Identity- Once Upon A Time

The Cursed Locket

"Are you able to open this locket?" Regina set the small gold necklace on the counter hopefully. She and Emma had been trying all day to open it and break the hexes locking it to no avail.

"Perhaps," Gold placed his hand on the table next to the locket with a smirk. "For a price."

Regina rolled her eyes, "What do you want?"

"I want a favor, from the both of you."

Regina sighed impatiently, "What kind of favor?"

"That'll be determined some other time, but if you really want that locket opened you should accept my offer."

"Deal." Emma looked back and forth between Regina and the locket, wide-eyed. She had to know, she needed to know. Everything she did now compelled her to dig up what was going on. "I need to know what's inside of it, inside of her head."

Gold placed his hand on the counter greedily as if to bargain for more information. "Her?"

Regina sighed, "Just open the locket, Gold."

Gold waved his hand over the locket channeling all of the dark power he had. A purple cloud rose up and around the golden necklace, completely consuming it in the fog. When the smoke had cleared, the necklace remained still locked and unopened.

"I'm afraid it can't be opened." Gold handed the locket to Regina across the counter.

"Wait, how's that possible?" Emma paced about the shop in confusion. "Just what is inside here that would need to be locked away for practically eternity?"

"I don't know." Regina slipped off her glove and smoothed the gold locket between her fingers in perplexment. "Whatever it is though, it can't be good."

"Ladies, I suggest you don't take this too seriously. It might just lead to nowhere."

"I'm surprised that you're not the one interested in this Gold." Regina huffed. "If anyone would be interested in this piece of jewelry, it would be you."

"Well, I'm not. Since you've wasted my time playing with costume jewelry, I'll be still claiming that favor later on."

"Wait a minute," Emma interjected. "You didn't follow up on your bargain, the locket is still closed."

"Apparently so, but now my shop is too." Gold waved his hand and flicked the open sign to read closed. "I suggest you leave before I call the authorities."

"I am the authority." Emma snarled. "Now you are going to give us any information on what this locket is, or not."

"As far as I can see dearie," Gold lifted the locket by the chain out of Regina's hand and hung it in front of them. "It is basically harmless. Whatever is inside there, will not come out, nor will anything open it. For our purposes, it is useless to us."

"Harmless?" Emma gawked. "How can something guarded by a gigantic wraith be harmless?"

"He's right you know." Regina walked up and gazed at the locket. "If the dark one can't even open it, who's to say anyone else could. I think the best situation would be to give it back to the girl."

Emma shook her head and began to pace back and forth, "But if it has a curse or a hex or-"

"I can assure you Miss Swan, it is perfectly safe." Gold hobbled out from behind the counter. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business go attend to." He then disappeared in a purple puff of smoke, leaving Emma and Regina alone again in the shop.

"All there is left to do now is give the girl the locket." Regina picked up the locket off the counter once again and closed it within Emma's hand.

"I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"There's something really wrong here." Emma's eyes once again widened with the compulsion to find out more. "Really wrong."

"Look, Emma. If I was that girl...What was her name again?"

"Lily."

"If I was Lily and searching for my home, I'd want any little thing to hand onto for hope." Regina smiled slightly. "Now I know this is like preaching to the choir here, but you need to help her find her home. Here, in Storybrooke​. This is her home now, but any little trinket she has can help her forgive her unknown past." Regina's eyes narrowed as Emma's expression didn't change. "Is that getting through to you at all?"

"Yes." Emma mumbled. "I'll give it to Lily, to help her forgive her past, whatever it was."

"Good," Regina scoffed. "I was worried I was turning into Mary Margaret for a minute there."

Regina and Emma promptly exited Gold's Pawn Shop and headed to the hospital where Lily would be. Once they entered the room, Lily had the same cheerful-dreamy aura as when Emma had seen her last.

"Oh, hi Emma." Lily glanced toward Regina. "Hello Madam Mayor."

"Lily, we found a locket that may have something to do with where you came from." Emma held out the locket as Lily took it into her hands. "Unfortunately, we were unable to open it."

"That's alright," Lily hummed. "Anything that could lead to my past is a gift." Lily examined the shiny gold plating upon the locket. "I'm now one step closer to home."

The locket...where had I seen this before? It was distant, but I remember something. Thank goodness Emma and Madam Mayor are helping me with this, I don't know what I'd do without them. With this, maybe I can find my parents. Maybe, I can find out who I really am.

Maybe, just maybe, I can uncover all the secrets hidden deep down.