Enchanted Hearts

"Now, it belongs to me. You see, when you take a heart, it becomes enchanted. Stronger than a normal heart. You're not hurting the beast. You're controlling it."

- Rumplestiltskin to Regina Enchanted Hearts are magical items featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. They are first mentioned in the second episode. One first appears in the seventh episode of the first season.

When powerful magic users rip people's hearts out, the hearts become enchanted with magic. Thus, the one who possesses the individual's heart has complete control over the victim's actions.

Before the Curse
On board Killian Jones' pirate ship, Milah shows Rumplestiltskin the magic bean, and throws it to Jones. Rumplestiltskin then confronts Milah about leaving Baelfire. She admits she was the coward, and that she let her misery cloud her judgment. He asks why she was so miserable and she states, “I never loved you!" Rumplestiltskin becomes angry and rips her heart out before he crushes it, thus killing her. Jones says, "You may be more powerful now, demon, but you're no less a coward!" Rumplestiltskin requests what he came there for, (the magic bean) and Jones refuses to give it to him. Rumplestiltskin, therefore, cuts off Jones' hand. Jones grabs a hook and stabs Rumplestiltskin with it, but it does not kill him. Jones then promises that he will find a way to kill him. Rumplestiltskin smirks, and says, "Well, good luck living long enough". ("The Crocodile")

Many years later, Cora manages to catch Regina and Daniel before they run off together. After a small struggle, Cora seems to understand the love Regina has for him. Cora and Regina appear to have reconciled, and they hug. Cora then hugs Daniel afterwards and speaks a few words of her own wisdom concerning how a parent always wants what is best for their child. Seconds after these words, she rips out his heart, and crushes it, killing him. ("The Stable Boy")

Rumplestiltskin teaches Regina how to rip a black unicorn's heart. As she won't do it, he does so and kill the beast. A short time after that, Regina interrupts Rumplestiltskin and his new apprentice, Trish. She rips Trish's heart to prove that she deserves to be taught the Dark Arts. ("The Doctor")

The Evil Queen's guards capture the Huntsman and bring him to the Evil Queen, who gives him a proposition. She wants him to kill someone for her, and promises many large rewards in exchange. The Huntsman reveals that he was brought up by wolves, and he wants her to promise him that the wolves would be protected. She agrees, and he asks her who he wants her to kill.

Later, he is walking with Snow Whitethrough the forest, disguised as one of the Evil Queen's men. However, Snow White sees through his disguise, kicks him, and runs away. He takes off some of the burdensome armor and chases after her. He quickly finds her in the middle of the forest, writing a letter to her step-mother. She asks him to give the letter to the Queen when she is dead, and he reads the letter. The letter's contents are so emotional it makes him cry, and he fashions a whistle out of a twig for Snow White to use whenever she was in trouble. Snow White then runs away, and he takes the heart of a deer for the Queen instead.

He returns to the Dark Palace and gives the letter to the Queen, telling her that it was from Snow White. She wants nothing to do with it, but he reads it to her anyway. Halfway through, she rips it from his hands and throws it into the fireplace. Upon further inquiry, she reveals that Snow White betrayed her trust by revealing a well-kept secret. Then she demands Snow White's heart.

The Huntsman gives her the heart of the deer and they go to the Queen's chamber of hearts. She holds the heart up, but when none of the containers open, she realizes that she has been betrayed and that Snow White is still alive. Furious, the Queen turns on the Huntsman and takes his heart as a replacement for Snow White's. She threatens that he was hers now, and if he ever crossed her again, all she had to do was squeeze. She demonstrates, and the Huntsman collapses on the ground in pain. The guards come into the chamber of hearts and she orders them to take him to her bedroom. The Huntsman is dragged out, helpless and trapped. ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")

As the Evil Queen needed the Heart of the thing she loved most, she ripped her father's heart out and cast the Dark Curse. ("The Thing You Love Most")

After the Curse
In Storybrooke, Regina catches Emma and Graham searching for Graham's heart. Graham breaks his affair off with her and, after a fight between Regina and Emma, heads for the station with Emma. Unknown to them, Regina has descended into the chamber where all of her captured hearts are held. She takes Graham's heart and starts squeezing it slowly turning it to dust.

Back at the station, Graham apologizes for Regina's behavior and kisses Emma again. After he pulls back, he smiles and says he remembers everything. Before Emma can ask what he means, he suffers a fatal "heart attack" and dies in her arms. ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")

Cora appears in what remains of the safe haven and removes one box and takes out a pulsing red heart. In response, several of the other boxes start to glow red. She steps outside and commands the corpses outside to rise. Several of the dead bodies rise up as a result and head off into the forest.

Aurora sleepily awakens sometime later and finds herself face to face with Captain Hook standing over her. She is immediately on guard, but Hook informs her that he is helping her to escape to foil Cora's plans. Aurora does not believe him at first, but Hook states that it is true, and for Aurora to tell Emma that she should have trusted him all along. Aurora thanks him and runs from the dungeon. She later meets up with her companions in the woods just as Mary Margaret is about to slice Mulan's throat open. Aurora orders her to stop, and helps Mulan up. Aurora then tells them how she escaped, what Hook said, and asks what they will be doing next. Unbeknownst to the group, Aurora is shown to be under Cora's complete control as she is holding Aurora's heart in her hand, which was taken from Aurora by Hook while she was unconscious. Later, Cora comes down to find the cell empty and Hook standing there by himself. He tells Cora that he let Aurora go. In a rage she flings him up against the wall and binds him with rock manacles. She rips out his hook and moves to cut his chest open with it, but Hook then tells her to look in his satchel, saying that he has brought Cora a present. Cora looks inside and gasps at what is there. It is then revealed that what was inside was the heart of Aurora that was ripped out by Hook. Cora uses the heart to control Aurora, and can see and hear whatever is going on. ("Into the Deep")

Still under Cora's control, Aurora throws a rock at a lever, trapping herself, Mary Margaret, Mulan, and Emma inside Rumplestiltskin's cell, when they realize that the jar of ink is empty. When they find the parchment with the Ink written on it and use it to escape, Aurora feeling Cora's control over her made her to dangerous, asked to be tied up and left behind.

In the middle of the battle at Lake Nostos, a satchel containing Aurora's heart nearly falls into the portal but it is saved by Hook. After Cora and Hook are defeated and Emma and Mary Margaret return to Storybrooke, Mulan takes Aurora's heart back to the Dungeon and puts it back inside her. ("Queen of Hearts")

Effects

 * The user can crush the enchanted heart, killing the victim.
 * The user has control over the victim's actions and speech.

Characters Who Can Rip Hearts Out

 * Rumplestiltskin, because he is the Dark One.
 * Cora, because Rumplestiltskin taught her.
 * Queen Regina/Regina Mills, because Rumplestiltskin taught her.
 * Captain Hook's hook was enchanted by the Evil Queen so that it can rip one only heart. (Tried to use on Cora, failed) (Used on Princess Aurora)

Characters Who Can Put Hearts Back in Chests

 * Victor Frankenstein
 * Dr. Whale
 * Mulan

Characters With Hearts Ripped Out

 * Milah (by Rumplestiltskin) ("The Crocodile")
 * Cora (by herself)  (Mentoned in "Queen of Hearts")
 * Daniel (by Cora)  ("The Stable Boy")
 * Unnamed Black Unicorn (by Rumplestiltskin)  ("The Doctor")
 * Trish (by the Evil Queen)  ("The Doctor")
 * The Huntsman (by the Evil Queen)  ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")
 * Henry (by the Evil Queen)  ("The Thing You Love Most")
 * The Safe Haven's inhabitants (by Cora)  (Mentioned in "The Doctor")
 * Aurora (by Captain Hook)  (Mentioned in "Into the Deep")

Characters With Restored Hearts

 * Gerhardt (by Victor Frankenstein)  ("The Doctor")
 * Daniel (by Dr. Whale)  ("The Doctor")
 * Aurora (by Mulan)  ("Queen of Hearts")

Characters With Crushed Hearts (Deceased)

 * Milah (by Rumplestiltskin)  ("The Crocodile")
 * Trish (by the Evil Queen)  ("The Doctor")
 * Sheriff Graham (by Regina Mills)  ("The Heart is a Lonely Hunter")
 * Daniel (by Cora)  ("The Stable Boy")

Characters Still Alive Without Hearts

 * Cora  (Mentioned in "Queen of Hearts")

Ways to Break the Spell

 * Victor Frankenstein found a way to put enchanted hearts into dead bodies, giving new life to those who have died from the spell.  ("The Doctor")
 * At least Mulan can put Aurora's heart back inside her chest.  ("Queen of Hearts")

Appearances
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