In the prisoner's tower in Snow White's castle, Enchanted Forest, two years ago
"Your parents didn't tell you? Emma, I'm being executed in the morning."
"After what happened? You saved my life. Oh! Magic! I can use magic…"
"It's too dangerous. You don't have enough control. What if you were hurt?
"Just tell me what to do, Regina! You must have a plan! You always have a plan…"
"I rarely have a plan, Little Swan, and even when I do, I can't seem to follow… oh! There is something we could try. Oh, Emma, it could work! It will fix everything…"
"What?Just tell me what to do. I'll do anything, I swear!
Regina leaned closer to the bars, prompting Emma to do the same. "Alright, listen closely, Princess. Here's what you're going to do."
Emma nodded, looking at Regina with determination, ready to prove herself to her queen, even if her queen was currently locked in a cell, awaiting execution. For a moment, she forgot all about Seth's heart, and everything else, because none of that mattered if Regina was about to be killed.
"My palace will be empty. My magic is gone so you'll be able to get in with no issue. There is a room there, that contains the ingredients for a very powerful curse. It's going to transport us to a new land, where no one will remember any of this, and we'll be free."
"But, if we're not going to remember, then how will we be free?"
"You and I will remember, little swan. I created the curse, and you're going to cast it. We'll be immune to the forgetting spell."
"But what about my parents? And my brother?"
Regina offered her a small smile, knowing she couldn't tell her all the details of the dark curse, or she'd never convince her to cast it. "They'll have new memories. They'll still be your parents, but they won't remember this land or this kingdom. They won't remember that I'm meant to be executed."
Emma looked torn, her eyes darting around Regina's cell frantically, as if she were weighing her options. "And where will it send us?"
"To a land without magic."
"No magic? You'd give that up?"
Regina shrugged. "Well, I've already lost it, haven't I?"
"I suppose…"
"Emma, listen to me. I'm not going to force your hand here. It's up to you what you want to do. But if you don't, then it's time to say goodbye, because I doubt your parents are going to let you attend my execution tomorrow, and I don't want you there anyway. So you must make a choice."
Emma sniffed, and straightened her shoulders, determined not to cry. "You saved my life. I'm not going to let you die."
Regina smiled. "That's my girl."
Emma drew in a steadying breath as she stood at the edge of the property around Regina's palace, right where she knew the magical barrier would be, if Regina had still had her magic. The place was deserted. Even the armies were gone, though there was still clear evidence on the ground of the short-lived battle that had ensued here. Emma shuddered. She didn't remember what had happened the last time she was here, or how Regina had managed to save her, but she still didn't like thinking about it.
Or thinking about what could have happened.
Or what would happen tomorrow, if she didn't pull this off right now.
She took another breath, straightened her back, and continued on the path to Regina's palace. She found it odd that it somehow seemed scarier when no one was around, when by all logic it should be safer. She supposed she never really felt unsafe any time she'd been here, because Regina had been with her.
She wondered now if that safety had really always been an illusion.
She shook the thoughts from her head as she continued, making her way into the palace and looking around. It really looked the same as it had any other time she'd cross this threshold, but it felt so different. There was an eerie chill that she'd never noticed before, and it was far too quiet.
"Just do this, and then go," Emma whispered to herself, quickening her pace as she set off to find the room where Regina had told her the ingredients for the curse would be. Without magic, the halls were no longer enchanted, but Emma found herself repeating Regina's directions to herself, over and over, until she came across the large wooden door Regina and told her to expect.
"Alright. Here goes." Emma pulled the latch on the door, and with a loud clank, the door unlocked. Regina had told her this room was once protected by blood magic, but without it, it would be easy to access, and she was right.
It was almost too easy.
Emma shook away the thought that Regina had somehow set this all up. How could she have? She'd have had no way to know what Emma would be hurt, or that she'd be captured, would she?
"No," Emma answered herself aloud, though she was finding it hard to convince herself. If Regina had shown her one thing, it was that she couldn't be trusted. Emma had no way to know if anything she'd ever told her was true, and in spite of herself, she wondered why she'd even thought it was a good idea to come here now.
For all she knew she was talking into a trap.
Emma sighed, realizing that was the one thing she could be sure of: Regina would not set her up to get hurt. No matter what happened, Emma knew Regina still loved her, in her own warped, twisted way, and she wouldn't let her get hurt, not even to save herself.
And Emma also knew she'd never get any answers to anything if she let Regina die tomorrow, so she started collecting the ingredients from the cupboard Regina had told her she'd find them in. She grabbed the scroll and opened it, double checking that she had everything.
"The heart of the thing you love most," Emma whispered to herself, noting that one thing was missing from the collection, and she turned back to the cupboard. She felt sick to her stomach as she lifted a small wooden box from the shelf, and opened it to check.
"Oh… oh no," Emma said, choking back tears. She had no idea who this heart belonged to, but it wasn't lost on her that if Regina were to procure these ingredients anew, right now, that would be her heart in that box. She bit her lip and shook her head as a few tears escaped and made their way down her cheeks. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe it was too late for Regina to be redeemed.
Emma set the box with the heart next to the rest of the ingredients and sat down on the floor, crossing her legs and staring at the giant cauldron in front of her, debating her options. Regina had said it was her choice, but she really didn't see how she had much of a choice at all. She really only had two options, and one of them meant that Regina would die, and while it wouldn't be at her own hand, she knew she'd be responsible.
But on the other hand, how could she just let Regina win, after everything she'd done? Her parents, her brother… everyone would lose everything. She didn't know much about the dark curse, beyond what her mother had told her, which was that it was meant to take away everyone's happiness, and that Regina had never cast it.
Well, that, and that she was supposed to be the savior. She had no idea what that would entail, since she'd never really had to think too much about it. Everyone had assumed the curse had failed, or that Regina had been bluffing, and while Emma's parents had told her a story of how they intended to put her in a magical wardrobe so she could come back and save them all, it had always been just that: a story.
But this wasn't a story. She was really here, sitting before a giant cauldron, debating whether or not she should crush the heart of someone she didn't even know, and cast a curse to destroy everyone's lives, just to save Regina.
Logically, she knew the right choice was to walk away. Maybe she could convince her parents to stay the execution. Maybe Regina could be rehabilitated in prison in her Kingdom.
But then what?
She wished she'd had more time to practice her magic. She wished she knew a way to poof Regina out of the tower, and send her someplace safe; someplace no one would find her. Then they could return, somewhat, to the way things had been. Emma could come and visit her, and help her adjust, maybe help her let go of the reckless anger. And maybe…
Emma shook her head. There was no point in fantasizing about some life they could have together because she couldn't do any of that. All she could do was this.
And then it dawned on her. What if she could change the curse? What if she could take away the part where everyone was miserable? She didn't even know if it was possible, but it was worth a try.
She stood up, running over to the wall of cabinets and cupboards, tearing through drawers until she found a quill and some parchment, and began jotting down her revision. She had no way of knowing if it would work, but she rolled the parchment up anyway, ready to throw it into the cauldron.
Then she paused, remembering one more loose end. She unrolled the parchment, added a few more words, and rolled it up once more. She unclasped the chain from around her neck that held her swan pendant, and wrapped it around the parchment. Regina had tethered her to magic to that pendant, and she hoped that would be enough for her will to change the curse. She clasped the chain again, once it was tightly around the parchment, and ran her fingers over the pendant, unsure if she'd ever see it again, before tossing it into the cauldron.
There was a hiss, and then a puff of white smoke that dissipated quickly into the air, and Emma hoped that was a good sign. She grabbed the scroll and started adding the ingredients in a fervor. Once she got started, she didn't want to slow down, in case her nerves got the best of her and she changed her mind.
By the time she added the second to last ingredient, the contents of the cauldron were churning together in a sickly purple-ish green hue, and it smelled foul. Emma had never seen a curse before, but she supposed that must be a good sign, as far as curses go.
She drew in a deep breath and opened the box, reaching in and pulling out the glowing red heart.
She paused, looking at it intensely, and whispered, "I'm sorry," before holding it out above the rest of the mixture and crushing it to dust in her hand, allowing it to sprinkle over the liquid below.
There was another sharp hiss, and the smoke turned a deep purple then, and began building up, filling the room, and Emma knew she needed to get out of there.
She took off running, stopping dead in her tracks when she realized she'd left the scroll sitting open beside the cauldron. She looked back, but the purple smoke was already billowing into the hallway, and she decided that she probably didn't really need it anyway. Afterall, the curse had already been cast. What good was the scroll now?
She turned back around and continued her sprint through the halls, into the large foyer, and out the door. She was moving faster than the smoke at this moment, but she didn't stop until she reached the end of the path. She quickly untied the horse she'd left waiting for her, and climbed up into the saddle. One last glance at the dark palace, and they were off.
By the time Emma reached the palace, she could see the hint of the purple smoke on the horizon, and she jumped off of the horse, not even bothering to put him back in the stables, and took off running to find her family.
"The curse! The Queen's curse!" she heard Grumpy yelling, and her eyes darting around at the people scrambling around frantically.
Emma's heart was pounding as she continued down the hallway as quickly as she could, dodging bodies as everyone ran around frantically, trying to find loved ones, or find shelter, as if that could save any of them.
"Emma!" Seth's voice rang out from the end of the hallway, and Emma locked her eyes on him. She had no idea where her parents were, but her brother was alone, and she had to get to him.
"Seth! Seth it's okay!" she called as she neared him. "Don't be scared!"
Seth grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room at the end of the hall. "We have to hide!" he cried.
Emma stopped dead in her tracks. This was her old nursery. Her parents had turned it into a playroom when she'd gotten older and moved into a larger bedroom, and her heart caught in her throat as her mind flooded with memories of playing with Seth in here for hours and hours.
"Oh no," she whispered to herself as the gravity of what she'd just done finally hit her. All of this - all of their lives, their memories - were about to be erased. Regina had promised she'd remember, but she wasn't sure that was true. Even if it were, what good would that be?
Wouldn't remembering when no one else did be the real curse.
"Emma hurry!" Seth pleaded, "we have to hide."
"Wait, Seth," Emma started, shaking herself back to reality as she turned to him, and her eyes widened as she realized he was standing in front of the enchanted wardrobe.
"We can hide in here," he said, smiling encouragingly as he took a step inside.
"Seth, no!" Emma cried, but it was too late. The moment he stepped inside, the door snapped shut behind him. Emma ran over and pulled it back open, only to find it was empty.
"Seth," Emma choked out, tears filling her eyes and she dropped to her knees in front of the empty wardrobe. "Seth I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
She let her head fall against the edge of the wardrobe, tears falling onto the wood inside. She had no idea where Seth would end up, but it occurred to her that he would be the only one who remembered. He'd never heard the story of the curse or the enchanted wardrobe, and wondered if he'd even know what to do when he ended up in the new realm.
She lifted her head and looked toward the window. There was nothing but purple smoke now, and she knew it was only a matter of moments before the curse would overtake them. There was no time to find her parents and say goodbye. She couldn't follow Seth through the wardrobe, because she knew it only took one. So she sat, staring at the floor, and hoping that her magic would be enough to at least preserve everyone's happy endings in the new land.
Storybrooke, present day
Emma sat on the floor in her room, her back against the side of her bed, while Seth sat beside her, rearranging the things inside his shoebox treasure chest. She had apologized profusely for how everything had gotten messed up, and she'd tried to explain that it was dark and she couldn't get everything back in there the way he'd had it, but she also knew that organizing his treasures was probably the only thing that kept his mind off of their father and the accident, so she just sat with him, and let him do his thing.
Their mother had gone back to the hospital, and had promised that Emma could go later, and Emma knew that she likely wanted a chance to buffer any bad news she got when she finally got to speak to the doctors without Seth present, so she'd agreed to stay home and babysit.
"I'm glad you're okay, you know," Emma said, glancing at Seth, who didn't look up from the box.
"I was like, super worried," Emma continued, when Seth didn't answer. He'd been acting stranger than normal since he'd gotten home, but it wasn't like him to ignore her completely.
She sighed, leaning the back of her head against the bed, when suddenly Seth spoke.
"What's this?" he asked, holding a small object up.
Emma looked down. "I dunno. Looks like a… tiny scroll. It's not yours?"
Seth shook his head.
"Can I see it?"
Emma gasped as Seth placed the object in her hand, as she felt a wave of something wash over it.
"What's wrong?"
Emma shook her head. "I don't know. Just got a feeling of like… déjà vu or something. Weird." Emma turned the scroll over in her hand, examining it carefully. She still had no idea what it was, but whatever it was, it felt important. "You know, kid, I think this belongs to one of my friends. It's uh… a prop, from the play… they're doing downtown. At the church. The church play."
"Emma, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Emma shook her head. "Yes. Yes, I'm okay. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"Okay. You're sure that's a prop. From the church play?"
Emma nodded quickly, shoving the scroll into her pocket. "Yeah, it's… uh… I don't know, something biblical. Biblical scroll. Must have ended up in my bag accidentally or something, and then in the dark, Regina and I must have put it with your stuff."
"Regina," Seth repeated, looking down at the treasure box again, a new expression of concern washing over his face as he seemed to forget about the scroll completely.
"Yeah. She came here with me last night, so I could get some stuff."
"I don't think you should spend time with her."
Emma let out a small laugh. "What? Why?"
Seth shrugged. "I don't think she's a good person. I don't think you can trust her."
"Seth, she's the mayor. We've known her our whole lives. We'd know by now if she wasn't a good person. And I just spent, like, I don't even know how many hours alone with her. I think I'd know if she was a good person or not."
Seth looked at Emma with solemn eyes. "I don't think you can tell the difference."