Once upon a time, an evil queen
banished every storybook character you've ever known
to our world.
Who knows the truth and who can break the spell?
You don't play with the curse.
- My book. - Why'd you bury it here?
So my mom doesn't find it.
When people are supposed to be together,
they find a way.
The reason I go to Granny's is to see you.
You're gonna tell him you don't love him.
- Or you'll kill me? - I'll kill him.
My book! It's gone!
Princess Abigail,
your beauty grows with each passing day.
It is an honor to have you join my family.
Thank you, your majesty.
Let's go!
Is everything okay?
Just the excitement of the royal wedding.
We want to ensure the safety of our guests.
So if you'll excuse me...
Find him.
Go around! Go!
Split up!
Chicken's delicious.
David, there's something we need to discuss.
Okay.
I applied to law school.
That's amazing.
Why didn't you ever tell me?
I don't know.
Maybe 'cause I didn't think I could actually do it,
but I did.
I got this today.
I got in.
It--it's in... Boston.
I know things have been hard between us,
but maybe a fresh start is what we need.
Maybe we've been fighting too hard
to recapture old memories
when we should've been making new ones instead.
Who are you?
What are you waiting for?!
Do you think I fear you?
Abigail?
What are you doing here?
I wanted to get my hands on you
before your father ripped you to shreds.
How did you know I was going...
Because I have ears in the king's court.
And despite everyone's best efforts to shield me from it,
I know the truth.
You love Snow White...
and you have no intention of marrying me.
I won't marry someone I don't love
or give that despot the satisfaction that I helped him.
If that means suffering the consequences,
so be it.
You're prepared to lay down your life.
How charming.
But I didn't come here to see you die.
I came here to help you escape.
Why would you do anything to help me?
Because I don't want to marry you either.
What did you tell her?
That I needed to take a walk, clear my head,
think about it.
I'm guessing you didn't tell her that the walk was with me.
No. No, of course not.
Why is that our default?
Lying.
- Because I don't... - We're not being honest.
I know it's hard, but...
We have to tell her the truth about everything,
about us.
I don't know if I can.
You have to.
If we can't be honest with other people,
how can we be honest with each other?
Is it really the best plan?
What's your plan?
Moving to Boston?
No.
The only way no one gets hurt here
is if we don't want to be together.
Is that what you want?
No.
Well, then we have to stop hiding and do something.
It's better she hears it from you than from someone else.
You have to make a choice.
I choose...
you.
Then it's time to tell Kathryn.
I've been meaning to bump into you.
Matter of fact, I was hoping
we might grab that drink you promised.
Is that you asking me out?
Well, if putting a label on it makes you more comfortable, sure.
Let's call it a date.
I thought you came here to write, find inspiration.
I'm optimistic about our date.
See, I have a policy.
I won't go out with guys who won't tell me their names.
I find it weeds out the ones who like to keep secrets,
like they're already married
or they store body parts in their freezer.
It was nice talking to you.
It's August.
August W. Booth.
Really? With the middle initial?
W's for Wayne.
So there goes your reason for not meeting me here after work.
Who was that?
I don't know yet.
"Yet"? So you're going to find out?
It's nothing.
Nothing with you means something,
because if it were nothing, we wouldn't be talking about it.
I'm sorry. I thought you called me here
to talk about you.
Yeah, but talking about you is easier right now.
What is it? What's going on?
Remember when you told me to stay away from David
and I agreed?
Yes.
I didn't.
Yeah, I know.
You do? How?
Because I'm sheriff,
and you are a lovesick schoolteacher.
Covering your tracks is not exactly your strong suit.
Well, I've been discreet... discreet.
Two teacups in the sink,
new perfume, late nights, plunging necklines--
It was not hard to connect the dots.
Plunging?
When I met you, you were a top button kind of girl.
Why didn't you say anything?
I'm not your mother.
No.
According to Henry, I'm yours.
I just figured that you would let me know when it was time.
I'm assuming it's time.
He's telling Kathryn.
Everything?
Everything.
David?
David, come take a look.
I found a whole bunch of great apartment options.
I have no idea which neighborhood to look at, but--
Have you ever been to Boston?
No. No, I've never been.
Maybe we should ask the sheriff, Emma.
She's from there. She could probably help--
Kathryn.
I can't go to Boston with you.
Can't... or won't?
I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry.
I don't know what to say.
Try the truth.
David, is there something going on that I don't know about?
No.
No, something happened.
I don't know what it is,
but there is something that's preventing me...
from connecting,
and it's not fair to you to let that screw up your life.
You're right. You need a fresh start.
It's just not with me.
We've reached my father's realm.
We should be safe here.
I have provisions waiting for you.
I can't take any of it,
not until you tell me what's really going on.
- I told you, I was just - Stop playing games.
If you have no feelings for me, as you've said,
why show me any kindness at all?
What haven't you told me?
This isn't about you, James.
It's me.
I don't want to marry you
because my heart also belongs to another--
a man I was once to wed...
a man named Frederick.
What happened?
We all have our own tragedies--
lost love being the worst.
I thought reuniting you with yours
might grant me some consolation.
Well, I'm afraid I'm not able to help you, then.
My "Love" told me in no uncertain terms
that she does not feel for me as...
I do for her.
You can't fight for something that doesn't exist.
So... there is my tragedy.
That's so tragedy.
Come.
Follow me.
A moment, please.
This is where my beloved Frederick sacrificed his life.
I'm sorry.
Did he die in battle?
We were traveling with my father, King Midas.
When our caravan was ambushed,
Frederick bravely defended us
and was cut down saving my father's life.
It's a fitting tribute.
The craftsmanship is-- is remarkable.
I've never seen anything quite so lifelike.
That's because the hand you're touching is actually Frederick's.
Excuse me?
It's not a statue.
Frederick saw the attack when no one else did
and threw himself in front of my father,
knocking him to safety.
Because of my father's curse,
he was instantly turned to gold.
All curses can be broken.
Have you tried true love's kiss?
Until my lips bled.
The gold got in the way.
There must be something else to do.
There is legend of a lake.
Lake Nostos.
Its waters are said to have magical properties
that can return to you something that was once lost.
And yet you haven't tried it?
Of course I have,
But the lake is guarded by a ghastly creature
that drowns its victims.
No one who's ever faced it has lived to return.
Don't give up hope just yet.
I will face this guardian
and return with the water that will undo this wretched curse.
None have succeeded.
None have my fearless bravery.
Or fearless disregard for their own safety.
Either way,
one of us should have our happiness.
And if you die, neither of us will.
No, not true.
Don't you understand? If I succeed,
you will be reunited with Frederick and your misery ends.
If I fail,
the misery that ends will be mine.
Oh, go on. Open it.
What's the occasion?
The occasion is I love you.
Go on.
Now I know you miss your book, but with this,
you can do the heroics.
You can save the princesses.
You can be the hero.
Henry, you have to believe me.
When I tore down the playground, I did it for your safety.
Please don't be upset with me.
I really didn't mean to destroy your book.
It's not just the book.
Okay. Then what is it?
It's Emma.
I want to see her.
Regina, you got a min--
I'm sorry.
Oh, don't worry about it.
Henry, why don't you get home and start your homework?
I'll be there in a bit, and we can have dinner.
Oh, Kathryn, what is it?
It's David.
He's leaving me.
That little homewrecker.
Excuse me?
She just couldn't stay away, could she?
What are you talking about?
Why, Mary Margaret, of course.
What's Mary Margaret got to do with this?
What's Mary Margaret got to do with any of this?
Regina, do you know something?
They've been having an affair.
How do you know this?
How? Did you see something?
I... saw pictures.
Sidney was always looking for scandal.
It sells papers. He showed me.
I buried them of course.
Show me.
- Kathryn-- - Show me.
Why didn't you tell me?
Because I thought you two were working it out.
I wanted you to work it out.
Believe me, I want you two together.
Why?
Why do you care about any of this?
Because I'm your friend.
No, you're not.
A friend wouldn't do this.
A friend wouldn't lie.
Everyone is lying to me.
What's this?
It's a shrine to the guardian of the lake.
Every man who faces it leaves an offering here first,
asking for the creature's mercy.
I go the rest of the way alone.
No, this is for me. You have to let me come with you.
No. The only life I want in my hands is my own.
Good luck then.
And don't forget...
A lot of good it did them.
Hey. Did, uh,
Did you do it?
Yeah. It's bad.
I'm sorry.
No, it was, um...
it was really bad.
But you told the truth,
so now we can pick up the pieces.
We can start over from a real place.
Hey. I wanna see you.
Can I come by when you get done at school?
Of course. I'll see you then.
And, David, you did the right thing.
Oh! Hey. Watch where you're going.
Kathryn.
I'm...
I'm sorry.
Screw you, you're sorry.
I understand you're upset.
- You have every right to be. - Thank you for that insight.
Can we please talk somewhere private?
Private?
Why do you get any consideration at all?
You have shown none for me--
either of you. All you did was lie!
We should have talked to you sooner,
but we've been completely honest. We didn't lie.
You didn't lie?
You snuck around.
You have him break up my marriage with a pack of lies,
with some crap about not being able to connect?
He didn't have any trouble connecting with you.
David didn't tell you about us?
No. Of course not.
That would have been the honorable thing to do.
But he said he would tell you.
Well, then he lied to you, too.
Good luck making it work.
You two deserve each other.
Where are you?
Make yourself known to me.
Beast!
Show yourself.
Here I am.
You're gonna come in?
I thought you wanted that drink.
I do, but I didn't say here.
Hop on.
You want me to get on the back of that bike?
That's what "Hop on" Means.
How about if we go somewhere, I drive?
How about you stop having to control everything
and take a leap of faith?
You owe me a drink. Hop on. I know a good watering hole.
If you don't, I will.
A watering hole, literally?
Well, say what you want about me.
I always tell the truth.
I just thought a drink was, like, wine or whiskey.
What, do you want me to get you drunk?
No.
Next time.
You are optimistic.
They say there's something special about this well.
There's even a legend.
They say that the water from the well
is fed by an underground lake,
and that lake has magical properties.
Magic? You sound like Henry.
Smart kid.
So this legend--it says that
if you drink the water from the well,
something lost will be returned to you.
You know an awful lot about this town for being a stranger.
And you know very little for being the sheriff.
How do you know all this? You've been here before?
I know all of this for one very simple reason.
I read the plaque.
You actually believe that?
I'm a writer. I have to have an open mind.
Yeah, but magic?
Water is a very powerful thing.
Cultures as old as time have worshipped it.
It flows throughout all lands, connecting the entire world.
If anything had mystical properties,
if anything had magic,
well, I'd say it'd be water.
That's asking a lot to believe on faith.
If you need evidence for everything, Emma,
you're gonna find yourself stuck in one place for a long time.
Maybe.
Or maybe I'll just find the truth before anyone else.
Well, Ms. Skeptic,
there's one thing I can tell you for sure
that requires no leap of faith,
and I know you'll agree with me.
What's that?
It's good water.
- What's wrong with her? - I don't know.
-Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. I didn't-- - Excuse me.
I must not have been looking.
Oh. You.
Excuse me?
You should be ashamed of yourself.
What's your name?
Would you like to know mine?
Because I can be anyone you want me to be.
Stop.
I know what you are. You're a siren.
Your deceitful words are a spell meant to lure me to my death.
I would never hurt such a brave, powerful man like yourself,
not when there are so many other things we could do.
I said stop.
I will not fall prey to your deceptions.
Really?
You're immune to me.
Like me more now, Charming?
No. You're not really her.
It's an illusion.
I know it's not real.
Sometimes illusions are better than truth.
Everything you want
that you can't have...
I can give it to you.
All you have to do...
is kiss me.
I know you want to. I can feel it.
No.
I don't want an illusion.
I want reality or nothing.
This doesn't feel real?
Snow...
Oh, that's right.
It's me.
I love you.
No.
No. It's not you.
Yes, it is. I love you.
No. This is not real love.
I've felt it, and this isn't it.
I know the difference.
Congratulations, Prince Charming.
You're the first.
Who did this?
I don't know.
I'm sorry. I don't know how any of this happened.
You don't know?
- Really? - Mary Margaret,
I can't control what other people do.
No, but you can control what you do,
and you lied.
And now everyone is calling me a tramp.
Who told her?
That is exactly the wrong question.
The real question is why didn't you do what we discussed?
Why didn't you tell her?
I thought we could spare her feelings.
Right. You thought.
Not we. You.
And we discussed this.
I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
Now everyone is hurt.
We had an understanding.
We had an agreement.
But you not only lied to her,
you lied to me.
Mary Margaret, please. Listen to me.
If we want to see if-- if this--
if what we have is love...
We have to do what you said.
We have to pick up the pieces, and we gotta move on.
David, this isn't love.
What we have is something else entirely.
What we have is destructive,
and it has to stop.
Come.
What are you saying?
That we shouldn't be together.
It's beautiful.
I had no idea you were so good with plants.
Better than with people, it would seem.
What are you doing here?
I thought after what happened yesterday,
I'd be the last person you'd want to see.
So did I.
And then I thought about it,
and I realized I owed you an apology.
Kathryn, you don't...
I know you would never do anything to hurt me.
I was just so angry
and confused, and I snapped.
I'm sorry.
I've just been fighting so hard to hold on to David,
I've never stopped to ask myself why.
He's your husband.
You love each other. You always have.
No.
We haven't.
See the way he looks at her?
He's never looked at me like that,
not even before his accident.
Kathryn, relationships take work.
You can't give up so easily.
Have you ever been in love?
Yes.
Once.
Then you're lucky.
Because what I'm coming to understand is...
is that I haven't.
What they have is real. It's true.
My marriage to David--
it just was like an illusion.
I don't know how it happened, but it was never real.
I know that now.
The way David looks at Mary Margaret...
that's what I want for me...
And I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna find it.
What are you talking about?
I'm sticking to my plan. I'm moving to Boston...
Alone.
If I stay here, I'll never be happy.
And what about David?
I wrote him a letter--
him and Mary Margaret.
I told them they should be together.
Uh, I'm sorry. You did what?
I can't see him, not now.
It's just too painful.
I'm gonna miss you, Regina.
You've been a good friend to me.
You're really going?
You know, it's funny.
I've always had this irrational fear of leaving Storybrooke,
like something just was holding me back. Is that crazy?
No.
Change is always frightening.
But you know what, Kathryn?
This just may be what you need.
Maybe you'll find what you're looking for.
Water from Lake Nostos,
as requested.
Remarkable!
But how did you manage to slay the beast?
Oh, the fate of your true love was at stake,
and it was a battle I couldn't afford to lose.
Abigail, what happened to me?
You were trapped, but now you're free.
This is James.
He's the one who freed you.
I am forever indebted to you.
Well, pay me back by walking down the aisle...
with someone you truly belong with.
And perhaps giving me a horse and supplies for a journey as well.
Done.
Thank you...
so much.
Where will you go?
To find Snow White.
You are going after her.
True love isn't easy,
but it must be fought for,
because once you find it,
it can never be replaced.
How will you know where to find her?
Well, a bird helped me track her down once.
Hopefully, it can again.
Well, then good luck.
Oh, and, James, please make haste.
When King George discovers
that the union of the kingdoms has been ruined,
he will come after you.
Some people will stop at nothing
to destroy the happiness of others.
Wow! I love that game.
"Space Paranoids," right?
Yeah. My mom got it for me.
I used to play that all the time when I was a kid.
Relax. It's all in the wrists.
My mom's picking me up in, like, five minutes.
All right, I'll be quick then.
I just have something I'd like to give you.
You found it! Where'd you get it?
I found it in a gutter.
It must have fallen off the dump truck on the way to the junkyard
and got tossed around in the rain
and somehow made its way back to me.
Wow. That's crazy.
What other explanation could there be?
I don't know.
Well, whatever happened,
it came back to me.
Maybe it means our luck is changing.
Operation Cobra is back on.
It's a sign.
Things are gonna be better.
I hope you're right, kid.
I gotta go.
Snow!
Snow White!
Snow!
Are you there?!
She's gone.
She never came back after she went to find you.
Then I'll find her.
I will always find her.
And I will convince her that we belong together.
I will always fight for her, no matter what comes between us.
It won't be much of a fight.
What are you talking about?
Snow wants to be with you more than anything.
Don't mock me.
Snow told me that we can't be together
because she doesn't love me.
She left here to break up your wedding
because she's in love with you.
Unless something changed her mind along the way.
Not something.
Someone.
James?
Who are they?
That's someone. King george.
Bring me his head!
Come on!
Hyah!
You feel like talking about it yet?
Nope.
You wanna be alone?
Nope.