TemperanceTales: I do not own Once Upon a Time in anyway shape or form and I give full credit to the creators.

Chapter Eight: Snow Queen.

"Hello Regina."

Regina walked forward her long black hair up in a ponytail. Her dress was black with a big flowing skirt. Walking along the cold icy floors, she looked over to see the woman standing by the mirror. Looking back, the Snow queen smiled and said, "How are you dear?"

"I'm doing well," Regina said, looking around with distain, "I still see your castle is still as cold as you."

"I heard your planning on executing the dark curse?" the Snow Queen said, "Failed to bring down the beautiful Snow White?"

"Just like you failed to bring down those miserable children," Regina said with a smile. The Snow Queen was not deterred as she walked closer to Regina. Staring into Regina's dark eyes, and said, "I want in."

"Excuse me?" Regina said and the Snow Queen said, "I want in on your plan, Regina. We've worked together before, haven't we?"

"Of course," Regina said, frowning, "I wasn't sure you'd want any part of it."

"Of course I do," her voice came out surprisingly sharp. She turned around and walked away saying, "I want in on your plan, but I have conditions."

"Conditions?" Regina questioned.

"I want to remember," Snow Queen said, opening a glass box on a stand, "I want to be able to remember this life and be able to bring a certain item with me. In return, I will give you something precious. I also want to make a deal."

Snow Queen turned around, holding a crystal on a chain. Regina gaped and Snow Queen smiled coyly saying, "Absorption Magic. You can stick much magic in there and even if you travel to a magic-less world, you'll still have it."

Regina closed her mouth and stood up straight. She smiled and said, "What deal?"

"You don't interfere with my plans while we are… wherever we are," Snow Queen said, finally stopping next to Regina, holding out the chain on one finger, "And I won't interfere with yours."

Regina smile became dark as she took the chain from the Snow Queen and said, "Deal."

"Gold we have a problem."

Gold made a face, hearing a voice he did not wish to hear. Turning around, he rested his arm against his front desk. Regina walked towards him as he said, "Do we? I thought we promised long ago to keep out of each other's hairs to avoid any of that."

"Now is not the time for your wit," Regina said, "Autumn went out into this storm not too long ago and I need your help to find her."

"What?" Gold said, any amusement or sarcasm in his voice was gone, "Why would she do something like that?"

"I don't know, Mary Margaret and the new deputy failed to stop her from doing so," Regina grumbled.

"As much as I share the concern for her wellbeing, how am I supposed to help?" Gold asked.

"Because you have effective sources and I would like to make sure my son's best friend is not freezing in some hole in the woods," Regina said, irritated. Gold narrowed his eyes as Regina took a deep breath. A softer, somewhat guilty look came across her face as she said, "Please. I just need to be sure."

"Very well," Gold said, "I'll see what I can do and let you know."

Regina nodded, turning on her heels and hurrying out of the shop. Gold's business demeanor faded quickly. He was more than just concerned, he was alarmed. He knew magic when he saw it and this storm was far from natural. How was it possible? He didn't know. He assumed that Regina might have something to do with it, given the guilt he momentarily saw. Picking up the phone, he frowned deeply. He hoped nothing had already happened to her.

Something told him his wish was in vain.

S.C.

"AUTUMN!"

Emma gritted her teeth as she felt the wind beat her face. The storm was worsening, and Emma was going along the path in the middle of the woods. The white overpowered the dark forest increasingly. The sky swirled with dark clouds and big thick snowflakes, making the area around he rather intimidating. Swallowing, Emma hollered into the wind, "AUTUMN!"

"Hello?!"

Emma squinted and saw someone trudging towards her. She pointed her flashlight in the person's direction and waited. As the person got within eye sight, Emma saw it was a woman. Feeling a sense of relief, she started over saying loudly, "Hey! Is there shelter nearby? I'm looking for a friend-!"

There was a sickening crack and Emma knew nothing more. At least until she came around to find herself in a room. It wasn't friendly; the barred windows were letting in the little light from outside. She was lying on a stone cold bench, her back slightly aching from the lack of comfort. Blinking, she sat up staring around. She looked at the door and saw it was a metal one with a small window. She got up, only then noticing that her jacket was gone, as well as her other winter items. Her gun was gone too, which made her swear under her breath.

Tiptoeing across the freezing room, Emma gently grasped the door knob and found that she was able to open the door. Looking down the hallway both ways, she quickly noticed a dead end on the right. So she hurried out before going to her left where she saw a pair of stairs leading upwards. Emma wasted no time in quietly creeping up the stairs. As she did so, she heard a small pair of footsteps walking down. She stopped suddenly, pressing herself into the shadows as much as she could. The owner of the footsteps finally came into view before she swung a metal pipe at Emma. She grabbed it and said, "Kid, it's me!"

"Emma!" Autumn nearly jumped out of her skin before clinging to Emma. Emma rubbed her back and said, "How did you get here?"

"I don't know," Autumn pulled away, biting her lip briefly, "That's the thing. I was running home and I got knocked out. I woke up a little bit and I thought I was in someone's bedroom. But when I woke up again, I was in a room upstairs with my things gone."

"Yeah, so are mine," Emma said, making sure to keep her voice low, "Look anywhere down here is a dead end. We need to head back upstairs."

Autumn nodded and said, "It's weird, I haven't seen anyone."

"No?" Emma said, as they quickly ascended the stairs, "We'll have to be cautious then because someone had to bring us here."

"Right," Autumn said as they came to the top of the stairwell. Walking out Emma found herself in a rather big hallway with doors on each side. The floors were tile, looking rather old and cold. Autumn held onto Emma's arm as they walked quietly down the hall way. At first, it seemed they were in the clear but then there was a loud slam. Emma and Autumn spun around and saw that double doors had snapped shut. Autumn let go of Emma's arm and ran back towards the door. She pushed at the door and said, "It's locked!"

"Of course it is."

Emma spun around and saw a woman standing there, holding out a gun. Emma's gun to be more precise. Her hair was cut at her chin and her grey eyes cold. She wore a white long sleeved dress that ended at her knees. Her smile was cold and chilling as she walked slowly towards them. Autumn slowly walked back to Emma as the woman said, "Get inside."

She jerked her gun towards the closest doors. Emma slowly pulled Autumn along into the room to find a drastic change in scenery. The room had sleek tan tile floors with a deep brown rug. The walls were of sleek wood with various framed pictures. There was an empty fire place, and the room was cold. Autumn felt Emma push her forward as the woman shut the door. She gestured towards the chair and said to Emma, her voice surprisingly soft, "Tie her there, Savior. The things you need are below the chair."

Emma bit her lip before having Autumn sit there. She took the handcuffs and cuffed her to the arms of the chair. She tied her ankles together, trying to think of a way out of this mess. Looking back up she stared into Autumn's alarmed face. Autumn looked at Emma saying, "Emma…"

"I'm sorry," Emma said, as the woman said, "Get up."

Emma stood up and said, "Who are you?"

"Why should I tell such a disbeliever like yourself?" she said pointing the gun at Emma. Her voice was so calm that it was extremely eerie. She pointed to the other chair and said, "Sit down, Savior."

Emma sat in the chair and the woman restrained her in a similar fashion. Turning back to Autumn, her smile turned into a smirk and she said, "Now, who might be this precious little girl be? Why don't you tell me, hm?"

"Autumn," Autumn said, as the woman bent down, pointing the gun down at the floor. She reached her freehand out and tilted Autumn chin in several different directions. She scoffed gently and said, "What a pretty little lie."

"What?" Autumn said, shaking her head slightly in confusion. The woman grabbed her chin more firmly and said, "You know what I'm talking about, dear. Or at least, you should."

Autumn was quiet and Emma notice that she was rather white. Emma wouldn't blame her if she was panicking, the woman was absolutely crazy. Emma was surprised though when Autumn ask calmly, "Who are you?"

The woman laughed and both hostages shivered. It wasn't unpleasant but the aura around her was. It was icy cold and as Autumn watched the woman looked back at her and said, "The hero of Wonderland asks me who I am. Very well…"

She leaned in and said, "I am the Snow Queen. And I will have your heart."

Emma blinked and Autumn's face went impassive. Inside, Autumn was confused. Why had she called her the Hero of Wonderland? It was like one of those things you expected some stranger to say in a novel. Autumn was usually all for fairytales coming to life, but she truly had no idea what this was about. The woman seemed pleased by Autumn's reaction and spun around, standing up saying, "Let's play a little game of truth, shall we? I'm going to ask you questions, Autumn, and you're going to answer me honestly. If you're not being honest, the Savior will know."

"And if I don't answer?" Autumn said, and the woman pressed the gun into Autumn's chest, over her heart. She then said, "I will shoot you."

Emma pulled at the handcuffs but to no avail. The Queen paid her no heed and Autumn said, "Fine, but I get to ask you questions in return."

"Very well," the queen said, "What road do you live on?"

Autumn swallowed and said the gun still over her heart, "I live on 106 Chess Street. Why are you holding us here?"

Snow Queen looked back at Emma and asked her voice soft and calm, "Is she telling the truth Savior?"

"Yes," Emma said, staring at Autumn intently. Snow Queen looked back at Autumn and said, "I'm holding you here because you referred to something of mine as 'dead'."

"You mean winter?" Autumn smirked, and Emma was reminded of Gold. That smirk, it was all too like his. It was taunting and prideful. No wonder she liked him, she was like him. But that was not a good way to be behaving right now. The woman was pointing a gun to the kid's heart. The Snow Queen then said, "It's not dead, it's breathtaking."

"It's dead," Autumn retorted smoothly, "It freezes everything in its path and makes it look so plain looking."

The Queen's smile flickered before she asked, "What is the house you live in like? Describe it to me."

Autumn smirk disappeared a little bit and said, "It's a three story building. Below is a bar that mom does when she's not working at the town next over. The attic is my room, not big but not small. The house is built like a cabin and there is no way to get to the second floor through the first."

Snow Queen looked back at Emma, who was trying to hide her surprise. Emma nodded and the Queen's smile became fuller. She turned back to Autumn who asked, "Why did you call me the Hero of Wonderland?"

"Don't you know, or do you?" The Snow Queen forced Autumn to look into her grey eyes and realization dawned on her face. Autumn watched as the gun pulled away from her chest as the queen went over to the desk by a large window with bars. She pulled something out of the drawers and revealed a decent sized sealed jar. Inside it was swirling gold gas that alarmed Autumn. She didn't know why, but it seemed familiar. Walking over to Autumn, she put the gun down and grabbed Autumn's hair and said, "This my dear, is something you should be familiar with. In my world, the gas burns a person's heart. It's an awful thing, really. The only way to counter act it is with an invisible gas of our own. That particular gas smells of ice…"

Realization crossed Autumn's face and the Queen said, "Ahh, you remember. I almost managed to infect you with it too before that man interfered. You see, my hopes for my worlds gas to awaken you were dashed. I figured pain was a better memory stimulant. But this gas… this gas should set you straight."

Snow Queen uncapped the bottle and held it right under Autumn's nose and whispered in her ear, "The Gas of Wonderland."

Autumn gasped as she suddenly felt a yank at her hair, breathing in the gas that smelled like spice. Coughing, Autumn could barely hear Emma yelling something. Her head hurt, so very much as things that she never thought of recently came crashing forward. Autumn heard a gunshot but her vision was so messed up as she could have sworn she was staring at the back of man. But as her vision came back to normal, she saw herself being led outside. She then heard the voice, "-Can't help but get yourself into trouble can you?"

"Mr. Gold?" Autumn asked confused.

"The one and only," Gold said as he led her towards a paramedic, "Can you see clearly?"

"Yeah," Autumn said, rubbing her temple, "Yeah I can."

"He's going to look you over," Gold said, his voice concerned, "Just to make sure whatever she had you inhale isn't toxic."

"Not, it was just spices," Autumn said suddenly, "Really I'm fine. I don't need help."

"Autumn," Gold said, somewhat firmly, "Let him check you over."

Autumn looked at him nervously, sitting down. Gold seemed to disappear as the paramedic approached her. The paramedic shone light in her eyes and had her walk in a line. After a few more tests, he cleared her to go home.

"Any pain at all and you tell someone right away," he said, frowning a bit, "Rest is all you seem to need."

Autumn nodded and before she knew it, Gold had his arm around her shoulder. He led her away from a crowd of people and pushed her into the car. She sat down and looked around. They were in the woods, somewhere she didn't recognize. Hearing the other door open, she watched him get into the car. He turned on the car and said, "I'll be taking you home. 106 Chess Street, right?"

"How?" Autumn said in confusion and he said simply, "Miss Swan told me while the paramedic checked you over."

Autumn nodded slowly, rubbing her head. She then said, "The Snow Queen… what-?"

"Snow Queen?" Mr. Gold said, incredulously, "Is that what she called herself? Well her real name is Morgana Smith; she was actually one of the doctors at the hospital for a time before disappearing into the woods…"

The curse… Autumn lean back in the seat more as he drove back onto the main road. She was the Snow Queen in reality…but she couldn't tell Gold that she firmly believed that. Looking down at herself, she realized that she had he jacket and things back. Blinking, she looked out the window before asking, "How did everyone know where we were?"

"That was her home," Mr. Gold said, as he drove, "Someone tipped the Sheriff off and he came and heard a gunshot. Luckily, the woman missed her intended target. Turned into a bit of a nut, she did."

"Right," Autumn said, softly. Mr. Gold glanced at her and he said, "Here it is, Chess Street. Never would have thought to come looking this way."

Autumn didn't answer to that, deep in thought. It wasn't until his next sentence did she finally speak.

"Are you alright, dearie?"

"Huh? I'm fine," Autumn said, as he drove slowly along the road. She peered to her right and he said, "Is that it?"

"Yes, this is it," Autumn said as he pulled into the drive way. The house was surrounded by a large bush wall. It was three stories high and he could see the forest tree line guarding the backyard evenly. It would have looked rather cozy if it wasn't for the house being completely dark. He stopped since the snow was rather deep and the front lawn wasn't very big. Autumn unbuckled herself as he shut the car off saying, "There doesn't seem to be anyone in."

"Probably got stuck at work because of the storm," Autumn said, as they got out of the car. She led him to the house as he asked, "Your mother is a bartender?"

"She is," Autumn said, walking over towards the back of the house. He saw that a large porch was enclosed off, buried a bit in the snow. Autumn had to kick away some of the snow so she could open the door. The porch was plain and the house door was hidden off in the corner. Autumn reached into her pocket, fumbling a bit. Pulling out a key, she unlocked the door and said, "Sorry, but we've got a bit of stairs to go."

"It's alright, dearie," Mr. Gold said, as he entered the building. She shut the door as Gold looked up the stairs. There was a light click as the door relocked. The walls were nice and of stain lighter colored wood. She walked up the stairs with Gold following at a reasonable pace. He finally reached the top of the stairs as she turned on the lights. The room living room was linked with the kitchen which Mr. Gold noticed was rather nicely kept. The floor was wooden and the cabinet's dark stained. The rug in the living room was green as well as the arm chairs and couch. The living room had big bay windows that overlooked the front lawn. Autumn promptly walked over to the kitchen and put the coat on the chair. Mr. Gold said, "Rather nice place."

"Nice enough," Autumn said, clicking the answering machine. Mr. Gold noticed that there were no pictures of anyone anywhere. Nothing too personal was left out and about. The machine turned on and a woman's voice said, music playing loudly in the background, "Hey kid. The snow is pretty bad up here, so I won't be home anytime soon. You know the rules, finish your reading and don't do anything stupid."

"Too late," Autumn said as the message machine clicked. Mr. Gold watched Autumn as she looked inside the fridge. She pulled out a plate as Mr. Gold walked over to the kitchen table to sit. She put it in the microwave and asked, "Do you want anything? Tea, water, whiskey?"

"Excuse me," Mr. Gold said, giving her a firm stare. She laughed and said, "I'm kidding. She doesn't keep any of the alcohol up here."

"Well I would certainly hope not," Mr. Gold said, "and water would be nice."

"Kay," Autumn said, pulling out a container. She climbed up on the counter and grabbed the glasses off the top cabinet. She slid back down and poured water into the glasses. She put the container back and turned back to Gold. She gave him his glass and he said, "Thank you. Your house is unusually clean."

"Easy to keep it that way," Autumn shrugged, "I'm not here a lot."

"I see that," Mr. Gold said, "So I suppose your mother is not here a lot either?"

"No, she's not," Autumn said, pushing her hair back, "She works quite a bit."

"I see," Mr. Gold said, "So, there is a bar downstairs?"

"Yup," Autumn said, "But there is no way to get from the first floor up here. The only way up here is out back."

"I noticed. I also noticed there are no Christmas Decorations."

"Nope," Autumn said, shaking her head, "I haven't celebrated Christmas in years."

"Really?" Mr. Gold said, surprised and Autumn said, "Really. So now you've asked your questions, I'll ask mine."

Mr. Gold took a sip from his glass as she asked, "Do you celebrate Christmas?"

"Not really," Mr. Gold said, "It's hard to celebrate when you have no one to celebrate with."

"True," Autumn said, taking a drink from her glass and then asked, "Have you ever loved someone?"

"What?" Mr. Gold said after swallowing quite a bit of water and Autumn said, "Have you ever loved someone. You know, like someone other than family?"

"Yes," Mr. Gold said, looking away, "Long ago."

Autumn observed him but didn't say anything. Sipping her water, Autumn suddenly stared towards the direction of the stairs. There was a click and the door downstairs could be heard opening.

"Kid! Are you still up?"

"Ahuh," Autumn called back, "Are you alone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm not?" Autumn suggested sheepishly as someone came up the stairs. Her hair was in a bob, cut just below her chin. She was skinny and tall. Her eyes were sharp and a little cat like. Pulling off her coat, she tossed it on top of Autumn's coat. She was dressed in black attire. Staring from Gold to Autumn, a small frown appeared on her face.

"Do I even want to know what you did?"

"I didn't do anything," Autumn said, innocently, "I tried coming home and someone kidnapped me."

"What?!" the woman said, incredulous, "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so. Luckily the person was apprehended and is currently in custody," Gold said, standing up, "I was just bringing her home."

"Thank you for that," she said, walking over to them, "I'm Felicity Doe."

"Mr. Gold," Gold said, shaking her hand briefly. A sly smile came over Felicity's face as she said, "Aha, so you're the one she's always talking about."

"Am not!" Autumn said indignantly.

"Are too," Felicity said, grinning, "Well, I'm tired and smell of sweat and would very much like to shower and change so I'll leave you two to say goodbye."

"That's too much information he didn't want to know," Autumn grumbled as the microwave went off. Felicity stuck her tongue out playfully as she said, "And I'll tell him more if you don't lighten up. And don't think you're off the hook on this whole kidnapping thing. I want the full story when I'm out of the shower. Mr. Gold, it was very nice to finally meet you."

"You as well," Mr. Gold said. Felicity bumped Autumn purposefully before disappearing into one of the rooms. Autumn wrinkled her nose as Gold said with a smirk, "So that is the famous mother we have never seen."

"I preferred it that way," Autumn grumbled, "She's embarrassing."

"No more than any other mother, I'm sure," Gold said, sympathetically, "I should probably be getting back. It's starting to snow and I want to get back before it gets too heavy."

"Oh, alright," Autumn said, almost a little disheartened. She walked him back to the door and said, "See you soon?"

"Yes," Mr. Gold reassured, "You owe me a song, dearie. Don't think I have forgotten."

"You never forget anything," Autumn said with a Cheshire cat smile.

"Of course not." He said, tapping her nose gently, "Rest up, dearie."

"I will," Autumn said as he walked out the door. She pushed the door closed after him and let out a shaky sigh. Mr. Gold made his way back to the car and slipped inside. Turning it on, he looked back up and saw her staring out the bay windows. She waved and he smiled. Backing out, he pulled away with his head filled of her personal question.

"Have you ever loved someone?"

Shutting his eyes, he saw blue glassy determined eyes that made the invisible knife twist in his heart. He glanced back at the house and looked back saying, "Yes I did… and still do."

S.C.

"Well, well, Morgana, I wish I could say you look well."

The Snow Queen glanced over from the cell. Regina stood there and Morgana smiled saying, "Hello Regina. Your little pet found it prudent to lock me up."

"Well I'm sorry," Regina said, walking closer, "I can't help it that you got caught."

"No you can't," the Snow Queen sighed, "Such a shame…"

Regina sat down on the edge of the couch and said, "Why did you want Autumn?"

"Autumn?" Morgana stated and then smirked, "Ah, yes. The child, she insulted my dear winter and you know how I feel about that Regina."

A smirk built up on Regina's face as she said, "Are you sure you didn't learn anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not unless you call being daughter of a bar owner strange," Morgana smiled coyly. Regina said, standing up, "Well, I wish you luck getting out of this mess."

"Oh, don't worry, dear," the Snow Queen said, "I will."

S.C

Autumn walked along the forest ledge, trudging through the melting snow. Frowning, she was trying to retrace her steps as of last night. Even the Snow Queen had said someone interfered, a man. Staring around, Autumn bit her lip as she tried to find anything familiar.

Suddenly there was a snap of a branch and Autumn found herself losing her footing and sliding down the steep hill. Letting out a scream, Autumn felt herself fall downward before losing consciousness. When she did finally wake up, she found herself laying on something soft. Her eyes shot open she saw herself in a room. A bedroom; one that was not her own.

Jumping up, Autumn looked around but found herself alone. Getting out of the bed, Autumn realized her winter clothes and shoes were gone. Frowning, she opened the door and looked around. There was a decent sized hallway in a beautiful home. But Autumn was not interested. Where was he? Walking into another room, she found herself looking around at shelves upon shelves of hats. Gaping a little, Autumn gently touched the rim of one of the hats.

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?"

Autumn turned around and looked at the man, who she recognized instantly. He wore dark grey all over and had a scarf around his neck. But it was the eyes that always got her. Green, a color rarely seen in eyes but beautiful all the same. It wasn't as noticeable since he wasn't looking at her, but she could still see the green. He was sitting on the window ledge near a telescope, sharpening a pair of scissors. He didn't look up as he said, "Cat got your tongue?"

"Jefferson."

Jefferson stopped, slowly putting the objects down. Looking up, he finally looked her in the face. Autumn slowly walked towards him as he said, his voice almost constricted, "You remember."

"Yeah," Autumn said, still keeping her distance, "Why didn't I remember everything?"

"The curse," Jefferson said, watching her with almost haunting and disbelief, "You came, and it reacted to you. Your memories, of Wonderland, were clouded because you were susceptible to it. Anyone with your memories would be."

Autumn made a brief face at that comment but then said firmer, "Why did you let her take me?"

"Because," Jefferson said, "Wonderland Gas was absorbed into your system, so you were safe. Emma was not."

"Well you're lucky," Autumn said, with a little grin, "Had the Snow Queen not given me that little bit of raw Wonderland Gas, I wouldn't have remembered everything this soon."

Jefferson finally reached her and gently reached out. Autumn allowed him to gently stroke her cheek and push back her hair that was partially in her face. Jefferson suddenly scooped her up, hugging her tight. Autumn felt a rush of warm, wrapping her arms around his neck. She missed his hugs. They were the biggest and tightest and never failed in making her feel better. Setting her down to sit on the table, He parted so he could look her in her eyes. Stroking her hair out of the way, he said with a little smile that was very mad, "As I said before, it doesn't matter if you don't know who you are because I know who you are. Just like it doesn't matter if I don't remember who I am as long as you know who I am."

He leaned in saying, "Isn't that right, Alison?"

Autumn smiled, in a way that was very much sneaky and said, "That's right, my dear Hatter. That is very right, indeed."