Author's Note: Star of Hope is a sequel to my previous fanfiction, Forever Frozen, and will pick up right where that story left off. This story is rated 'Teen' due to Once Upon a Time's age rating and will contain some cursing and violence, but nothing beyond what the show displays. Needless to say, this story will contain spoilers for OUaT up through the fourth season, and for Frozen and Frozen Fever... just in case if you haven't seen them already. ;)

Time is an interesting concept. It flows, often passing us by without notice when things are enjoyable, simple and easy. It stops, too; sometimes it feels like a day will last forever, or a week never ends, or even a year can trap us in its embrace while we watch others progress through their lives. Time moves quick when we don't want it to and mocks us when we try to catch it, running out just when we need it most.

The worst of all is when time is slow.

It drags, giving us the opportunity to overthink unwanted anxious thoughts. It feels like a heavy weight upon the sturdiest of shoulders. When time is slow, it makes hard days challenging, and the bleakest days so much darker.

But… in the same way, it also makes the happiest moments shine.

She knew all about the oddities of time. It was fast in the beginning of her life, then it slowed, and then ultimately it stopped. Only recently did time start to flow again, and it brought her to where she was now: her future. Her happy ending was starting right here on this balcony, back home in her birthplace and standing hand in hand against the sunrise with her sister. No more running. No more fighting. They could finally enjoy the time they had together and live their lives with the rest of their family and the kingdom in their care.

Of course she would miss the people she met on the way to get this far. A princess and her charming husband had offered kindness and wise words when she needed them, and a savior had inspired her to be brave when she felt she couldn't. She found kinship in the savior's son, who had a heart as true and gold as hers, and befriended a werewolf and her grandmother. She would never forget them or the time that they all spent together, but she knew… no, she believed that they would all see each other again someday.

Right now, this moment, though… she wouldn't mind it lasting a little longer. A peaceful summer morning with her best friend had sounded like a fantasy not too long ago. "I wish it could stay like this forever," she said, smiling and squeezing the hand in her grip. She looked to her right, finding a smirk on her sister's face and the sparkle of the sun off the ocean in her blue eyes. She said nothing, but she wished the same.

Nothing could dim this perfect day and the bright future that was in store for them, but at a slight shift of the breeze, the eldest of the siblings started in worry while the younger remained oblivious to the change. It wasn't long until she, too, was overwhelmed by a feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

She looked to the sky, dismayed as black clouds materialized and eclipsed the sun. The ocean roiled with the wind, crashing against the rocky shoreline and adding clamor to the symphony of growing chaos. What had been a picturesque morning just moments ago was now a violent mockery of everything she had hoped would never change.

Confused, scared, she turned to her sister. "What's happening?" She brought her hands to her lips, surprised that she could see her breath fog in the rapidly declining temperature.

Her sister said nothing at first and refused to look at her, so focused on the approaching darkness it was as though nothing else mattered. She shook her head and took a step back towards the doors of the balcony. "The storm is coming…" she whispered, holding trembling hands over her heart in a silent plea to keep the black clouds away. "You must leave."

"Leave? No, no, I'm not going anywhere, not without—"

The younger sibling's declaration was cut short as the world around them quaked in fear, rattling the old castle that was their home. She felt the balcony shudder beneath her and pulled her sister towards the open doorway, trying to get her to safety, but the effort was for naught. The stone walls cracked and crumbled and the supports to the balcony collapsed. They fell hand in hand, plummeting towards the garden below amongst splintered wood and rock. Her sister tried to do something to save them, but time worked against her; not even magic could stop the inevitable.

Her last few moments of life slowed to a crawl as she looked ahead and fearlessly faced her imminent doom. So slowly they had fallen that she could have counted the snowflakes they passed before they hit the ground.

At the moment of impact, she felt no pain. She lost her sister's hand as the world went black, though the experience tore a scream from her throat when she came back into consciousness.

Anna blinked in the darkness, sitting up and grasping her nightshirt as she tried to catch her breath and discern where she was. Was she dead? She should have been, but from the bed beneath her and the cold sweat she felt down her neck, she was certainly alive.

She heaved a sigh and pressed her forehead against her knees when she realized what had happened. "It was just a nightmare…" she told herself, hoping that saying it out loud would have made it feel less real. Her dreams were frequent, but nightmares came far too often for her to sleep properly.

Caused by a curse or an overactive imagination, she wasn't sure what made her dreams feel so real, but she had about enough of it. She laid back down with a frustrated huff, closing her eyes tight and bringing her blanket up to her chin, determined to get more sleep.

Something felt strange to her, though. It was subtle, but she could sense that her surroundings were just… off.

Her bed didn't feel quite as springy as it should have, and she should have two blankets along with her sheets, not just one. The pillow provided just enough support for her head but lacked the size and softness she expected. It wasn't as though her bed was uncomfortable; she felt used to it, actually. The problem was that it didn't feel right.

She'd toss and turn all night if she didn't look around to deny her suspicions. With a deep breath and a sudden sense of dread, Anna opened her eyes and cringed as soon as she took in her surroundings.

It wasn't nighttime like she thought it was; her room was dark because there was no window. Even with the lack of light, she could tell that there were no colors or designs on the walls, just plain white paint. The scarce furniture was essential but in no way was it elaborate, and the only decoration she could find in the darkness was a painting of a tulip above her bed.

This was most definitely not her bedroom in Arendelle.

"…I'm in Storybrooke."

It took a full second for the discovery to sink in before Anna threw her covers off and sprang out of bed. She knocked into her nightstand as soon as she stood up, scattering some things on the surface and knocking them to the floor when she swatted at her lamp for the switch.

Either everything was wrong or this was another nightmare. She clearly remembered her last day in the cursed town, fighting with her family to get her heart back from Peter Pan, witnessing his ultimate demise at the hands of his son and then facing a storm of magic that would take her back home. After that…

She stilled as she reached her dresser. What happened after the magic swallowed her? Did she make it back home, or was she somehow abandoned while they were crossing worlds? No matter how hard she tried, Anna could not remember anything but darkness from the moment the purple haze swallowed her until the dream that just woke her up.

Digging through her dresser for a set of fresh clothes, she located her phone in the process and flipped open the lid to note the time. 8:15, not a minute later. "And three missed calls from Kristoff," she smiled in relief, glad that she was wrong about being left behind. She'd call him back after a quick shower to come to grips that she and Arendelle were resuming their long-distance relationship. With an outfit in her arms, she rushed out of her room and paused as soon as she stepped into the hall.

White and painted with sharp blue rosemaling, it was no surprise to find that the door to Elsa's room was closed. Judging by the shadow beneath it, Anna could only determine that her big sister was still asleep. The temptation to go in and wake her up was mounting, but depending on Elsa's reaction to finding herself in Storybrooke again, there was a 50% chance of a blizzard in their apartment that morning. Anna thought it better to keep the peace and leave her be for now. Better for Elsa to process everything in her own time than to be forced awake and have it dropped on her like a ton of bricks.

Regardless of when she woke up, Elsa would have the situation figured out by the end of the day. At least, Anna hoped she would. She tried coming up with her own conclusions while she was in the shower, ranging from the obvious idea that Peter Pan's curse still got them, to the ridiculous notion that they were all abducted by aliens and they were stuck in a simulation of Storybrooke. By the time Anna got dressed and returned to her room, she was wondering if everything in Arendelle and Storybrooke up to this point had just been a dream of hers. If so, she'd have to pat herself on the back; that was some crazy elaborate and messed up fantasy to come up with in her sleep.

She picked up her phone to find more missed calls from Kristoff and she wandered back into the hall after dialing his number. She didn't even have a foot in the living room when he picked up on the second ring.

"I called you six times!" Kristoff exclaimed before Anna could say a word. "I was ready to come over there and bust down the door! I thought something happened to you!"

"I was sleeping, Kristoff."

"Yeah, well…! Okay, that makes sense…"

Anna giggled, rolling her eyes at him. He was worried about her, and it was touching, but he should know by now that she was capable of taking care of herself in odd situations like this, even if she didn't know what was going on. "Hey… I didn't imagine that whole fight we had with Peter Pan, did I?" she asked, pausing when she got into the kitchen. "We were supposed to go back to Arendelle, right?"

She sat on the countertop and opened a cabinet, fishing out a box of toaster pastries as Kristoff gave a frustrated sigh through the phone. "You can't remember what happened after that either?"

"Nuh-uh. Nope." Anna jumped off the counter with her breakfast and tore open the silver packet with her teeth, taking a bite from a pastry as she maneuvered back into the living room. "I mean… I had a dream that felt kinda real, but… well, I woke up, so I guess it wasn't." She sat on the couch and took another bite of pastry, smiling to herself and giggling like a little kid who had just been given their favorite treat. "Okay, I don't know why, but breakfast tastes so good today."

"…Are you eating Pop-Tarts again?"

"Yeah! I didn't even put it in the toaster, and it's not the good kind with the frosting or one of those special flavors. It's just the plain strawberry one and…" She paused, listening to the silence on the other line. "Okay, you. I can hear you judging me through the phone. Just because it's not eggs and bacon—"

"Which is a perfectly acceptable meal…"

"Perfectly acceptable until you add carrots to it!"

"That makes it healthy!" he laughed, making Anna's heart swell and her smile grow wide. It felt good to hear him laugh, and for whatever reason she felt like she hadn't heard him chuckle like that in a long time. "Hey, Anna? Do you mind if I came over to pick you guys up? Sven and the boys want to see you, and we need to figure out what happened."

Anna nodded, though she looked to the hallway and noted the lack of light coming from her sister's door. "Elsa's still sleeping, but I'll come over. Are you guys okay?" she asked, leaning back into the couch and looking around the living room, finding her diary laying open on the coffee table. Holding her phone between her ear and shoulder, she replaced the golden lock, listening to Kristoff struggle to explain the need for a visit.

"Things around here are… different. I can't really explain how… or why… but something definitely happened to us. I went out into town earlier and everything feels strange."

To be honest, the apartment felt like another normal morning to Anna despite the nightmare. Everything from her diary to Elsa's art supplies were right where they left them on the day Peter Pan attacked. "We're fine over here," she shrugged, scanning the room and slowing as she took the time to appreciate the paintings on the walls. "Nothing's out of place or weird, except for being in Storybrooke instead of Arendelle, of course. And me waking up before Elsa is unusual, too, but she gets like that when she's— oh my god."

She stood from her seat and dropped her phone in her haste, too stunned to pick it back up. There was a blank part of the wall where she and Elsa had planned to put an entertainment system when they could afford the components, but in its place was a painting that had haunted them since the moment Elsa had put it to market. It was a peculiar landscape of a beautiful fjord with tall mountains and sparkling waters, and nestled in the middle of it all was a small kingdom built into the hills and seaside.

"Anna? What happened?!"

Slowly, she bent over to pick her phone up, staring at the signature in the bottom right corner of the painting: Alison Vinter, Elsa's cursed identity.

"H-Hey, I'm taking back what I said before. I found something weird."

The drive through town was quick as usual, mostly in part to no one being out on the road as the whole town seemed to be flocking to Main Street and Town Hall in search of answers. The mass confusion made Anna feel a little better about waking up and panicking that morning, though when she and Kristoff pulled up to his cabin and got out of the jeep, she couldn't help but feel a little lost.

"WHY IS IT WINTER?!"

Kristoff smiled sheepishly and ran ahead to open the door as Anna grumbled up the snow-dusted steps. "Do you get what I'm saying now? This isn't right."

"I'll say! It was just summer and now it's like Elsa sneezed and poof! Winter." Anna shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she kicked the snow off her shoes before dashing inside the cabin. Kristoff closed the door behind them and took her coat, draping it along with his own over the back of a chair in the living room. He smiled at the sight of a fire burning in the fireplace, but then he frowned in concern when he saw that no one else was around.

With an authoritative step, he walked past Anna and stood at the front of the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "Hey, guys? Who's out here watching the fire?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Anna heard the sound of someone's feet thumping against the wooden floor down the hall. "I got it!" said an excited voice. Seconds later a young boy with brown hair and a small overbite rushed out of the hall, intent to tend the fire until he saw who was standing at the front door. His dark eyes went wide and a smile lit up his face as he held his arms out wide. "Anna!"

She braced for impact and caught the boy when he tackled her middle, caught in an odd wave of emotion as she looked down at him. "It's good to see you, Olaf," she smiled warmly, meaning every word and squeezing him tightly, almost afraid to let go. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

He pulled away, looking up at her in confusion. "But we just saw each other yesterday!"

It didn't feel like it at all. If yesterday was supposed to have been the day they were to leave Storybrooke, then it felt like forever ago. She was about to argue his point when another boy calmly walked out from the hall. He was taller than Olaf despite being younger, but his smile went wide in the same way when he spotted his family. "Aunty Anna."

"It's good to see you too, Marshmallow," Anna said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cringing in pain, having forgotten that Marshmallow hugs were unusually tight despite his small size. Actually, now that she took the time to look at the boys, they didn't seem as small as they used to. "Did you guys get taller?"

Kristoff crossed his arms, nodding even though the boys shrugged their shoulders. "Olaf was up to here before we were supposed to go back," he said, holding his hand to his waist. "And they're not the only ones who changed." He waved for Anna to come with him into the kitchen, but when the boys started following, he pointed them back towards the fireplace. "Nuh-uh, I told you guys to keep an eye on the fire. Remember what happened last time you didn't watch it?"

Marshmallow gave him an innocent look and Olaf stood up straight and attentive, saluting him like a soldier. "You can count on us, sir!"

With an exasperated sigh, Kristoff went into the kitchen with Anna in tow. He took a carrot from a bowl on the counter and handed it to her before he went to the door wall and slid it open. Holding onto the frame, he leaned outside and whistled sharply. "Hey, Sven! Come on boy, Anna's here to visit!"

Excited, Anna skipped up to the doorway and stood next to Kristoff, huddling next to him for warmth as the cold drafted into the cabin. Her eyes focused on the surrounding forest at the edge of the spacious backyard, and it wasn't long before she spotted movement and heard what she recognized as a cheerful cry of joy.

With a burst of energy, the shaggy reindeer tromped out of the forest. He raced towards the cabin and slid to a halt on the snow covered grass, sitting down and promptly biting the carrot Anna held out for him. He smiled at her and nosed the other half, wanting her to take it for herself.

"Uh, no, I'm okay Sven. You can have the rest of it," she smiled sweetly as the reindeer gave an approving grunt and took the offer. He hummed as Anna scratched the top of his head, not noticing the odd look she was giving him. "Kristoff…" she started, cocking her head to the side, "Sven looks different too."

Kristoff sat down in the doorway and took hold of one of Sven's horns. "It's his antlers. Reindeer shed theirs once a year, and they grow back fast… but not that fast. It's all different, see?"

Now that Anna looked closer, she could see the difference in structure. Tall and strong just like the animal who bore them, Sven's antlers still suited him even though they took on a different shape. Anna would daresay they were more elaborate now. Sven looked up at her, almost as though he was asking for her approval. "Don't worry, Sven. You still look good."

He smiled with his tongue sticking out, panting like a dog who was praised for staying off the furniture. He got to his hooves and backed away from the cabin, gleefully prancing through the snow, chasing lazy snowflakes while Anna and Kristoff retreated back inside. They went back to the living room, finding Olaf nudging the burning logs with a poker while Marshmallow sat by and watched, gently swaying back and forth in a rocking chair.

"Where's Mama?" he asked, blue eyes bright as Anna took a seat on the couch.

Anna laughed as she checked her phone for any messages from her sister, but wasn't surprised when she had none. "Elsa's having a lazy Sunday. She's still sleeping." Marshmallow giggled at the thought of Elsa, the ever punctual and responsible one, snoozing through what could be a crisis.

Calling it a crisis might be going to the extreme though. No one was hurt, and as far as they could tell, no one was in danger, but the subtle changes and sudden shift from summer to winter was enough proof that something had happened. Anna hugged a knee to her chest, thinking about everything that had changed. "…We fought Peter Pan and we were going to leave," she said quietly, bringing the group out of their family visit to their strange predicament. "We saw his curse coming to take us and we watched Regina counter it by destroying hers, so… what are we doing here?"

She looked to Kristoff, who looked to Marshmallow, who nudged Olaf with his foot to turn around and pay attention. Nobody knew. No one had an idea.

So they started talking out the problem like a typical family would. Anna told them all about the fjord painting appearing in her apartment when it still should have been in the pawnshop. She told them of her hyper-realistic dream, and Olaf in turn told her how he really felt like they just defeated Peter Pan the day before even though he didn't remember returning to the cabin or falling asleep.

After an hour of discussion and a round of hot chocolate by the dying fire, they came to one solid point: they were missing time. The winter wasn't brought on by magic; it was real, and from checking the digital calendars on their phones, they found that a year and a half had gone by without them.

That discovery didn't thrill Anna, not in the least for she knew exactly what it meant.

"We're cursed again!" she cried in exasperation, burying her face in her knees. Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, unable to deny the solid conclusion they came to.

"It's not that bad—"

"Not that bad?! Kristoff, this is the third time I've lost my memories!" she claimed, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to suppress an oncoming headache. "How am I supposed to function if I can never remember anything?!"

"You remember us!" Olaf reminded, beaming when Anna smiled softly at him. He turned away from the fireplace, having watched the last ember burn out into the ash, and he held his chin in deep thought. "But if we're cursed, who would do that to us?"

Kristoff scoffed and looked away. "I can think of a few people," he muttered under his breath, no doubt thinking of Regina and any other foe that may not have perished like they thought they had. "Do you think Elsa might have an idea of what happened?"

Anna shrugged, unsure and ready to argue the idea of asking when Olaf jumped up from his seat on the floor. "Ooh, I know! Let's go and ask her!"

"W-Wait, hold on, she could still be…" Anna sighed, her protest falling on deaf ears as Olaf went to the closet to get his shoes and jacket with Kristoff at his heels. Even Marshmallow went along with the idea, grabbing her hands and smiling wide as he tugged at her to get off the couch.

"Come on! Let's go see Mama!"

"Okay, if she's not still sleeping, she's probably confused, so… just wait here a minute, okay? You know how she gets."

Anna climbed out of the jeep and closed the door behind her, but she swore as she walked to the front door of her building she could hear her family counting the seconds. Typical boys.

She stomped the snow off her shoes as she ran up the stairway to the third floor, encouraged by everyone's desire to solve this mystery and determine what happened in the missing year. Walking down the hall to a door labeled "15", she unlocked it with a key from her pocket and stepped inside her apartment. Just from a quick glance at the kitchen, she saw no signs of her sister being up. Elsa's canvas shoes were still on the mat and her keys remained on the hook. If she were up, there would be the smell of one of her favorite herbal teas in the air, but there was nothing but the scent of an air freshener they had hiding on top of a cabinet.

With a smirk, Anna kicked off her shoes and went into the hall, stopping to stare straight at her sister's door. Many times before she would hesitate to knock, but not now, not after everything they had gone through together. She knocked a favorite rhythm into the wood and waited for some kind of response.

She got nothing.

Elsa, you're the Snow Queen, not Sleeping Beauty. Get with the program.

Anna knocked again, harder this time. "Hey, are you up yet?" she called through the door. "Man, I swear you sleep like a troll sometimes…"

She expected some sort of sleepy-yet-sassy comeback for that, or maybe even a yawn of disapproval, but she was still met with nothing, and now Anna was concerned. She knocked again, no playful rhythm this time, and she pressed an ear to the door. "Hey, is everything okay in there?" she asked, listening for something, any kind of indication that Elsa was safe or otherwise. She rested her hand on the door handle, ready to bust it down if she kept getting the silent treatment, but her respect for her older sister kept her in the hall. "…Please talk to me. If something's wrong, or if your magic's acting up, it's okay. We'll figure it out like always, you know? I mean, it's already snowing outside, so it can't get much—"

The door handle gave way under her weight and she gasped, not expecting it to be unlocked. If Elsa had her door closed, it was always locked, no exceptions. Biting her lip, Anna tried to push past her nervous beating heart to open the door just a crack. "I-I'm coming in," she called, waiting for a moment for a response that never came.

With a deep breath, she swung the door open and stood in the threshold. Elsa's room was similar to her own; white walls, wooden floors, a dresser and closet. The only major difference was that Elsa had a window to the fire escape in her room, along with a few holes in the wall due to magical mishaps.

But as Anna stood there in the doorway, peering through the darkness, one thing became clear to her as her eyes fell upon the bed.

Elsa was not there.

She hoped the darkness was playing tricks on her. She prayed that she was missing a clue or that Elsa was playing some sort of cruel, ill-humored game of hide-and-seek, but as her fears brought her inside the room, she found that her eyes did not deceive her. Elsa's bed was occupied only by her blanket and a children's book on the pillow. With shaky hands, Anna took the book for herself, staring at the two little girls standing hand in hand on the cover. One had a head of copper, the other was blonde, and the title labeled them falsely because Anna knew that she was truly one half of that sisterhood and the other was missing.

With the book tucked under her arm, she turned on the lights and navigated her cell's phonebook as she paced around the room. Thankfully "Ali" was the first person on the list and she sent the call through as she opened the closet, looking for some kind of sign or clue as to where Elsa went.

"Come on… pick up… please pick up."

She stared hopelessly at her sister's wardrobe, unsure of what she was even looking for when an unmistakable buzzing sound halted her search altogether. Slowly, Anna turned around and went back to the bed, knowing what she was going to find but unwilling to face it and the possible reality that came with it. Swallowing her fear, she listened to the dial tone from her phone's speaker as she approached Elsa's bedside table.

A blue cellphone buzzed across the surface, bumping into the lamp and sending it rattling as the small display lit up with Anna's name. She felt helpless when it suddenly stopped, and when her call went to voicemail, her heart sank completely, sending her to her knees.

"Hi, this is Elsa Vinter. Sorry I can't take your call right now, but please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!"