Dark Curse

"Enacting it will take a terrible toll. It will leave an emptiness inside you—a void you will never be able to fill."

- Maleficent to the Evil Queen The Dark Curse is a curse featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It is a major focal point of the story.

History
After Baelfire goes to a Land without Magic via a magic bean from the Blue Fairy, his father Rumplestiltskin learns from the fairy that there is a curse that could take him to the same land, but it is beyond his capabilities. He vows to create the curse. ("The Return ")

Sometime later the Dark Curse is created by Rumplestiltskin with the hope he could use it to find his son. But he also puts a drop of true love on the parchment so it could eventually be broken by a savior.

He trades the curse for something from the Evil Queen, Regina, though what he was given is still unknown. He gives her the curse because the main ingredient of the curse, the heart of the thing one loves most, is inaccessible to him. Sometime later, she then trades the curse for the Sleeping Curse from Maleficent to use on her stepdaughter, Snow White but it is eventually broken by Prince Charming, making the queen furious. At Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding Regina crashes the celebration announces to all present that their happy endings were soon to be over. For this she needed the Dark Curse back, so the Evil Queen travels to the Forbidden Fortress where she steals it from Maleficent, who warns her about the dangers. It is warned that casting the Dark Curse would leave a void within that could never be filled, and whoever created the curse had no morals. ("The Thing You Love Most")

Over the course of time in which the Evil Queen was working on the curse, Snow White became more and more curious about the queen's ominous threat, especially with a baby on the way. She and her prince visit Rumplestiltskin, knowing about his gift of prophecy. Rumplestiltskin explains that Regina's curse will tear everyone from the Enchanted Forest and exile them to a realm where all of the Enchanted Forest's residents will be imprisoned and frozen in time, all of their happiness gone. He goes on to explain that Snow White's unborn child is their only hope. On the child's 28th birthday, she will return and be the savior. To protect their unborn daughter from the curse, the Blue Fairy offers Prince Charming and Snow White an enchanted tree which could be turned into a Magic Wardrobe capable of warding off any curse. But, all magic must have its limits, and she tells them that it can only transport one. In reality it can protect two, but because an agreement was in place with Geppetto that his son Pinocchio would be protected if he were to construct the Wardrobe. ("Pilot")("The Stranger")

After a failed attempt using her horse's heart, Regina pays a visit to Rumplestiltskin and he agrees to tell her what went wrong- for a price. His cost: In the new land she plans on taking everyone to, he will live a comfortable have wealth, and Regina would have to heed his every desire, just as long as he said,"Please." After Regina agrees to this, she learns she must sacrifice something far more precious. She then returns home and kills her father. When Regina finally does enact the curse, it envelopes the Enchanted Forest in darkness, and transports those unfortunate enough to be shrouded in it to a world with no magic. Those who are the victims of this curse lose their lives and memories while new ones are created when they appear in the new world. What she didn't see coming was that one person besides herself was going to remember every bit of his life in the Enchanted Forest- Rumplestiltskin. Including the knowledge of what "please" would mean. ("The Thing You Love Most")

Grumpy is the first at Snow White and Prince Charming's castle to see the impending curse. Originally a pregnant Snow would be the one to go through the Wardrobe, but as the Curse is arriving Emma is born. Only Emma can be sent through as the Wardrobe as its magic is half spent on Pinocchio. Regina arrives right after Emma escapes, and she is engulfed by the curse. After the curse was cast, Regina's mother Cora protected herself by casting and Hook in a small corner of the land from the Curse, and those untouched by the Dark Curse are frozen in time. This includes not only Cora and Hook, but Mulan, Aurora and Prince Phillip as well. ("Broken")("Queen of Hearts")

Ingredients

 * A lock of hair from those with the darkest of souls.
 * The heart of "the thing you love most".
 * Rumplestiltskin also added a drop of True Love Potion, just as a little safety valve (The reason why Emma was able to break the curse).

Overall Effects

 * Nearly everyone from the Enchanted Forest (and some other realms) is transported to Storybrooke and loses all memories of their former lives and relationships.
 * A part of the Enchanted Forest remained untouched after the Dark Curse and froze for 28 years; this is caused by Cora's protective shielding spell.
 * No crickets.
 * Almost all magical creatures are turned into humans.
 * All powerful magic has been taken away, and is now limited, with only some exceptional consequences to performing it or trying to get in touch with it again.
 * Time is frozen and no one ages or changes; Henry Mills is the exception to this because he is not born in the Enchanted Forest.
 * Everyone's happiness is gone.
 * Almost no one comes or goes through Storybrooke.
 * Terrible consequences will happen to anyone who tries to leave Storybrooke; Examples include:
 * When Emma drives out of town after dropping Henry off, she sees a wolf in her path and crashes the car. However, this might be from different external forces trying to keep her in town to break the curse. ("Pilot")
 * Ashley attempts to leave town after snatching back the adoption papers of her unborn child, she ends up having contractions in the process, and cannot drive. ("The Price of Gold")
 * Emma is left with no choice but to take Ava and Nicholas Zimmer to Boston after their father, Michael Tillman, refuses to claim them as his own. (Emma says) The car breaks down, preventing them from leaving. ("True North")
 * Kathryn decides to leave town, but in the process of passing out of town, Mr. Gold abducts her. She says she was held in a dark basement for some period of time with food and water, but was later drugged and left in a field where she crawled back into town. ("What Happened to Frederick")

Character Effects
In addition to not remembering their Fairytale lives, the characters have all been "punished" in their own ways.
 * Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard - Becomes very meek, dresses like a nun, and has a lousy love life.
 * Prince Charming/David Nolan - Knocked into a coma due to the wounds he received before the curse took him and under the name John Doe. Upon waking up, David is placed in an unhappy marriage with Kathryn Nolan.
 * Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold - Has no power over Regina until he regains his memories, and while a mass presence in town, his power was limited only to his pawn shop.
 * Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper - Does not listen to his conscience and obeys Regina out of fear.
 * The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham - Remains Regina's lover and is under her thumb.
 * Red Riding Hood/Ruby - Lacks self-confidence, dresses scantily, and argues with Granny.
 * Widow Lucas/Granny - Disapproves of Ruby's habits.
 * Belle/Belle's Counterpart - Imprisoned in the psychiatric ward of Storybrooke General Hospital.
 * Victor Frankenstein/Dr. Whale - He was a man focused on work, and he turned into a man who likes drinking and flirting with women.
 * Geppetto/Marco - Believes he and his wife were unable to have children.
 * Blue Fairy/Mother Superior - Under the thumb of Mr. Gold.
 * Magic Mirror/Sidney Glass - Remains subservient to Regina.
 * Abigail/Kathryn Nolan - Separated from her true love and in an unhappy marriage with David.
 * Frederick/Jim - Does not know Abigail.
 * King George/Albert Spencer - Has little power in the town aside from his job as district attorney.
 * Mad Hatter/Jefferson - Keeps his memories and lives in a mansion, mirroring his poor life in the Enchanted Forest. However, he is separated from his daughter Grace.
 * Grace/Paige - Lives with another family, next to door to her true father.
 * Grumpy/Leroy - Considered the town drunk.
 * Cinderella/Ashley Boyd - Pregnant for twenty-eight years, unable to give birth and abandoned by her true love.
 * Prince Thomas/Sean Herman - Abandoned Ashley when she became pregnant.
 * The King/Mitchell Herman - Does not approve of his son's relationship with Ashley.
 * Hansel and Gretel/Nicholas Zimmer and Ava Zimmer - Become orphans who do not know who their father is.
 * The Woodcutter/Michael Tillman - Oblivious to the fact he is a father.
 * Nova/Astrid - Remains clumsy and hapless.
 * Sir Maurice/Moe French - Under Mr. Gold's thumb due to the apparent treatment he gave to Belle after she left Rumplestiltskin.
 * Gus/Billy - Turned from a simple mouse to a human.
 * Maleficent - Transformed into her dragon form and imprisoned beneath the Storybrooke Clock Tower in a cavern.

Parts of the Curse broken

 * Time has resumed.
 * Freeing all the characters left behind in the Enchanted Forest.
 * Prince Charming's counterpart, David Nolan, is awakened from his coma.
 * Ashley Boyd gives birth to her baby, Alexandra and is together again with her boyfriend and now fiancé, Sean Herman.
 * Crickets return after Archie Hopper stands up to Regina Mills.
 * Sheriff Graham regains his memories after sharing a kiss with Emma, but is killed by Regina.
 * A sinkhole appeared trying to reveal Snow White's glass coffin, but Regina keeps it hidden and throws the glass shard back underground.
 * David Nolan had flashes of memories from his life in the Enchanted Forest. However, he mistakes them as memories he had prior to being in the coma ("The Shepherd") as well as confusing memories from the other world as ones he was recovering from his blackouts. ("Heart of Darkness")
 * Ava Zimmer and Nicholas Zimmer reunite with their father, Michael Tillman.
 * Fireflies appear when Leroy is back together with Astrid.
 * Jefferson realized it was because of Emma's presence that time was able to resume, and recognizes her as having magic while everyone else is powerless.
 * Ruby starts taking responsibility thanks to a push from Emma Swan. She is also starting to fight less with her grandmother.
 * Ruby's Grandmother says she is proud of Ruby and Ruby forgives her, which brings them back together.
 * Mary Margaret Blanchard gets some of Snow White's fighting moves back while protecting Emma from Jefferson.
 * August Booth finally gets the courage to talk to his father Marco and be his assistant, so he could be with his father.
 * Emma kisses Henry Mills on the forehead which is True Love's Kiss. The kiss wakes Henry and breaks the curse, making everybody in town remember their past lives and who they really are.
 * After the kiss, everyone can now enter or leave town. However, due to the arrival of magic, the residents of Storybrooke must pay a price: the memories of their time in the Enchanted Forest.

Ways to break the curse

 * Emma's death supposedly would have broken the curse. {"An Apple Red as Blood")
 * Emma's true love for Henry has broken the curse.

Characters aware of the curse

 * Regina Mills, Mr. Gold and Jefferson all retain their memories from their lives in Enchanted Forest.
 * Sheriff Graham remembered his former life completely prior to dying.
 * August Booth successfully evaded the curse by escaping before baby Emma Swan minutes prior to being consumed.
 * Henry Mills believes in the curse because of the book he was given by Mary Margaret Blanchard.
 * At least Emma Swan, Mary Margaret Blanchard and Archie Hopper are all aware of the concept of the curse via Henry, though they don't believe it actually exists. Henry eats a poisoned tart intended for Emma and collapses ("An Apple Red as Blood") . Following Henry's hospitalization ("A Land Without Magic"), Emma realizes the curse is real after touching Henry's fairytale book and recalling Henry's words about her being in the book.
 * The curse is broken and everyone remembers their fairytale pasts. ("Broken")
 * In the [[Enchanted Forest, the characters that were left behind were frozen for 28 years until Emma weakened the curse in Storybrooke, also freeing all the characters in the Enchanted Forest.