In the darkness, she could see nothing. Feel nothing. It was cold, frightening and unforgiving. It trapped her in its embrace, stripping everything from her that made her unique and alive. All she had maintained in the darkness was her consciousness, but no thought existed that could spare her from the devastation she felt. It only made things worse.

She clenched her fists. Her ears were filled with the heartbeats of a hundred souls, all judging her, waiting for her next move as their lives hung in the balance. She could end them all with a snap of her fingers; such was the power she held. She deserved their scorn and cries for incarceration. She earned their fear and hate.

She was afraid of herself, too, and she hated herself just as much.

"Elsa, if you're having second thoughts, you're free to leave at any time."

She opened her eyes at the sound of her name, having forgotten where she was and what she was doing. "No, I'm sorry… I'm fine," she said, taking a shaky breath. She hunched over and pressed her hand to her forehead, scared by how quickly she could convince herself she was in the urn again. All she did was close her eyes for a minute to think, and then she was there, trapped and bound like a monster in its cage.

Her real-life environment didn't help. She sat on a trunk in the Mill's family crypt, surrounded by vaults containing the hearts Regina had stolen in the Enchanted Forest. She'd been there before, so while the noise didn't surprise her, it still unsettled her. It was worse this time because she could feel her own mortality beating in her chest, mocking her fear and reminding her of everything she was about to give up.

It would be worth it, she told herself. It had to be. Besides, after everything she had done and all she had been told, her own wellbeing didn't matter much to her anymore.

She sat up straight, planted her feet flat against the floor and held on to the edge of the trunk to brace herself. "Okay, whenever you're ready. Just do it quick."

There was a scoff at her expense, and Elsa looked up to watch Regina don a pair of winter gloves as she approached. "You're warning me like I've never done this before," she smirked. "Next time ask for a more complicated favor."

A quick-witted retort came to mind, but before Elsa could give voice to it, Regina stepped up and plunged her hand through her chest. Wrapping her fingers around Elsa's frigid heart, Regina paused, giving her the chance to prepare herself before she ripped it out of her body.

It didn't happen the way either of them imagined it would. When Regina pulled at Elsa's heart with a sharp tug, all she managed to do was pull her closer.

She grit her teeth as she tried again, pushing Elsa's shoulder back with her other hand as she pulled to no triumph. "What the hell are you doing?" she snapped at Elsa, frustrated when she couldn't rip her heart out as easily as she had taken so many others.

Elsa shook her head, eyes wide and innocent. "I'm not doing anything," she said, wincing as Regina made another attempt.

"Then how would you explain what's happening right now? If you were anyone else, we would have been done with this already."

Leaning back, Elsa grit her teeth through the pain as Regina continued to pull. "This was my plan," Elsa reminded, twisting to grab the back of the trunk before she was almost pulled off of it. "I swear I'm not fighting this. I…"

She stopped short of explaining herself when she felt a pulse of energy burst from her heart. Regina must have felt it, too, because the moment it happened, she looked at Elsa in a mix of awe and fear. She took a hasty step back, releasing her heart and retrieving her hand from her chest as Elsa doubled over and panted to catch her breath. "…What was that?"

Again, Elsa shook her head, disappointed by their failure and weakened from the strain. "My magic. Mentally, I knew I was fine." She lifted her hands, showing Regina her frost covered palms. "But my heart felt I was in danger."

Regina's frown turned into a scowl when she looked at her own gloved hand and saw it coated in thick frost as well. "We should have known it wouldn't be so easy," she grumbled as she tore the glove off and tossed it away. "Still, your magic didn't stop me the first time I ripped out your heart, and it didn't stop my mother, either." She crossed her arms and looked around the vault, pondering the reason. "What's changed since then?"

The only explanation Elsa could come up with was that her magic had taken several leaps in strength during her return to Arendelle. It was the best way she could describe what had happened and her inability to control it at times, but there were some occasions where it felt more than a growth in her power. It felt like it was being pulled from her, like there was nothing she could do to possibly keep it contained. The last time it happened was the very last time she walked the halls of her home.

"I think we may need some help with this," Regina said, keeping Elsa from reliving a bad memory. She turned to a mirror hanging on the wall nearby, then looked over her shoulder and scoffed. "I'm surprised "The Savior" hasn't run down here to stop us by now."

Elsa raised a brow. "How did you know Emma was here? I never told you."

"Considering she and her "Charming" family won't let you out of the house without a chaperone, I figured one of those idiots would be here. If I were you, I'd ditch that farce and look for help from someone who actually knows what they're doing. Every happy ending she finds comes at the cost of someone else's."

Elsa didn't believe that, nor did she dare to comment on Regina's disdain for Emma when she knew how cross she was with her at the time. Regina's words however did manage to stir the doubts Elsa had about her choice of help in Storybrooke, and she kept her thoughts to herself as Regina addressed her enchanted mirror.

"Sidney! Show yourself!"

Elsa blinked and sat back, surprised when a face appeared within the glass of the mirror. Lit by an ethereal blue light and accented by fog, he let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said, sounding worn and exasperated by his servitude. "What is your whim this hour?"

There was a sudden change in Regina's demeanor that Elsa noticed. Her eyes were bright, almost gleeful as a wide, unnerving smile graced her lips. "I have need of your special sight, but in a way more defined than usual. I need you to show me someone's heart."

Sidney tossed his head back with a scoff. "You make the task sound daunting when it's merely child's play," he said with a smirk. "But why rely on me? It would be quicker and more satisfying to rip out their heart yourself."

Her bright smile fell into an annoyed scowl. "I've tried already. Let's just say that this person's situation is rather… unique." Stepping to the side, Regina gestured towards Elsa, prompting her to rise from her seat and approach the conversation. "Sidney, this is Elsa."

"…Queen Elsa? Of Arendelle?" His eyes went wide as she stepped into his view, horrified that he spoke so callously in her presence. He lowered his gaze and bowed his head, offering the only show of respect he was capable of making in his state. "Your Majesty, it is an honor to make your acquaintance."

She nodded to him. "It's a pleasure," she said, feeling weird that in Storybrooke, there was still someone who spoke to her as though her title mattered; everyone else could only see her as a menace now. He must have been blind to her situation, otherwise he would turn up his nose and shun her just like the rest of the town. "I hope this request isn't too much of a burden."

His smile was warm and genuine despite the cold visage of his glass prison. "Your benevolent and powerful reputation precedes you, Your Majesty. It would be a great honor to aid the Snow Queen of legend, but…" he paused, turning his sights from her to Regina, "…it is not you who guides my hand."

Regina raised a brow. "What? Do you need a special invitation? Get on with it."

With an amused glint in his eye, Sidney's lips twisted into a smirk. "It's been quite some time since I've used my power like this. I may have forgotten the technique, but perhaps… an incantation would suffice to jog my memory?"

"…You have got to be joking."

"I would dare not jest in your presence, my queen. Is it too much to ask for this one small favor for my service?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. You want an incantation? I'll give you one." She crossed her arms with a scowl, and her glare grew so dark that Elsa wondered how anyone dared to cross her in the past. "Mirror, mirror, know your place, show us Elsa's heart before I break your face."

He blinked in surprise. "Well. Someone's testy." He grinned a grin so mischievous, goading Regina into snapping back at him when his image faded and the mirror turned black. "Stand still, Queen Elsa," came his voice. "This will only take a moment."

Elsa did as she was told, waiting the long, agonizing seconds until the mirror lit up again with life.

Her life.

She stood and stared at it, squaring her jaw and growing distraught by what she bore witness to. Regina, meanwhile, looked upon it in awe and wonder as she stepped up to stand by her side.

Elsa's heart was unique when compared to most others; the red pulse of her life was caged in veins of ice that could not be crushed, and attempts to thaw it by magic were useless as the ice would grow back seconds later. The image Sidney showed them was similar but entirely different, proving Elsa's feelings that her magic had grown beyond her capability.

Her heart was almost frozen solid, dazzling in a thicker cage that now threatened to engulf the red that remained free. From the icy veins grew web-like branches, reaching out into the void of Elsa's body that Sidney spared them the details of having to see. Just like the ice around her heart, these webs were thick and sturdy; no hand could hope to steal away the source of her life and magic now.

"Well that sure explains things," Regina quipped. She shook her head, trying in vain to comprehend how Elsa was still alive with all that ice in her chest. Her brows knit together as she looked at her. "What happened? How did you get like this?"

Elsa was lost for an explanation. "I… I don't know," she said, placing her hand over her heart as she gazed upon the image of it in the mirror. "My magic was getting stronger when we were in Arendelle, but I had no idea it was doing this to me."

"…If I might make a suggestion, Queen Elsa?" came Sidney's voice from behind the glass. "I found something peculiar that could lead you to an answer. Though the significance of it is lost on me, it might mean something to you."

The image of her heart began to rotate, showing off how it was protected within the firm hold of the ice. Aside from how much ice there was, nothing seemed out of the ordinary until it started to turn towards the back. Embedded within one of the last uncovered parts of Elsa's heart was a glowing white shard.

She held her breath and grasped the material of her sweater, feeling her heart begin to race as she watched it pulse. She knew the aura of that white magic, how it shimmered in its deceptive, delicate light, and her thoughts turned again to her last day in Arendelle.

This was the reason Ingrid looked so horrified when she struck her.

She approached the mirror to take a closer look, afraid of what this meant but adamant to know what it was. The white magic surrounding the shard had spread to the rest of Elsa's heart, but it had done so in such a subtle way. It seemed to meld with the veins of ice that were already there, adding white lines that were so thin, it took a keen eye to spot them amongst Elsa's blue; they reached as far as the webbed branches that trapped her heart inside her body.

"I don't think that's something I could just pull out," Regina said, focusing on the shard. "If it's freezing your heart like that, I'd hate to see what it could do to the rest of you." Expecting the dry humor to get some sort of response, Regina looked over at Elsa, only to find her in a state she didn't expect.

She was furious. Her entire body was rigid, tense with anger, but she didn't quiver with a rage so uncontained that she lost herself. She was sturdy, unshakeable in the moment as she came to conclusions that led her to a single course of action. Her jaw was set in a way to warn that her next words would strike down any opposition, and her blue eyes were so cold that a single look sent shivers, a prelude to icy magic she was ready to cast.

It was a feeling Regina was far too familiar with, so much so that for a time, it was her constant, natural state. "Someone's wronged you," she said, seeing past Elsa's bridled fury to the truth; she knew she was right when she became the victim of her frigid glare. "Look… I know I'm not the best person to be giving advice right now, but vengeance won't look good on you."

"I'm not going to hurt anyone," Elsa said, exuding confidence beyond her anger. "I want answers. I put all my trust and faith in a friend and my family, and they just…"

Betrayed her. Her explanation fell short, and yet Regina still understood. She related to her, now more than ever, but her pride kept her from admitting it out loud. Instead, she gained a little more respect for Elsa for being so determined to stay on the straight and narrow, rather than delving into the darkness as she had many times before.

With a short sigh, Elsa looked up, losing a bit of her edge when she faced Regina and saw her focused stare. "Thank you for your help," she said, offering a small smile before she turned to the mirror. "You as well, Sidney."

The image of her heart faded, replaced by the face of Sidney still trapped in his prison. "It was my pleasure," he said, closing his eyes and nodding to her once again. "Best of luck in your pursuits, Queen Elsa. I hope you find the answers you're looking for."

"Try not to freeze Storybrooke while you're at it," Regina added. "If you're serious about handling this the right way, don't give the press something else to write about. It'll just make things harder on you."

A warning given from experience, and one Elsa appreciated considering her situation was complicated enough. As she turned to make her leave from the crypt, she couldn't stop a sudden, dreadful feeling from driving a wedge through her confidence. Her heart was freezing, and she was sure her tiara was still withering away in her pocket. The prophecy would be upon her soon and she was out of options and ideas. What chance did she have of avoiding it now?

"A crystal born from a pure heart, and a star forged with hope."

The Wishing Star. Anna had the recipe memorized from the first time she read it in her father's tome, and between the two sisters, her faith in its legend never wavered. It took some time for her to convince Elsa that it was real, and they managed to make some progress together while researching it, but in the end, well…

In the end, Anna and Elsa lost faith in each other before they could forge the fabled star. Anna would never forget the look in Elsa's eyes when she held up the urn, or how she screamed and cried as she pleaded with her not to use it.

She squeezed her eyes shut before her own tears could fall, clutching onto her snowflake pendant as she huddled into her corner of the couch. If she had one opportunity to go back in time and make a different choice, she would go back to that frozen ballroom and put the urn down. She'd destroy it somehow, maybe stab it with her sword, and then she'd prove to Elsa that she had her loyalty, not just as her heir, but as her sister.

Then again, if Anna did act differently that day, would Elsa even be alive right now?

She opened her eyes, looking out the glass doors of her apartment that led to the balcony. She watched the dusk settle into night, knowing that just a few blocks away, Elsa was struggling to cope with her reality, but she was safe with the Charming family and alive. That alone was enough to keep Anna from giving up on the Wishing Star and uncovering the prophecy. Even if she read the same old books and her father's theories a hundred million times, she had hope that the next time she read them, something would finally make sense to her.

She wasn't alone in her effort, either. Since she remembered reading that the myth was passed around as a tale told by sailors and pirates, she had Kristoff interrogating the people who worked with him at the docks, most of whom were hardy men and women of the seas in the Enchanted Forest. She had called Henry, asking if he could analyze his "Once Upon a Time" storybook for signs of the star, and set a similar task upon Belle, who she was surprised to learn was already doing her own research in the town library. Finally, she asked Mother Superior—the Blue Fairy—for aid, since "magic and stars are kinda your thing."

It wasn't the most eloquent way to ask for help, but Mother Superior didn't seem to mind. She actually agreed with Anna that searching for the Wishing Star would be more useful than pursuing the prophecy. If they could make the star, the prophecy could be wished away along with everyone's fears about it.

Besides, any information that could be uncovered about the prophecy was trapped a world away. Anna looked across the room to Elsa's painting of Arendelle, reminiscing over one of her last adventures there before the Second Curse whisked them back to Storybrooke. It was the closest she ever came to uncovering the prophecy, but as promising as her find was, she couldn't make sense of it.

A knock at the apartment door broke her out of thought, and she glanced at the clock, finding it odd that someone would be bothering her after dark. "Isn't there some kind of "no solicitors" rule around here?" she wondered out loud when the knock came again. "Sheesh, you're persistent! Hold your horses! I'm coming."

She got up and walked through the apartment, pausing a moment to peer through the peephole in the door. "Are you kidding me?!" she yelled when she saw who was on the other side. Fury ignited within five seconds, her hands flew to undo the locks on the door. "Not even a phone call, bothering me for no reason…!" she grumbled before she threw the door open and stood to block the visitor from coming inside. "What the hell do you want?!"

Dumbstruck, Hans blinked. "Wow. That's a way to say hello. I'm working, Anna. I'm working," he repeated when she moved to slam the door in his face. With a frustrated sigh, he frowned at her unwavering glare. "Why are you always so hostile when you see me?"

She raised a brow. "I can think of a few good reasons. Should I start with Elsa's coronation or the first curse?"

He rolled his eyes. "Forget I asked."

"Or what about a couple weeks ago at the barn? When I was trying to save my sister and stop the Wicked Witch from ruining everybody's lives?"

"That wasn't my f—"

She stepped forward and raised her forearm, shoving it in his face. "You bit me, you ass!"

Hans shied away in fear, thinking she was going to hit him again. "It… healed nice?" he said, looking away when she glared at him. "Look… I've done some awful things, but we both know that I'm trying to make a change. I mean, I'm a deputy—"

"So what?" Anna crossed her arms. "You can call a reindeer a moose, but it's still a reindeer."

"…What?"

"I'm saying you're still a jerk, Hans," she spat. "You're a secretive, lying, two-faced son of a—"

Hans cleared his throat before she could get the last word out and stepped to the side, allowing a woman to come forward and take his place. "…Princess Anna?"

Startled, Anna blinked, taking a moment to collect herself as she recalled the woman's face and name. "Karina?" She looked at Hans, then back to Karina, smiling a sheepish grin when she realized she'd been standing there the whole time listening to her curse at him. "Um… hi. It's just Anna, by the way," she said, feeling embarrassed. "Since we're not home and it's, you know, just me, it's… awkward. How are you?" she cringed, and then closed her eyes and shook her head. "Wait, that was a dumb question. I mean—"

"Anna, it's alright. Please." Karina reached out and touched Anna's arm, calming her out of her stammering. "It's okay. May we come inside for a moment? There's something I need to talk with you about."

"She didn't know where you lived, so she asked for my help," Hans added. "She's been wanting to speak with you since Arendelle, but with everything that happened, it was hard to get to you."

"Wow, really? You could have sent a message with one of the guards," Anna said. She stepped to the side, allowing Karina and Hans into the apartment before she closed the door. "Why did you wait so long?"

Karina took a deep breath. "Because I didn't understand what it meant when I found it. I didn't want to trouble you over nothing." She reached for the purse she had slung over her shoulder and took a small bundle from its contents. Wrapped in a cloth embroidered with rosemaling, she held it out to Anna. "It's about my husband, Baldor."

Elsa emerged from the crypt burdened with the weight of her heavy heart. She couldn't get the sight of it out of her mind's eye, glistening with the ice of its eternal cage, trapped and tangled in her chest within a web of her own power. Then there was that white shard and the magic of it which pierced her own, melding so well that its addition was almost seamless.

Almost. She still remembered the pain of being struck by it and how it crippled her that day, and looking to Ingrid wondering why she would do such a thing. It made her wonder again, but a year removed from the incident made the memory perfectly clear; what happened to her was no mere accident.

She clenched her fists, ire renewed as she took off across the cemetery, embracing the dark of the still night. She knew where she needed to go to get the answers she deserved, but she was forced to put her plans on hold when she saw that distinguishable, yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked on the road beyond the graves. With a sigh, Elsa made for it like a convict returning to her jailor, unwilling but left with little choice in the matter.

The driver's side door opened when she approached, and Emma stepped out wearing the face of a worried older sibling. "Another five minutes and I swear I was going to bust in there," she said, smiling in relief when Elsa stepped into the glow of a nearby streetlamp. "Are you okay? Did she do anything?"

"No, I'm fine—its fine," Elsa repeated, stepping away when Emma reached for her. She shook her head and narrowed her gaze, offended by her concern. "I said I could handle it on my own, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but Regina hasn't been open to cooperation lately and… I don't know, I was afraid she'd give you trouble again." She crossed her arms, looking past Elsa to the lonely crypt in the distance, doting upon a broken friendship she hoped to repair before it was gone forever. She tore her sights from it, refocusing on their reason for being there when she met Elsa's gloomy stare. "So? What's the diagnosis?"

Elsa looked down and placed a hand over the left side of her sweater. The snowflake there had melted once she left the ice cave, but the feeling of its power in her chest was still prominent. "My heart…" she started, unable to continue when the thought of it filled her with dread and worry. What was the ice going to do to her? This was her magic, and yet it was turning on her again, rejecting and crippling her like a beautiful disease she once had control over.

When she mustered up the courage to admit what was happening, she couldn't keep the words from sounding bitter when she said them out loud. "My heart is freezing solid, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"…What? Elsa, wait a second. How is that possible?"

Elsa scrunched her nose in disgust, unwilling to explain about the shard lodged in her heart and how it got there. She kept quiet instead, leaving Emma to race for a solution on her own.

"There's a way we can thaw it, right? What about true love's kiss?"

"This isn't a curse, Emma."

"But isn't that how you thaw a frozen heart?"

"An act of true love," Elsa snapped, somewhat insulted that Emma thought her magic could be thwarted so easily, though she also wished it was a viable answer to the problem. "I told you, it can't be stopped."

"How do you know? You can't say that if you haven't tried anything yet," Emma countered. It sounded like Elsa was already giving up on trying to save herself from whatever consequences awaited her, and Emma couldn't understand how she was willing to put herself through more uncertain torture. She had already gone through enough. "Hey, I know it might look and feel bad, but you can't let this thing beat you."

Elsa dropped her hand to her side, curling her fingers into a tight fist. "Then what do I do?" she asked, knowing that Emma didn't have a suggestion or answer by the lost stare she got. "You're the Savior. You said you would help me."

"I'm trying! I just… don't really know what to do here. Ice magic's not my specialty," Emma said, idly rubbing her hands together. "Is it just me, or did it just get colder out here?"

Closing her eyes, Elsa took a deep breath, doing what she could to keep from getting upset over Emma's ineptitude. "It's me," she said bluntly. "I'm lost. I'm frustrated, and I'm out of ideas. Every plan I've come up with to avoid the prophecy has failed. All the information I need is probably in the Enchanted Forest and I'm stuck here with no way back. If I could leave and spare Storybrooke from the prophecy, I'd go in a heartbeat."

"…What exactly are you supposed to do, anyway?" Emma crossed her arms, suppressing a shiver until Elsa looked away from her. "I know Mr. Gold warned you before you went back to Arendelle, but you must have found some clue or something by now?"

Elsa clasped her hands together, hiding the frost she felt itching at her palms as she lost herself to thought. She wanted to avoid telling her about her more recent meeting with Mr. Gold, knowing that Emma would disapprove of her seeking his help. "There's nothing," she said simply, though his warning remained fresh in her mind.

Her response was enough to make Emma suspicious, setting off her natural ability to detect a lie the moment she heard it. "Are you sure?" She waited for an answer, and she sighed at Elsa's silence. "Hey, I know a lot's been happening to you, but are you doing okay? You were all gung-ho about stopping the prophecy this morning, and now it sounds like you're ready to give up."

"I never said I was giving up." It was vexing to have her integrity called into question like that, making it harder still to hold back her magic. "I just don't know what to do anymore. My magic is getting stronger, and if I slip up…"

"Eternal Winter?"

"Worse."

Emma grimaced. "How much worse?" She waited for Elsa to give her an answer, and hung her head in defeat when she came up with nothing. "Okay, can I be honest for a second here? I believe you when you say that you're doing everything you can to stop this thing from starting. I really do," she said, managing a small smile when she fell victim to Elsa's worried stare. "But between the ice wall and the snow monster, and then the ice wall again when you said "It's too late"… you're kind of scaring me."

"Emma, I'm not doing any of it on purpose—"

"I know that. But being the Savior and the sheriff, I have to be real to what's going on. Things aren't getting better. If you're really serious about this prophecy being worse than something you've already done, then the people we love are going to be in danger. My parents, my brother, Henry… and your family too. If we can't solve this anytime soon…"

"Storybrooke is doomed."

Emma looked up at Elsa's unwavering stare. It was a certain truth, unarguable with all the resources they had and the lack of proper knowledge. All it took was one week for them to come to this point, where their hope for a bright future died and forced them to start preparing for bleak outcomes.

Elsa sucked in a breath and let it out in a sad laugh. "Anna was right," she said, shaking her head as she stepped away, starting to pace along the graveyard road as her mind raced. "She took one look at me in Arendelle and knew that I couldn't be trusted. She was right to trap me in that urn," she said, thinking she was making a confession, though she was unaware that Emma already knew her troubled past. "You and Killian should have left me there. It was an accident that you found me and an accident that you brought me back."

"There was a reason!" Emma argued. "I don't know what it is yet, but there has to be some reason that it all happened. Fate, destiny, I don't know," she said, hardly believing her own words. "I don't have the answers, but keeping you trapped like that isn't an option."

"So then how are you going to stop me?" Elsa stopped pacing and squared her jaw, expecting an answer. "If you won't go to those lengths, then what are you going to do to save everyone?"

"I don't know. I just figured it would come to me when it's time."

"That's not good enough!" Elsa heard frost crackle beneath her shoes, but didn't care to look down at it. If anything, it was proving her point that their time was running out. "After everything I've done, how could you possibly think you could stand up to me unprepared? Your magic is weak," she hissed, unable to hide the frustrated bite from her words, "and mine keeps growing stronger. Being the Savior isn't enough to stop me when your power is only comparable to a candle flame."

It was hard to be offended when Emma knew Elsa was right. It became clear during their magic training that she still had much to learn about her dormant power, but each and every day they practiced, she learned more and more. She was awakening that power one small bit at a time, but she had the same feeling that it was coming too late. "I get it. Standing up to a glacier, a candle can't do much," she said, adding to the comparison, "but it can still do something."

"The flame will be snuffed out by whatever it melts."

"Well if the glacier wasn't so stubborn and convinced that it can't do anything about its problems, maybe it could let the candle do its job," Emma snapped. "I can't help you if you won't help yourself, Elsa. A freezing heart is bad news any way you look at it, but letting it happen is just as bad as me not having a plan to save Storybrooke from you." She held her breath and closed her eyes, wincing as soon as she saw the pained expression ghost Elsa's features. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

It felt like a slap to the face, and Elsa reeled from it all the same. "No, you're right. It's reality." She looked down at her hand, snapping it shut as soon as she saw the frost emphasizing an old cut on her palm. "I can't run from it anymore."

A silence fell between them, brash words and the threat of dispute passing as they were both grounded by thoughts they had tried so hard to bury. Whatever optimism and courage they gathered when they first took on this challenge was gone, and all that remained was a bleak, uncertain road in which they both threatened to destroy the other's future.

"…For what it's worth, I don't think you're a villain."

"Emma, please." Elsa pressed her hands to her forehead and backed away, leaving frosted footprints and needles of ice in her short wake. "I've had enough of this. I'm done."

"I'm sor—"

"Please. Just leave me alone."

"I can't." Emma frowned, feeling worse when Elsa looked to her in anguish. "I told you from the beginning that my job is to find everyone's happy endings. With your heart freezing and this prophecy out to get us, right now, your happy ending is the most important one of all."

Elsa lowered her hands from her head and stared. Her face went blank; cold and devoid of all previous emotion. "Emma… I don't have a happy ending. Mine was over 28 years ago in Arendelle, when everyone was safe and I was with my family. I can't have that anymore. It's gone." She shook her head, wondering how it was that Emma could stand there and continue to try instilling her with hope. "My family deserves their happy ending too... but it doesn't include me."

She was so certain of it, however wrong it seemed to believe. As much as Emma wanted to convince her not to give up on what she hoped for, she could see it in her eyes that she no longer had the energy to try.

Emma put her hands in her pockets, finding it difficult to understand the position Elsa was in, but she refused to let her fall victim to the prophecy without fighting back. "I'm not giving up on this," she said, pouring her heart into those words to make sure they came across as sincere as she meant them. "I know you're upset, and I get that this feels like it's impossible. It feels impossible to me, too, but I'm gonna keep trying because you deserve your happy ending, even if you think you don't." She glanced to the center of the cemetery, then looked back, finding Elsa just as soulless as she was before. "I'm going to talk to Regina and see if there's anything else we can do to thaw your heart. Maybe there's a curse or spell to slow down the ice. Please stay here," she asked.

Elsa said nothing in response, knowing that if she made any sort of promise, she'd be called out on the lie immediately.

Her silence didn't sit well with Emma. "I know there's a lot going on and a lot to think about, but right now I need you to trust me. Wait here until I get back. It should only take a few minutes."

After a long look, Emma stepped away and turned her back on her, heading across the cemetery to the family crypt where Regina was still in hiding. Elsa watched her go, hating that it felt like they were coming down to the last days of their lives and she was the ticking bomb to end it all, just waiting for someone to pull the trigger and set her off. Emma had the right intentions, but her ineptitude in magic was what convinced Elsa that there was nothing that could be done to stop this now.

If only her heart wasn't plagued with Ingrid's magic, maybe she'd still have hope for a new happy ending.

That thought refueled the ire she felt when she first saw the shard in her heart. If the prophecy truly was imminent, then she refused to be its conduit without knowing why Ingrid pushed this irrational "solution" upon her. As she waited for Emma to reach the crypt, she scanned the cemetery, losing a bit of her edge when she made out two dark shapes in the distance.

Taller than the surrounding graves, the obelisks honoring her parents stood out amongst the passed and fallen. She imagined they would be disappointed if they were watching her right now, and she could almost hear their voices in her memory trying to guide her away from an impetuous decision. Her mother would try to soothe her anger, remind her to breathe, while her father would push the logical route that worked so well with her. Nothing good could come from meeting with Ingrid right now.

But she had to do it. She had to know why she did what she did.

Elsa looked back at the crypt just in time to see Emma disappear inside and watch the door close. This was her chance. She had to go now, or else she'd never get the opportunity again.

Her mind was made up, and with a parting glance to those old Arendelle graves, she turned on her heel and left the cemetery, heading into the shadows of the nearby woods. As she was instructed once before, she headed north, assuming Ingrid's abode was somewhere close by as she had abandoned her home in Storybrooke proper. She didn't know what she would say or do when she got there, but the thought of everything Ingrid had done to her, all the lies and twisted truths she told to earn Elsa's trust only made the young queen angrier.

Her heart pumped with adrenaline, and each step came harder and faster than the last. The air was spurred into motion by her fury as the soft breeze turned into a brisk wind. She left no trace in her wake, controlled enough to keep an ice trail from forming, though she didn't care if anyone came after her. They did so at their own risk.

She waved her hands together, gathering her magic in a show of sparks before she launched it into the sky. The beacon of blue magic screamed through the treetops, announcing her location to everyone before it gathered at the apex and exploded into a shower of snowflakes.

She scanned the canopy for a response as she stomped through the forest. "If you wanted to help so bad, then come find me."

"We need to tell Elsa right now!"

"Anna, wait—"

"No. Enough waiting!" Anna said, shooting Hans a glare before she opened the door to the apartment and walked out with her phone to her ear. "If you know her as well as you think you do, then you know that she hasn't stopped thinking about Baldor since the day he died. She deserved to see this a long time ago."

Hans followed her to the door while Karina stayed within the apartment, rewrapping the little bundle she brought. "Elsa was gone by the time Karina found it," Hans said. "You left Arendelle shortly after, and by the time you came back, it was impossible for anyone to get close to you."

Anna raised a brow at him. "You know a lot for someone who wasn't there."

"I was there. How could you…? Never mind," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "Since we're on the subject, maybe you should try calling Emma before you show up at her front door? At least she can give Elsa some warning before you barge in and force her to talk with you."

She turned around and pointed to her phone. "What do you think I'm doing?!"

By the look in her eye and the sound of her voice, she seemed panicked, almost to the point where she couldn't focus as she paced in the hallway. Karina held the bundle tight, watching her with worry. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I had to be sure before I came to you, and by then the guards were barring everyone from entering the castle."

"It's the effort that counts," Anna said with a grateful smile. "And we have the chance now to let Elsa know that— oh. Emma?" she asked when she heard a voice through the phone, turning away from Hans and Karina. "Hey! Sorry to bother you, but this is super important! Is Elsa with you?"

There was a short, frustrated sigh that came through the speaker. "No. She ran off again."

"She… what?" Anna looked over her shoulder at Hans, knowing he and Karina both could tell something was wrong by her reaction. "Wait, what do you mean, "Again"?"

"Look, its fine! I'm good at finding people and she couldn't have gone far."

"Emma, I know she can handle herself, but I'm worried about Ingrid being out there too. I just told you about what happened in Arendelle. What if she—"

"Don't worry about it. I'll find her before anything happens."

The short call was ended after that promise, but it didn't leave Anna with a good feeling. She pocketed her phone and stormed past Hans and Karina, leaving them confused as she headed back into the apartment and straight to her room. The two shared a look before Hans leaned in the doorway with a guess at what happened. "Elsa's missing again, isn't she?"

The next time he saw Anna, she was glaring at him from down the hallway with her sheathed sword held tight in her hands. Her demeanor had changed, going from worried but optimistic to dire and serious in the few seconds she talked with Emma. "I don't know what's making me angrier: That she keeps running away, the fact that Emma can't keep an eye on her, or that it's forcing me to rely on your help again."

"Probably the latter," Karina said, piping up before Hans could comment. She raised a brow at him when he looked at her and earned a grin from Anna. "Despite your recent efforts, Arendelle hasn't forgotten your evil deeds, "Ex-Prince" Hans."

"Yeah, you people would never let me forget," he grumbled. "The squad car is parked out front. We'll take Karina home and then start searching for Elsa."

Anna grabbed her keys and shut the apartment door behind her, joining Hans and Karina on the march downstairs with her mind racing. Emma didn't tell her where or when Elsa went missing, if she last saw her at home or if they had gone someplace else. She wanted to know the circumstances and what was going through her sister's head to make her act out like this. As she walked out the front doors of the apartment building she lagged behind, wondering where to start looking and what would happen if she faced her sister again.

Any fear she had about their inevitable encounter fell to the wayside when a beacon of light lit up the night sky to the north. Pure white, it was impossible to miss, but it was short-lived, fading out almost as soon as it appeared. Anna held her breath, waiting for it to show itself again.

Seconds later, she saw a similar, blue beacon appear east of the white one.

Her hand reached for her snowflake necklace on instinct. "Get in the car," she said, dumbstruck for a moment when Hans and Karina were so captivated by the phenomenon to move. "Get in the car! Hurry!"

The only thing she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat thumping in her ears. Magic spiraled with adrenaline through her veins and pushed her forward, adamant to pursue this reckless idea despite any doubts that manifested in the short span of her journey. She had to be close now. The last signal she saw was almost on top of her.

Elsa swatted back a tree branch that hung in her path, irritated by everything, wanting to be at her destination already to get what she deserved for so long. It wasn't just an apology she was after; she wanted answers. She wanted to know the exact thought behind Ingrid's reasoning, no matter how dangerous it would be to hear it.

The dark of the forest was relentless on an almost moonless night, but off in the distance between the trees, Elsa could see an odd glow upon the ground. Her quick gait turned into a run, ducking beneath branches and avoiding uplifted roots as she made her way through to discover a clearing. Freshly fallen snow covered the grass, a sure sign that Ingrid had been here, though Elsa wasn't sure if this was the intended meeting spot.

Even if it wasn't, she would have to be somewhere close by.

"Ingrid!" Elsa shouted. Her voice rang out clear into the trees, piercing through the darkness and to anything that lingered within its shroud. She watched and waited, looking for Ingrid to appear, and when she didn't, Elsa's impatience got the better of her. She stepped upon the snow and started to pace, continuing her search as she moved. "I know you're out here! Show yourself!"

She must have looked like a raging fool, stomping around and yelling to no one, but it didn't matter to her. Time was short, and she didn't have the patience to stand there and wait. As she moved, she spotted a stream of snowflakes glittering down from the trees, drifting in a way that was more magical than natural. It kept Elsa from pacing further and she stood and watched, gathering herself as the flakes swirled and pulled up a shroud from the snow on the ground.

"Hello, Elsa."

Her soft, unnerving voice was heard before the veil fell and revealed Ingrid. Her subtle smile matched her judging blue eyes, and in the time between their last meetings, it seemed she abandoned the modern trappings of Storybrooke fashion. She donned a gown made of white ice, designed in her own style to accentuate the glory and pride she held in her magic. "I'm not surprised to see you here. It seems you've finally woken up and realized that those "heroes" aren't of any use to you."

"I didn't come here to ask for your help," Elsa spat. "What did you do to me?"

Ingrid blinked and her brows drew together. "That's no way to greet a friend. Especially one who hasn't abandoned you like all the others have," she added. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Elsa snapped. She clenched her fists, seething with anger, uncaring that the temperature around them started to drop. "In Arendelle, when you trapped me in the Great Hall." Her eyes narrowed at the frigid memory and she took a daring step forward. "You hit me with magic. What did you do?"

The question unsettled Ingrid as she recalled the memory, and her silence proved her struggle to come up with an appropriate answer. "…You attacked me," she started. "I was only defending myself."

"With a shard of ice you pulled from your dress seconds before?" Elsa shook her head. "You were going to do it regardless."

"I assure you, it was an accident, Elsa." Ingrid's voice took on a more forceful tone and her eyes grew sharp, looking as though she was angry, but Elsa could see right through the lie. She was upset because Elsa wasn't believing her story, barring her from repairing their broken friendship and further utilizing her in whatever goals she had planned.

"It was an accident, yet you managed to hit me right in the heart."

"Elsa—"

"You knew what it would do to me, didn't you?!" Distraught, Elsa put a hand over her chest, unaware that her signature snowflake was appearing in frost upon her sweater. "When I told you I didn't want to freeze my heart, it did not give you the right to do it for me! That was not your decision to make, Ingrid! That was my choice!" she yelled, clenching her fist. "My freedom! You took it from me, and now I—"

Ingrid looked down upon her, standing idly by when Elsa lost her breath and doubled over. "Now you're making yourself suffer," she muttered in disgust. "I warned you that getting upset would only make it worse."

Elsa clenched her teeth, bearing through the pain. There was still so much she wanted to say and make Ingrid answer for, but her current state kept her from pursuing it further. Her chest felt tight and she struggled to breathe. Everything hurt, burning with a cold like she never experienced before, like all her muscles and organs were… well, it felt like they were starting to freeze.

It scared her how quick it sapped her strength. Too weak to stand, her knees buckled and she fell to the snow, clutching both hands over her heart as her cold eyes stared straight at Ingrid. "It's because of you," she breathed between gasps. "I'm like this because of you."

Pursing her lips, Ingrid held her hands together. "Oh my poor, sweet Elsa," she said, shaking her head in pity. "You misunderstand. My power cannot harm you: You're doing this to yourself."

In a simple, gentle motion, she held her hands out in front of Elsa, pinched the air and drew them down. Shackles of white ice appeared around Elsa's wrists, attached to chains that sunk into the snow and pulled her arms to her sides. The sharp, jarring motion forced from her a cry of pain, leaving her heart exposed as the frost on her sweater froze into the full, prominent shape of her snowflake.

"The only way to get you out of your head long enough to listen, is to put you in a situation where you can do nothing but listen. Struggle all you want," she said, watching Elsa strain against her shackles to no avail, "but you can't break those chains. Your power might be strong, but not when you're scattered like this."

"I'm fine!"

"You're lying." As though her wording wasn't enough proof, it was evident when Elsa stilled the moment she was called out on it. "Anyone with an ounce of magic in their veins can feel your power raging a mile away. You're angry with me—rightfully so—but I wonder what you really planned on doing once we met face to face? Yelling got you nowhere," she said, raising her brows and smirking when Elsa winced from another painful shock, "and we both know that if you wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already."

She chuckled just then, casting Elsa in her shadow as she approached. "See, the thing I've learned about you is that you put on an act to cover how you really feel. You pretend to be poised when you worry. You've mastered a graceful smile when you're sad." She knelt down before Elsa and reached for her, holding her jaw in a firm grasp between her thumb and forefinger. They looked each other in the eyes, but while Ingrid kept a solid stare, Elsa's gaze was unfocused. "The anger you feel stems from your frustration and grief over what happened in Arendelle, but deep below the surface, past the walls you put up to protect yourself, your heart races because you're afraid."

She paused, feeling Elsa's jaw clench beneath her grasp. She saw her swallow hard, and how her eyes went wide. The rattle of her chains proved that she had been exposed, and Ingrid frowned at her in pity. "You were too stubborn to realize it. You're afraid of Anna. I suspect you fear Emma as well. Worst of all, you fear yourself and your magic, and that's unacceptable."

Letting go of Elsa, Ingrid rose and turned her back on her. She walked away, leaving Elsa behind with her mask of false confidence fractured and crumbling to pieces. As Elsa tried and tried to break free of her chains, they kept her grounded in the horrible truth that Ingrid was right. She saw straight through her, picked her apart better than anyone in her family could, and to make matters worse, Elsa was stuck fast right where Ingrid wanted her.

She looked down at the snow, unable to stop her mind from racing. The snowflake over her heart shone with a brilliant blue light, and the pain in her chest refused to subside, sapping what little strength remained. Though her chains were still taut, she gave up on trying to break through them. She couldn't run, and even if she could, there was nowhere for her to go. No one loved her, everyone who claimed they could help didn't know how, and she was becoming more and more convinced that the heroes in this town would have no qualms about killing her if she went too far.

A spark of anger lit her heart again before it was snuffed out. Why was this happening? Why did it have to be her?

"…Why are you doing this?" She lifted her head and looked up at Ingrid, dismayed at her silence. "What do you want?"

Ingrid looked over her shoulder. "I want the same thing you want, Elsa. You're not the only one fighting against fate." She turned around before Elsa could comprehend her words, though her intentions became quite clear when she held up her hand. Floating above her open palm was a small shard of glass glowing bright with her magic, and she stepped forward, focusing her stare upon Elsa's eyes as she approached. "It was always my intention to help you break free of the prophecy you fear so much, and in doing so… perhaps we can break the chains that bind me to my own."