Present day Storybrooke:
At night Emma Swan layed in bed with her lamp light dimmed, it was a crazy day. She had gotten stuck in a ice wall trying to coax the women Elsa out and that they would help her find her sister Anna. She still felt chills from the ice, bundled up in like a million blankets Emma clutched a stuffed dog with black spots. It stuck out to her when she was in her closet, searching for more blankets with Killian. She stared at it puzzled knowing deep down in her gut that it was special, all she knew was that when she stared at it she felt happy.
She shook the feeling and thoughts from her mind as she then put the dog on her bedside table, then quickly shut off the light. She had a busy day tomorrow.
In Storybrooke, a woman watched the scene on an enchanted mirror longing to reach out and help Emma remember. They said it would take time for her memories to come back, Ingrid longed for her sweet girl to remember.
They would be together again, she promised it everyday. She smiled as she watched her sleep peacefully, she had grown so much. Ingrid smiled as her eyes began to tear and dripped down onto her shirt.
"Goodnight, my sweet girl"
Minnesota in the past:
A week later Ingrid had requested Kevin be moved to a new home on the grounds that he was a danger to another foster child; Emma. After this happened Emma seemed to feel a little bit more comfortable since she showed up; however still shy at times and non trusting. Ingrid knew she had to find a way for the two of them to bond more.
It seemed fate was kind to her this time around.
One afternoon Ingrid had decided to pick up Emma after school ended, she walked through the school slowly knowing she had some time before Emma was done. She waited by the main office for Emma, looking around waiting she noticed something on the wall.
It was a poster of many for the school's sports, she noticed that there were other kids in the pictures looking to be having fun together. A thought then occurred to her, smiling she took a flyer and put it in her purse seeing that there were many more all over.
Later when they had gotten home Ingrid suddenly remembered about it and broached the subject to Emma while they were eating dinner.
"Hey, Em?"
"Hm?" Emma looked up at her name being called, she made eye contact with Ingrid who smiled as the girl slurped up a noodle from the chicken noodle soup she had made for dinner for everyone.
"I was thinking about something"
"what?"
"How do feel about sports?"
The question took Emma by surprise. "Well, I used to play some soccer and baseball with other kids at other places. One time at a group home some of the kids in the winter played Hockey on the frozen lake in the town, it was pretty fun. Why?"
Ingrid smiled "Well I saw the sports flyers in your school and I was thinking it could be something for us to do together" Ingrid asked with a smile and hopeful eyes.
Emma heart fluttered thinking of the possibility to do something that the normal kids did with their parents. She never had that before and now she has someone who would want to do that with...
Emma smiled "Sounds good to me"
"Go Emma!" Ingrid shouted happily and loud as Emma dashed across the field kicking the soccer ball with ease followed by other girls trying to steal the ball back and some to help aid Emma in getting a goal.
As Emma approached the goal a girl from the other team tried to block her and steal the ball back however Emma dodged her and went around kicking the ball where the goalie wasn't standing.
A second later the goalie net can be heard swishing as the ball hit it making a goal followed by a whistle being blown signaling the end of the game. They had won and it was all because of Emma's winning goal!
Ingrid cheered as loud as she could as she watched Emma smiling from ear to ear as her teammates rushed towards her and tackled her with congratulatory hugs and tried to lift her up in the air. They carried her to the edge of the field before putting Emma down again cheering along with the crowd supporting the winning team.
After the teams shook hands saying great game to one another Emma rushed towards Ingrid after retrieving her things.
"Did you see it! I shot the winning goal, can you believe it. Oh my god I got so nervous when the other girl tried to stop me!" Emma very quickly rambled on as Ingrid hugged her tightly laughing as Emma's mouth just kept on going twenty miles a minute.
"I did, I did! I watched the whole thing. I am so proud of you" Emma stopped talking and smiled as Ingrid spoke. When Ingrid said how proud she was at Emma, Emma barrelled into her quickly and hugged her tightly. Ingrid rubbed Emma's back and rocked with her in her arms for a minute or two before they separated from the hug. Emma had tears on her face, however they were not of sadness but of joy.
Ingrid used her thumbs to wipe away Emma's tears from her face, before wiping her own.
Ingrid sighed before speaking. "What do you say about some celebratory ice cream, my treat?" Ingrid teased smiling at Emma.
Emma eagerly nodded her head wanting ice cream. "Yeah, as long as I get some rocky road!" Emma announced excitedly while walking off the field with Ingrid by her side. As she said it Ingrid cracked up laughing hysterical, that girl and her rocky road. She put her hand around Emma bringing her closer in for a side hug still laughing as Emma joined her in giggles.
Sitting outside grannies with her mug of cocoa long forgotten and half drank, she stared at the ice on the main road from Elsa in a trance thinking.
She could have sworn that someone took her hand in theirs and squeezed it tight. Emma didn't know why however she squeezed the hand back, and then as if she imagined it the hand disappeared softly as if dust.
Emma's eyes then darted to where the person would have been, she saw no one. Emma knew in her gut that someone was there, as Emma glanced around searching she saw her mother with her father pushing baby Neal in the stroller cooing at him smiling at each other walking her way on the sidewalk; the perfect family.
Emma gruffly gets up from the table placing a couple bills down to pay and almost runs away towards the street bumping into Archie.
"Oh Emma" Archie states in surprise, smiling at her.
"I'm sorry Archie, I didn't see you there" she avoids eye contact.
"That's quite alright" looking at Emma's face and expression caused him to worry, "Is everything alright?"
Emma then looked up at his face, the exclaimed softly. "I don't know" before shuffling her feet and started down main streets sidewalk.
The former cricket stared down the street staring at Emma Swan sadly as she walked away, as he did so he saw Snow and Charming obviously venture past him with their new child in the stroller going into grannies happy as can be.
Part of the equation clicked for him, they replaced her and don't even realise.
He wanted to make sure Emma was okay, she's his friend.
As Emma walked she passed many stores however one stuck out when glancing at the window display.
It was a sports store.
As she glanced in the window, she noticed a white and black ball with octagons.
A woman with blonde hair smiling as she kicked the ball to Emma going back and forth in a grass field, Emma hogged the ball and the woman teased she was going to get her. Emma evaded playfully and then the woman wrapped her arms around Emma hoisting her up and away from the ball tickling her. Laughter took over both of them….
She snapped out of the moment hearing her phone ring.
Emma was frustrated, she felt like everyone was ganging up on her. People were treating her like she couldn't handle herself anymore, they instantly accused Elsa for casting the curse on Mairan when it wasn't her. She was supposed to go find who was behind the ice wall and Marian's predicament. Like always the town was giving her a list of problems to fix, only now apparently they complain if she need help sometimes.
She was having a hard time trying to catch Will Scarlet, it wasn't her fault she was still recovering from the ice wall incident. After chasing Will for a while he was finally tackled by David. He was helpful leading them to the ice cream shop, the whole back room was covered in ice. A kind of ice one can't explain with science, only magic.
Killian and Elsa had followed the snow magic back to it's source to find a blonde woman in the forest, instantly Killian whips out his cell phone and attempts to reach Emma.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Killian whispers as he pulls Elsa from sticking out from the wood log.
"Sorry, I've never seen someone like me before" Elsa curiously answers "She doesn't look evil" she hopes the woman isn't. Killian warns her that may not be the case.
After waiting too long Killian proposes they go find Emma. The woman who's been secretly listening stops Killian where he was walking with her ice powers upon hearing the name.
The Snow Queen stops them stating that she can't let them leave and tells Elsa about her sister Anna. She said Elsa's memories had been taken by the rock trolls because of what happened with Anna. Anna had put Elsa in the urn for fear of her powers, Elsa didn't believe it.
"Look at the people in this town, they ready to burn you at the stake"
"Because of what you did, you hurt one of them!"
"You mean that woman, Marian. Well, not everything appears to be what they are." the snow queen stated cryptically causing confusion between Killian and Elsa.
"What is that supposed to mean. Why?"
The Snow Queen then looked away thinking about it "I was trying to protect someone" she sadly smiled at some thoughts.
"No matter, these people still blamed you for it. Eventually, everyone turns on people like us. Even friends. Even Family. They're just waiting for a reason" she then begins to form sharp ice icicles over Killian.
Elsa begs her to stop, it was no use the woman had neutralized Elsa magic. She needed to show Elsa that these people will turn on her after she was done with Killian. Trying to prove her point.
"No!"
"Hey!" "Dairy Queen!" Emma shouts running onto the scene with David alongside her. The woman looks from the icicles hanging towards the voice.
Her breath leaves her body as she gasps, her tone instantly changes to fragile tone. With the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Emma?"
This is when Emma gets a clear look of the woman, she seems so familiar to her that it almost screams out. "Do we know each other?"
The woman hadn't even replied before she had disappeared in a flurry of snow left behind. The icicles began falling and Emma had used her magic to push Killian out of harm's way as they fell.
After Emma had vigorously looked for signs of the woman, if she left anything behind and how she got away. "There's no sign of anything" she sighed loudly glancing over the forest.
"What is it, are you okay?" David asked concerned. Thinking Emma was thinking about earlier. "Hey we are going to get her. Don't let Regina shake your confidence"
"It's not that. This Snow Queen. This woman, when she said my name it sounded familiar"
She stared into the woods as they all headed back into town, that woman there was something. She couldn't shake the feeling, she closed her eyes for a second as she felt a slight pain in her head.
"Emma?"
The Snow Queen was walking though the forest in the middle of the night, she needed to find a place to stay since they found her workplace. Oh Emma, she thought.
She sensed someone behind her and looked to find the dark one sitting there like the smug person he is.
"Don't worry dearie, it's only me" Gold softly smiled playfully putting his hands up jokingly.
"I heard things didn't work out the way you wanted"
"They will" she said softly having faith.
"We shall see..." he stood up approaching her slowly "and did uh Miss Swan remember you?"
"No" she said softly with a saddening tone.
"It will happen...eventually. You desperately want that don't you?" he asked trying to figure out her plan.
The snow queen stayed silent staring at the manipulative man calmly, he knew what had happened he was just baiting her.
"Are you sure you don't want my help?"
"When I'm ready to make a deal, I'll come to you"
"A moment I eagerly wait for"