Ruby

"Regina thought she was punishing us by erasing who we were, but I think she underestimated how much crap we wanted to forget. But, we can't let it stop us. She gave us a chance to start over, and I wanna take it. I think you should too."

- Ruby to Dr. Whale

Ruby is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is portrayed by starring cast member Meghan Ory, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of Red Riding Hood.

History
During the early days of the Dark Curse, Ruby often has argumentative disputes with her Granny over getting the early waitressing shift at Granny's Diner. Granny's response usually remarks upon that Ruby should have not stayed up partying so late. Her rebellious nature goes in hand with her wild style of fashion and makeup; usually clad in a red themed outfit with a lot of skin showing.
 * -|During the Curse=

Ruby has plans to get out of Storybrooke and move to Boston. However, these plans are halted by her grandmother's sudden heart attack, and Ruby has been working at the diner ever since. One evening at the inn, Ruby and her grandmother are, as usual, in a middle of an argument, but fall silent when they see Emma, who is looking for a room to stay in for a week. Ruby watches the entire exchange as Emma is checked into a guest room, and when Mr. Gold arrives to collect the monthly rent from Granny. After he departs, Emma inquires about him, and Ruby says that he owns all of Storybrooke.

During her shift at the diner, Regina's son Henry stops by to request a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon for Emma. Ruby hands the order to Emma at the counter, and mysteriously states that she has an admirer. Emma turns around to see Sheriff Graham, and assumes he is trying to flirt with her. When she goes to reject his advances, Henry acknowledges he sent the hot chocolate, and then invites her to walk him to school.

Ruby is clearing some diner tables for the evening while in a dangerously short mini-skirt paired with a top showing off her belly. Unbeknownst to Ruby, Dr. Whale begins ogling her figure, which causes Mary Margaret's date with him to end on a bad note. As she passes their table, Mary Margaret asks her for the dinner bill.

When Emma spills a drink all over herself, Ruby hurries over with a wiping towel and directs her to the back laundry room. Once there, she meets a pregnant maid named Ashley and inspires change in the expectant mother's life. Ashley comes to Ruby after she has stolen back adoption papers from Mr. Gold's pawnshop with a desperate wish to leave town and raise the baby as her own. Willing to help a friend, Ruby lends Ashley her own car. She complies with Emma's round of questioning in an investigation to find the missing Ashley. Ruby only states that Ashley has a stepmother and stepsisters she doesn't speak to as well as an ex-boyfriend who abandoned her while pregnant. Later, Emma returns to confront Ruby of withholding information. She is finally forced to confess when Emma realizes Ruby's car is missing. Later, Ashley is tracked down by Emma and gives birth to a healthy baby girl.

Ruby helps out in the rescue effort when Henry and Archie Hopper are trapped in an abandoned old mine. Throughout the rescue, she flirts with Billy in front of his tow truck.

Ruby serves Sheriff Graham drinks in the diner as he shoots darts and watches as he confronts Emma.

Days later, Ruby goes out with Mary Margaret and Ashley Boyd for a girls' night out. While Ashley passes up on flirting with any guys, Ruby goes over to the bar and begins chatting with them. In the same evening, Ashley is proposed to by Sean.

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

Ruby chats with August Booth in the diner one day, and slacks off from her job a bit. Granny wants to train her to take over the business one day, which Ruby does not want. They get into yet another argument, and this time Ruby quits and storms off. Unable to find a job anywhere, she thinks about leaving Storybrooke. She packs up her things and heads for the bus stop where she rebuffs Dr. Whale's advances. Emma and Mary Margaret come across the scene; to which Dr. Whale leaves. Since she has nowhere to stay on her own, Mary Margaret allows her to room in the apartment until she finds her footing. She is offered a job by Emma after seeing her helping a townsfolk over the phone in the sheriff's office and enlists Ruby to work as her assistant. Once on the tasks force, she asks Ruby to go to the Toll Bridge, since that was where David was found after he woke up from his coma and escaped the hospital, to see if she can find anything. She ends up finding a box which contains a human heart. The encounter traumatizes her, although Emma praises her for her skill in locating things. 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.

Emma and August hear a scream in town and 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 Nolan—lying in the alley in dirtied up clothes.

Ruby is walking alongside with her grandmother on the street when the Dark Curse is shattered by the power of Emma's true love's kiss. She regains memories of her former life in the Enchanted Forest.

After Emma Swan breaks the Dark Curse and restores the memories of the townspeople, Ruby reunites with Mary Margaret Blanchard, David Nolan, and the Seven Dwarves, now recognizing them as Snow White and Prince Charming. After stopping the townspeople from harming Regina Mills, she agrees to look after Henry for Emma. Later that night, she and Henry stop by the town hall to witness Regina threatening David, who is tied to the wall by her magic. They leave with David after Henry learns of Emma and Mary Margaret's disappearance into a portal.
 * -|After Broken Curse=

Ruby takes charge in the aftermath of the Wraith attack, which has left the town damaged and the people shaken. The people gather in clusters at the town hall, and she directs them where to go whether they need beds or counseling. Mother Superior is helping out as well, and she mentions her concern for the townspeople in their current predicament. Ruby reassures her that their prince is working on something.

David is spotted speaking to Henry outside of town hall later on, and everyone—Ruby included—rushes to him with their requests that need immediate attention. He asks for Mother Superior, and discusses the possibly of using fairy dust on the tree that brought Emma into this world so many years ago through the magic wardrobe, but there is none available. Leroy comes to bring bad news about Mr. Clark losing his memory after stepping outside of town, which causes even more panic. David tries to maintain order, and asks that everyone meet up again in two hours. He says he has a plan to fix everything, and walks off, but Ruby catches up to him. She asks what his plan is, and he admits that he does not have one, but he has two hours to think of something.

Two hours later, in town hall, everyone is gathered and waiting for David to show up. Ruby tells everyone not to worry, and that he will be here. Instead, Regina, who has assumed more power after breathing in the magic from her mother's old spell book bursts through the doors. Some attempt to subdue her; Archie tries to talk her out of doing anything drastic, Leroy charges at her, and Granny fires a crossbow arrow. All is useless, and Regina returns the arrow as a flame ball to show she means business. Ruby refuses to be intimidated, and asks what Regina wants. It is Henry who answers, and he submissively goes home with Regina because he is aware she will not stop terrorizing the townspeople until he returns to her side.

Ruby runs into David on the street. She informs him about the chaotic state in town right now after his no-show at town hall, and there are even people that are going to try and leave town, but he chides her saying he will deal with it later because he is busy chasing Jefferson and figuring out how to get his wife and daughter back. However, Ruby snaps him out of it by telling him he needs to do something now to help everyone.

In David's pickup truck, he and Ruby drive to near the exit of town and get out to stop the line of cars from driving out. David gets on top of his truck and begins speaking to the townspeople. He wins the townspeople's approval when he makes them realize the memories of their old lives are an essential part of them and that they do not have to choose between the two lives; the strengths and weakness; because they are both.

The next time we see Ruby, she is bringing lunch to David and the dwarves, who are working in the mines. She hands a muffin from her basket to Henry, then walks off. A little later in the episode, she is working in Granny's Diner serving Belle iced tea. She makes a comment about how many Belle has been drinking, and Belle smiles and admits that she has never had one. The two chat for a little bit, and eventually Ruby suggests that Belle go and check out the library. Ruby continues to work in the diner until David and Mr. Gold show up and ask about Belle. At first she lies and denies seeing her, but David convinces her to tell the truth. She tells them what she knows, and offers to help them track Belle using her newly rediscovered sense of smell. She loses the trail at Game of Thorns, the flower shop that Belle's father, Moe French, owns. She enters the shop and watches David and Mr. Gold question Moe, and discover that he has sent Belle to the Storybrooke border via the mine tunnels. She hops into his truck and drives David and Mr. Gold to the mines. Later, Ruby serves Belle pancakes and explains to her how to eat them. She gives her a small box that someone has left for her, then walks into the backroom.

Ruby is helps in the diner when the celebration of finding fairy dust occurs. She is greeted by Billy, and he confesses to her that in the Enchanted Forest he was Gus, a mouse that lived in Cinderella's pantry. She asks why he is telling her, and he says he wanted her to know who he was. He follows by asking her out, and she does not know what to say. Belle, seeing her discomfort, comes to save her from the conversation by telling him they are having a girls' night out.

After Billy is gone, Ruby looks at the clock distractedly and leaves to check up on Granny's handiwork in the back room freezer. In fact, is the first night of "wolfs time" since the curse broke and preparations are made so Ruby can stay in the freezer as a makeshift cage when she shape shifts.

The next morning, David and Granny find the room torn up and the door ripped off the hinges. Using Granny's heightened sense of smell, they find Ruby unconscious in the woods. She has no memory of the previous night which makes her believe she ran around the town uncontrollably like she did when she killed Peter in the Enchanted Forest. David responds to a call in town and finds Billy's truck double parked and Billy torn in half. Ruby panics and has David to lock herself up in the jail. Albert Spencer accuses David of being an unfit leader by placing his personal loyalties above the safety of the town and he incites the townspeople against David and Ruby. An angry mob storms the jail only find Ruby is gone. Ruby has taken refuge with Belle at the library where she prepares to be shackled for the night. Belle kindly assures Ruby that she is not evil or a killer and offers to stay with her that night to prove it. Ruby appreciates Belle's kindness, but does not believe her and sneakily cuffs Belle in the shackles meant for herself. Ruby, having given up hope, leaves to face the mob.

The mob of angry townspeople corner Ruby in her wolf form in an ally after hearing her howl. Ruby hides behind a dumpster as Spencer aims his gun at her. David and Granny arrive and Granny disarms Spencer with her crossbow. David tells the mob that Spencer killed Billy and framed Ruby. David approaches Ruby with her cloak, which he found in Spencer's car, and tells her she did not kill Billy and that he and her loved ones know she is good even if she does not. Red hesitates and then sits in front of him allowing him to place the cloak on her, which changes her back to her human form.

Ruby and David return to the pacified mob to discover Spencer has knocked Granny down and escaped. They track him down using Ruby's sense of smell. Spencer admits what he really wants is to deprive David of his family, and takes out his anger by throwing the remains of the hat into a fire. Enraged, David pulls his gun on Spencer, but Ruby talks him out of shooting him.

Later, at Mary Margaret's apartment, Ruby asks David to call Granny and have Belle released from the library. She gets the idea to try doing something that hasn't be done in a long time. When David asks her what it is, Ruby says, "Run", and takes off her cloak to run through the woods as a wolf.

In a race against time, Emma and Mary Margaret fight to return to Storybrooke from the Enchanted Forest. However, Mr. Gold and Regina share combined fears over the possibility their nemesis, Cora, will be the one to cross into town instead. Using a wand, they take all the diamonds in the mines and convert it into fairy dust to create a life threatening portal over the wishing well to kill anyone who attempts to enter Storybrooke.

Leroy discovers the diamonds are missing, and brings Ruby to the mines to show her. They go back to the pawn shop to warn Henry of their suspicion Mr. Gold and Regina are going to do something bad. With Henry, Ruby hurries to the wishing well to stop them. She tries to confront Mr. Gold, who uses magic to render her unconscious. Henry pleads with Regina to undo the portal's effects, and she believes in him enough to do so. As Emma and Mary Margaret come through the well, Ruby awakens and welcomes them home.

To commemorate Mary Margaret and Emma's victorious return home, the town residents come together at a party celebration held at Granny's. Ruby is chatting with Bashful when Emma and Mary Margaret arrive. She hurries over to give affectionare hugs to both. A hush falls over the diner when David calls everyone's attention and begins making a speech expressing happiness at reuniting with his wife and daughter. Afterwards, all the party guests raise their glasses in cheer, and all except Emma are shocked when Regina walks in apologizing for her lateness. On the defense, Leroy grabs a knife and asks what she is doing here, which Emma quells by saying Regina was invited by her. With that, everyone dispenses to mingle and have fun at the party.

The next day, while on a jog, Ruby encounters Archie and Regina arguing on the dock. She asks them what is going on, and Regina responds by telling her to continue on her walk, to which Ruby reluctantly runs off. Later in the day, Ruby is closing down the diner when she sees Regina enter Archie's office. The following day, Ruby is able to understand Pongo enough to know something is wrong, and she and Emma go and find Archie dead in his office. When Emma asks who could have done this, Ruby responds, "I think I know", indicating she saw Regina the previous night.

The death of Archie is announced to the rest of the townspeople after Emma seemingly finds incriminating evidence via the dream catcher of Regina as the murder. Ruby attends the funeral to listen to Mary Margaret give a eulogy dedicated to Archie. After she is finished, Marco gives his own personal farewell. Following this, Ruby, Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Leroy, Walter, Marco, Mother Superior, and Granny spend some time in Mary Margaret's apartment for a luncheon. Leroy approaches Emma and Mary Margaret to ask on behalf of himself and other dwarves when they will be returning to the Enchanted Forest, which perks everyone else's attention to the conversation. Emma insists she and Mary Margaret worked hard to return home to Storybrooke, but he is concerned the town is no longer safe with Regina on the loose. The mother and daughter pair promise to search and find her, though Leroy warns that with the curse broken people outside the town line have no idea of what they are and the possibility of a complete stranger discovering them. Ruby chimes in agreement and presents the scenario of what if someone not from their world sees magic, or sees herself transform into a wolf. She states people in the Enchanted Forest were frightened by a human turning into a wolf, so it's likely people outside of Storybrooke will feel the same. Emma tries to defuse the situation by noting no one is coming into town while Leroy believes only time will tell, and aside from that, everyone is homesick.

After a stranger crashes his car into town, he is taken to the hospital for treatment. From hearing the news, Ruby heads to the hospital and joins up with David, Emma, Leroy and Mary Margaret. They gain access to the man's phone, and find he's just an ordinary man named Greg Mendell. Dr. Whale returns from the operating room and informs them the man is bleeding internally, and surgery will save his life, but they have to decide whether it's worth the risk. When he consults with Mr. Gold in the hopes he can use his magic to fix the stranger's wounds, Mr. Gold refuses. He says the driver saw his use of magic, so they better hope he dies of his wounds instead of trying to save him. Leroy fears if the man did see something, he'll bring the whole outside world to their town and begin treating everyone like microscopic specimen, but eventually they come to the conclusion they can't let someone just die.

While waiting for the surgery to undergo, Dr. Whale is nowhere to be seen. This pager is found in his discarded jacket in a laundry basket. Using her keen sense of smell, Ruby tracks Dr. Whale's scent to near the docks where he attempts to jump in an act of suicide, but she races over to pull him to safety. Overburdened, Dr. Whale admits the circumstances of his brother's death, and the guilt he feels in the past failed resurrection to bring him back. In turn, Ruby informs Dr. Whale about the shock of discovering she herself is a wolf after mauling her boyfriend to death. Though she knows Regina thought bringing everyone to Storybrooke was a punishment, it is actually a second chance for both of them to start over afresh. Dr. Whale is convinced by Ruby to save Greg, and they go back to the hospital together. With his confidence renewed, Dr. Whale operates on Greg with the surgery being a complete success. Once finished, he thanks Ruby for her help.

On the same night Greg ended up in Storybrooke, Belle received a gunshot wound from Mr. Gold's nemesis, Hook that caused the loss of her Enchanted Forest memories after falling across the town line. In concern for her friend, Ruby visits Belle as she is recovering from the ordeal in the hospital. She explains to Belle they were once friends, which the girl does not believe. Hoping to familiarize her surroundings, Ruby gives Belle a book by her favorite author Jules Verne. Uneasily, Belle talks about the night she saw Mr. Gold holding a fireball and what occurred at the town line. Ruby refrains from telling the truth due to Belle's memory loss, and brushes it off as her recollection being a side effect of the hospital medicine. Belle becomes hysterical and agitated no one believes her and begins acting out. The nurse comes in to sedate her, to which Ruby asks if Belle's behavior is a common occurrence. As a reply, the nurse confirms it is due to her condition.

Storybrooke becomes terrorized by a giant, Anton, after he is freed from Hook's ship by Mary Margaret, David and Leroy, and then eats a magical mushroom Regina gives him in order to return to his normal giant size. He takes his hatred of humans out on the residents, but the effects of the mushroom wear off during a stomping rampage. Anton falls into the hole and holds on to an underground pipe to keep from falling through to the bottom.

The townspeople work together quickly to save his life. While Granny ties a rope to the back of David's car, Ruby and the dwarves stabilize the rope as David scales down the concrete edges of the hole. Anton is reluctant to accept a human's help, but with words of encouragement from David of choosing life over death, he grabs his hand and both are pulled to safety. Afterward, Granny leads the rescuers and Anton back to her diner to serve them food in celebration.

Everyone regroups at the diner where Anton is introduced to the town in an effort to make him feel at home. Worried about not fitting in, Anton mentions he will probably live in the woods, but Leroy assures him that Storybrooke is home to all kinds of creatures and he will live comfortably here. As they talk, Ruby serves them beer at the counter. Mary Margaret says they have made this land their home since there is no way to get back to their old land. At this, Anton shows them a stem of a beanstalk that could likely grow magic beans.

When an injured Mr. Gold returns to Storybrooke, she helps him walk off of the Jolly Roger with the help of Neal. Mary Margaret asks her to watch Henry because of the dangerous plans she has in store for Cora, and Ruby agrees.

At the diner, as Neal waits for Emma and Henry to show up, he orders something for Henry. Henry plops down into the seat at the table across from Neal, and Ruby comes over carrying a tray with his order of a large sundae with "extra everything". Ruby goes back to the counter to get Emma some coffee when Greg, who recently got out of the hospital, walks in. She hands him his already prepared order on a separate tray. He asks if he could have it to go, and Ruby walks away to wrap it up for him. While he is waiting, he chats with Emma about going on a nature hike. Emma muses she thought he might have already been back to Pennsylvania by now. Ruby comes back with his bagged food just as he says Storybrooke is starting to grow on him. He thanks Ruby for her service and pays for his order. Ruby and Emma exchange a look after he is gone.

The devious Pan infiltrates Storybrooke by previously switching bodies with Henry and sets out to cast his own version of the Dark Curse. Regina puts a stop to it by undoing the curse she cast, but also getting rid of Pan's curse in the process. As a price, Storybrooke will be wiped out and all residents will have to return to the Enchanted Forest. Once Regina's task is done, everyone except Emma and Henry, who left town on the mayor's request, is engulfed by the curse's purple smoke.


 * -|During New Curse=

A new curse is cast by someone powerful; returning Red Riding Hood and the rest of the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to the town of Storybrooke. However, as a result of the curse, everyone's last recollection is the final day in Storybrooke when Regina stopped Pan's curse, but no one can recall anything further than that. Ruby resumes working at Granny's Diner as a waitress. The day Henry returns to town, albeit without remembering anything or anyone in Storybrooke, she serves him hot cocoa at the diner. As Ruby goes to set down his order, she almost calls him Henry and makes a slip-up by putting cinnamon on his cocoa. Surprised, Henry asks how she knew he likes cinnamon, to which Ruby lies and says it was just a guess.

Trivia

 * The name "Ruby" is of Latin origin derived from the word "ruber" that means red. It is also a reference to the gemstone of the same name.
 * Has a red wolf key chain inside her car.
 * Has a ring with a wolf's head on it.