Present Day
Well, it is a new day and apparently, Emma has decided to stay. This does not please me…not one bit. Emma’s arrival has caused the clock tower to move. That morning while Mary Margaret is having her breakfast she notices it. Henry has been sitting in pajamas watching it all night. I do not think anyone else has noticed it yet.
I am in a bad enough mood already. I have spent most of the night going through Henry’s fairy tale book trying to figure out exactly what he knows. When I finally get towards the end, I see this sneaky little child has ripped the last pages out! Intent on finding the underlying cause of this I confront the boy. He holds his ground and has the nerve to tell me I am not his mother. I am the only mother he has ever known! I sense he has more information he is not telling me. This is when I took notice the clock tower is moving. I am not only tired but also angry.
The hands on the clock move to 8:23. I am not sure if there is any significance to that. I find out Emma is staying at Granny’s so I decide to pay her a little visit. I want her gone and out of my way. We end up in an uneventful argument. She wants a war and I am certainly the one to give it to her. When I finish with her, she will wish she left town when I told her too.
Later I meet with Sidney the reporter who will write anything for the right price. Sidney is the face in my magic mirror back in Fairy Tale Land but of course, Sidney does not remember. All Sidney has to tell me is some sob story about how Emma bounced around foster homes growing up. I am disgusted. This is not what I paid for. I want something better than that. I instruct Sidney to find more.
Meanwhile, at Granny’s Diner, Emma thinks Sheriff Graham bought her a nice warm drink. She discovers the drink is from Henry. They come up with this silly plan called Operation Cobra to thwart my plans. Emma still does not know what to think when Henry tells her that all the residents of Storybrooke are all fairy tale characters frozen in time who cannot remember who they really are. He tells her no one here ages and their memories never make any sense. Henry then gives Emma the missing book pages and tells her how she is the child of Snow White and Charming. He warns her to keep these pages away from me so that I never see them. Emma does not believe a word of this but she walks Henry to school. Emma asks Mary Margaret how to find Henry’s doctor.
Emma decides to continue butting into our lives by visiting Archie’s office. She all the sudden cares and wants to know why is Henry in therapy. Archie tells her that every time I have tried to get closer to Henry it just pushed him away further and he uses stories to communicate. Of course, Emma blames me, and not herself, for abandoning him as a child. He hands over his file to let her take it and see it. She leaves and he phones me…just as I had instructed him to do so.
Graham stops by Emma’s room to ask about the file. She confirms she has it and he arrests her for stealing it. Archie said she took the file, and she says he gave it to her. She claims she is set up but he arrests her anyway. While Emma is detained, I go to see Henry to convince him she is no good. I try to convince him she stole his file from Archie’s office but he does not believe me.
Henry later arrives at the jail with Mary Margaret. They bail Emma out. Once released, Emma shows up on my property and proceeds to deface my apple tree!
I retaliate by forcing Granny to remove Emma from her bed and breakfast. Perhaps with no place to go she will finally get lost. I demand of Graham to arrest Emma for what she has done to my beloved tree. It is government property after all! Graham seems to have an idea I set up Emma and tells me if I keep at this the one who will get hurt is Henry. After finding a boot on her car, Emma comes by to squash things with me. Knowing Henry will be arriving any moment I get her to open up. She tells me how she is concerned about Henry’s mental state. He overhears this, as planned, and is furious with her.
Your move, girlie.
A sad Emma drops by Mary Margaret’s to say good-bye and offer money for bailing her out. Mary Margaret talks her into staying.
Ugh, so close!!
Anyhow, Emma then stops by Archie’s office to interrupt Henry’s session. She tells him she is staying because of him and makes him believe she only told me she did not believe in the curse to throw me off. He is delighted by this and she is back in his good graces. He rewards her with a hug.
Mr. Gold later pays me a visit to let me know Emma is still hanging around and was seen having a stroll with Henry. Mr. Gold was actually the one who got Henry for me and now wants to know how I picked out his name. I ask him where he got Henry from and question what he knows about Emma. He plays coy and tells me I should know who she is. I block his path as he tries to leave. I hate being evaded. He does not answer my questions and asks me to move with a simple, “please.” I know when to stop with Mr. Gold so I move out of his way and let him pass.
Back in Fairy Tale Land…
We flash over to the spectacle I am causing at the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming. After a long rant of how I will destroy their happiness, Charming has been antagonized enough. He throws a dagger at me. I disappear in smoke without being hit. It could never be that easy. My valet appears at my castle and gives me a drink so I may calm down. I am probably shaking with rage. I hate Snow White. My Mirror tells me that I traded the Dark Curse away. I decide to go to the Forbidden Forest to get it back. I have to take care of this so I can feel better.
I arrive at Maleficent’s castle. She is very beautiful and looks a little like the character Pam on True Blood, but that is another story. Anyhow, I find her at her castle with her pet unicorn and her staff she always carries. It has a big orb at the end of it. After some small talk, I get to business. I tell her I want my curse back. She reminds me how I traded it for her Sleeping Curse. I respond by telling her what a worthless curse it is. It did not hold back Sleeping Beauty forever and it sure as hell did not hold back Snow White. She refuses to give me back my Dark Curse even though her worthless Sleeping Curse is easily broken by a mere kiss.
This eventually turns into a battle of sorcery. Even though she is a dark character herself, I still defeat her. I break open the orb on her staff and take back what is mine. I leave her pinned to the wall as I exit the castle.
Sorry my old friend.
Armed with the curse I set out to the darkest part of the forest to set it in motion. As I enact it, my minions dance around. The curse fails! How could this be? My valet suggests that I visit the one person who may be able to give me some answers. I hate to deal with him but…
Here we go. Off to see Rumpelstiltskin for some enlightenment, if you will. I find out some rather interesting information. Apparently, Snow White and Charming also sought answers from him. He tells me their unborn child can defeat my curse. Again, Snow White is standing in my way! He also reminds me that all curses can be broken. I know this already. After he has me docile, he tells me I must sacrifice the heart of the thing I love most. I stand there for a moment considering if I could really go that far. Do I hate Snow White enough? Do I want everyone punished for how they have made me suffer? How far do I really want to take this?
I return home. I am unsure and uneasy. I am sad. The valet asks me what I have learned from my visit. I quietly tell him I must cut out the heart of the thing I love the most. He knows what I am saying. After all, the Valet is my father. He tells me that I do not have to do this. I can let things go and move on. If only it were that simple. I am consumed by destroying Snow White. I do not know if I can back off but I am weighing out the options. My father tries to comfort me. He is surprised as I kill him. I feel it is the only way. As he slumps to the ground I tell him I am sorry.
I take my father’s heart and feed it to the fire. The curse finally begins to take effect. As the sky goes dark, I visit my father’s fresh grave and place a black rose on it. I tell him I love him. His gravestone reads, “Henry. Beloved Father.”
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