Hi all, after much planning I have decided to make this the penultimate chapter of this story and to bring it to a conclusion with the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the next one will be split into two parts a before and an after at which i will finally leave the characters of Liam and Elsa and this story behind.

As this story is winding down to a close there is a massive plot twist in the Spell of Shattered Sight. I will try and give Ingrid the cannon exit she got and then this story will start it's epilogue

A massive thank you to all of you for sticking with me so long and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer-The essential characters are not mine.

Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.

The Summit Of My Desires

Chapter 25-Fear Of Flying.

Several events take place over the next chapter-Ingrid is revealed as the Snow Queen and her connection to Emma confuses everyone as afterwards Emma loses control. Elsa comes full circle on her magic as the spell of Shattered Sight is almost put into action and a necklace from Anna creates surprises after surprises. Several changes of episode and plot as story winds to an end. (No Spell of Shattered Sight)

Storybrooke.

It turns out the woman behind the Ice Wall was Ingrid. Elsa had not known about this until she had walked into her shop the next morning and seen it frozen over. She had stood there staring at the ice confounded for a second and then the door had opened and Emma had come in her boots clacking on the ground to tell Elsa that her employee had apparently been plotting to take over the town.

You really couldn't make this shit up.

Elsa hadn't realised that she had said that out loud until Emma had laughed sounding more like herself than she had in a long time and had told her that she agreed. Elsa took the change of mood to be the date with Killian (he had come home smiling in a way Liam had thought highly amusing and the teasing and ribbing that had followed had kept all three of them laughing until their sides ached).

"Do you ever think we'll have a normal life?" she asked as they walked through the woods. Regina was with them muttering about dirt under her boots (as if she hadn't spent the night in Robin's tent—he was grinning in a way that told Elsa all she needed to know) and Killian and Liam had gone on ahead with David. They had been told helpfully by Henry that Ingrid had, had an ice cream truck.

"In this place? Forget it—hey why don't you have an Ice Cream truck?"

Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Do you know how much it takes to run those things? Besides up until three weeks ago I was working alone. I don't have the time to go driving around selling ice cream I barely have time to sell what I've got in the store"

Emma nodded and did not continue talking. Considering the Snow Queen's truck had a file on her Elsa wasn't surprised. She was sat down on log next to Liam leaning her head on his shoulder and wondering weather or not it would be bad to order another takeaway tonight—Killian was rather suspicious of the cooking implements she had at her house though he always ate what was put in front of him—when her name was called. Emma came out of the van clutching what looked like a very old piece of parchment that was holding together what looked like an other-worldly kind of file. And Elsa had a sinking feeling she knew on who it was that, that file that looked like it came from a world where magic existed.

But what Emma said next sent her almost falling backwards off the log in her surprise.

"Hey Elsa…is this your Mom?"

Elsa jumped. Of everything she was expecting it was not that. She stood up feeling the blood rush back to her legs and she staggered a little feeling a bit dizzy. She shrugged it off looking at the file that Emma was holding out for her.

It was undoubtedly her mother. She was surrounded by two other woman one Elsa knew as Ingrid the Snow Queen and another that she had never seen before but who vaguely reminded her of her mother once upon a time. The red hair passed between the two sisters was darker than Anna's but it had been clear where the resemblance lay. The blonde woman—Ingrid—however reminded her of herself. There was a distinct look between the two of them and even looking at the picture Elsa was surprised at how much she didn't feel towards her. There was no anger, nor terror, nor…anything really…instead looking at this picture of the woman she found that she was realising that everyone had a grey centre in them. That nothing was as black and white as good and evil.

(Of course she didn't realise this until much later. But that is a story for another day)

She caught sight of her mother and stared at her swallowing hard. She didn't speak publicly about her family. Hell she wasn't even entirely sure if Liam understood the depth of the feelings that she harboured towards her mother and father. To see her mother staring at her from the parchment as if she was alive and breathing was surprisingly enough to punch her in the stomach.

It was odd. Elsa hadn't countered on it hurting so much even now after all this time, after all that had gone between them. But looking at her mother she found she could see the woman whom Anna could…would have become. And surprisingly enough that hurt as well for reasons that she didn't want to go into.

"Yes" she said finally tearing her eyes off the woman who had raised her, loved her, feared her and hated her all in the same mix. Nobody ever said their parents were perfect and nobody could ever say that of Gerda of Arendelle.

"That's my mother. With Ingrid. I don't know who the other woman is. My mother never spoke of her childhood. I was led to believe she was an only child"

Emma raised an eyebrow but didn't elaborate. Elsa took that to mean that she understood the clipped tone that Elsa was using and knew enough from her own relations with her family not to press the wound while it was fresh.

They carried on for some time watching Emma flip through the file filled with children's drawings and report cards and Elsa sat there staring at the image of her mother, of…whomever the two women next to her were. For they couldn't be sisters? Her mother had never said she had any siblings and certainly there were no graves in Arendelle.

"What you thinking" Liam murmured once they had gone home. Killian had gone to the station with Emma and they had undressed and were in bed the door shut, Elsa had been so distracted she was not even sure she had ate anything which was good because her stomach was tender. Instead she had let Liam undress her and slid into bed next to him clutching at the broad naked shoulders as if she could bury herself into the very bone and essence of him and forget the cold misery that had been her childhood.

"I was thinking two things. One…I wish I could speak to the rock trolls"

Liam looked down at her from where he was on top of her surprise colouring the well-worn, well loved face that she adored so much.

"What the fuck are rock trolls?"

Elsa told him and watched as he grinned showing his teeth. The idea of little rocks holding the memories to everyone in them seemed to make him laugh to no end though he was doing his best to hide it. She thought that it was a nice thing to see him like this. So light and open. Since Neverland the weight of the world had come off his shoulders and she found that she loved him every day a little bit more.

Liam laughed once more and moved off her, she turned on her side curling next to him and he trailed his fingers across her back her skin coming alive under his touch.

"And the second thing?"

"That if Ingrid and my mother are sisters, then she did the same thing to Ingrid that Anna did to me. Trapped her in the urn and left her to rot. And that if she hadn't have died…it wouldn't have been Anna"

Liam said nothing for a long time. And then…

"I wish I could make it all better for you" he said finally into the quiet silence. "I wish that I could make it all better, that I could fix it all."

"I don't…that's not what I need. Not really. But when we get married, I'm going to see if I can get in touch with Anna, and then I'm going to formally abdicate"

Liam shot upwards to stare at her. Elsa nodded. "It's not a loss to me. It's never been a loss, I was never a Queen and I never wanted to be, I wanted to be a wife and a mother and a lover and to be seen as a real woman and I have all of that here. I have friends who aren't paid to be my friends or to spy on me, I have a family that doesn't flinch when I come near. And I don't want a crown on my head. Anna can have it, Anna can build Arendelle into the nation it should be. All I want is you"

Liam watched her for a second and then bent and kissed her. His mouth when it came down on hers was as light as a feather and his hand on her belly was warm. Elsa sighed and moved a little so that her legs could bracket a bit more and his hand could slid downwards to where she wanted it.

"I have never loved anyone as much as I have loved you" he murmured into her hair.

"And I you" Elsa said grinning.

And they carried on into the night the two of them.

However things were not to be that peaceful as Liam found out when he was awoken by a shout and a curse that he knew could only be from his little brother.

"Good Lord!"

"Jesus Killian" that was Elsa and she shoved Liam out of the way in an effort to pull the covers up over herself. Liam ran a hand through his hair and down his face to cover up the fact that he was still asleep and then glared at his brother.

"Fuck off"

"Sorry" Killian said his hand over his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean…err…"

"What do you want?" Liam said flatly reaching for his boxers which had ended up somewhere on the floor by the side of the chair—he wasn't sure how.

"Eh Emma was looking for you. Says there's been a development, well several actually. We were fine without you and we thought you were off doing some wedding planning but now we err…"

And just before Liam could point out they had earned the right to oversleep and also if they ever got the chance to hold a wedding in this place it would be a miracle the door opened once more and he heard the sounds of David Nolan's voice.

"Hey are they here?"

"Yes" Elsa said having managed to find her jeans and a t-shirt. "Give me twenty seconds David. Killian get out before your brother commits murder"

Looking as if he wanted to do nothing more Killian left.

"We are moving when this is over" Liam said staring at the ceiling. "Far, far away where none of them can follow us"

"Please" Elsa said tucking her hair to the side and braiding it hastily. "You'd miss all the excitement."

Liam snorted.

Damn her for being—mostly—right.

"Well" he snapped as he loaded his gun and attached it to his holster and pulled on his socks. "This had better be good"

"The Snow Queen's got Emma locked up in the station"

Liam stared at Killian seeing the panic etched on his face. Elsa pulled on her boots looking unsurprised by this announcement.

"Can Gold not get through the door?"

There was a delicate pause. Liam caught David's eye and shrugged. The friendship that had came up between Gold and Elsa in the aftermath of Zelena had confused them all. It was not like they were best friends but they seemed to have a civility that didn't exist between Gold and anyone (except maybe the grudging respect that he and Regina sometimes felt for each other). When Liam had casually asked Elsa about it when she had been wrapping his and Belle's wedding present (which he had not known they had gotten them) she had pointed out that they had seen each other at their lowest and that created a bond that was hard to shake and even Gold had known that.

David looked away and Liam took it to mean that his oldest friend in Storybrooke knew that while he might not agree with Elsa's decisions, he would always back them regardless. After all David would do the same for Snow in a heartbeat and Liam thought that out of all of them he would understand…and did understand. The conversation last night was weighing on his mind more and more.

"Alright" Elsa said pulling on her second boot. "But Emma has the power to let herself out. I don't see why she's not doing it. The—Ingrid's powerful but she's not invincible."

David suddenly became very interested in the burn mark that was on Liam's kitchen table pre the curse where Will had gotten the idea to try and make flaming cocktails and Cyrus had, had the sense to bring along a fire extinguisher. Liam watched him and wondered what on earth had happened for David to look like that. Something clearly had happened? So what?

"I don't think there's much I'm going to be able to do David" Elsa said as they walked down Main Street ten seconds later. "It depends on what's happening between the two of them. Did she surrender?"

"Kind of. She wasn't surprised when we caught up to her. She just seemed desperate to know Emma. To speak to her. And then she wanted to speak to you"

Liam looked at Elsa who was peering at the ice that seemed to cover the door. She didn't look nervous, she looked intense and it was clear that she had been expecting this. Indeed the more he looked at her the more he thought she was anticipating this. He bumped his arm in solidarity against Killian who nodded back. Despite the fact that his brother drove him up the wall he needed him in the same way Killian needed him.

Elsa moved her hands in an attempt to get rid of the ice—despite the raised eyebrow from Regina and the eye roll from Gold and then the side of the Sherriff's station exploded.

It came out clean and in yet in huge chunks. It was a clear magical explosion that much was obvious to anyone and everyone that was stood outside. It knocked them all backwards and then out came Emma a trail of snowflakes following her, looking utterly stunned at the carnage that had occurred.

"Swan" Killian said coming forwards even as Liam moved towards him. He had been with a woman who had uncontrollable magic before, he knew what a woman who was out of control when it came to her magical abilities looked like and it was staring him right in the face. He knew it.

"What did that monster do to the Sherriff's department?"

Gold, Regina, Elsa and to some extent Liam all rolled their eyes or sighed. It was clear what had happened and it had not been the Snow Queen. Liam's view on Emma had not really changed much, he thought at times she was a dreadful hypocrite but he was ready to bury the past and look forwards to the future. After all if Killian was really happy with no one else but this woman then he would have to make it work for his sake if nothing else. Never mind the fact that Elsa considered her a dear friend.

But he knew what he was looking at. He knew magic when it spiralled out of control and he when it was in front of him.

"No" Emma said looking so strangely vulnerable that Liam found that even he wanted to help her despite all that had gone on between them. He wanted to take that look of self doubt of her face, the look of fear that he knew would lead to loathing and he wanted to do it not just for Emma but for Killian who was looking at the woman he loved with an expression that Liam remembered all too well having whenever he had woken up to see ice hanging from his ceiling and Elsa utterly terrified about how it had gotten there.

"It wasn't the Snow Queen" Emma said flatly looking down at her hands. "It was me"

And that was when the street lamp went down and got David on the shoulder.

"Well" he said into the silence as Emma ran off. "It could have been a lot worse if that makes anyone else feel better"

The glare he got from Snow White told him that, that statement didn't help very much.

Liam had left after they had traipsed back to the apartment. Will and Anna had, had their baby and he went to the hospital to admire the baby boy with his tuft of blonde hair and blue eyes. Cyrus and Alice were there, their little girl peering over the crib with wide eyes and Liam let his oldest friend pull him into a hug.

"Be you next time" Will said with a grin that took years off him and Liam laughed and for once it felt like no hardship. It seemed easy to laugh and easy to smile and hold the baby who looked up at him with little fingers peering out of the blanket. For once, for the first time in a long time it did not feel like he was dreaming some dream that happened to everyone but him.

For once it felt like something that could happen, an eventuality that he could see rather than dream away.

It was nice to see happy endings appearing that had once not been real.

Elsa had called him saying she had gotten to Emma before she did anything stupid and to met at an old house near the edge of town. When he got there Elsa was beaming, Emma looked more relaxed than she had done in ages and Elsa folded herself into his arms as Emma did the same with a smiling Killian and fireworks appeared in the sky.

What did it matter that the Snow Queen was still a threat.

"Let's go home and set a date for this wedding" Liam muttered into Elsa's ear. She turned and kissed him in a way that was slightly less than polite for company especially young company. Henry was there after all.

It was then that Henry spoke up. "Hey Mom what's that?"

Emma turned and Elsa and Liam turned to stare at her. It was a single yellow ribbon wrapped around her wrist. Emma tugged at it but it didn't budge. She looked up and then her eyes widened.

"Elsa"

Elsa looked down. There was one around her wrist too. Liam tightened his hands around her waist.

Clearly the Snow Queen was not done.

"It's diabolically brilliant" Regina said as they were to Granny's diner the next day. The events of the night turned morning (another one where it seemed they caught sleep in snatches rather than actual nights) had seen the Spell of Shattered Sight (designed to turn them all against each other and tear each other apart—not Elsa or Emma because apparently they were needed for something utterly unknown) come down in a cloud poised to strike and the return of a necklace in the snow that Elsa had took one look at gone white, said it was her sisters and then had promptly refused to so much as touch it. Belle had said there was a chance they could use the Spell of Shattered Sight dust to make up an antidote and Elsa had gone very still.

"What does that mean?" she had asked. "That she had the curse put on her in Arendelle?"

"It looks like it" Belle had said but Emma had not been watching her. Instead she had been watching her friend who had gone very pale and had then taken the necklace out of Belle's hand walking to the window and peering out as if she could conjure her sister or find her just by touch and sight.

Liam watched her but said nothing. Emma wasn't sure what to do. There was such a complicated relationship between Elsa and her sister—a backstory that very few including herself only knew bits and pieces of. But this…this seemed different. There was something here that she couldn't put her finger on and it appeared she wasn't the only one.

"But we need to use all of it" Belle was saying. "We need all of it—"

But before she could finish Elsa was throwing the necklace at them and stalking out.

"What the hell was that about?" her Mom asked but Emma had a feeling she knew.

Elsa was staring out to the sea.

She did not know how long she had been there. If the spell had been cast or the fact that her sacrifice of the necklace had managed to buy them the time that they were so desperately needed. She hoped it had. The necklace had been one her mother had gotten Anna for her birthday, the last birthday before she had died and they had been left alone. Before Hans and Kristoff and that stupid bloody deer who had left marks all over the floor (and other things as well).

She had been so secure in the knowledge that her sister had put her into the urn because she had been scared of her, because she had hated her. Because she was a carbon copy of the red-headed witch that had been her mother. And now there was proof, small nonetheless but irrefutable proof that she had had not been filled with hatred on her own. That it had been a spell that had made her the way she was in the last memory Elsa had, had of her.

All of those years spent hating and fearing and running and doubting and now it was right in front of her.

She had magic, she had a happy ending despite all of that.

And it was time to stop running from it.

Elsa closed her eyes and felt the wind hit her in the face. She felt the spray of the salt and the warmth of the sun and the wetness of the tears she had cried drying on her face and she thought about her silly little sister who had never shown fear and the seeds of discontent that had been sown and flowered between them. She gripped the little white stick in her hand and thought about the past and the present and the future and what she had to tell Liam when she got home…

"I'm sorry" she said to that picture in her head. "I'm sorry Anna, I forgive you. And I hope you can forgive me"

Suddenly there was a splashing sound and she ducked backwards staggering her boots slipping somewhat in the sand. Something was coming out of the water and Elsa watched as it grew bigger. It was a trunk of sorts and it opened spilling two people that she knew intimately, that had not changed a day since she had last seen them stagger out onto the sand.

The one with braids and blue eyes looked up surprise on her face. Everything about her was the same, it was like the years between them were nothing and not centuries. It was like the curses between them were nothing.

"Elsa?"

And when she replied she found despite it all she was smiling.

"Anna"

And there you go, I hope that you enjoy this penultimate chapter and I will bring you the last one as soon as I have written it.

Next Chapter-The Final Chapter of this story! Anna and Elsa have a conversation and manage to put the past behind them as the latest (and the last) crisis ends. And then Liam and Elsa finally get their Happy Ever After. Massive AU