A/N: This is the last chapter (with epilogue). Thank you all so much for your kind reviews and encouragement. I had a lot of fun with this story. If you liked my writing, be sure to check out my novel, The Lion Cubs (by Chrissy M. Dennis), available on Amazon. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how "The Snow Queen's Daughter" wrapped up.

Nineteen

The air seemed to grow colder the closer Casey inched to Ingrid's lair. She wasn't sure if it was real, or if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. Or maybe it was her own magic, chilling her from the inside. There was so much she had yet to understand about her own powers: how to use them, how to control them, but now wasn't the time. Now, all she could hope for was to keep her emotions in check; so far, her feelings seemed linked to her magic. She'd have to be careful.

But the truth was, she was frightened. Sure, she donned a brave face for all her friends and family back at Gold's shop, a mask to convince them all this was the right thing to do. That hadn't changed; she still believed it was, but now that she was here in the woods, all alone, she suddenly felt like a child needing a hand to hold.

But Casey went on, fingering the yellow bracelet around her wrist. Was Emma right? Was Ingrid really going to cast the spell of Shattering Sight just so she could get Casey back? Was that really all this was about? Because if it was, well, that scared Casey. Was her own mother unstable, or did she just want her daughter back that desperately? How many years had gone by since Gerda trapped her in that urn? How much time had passed before Ingrid stopped crying for her missing baby?

Maybe she never had.

Finally, Casey climbed the last hill toward Ingrid's lair, the ground beneath her becoming ice. There were a few slips and slides along the way, but Casey reached the top. She rubbed her hands together as the frigid air engulfed her. Her cheeks burned from the cold, her muscles tightened, but it was nothing compared to her heavy heart. She was here, the same cave she'd been in just yesterday and inside, was her mother. There was no more denying the truth, no more pretending. Yesterday, Casey was afraid to face it, to accept it, but now, she had no choice. The mother she'd dreamed of meeting her whole life was only steps away, and whether she was a villain, or just a princess from Arendelle, Casey had to see her.

And she had to stop her.

So with a deep breath, Casey stepped into the cave.

Ingrid must not have heard her, because when Casey reached the inner depths of the lair, she found Ingrid staring at a mirror. Casey's stomach dropped; that was the mirror Belle was talking about! Ingrid was going to cast the spell, maybe she was even whispering the incantation right now!

Or was Casey already too late?

Please, no!

Casey took another step into the lair when Ingrid whirled around faster than the speed of light, her hand rising, ready to blast her intruder with a powerful snowstorm. Casey flinched back, waiting for the attack, wondering if she would have time, or the control, to fight back with her own magic.

But Ingrid stopped, let her hand drop. Her eyes glistened as she stared at the girl, but only for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes hardening just as quickly as they'd softened.

Casey's tongue felt like sandpaper, but she found her voice. "Ingrid. Please, you can't cast this spell."

Ingrid arched an eyebrow. "And how do you know about the spell?"

"It doesn't really matter," Casey said silently. "I'm asking you to stop."

"Why don't I venture a guess?" Ingrid circled around her cave, her eyes never leaving Casey's. "They sent you here, didn't they? They filled your head with lies and told you to make me stop."

"No."

"Please, I wasn't born yesterday," Ingrid said with a sneer. "They've brainwashed you against me."

"No, that's not what happened."

"Well, Casey, I'm afraid you're too late. I am going to cast the spell." Ingrid turned back to the mirror, a small tear on her cheek. "It's the only way for us to be together."

"No, it's not." Casey started toward her. "Just listen-"

Quick as lightning, Ingrid flashed her hand toward Casey and icy restraints snaked around her wrists, yanking her down to her knees as she was shackled to the icy floor. Casey pulled against them, even tried calling upon her own magic to break free, but her magic seemed buried too deep to reach.

"Ingrid, please, you don't understand!" Casey pleaded, yanking against her restraints.

"No, you don't understand." Ingrid's voice shook. "Do you have any idea what it's like, after years of wishing, to finally find the child you'd lost hope for? There you were, right in front of me, alive, well, and you were mine again. But…then you ran out on me, and it was just like when I lost you all those years ago. I was devastated, but I thought to myself, no, give her time. She'll figure out what Regina really did, and realize where she truly belongs. She'll come home, to her mother."

Ingrid paced the floor. "But that's not what happened."

She knelt down next to Casey, tears flooding her eyes.

"Even after that Mirror showed you the truth, even after you knew what Regina had done to you, you stayed with her! She never saw you as anything more than a threat! She treated you like a monster, never appreciated you for what you are!" A tear trickled down Ingrid's cheek. "Still, you chose her over me."

Casey shook her head. "No, that's not what happened."

Ingrid stood, composing herself as she flicked away a tear or two, as though numbing herself to the pain she felt inside. She stood, and made her way back to the mirror on the wall. "It doesn't matter anymore. Once the spell is cast, everyone who has turned you against me, who would keep you from me, will destroy themselves. Then, we'll be together. I will not…I cannot lose you."

Shaking, she raised her hand to cast the spell.

"You haven't lost me!" Casey cried out, her last desperate attempt to stop her mother from the terror she was about to unleash. Tears erupted from her eyes as she watched on helplessly. "I'm right here!"

Ingrid turned and looked at her, more tears pooling her own eyes. "You're only here to save them!"

"Yeah, you're right, but that's not the only reason I came back." Casey breathed out. No holding back anymore. "Look, I was scared, okay? I ran out because I was scared! Maybe that makes me a baby, I don't know, but…I didn't know what else to do! My whole life, I just assumed my mother didn't want me, or she was dead. I never thought..." She swallowed the catch in her throat. "It was just...a lot to take in. But I never...it didn't mean I wasn't coming back."

Ingrid waited, watched on with uncertainty. Casey choked back her tears.

"Those people, everyone in Storybrooke, I care about them. And yeah, Regina made some huge mistakes, but she's different now. She took care of me, cares about me. I get it, she should have told me the truth, but I forgive her. Those people, Regina, Henry, Emma, everyone, they've been like family to me, especially when I thought I didn't have any." Casey wished she could swipe her tears away. "But you're my mother. My whole life, I've wished for this moment, and...I want you to be a part of my life too."

Ingrid stared at her daughter, tears filling her own eyes and her lip trembling as she listened.

"You don't have to cast any spell for us to be a family. I'm not going anywhere. I… want to be your daughter," Casey said. "But…I can't lose them either."

Ingrid turned away, stared hard into the mirror, hesitating.

"Please," Casey pleaded. "Don't do it."

"Don't you see? This is the only way I know we'll be together." Ingrid said with a catch in her throat, kneeling down in front of her daughter with tears in her eyes. "Everything I've ever loved has been stolen from me. I can't lose you again!"

She reached out and brushed a hair from Casey's face. When Ingrid's cool fingers touched Casey's cheek, a flash burst in Casey's mind.

A memory.

Ingrid was cradling her, smiling down at her warmly, watching her with an adoration only a mother could have. As she rocked Casey softly, she sang:

The sky is dark and the hills are white

As the storm-king speeds from the north to-night;

And this is the song the storm-king sings,

As over the world his cloak he flings:

"Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;"

He rustles his wings and gruffly sings:

"Sleep, little one, sleep."

Casey lifted her head and met Ingrid's eyes. "You loved me."

Ingrid swallowed. "What?"

"I just remembered you singing to me, but it's not just that, I-" A tear trickled down Casey's cheek. "I remember how I felt. I remember…feeling loved."

Ingrid could no longer contain her tears; as they flowed, she nodded. "I did love you. I do. More than anything."

Casey no longer felt the icy restraints around her wrists. At some point, the chains had broken, but she didn't care; nothing could move her now.

"I used to dream that somewhere out there, I had a mother who loved me," Casey said, her voice squeaking as she cried. "I didn't think I'd ever get to meet her."

Ingrid smiled, her body trembling as her own sobs shook her. "I'm right here, baby."

She held open her arms and without a moment's hesitation, Casey flew into them, clinging like the world would end. She wasn't thinking about the spell, or about Regina or Emma or anyone else in Storybrooke; all that mattered was this moment, a moment she'd waited for her whole life but doubted she'd ever have.

Casey cried in Ingrid's arms, feeling her mother's own tears drip down her neck. This was the villain Storybrooke had come to fear, and yet she was only a mother who'd one day lost her child, for what she believed was forever. There was nothing sinister about her, not here in her arms. She was the mother from Casey's memories, the same woman she'd been all those years ago.

Ingrid held Casey at arms' length and smiled warmly. "This is what I wanted. I…I just saw no other way. I feared I'd lost you again, after you went to Regina's and…well, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you a second time; I thought the spell was the only way to bring you back to me."

Casey shook her head. "But I can have you both. It's true, I love Regina; she's taken care of me and been there for me. But you're my mother, and I want to know you better. I…I don't want to have to choose between you."

Ingrid swallowed, stared hard at her daughter, as though committing her to memory. "When I was trapped in that urn, I would spend much of my time imagining what kind of person my child would become. I've done so much wrong in my life, lost everything that ever mattered to me, but I held out hope, believing my daughter was out there somewhere." She dabbed at her eyes. "And you're here, right here with me. I see the goodness in you, and…believe it or not, I was that person once, and will be again, for you. I would do anything for you, Lyra…Casey. You're my daughter, and I won't make you choose."

Casey smiled and in seconds, she was in her mother's arms again. Though she didn't know it at the time, the icy exterior around Storybrooke was slowly melting in that moment, just like the ice around Ingrid's heart. Mother and daughter were reunited at last, and in the depths of that icy lair, a dry eye could not be found.

Epilogue

It took a bit of time and some serious convincing on Casey's part, but the people of Storybrooke decided to give Ingrid a chance. Regina, ironically, was the most sympathetic. After all, she was all too familiar with how it felt to be shunned when you were trying to step out of your villain shoes. As mayor, Regina issued Ingrid a new house and even a job at the ice cream parlor.

Before too long, Elsa, along with her sister Anna who had mysteriously washed up on a Storybrooke shore with her fiancee, Kristoff (that was a long story on its own), decided it was time to return to Arendelle, their home. Elsa vowed to restore the memories of Helga and Ingrid to the land of Arendelle with the help of the rock trolls, but then the issue arose of whether or not Ingrid would step into her rightful place as queen of Arendelle. In the end, Ingrid abdicated, saying Elsa was a wonderful queen and was doing a fine job already. Besides, Ingrid was eager to start her life with Casey here in Storybrooke.

Some more time passed, and Casey eventually moved in with Ingrid, finally beginning the life she had always dreamed of. Ingrid had quickly moved away from the Snow Queen exterior, and became more and more like the mother of Casey's memories.

Ingrid walked her to school most mornings, helped her with her homework, and Casey helped her become more and more acquainted with the non-magical realm. There was a lot to catch up on; Ingrid had missed many milestones, and Casey knew nothing of her family heritage. Over hot chocolate and popcorn, Casey would listen to her mother share stories of Arendelle; of balls, and knights, and beautiful gowns, but the stories she loved most of all were the ones Ingrid shared about her sisters – Helga and Gerda, and the adventures the three of them had together.

At first, Regina had a hard time letting Casey go, but she soon realized Casey moving in with her mother didn't mean she had lost her in any sense. Casey was a regular visitor to Regina's and still referred to her as her "second mom." If anything, Casey and Regina's relationship had grown stronger as a result.

If Henry could have two moms, why couldn't Casey?

Over time, Ingrid taught Casey to control her own powers and soon, Casey was able to do wondrous things she never dreamed possible. But in all honesty, that wasn't important to Casey, not really. Sure, it was pretty cool and hey, if any more villains wandered into Storybrooke, she could help defeat them now, but having magical powers was the last thing on Casey's mind these days. She was surrounded by people who loved her. Emma, Snow and Charming were always there for her, Emma with her stubborn overprotectiveness, Snow and Charming with their wisdom and advice. Henry was still like a brother to Casey, and Regina another mother. Maybe some would see her life as odd, with a Snow Queen for a mother, and an Evil Queen as a close second, but to Casey, it was like something of a fairy tale ending.

And that was what she'd always dreamed of.

The End.