The curse is weak but will not weaken any further since Regina is in a fit of rage at this very moment. It will give Cora a bit of strength when her daughter finally finds her. Even Emma can feel magic faintly coursing through her blood stream; it isn't much but at least she has her strength to battle whatever forces that need to be taken down. The first may just be Lily.
The town is completely dead this late at night. It's safe to assume that everyone cursed is asleep or already awake with their memories back. If they are asleep, they definitely will wake up with them. They are coming back to people slowly but surely, one by one, especially Emma. They unfold as she drive's Snow's car. She follows Red through the streets who is sniffing out Lily and the book, leading the way.
"When we get there I need you to stay in the car with Ariana," Emma demands. She'll be damned if she loses her daughter again. As always Snow rejects,
"No! I'm not just going to watch, I'm coming with you."
Emma smirks at Snow's bold sincerity. She remembers all the adventures Snow would tag along on with her bow and quiver in hand. The girl was a marvelous shot at just 7 years old and became known around the kingdom for her strength. Of course Snow loved to venture out with Emma but she also loved staying at the castle and getting dolled up with Regina like the perfectionist she is. She didn't exactly inherit magic from her parents so their characteristics is all she had to bond with them. Every day she would spend as much time with the both of them as possible.
"We can't leave her in the car alone. What if someone is lurking in the darkness and takes her?" Emma points out. Snow sucks her teeth and glances to the back seat at her adorable sleeping sister in her carseat.
"Fine dad, but if I see you so much as fall on your ass, I'm getting out."
Emma laughs at Snow's stubbornness, not being able to refuse the declaration from the young Princess. She adores her daughter's kindness and strong will to save; a complete mix of her parents.
Red stops in the middle of the street. She lets a soft breeze tickle her whiskers all while taking in the scent through her sensitive nose. She catches onto something to the right which is a bend in the road so Emma has to get out the moment the wolf howls to the sky.
"I'll be back kid," she reassures.
"Be careful!" Snow calls out to her.
Emma finds herself running in a new forest. Never once in her life has she ever even took a stride in these parts of town. Her guard is definitely up as she treks through the darkness with Red at her side with her nose to the ground. Once they're deep enough, Red bares her teeth and let's out a vicious growl past a pile of bushes and weeds.
"Good girl," Emma praises before she quietly steps forward. Past the bushes she finds nothing but a clearing with an old well sitting right in the middle. The only thing important about this well is the strong Aura of magic she feels emanating from it. "What the hell is this?"
"Magic!" A voice cackles. Emma searches for the direction of the source only to come up short. Red races to her side with the hairs on her back on edge. She barks at the well, literally, leaving Emma confused.
"Lily," Emma sighs. "I don't want to have to fight!"
"Neither do I."
"So just give me the book. You don't have to work for Cora if you help us break the curse!"
"All I had was Cora, I have nothing! So I might as well see this through." Emma sighs at the lost cause. Of course Cora is too deep into Lily's head. She wants to give Lily a second chance but sometimes second chances never works.
"You have me. I know it was just a curse but we can still be friends." She attempts at persuasion once more. "I'm sorry for what she did to your mother."
"Yeah sure. I'm not stupid Savior!" Lily chuckles. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I tell you anything. It's gone anyways."
"What do you mean gone?" Emma groans. The
frustration she feels is palpable. It mostly stems from her literally talking to nothing and Lily is completely wasting her time. As the hidden brunette rants on, Emma motions her head ordering Red to drag her out from wherever she is.
The wolf happily obeys her beloved master with no hesitation whatsoever. She circles around the well hoping to catch a trail yet finds nothing. She has a hunch that Lily actually might be in the well. Emma frowns as she watches the giant wolf stand on her hind legs.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Emma groans to herself. "Are you seriously in the damn well?!"
"Absolutely!" Lily laughs.
"What is so important about it Anyways?" Emma rolls her eyes at herself for even asking, knowing she won't get a legit answer from the psycho.
"Don't ask me. I'm just following orders like your stinking puppy up there.
"I should let her take a shit on your head." Emma teases with a wicked smirk.
"You're gross," Lily scoffs. Emma rolls her eyes again. That joke maybe the only non serious thing she would be able to experience today.
"Let's go Red," Emma orders once more. The wolf whimpers and follows Emma's lead back towards the car.
Red is bigger than the size of bear so she can't exactly fit in. Emma decides she would walk with her after she explains to Snow what happened. Even though they don't exactly have anywhere to go, Snow starts the car back to the mansion to put Ariana to bed while Emma treks through StoryBrooke with her companion by her side.
"Cora...maybe I should've let Regina kill her a while back huh Red?" Red just blinks at Emma, flicking her ears to express that she's listening. Emma lifts her hand to run her fingers through the soft fur of Red's neck as she thinks.
"It just doesn't make any sense...first of all she made Regina older which was dumb and then she made me younger and–that's it! Ingrid! She's known Regina forever and super smart with magic maybe she knows."
"Ruff!" Red pants.
Together they jog through the town to get to Ingrid's house in the shortest amount of time possible. When they get there, Emma frowns. She maybe awake but her curse memories still remain. What if Ingrid isn't awake at all? What if, for some reason, she doesn't want to help Emma if she is?
Emma musters up the courage with a thick swallow and rings the doorbell. She takes a nervous step back, sticking her hands in her pockets, and waits for someone to answer the door. A few moments pass by without an answer; just when she was about to turn back,
"Swan," The more gentler woman greets. Well she is only a year older than Emma technically.
"Hey..." Emma nervously waves due to the guilt on Ingrid's face. The older blonde moves out of the way allowing the savior and the wolf to enter.
"I'm so very sorry with how I treated you. God I would never have treated my daughters that way," Ingrid apologizes with sadness in her eyes. "I guess Cora wanted me to stay down your throat and distract you from Regina."
"It's fine Ingrid I promise, it's in the past now. She wanted Regina where I could see her but couldn't have her. I have to admit it was pretty clever," Emma chuckles as she takes a seat in the living room. Things are definitely awkward to say the very least.
"Good...I see Red is as loyal as ever." Ingrid motions to the over sized creature laying in the middle of her living room.
"Yea...we don't have her cloak so she's stuck like this until sunrise." Ingrid frowns at her answer and asks,
"Well then where is her brother? Wouldn't he be like this too?" Emma nods and shrugs,
"Except he works for Cora, remember, so I'm sure he's fine."
Ingrid nods once more, silence comes after. Neither one of them knows what to say because they know this is drastic times. The clock is ticking and the end is near either for the curse or for them all. Emma is determined to end this curse and Cora for good. She just needs all the help she can get. Ingrid finally clears her throat to break the silence,
"So I'm sure you're here hoping I can help you break the curse?"
"Yes!" Emma's face lights up as she slides to the edge of her seat.
"You know, only you know the answer right?" Ingrid grins. "As the Savior you're the only one who can do this."
"But I don't get what a forbidden fruit is. Something from Regina's past? Or something that has to do with Cora? Except I don't know shit about that woman except the fact she abused Regina nonstop."
"Yeah," Ingrid hums with dread as the cursed memories flash in her mind. She could only imagine it was far worse with Cora's magic. "So she hasn't mentioned anything to you about something forbidden or–"
Ingrid pauses when she notices something flash in Emma's facial features. "There it is."
Emma shyly shoves her hands under her legs and takes in a deep breath. Of course! How could she be so stupid?. "She actually said it all the time...long story short she referred her womanly innocence as her fruit and she always told me it was forbidden..."
"Okay," Ingrid back tracks to get those thoughts out of her mind. "Innocence is the key word. Now connect that with something else."
"Um..." Emma trails in thought. "Well when I think of innocence I think of a child. Regina has this child like personality–"
"Okay. I think you have found your answer Emma Swan." Ingrid announces since she already figured it out.
Emma is still confused though and takes a moment to thing. Forbidden Fruit...Innocence...Child... those are all key words. Those words leads to her thinking of Regina in her little state. However, when she imagines Regina giggling happily, holding her pony a new face flashes before her eyes. Blonde curls bounces as she plays tag with Regina around the house. That pout that she inherited from Regina. She loves ponies like Regina, and she loves fun stuff too.
Its the only source of innocence I have left to hold onto; my inner child sets me free...
That's what Ariana signifies and its why she was born in the first place. She's that child that Regina has had to keep behind a cage inside for her entire life all because royalty never allowed her to be the child that she wished to be. Her life never allowed her to be free with her mother around. Breaking the curse means finally setting Regina free.
"No..." Emma whispers with tears of pain welling in her eyes.
"Cora is the darkest of evil Emma. She intended on hurting you two in any way she can. Ariana is the only child that had ever been born in the past 8 years."
"There has to be something else," Emma chokes, attempting to hold back her sob.
"It's your choice Emma. You can either sacrifice Ariana to save us all, or we all die...pick the one you can live with."
Emma thanks Ingrid then silently leaves with the most heavy broken heart ever. Firstly, she's the only one who could do this. Ingrid gave her instructions to take the forbidden fruit to the source. Emma could only assume the source is the well in the forest at the edge of the main road. A problem still lies: Lily. The crazy girl somehow managed to get into the well without dying. She's definitely waiting for Emma to bring the key that ends everything.
"This is so fucked up!" Emma angrily screams as she bursts into the mansion. Red whines, sadly tucking her tail beneath her, wishing that things didn't turn out this way while Snow comes racing into the foyer.
"Did you find the answer? Are we all going home?"
"Yea," Emma mumbles angrily which makes Snow's excitement fall to a frown. "Where's Ariana?"
"Upstairs. Why?"
"Because–" A loud crash interrupts Emma; the mansion shakes right after. Red is already bolting upstairs while Emma and Snow attempt to keep their balance. Panic strikes them as they hear a high pitched scream,
"MOMMMYYYY!!!!!"
Emma catches her balance quickly and trips her way up the stairs. By the time she makes it into Ariana's room, her heart falls to a pit. An entire wall is gone. In the night sky there's a dragon flying away with Ariana screaming her little heart out with fear as she fights to wiggle out of the dragon's claw.
"What the hell!" Snow shrieks once she finally makes it to Ariana's room. She grabs at her hair and begins to panic. "What was that?!"
"Lily," Emma breathes out through her rage. "I'm going to kill that bitch."