Part Two-Winter
(Do you wanna build a snowman?)
When Pan's curse had hit, George had been looking forward to freedom. He'd been chained up in the godforsaken mines for too long. But when the curse clouds hit, cleared, and he had opened his eyes, where was he?
In Rumpelstiltskin's cell.
Still locked up.
For an entire year, he had raged, plotted. He certainly didn't expect another curse to hit, but he had welcomed it all the same. Maybe he had finally found his freedom.
And where had he ended up?
Back in the mines. Only he had forgotten everything in the past year. He had raged and plotted all over again. And when he had gotten his memories back, he knew he had to escape and exact his revenge on the stupid farmboy he had taken in as his ward.
Now he sat, still trying to figure out a way to escape. Growling, he conjured images of David screaming in horror as his loved ones met horrible demises at George's hands. Oh yes, that was lovely. He imagined himself laughing gleefully as he regained his position as king, as he threw the ungrateful sheep herder in a prison to rot. Lovely, lovely.
He shivered. Why was it so cold all of a sudden?
When he looked up, ice was beginning to crawl down the wooden rafters. He watched as it slowly etched it's way down to the wooden post to which he was bound, and covered the chains in a layer of frost.
He pulled on his bonds.
They strained, but they didn't break. More and more frost began to form on the chains. He kept pulling, straining them furthur and furthur, until...
Snap!
(C'mon, let's go and play!)
The next morning, Rumple left Belle sleeping in his bed and went off to his shop after scribbling out a quick note for her. As soon as he got outside, he realized that Elsa had made good on her promise. Storybrooke had turned into a winter wonderland.
It almost would have been pretty, if he hadn't known what it meant.
When he got to his shop, he realized he had forgotten his coffee. And breakfast.
Damn.
Oh well. When he was done talking to Elsa, he'd pick up something at Granny's. Maybe. If he had time.
His cane tapped against the wooden floors as he searched the shelves for what he was looking for. He wasn't sure if Snow and Charming's curse had brought it over. He assumed so, but curses could be unpredictable. They had a mind of their own.
Rumple stopped in front of the old mirror that once belonged to one of the royals, he forgot which one. His mind flashed back to the day when he was freed from Zelena, when he had wandered into his shop. The day he had proposed to Belle. The day he lied to her.
He had always hated mirrors. Not for the reason Belle once thought, but because he always felt like he was being watched. Not just by Regina, but by some unknown force looking at him, seeing all his secrets, and showing him what it was seeing. Like ha ha! I can see the pimple on your chin! Loser! In his case, it was more like you still are scaly. Your teeth are black, your eyes are creepy, and you look like a demon fresh from hell. None of that compares to the darkness inside you. It sounded silly when he really thought about it, but mirrors always gave him a sense of paranoia. Even when he was cursed and didn't remember a thing about his past life, he would always cover the mirror because it always screamed at him look at the lame little pawnbroker! That leg'll never heal.
Abruptly, he pulled an old curtain over the mirror, covering his reflection.
Letting a small sigh escape his lips, a small urn decorated with snowflakes sitting on top of a shelf caught his eye. Satisfied, Rumple went over to the shelf and used his cane to bring it over to the edge slightly so that he could grab it and pull it down.
"Pretty urn, Papa. What's in it, ashes?
Heart pounding, Rumple slowly turned around to see his son standing at the counter, a smirk on his face. Bae looked about fourteen, the age that Rumple had lost him the first time, and was wearing a black cloak that looked like something one would find at a funeral.
"Not ashes," Rumple said softly. "Something of Elsa's."
"Oh. I assumed it was ashes. Seems like something you'd keep."
"Go away Bae." Rumple walked over to the counter and set the urn on it's surface. His heart thundered in his chest.
Bae smirked, looking uncharacteristically like his grandfather. "I can't."
"Why not?" Rumple demanded.
"Because you don't want me to. You want me back. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I like it here. We can be together, for eternity. That's what you always wanted, right?"
"Rumpelstiltskin?"
Rumple gave a start and whirled around. Regina was staring at him with a skeptical look at on her face.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Fine," He muttered, casting a quick look at where Bae had been standing.
He was gone.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Oh, this?" He held the urn for her to see. Calm down. He's gone. He's gone.
"No, the thing in the back. Yes that."
"It contains a golem of Elsa's."
He's been gone for a long time.
"A golem?" Regina asked quizzically. "How will that help us?"
"I need to talk to Elsa. Golems are naturally tied to their creators, and can find them at long distances. Considering that I don't know where Elsa is, I thought it would be helpful. May I ask why you are here? It's 5:30 in the morning."
Regina shrugged. "My heater broke. The cold woke me up."
It was an obvious lie. Perhaps it had something to do with her outlaw, but he decided not to pry.
"Maybe you can come with me then." With that, Rumple opened the urn. Snow immediately swirled out and settled onto the ground. It build up into a snowman, who blinked as soon as it was completed.
"Hi!" It said almost immediately. "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"
Regina stared at the snowman, an incredulous expression of her face. The snowman waddled over to her and stretched it's stick arms out to her.
"Who are you? You look nice!" It snuggled up against her. "Ahhhh. Hugs make everything better. Trust me on this, I've been stuck in that jar for a loooong time."
Regina slowly turned to look at Rumple. "You've got to be kidding me."
Rumple shrugged. "Olaf, I need you to find Elsa."
Olaf released Regina, turned around, and looked at him. "Rumpelstiltskin?! Wow, I didn't even recognize you! You look a lot less...scaly. And that suit! You look great, seriously, why didn't you do that back in the Enchanted Forest?!"
"Olaf. Help us find Elsa. Now."
"Okay." The snowman waddled out of the pawn shop. Regina shot a look at Rumple.
"Seriously?" Regina asked again.
"I will admit that Olaf's not my best choice of help. But he will find Elsa for us."
"Why do you need to talk to her again?" Regina and Rumple began to follow Olaf out of the shop.
"I need something of her sister's for a tracking spell. Without it, we may never find her sister." Rumple shot a final glance at the counter, just to make sure Bae hadn't come back.
To his dismay, there he was. Now he looked like an adult. He winked at him, and then was gone.
(I never see you anymore, come out the door, it's like you've gone away!)
Rumpelstiltskin made them stay up all night, making Elsa freeze all the kingdoms in their paths. When they were done, they returned back to the Dark Castle. Elsa got exactly five minutes of sleep before she was magically teleported into the ballroom. A grinning Dark One blinked down at her.
"Wakey wakey! Time for training!" He sang.
"Really?" Elsa groaned.
"Really. Get up. Don't make me waste my time."
Elsa got to her feet, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Where's Anna?"
He stared blankly at her. "Anna?"
"My sister."
"Oh! The redhead! That's her name? She's sleeping."
"Is she okay?" Especially after what almost happened to her the night before. Elsa didn't say it aloud, but she was certainly thinking it.
"You know what? I don't really care. Now you need to focus."
"But-"
"You ask me to train you, dearie." The man's voice had gone to a low, almost sinister tone. "You really don't want to waste my time. Now show me how well you can use your powers."
Elsa bit back her protests, telling herself that Anna was fine and this was not a man who cared about anything other then the task at hand. She closed her eyes.
"Don't let them in. Don't let them see..." She chanted under her breath.
Ice immediately spread across the floor, surrounding her bare feet.
"No, no, no. What are you focusing on, exactly?"
"Be the good girl, you always have to be," She said louder. "Conceal. Don't feel..."
Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "That's your problem."
"What?" Elsa asked.
"You can't be the 'good girl.' You can't 'conceal', you can't 'not feel.' Who taught you that?"
"My father."
"He obviously had no knowledge about magic. All magic is linked to emotions. If you don't feel, then it goes haywire. Now, think of one of the happiest moments of your life."
Elsa closed her eyes, trying to come up with something, anything happy. Immediately, she thought of her and Anna, building a snowman in the ballroom. Her and Anna ice skating in their bedroom. Her and Anna stealing cookies, braiding each other's hair, throwing snowballs at the royal guards, baking a cake, freezing everything in their path...
Elsa opened her eyes, and saw with a shock that all of the ice around her had thawed. She and Rumpelstiltskin were standing in a puddle of water.
"Good," Rumpelstiltskin said. "Keep thinking about that moment, and try...I don't know, making snowballs or something."
After a moment's hesitation, Elsa opened her palm and little snowflakes spiraled around her fingers. Growing more and more confident, Elsa waved her hands, and snow began to pile up on the floor, growing larger and larger into a snowman, just like the one her and Anna had made as children.
Rumpelstiltskin nodded in what looked like approval. "Well done, dearie. That may be enough for today."
"What?" Elsa asked, feeling a little disappointed. "But we just got started!"
"Baby steps, dearie. Don't want to overexert yourself too much now, do we?"
Elsa was about to protest, when the snowman in front of her suddenly blinked, and looked around. Both Elsa and Rumpelstiltskin jumped as soon as they saw it move.
"Hi!" The snowman said cheerily. "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" It shuffled over to Elsa and gave her a hug. "Hi!" Then it went over to Rumpelstiltskin, and gave him a hug. "Hi! I don't know you. What's your name?"
Rumpelstiltskin slowly turned to face Elsa. "Get rid of it, please."
Elsa bit her lower lip. "I can't just melt him!"
(We used to be best buddies! But now, we're not)
Rumple and Regina eventually had to get in Rumple's car in order to follow Olaf out into the woods. Later on, they had to ditch the car in order to get through the thick grove of trees.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Regina asked the snowman.
"Pretty sure," Olaf replied cheerfully as he waddled along. "It's nice here, isn't it? I like the scenery. So, why are we looking for Elsa again?"
"She froze our town," Regina said flatly.
Olaf stopped, and stared quizzically at her. "Really? That doesn't sound like Elsa. Wait, did she do it on purpose, or on accident?"
"She wants to find Anna," Rumple told him. "Anna's missing."
Olaf's eyes (were they eyes, or just coal? Or snow?) narrowed slightly. "Weren't you supposed to be protecting her?"
"Give me a break," Rumple grumbled. "We've all been a little busy for the past 30 years."
They walked in silence for a minute.
"So you're really alive, or is this some kind of spell that's making us see things?" Regina asked.
Olaf stopped and stared at his stick hands. "Hmm. I'm pretty sure I'm alive, but I'm not sure. I don't really breathe. I don't eat, and I don't sleep. Then again, I'm made of snow. Do I really need to eat? What would I eat? Icicles? No, I'd just be impaled. Not like it hurts or anything, but still..."
"Don't ask him questions," Rumple muttered to Regina. "Once he gets started, he doesn't stop."
"A little warning may have been nice," Regina muttered back as Olaf chatted on and on. "How do you know this thing?"
"Elsa created him when I was training her. He got irritating quickly."
"No. I mean how do you know Elsa? What was that deal you supposedly broke?"
"Regina, you know I don't break deals. Now what's going on with that outlaw of yours?"
Regina's jaw tightened, and she didn't answer.
"Hey guys!" Olaf's voice piped up. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you I think I found where Elsa is! I'm just assuming, cause it's an ice castle, but you never know."
Rumple and Regina looked up and saw a giant castle built right among the trees. It looked like it was made just out of solid ice, even the stairs, the giant balcony, the windows, and the doors.
"I'm assuming this is where she is," Rumple muttered, and went towards the stairs. "Wait here, Olaf."
"But I want to come!" Olaf whined.
"No. Stay." Rumple slid a little going up the steps, but continued to climb all the way up to the large doors. Pressing his palms against the surface, he pushed against the slick ice and they immediately creaked open.
"Okay." Olaf plopped onto the snow, and began singing. "Beeeees that buzz, kissable dandelion fuzz, and I'll be doing what every snow does in summeeeeer..."
"Really?" Regina groaned under her breath as she followed Rumple up the icy staircase.
"Elsa!" Rumple called as he made his way inside. "I know you're here. I need to talk to you."
"Wow," Regina, in spite of herself, looked impressed by the delicate chandelier that glittered on the ceiling, of the elegant spiral staircase that twisted around the interior of the castle, all the way up to the second floor.
"What do you want?"
Elsa, glittering gown and all, suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase, and was glaring down at them.
"Elsa, I need something of your sister's," Rumple told her. "I need it for a tracking spell, that's all."
Elsa sniffed a little, and Rumple realized she had been crying. Her nose and eyes were red, and there was a little frozen teardrop on the side of her face.
"I don't have anything of hers."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You left me with nothing when you locked me up."
"You asked me to do it."
Elsa glared at him. "Get out. I don't have anything."
Rumple started towards the spiral staircase. "Elsa, look, I know you must be upset-"
"I said go away!"
"But you can help us. We'd find her faster if you'd just help us find her."
"No. I'm not going near your town. I'm not hurting anyone there. I can still keep Storybrooke frozen from here, and I won't unfreeze it until I see Anna again."
"Dearie, that may have just been an oxymoron and you know it. You say you don't want to hurt anyone, but you just froze the town. Come back to town, Elsa. You aren't meant to play villain from afar. Your heart isn't as frozen as you think it is. I've been you telling you that since we met, and I'll tell it to you until the day I die." Rumple started going on the spiral staircase, getting closer and closer to her. Regina followed him uneasily, ready to break out a fireball if she had to.
"I'm not going near your town. I'm staying here, waiting for my sister." Elsa began to back away.
"How is that helping anything?" Rumple asked.
"I said go away!"
"Elsa-"
"GO!"
If he hadn't known her that well, Rumple would have said she had done it on purpose. But after training her, and later making a deal with her, Rumple knew Elsa had acted only instinctively when bolts of ice flew from their summoner and straight towards him.
Rumple ducked.
Regina dodged, but it wasn't enough to stop the ice that struck her squarely in the head.
Her head jerked back from the blast, and her eyes widened in surprise. Then she collapsed, and tumbled down the icy staircase and onto the floor below her.
Rumple heard Elsa let out a horrified gasp when she realized what she had done. He ran over to Regina's side, knelt next to her, and rolled her on her back.
"Regina!" He hissed. "Regina!"
Immediately, a strand of her hair turned into a silvery white. Despite it being a permanent scar, Rumple felt a twinge of relief. He could fix this. At least it wasn't her heart.
"Is she-?" Came a voice.
Rumple felt Elsa kneel gingerly down beside him. "She'll be fine. It wasn't her heart."
"It's just like last time," Elsa whispered. "Exactly like last time-" Her face was pale, and her breath came out in ragged gasps.
"Remember what I told you?" Rumple asked.
She shook her head.
"Magic is controlled by emotions. You need to keep your emotions in check." Rumple scooped Regina up off the floor, staggering slightly under her weight as he carried her bridal-style out of the ice castle.
Elsa ran desperately after him. "How?! How am I supposed to stop this?!"
"You don't need to stop anything," Rumple grunted as he carried Regina down the stairs. "You just need to control it."
Ignoring Olaf's gasp, and his questions about what happened, Rumple hurried back to where he had came, practically feeling Elsa's eyes on his back.
Rumpelstiltskin told her to read several, dusty old tomes later that night. Elsa at first thought that they would be boring, but they turned out to be about magic. Magic, she soon found out, was the opposite of boring.
As she read, the Dark One was at his worktable, and appeared to be brewing several potions. Elsa wasn't sure what they were for, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Despite the fact he had agreed to teach her, and had been somewhat kind to her (minus the part where he almost killed her and her sister), she still knew he was very, very dangerous.
Anna came skipping into the room. She and Olaf had been doing who-knows-what in the grand halls of the Dark Castle. Elsa still kept watching her to make sure she was all right, but Anna seemed as chipper as usual.
"What'cha doing?" Anna hovered over her sister's shoulder, scanning the pages of the book she was reading. "Oh. Books. Exciting."
"They're much more interesting than you think," Elsa said, her eyes not leaving the page.
"And you should be concentrating on them," Rumpelstiltskin snapped from his work table. "We made a deal, dearie."
The sisters fell silent, and Anna went up to the vast array of vials and potions and studied them intensely.
"What are you doing?" Anna asked.
"None of your business?" Rumpelstiltskin said absent-mindedly, as he poured a strange looking green substance in a glass test tube. "But I will have you know that if you distract me and I drop this, it will kill everyone within a five-mile radius."
"Jeesh, you could have just told me to leave you alone." Anna began heading towards the doors. "I'm going to play with Olaf, he's a lot more fun than you two-oof! Hey, who are you?"
Elsa looked up to see that Anna had run into a tall, blond, and scruffy-looking man dressed in gray furs and shaking the snow out of his hair.
"Who are you?" The man retorted.
"Ignore her, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin called from behind his worktable. "She's just a house guest."
Anna huffed. "Just a house guest? I'll have you know-"
"Did you get what I sent you for, Kristoff?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.
"Yeah." Kristoff walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and dumped a bag of berries on the table. "Redlock berries, just like you said."
Rumpelstiltskin opened to the cloth bag and ran his scaly fingers over the crimson-colored berries. Letting out a shrill giggle, he waved his hand and another cloth bag appeared right next to it.
"Your payment," Rumpelstiltskin said, dumping all of the berries into the bubbling beaker. "I'll call you if I need anything else!"
"You do that," Kristoff muttered, before turning and heading towards the door, but not before picking up the cloth bag and shaking it slightly. The rattle of coins instantly sounded, and he appeared satisfied.
"What are redlock berries?" Anna asked.
"They're poisonous," Rumpelstiltskin said cheerfully. "Now go make yourself useful and show Kristoff out."
"Who is this?" Kristoff asked, as Anna gave him a wary look.
"I'm Anna. Princess Anna of Arendelle," Anna said, trying to sound self-important, but she looked slightly nervous in the presence of a larger, scruffy-looking male, understandably, considering her last encounter with a man her age.
"Kristoff. Mountain man," Kristoff said, studying Anna's face for a minute. As she watched them, Elsa's protective instinct flared up.
"Right," Anna muttered. "Let's show you out the door."
"What, do you want to get rid of me?" Kristoff said gruffly.
"Not at all." Anna muttered, and the two of them exited the room.
Elsa went back to her book. Despite being concerned, she forced herself to stay put. Not all men were like Hans, she told herself. Not all men are like Hans.
As she thought this, she shot a glance at her impish mentor working behind the vials and beakers.
(I wish you would tell me why!)
When Belle woke up, she immediately snuggled over to Rumple's side of the bed for warmth. When she found no one, she sat up and saw that he was gone.
She stood up, got dressed, and went downstairs in search of him. She didn't find her new husband, but she did find a note attached to the freezer.
Belle-
Went to talk to Elsa. I should be back soon. I love you.
-R
Belle crumpled the note in the little frustration that she felt. Weren't newlyweds supposed to go on a honeymoon after they got married? Then again, there was Elsa threatening to trap Storybrooke in an eternal winter. That would probably put off any trip they could go on.
Hopefully, when Rumple got back, he'd explain whatever past he had with Elsa. Belle knew there was a story there, but she also knew that she couldn't really pressure him. Not after what he had gone through with Zelena.
Truth to be told, she was a little worried about her husband. He hadn't really had much time to come to terms with Bae's death, or his time as a slave. Belle was considering scheduling a therapy session with Archie, probably after the Elsa fiasco was over.
Speaking of Elsa, as soon as Belle looked out the window she found that the ex-queen had made good on her promise to freeze Storybrooke. Everything was covered in ice and snow. It was actually a little bit beautiful.
Belle went to get her winter coat and boots in order to make the trek to Granny's diner. When she got there, she saw Snow and David standing on their car and making the planned announcement. Emma stood next to them with her pirate on her arm. A crowd had gathered around them, listening to Snow's words.
"Anybody who knows anything about the whereabouts of Queen Anna of Arendelle, please let us know as soon as possible. We plan to create a drawing of her and put posters around the town so that you know what she looks like. Remember, this is urgent. If we do not find her, we will be trapped forever in eternal winter!" Snow yelled through a megaphone, apparently completing a speech. The crowd murmured and dispersed, going in separate ways as Belle pushed past them and to the Charming's.
"Hey Belle," David greeted. "Where's Rumpelstiltskin? We've been looking for him."
"He's out talking to Elsa. I think he wants to get something of Anna's in order to do a tracking spell," Belle said. "I see you've made the announcement."
"Yeah," Emma said, holding out baby Neal to Belle. "Want to hold the baby?"
"Sure." Belle took the little bundle and cradled it in her arms. "He's precious."
"So, uh-" Hook cleared his throat. "I heard you and...Rumpelstiltskin got married."
Belle smiled. "We did. Last night."
"Really?" Emma looked surprised. "Uh-congratulations. I thought that was just a rumor."
"No. Rumple proposed as soon as he returned." Neal cooed as Belle rocked him, and beat his tiny fists together.
"Congratulations." Robin came up behind them and nodded at her. "May I talk to you for a minute?"
"About Regina?" Emma asked cautiously. Belle recognized a little flash of guilt in the blonde's eyes.
"Yes," Robin admitted.
The Charming's took that as an invitation to leave. Snow took Neal back, and the family went inside. Robin cleared his throat as soon as they were gone.
"I uh-heard from the dwarf that you give good romantic advice," Robin said. "And I'm in need of such advice, I'm afraid."
"I heard. Where is Regina anyway?"
"I don't know. I tried to find her when Marian came home a couple hours ago. Apparently, she'd gone to visit Regina."
"Oh." That couldn't have gone over well.
"Yes...seems like the two got into an argument, and Regina left. Marian came back and-well, she's boiling in the diner as we speak." Robin looked awkwardly down at his feet. "I know she's my wife, but...Regina told me that she believed we were true love. And I believed her. But-"
"If you believe it's true love, then maybe you do belong with Regina," Belle said thoughtfully. "But I wouldn't know how you feel. The best advice I can give is follow your heart. You never know where it might take you."
Robin stared down at the snow. "That's the problem. I don't know where my heart is going."
"Follow it anyway. Stay true to it. It's called true love for a reason."
Robin opened his mouth, about to reply, when suddenly a familiar shout rang through the air. Both she and Robin turned as they saw Rumple's Cadillac pull into a parking space and him getting out of the car.
"Rumple!" Belle ran over to him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Hi sweetheart," Rumple gave her a quick kiss and let her go. "We have a bit of a crisis on our hands."
"Hi!" Out of nowhere, a snowman's head popped out of the window and waved at her. "I'm Olaf-"
"And you like warm hugs," Rumple sighed. "We know. How is she?"
"Still unconscious," Olaf said grimly, as he opened the car door and hopped out. Belle blinked, more then a little taken aback by Olaf's sudden appearance.
"Who?" Belle asked warily, before looking inside the car and having her breath catch. Regina was lying in the backseat of Rumple's car, her head lolled, her face pale, eyes closed and a strange white streak in her hair.
"Is that a talking snowman?" Robin asked in disbelief as he came over to them, before stopping when he noticed Regina. He immediately screeched to a halt, his eyes growing wide.
"Help me get her inside," Rumple commanded. "She'll be fine as soon as I thaw her, but she needs to stay warm."
Robin swallowed, and quickly went to Regina's side. He picked her up and followed Rumple and Belle inside the diner.
"She's as cold as ice," Robin murmured.
As soon as they got inside Granny's, everyone had stood up and were running towards them.
"What happened?" Snow gasped.
"She'll be fine," Rumple said quickly. "Granny, we need blankets."
Despite her dislike of Rumpelstiltskin, Granny didn't argue and went off to the bedrooms of the B&B.
"Will she be okay?" Emma asked worriedly.
"I just said she will be, didn't I?" Rumple snapped, as Robin lowered Regina into a chair. The former Evil Queen's head lolled slightly as she slumped back in the chair. "Stand back, everyone."
They all took a step back except for Robin, who stayed locked in place next to Regina, gripping her hand. Rumple extended his hand, and a small ball of flames appeared in his palm.
"What are you doing?" Robin demanded angrily.
"Thawing her." The fire in Rumple's hand grew dimmer and dimmer until there was just a red-hot patch in his hand.
"You'll burn her!"
"No I won't. Her head's been frozen. Just be glad it wasn't her heart, dearie. The heart's not as easy to thaw." Rumple placed his hand on Regina's forehead. She didn't stir. the residents of the diner watched in anticipation.
Finally, she stirred, blinking her eyes open. "Ugh...what-happened?"
Robin relaxed. At that moment, Henry and Red burst into the diner, making everyone give a start, and immediately saw the crowd of people.
"What happened?" Henry asked, his eyes flickering over to his adopted mother. "Mom?"
"She's all right, Henry," Rumple said as he took his hand off Regina's forehead. Regina straightened up, shivering slightly.
"Wait, weren't we in Elsa's castle?" She asked.
"Elsa did this?" David asked, glancing over to Rumple.
"Not on purpose," The man said. Granny came over with a blanket and gave it to Regina, who immediately wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Th-thanks," Regina muttered, her teeth chattering slightly.
"What happened?" Henry asked, scooting through the crowd of people and standing protectively next to his adopted mother. Everyone around them except for the Charming's, Robin, and Belle went back to their usual business.
"Elsa's ice," Regina murmured. "It-it hit me, didn't it?"
"What happened to your hair?" Snow asked, her brows furrowing.
"What do you mean?"
"It's white. Well, part of it's white," Emma said, studying the said strand intensely.
"What?" Regina clawed at her hair, and held it in front of her face. Her eyes narrowed into slits when she saw the white strand. "Oh. She didn't. She did not just ruin my hair."
"It's not so bad," Rumple told her. "It could have been your heart. I can't heal a frozen heart, I'm afraid. You were very lucky."
"You mentioned that before," Robin said dryly.
"How do you heal a frozen heart?" Henry asked.
"An act of true love," Rumple said softly. "Is the only thing that can thaw a frozen heart. Without it, the person will die."
Emma blinked, as if something was clicking together.
"You said when you met Elsa, an accident occurred," She said slowly. "Did someone's heart get frozen?"
All eyes glanced at her, and then Rumpelstiltskin.
"No, not the heart. The head."
"But you said someone almost died." Robin pointed out.
"Yes. That was because Elsa didn't know how at first to fix a frozen head."
They looked at him like they wanted him to go on, but he didn't.
Olaf chose that moment to burst into the restaurant. For the second time within two minutes, everyone jumped.
"Hi everyone!" Olaf said cheerfully. "I'm Olaf! Hey, is that hot chocolate?" Granny, who was behind the counter, watched him wide-eyed as he waddled over and plopped onto a stool. "Hi! What's your name?"
"That's a talking snowman," Emma said, wide-eyed. "That is a talking snowman."
"Cool," Henry said, wide-eyed.
Rumple sighed. "I'll put him back in the jar."
"Don't do that!" Belle scolded. "He's adorable!"
"For about a second. Then he opens his mouth," Rumple grumbled.
"Who almost died?" Hook asked, changing the subject. "It wasn't her sister, was it?"
Rumple shook his head. "No. Not Anna."
"Well, who else was there?" Regina asked.
Rumple suddenly found the ceiling very fascinating as he studied it intensely.
"Rumple," Belle prodded.
"Granny, can you get me a cup of coffee?" Rumple called.
"Rumpelstiltskin!" David snapped. "Just remember, I still don't believe that you had nothing to do with Zelena's death!"
That got his attention. Rumple straightened himself up and gripped his cane tightly. His eyes focused back down to them. "It doesn't matter. We need to focus on finding Anna."
"Rumple," Belle said again.
"Tell us," Regina demanded.
Rumpelstiltskin sighed. "It-" He hesitated. "Not here. Later."
Emma sighed. "Let's go outside."
"Let's." Regina attempted to stand up, and immediately, her knees began trembling.
"Stay in here. You need to keep warm," Robin told her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back down. Regina flinched slightly at his touch, but didn't protest.
"He's right," Rumple said, a little awkwardly.
"Oh for God's sake!" Regina snapped. "What's so bad that we have to go outside for you to tell us what happened?!"
Granny, momentarily distracted from Olaf's chatter, gave them a wary look from behind the counter.
Rumple muttered something under his breath, then shot a irritated glare at her.
"Rumple, it can't be that bad," Belle told him as she intertwined his fingers in hers. "Please Rumple. Trust us."
Some hesitation immediately flickered in his eyes.
"Please," Belle asked again.
For a minute, he was still silent.
"It was me," He suddenly murmured under his breath.
"What?" Emma asked.
"It was me," he said a little louder. "I-I was the one who nearly died that night."
Almost as if to prove it, Rumple pulled his hair off the back of his neck, not letting loose of any of it except for a single, white strand that matched Regina's exactly.
(Do you wanna build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman...)
"So let me get this straight." Anna pointed to the White Rabbit. "That rabbit can create portals. Portals to other worlds."
"I have a name!" The White Rabbit snapped.
"Indeed he can," Will Scarlet said, ignoring him.
Anna sighed. After all those years of searching, after abandoning her kingdom in order to find her sister, the answer she had been looking for all this time was a rabbit.
Well, it was Wonderland.
"It'll work," Kristoff told her. "I know it will."
Anna's frustration dimmed slightly. "All right."
The rabbit nodded. "So where do you want to go?"
"I dunno." Anna drummed her fingers against her knife hilt. "I've been everywhere with magic. Oz, the Enchanted Forest, Wonderland-"
"Maybe she's in a world without magic," The White Rabbit said thoughtfully.
"Is there such thing?" Anna asked.
"There is." The rabbit nodded. "Do we really have to take them?" He muttered to the Knave.
"Yes." Will Scarlet muttered, standing up. "To the land without magic it is then?"
Anna nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."
"All right then."
"Wait! Why are you helping us?" Anna asked, remembering that she was suspicious.
Kristoff chuckled. "Oh, the Knave and I go way back."
"Really?" Anna asked skeptically.
"By exactly three days," Will muttered.
"I saved his life," Kristoff said proudly. "He owes me a favor." Sven got up, tromped over to him, and nuzzled Kristoff's shoulder.
Will sighed. "Let's just get this over with."
As his words, the rabbit bounded over to the middle of their circle.
"Stand back!" He ordered, just as he waved his hand in a circular motion. Almost immediately, a portal swirled open.
"Good luck," The White Rabbit said as he took a step back.
"What?" Will shouted. "You're not coming with us?"
"Hey, my anniversary's tomorrow. I can't miss my anniversary. Don't worry, I'll check up on you in three days or so." The White Rabbit yelled. "Better hurry! The portal's closing!"
Anna heard Will grumble something under his breath before he jumped into the slowly closing portal. Swallowing, she hesitated before joining him, the wind whipping through her hair and her cloak fanning out behind her.
She felt a familiar, rough hand take hers. Anna looked up at Kristoff, who gave her a reassuring smile.
"Let's go find Elsa," He told her. "We'll jump in together on three."
Anna nodded. "One..." She started.
"Two..." Kristoff continued.
"Three!" The two of them jumped and fell into the portal, which closed as soon as they were through.
(Go away Anna.)
(Okay, bye)
A/N-I haven't really watched much of 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' so I'm not really sure if my depiction of Will Scarlet and the White Rabbit is accurate or not. Feel free to correct me as much as you want.