It was the next day that Teresa opened her eyes and found herself inside a snow cave. The spell that had once been placed on her kept her unconcious for a few hours. She glanced around in confusion until an all too familiar soothing voice met her ears, saying nothing but her name.

"Teresa."

Her head snapped to the left and her lips parted in shock. "So it's true," Teresa whispered, "you're real. I didn't just imagine you."

Ingrid smiled warmly at her daughter. "No, my love, you didn't." She approached her daughter, placing a hand to Teresa's cheek while grinning. She had waited so long for the moment to see her daughter again. She never thought she would again, but here she was, young and oh so beautiful.

Teresa wanted nothing more than to lean into her mother's touch and accept her love, but the anger within her heart reminded her of the past several years alone. She drew back, causing hurt to flash in Ingrid's icey blue eyes.

"You left me," Teresa said, eyes swimming with a countless amount of emotions.

Ingrid's face softened. She moved to sit down next to her daughter on the sofa, but Teresa stood and moved away from her and across the room, causing Ingrid's heart to shatter. "Yes, I'm afraid I did."

"Why?"

"For your own safety. You may not remember, but ─ "

"All I remember is you leaving me in the middle of the woods with nothing to defend myself with! You ─ " Teresa swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "You had told me that you ─ that you loved me."

Ingrid stood, a sad look on her face as she moved towards her daughter. She placed her hands on Teresa's shoulders, a genlte smile painted on her pink lips. "I love you, Teresa. I still do, and I always will."

Teresa's lip quivered with tears that threatened to spill over. "Why did you leave me?"

"For your own safety."

"Safety?" Ingrid nodded. "W-What do you mean safety?"

"You will learn soon."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

Ingrid stayed silent for a moment, just staring into her daughters bright blue eyes. Teresa's stare was intense and fierce; she definitely had her mother's eyes that is for sure.

"Very well then," Ingrid said after a moment. "You were only six at the time ─ so beautiful and full of life." Ingrid smiled, pausing for a moment to brush a strand of her daughters blonde hair behind her ear. "Your smile could brighten an entire room."

Teresa smiled, a tear escaping her eyes; she could no longer hold them in. Ingrid brushed it away with the pad of her thumb.

"You were coming into your powers early," Ingrid continued. "I didn't want you to feel the pain that I felt."

Teresa stared at her in confusion. "Wait." She paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. "I have powers?"

Ingrid nodded, and spotted the chain sitting around her daughters neck. She reached her hand forward and pulled the crystal pendant out from underneath Teresa's shirt. "This subdued your abilities so you wouldn't be able to use them and end up like me."

"Why is being like you such a terrible thing?"

"I was called a monster for having such abilities. I even hurt someone I love." Ingrid's eyes burned with tears that began to build as memories flashed in her mind of her beloved sister. "I never wanted you to be called a monster. Ever."

Teresa gave her mother a weak smile. "I understand, but that still doesn't explain why you abandoned me."

A tear escaped Ingrid's eye and rolled down her pale cheek. She walked a couple feet away, her back now facing her daughter. She couldn't look her in the eye if she were to explain her reason. "I...hurt you."

Teresa furrowed her eyebrows, searching through her memories, but she couldn't seem to remember. "You hurt me?"

"I didn't mean to ─ I would never hurt you on purpose, Teresa. Never." Ingrid turned around to face her, and Teresa was able to see her red eyes and countless amount of tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"I was absolutely terrified, having a horrible nightmare one night. You must have heard the commotion. You came into my room and woke me, and I ─ " Ingrid paused, a sob escaping her lips. " ─ and I accidentally threw you across the room, thinking you were what was in my nightmare. When you fell and I saw you spread out on the floor, unmoving, I was even more terrified than before ─ than ever."

Teresa felt her own tears fall as she listened intently to each word. "You were bleeding. And your arm had been burnt from my cold touch." Teresa rolled up her sleeve, revealing an old burn scar. She had always wondered where it had come from, and now she knew. "I never wanted to hurt you again, so I had to send you away. You were better off without me."

"No, I wasn't." Teresa's voice was cracking.

"So I made a pendant for you, one that would subdue your magic. I had the healer fix you up, and the next day we set sail for the Enchanted Forest. When we arrived, I ─ "

Teresa cut her off. "You left me in the woods and sailed back to Arendale."

Ingrid nodded and with a hoarse voice, whispered, "I had to."

Teresa ran forward and threw her arms around her mother, her body overcoming with sons. Ingrid clutched her daughter tight and the two blonde, blue eyed females sunk to the ground, engulfed in each other's loving embrace.

─────

"So, no sign of Teresa or the Snow Queen yet?" Henry asked, glancing over at his mother who was driving them towards the diner.

"Not yet," Emma replied.

"Why do you think she took Teresa?" Henry asked. After having heard about that Teresa was mysteriously taken captive by the Snow Queen, worry grew within him, for the blonde that he had grown a liking to over the past few days was now gone.

"Beats me." Emma shrugged. "All I know is that the Snow Queen had said both mine and Teresa's name."

It was silent after that as Emma drove them down the road, where eventually they came upon Granny's Diner. Emma shut her car off and the two stepped out.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Emma asked, biting her lip with hesitation.

"No," Henry replied, honestly. "but I want you to be happy." He gave his mother a gentle push towards the diner and watched with a tiny smile on his face as she walked inside to ask Hook out on a date. Sure, Henry wished his father Neal hadn't died and that they could be a family, but if Captain Hook made his mother happy, then so be it.

─────

That night, as his mother was reading up on how to save Marian, Henry looked through some of her potion ingredients, reading the labels aloud. "Eye of newt? Dragon scale? Adder's fork? Lizard's maw?"

"Careful, Henry, unless you want to spend your teenage years as a toad," Regina warned.

Henry nodded, putting the bottles down and turning towards his mother. "So, which one of these is gonna unfreeze Marian?"

Regina slammed her book shut in frustration. "None of them. I don't think I have anything powerful enough to counteract the Snow Queen's magic."

"Is it because Robin Hood still loves you?"

Regina looked at her son with sadness in her eyes. "Who told you that?"

"No one. But I know how this stuff works. I know that true love's kiss didn't work on Marian because he still loves you. But isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't you be happy?"

Regina reached across and laid her hand over his. "In this case, Henry, I'm afraid this may be something you're just too young to understand."

Henry sighed and gave her a look. "I'm sixteen, mom."

"In my eyes, you're still my little boy," Regina said.

─────

The next day, Henry found himself walking into his mother's vault. Regina was yes again reading up on ways to help cure Marian.

"Mom," he said as he walked towards her, "how's it going?"

She glanced up briefly before returning to her spellbook pages. "No progress yet."

"Look, I know I might not understand everything that's going on with you and Robin Hood, but there is one thing I understand better than anyone else ─ Operation Mongoose." He smiled.

"The storybook?" Regina asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"We're gonna find the author, make him change it. I think I figured out who has all the answers we're looking for."

"Who?"

"My grandpa."

"David?"

"My other grandpa, Mr. Gold. Everyone knows Rumplestiltskin doesn't get a happy ending, but look at him now. He just married Belle. He must have figured out how to change his story, which means he might know who wrote the book."

Regina frowned. "And I'm the last person he'd ever share that with."

"That's why I'm gonna find out for you."

"How?" Regina asked, curious.

Henry smirked. "By going undercover."

─────

Henry stood before his grandfather, who was now looking at him in shock after asking his question.

"A job?"

"You know, after school and weekends. Now that my father's gone, I realized that you're the closest thing I've got to him, but I-If you don't want me around..." Henry went to leave, but his grandfather stopped him.

"No, well...alright," Gold gave in, a sigh passing his lips. "A few days a week." He pointed to the back room, "But, uh...stay out of the back room, and don't touch anything without asking." Henry nodded, a smile on his lips.

"You can be my apprentice." Gold moved out from behind the counter.

"What does an apprentice do?" Henry asked, following him to the end of the counter.

"Many, many things," Gold replied, smiling. "First, you can start by sweeping the floor." He handed Henry a broom. Henry took the broom with a nod and started sweeping the floor as his grandfather moved to the back room to continue working.

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