"Just relax your mind…" Rumple coached while Elsa focused on trying to transform an ice sculpture. His tone toward her reflected that of impatience, which put even more pressure on Elsa. "You're thinking!"
"Gah!" blurted Elsa out of frustration. Her arms were raised as magic passed through her hands toward the figure made of ice.
"…Feel it, your magic. Reach deep down into yourself and ask why you are doing this," Rumple said getting frustrated, "Let that drive your emotions and feed your magic to do your bidding…"
The ice sculpture was getting bigger and bigger. She halted her magic. She heaved an exasperated sigh before saying, "This isn't working."
"Obviously," he said shortly. "…because you are allowing your fear to control you. I cannot help you with that. And since that is the case, you no longer need my assistance."
"I most certainly still need your assistance."
"Ah, but you see, what you fear… is me." Rumple strolled around Elsa pointing to himself, "My mere presence intimidates you."
Elsa scoffed at his insinuation, "Don't flatter yourself."
"It's quite alright. I do have that affect on people. You're not the first, and you won't be the last. Besides, you don't need me anymore dearie, because you already know what you need to do. You just need to allow yourself to do it. And on that note," he continued while strolling toward the exit of the room, turning his back toward her, "I've fulfilled my end of the bargain. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go take care of my wife…"
"I DO mind," she said as Mr. Gold turned back around to face her, "and you're not going anywhere!"
She raised her hands and shot icy blasts towards Rumplestiltskin. He lifted his hands out of defense casting his own blocking spell. For a moment, it had appeared that Rumplestiltskin was putting up a good fight, when Anna and Kristoff entered the room.
"Elsa!" shouted Anna. Kristoff held on to her attempting to shield and protect her from the magic that was ricocheting from the duel. The temporary interlude was enough to distract Rumplestiltskin, allowing Elsa just enough leverage to overpower him. When Elsa saw her sister it forced her to remember that it was Rumplestiltskin that had cursed Anna's heart. This recollection only fueled her anger and triggered a thought and shouted, "How about I give you the same fate as you did my sister?" and in one swift powerful gesture, she trapped Rumplestiltskin in an ice block. Her particular brand of magic had overpowered him and in that split second distraction rendered him immobile. Seeing that Elsa had won the feud, Kristoff loosened his grip on Anna and Anna sprang towards her sister.
"Anna, what are you doing here?" said Elsa now shouting at her sister. "I told you to go away! I'm not safe to be around. And you!" Elsa turned looking at Kristoff. "Why didn't you stop her?"
"Your majesty, your sister doesn't have much time. She needs you."
"No she doesn't."
"Yes she does Elsa! You need to quit deserting your family and start facing some hard truths."
"Excuse me?! I will not stand for such impertinence. This," Elsa said pointing a finger at Rumplestiltskin, "is what happens to those who challenge my authority."
"Well your authority only pertains to your kingdom. And guess what? We're the only ones left."
"I can't deal with this insolence," said Elsa. And with a flick of her wrist, a cold wind pushed Kristoff up against the wall.
"Elsa, what are you doing?!" said Anna as she watched helplessly from the side. Thick serpents of ice slithered quickly around Kristoff's body, wrapping, binding and trapping him against the wall. Kristoff wiggled as he struggled to escape from his ice bondage, but it was futile. The final binding secured his head in place covering his mouth to silence his voice.
"Elsa…" Anna said disappointedly, tears running cold down her face. She looked at her sister in shock and disbelief, "What happened to you?"
"What happened?" she retorted mockingly, almost angry. "What happened was that the good girl you once knew is gone!"
Anna ran over to Kristoff, placing a hand on his bindings. Elsa looked over at Anna who was sobbing as she struggled to loosen his bindings. Elsa watched Anna's hair turn completely white. Her fierce demeanor softened quickly as she saw the pain she was inflicting upon her sister. She looked at Anna regretfully and said softly, "Oh Anna…"
Elsa walked timidly over to Anna, wanting to touch her shoulder to console her, but instead she said apologetically, "I'm so sorry."
Anna continued sobbing, leaving Elsa feeling awful and helpless. Elsa reflected on the monster she felt she had become. "Anna… what have I done?" she asked rhetorically. An awkward moment passed and she finally came clean, "Kristoff's right. I'm not the Queen of anything anymore. There's nobody from our kingdom left. It's… it's just us."
She turned toward Anna and gave a defeated and most fatigued sigh, "Anna, I'm scared." She admitted nervously, "I've always been scared of my powers. Long ago, when we were little, I almost hurt you and because of that, I've always been ashamed of them. I was ashamed because that meant that I was a danger to my own people... a danger to you. That's why I've never told you. That's why I had to push myself away and tried so hard to conceal myself from you. I didn't want you fearing me like everyone else had or thinking any less of me."
Elsa looked down at her hands anxiously. "Since that day, I feared any interaction with another person, always wondering; could this be the day I hurt someone? Or could it be the next? I dreaded that moment. Now…" Elsa moved a little closer toward Anna. Anna's back was still turned away from her. "…that moment has come and passed. I'm so tired. I'm tired of hiding who I am. I'm tired of being afraid of me. Oh, Anna… what am I going to do?"
Just then, Elsa and Anna heard what sounded like a bunch of shouting in the nearby woods. Marian and the merry men had finally reached Elsa's ice mansion.
… …
"There! Over There!" pointed Emma leading the group through the snow. The sun had already set and their eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness making it difficult for people to see what Emma was pointing at. She pulled out a flashlight from inside her red jacket and shined a light on the ground. "Tracks! They must have traveled through here."
"I see it," acknowledged Hook. They could see a man-made trail snake its way up the hill, making it an easy path to follow.
"I see it too," echoed Regina from behind. Hook, Emma, Mary-Margaret and Henry turned behind them seeing Regina and Robin catch up to their group.
"Mom!" shouted Henry worriedly. He ran toward his mom and hugged her. "I thought you said you were going to stay behind."
"I was but…" Regina said looking fondly over at Robin, "something changed my mind."
"Regina, are you sure you should be out here? You don't look too good," remarked Mary-Margaret.
"I'm ok for the time being," she said trying to put on a brave face. "Anna said something earlier and I agree. If this curse leads to our inevitable demise, then I choose to spend my last moments being with my family," she said looking mostly at Henry who smiled lovingly back. "And right now…" she said trudging slowly through the snow getting closer to the group. The tone of her voice transitioned to that of sarcasm, covering up any vulnerability she may have exposed with her previous statement, "…my family is climbing up hill, through the snow, to stop a mob at the top of a mountain."
Emma fought against her wanting to argue with Regina over her decision to come and instead, consented to the additional members to their party. She figured she could call upon Regina's magic if it was absolutely necessary, even if she was only at half-strength. Hook tried to diffuse the tension he sensed between the two women and commented humorously, "You know, they say you can't choose your family."
"Really? Where did you hear that?" said Emma non-jokingly. She turned away from Regina and Robin and the group pressed forward. Emma and Hook continued their trivial conversation, while Regina and Robin trailed behind.
"The things we do for family…" said Robin amusingly to himself, eyeing Regina carefully. He purposefully stood behind her in case she fell, but intentionally gave her enough space to not rouse suspicion. He knew that her ability to trust and rely on another human being was still very fresh and new to her. Baby steps, he thought to himself. He looked on into the darkness searching for the rest of their party. "It's getting harder to see the rest of the group," he said checking his pockets for a light of some sort, "Do you have a flashlight?"
She turned around and gave him a smirk. Regina extended her hand and unfurled her fingers exposing an enchanted fireball. The flame was only the size of a baseball, but it still carried a good amount of light.
"Yes, well, isn't that convenient?"
"No. Look, here…" she said walking towards him bringing the flame closer. Regina waved her other hand behind the enchanted flame and it began rising, hovering between the two. They both looked up as the flame transformed into an incandescent orb shedding a functional and intimate light. "…there," she said smiling. When she looked down from the orb, she found herself incredibly close to him; intimately close. Like the last time they were this close they had shared a kiss. She coughed trying to covertly hide her smile and turned around. The orb followed the pair of them hovering as they continued on their trek.
Robin and Regina could see the silhouette outlines of Mary-Margret and Hook just twenty feet ahead of them, but knew they were still lagging behind. They all kept walking the man-made path in silence. Every so often, Regina kept looking behind her, catching glimpses of him staring at her. Finally it bothered her enough to invoke a response, "What?" she asked slightly perturbed, turning to look back at him.
"What, what?" said Robin coolly.
"You're gawking at me."
"Am I?" he said facetiously, "I'm just waiting for you to tell me when I'm in too deep. Am I in too deep yet?"
"No yet, but I can see how you would think that, since what we're doing is not a typical family outing."
"My family lives in the forest. A typical outing is anything that involves leaving camp. It's all a matter of perspective. Though, I suppose I don't know what your family does on a typical 'outing'. Enlighten me. What does a typical family outing look like?" He was looking to make conversation to pass the time on their way up the hill side.
"Pre-curse or post-curse?"
"Both."
She sighed before confessing, "You know, to be honest, I preferred my outings with Henry in Storybrooke. Though, I think I may be biased because well… I did enact the first curse to meet my desires. But actually, we never really went out much." She grinned to herself thinking fondly of the peaceful days when it was just her and him. "When Henry was growing up, my favorite family moments had to be dinner time. He'd be home from school and I'd come home from work, and while I was making dinner for us I would listen to him tell me about his day at school. Even if the events were mundane, I would treasure every moment. Most days, I'd find myself living vicariously through his 'normal' moments. Hearing of his accomplishments, seeing the artwork he would bring home, working on his homework together… those were my family outings I suppose."
"I'm sure you must have had fond memories from back home," Robin assumed.
"No. I was… actually quite miserable." She reflected on her past and it caused her to pause in her tracks. He followed suit and stopped as well.
"Oh," he said surprised at her frankness. He expected to hear some grandiose story about her royal family going out to some lavish party, but instead was given an honest and dark response. He stepped a little bit closer to her, intrigued by her statement, but still kept out of arm's reach.
"Apart from Daniel, my mother was overbearing and she overruled my life. She was never satisfied with anything I ever did and it seemed, at times, that I disappointed her," she said tucking back a white lock behind her ear. She tried to hide how much her mother had hurt her and it pained her heart. The mere thought caused her heart to seize temporarily, and she grimaced, clenching her teeth through the pain. She clutched at the spot in her chest where her heart resided. Robin, noticing the pain she was enduring, immediately ran up to her and instinctively hugged her. He wasn't sure if he was helping, but he felt the need to do his best to comfort her.
"I'm sorry," said Robin as Regina fell intuitively into his embrace. She buried her face into the warmth of his chest. "For what?" she asked, masking the tear she was shedding for her mother as the pain subsided. His head rested upon the top of Regina's. He stared off into the distance, thinking about all the horrific things she must have endured. "I'm sorry for bringing up your past. I shall never do it again."
"My past…" she began, shivering from the cold. "…is part of me. I just hope that it's not too late…"
"Too late for what?" he said rubbing her back. He could feel her tremble and was doing his best to keep her warm. She hesitated, thinking back on the words he once said to her, "a while back… I asked you what you saw in me…"
"…a second chance," he recalled vividly, smiling at the thought.
"Even… after all I've done in my past… after what you learned about me through your Marian… do you still believe that? Do you think I even deserve a second chance?"
"I do," he said pulling away from her so that he could look into her eyes, "and I also believe that your son thinks so as well. This… right here… this moment, is your second chance. Now let us make the most of it. Hmm?"
She felt nothing but cold. The heat from his breath escaped his mouth and drew her in. A buzz seemed to fill the air between the two as their lips came closer together.
"Mom!" shouted Henry from up ahead on the trail. The yell broke the connection and they both separated from each other. "Is everything ok?" Henry asked, back-tracking his steps to get closer to his mother. "I was concerned when I didn't see you guys behind us."
"Everything's alright. We're coming," said Regina. She turned to look at Robin, giving him a half-smile. Henry came forward to his mother and reached for her hand to assist her.
"Mom, you don't look so good," observed Henry. Regina's hair was almost completely white. Her lips were turning blue and her face was going pale. It was enough to give Henry cause for alarm. She wrapped a loving arm around Henry's shoulder, attempting to reassure him.
"I know," she reluctantly admitted, "but as long as you're with me, I'll be fine."
Thank you to Montreat11, persephonie025, BreathingintheSun, and Grace5231973 for your reviews! You all have been too kind to me. As I've mentioned before I'm polishing, writing and reading/responding to reviews all at the same time. It's a reading/writing workout! I also realized that my chapters are finally catching up to where I'm writing currently. Which is a good and bad thing because now I need to figure out how to end this thing. Don't worry, Rumbelle chapters are coming soon after the Elsa debacle. I'm writing those as we speak. But until then, everyone stay beautiful and have a phenomenal weekend!