Fire, Ice, and Dragons

Chapter 1

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or its characters, just my imagination. I thought about trying something different this time. Hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. This will take place earlier than the planned appearance of Emma. Instead of arriving alone with Henry in tow when she turns 28. I had it to where she arrives 5 years earlier. :)

Seventeen years old, and standing in front of her newest school, Emma Swan sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. She'd been moved around so many times and this school was yet another new place to go to for her education. She never stayed long enough to make friends or to make a dent in her life. Her caseworker had brought her here early before the other students arrived. She had to get her schedule and assigned locker. She received her books in advance and got the tour of her school. Her principal, Mrs. Peterson seemed nice enough. And one good thing Emma had going for her, was her photographic memory. She never had to study too hard. That was a bonus for her since she never stayed at one place for too long. She'd managed to keep up with her schoolwork and had always been a straight A student in spite of moving around too much.

"Looks like you're all set. Emma, good luck on your first day and try to stay out of trouble." Mr. McFarland, her caseworker patted her shoulder and smiled hopefully. He really hoped that Emma would learn to stay out of trouble.

"Thanks Jack." Emma nodded as she noticed the students arriving. When he left her there, she heard her Principal calling out to one of the other students there. One of the girls with honey blonde curly hair came up to them. She was dressed in pink and white. She looked like one of the rich upper class girls who were far too spoiled for their own good.

"Emma, this is Natalie Preston, she will go with you to your first class. Maybe you'll be friends by the end of the day!" She smiled cheerfully as she passed Emma off to Natalie.

"Thank you . I'll be happy to." Natalie gave Emma a sweeping glance, looking her up and down, seeing that the blonde was wearing a grey hoodie, wearing a maroon t-shirt and ripped jeans. She grimaced at first before putting on a fake smile. "Follow me, Emma. I'll introduce you to some of my friends and we'll compare our schedules and see if we have anymore classes together." She led her down the corridor and made a turn and then led her to the third room. "Here we are…" They entered and then Natalie walked over to where her other two friends were waiting. She looked at another student there. "Find yourself another seat." She tried to get the girl to leave by way of intimidation Natalie then turned to look at Emma. "This is Jane and this is Rachel. Girls, this is Emma, we're going on a shopping trip after school…" she was quick to make plans with them without even asking Emma if she wanted to go with them.

Instantly, Emma had a really strong dislike for Natalie and her friends. She hated when people made decisions for her. She ignored them, instead staring in surprise at the other girl who was still seated at the table that Natalie tried to kick her out of. She wasn't budging and she clearly didn't let anyone tell her what to do. She smiled defiantly at them, daring Natalie to try her.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Are you deaf or dumb? I said move freak!"

Lily stared at Emma, ignoring Natalie. "Still want me to move?" She asked. She was surprised to see Emma was there. It had been two or three years since they saw each other last. She had a hopeful glint in her eyes as she looked at Emma.

Emma knew she needed to say something. Her mind strayed to the last fight she had with Lily and remembered things had been said. "No. I'll sit here." She smiled as she moved to the other side of Lily and sat down much to the surprise of Natalie and her friends.

Throughout the hour, Emma caught Lily stealing glances her way. And she couldn't help but remember what they did before, how they'd gotten into trouble, but she still felt that strong undeniable connection with her. She noticed Lily slip her a piece of paper under her arm. And when the bell rang, she heard Lily.

"Emma…" She started, wanting to say something to her, but then she seemed to change her mind as she walked out of the room.

Natalie gripped Emma's elbow, stopping her before she had the chance to get away. "What's the deal with you and the freak?" She asked. "You really shouldn't be hanging out with that nasty little…"

Emma tore her arm away. "Don't call her that. And we aren't friends, Natalie. And we never will be." She walked away leaving Natalie and her friends gaping after her.

"Whatever. I don't care. She's probably on her period." Natalie rolled her eyes and left with her friends.

Emma looked at the note Lily left for her. It was a little note saying they needed to talk. Lily wanted Emma to skip her next class so they could meet to talk. Emma sighed, she felt torn. She was starting at a new school and she'd promised Jack that she would stay out of trouble. But at the same time, she felt like she had unfinished business with Lily. She remembered telling Lily that she wanted her out of her life and realized she had said it in anger. If she was honest with herself, she realized she did miss her friend. She had not meant what she said to her that day. She'd been surprised to see Lily again and she rationalized that she still had another year to go before she would be 18 years old and then she wouldn't be a part of the foster system anymore. She bit her lip and decided she'd need to come up with a very good excuse for missing her next class. She moved quickly towards the boiler room and moved down to the basement.

Lily grinned when she saw Emma there. "I didn't think you'd come." She offered her a cigarette. She smiled when Emma took a cigarette for herself.

Emma sat down next to her and lit the cigarette with her help. "Yeah well, I wasn't sure if I would either." She took a long drag of her cigarette and after a moment, exhaled the smoke out of her lungs.

"I need to know, are you still mad at me? I did screw things up for you. I never meant to get you in trouble." Lily sighed, trying to find a way to explain her actions to her.

Emma scoffed. "I'm sitting here with you in the boiler room, smoking and you're afraid to get me in trouble. I skipped class for this? If my caseworker knew…"

Lily bit her lip. "We always seem to get in trouble don't we? But when I'm with you, it feels right. I'm happier when you're here with me. I have so much to say, but I'm afraid you'll think I'm crazy. You'll probably want to push me away again."

Emma sighed and looked at Lily. "I'm not mad at you. Not anymore. Maybe we can't help being who we are. Crazy things happen around me all the time. I realize there is nothing I can do about it. People will never want me around, no matter how hard I try to behave, to make them happy." She admitted. "I have one more year to go before I can be on my own. I'm not going to push you away again." She promised.

Lily smiled as she hugged Emma tightly. "There is a reason why they call me a freak. But when I'm with you, I feel like I can tell you anything."

Emma chuckled. "You might not be the only freak here. I've been called that way too many times."

Lily sat back and eyed Emma. "What are the odds?" She whispered under her breath. "Just wait until you hear about this old man I met on the bus…" She handed Emma another cigarette. She got herself comfortable as she began telling Emma everything she learned from this man who called himself the Apprentice. By the time Lily had told her everything, they'd used up a whole pack of cigarettes. The bell had rung twice, signaling that they'd missed two more classes but neither one of them made a move to get up yet.

Emma was reeling as she digested everything Lily shared with her. She'd heard everything now. Everything from Snow White and Prince Charming to the Evil Queen and a cursed town called Storybrooke. Rumplestiltskin to the Snow Queen who was really more than she seemed, Maleficent and dragons, a kidnapping or two, magical sisters separated at birth. A prophecy, a savior who isn't really a savior, stolen darkness, birthmarks identifying the sisters, a star and a crescent moon. War starting between villains and heroes. Magic being very real. Shapeshifting, things happening out of their control. Fate bringing them together. At the end of her story, the very mention of fate bringing them together got Emma's attention. "You believe we're…"

Lily nodded. "I do Emma. It makes so much sense. Our birthmarks prove it!" She said excitedly. She showed her the star birthmark on her wrist that she'd shown her a long time ago.

"But I don't have a moon birthmark…" Emma started.

Lily laughed and grabbed her bag where she kept a compact mirror in it. "Yes you do! You thought it was a scar from when you were born. But it's shaped exactly like a crescent moon. Look!" She moved Emma's hair out of the way, exposing the area below her ear. It was the exact same coloring and size as Lily's birthmark. It didn't look like a scar at all. The minute Lily touched Emma's birthmark, the star on her own wrist began to glow while Emma's mark glowed as well. They gasped at what this meant for them.

Lily was very excited. "This is it Emma! We're sisters! There's no denying it anymore. The first time I saw you, we connected. And even though we had that fight, I still feel even more strongly connected to you."

Emma sighed, her heart racing at the possibility that everything was true. She looked at Lily. "What about magic? Have you experienced it yet? Because I have, all my life. It's why I never could find a family that would want me." She whispered.

Lily nodded. "I have. I think this darkness inside of me might be yours. Because when we are together, the darkness inside me is calm. Without you, it's angry. Bad things happen to me. I keep screwing up and doing bad things. The kids here are afraid of me. Things happen around me."

Emma took her hand into her own. "The people I've stayed with… They're afraid of me too. Whenever they piss me off or the kids bully me, things happen and when they do, they kick me out. They freak out big time." She admitted.

"We need to find our mother. We need to make those people pay for taking us from her. I don't know yet who our other parent is. But together, we can find out." Lily stood up and hugged Emma again as they heard the lunch bell sound. "Let's grab something to eat." She grinned. She was so happy to have Emma back in her life.

Emma chuckled. "Yeah, let's go sis."

It warmed Lily up inside to hear what Emma called her. They ran up together and checked to make sure no one noticed they had come from the boiler room. They grabbed their lunch and moved to find a place to sit when someone tripped Lily and intentionally dumped her lunch all over her. Lily jumped up and glared at the boys who were laughing at her. She looked murderously at them and punched them. The moment she did, the lights flickered. Emma recognized this magic because it always happened to her too. She saw someone else try to dump a can of soda on Lily. Emma growled as she pushed the boy and kicked him before she dumped her drink on him. The kids grew quiet when they noticed that Lily wasn't alone anymore. Another kid was furious as he tried to punch Emma. But before he did, every food tray on the cafeteria flew up and crashed around them. Emma smirked darkly as she punched him, breaking his nose.

Lily shared a look with Emma and grinned wickedly, loving what was happening. She picked up a tray and smashed it on the face of one of her tormentors. It made her feel better knowing she wasn't alone anymore.

"What is going on?!" Mrs. Peterson arrived with another teacher. She saw the huge mess there and the students standing away in shock and fear. She was surprised to see that Emma had been involved, but not very surprised about Lily's involvement. "You two, to my office right now. Emma, I'm going to have to call your caseworker Mr. McFarland. I'm so disappointed in you…" She looked at the injured boys and had them sent to the health center. "And you, Lilith, suspension for you…" She marched them to her office.

Lily was crestfallen. "Oh no please! It wasn't Emma's fault! It wasn't mine… They picked a fight with me and…"

"And I smell smoke on you both. You know smoking is not allowed. That's grounds for suspending you two. I don't care who started the fight. The point is you both skipped class all morning after first period. I will not waste my time trying to make sure you have your education when you make the decision not to show up. This school has a zero bullying tolerance…"

Emma stood up abruptly and glared at the Principal. "If that were true, we wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place! I saw Lily being bullied and I saw some staff there not lifting a finger to help! They allowed this to happen!" She growled, causing light bulbs to burst.

Mrs. Peterson gasped and sat down as the door opened and Jack arrived to see Emma seething mad. From his point of view it looked like Emma had threatened the principal. He looked at the girl who was standing next to Emma. "You? I remember you." He looked at Lily and then at Mrs. Peterson. "What happened here?" He looked at the ceiling noticing the lights were broken.

Lily spoke up and tried again. "Please. It's not our fault. Emma was just trying to help me. She stood up to the kids bullying me. Please don't take her away from me again. Mrs. Peterson wants to suspend us. But we didn't start the fight. I promise I'm telling you the truth!"

Emma reached out to Lily and took her hand into her own. "She's telling the truth. I know I'm new here. But you spoke of the zero tolerance policy you have against bullies. How are you enforcing that by letting them get away with it?" She pointed out. "It's not fair! You're punishing us for something we stood up to. How else could we defend ourselves?" She looked at Jack. "Please. She's my sister. I had to protect her."

"How do you know she's your sister?" He asked.

"Because she is. I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing. I know we've messed up before. But she's my family! And family needs to stay together." Emma replied, never looking away from Lily. She could see the tears falling down her cheeks.

The Principal cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept fist fights in my school. Emma broke Tyler's nose and Lily gave Thomas a fractured nose and broke two of his teeth. I'm going to have to let them go." She called security to escort them out of the school.

As the girls were separated yet again, they made promises to each other.

"I'll find you Lily! I promise! Don't give up! I love you!" Emma struggled, feeling angry that this was happening again. She felt her magic surging as she pushed one big security guy away and watched as he flew back. Emma ran up to Lily and pulled the other guy off her before she threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Lily sobbed in her arms. "I don't want you to go! I need you Emma! I love you!" She felt her birthmark burning and saw something happening. A crescent moon was forming next to her star. She gasped as she looked at Emma's birthmark, seeing a star forming there as well, next to her own crescent moon. Before they could say anything else, backup arrived and was pulling Emma and Lily apart. They put the girls in separate cars. The skies grew dark and a storm was brewing as both cars drove away.

Six years had gone by since the sisters had been separated. Emma had tried to find Lily and vice versa. But things had happened in her life that put a stop to her search for a while. She'd lived in New York for a few years, but her stint in prison had forced her to stay until her probation was over. She knew she needed to go to college after getting her GED in prison and then get her life back on track so she could try to find her sister again. She became a cop and then a detective and decided she was better off being a bounty hunter and a bail bondsperson so she could try to divide her time to searching for Lily. When she wasn't working, she was an artist. Painting and drawing things was a hobby of hers. Sometimes she would put her art up in a gallery in downtown New York. She would go visit the bar scene, always keeping her eyes and ears open. She'd gotten close to the owner of the bar she frequented. And when her friend passed away after being involved in a car accident, she found out her friend Rhonda left the bar to her. It was a popular spot, one of the best nightclubs to visit in New York. It was a spot that celebrities liked to party at. It'd made the news quite often. Emma stayed to take care of the funeral and the memorial services. She'd invited those who knew Rhonda to come celebrate her life at the bar, closing it to the public, allowing those who knew her to pay their respects. Afterwards, when everything was over, Emma locked up for the night and went to her car.

"Emma?" A voice called out to her.

Emma stopped and turned to see a brunette standing there. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Lily?" Her breath caught.

Lily grinned. "Looks like I found you." She smirked.

Emma laughed as she ran across the street and threw her arms around her sister. "Oh Lily! How did you…"

"You've been busy. And I heard you were looking for me. I saw some of your art. I knew it had to be you because you drew us. I bought it. Just had to have it." She took her hands into her own and got a closer look at Emma. "I asked Rebecca at the gallery where I could find you. She sent me here." She gestured to the bar.

Emma grinned. "And now, here we are. Finally together. Are you hungry? Would you like to grab a bite with me?"

Lily nodded. "I'm starving." She chuckled as she followed Emma to her yellow bug. "Nice ride."

Emma grinned as they left and stopped at a place that remained open 24 hours. They found a seat and gave their orders to the waitress there. She got a better look at her sister. "Have you had any luck finding our parents yet?"

Lily hummed. "A little. All I know is Storybrooke isn't on any map anywhere. It's like it doesn't exist. But then I found a clue. There's this place in Maine." She took out her tablet and brought up an aerial photo and showed it to Emma. "That's what makes it so strange. This huge area that is very blurry. Nobody can get in for some reason. I'm thinking if we go, we probably would be able to get in. Especially since we're magic. You interested?"

Emma grinned. She had a good feeling about the location. "A road trip? Why the hell not." She chuckled at the way Lily perked up at this.

"Can we leave tomorrow?" She asked.

Emma smiled. "We can leave whenever you like. The bar is going to be closed for a week and I will have a friend take over for me. We can swing by my place and pick up a few things…" She noticed the way Lily was looking at her. "What?"

"You seem different. Harder. What happened to you? Your eyes seem like they've seen life behind a cage." Lily replied softly.

Emma sighed. "Because it's true. I have. Lily, I've been in prison. I was set up and sent there for a crime I didn't commit. I even had a baby by the bastard who knocked me up and set me up to take the fall for what he did. Because of him, I had to give my baby up. I couldn't raise my son from behind bars." Emma clenched her jaws. It was clear that it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Lily got up and moved around, sliding into the seat next to her sister and she enveloped her into her arms. "I'm sorry Emma." She really hated the bastard who did this to her sister. "Hey at least we're together now sis. Nobody can ever separate us again. We're not kids anymore. It's us against the world and they have no idea we're coming to make them pay for what they did to us. They can't touch us." She had a very dark evil look in her face. One that was matched by Emma as they thought about all the hell they were going to give them.

Emma had a feral grin on her face. "You got that right." Her eyes flashed dangerously. Soon, they ate their meal before they picked up Lily's few belongings from her rental car and dropped it off before Lily joined her and they headed back to Emma's apartment to get what she needed for their trip. They didn't want to wait too long before heading to Storybrooke. Their lives were about to change and they were going to bring some people of Storybrooke a new kind of Hell. One they would not be able to escape. They had a feeling that once they got there, they would be able to find their parents.

They finally arrived where they could sense the magical barrier surrounding the area. Nobody else could pass through from the outside. Nobody without magical means. They were parked there and they took a hold of each other's hands as they shared a look and then they drove through just as the sun was beginning to rise. The moment they crossed the line, they'd doubled over as magic flooded through them and they moaned in surprise, feeling the heat and intensity of the magic filling them. Emma pulled to a stop before they looked at each other to see their eyes glowing a neon green, turning dragonic in appearance. Their nails turned to sharp deadly talons and their teeth grew sharper in appearance. Emma and Lily both grinned, loving what was happening to them.

"Oh hell yeah!"

"Fucking A!"

The sisters high-fived each other before hollering and laughing as Emma revved the car and they took off, driving into town.