Emma was a realist. Life was hard, evil won more often than not, fairytales didn't exist – neither did true love or love at first sight – and when it came to "evil" sometimes it was easier to join them then try to beat them. With that in mind, she became a self-professed thief… and met Neal Cassidy.
Neal… who knew most of the same facts she did – except for a bit more, not that he told her this. Fairytales did exist – and so did true love and love at first sight.
He learned that in the back of the yellow bug.