Hi, so here is another chapter and I once again apologise for the lateness, however I can confirm that there are only ten more chapters left of this story before it finishes at the end of the first arc of Season 4 and I think only three more left of Season 3.

I have changed a few things around in this story and some events are not episode cannon. However seeing as this story is all AU i think i can take a few artistic licensing.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

And let me know what you think.

The Summit Of My Desires.

Chapter 2-Suspicious Minds

The town lives in fear of the Wicked Witch, Elsa is officially confirmed missing, Neal returns, Liam meets a red head with an odd looking necklace and as a murder hits the town. Some events between episodes have been swapped around—somewhat AU. Some changes to the synopsis of this chapter.

Storybrooke. After The Missing Year.

The town was once again riddled with fear but this time the fear was mixed with an exhaustion that seemed to bleed around and was quite frankly contagious. There was a sense that this had to be the last demon they faced because people were simply not interested in fighting anymore. There had been too many monsters of the years and too many threats and most people (as the gossip in Granny's dinner continued over the weeks) just wanted to get back to normal and most found themselves longing for the years of the curse where they might have been oblivious but they were relatively safe.

Liam could understand. Nine times out of ten he found himself privately agreeing and he couldn't help but wonder what horror would be awaiting them when this curse was broken and they had their missing memories back.

Several things this time around had changed. One of them was addition of Killian. To live with him was a return to their boyhood days when they had shared a small room and an even smaller bed in whatever accommodation their mother could provide. It was different now with Killian on the couch and him in the bed but also amusing. Indeed the only amusing thing that had happened to them since they had gotten back.

His brother and modern technology should in Liam's opinion be a mini series on Netflix.

First there had been the phone which had been hilarious. Of course in this town smartphones were few and far between but even the basic ones were causing almost child like confusion. Eventually Killian seemed happy with what he called 'The Emma Button' and 'The Liam Button' and seemed to understand that if he pressed that button one of them would speak to him from far, far away.

The blender, the toaster, the fridge and the light switches had all been easy but Liam had caught his brother flicking his light on and off with a rather dubious expression.

The shower too was strange but Killian at least got that. However if you'd have told his brother that there was a machine to wash his clothes in he was utterly lost. Eventually they had decided not to replace Killian's wardrobe just yet but Liam at least got the damn things clean which was an improvement.

It was strange living together but at the same time it helped in ways Liam had never expected it to.

Living with brother and showing him how the oven and the TV worked was a good distraction from what was going on outside of the apartment.

The foremost being that Elsa was still missing.

They had declared her officially missing somewhere within the second week and it had only been a lifetime of not showing emotion (and Killian's hand gripping his elbow so tightly there had been a bruise) which had seen him still stand after that conversation. His brother had gotten him home, had stripped them both down to their pyjama's and then had dragged him into bed wrapped his arms around him and physically held Liam down as the shakes and the shivers hit him at all different times of the night.

He had no idea what he was doing anymore.

He was sure that they should be looking for the witch, looking for Elsa and yet…time seemed to move so slowly and it was hard for either one of them to catch up.

She was out there, she was alive. Liam was sure that there was nothing that could not happen that would keep him from not knowing if Elsa had moved on from this world. He was also just as sure that she was in this world and not in another. He trusted that she was here in Storybrooke but she was always somewhere out of reach and that was what kept him up at night with nothing but his brother's firm hand and only slightly pitying looks to keep him steady.

Other than that everything was about finding the witch. Nobody knew if Gold was still alive or if he was gone for good. Nobody knew who the witch was or where she might be heading and more to the point not even Regina knew how she had managed to break the seal containing her blood magic.

All in all it was shaping up to be one hell of a complicated mystery.

Only one thing broke up the dull but yet frantic panic that was gripping the town and that something happened one Sunday morning when Belle called Emma who was with Killian who had been delighted to try out the 'Liam-Button' had called him to tell him that Neal was alive. He was glad honestly that Henry's father was alive. But if he was being honest every inch of his emotions were so tightly wound up that unless Neal could tell him he knew where Elsa was he didn't think there was any point in trying to see him.

And Neal it was surmised very quickly didn't know anything.

The days moulded together and time became something of foreign concept. Elsa was still missing, Gold was still missing or perhaps he was still dead and it seemed like Belle and he were the only two people concerned with that fact. She was more concerned about her…well…whatever the hell they had been but she had sought him out on that second day when he had gone to Granny's desperate for coffee and for news and had told him that she was thinking of him.

It had been so honest and so genuine and so out of the norm for this place where it seemed like most of the time (and with good reason) people seemed to think of themselves that he thanked her without warning. Liam knew that he really wasn't good with other people, he was still processing things that he had never really wanted to process and he had always been more comfortable in his own skin.

And he and Belle had never really had much to do with each other either but as he sat there waiting for his latte he thought that perhaps they were more alike than either one of them wanted to realise. They were both in love with people who used uncontrollable magic, who struggled to control their instincts which was to nearly always cause chaos and who had pasts so shrouded in mystery there were still bits of it the other didn't know.

That and right now they were missing.

He stood up grabbing his coffee and going for the sugar packets when he felt that tell-tale prickling alongside the back of his neck that told him he was being watched. He looked up to see the green eyes of a woman gaze at him with avid curiosity. She had curls of red hair and had dressed in a way that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Mary Poppins musical. Plus it was all in green. At her neck she had a huge stone pendant thing that looked like it weighed more than she did but her gaze was hungry, vivid, avid and Liam as he turned away from it found he did not like it one bit.

"Granny" he said in an undertone as the woman came back with his breakfast order. "Whose the woman in green?"

To her credit the old woman knew who he was talking about instantly.

"That's Zelena. Came over with this curse so everything and everyone's a bit new apparently. Has just taken a job working with Snow to help with the baby and all. Whenever she's not with her she just sits there—and don't look like that boy—a lot of newcomers do that. Takes em a while before they get comfortable. Though perhaps you might want to tell her your not single…girl's looking like she wants to eat you alive"

That Liam thought as he left—glad with every step he was putting between them—was a very accurate description.

Storybrooke. Aftermath of the Missing Year. The Forest Again.

He was dying.

Neal.

Neal was dying.

That was the only thing that was going through Emma Swan's mind at that moment and when she was black out drunk later that night and found herself in pieces on the bathroom floor trying to hide her emotions she would remember that one singular thought that was going through her mind as if it was an episode of some reality TV that was always on loop.

Neal was dying in her arms. The boy she loved, her first love, the father of her child was in her arms drawing very rattling breaths. He was halfway through saying a goodbye to the father who he had always claimed to despise but who despite it all he had always loved. Having found her family Emma could understand the feeling.

And then before her brain could catch up with what she was saying Neal was dead and Gold was grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Zelena is the Wicked Witch" he repeated his words from earlier. "And she's got Elsa"

And then he was gone and Emma was left clutching the body of the father of her child and the first man whom she had ever loved (despite how it all had ended) and trying to process the white noise that had become her thoughts, her feelings, and her emotions.

Storybrooke. After the Missing Year. On the way to Gold's Shop.

It had been that day when the blue skies had been bright and the wind cold (all the signs of an unreasonably cold winter coming—though there had been no forecast for such) when it happened. Liam who had made it clear that despite everyone looking at him as such, he was no leader had been at the bar trying to take stock of what was there and what was missing. The Merry Men had decided to go into town for a drink the previous night and had decided to take a trip across the bar trying everything and anything they could get their hands on. Liam was just thankful the bar was in one piece and after he set Cyrus on manager for the day and night (as Will was nowhere to be seen) he finally managed to check his phone only to see his brother's name flash up several times alongside David's, Snow's and even once Emma's which was very, very strange because Emma…she never called him.

He unlocked his phone stepping out and walking past Main Street. He rang David because Killian was still struggling with the phone and to his credit it rang once before the other man answered with a tight voice that was aching with both grief and relief. Liam knew the feeling. He knew the feeling intimately well and something began to tighten in his stomach that told him that something had gone wrong.

"Where are you?" David asked his voice tight. "And why in God's name did you not answer your phone? Your brother's going insane"

"Working. I never take a call when doing the inventory and you know that. What's happened? Have you found Elsa?"

Oh please, he thought desperately, please, please tell me you have found her and that she is safe and not in the clutches of some evil being.

Please.

"No" David said sounding even odder. Liam felt something in his legs solidify and he knew he wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to.

"It's Neal…he's…he's dead"

Liam blinked. Out of everything that could have happened that was not what he had been expecting. He sat down on the empty bench and stared out over the water trying to think of what to say. He had been on that damn island with the man but now looking back they'd had very little interaction. Neal had just been there with a sword and a desire to rescue Henry. Actually he had also been there for Emma and Liam (who wanted Killian to be happy) had not really given a shit about the other man's feelings because he'd wanted his brother to be happy. But then again he knew that Neal when he had been someone else, when he had been a boy had meant a great deal to his little brother. He had been the son that he almost, could have had and was the son of the woman (and if Liam was being honest privately, that was the kindest word he could use to describe Milah) that he had loved, lost and fought a century's worth of revenge for.

"Oh" he said finally. He was not sure what to say. He was admittedly out of the action in the search of the Wicked Witch because he was had dedicated all of his time to looking for Elsa. There was still no connection between the both of them and every possibility that she had simply not come back to Storybrooke. Even though the Wicked Witch was looking more and more likely after she stole David's courage (and the Lord knew what else) there was still no connection and Liam would be damned if he put all his eggs in the one basket.

That was a mistake he would never make again.

He realised he had been silent for too long when he became aware that David was shouting at him.

"Yeah?"

"Were at Gold's. Emma's gone to tell Henry and…we know who the witch is"

There was something else in his tone that caught Liam's attention. He was about to speak but David cut across.

"Get to Gold's Liam I'll fill you in when you get here"

When he got to Gold's he went straight to his brother. Emma was nowhere to be seen and Belle was making tea probably for Snow who seemed to have taken a seat in the back. Her face was streaked with tears and Killian seemed to have reverted back into the pirate he was of old and not the man that had celebrated this morning over the fact that he had managed to have a shower and not be startled by the force of which the spray came down.

"What?" he asked when he noticed the look that he and David were sharing.

"We know who the Wicked Witch is" David said without skipping a beat. "It's Zelena. The woman we hired as our midwife"

Liam took a moment to appreciate the irony of that statement. Honestly sometimes shit like this was hard to believe even if it was right in front of him.

He would come back to that later. Right now he was thinking that there was a bit more coming to this story.

"Emma says Gold said that the witch—Zelena has got Elsa at her farmhouse. As soon as Emma comes back were gonna go. Are you armed?"

Liam nodded. Killian was gripping his arm but he didn't register it. He barely registered anything anymore. He had known, deep down he had known and…and he was still not comprehending anything that had happened today. If they could get Elsa back then he would process the enormity of Neal's death, Zelena taking courage and keeping them hostage, whatever the end game was but right now all he was thinking of was Elsa and that she had to know he was coming…

She had to know that he was coming for her.

After what felt like an age but was really several seconds he found that he was pulling out of his dark thoughts. Killian was next to him shadows under his eyes and compassion in the dark depths and Liam realised that despite it all his brother had been suffering with him in the loss of Elsa and a wave of affection for him washed over Liam to the point where he thought he might be able to force a small smile on his face (though no doubt it looked like a grimace).

The gun in his hand had never felt more perfect he thought grimly. Tonight he would get Elsa and get her home.

The farmhouse was small and almost cute, it was a cookie cutter house against a backdrop of snow and ice and magic if Regina looking perfectly put together in her blue coat was any indication of. This was the place she had confirmed earlier. This was from where the flying monkey's behind the disappearance were taking people and this was where they suspected Gold was being held.

They made an odd crew. Emma with an expression that was almost set in stone, looking ahead and taking no condolences with her gun in her hand, Killian with that sharp looking blade and his hook on her right and David with his own gun on her left. Liam had both gun in one hand and knife in his boot, Regina had never needed a weapon in her life and bringing up the rear was Snow and Belle (who had simply both refused to be left behind) and Robin Hood who was reloading his crossbow and who was there to take the former two out of the fight the second it began.

The farmhouse was clearly deserted.

"Well I didn't expect her to linger" Regina said grimly looking around the cold wind making them all shiver no matter how bundled up they were.

"She clearly knew I was here, I left traces of magic all over the place just to see if she could pick up on it. I bet if she had Gold and Elsa then she's moved them. Or kept them somewhere that nobody would look for them even if she was discovered."

"Would have to be somewhere she could get to quickly" Robin Hood piped up from the back. "I imagine even without magic, Rumpelstiltskin and this Elsa would not go quietly"

"No" Liam said shortly. "She wouldn't"

"There!" Belle cried pointing.

For a second they all stared eyes adjusting to the swirling snow.

It was a small cellar like building sticking out from the ground, clearly underground for most part.

"Just like the movie" Regina said with an eye roll. Emma said nothing.

"It's snowing pretty hard here" David said blinking. "Do you think that's Elsa?"

"Maybe" Liam said again in a clipped tone. "She might have been sending messages through the weather, or maybe it's a freak thing I don't know. It is winter"

There was silence again. Emma cracked her head from side to side.

"Come on then" she muttered.

They kicked open the door easily.

Neither of them were there.

In reality Liam was not sure he had expected them to be. But as he the gold straw and the spindle he looked up and found himself grinning despite himself.

Above where they stood, above where the wicked witch would have stood to gloat no doubt there were several sharp looking icicles.

"Elsa" he muttered to himself as the others began to look around for clues.

"I will come for you. I will always come for you"

And somehow despite their separation and the dangers that they faced to be in each other's arms again, Liam choose faith and trust and the knowledge that wherever the love of his life was she knew he would not rest until he had found her.

And there you go, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will bring you the next one as soon as possible.

Next Chapter-Elsa fights to regain control of both her sanity and her magic as her mind wanders, Zelena moves her plan into the open as Regina scrambles to stop her, the curse is broken leading to the returning of some unpleasant memories and some hard and harsh truths are shared between Emma and Liam as tempers begin to fray in the aftermath of Neal's death.