silent. Never before did Elsa look so betrayed.

"Forever frozen; that's what you said, Anna! You told me we were going to go through everything together, but you turned your back on me. How am I supposed to stop this?!"

A final chain lashed out of the darkness as Anna's grip slipped to Elsa's hand. The ice cuffed around Elsa's wrist, turning her fingers blue as the color drained from her face.

She dropped her head in defeat, witnessing the way her braided hair turned from platinum blonde to pure white. "You cast me out when I needed you the most. What makes you think you can save me now?"

With a frenzied cry, Anna let go of the doorframe and grabbed Elsa with both hands. She pulled with every ounce of her strength, but the ice was stronger; all she could do was delay the inevitable. "It was an accident! I never wanted—"

"I TRUSTED YOU!"

Their eyes met one final time, just long enough for Anna to gasp at Elsa's gray-blue lips and frost covered skin. In that brief moment of weakness, Elsa slipped through her fingers and fell into the darkness, dragged ever deeper by her chains until she was deafened to Anna's wretched screams.

"No! No, Elsa! ELSA!"

Why is this happening again…?!

"…Elsa!"

Anna sat up in bed covered in sweat, frantically searching the room until she realized where she was, what had happened, and that she woke the person sleeping next to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dropped to the sheets, leaving her wondering if her nightmare had been real.

It wasn't, but the reality was still the same. Elsa was gone.

She shuddered and doubled over as the thought hit her again. "Oh god…"

"Anna?"

Kristoff propped up on his elbow, watching his fiancée try and fail to hold back her grief. Her body shook with sobs, and all Kristoff could do was try to calm her down. He sat up and took her into his arms, holding her tight as she cried into his shirt. "Shh. Hey… it's going to be okay. It was just a nightmare."

"Kr… Kristoff…"

"I know." He ran his fingers through her undone hair, cradling her head as he looked around his dark bedroom. This past week was hard on everybody, and no one quite knew how to cope with their new lives. Their family would never be the same again.

He sighed and closed his eyes, wishing there would be an end to this pain. Until then, he gave in to the notion that this would be another long night.

A long time ago…

Little could be said of the Northern Kingdoms. Separated from the continent of Misthaven, it was rumored to be a dangerous place with harsh terrain and dangerous wildlife. Any who visited could speak of its rich beauty and bountiful natural resources, but then, those visitors only came during the temperate seasons. Only the brave or foolish outsider would dare make the voyage north during winter.

It was cold and ruthless at times, but beautiful and quiet during others. Snow gathered quickly and standing water froze fast; in the northernmost reaches, harbors were brought to a standstill by thick ice preventing travel. Some would say that this land was cursed to bear the burden of a deity's wrath. Others, mostly the natives, believed they were blessed, for the winter hardened them and gave them a deeper appreciation for spring.

But for now, the throes of winter lashed hard upon a rigid mountain peak in the borderlands of Eiskurr and Arendelle. Tall and sturdy, it stood out among the others, not just for its size but for the secrets it held.

At the mountain's summit stood a populated ring of stones. Some were short, others tall, and each had runic carvings etched upon a face. The runes all pointed to the center of the peak, where the two tallest stones faced each other in rivalry.

The first sat dormant, looking akin to a grave as it bore through the snow squall. Its equal, however, was very much alive. At the very top of the stone was the depiction of a peculiar snowflake, striking yet elegant in its design. It, as well as the ancient runes below it, pulsed with an ethereal blue light. The light grew bold, and then dimmed, before it would spring back into its steady pattern. To the naked eye, it looked very much as though the stone was breathing.

There was one particular oddity upon the peak that afternoon, something that didn't quite belong but looked as though it could in time.

Bereft of snow, a bronze urn rested at the base of the glowing stone, guarded from the weather by its long shadow.

Restless nights plagued the cabin since the day Elsa was taken from her family. The boys often woke in the middle of the night and would climb into bed with Anna and Kristoff, but they did so at the risk of having to endure one of Anna's horrid nightmares.

Some nights she was fine, only to be paid back double the next time she tried to rest. For now, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat at the open door wall in the kitchen while Kristoff made hot chocolate for them both. The idea was reminiscent of her and Elsa's "no sleep" parties, except it was a lot less fun and actually sort of sad.

She took a deep breath of cool air and watched Sven graze around the clearing. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was dry and red from tissue abuse. Leaning against the frame of the door, Anna fidgeted with her snowflake necklace and tried to let the tranquil night ease her troubled heart. "…I'm sorry about this. You don't have to stay up if you don't want to."

Kristoff shrugged as he walked across the kitchen with a mug in each hand. "Hey, I'm not sleeping much better. I am managing it with a lot less screaming, though," he joked, getting a small smile out of Anna as he handed her a mug. "So what happened this time?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. The floor in Elsa's room collapsed and she fell, I tried to save her, and I failed. Again." She sighed, pressing her fingers to the hot ceramic in her hands as Kristoff sat beside her. "Except this time… Elsa called me out on it."

"You know it's not real."

"I know, I know, it's just…" Anna struggled to find the right words to explain it. She bit her lip, took a breath and exhaled, letting her tense shoulders fall. "It still hits home, you know? I've always wanted to be there for her and help her when she needs it, but every time I tried I let her down. Especially now," she added, feeling so sick that not even hot chocolate could soothe the pit in her stomach.

Kristoff could see and feel the guilt in her eyes. For the past month, all she lived and fought for was Elsa, braving through setbacks and her own self-doubt to reunite a family long-separated. She was so close to doing it, too; gods was she close, only to be beaten in the end by Zelena's elaborate planning and purely wicked heart.

The defeat was still fresh in Anna's mind. There were so many things she could have done different to change the outcome of that day, but her thoughts always raced back to the exact moment she knew she lost everything. She set her mug down, pulled her blanket tight over her shoulders, and turned her pressing stare to Kristoff. "…Why did you stop me from going through the portal?"

His heart clenched in a painful tug. "Anna, you were hurt."

"So? I could've…"

He stopped her with a single look. "If you went through that portal, you weren't going to get far. You could barely walk," he recalled. "And how would you know where to find Elsa? Would you even be in the same year?"

Anna rubbed her arm where Hans had bit her. The wound was healed now thanks to Regina's magic, but she still remembered the pain of the bite and the agonizing sear running through her veins. "I wasn't thinking about that," she said, hanging her head in shame. "I just wanted to get the urn back and let her out. I miss her so much…"

"We all do." Kristoff pulled Anna to lean on him when he saw tears shimmer in her eyes. "I was going to follow you through the portal, but when you got hurt I couldn't let you go after her anymore. I don't want to lose you, too."

She scared him that day more than she would ever know. It was thanks to him that she was still here, safe and alive with another chance at rescuing her sister. She rested her hand on his knee and stared at her engagement ring, unknowing where she would be now if she and Kristoff never met.

"I'm sorry." Anna took a deep breath, realizing that all of her efforts so far had either hurt someone she loved or made Elsa's situation worse. "I don't know if I can fix this anymore. She's lost out there somewhere… how do I even start looking for her again?"

She glanced up at Kristoff, hoping he'd have an answer.

"Well… we can ask for help."

Anna pulled away and gave him an odd look. "You? Asking for help?" She scoffed and crossed her arms. "I'm not buying it."

"It's a suggestion," he sighed. "You made a lot of friends over the past few years who'd be willing to help us. I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but I bet Hans and Regina could give us some ideas, too." The thought brought a small smile to Anna's lips, and Kristoff encouraged it with his own. He took her hand, moving her fingers to touch the snowflake pendant of her necklace. "You and Elsa are the most hopeful and the most stubborn people I know. We start by not giving up on her, just like always."

Anna closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of Kristoff's hand on hers and the chill of the necklace beneath her fingertips. The two put her in balance, allowing her to see roads that were once blocked by her doubt and insecurity. Elsa would be found, just as Anna once believed, but how to find her remained a mystery for now.

"If we had that Wishing Star, this would be way easier," she joked, shaking her head as the stars above mocked her, oh so far out of her reach.

"Between you and Elsa, you think that one of you would've figured out how to make it."

"I'm kinda starting to wonder if anyone did."

They both laughed just then, imagining the old Arendelle kings trying out their theories to forge the fabled star, spending hours with blacksmiths and craftsmen for nothing but overpriced trinkets. The first of her ancestors to mention the fable said he heard it from a drunken sailor on the ship home from Misthaven. It didn't give her or Elsa much more hope that the myth was real, but the obsession over it in their family proved there may be some truth to it.

Kristoff let go of Anna's shoulder and leaned back when she pulled away from him. "So… for fun, let's just say that you had the star right now. What would you wish for?"

"Oh, that's easy. If you asked me a year ago, I'd wish away Elsa's prophecy. But now…"

Anna laughed at herself, thinking how great it would be if her wish could come true. She held onto her necklace with both hands and looked up at the star filled sky. Her smile faded some as she thought of her sister, and she spoke her next words with all the genuine love in her heart.

"I wish that Elsa would find her way back to Storybrooke tonight."

She missed the way that the gem of her necklace sparkled with her hope, glowing bright blue and purple beneath the shadow of her palm. A soft breeze began to blow from the forest, rustling the bare, dormant branches when the night had been perfectly still. In the yard, Sven picked up his head, looking to the forest just before a golden pillar of light burst to life beyond the trees. It pierced the heavens, forming a brilliant beacon in the night.

Anna's jaw dropped and Kristoff whistled in awe. "Wow. That's one hell of a wish."

Impatient footsteps echoed down a long, dark and lonely hall, pacing back and forth, in circles, or in false pursuit of something when there was truly nothing. They stopped at the window, long enough for the source to look out at the bleak winter day and sigh.

Rumplestiltskin hated waiting.

He had a unique ability to glimpse into the future, a power he had taken from a blind seer many years ago, and something he now considered to be a curse. His sight was unclear, akin to a puzzle of key moments where the connecting pieces between them were nowhere to be found. For years he had been plotting his next moves in favor of making those key moments happen, playing a chess game that lasted longer than the average man's life.

A good thing, then, that the Dark One was immortal. His current problem was that the pawns he needed to move were busy ruining their own lives or simply too young to manipulate. The most he could do for now was keep up on kingdom politics while he waited for his chance to interfere.

"All magic comes with a price…"

With an irritated scowl, he snatched the curtains and pulled them closed. It's not that he was lonely… he was simply bored.

He turned on his heel, musing recent events as he walked towards the long table where he had been working. A crystal ball sat at one end, having been used to spy on people and places from the comfort of his castle. "Nice to see that Cora hasn't lost her touch," he smiled, musing over his recent scrying. "And for a teenager, Regina certainly has a rebellious fire about her. She might do for an apprentice…"

But that opportunity was still years away, and Rumplestiltskin felt uninspired by the wait. There were many things between now and then that he could influence towards his ultimate goal, but the final push, the casting of the Dark Curse, wouldn't happen for at least two decades. For living as long as he has, his patience was wearing thin.

"The Queen of Arendelle should be giving birth soon. Eight months along, I believe?" He laughed to himself as he pulled out a chair and sat before the crystal ball. "Hope she's prepared; that first one will be a doozy!" Rubbing his hands together, he smiled as he thought of the little kingdom in the far north. "I wonder if she's picked a name yet…"

He held his hands above the crystal ball, about to begin the scrying when a peculiar spark of white light appeared above the table between his arms. He jumped back in his seat as the spark grew into an orb, though the gentle nature of its light made him believe this magic was harmless.

The orb sank to the table and the light faded in a shimmer of sparks, revealing to Rumplestiltskin a dull bronze urn. The face of it was carved with runes and snow stuck to its metal curves and details, melting quickly in the warmth of the castle.

"Well, well… what do we have here?"

Rumplestiltskin stood from his seat with an amused grin. "I suppose it wasn't enough for them to just make one," he said, looking to the far side of the room where he kept his collection of magical curios. Another bronze urn sat on a shelf next to a small clock and candelabra, but the face of it was blank. He peered down at the urn before him. "Never expected to see one filled again, either."

He plucked the urn from the table with both hands, reading the runes just before he felt a surge of magic emanate from the vessel. Shocked, he held it out at arm's length, trying to comprehend the power contained within.

"This is rare magic…" he whispered in awe. "I've seen it before, but never this strong…"

Through the metal of the urn, he could feel the power raging inside. Like a growing storm without release, it was volatile, dangerous, and vastly unpredictable without restraint.

"It's a good thing they caught you, dearie. No telling what kind of damage you'd do if they let you free."

Holding the urn in one hand, Rumplestiltskin raised the other above his head with a flourish, disappearing from the hall in a cloud of deep red smoke.

He reappeared somewhere completely different. The place was dark, and the walls seemed to stretch up forever, lined with many alcoves and shelves to hold magical knickknacks and weaponry.

Rumplestiltskin held up the urn and bowed. "Welcome to the vault: Your new home. Nothing and no one gets out, except me."

He sighed as he crossed the room, perhaps feeling an ounce of humanity for whoever lie within the urn. "Sorry, but I can't risk having you upstairs. Wouldn't want you interfering with my nefarious plans and such," he joked. "Now where to put you… ah! There we are!"

An old cupboard caught his eye. He opened the door and placed the urn inside, careful not to jostle the cap. "Power like yours is admirable, but I can tell you can't control it. The world will be a safer place without you, dearie. No offense."

He closed the door with a satisfied smile and turned his back on the cupboard, taking a deep cleansing breath now that the unknown threat was taken care of. "Well that was refreshing. Poor soul didn't stand a chance," he dramatically sighed, placing a hand over his heart in mock pity.

His grin returned in an instant. "Then again, neither did Hulda."

With a giddy laugh and a flick of his hand, Rumplestiltskin disappeared from the vault, leaving the urn to be forgotten amongst the realm's most dangerous treasures.

By the prickling goosebumps on her skin and the way her hair stood on end, Anna guessed that the beacon was a font of pure magic. She sat alone watching it from the doorway, Kristoff having gone off to bed a while ago, while Sven managed to retreat to his shed despite the energy and light show going on beyond the forest.

It felt nice to be alone for a little while to gather her thoughts, but Anna had to fight her gut feeling to go out and find where that beacon was coming from and learn what it really was. Her adventurer's blood burned and begged to make the discovery, but she was aware enough to know she wasn't in the right headspace for it. She was mentally and physically drained, and she'd only get herself in trouble if she tried to pursue this phenomenon alone.

She felt a tug at her heart when the beacon of light thinned and then blinked out of existence. It was a missed opportunity, perhaps, but with all of the town's heroes gathered at Granny's Diner for a victory celebration, she was sure that someone must have gone out to investigate it.

If only they had been so quick to help her at the barn last week, maybe she'd be celebrating, too.

The bitter thought escaped her when she heard small footsteps coming from the hallway. She stood and closed the door wall, locking it before she turned to see who it was. "Olaf?"

He stood in the center of the kitchen and rubbed his tired eyes, looking as exhausted as Anna. He offered her a half-smile when she knelt down before him. "This is harder than I thought," he admitted, and then his smile fell.

"Can't sleep?" Anna guessed. She took off her blanket when Olaf nodded and draped it over his shoulders like a cape. "I can't either, but maybe we can try together?"

Anna took Olaf into her arms and picked him up, feeling him squeeze her tight as she carried him into the hall. "…Do you think we'll see her again?" Olaf asked, spying a painting of the ice palace as they passed by the open door to his and Marshmallow's room. He had done well in staying positive thus far, but his energy was fading. He was beginning to doubt.

Lucky for him that Anna was ready to help him bear that burden of hope. "Yeah, I do. I don't know when, but… she'll come back. We just have to keep believing she will, that's all."

"We don't give up on each other," Olaf remembered with a smile.

"Right." Anna walked into the main bedroom and paused, trying not to laugh when she saw Kristoff and Marshmallow back-to-back in bed, wrestling the sheets away from each other. "I don't know if there's any hope for these two, though," she joked.

She set Olaf down on the bed next to his brother, who immediately stopped fighting Kristoff to hug him instead. Kristoff looked over his shoulder to see Anna lying down, mouthed the words "Thank you," and then huddled beneath his share of blankets. Anna rolled her eyes and pulled the covers up to her chin.

We'll get through this.

"Goodnight, guys."

""Night, Anna."

Olaf touched her shoulder and smiled. "Night-night."

Marshmallow said nothing, but Anna saw a tear roll down his cheek. He had very little to say to her after she came home empty-handed, but he didn't shun her either. Like everyone else, he mourned in his own way, and for as few times as he said it lately, he still loved her too.

With a heavy heart, Anna closed her eyes, praying that the next day would be easier.

"Goodnight, Elsa."

Darkness… there was nothing but darkness.

It choked her, stealing her voice and robbing her senses. She could not move, nor could she breathe, but somehow she was alive. Dead to others, perhaps, but she remained aware in this purgatory, alone and waiting for an escape.

"…How long have I been here?"

Her question went unanswered as it always did, her words unspoken and trapped along with her. The only company she had in this place were her thoughts, and oh how they wreaked havoc on her poor mind. Over and over again she questioned the actions that condemned her to this punishment, unable to let go of the events that took place just before she was exiled from the home she loved.

All that awaited her in the darkness was the cold, and it bothered her. She longed for warmth, to feel the sun on her skin and the ground beneath her feet. To experience anything other than cold was a luxury, something that a monster like her didn't deserve.

But she didn't deserve this hell, either. Until some poor fool weakened the seal upon her prison, she was to remain here, alone and tortured by her memories for all eternity.

Later that evening…

If Anna followed her instinct to discover the source of the beacon, she would have found herself back at the barn, facing the very same magic which took away her sister. Emma Swan was there in her stead, for better or for worse.

Emma understood the risk she took in approaching the time portal after its mysterious and radiant return, but she could not have known that the renewed energy would pull her through. Killian Jones followed shortly after, trapped alongside her in the Enchanted Forest just years before the Dark Curse was cast.

Countless times the savior was warned to keep her meddling in the past to a minimum, to limit her interactions with others as she sought a way home. While she did her best to heed those warnings, an accident almost kept her parents from meeting, and her good heart saved the life of a woman who should have been killed. She also happened in the path of someone in desperate need of rescue, who only appeared there due to one very powerful wish.

With some help from a magic wand and Killian's faith in her abilities, Emma was able to open the time portal once more to take them home. She and Killian, along with the woman they rescued, returned to Storybrooke several hours after they left.

Emma's actions in the past had little effect on the present, much to her relief. Her family was still together despite the altered history of her parents' first meeting, and of course her new baby brother was safe and healthy as well. It looked as though the future would remain unchanged until the woman she rescued was recognized by Robin Hood as his wife, Maid-Marian. While this reunion of husband, wife, and their young son should have been a happy occasion, Regina, who had formed a relationship with Robin, was anything but pleased.

She turned upon Emma. "You're just like your mother—never thinking of consequences," she chided, voice shaking on the edge of heartbreak and anger. Before this, Emma and Regina had formed a reluctant alliance that started to resemble a friendship, but now… Regina felt completely, utterly betrayed by the person who stood before her.

Emma stared at her with wide eyes, afraid for her and anyone else who would be affected by her stumble into the past. "I'm sorry. I didn't know—"

"Of course you didn't," Regina spat. "Well, you just better hope to hell you didn't bring anything else back."

Meanwhile…

The barn was still, quiet now for the final time, though the structure had seen better days since the battle one week prior. The reemergence of the time portal blasted the front doors off the hinges, and the roof had a new skylight where the beam of magic had burst through. Dirt and hay was scattered around the floor among bits of splintered wood, but the magic circle remained fully intact; it even had a new addition to its outer circle.

A bronze urn had been tipped over in the dirt, allowing whatever was inside to push against the cap and blow it off with a burst of cold air. Unnatural blue liquid spilled from the urn like water, rushing to fill the outer trench of the circle before it trickled to the second. For a brief moment the magic circle was completely filled with blue, pulsing with life before the liquid rushed through the trenches to coalesce in the center, spilling over itself as it began to rise.

The air fogged in cold wisps as the liquid gradually froze, taking on a formless shape which grew taller as the magic circle was emptied. The shape defined into a female figure who screamed in silence, pained by her experience within the urn and desperate to reform. Her body creaked and snapped like ice as she righted herself and solidified, coming back to the world in the exact shape she had left it.

The blue color she emerged as gave way to her normal palette, and all of her details came back into focus, from the ice heels she wore to the crystals in her cape and dress. Her platinum hair was braided over her left shoulder, and not a freckle was out of place across her pale nose. The golden crown atop her head was the last to return before the remaining blue faded and she was whole again.

She took her first breath and opened her eyes.

That damn urn.

It sat there, mocking her from the corner of her sight. Without a glance or second thought, she flung her hand out at the bronze, obliterating her prison to dust with a blast of ice magic.

She lowered her arm and clenched her fist, seething in pain from her last memories.

"…I trusted you."

The door was wide open to her now, as was her freedom. She took her first step towards it, uncaring for the frost that grew in her wake. With a cold stare and set jaw, she let her emotions guide her out of the barn and into the night.

Elsa was back, and soon all of Storybrooke would know it.