Ruby

"I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna screw it up. I mean, I'll screw up with flair, but..."

- Ruby to Emma Swan

Ruby is a recurring character on Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is played by guest star Meghan Ory, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of Red Riding Hood.

Ruby is a rebellious young woman who lives in the town of Storybrooke, Maine. Her grandmother owns Granny's Bed and Breakfast, a bed and breakfast nook, and Granny's Diner, where she works.

Early Life
Prior to meeting Emma Swan, Ruby was a rebellious young woman who had plans to get out of Storybrooke and move to Boston. However, these plans were halted by her grandmother's sudden heart attack, and Ruby had been working at Granny's Diner to make ends meet ever since.

Season One
Ruby is first introduced in the Pilot episode, when she and her grandmother are arguing. They see Emma and fall silent. After Mr. Gold collects the rent, Emma inquires about him, Ruby says that he owns all of Storybrooke.

The next day, during her shift at Granny's Diner, she brings Emma a cup of hot chocolate and tells her that someone bought it for her, Emma turns around to see Sheriff Graham, and instantly assumes it's him. Ruby is often seen working around in the diner scenes, particularly in The Price of Gold, where Emma confronts her in hopes of discovering the location of the missing Ashley Boyd.

Ruby is fiercely protective of her friend, so distracts Emma by directing her to Ashley's ex-boyfriend Sean Herman's house, claiming that he would know where she is. This was actually a ploy to get buy more time for Ashley, as Ruby let her use her car to escape to Boston.

Later, when Henry Mills and Archie Hopper are trapped in an abandoned old mine, Ruby is one of the townspeople who helps out with the rescue effort .Throughout the rescue scenes, Ruby is seen flirting with Billy in front of his tow truck.

Ruby proves to be very helpful when David Nolan starts acting strange and goes missing, Ruby is able to locate him. In this way, Ruby proves her talent of finding lost things.

Later Ruby gets into a fight with her grandmother and storms off. Unable to find a job anywhere, she thinks about leaving storybrook. This is where she runs into Emma at the bus stop while ignoring Dr Wale. Emma offers her a job after seeing her helping a townsfolk over the phone in the sherriff's office, Emma enlists Ruby to work as her assistant. Once on the tasks force she asks Ruby is to go to the Toll Bridge, since that was where David was found after he woke up from his coma and escaped the hosptial, to see if she can find anything. She ends up finding a box which contains a human heart. Ruby then quits working for Emma and goes back to the diner. She and Granny reconcile, and Granny explains that she merely wants Ruby to take over the business when she retires.

In Skin Deep Ruby goes out with Mary Margaret Blanchard and and Ashley Boyd for a girls' night out. There, Ashley is proposed to by Sean.

At the near end of The Stable Boy, Emma and August hear a scream in town. They find a shaken up and frightened Ruby, who can only muster to tell them, "She's in the alley." As Emma goes to investigate, she discovers what Ruby saw--a very much alive and breathing Kathryn--lying in the alley wearing the same outfit she was last seen in; now very dirty.

Ruby was walking with her grandmother when Emma broke the curse with true love's kiss, presumably returning her memories of her true identity.

Trivia

 * The name Ruby refers to the red gemstone.
 * Has a red wolf key chain hanging from the rearview mirror of her red car that she says brings her good luck.
 * She is close friends with Ashley Boyd.
 * Ruby still has wolf traits that allow her to have better hearing and sense of smell.
 * Ruby is only other person in Storybrooke, besides Emma Swan and David Nolan, who did not scorn Mary Margaret when her affair with David was revealed to the entire town, due to Ruby's friendship with Mary Margaret and her own flirtatious personality.
 * It is possible Ruby's red cloak keeps her from turning into the wolf in Storybrooke, although she still has her wolf senses as shown in Red-Handed. It is possible that the dark curse also turned Ruby into a normal human, just like everyone else. If this is the case, it is possible that Emma's presence is bringing out Ruby's inner wolf, which could be a downside to breaking the curse.
 * Ruby is notorious for her provocative clothing. She is typically recognized if she's leaning over a counter. She wears gothic style makeup, bright red streaks in her brown hair, and always has red somewhere in her outfit, aluding to her past as Red Riding Hood. Ruby is rebellious and flirtatious on the outside but is caring and lacking in self confidence on the inside. After she discovers Kathryn's heart and she visits her grandmother to reconcile with her, her clothing is simpler, which may allude to the fact the discover has matured her. She is seen in less revealing clothing afterwards.

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