Page 1 of 1

02x15 - The Queen Is Dead

Posted: 03/05/13 11:06
by bunniefuu
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–

(A young Snow White enters the main chamber of the castle, where Queen Eva is consulting several women. Snow White is dressed in a pink, sparkly ball gown.)

Queen Eva: Let’s be certain she’s seated as far away from the Duke as possible, for the Duchess’ sake.

Woman: Yes, ma’am.

(The women leave.)

Snow White: Do you like it?

Queen Eva: Oh, my dear Snow. You are an absolute vision. You are going to be the talk of the ball, and not just because it’s for your birthday.

(They hug briefly.)

Queen Eva: Come. I can hardly believe you’re growing up so fast. Which reminds me… I have a gift for you. It was my mother’s once, and her mother’s before that. And soon, it will be yours.

(In another room, a diamond tiara sits in a padded box. Johanna picks it up and places it on her head, then admires herself in the mirror. However, Queen Eva and Snow White enter and catch her in the act. She quickly removes the tiara.)

Queen Eva: Johanna.

Johanna: Oh! Oh, Your Majesty. Oh, please forgive me. I just wanted to see-

Snow White: How dare you? That’s mine. It’s not for a servant.

Johanna: It was my mistake.

Snow White: Servants don’t wear crowns.

Queen Eva: Enough.

Johanna: I’m sorry, Your Majesty-

Queen Eva: No, I was talking to Snow.

Snow White: Me?

Queen Eva: I thought I raised you better than that, Snow. It doesn’t matter whether one is a servant or royalty. Everyone in the kingdom deserves our love and respect.

Snow White: But she took my tiara-

Queen Eva: She apologized. And it isn’t yours yet.

Johanna: Your Majesty, it’s alright.

Queen Eva: You’re kind, Johanna, but Snow must learn. My dear, we are all the same.

Snow White: But I thought we were royals.

Queen Eva: We are, but that doesn’t make us better than anyone else. The upcoming ball, for instance – can you tell me what it’s for?

Snow White: It’s to honour me on my birthday.

Queen Eva: No. It’s for you to honour them, by showing them you will be a kind and benevolent leader when that time comes. Please.

(Johanna hands the tiara to Queen Eva.)

Queen Eva: When you are crowned with this on your birthday, it will be a symbol that you will always hold goodness in your heart and rule justly. Now do you understand?

Snow White: I do, mother.

(Queen Eva hands the tiara to Snow White, who then walks over to the mirror. She does not put it on.)

Snow White: It’s beautiful.

Queen Eva: And it’s heavier than it looks.

(Suddenly, Queen Eva gasps in pain and her knees buckle beneath her. Johanna rushes to support her.)

Johanna: Your Majesty!

Snow White: Mother!

Queen Eva: I’m fine.

Snow White: No, no. You’re not.

(Johanna eases the Queen into a chair.)

Johanna: Come. There. I’m getting the doctor.

(Johanna quickly exits the room.)

Snow White: Mother…

Queen Eva: I’m fine, dear.

–[Storybrooke]–

(At Mary Margaret’s apartment, Mary Margaret looks in the mirror and reminisces, while David cooks breakfast behind her.)

MMB: What are you doing?

David: I’m making breakfast.

MMB: Why?

David: I’m hungry.

MMB: You think I don’t know what you’re doing? We talked about this. We had a deal.

David: I know. I know. But, with the curse broken, I thought maybe you would change your mind.

MMB: Well, I didn’t. What’s this?

(She gestures to the table, where there is a wrapped gift with a card attached.)

David: Birthday present.

MMB: No, I told you…

David: It’s not from me!

MMB: No one else knows.

David: Apparently, someone does, and they also think you should celebrate. It was left outside the door this morning.

(Initially ignoring the card, she opens the gift. Inside, there is the diamond tiara.)

David: What is it?

(Mary Margaret lifts the tiara out of the box and begins to tear up.)

David: I thought that was lost when the curse hit.

MMB: So did I.

(She spots the card and opens up the envelope, handing the tiara to David. Inside is a card that says ‘Thinking of you today. -Johanna”.)

MMB: Johanna.

David: I didn’t know she was in Storybrooke.

MMB: Neither did I.

David: After the curse, you were gone for a while. We’re all still finding each other. It hasn’t been easy.

MMB: I have to go.

(Mary Margaret takes the tiara back from David and goes to grab her coat.)

David: Okay. Hey… Happy Birthday.

(They kiss.)

MMB: Thank you for understanding. You should go. It’s getting late. You have to go to work.

David: I know. I just… I just wish this day made you happier.

MMB: I know. But we both know it can’t.

(Mary Margaret exits.)

———–

(David arrives for work at the Sheriff’s station. As he’s hanging up his coat, he is briefly distracted by a noise. While his attention is elsewhere, Hook ambushes David and hits him in the head with a crowbar, knocking him unconscious. Hook takes David’s keys.)

Hook: Apologies, mate, but I think you have something of mine.

(Hook unlocks the drawer of the desk and discovers his hook inside. He unscrews the fake hand he was using as a substitute, and replaces it with his hook. He then leaves.)

———–

(Johanna is planting a small flower garden in her backyard. Mary Margaret approaches her.)

MMB: Johanna?

Johanna: Snow…

MMB: It’s ‘Mary Margaret’, here.

Johanna: No. You will always be my dear Snow.

(They embrace.)

MMB: I never thought I’d see you again. Or this.

(She takes the tiara out of her bag and holds it up.)

Johanna: Oh. I came across it in Mr. Gold’s shop, and I knew how much it meant to you. I knew you had to have it.

MMB: Thank you. I haven’t seen those flowers in a long time.

Johanna: They reminded me of you. Because they could survive the harshest winter, and you were born during the harshest one of all.

MMB: That’s why she named me Snow.

Johanna: I thought keeping this garden would be a nice way to honour her.

MMB: It is.

Johanna: I miss her, too. Oh, you…

(Johanna wipes a tray off of Mary Margaret’s cheek. Suddenly, a noise is heard coming from the woods behind them.)

Johanna: What was that?

MMB: Stay here. I’m sure it was nothing.

Johanna: Snow…

MMB: No, no, please. Please, just stay here. I’ll be right back.

(Mary Margaret goes to investigate, while Johanna stays behind. In the woods, Mary Margaret comes across Regina and Cora. Regina is digging a hole, while Cora stands off to the side watching.)

Cora: And you’re sure this is where we’re supposed to dig?

(Regina consults the map.)

Regina: Yes. Hook marked it clearly. Rumpelstiltskin’s dagger is here.

Cora: Unless, Hook lied to us.

Regina: Well, then this map is useless. Gold is the only one who can translate it.

Cora: Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. Hook could’ve saved us a lot of effort with honesty, but, the truth is, we don’t need anyone. I can reconstruct the map. It’ll just take a bit more time. And when we find it, I promise you, I’ll use that dagger to force the Dark One to k*ll anyone you like.

———–

(Mary Margaret arrives at the sheriff’s station.)

MMB: David?

(She finds David bleeding and unconscious on the floor. She rushes over to him and frantically attempts to wake him up.)

MMB: David! David?! David! David!

(David comes to and groans.)

MMB: What happened?

David: Hook. He ambushed me.

(She helps David up.)

MMB: Are you hurt?

David: I’m fine. It’s not me he wants. It’s Gold…and his hook. Yeah, I’m going to enjoy throwing his ass in jail.

MMB: Hook isn’t the problem, David.

David: Tell that to my head.

MMB: It’s Regina. She’s been lying to us. She’s working with Cora to find Gold’s dagger.

David: The dagger controls him. If Cora gets it, she can force Gold and all his power to do her bidding.

MMB: Or… Become the Dark One herself.

David: Neither one of those options sounds good. Lucky for us, we can call the man himself. He’s with Emma.

MMB: Tried it. Sent a message.

David: Well, we can’t just wait.

MMB: No, we have to buy time until they call us back or return.

David: How?

MMB: Regina. She doesn’t trust her mother. Never has. If we can put some doubt in her about Cora’s motives, it might slow them down.

David: And you think she’ll just trust you?

MMB: Well, she doesn’t need to trust me. She just has to listen to me. And I know how to get her to do that.

–[New York]–

(Neal, Henry, Emma, and Mr. Gold walk down a street in New York. Neal and Henry are talking, while Emma and Mr. Gold trail behind them.)

Neal: So, uh… You like pizza?

Henry: Yeah. Let me guess – you’re going to tell me the best pizza’s in New York, and I got to try it, right?

Neal: Actually, it’s in the Kingdom of Damarian on the north shore of the Dragon Fields of Zorn. Nah, it’s in New York. Here, let’s get you a slice.

Henry: So you’re really from there?

Neal: Yeah, I am.

(The two of them enter the pizza shop. Emma and Mr. Gold stand outside.)

Emma: Do you think that we should…

Mr. Gold: If we were welcome, I feel confident an invitation would have been extended. It’s a sad truth that the people closest to us are the ones capable of causing us the most pain. That’s our common ground, Miss Swan.

Emma: Guess my lying to him just caught up with me.

Mr. Gold: Ah, give him time. He’ll forgive you.

Emma: Is that you projecting your own hopes?

Mr. Gold: My son and I have some way to go.

Emma: I can see that.

Mr. Gold: I need you to speak to him. Try and convince him to come back to Storybrooke with us.

Emma: If I recall, there was only one favour I owed you, and I think I’m paid up.

Mr. Gold: This isn’t about me anymore. You’ll do it for Henry.

Emma: How do you figure that?

Mr. Gold: Well, because if you don’t, you’re going to wake up one morning, and discover he’s hopped on a bus back to New York. He ran away to Boston to be with you. He’ll do the same thing for his father.

Emma: Until Neal lets him down – which he will. It’ll be a hard lesson, but then at least Henry will understand that I lied to protect him.

Mr. Gold: Someone’s beginning to sound a lot like Regina. I think the real reason you lied was to protect yourself.

Emma: What’s that supposed to mean?

Mr. Gold: From getting hurt again.

Emma: That’s not happening.

Mr. Gold: You want a second chance with that man.

Emma: What makes you think that?

Mr. Gold: The look on your face.

Emma: You have no idea what…

(Neal and Henry exit the pizza shop and join them.)

Neal: What are we talking about?

Henry: Emma, Neal wanted to show me the museum. Do you think we can go back to the apartment and get my camera?

Neal: Yeah, well, I… Kids like culture, right?

Emma: Sure. Yeah, that’s fine. You like the New York pizza?

Henry: Yeah. It’s delicious, cheesy, and doesn’t lie.

–[Storybrooke]–

(Regina enters Granny’s Diner, where Mary Margaret is waiting for her in a booth. Regina stands across from her.)

Regina: So, how is Henry? Is he okay?

MMB: He’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Regina: What’d he say?

MMB: I didn’t actually talk to him.

(Regina sits down.)

Regina: Then why am I here?

MMB: Because I know you’ve been lying. And I thought it was time we talk about it.

Regina: I don’t know what you’re talking about-

MMB: No, no, no, no. No more lying. I know you’ve been with your mother. I know you’re looking for the dagger.

Regina: What I’m doing is my business.

MMB: There’s a w*r starting, Regina.

Regina: That much is clear, yes.

MMB: Lucky for you, you’ve earned enough good will with me to give you one last chance – a chance to choose the right side… The side of good.

Regina: Have you ever considered that maybe, perhaps… I am good? I was always the Queen. It was you who added ‘Evil’ to my name.

MMB: Good doesn’t do what you do. Why? Regina, why go back to being this way after how hard you tried?

Regina: And what did it get me? Dinner with a bunch of hypocrites who pretend they’ll forgive me, when in their hearts, they know… They never will. You’re giving me a chance? How about I give you one? Stay out of my way.

(Regina gets up to leave.)

MMB: Listening to your mother is a mistake, Regina.

Regina: Because listening to you will work out so much better.

MMB: She doesn’t care about Henry. All she wants is power.

Regina: Power is how you get things.

MMB: She doesn’t care about you.

Regina: Really? And what would you know about mothers?

(Regina exits.)

–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–

(Queen Eva is now bedridden due to her illness. A doctor checks her over, while Snow White and Johanna watch by the side of the bed.)

Snow White: Do you know what’s wrong with her?

Doctor: Not yet, my dear. But I have hope that we shall know soon.

Snow White: Then she’ll be alright?

Queen Eva: Snow…

Snow White: Mother!

(Snow White goes to her mother’s side.)

Doctor: You should call for the King immediately.

Johanna: W-what… What message shall I give him?

Doctor: That whatever business he’s attending to can wait. He should be at his wife’s side.

Snow White: We’ll cancel the ball, and turn it into a celebration once you’re better.

Queen Eva: We can’t cancel your birthday. It’ll be fine. I will be well by then. I want to see you walking in that tiara.

Snow White: I don’t care about my birthday. All I care about is you.

(Suddenly, Queen Eva begins coughing. She calls for Johanna through the hacking.)

Queen Eva: Johanna.

Johanna: Snow. Let’s leave your mother alone? It’s alright. She needs her rest. Come.

Snow White: Mother?

(Johanna leads Snow White away. The doctor returns to Queen Eva’s side. When she pulls back her handkerchief, it is covered in blood.)

Snow White: What’s going to happen to her? Is she going to die?

(The two of them embrace. Snow White cries against Johanna’s shoulder.)

Johanna: Shh… I don’t know.

Snow White: I don’t want to lose her.

Johanna: We must hope the doctor-

Snow White: He doesn’t even know what’s wrong with her. How can we place hope in him? There has to be something that can save her.

Johanna: Maybe there is.

Snow White: How?

Johanna: If medicine can’t cure the Queen… Perhaps magic can.

Snow White: Magic?

Johanna: Yes. Your mother has a confidant – someone few know about. Someone schooled with the most powerful of magic. I’m not really supposed to even know of this.

Snow White: Please, Johanna.

Johanna: There is a benevolent fairy who can grant a person’s wish, if their heart is true.

Snow White: Mine is. I swear. Where do I find this fairy?

Johanna: Tonight, go into the woods where the sky is clearest. Wish upon the blue star… And she will appear to you.

–[New York]–

(In New York, the group walks back to Neal’s apartment. Henry and Mr. Gold are talking, while Emma and Neal trail behind them.)

Henry: So, should I call you grandpa, now?

Mr. Gold: Call me whatever you’d like.

Neal: He’s a good kid.

Emma: Yeah.

Neal: Hey, I’m trying my best here.

Emma: I know. We all are. It’s just, we’re going to have to go back. To our home.

Neal: I’m just getting to know him.

Emma: Then maybe… Maybe you should come with us.

Neal: To Storybrooke?

Emma: I’ve seen your apartment. You don’t got a lot going on here.

Neal: Looks can be deceiving. Listen… There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. It’s complicated.

Henry: So, Neal, do you think we can take the subway?

Neal: Yeah. Sure, of course. Let’s go get that camera.

(They arrive at Neal’s apartment and the four of them enter the lobby.)

Henry: Come on.

Neal: Here. I got it.

(Neal unlocks the door. He and Henry head for the apartment, while Emma and Mr. Gold stay behind.)

Neal: So after this, maybe Times Square?

Mr. Gold: So, uh, did you talk to him?

Emma: He said it’s complicated.

Mr. Gold: Oh, I see.

Emma: Well, maybe he just needs some time. I don’t know.

(Suddenly, Hook ambushes the two of them in the lobby. Hook hits Emma, knocking her to the ground. He then lunges for Mr. Gold and pins him against the wall. Hook then proceeds to s*ab Mr. Gold in the chest with his hook.)

Hook: Tick tock. Time’s up, crocodile. You took Milah, my love, my happiness. And for that, I now take your life.

(Emma, regaining her senses, grabs something (I can’t tell what it is) and hits Hook over the head with it. Once Hook is knocked unconscious, she rushes over to Mr. Gold, who is now slumped on the floor.)

Emma: Gold, are you alright?

(Neal hears the commotion and enters the lobby.)

Neal: What the hell is going on?

Emma: One of your dad’s enemies found us.

Neal: Hook.

Emma: You know him?

(Neal checks Mr. Gold’s wound. When he pulls his hand away, there is blood on his fingers.)

Neal: Papa?

(Neal brings Mr. Gold up to his apartment, where Henry is still waiting, and lays him on the couch. Emma enters.)

Emma: Found a storage room and locked our s*ab-happy pirate in there. Shouldn’t be causing anyone else any problems. And get this – he had a map on him. It looks like he sailed his ship here.

Neal: How’d he get a pirate ship into New York?

Emma: It’s cloaked. Don’t worry. He’s not going to hurt any of us.

Henry: But is Mr. Gold going to be okay?

Neal: Henry, he’s going to be fine.

Henry: Mr. Gold, are you alright?

(When Henry approaches Mr. Gold, Mr. Gold grabs him abruptly.)

Mr. Gold: You stay away from me. You caused this. You brought us back here. You did this.

(He releases his grip on Henry. Emma brings her cell phone over to Henry.)

Emma: Hey, kid. The battery’s dead. Go in the other room and see if you can find a charger, okay?

Henry: Okay.

(Henry exits the room.)

Neal: Oh, man… We got to get him to an ER, fast.

Mr. Gold: It’s pointless.

(Mr. Gold’s wound has turned a yellow-green colour.)

Emma: What the hell is that?

Mr. Gold: It’s poison. It’s one of Hook’s own making. There’s no antidote in this world. It’s… It’s not from here.

Neal: Hey, hey, hey, hey. There’s got to be some way we can save you.

Mr. Gold: There is, there is.

Emma: Storybrooke. There’s magic there now. We need to get him back.

Neal: I’ll get a car.

Mr. Gold: No, no, no. There’s not enough time. We need something faster. The Captain’s ship.

Emma: The Jolly Roger instead of a car?

Mr. Gold: It’s the fastest vessel in all the realms.

Emma: Well, that’s great, but who’s going to captain it, since the only guy qualified wants you dead?

Neal: I can do it.

Mr. Gold: Bae?

Neal: Yeah. I can do it.

Emma: You know how to sail a pirate ship?

Neal: Yeah. I do.

–[Storybrooke]–

(Mary Margaret and David drive to the convent, where they meet with Mother Superior outside.)

MMB: Mother Superior! We need your help.

Mother Superior: I know. Something’s wrong. I sense a great deal of dark magic has been expelled.

David: That’s why we’re here. Cora and Regina are trying to find Gold’s dagger.

Mother Superior: So they may control The Dark One.

MMB: We’re hoping your magic will find the dagger first. Please, Mother Superior, you’re our only hope.

–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–

(It’s nighttime. Snow White is wandering in the woods with a lantern. She scans the stars in the sky.)

Snow White: Is that the star? …Or is it that one?

(The Blue Fairy appears.)

Blue Fairy: Worry not, Snow White. I have found you.

Snow White: The Blue Fairy. I knew you’d come, but… I didn’t even make my wish yet.

Blue Fairy: Well, I know when I’m needed. Your mother, the Queen, is sick.

Snow White: Yes. And if you don’t help her with magic, she’ll die.

Blue Fairy: I can tell that you love your mother very much, Snow White. But fairy magic is the purest magic of all. And, alas, cheating death is the darkest of undertakings.

Snow White: Please… You can’t just let her die.

Blue Fairy: It is the way of the world.

Snow White: There has to be something you can do.

(Snow White notices the Blue Fairy’s demeanor change.)

Snow White: Yes. There is. You’re just not telling me. What is it? Please.

Blue Fairy: I may be able to conjure a remedy using a type of magic that is forbidden to fairies, except under the most dire of circumstances. You must promise to keep this a secret. No one must ever know.

Snow White: Yes. Yes, anything. Just help her.

(Snow White extends her hand. The Blue Fairy magically conjures an odd looking candle, which appears in Snow White’s hand.)

Blue Fairy: This candle is infused with magic that can save your mother’s life. But all magic, especially magic this powerful, comes with a price.

Snow White: What is it?

Blue Fairy: In order for one to live… Another must die.

Snow White: I don’t understand.

Blue Fairy: To salvage a life beyond hope means breaking the laws of nature. So if you are to save a life, then you must lose one in return.

Snow White: But who must die?

Blue Fairy: That is for you to decide. You must hold this candle over the heart of your sacrifice and whisper their name. And, when the candle is lit, that person’s life will be traded for your mother’s.

Snow White: All she ever wanted was for me to be good. I can’t trade someone else’s life for hers.

Blue Fairy: Then I’m afraid she will die.

–[New York]–

(Everyone is still gathered in Neal’s apartment. Neal takes out his cell phone and texts someone.)

Emma: What are you doing?

Neal: Getting us a car.

Emma: I thought you were suddenly a pirate and were going to take a ship.

Neal: Yeah, well, we still got to get his ass to the ship.

Emma: So you know Hook?

Neal: It’s a long story. Short version, is this world wasn’t my first stop when I left home.

Emma: No?

Neal: If it was, I’d be a couple hundred years old by now.

(Neal’s cell phone rings.)

Neal: That should be our ride. Hang tight.

(Neal answers his phone and leaves the room. Henry then enters with Emma’s cell phone.)

Henry: Emma, you need to see this.

Emma: What is it, kid?

Henry: It’s a text from David and Mary Margaret. You need to read it – now.

(Henry hands the phone to Emma. She reads the text from Mary Margaret.)

Emma: Bad news, Gold.

Mr. Gold: What, worse than incurable poison?

Emma: I don’t know. You tell me. You got a dagger hidden somewhere in Storybrooke that’s the source of all your power?

Mr. Gold: Get to your point.

Emma: Cora’s after it. The only way to stop her, is have David and Mary Margaret get to it first.

Mr. Gold: Yeah, let Cora try.

Emma: You can’t seriously be willing to risk this. Not with your son coming back with you to Storybrooke.

Mr. Gold: Miss Swan, that dagger has not left my possession for centuries. It’s not about to now.

Emma: Here’s the thing. You’re dying. And right now, we are your best hope. Time’s come for you to start trusting someone. And, if I were you, I’d start with family.

–[Storybrooke]–

(Mary Margaret, Mother Superior, and David are standing outside of Mr. Gold’s shop. Mother Superior, using her wand, attempts to magically break through the protective barrier. However, her magic isn’t strong enough. The wand burns her hand and she drops it to the ground.)

Mother Superior: Ah! He’s cast a protection spell.

MMB: Well, then we need to try something equally powerful.

David: Dark magic?

Mother Superior: Dear, you don’t know what you’re saying.

MMB: Cora can’t get that dagger. If dark magic is the only thing that can break that protection spell, we need to make an exception and use it. Just like you told me once before.

Mother Superior: What… I never told you any such thing.

MMB: Look, I kept your secret.

(Mother Superior looks insulted by Mary Margaret’s insinuation. David’s cell phone then rings.)

David: Everybody hold on.

(He answers the phone.)

David: Emma? He told you where it is?

(David looks to the town clock.)

–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–

(Snow White runs down the halls of the castle until she reaches her mother’s chamber. She rushes to her bedside as Johanna, the doctor, and several attendants watch.)

Snow White: Mother… I’m sorry. I’ve done an awful thing.

Queen Eva: Snow? What is it?

Snow White: I went to the Blue Fairy and begged her to help… To save you with magic. But what she gave me? It… It was dark magic. A candle that could restore your life by taking away someone else’s. It was the only way… But I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry. I could’ve healed you. But I was too afraid.

Queen Eva: Snow… That wasn’t fear. That was strength… Strength, to resist darkness. I am so proud of you.

Snow White: But now you won’t get better.

Queen Eva: We all reach a moment in our lives, where we are not meant to get better. And with or without me, someday… You will be a great queen.

Snow White: Please… Don’t leave me.

Queen Eva: As long as you hold the spirit of goodness in your heart, I shall never leave you.

(Queen Eva draws her last breath, and then dies.)

Snow White: Oh, no… No…

(Johanna approaches Snow White, and pulls her into a hug as she cries.)

–[Storybrooke]–

(David and Mary Margaret climb up the clock tower until they reach the clock itself. David takes off a pane of glass and looks inside.)

David: It’s here! A clever hiding place for a very clever man.

(David detaches the dagger from the hand of the clock and hands it to Mary Margaret.)

MMB: We did it.

David: The Dark One finally can be controlled.

(Cora and Regina magically appear in a puff of purple smoke.)

Cora: Indeed he can be. But by whom?

MMB: Cora…

David: You’re too late.

Cora: Actually, it seems that we found you just in time.

MMB: I told you to pick your side carefully. Good has won, just as it always does.

Cora: I think the day’s finally come, my darling Snow, for you to learn a long overdue lesson.

(Cora waves her hand and Johanna magically appears.)

MMB: Johanna!

Cora: You see, in the end, it isn’t good or evil that wins… But power.

(Regina magically sticks her hand through Johanna’s chest and pulls out her heart.)

Regina: Your choice.

–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–

(Johanna and Snow White, both dressed in black, are in one of the rooms at the castle. Johanna lifts the diamond tiara out of its box.)

Johanna: It’s time, Snow.

Snow White: Today was supposed to be a day of celebration.

Johanna: And the kingdom needs you more than ever. They will find strength through your goodness.

Snow White: Where will I find my strength?

Johanna: Where you always have – from your mother.

(Johanna hands the tiara to Snow White, who then proceeds to place it on her head. Snow White looks at herself in the mirror.)

Snow White: She was right. It is heavy.

———–
(The citizens of the kingdom have gathered for the Queen’s funeral. Snow White enters and walks down the aisle between the people towards where Queen Eva’s body lies on a raised platform.)

Snow White: I miss you…so much.

(She places a flower on top of the Queen’s body. Snow White steps down to the floor and turns to face the altar. Everyone in the room then kneels. Snow White closes her eyes, and, eventually, is the only one left in the room. Johanna enters and touches Snow White’s shoulder.)

Johanna: It’s over, my dear. It’s time to let her go.

(Snow White stands and the two of them exit the room. When the coast is clear, the Blue Fairy flies in, whom then transforms into Cora.)

Cora: I hate that outfit. Don’t know how that fairy stands it.

(Cora approaches the altar.)

Cora: As for you… Poison looks good on you. And death is most certainly your colour.

(She picks up the flower that Snow White left.)

Cora: You raised her well. My daughter doesn’t love me the way yours does you. Snow would’ve been a great ruler someday, but that’ll never happen, because my daughter will be Queen. And all yours will be left with is knowing how I’ve felt… How it feels to be the Miller’s daughter. I’ll turn Snow White’s heart black as coal. That candle won’t be her final test. And once I’ve darkened her soul, it won’t just be you I’ve destroyed. It’ll be your legacy.

(Cora kisses two of her fingers and places them on Queen Eva’s lips.)

–[Storybrooke]–

(The face off is still happening in the clock tower.)

MMB: Do not harm her. She has nothing to do with this.

Cora: Of course she does.

Johanna: Whatever they want, Snow, don’t give it to them.

Cora: Quiet, handmaid.

(David draws his g*n.)

Regina: Mother, watch out.

(Cora magically knocks the g*n out of his hand.)

Johanna: Leave me, Snow!

(Regina begins to squeeze Johanna’s heart, causing her to yell in pain.)

Cora: Enough of this. Surrender the dagger. We all know you’ll follow your mother’s example, no matter the cost. All she ever wanted was for you to be good.

MMB: Those words… Where did you hear those words?

Cora: Where do you think?

MMB: The Blue Fairy made me swear never to speak of that candle again. Not because it was a secret… But because it wasn’t her.

Cora: The dagger, dear.

MMB: She didn’t give me that candle. You did. My mother wasn’t sick at all, was she?

Cora: Oh, she was quite sick.

MMB: You did all of this. You k*lled my mother!

Cora: Actually, the candle would’ve worked. You could’ve saved her.

MMB: But you knew I wouldn’t. Why? Why did you take her from me?

Cora: To make my daughter the Queen.

Regina: Hand over the dagger.

MMB: No. No. I will not let you win. Not again!

Cora: You’ve already lost your mother. How many connections to her do you have left? Not many, I’d wager.

David: If we give up the dagger, we can still win.

Johanna: Let me go, Snow. It’s alright.

(Regina squeezes Johanna’s heart again.)

Cora: What would she say if she could see you now? If she wasn’t dead.

(Regina continues to squeeze Johanna’s heart. She yells out again in pain.)

Cora: The dagger, dear.

MMB: Enough!

(Mary Margaret throws the dagger to the ground, and Regina releases her grip on Johanna’s heart. Cora magically summons the dagger to her hand.)

Cora: Such a good girl.

MMB: You have what you came for.

(Regina puts Johanna’s heart back into her chest. Johanna then rushes over to Mary Margaret and David.)

Cora: Not quite everything.

(Suddenly, Cora magically throws Johanna through the face of the clock, causing her to fall to her death. Mary Margaret looks out and is devastated by what she sees. David attempts to comfort her.)

Regina: Well, there you go. You see where good gets you?

(Regina and Cora magically apparate away in a puff of purple smoke.)

———–

(Regina and Cora arrive at Regina’s mayoral office. Cora sits in the chair behind the desk and lays the dagger in front of her.)

Regina: It’s nice to be back. Hiding is quite wearisome

Cora: I like what you’ve done with the place.

Regina: I’m so happy you approve.

Cora: What is it, my love? You’re troubled.

Regina: You never told me about your history with Snow’s mother.

Cora: I spared you that burden, like any good parent would do.

Regina: You didn’t think I deserved to know exactly what it took for me to become Queen?

Cora: Now you know.

Regina: That day at the stables, when I rescued her? That wasn’t an accident, was it?

(The scene flashes back to the past in Fairy Tale Land. A young Evil Queen is reading a book, when Cora interrupts her.)

Cora: Regina, sweetie, it’s time for your riding lesson.

Evil Queen: Mother, I have no lesson today.

Cora: Oh, I thought you’d be happy. I arranged for you to have more time with Rocinante.

Evil Queen: Of course. Thank you. I’ll send the stable boy for my saddle right away.

(Regina in the present gives commentary as the scene continues. A young Snow White and Johanna are shown riding on horseback in the woods. They are with King Leopold and his entourage.)

Regina: You made sure I’d be in the pastures when Snow rode past.

Snow White: I’m so tired of these endless journeys.

Johanna: Your father, the King, is a lonely man. But have faith. Someday, his wanderings will end.

Regina: You had to make sure when I met Snow White…

(Suddenly, Snow White’s horse is spooked and it takes off through the forest. Cora is shown hiding behind a tree.)

Regina: Her father would be searching for a new Queen.

(The Evil Queen and Daniel are shown meeting by the stables. A distressed Snow White rides past.)

Snow White: Help me! Help!

Evil Queen: Shh. Someone’s here.

Snow White: Someone help me!

(The scene returns to the present.)

Cora: And what does this knowledge change for you?

Regina: That you won, mother. I am the Queen. And, if that’s what you wanted so badly, why do you need Rumpelstiltskin’s dagger now?

Cora: You’re worried my interests are no longer aligned with yours.

Regina: My only interest now is Henry.

Cora: And I’ve told you – you’ll have him.

Regina: But how? Now that Mary Margaret and David know we have the dagger, we can’t use Gold to k*ll them without Henry finding out.

Cora: Have patience, my love. By the time Rumpelstiltskin returns, Emma Swan and the rest of them will be nothing more than a vaguely unpleasant memory. And Henry, will be yours.

–[New York]–

(In New York, Emma and Neal are walking to the car that Neal has arranged for.)

Neal: It should be one more block west.

Emma: Once we get the car, what do we do about Hook?

Neal: I don’t know. He made his way to New York. I’m sure he could make his way out of a basement. You have a problem leaving him behind?

Emma: Actually, I’ve done it before.

Neal: Great.

Emma: I have to admit, after some of the things you’ve said, I’m surprised you’d rally to his side like this.

Neal: There’s a difference between running away from your father, and watching him die in front of you. He may be a monster, but he’s my blood.

Emma: What happens when he’s healed?

Neal: I don’t know. Forgiveness ain’t something I think is possible with him.

Emma: But somewhere inside you, you hope someday, it will be.

Neal: Life’s full of surprises, isn’t it?

Emma: Well, no matter what, it’ll be nice for Henry to be around you a little bit, even if it is just for a visit.

Neal: Here’s our car.

(Neal runs over to a grey car, and grabs a set of keys from behind the wheel.)

Emma: Please tell me we are not going to hotwire this thing.

Neal: No. Uh… It belongs to a friend.

Emma: That’s a generous friend.

Neal: Yeah, about that. Um… We need to finish our conversation from earlier. There’s something you need to know about me before we get on the ship.

(A woman, Tamara, calls out to Neal and runs up to them.)

Tamara: Neal! Thank God I caught you.

Neal: What are you doing here?

Tamara: I don’t know. I… Maybe I got a little worried after talking to you. You can’t just say you’re… Leaving town for a while.

Neal: Hey. Yeah, listen. Everything’s fine, okay? I promise.

Tamara: Great, sweetie. Just tell me what’s going on.

Emma: Neal?

Tamara: I’m Tamara.

(Tamara and Emma shake hands.)

Emma: Emma.

Neal: She’s my fiancée.

–[Storybrooke]–

(Mary Margaret and David are at the graveyard. Mary Margaret plants flowers on top of Johanna’s grave.)

David: It was a beautiful service.

MMB: That never should’ve happened. Johanna was an innocent.

David: You can’t blame yourself. You did the best you could do in an impossible situation.

MMB: And yet, Regina’s family mausoleum remains untouched.

David: Mary Margaret…

MMB: I’ve had the same rule my entire life – hold on to goodness. It’s what my mother taught me. How many more lives is following that lesson going to take away from me?

David: You can’t let Cora make you lose faith in who you are – someone who does the right thing. You know, that’s exactly what she wants.

MMB: I made the ‘right’ decision, when I stopped Regina’s execution all those years ago. When it could’ve saved us all of this heartache. I made the ‘right’ decision, when I sent Emma through the wardrobe alone, and we didn’t see her first steps. I made the ‘right’ decision, when I let my own mother die from Cora’s poison.

David: And we keep b*ating them.

MMB: At what cost? All I want is our happy ending. It’s time. We’ve earned it. No more lives lost. No more hearts broken.

David: The dagger… It’s useless until Gold returns to Storybrooke. We have time. We’ll get it back. And when we do, we can bring Cora and Regina to justice.

MMB: I don’t care about justice anymore. We keep thinking that people will change. What if that’s wrong? What if I’m the one who has to change?

David: Change how?

MMB: I’m going to k*ll Cora.

–[End]–