Beautiful Lily

Doppelganger

Belle couldn't see where they were going, but wherever they were going they were moving quickly. The windy ice stung her face like thousands of needles and before she knew it she was inside an igloo of sorts. Elsa released her stone cold grip on Belle and Belle collapsed to the ground. The cold air was so dense it made it difficult for her to breathe. She shivered where she fell and looked up watching Elsa surround her with an impromptu ice cage. Belle saw precious hot air escape her mouth and couldn't help but notice that whenever Elsa exhaled no visible air was seen.

"How long... have you had your abilities?" Belle said as she trembled. She figured it was a safe question, something to keep her mind busy while her body stiffened.

"Ever since I was a child."

"You know... uh,... your sister truly loves you," Belle spoke honestly, in between shivers. Cold was seeping into her bones and they started to ache tremendously. This isn't good. Focus. Focus, Belle thought.

"The sooner your husband comes to actually help me, the sooner I can get back to her and save her."

"She might not have that much time left." Time. She's not going to last that much time if Rumple doesn't get here soon. Wait, he can! She still carried her purse which contained her cell phone and the Dark One dagger.

"Well, that was Rumplestiltskin's doing. He's the one that cursed her. He's the one that's going to remove the curse."

"What happened to you? How did you end up meeting Rumplestiltskin?" Belle asked, strategically using her questions as a form of distraction. She waited for Elsa's back to turn so she could search her purse. "It's a long story," Elsa stated.

"Apparently... we have time to kill... until he arrives. And if I'm going to die,... I'd like to know... what I'm dying for." Belle's voice quivered, each breath was excruciatingly painful.

Elsa, slightly sympathetic to Belle, consented to her request. Elsa looked at Belle who was shivering, and began her story starting with the day of her coronation. She moved about the room and eventually walked toward the window looking outside, turning her back on Belle. Belle seized the opportunity and peered into her bag reaching for her phone first. Her hands shook as she tried desperately not to make a sound that would prompt Elsa to turn around. She carefully and soundlessly managed to flip open her phone and attempted to call Rumple.

-No Service-

Damn, Belle cursed to herself. She slipped the phone back into purse and reached for the dagger. It was her last resort. She trembled as she unsheathed it from her purse. She could barely feel the ends of her fingertips and couldn't tell if she was actually holding the handle's cold metal. The blade felt awkward in her hands, like a loose slippery fish. She was about to brave saying his name out loud when Elsa saw the weapon in her hands. Elsa shot an ice beam towards the dagger causing Belle to drop it instantly. The blade froze completely before hitting the ground and then shattered upon impact.

"An actual dagger to stab me in the back with, huh? How cliché?" quipped Elsa, "I admire your bravery, however, I've been 'stabbed in the back' before, by your husband actually. Let's not repeat history."

Belle's jaw fell open as she stared at the remains of the dagger. She couldn't believe what had just happened. How could something that magical break under such simple magic? And if so, how would that affect Rumple? Is he still alive? Did she just kill him? Would he know? Does he know? Any one of those answers would lead to two conclusions both draconian: Rumple was hurt or dead now and couldn't come to save her from her freezing peril, or he was still alive. And if he was still alive, then he knowingly gave her a fake dagger.

If he gave her the fake dagger, then what did that say about her? Did he really trust her, even after just proposing to her days ago using the dagger as the symbol of their trust? Did he ever trust her? If he lied about him trusting her, then what else did he lie about? Where's the real dagger? How long had she had the look-alike? It didn't matter now. She tried to reason what had happened, but with her body getting colder and colder by the minute it was getting harder to even think, let alone focus. She needed to focus to survive. She needed hope. Her hope. She couldn't afford to lose Rumple, or hope or waste any mental energy on being mad. Now wasn't the time. They could deal with the issue on the dagger later, but if and only if he was still alive. So she had to focus on the hope that he was still alive and then think about being upset later. It was the only thing that was going to save her now.

Elsa continued looking at a devastated Belle. "You're husband better show up soon. I believe you're starting to get hypothermia."

"And... y-y-your just going to let me... f-freeze to death? I've... n-n-never done...a-anything to you. How c-can you be s-so cold?"

Elsa turned her back on Belle, saying frigidly, "Cold is what I am, and the cold never bothered me anyway."

... ...

"Hey Mom!" said Henry answering his cell phone. Regina and Henry were still snowed in at Granny's.

"Hey kid, I'm trying to... uh... magically remove snow over here, but the more I remove, the more it seems pile on thicker. The sun is starting to set, do you think you guys can make it over to the convent? I think if we're going to devise a plan, then we all should be together figuring this out. There are a lot of town people here already trying to pitch in and help out. Besides, I could probably use Regina's help."

"Hold on let me ask..." Henry said holding the phone against his chest, muting the speaker. He looked up at Regina and asked, "Mom, Emma wants to know if we can make it to the convent. Everyone's congregating there to figure out what to do about Elsa. While we're there we can find out from Mother Superior about what happened to you."

"That means that we'll have to walk to my car to drive there. It's still parked at the house."

"I can drive you."

Regina scoffed, "Uh no, that's definitely not going to happen. I may look like I'm dying, but I'm not dead yet. Besides, it was real budgeting magic just figuring out how to pay for the damages you caused the last time you were behind the wheel." She rolled her eyes and groaned just thinking of the memory, "Ugh, I could kill David."

Henry lifted the phone to his head and answered quickly, "We're on our way," then closed the phone shut, ending the phone call. He stood up with his mother, and they walked out of Granny's side-by-side braving the snow. They barely made it off the property when an unfamiliar truck slowed down beside them. The stranger in the truck, noticing the two individuals, rolled down his window and called out to them, "Hey! Do you need a lift?"

Henry spoke on behalf of Regina and himself, "Yeah! We're heading to the convent. That's where some people are taking shelter from the storm."

"We're heading there as well," the stranger called back. The gentleman got out of the truck and pulled back his seat allowing room for Regina and Henry to enter. The pair gratefully and quickly entered the truck. Noticing that his guests were settled in, the benevolent stranger quickly got back into his truck and continued down the road.

"Hey! You were here earlier this morning," Henry pointed out, recognizing the stranger. "You stopped Elsa. It's Kristoff, right?"

"Yep."

"Don't you want to know our names?" Regina asked, skeptical of Kristoff's generosity.

"How can I forget our town's mayor?" Kristoff said looking at Regina through his rear-view mirror, "Evening, Mayor Mills. And of course... Henry." The young woman sitting in his passenger seat turned around and looked at the riding guests. "Hello," she said, waving at them timidly.

"Oh, my apologies! This is my good friend, Anna."