Emma Swan

"I'm the saviour, right? I'm supposed to bring back all the happy endings."

- Emma to Mary Margaret

Emma Swan is the main character and protagonist of Once Upon a Time. She is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and the older sister of Neal Nolan who was sent to the real world after the Evil Queen placed a terrible curse upon the Fairytale Land. She was a bail bondsman living in Boston until her son, Henry Mills, found her and brought her to Storybrooke to break the curse.

She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison.

Profile
The dark wizard Rumplestiltskin, determined to find his wayward son no matter what, had foreseen through his dark witchcraft that Emma's birth would be a catalyst for his plans of travelling to the Land Without Magic, where his son was living. After manipulating Queen Regina, who was blinded by revenge, into enacting the Dark Curse upon the enchanted lands Rumplestiltskin tricked Cinderella into imprisoning him with good magic so he could manipulate Charming and Snow into creating a magic wardrobe that would allow Emma to escape the curse and travel to Land Without Magic.

Personality
Emma Swan is a deeply damaged and a very conflicted woman. She is a survivor, and used to being a loner, and therefore a sucker for the underdog. Against her better judgement, she will compromise herself to fight for what is right and to help those in need. She is strong and aggressive, but her brokenness and her emotions are not buried far beneath her tough exterior. Her first reaction to most things is anger, but she has spent her life trying to manage her temper. She is both rash and calculated, and is forced to deal with her instincts to protect her child, a child she believes she is not capable of mothering. In the simplest form, Emma is a list of contrasting qualities: She is hard and soft; she is intense and easy going; she is strong and vulnerable; she is safe and dangerous; she is logical and impulsive.

Powers and Abilities

 * Detective Skills: Emma has an eye for detail and is very skilled at detective work. She used this skill to work as a successful bail bondsman in Boston. She later used this when she was investigating the case of Kathryn's (supposed) murder.
 * Magic of True Love and Light Magic: As the result of True Love birth Emma is capable of using magic. This magic was always with her, even though she was living in a world without magic. However when Mr. Gold brought magic to our world her magical powers were greatly enhanced, particularly within the confines of Storybrooke; she has recently been taking magical lessons from her former nemesis Regina to better harness her abilities, proving to be an apt student. Her practice of the magical arts grants various mystical abilities, of which are known:
 * True Love's Kiss: A magical kiss that can break any curse as long its fueled by True Love. True Love is not limited to romantic relationship but can also extend to the love of a mother for her son.
 * Immunity to Heart Removal: In the universe of OUaT, witches and wizards are capable to use black magic to penetrate a person's chest and literally remove their hearts. While in possession of these hearts the witch is capable of controlling the person, which remains in a state of full health despite the removal of such a vital organ. Emma is however immune to this form of black magic and if a witch attempts to remove her heart they will be hit by an energy blast.
 * Lie Detection: The power to detect if a person is lying. Emma used this power subconsciously on Earth, possibly due to the lack of magic.
 * Eclipse Inducement: The power to cause an eclipse. When Peter Pan and her son Henry left to Skull Rock to "save magic", the heroes found themselves blocked by Pan's protective shield that only allows people without shadows to enter. Emma and Regina join their magics together to create an eclipse, which would take away their shadows and render the shielding spell useless.
 * Telekinesis: She is capable of manipulating objects or people without physically touching. This was first seen when she had to telekinetically blast both David and Killian in order to save them from the Snow Queen.
 * Pyrokinesis: She is able to create, control, and manipulate fire, often in a form of lighting a candle or a flame/fire-related spell.
 * Abjuration: Emma demonstrated being able to teleport Hook's, uh, namesake implement away from him as a prank.

Before the Dark Curse
Born to Snow White and Prince Charming, Emma was the product of true love and destined to be the saviour. To protect her from the Dark Curse, the Blue Fairy had Gepetto fashion a magical tree into a wardrobe which could carry Emma into A Land Without Magic and protect her from it. As only two could go, Gepetto forced the Blue Fairy to let Pinocchio go with Emma, fearing he wouldn't survive the curse and be turned back into wood.

As the plan was to take Snow into the cupboard while she was pregnant, after she gave birth, her and Charming reluctantly agreed to take Emma to the wardrobe, holding onto the hope that she will find them after the curse has been cast.

During the First Curse
As a baby Pinocchio was tasked to protecting Emma as a baby while they were both in the foster care system, however he abandons her later on. Realizing she would never be adopted having "missed her chance" as she's too old, she runs away and meets a young girl named Lily who helps her shoplift. The two bond together after she discovers that Lily is an orphan just like her. The two break into a house and spend the night there where they enjoy each others company and Emma see's a star shaped birthmark on her wrist. Lily tells her that it makes her feel special and then draws one onto her wrist too. The girls promise to be friends no matter what until a man enters the house, Lily's father. Lily explains she was an orphan like her too, only she got adopted and feels invisible at her home. Hurt by Lily's lies, Emma rubs off the star on her wrist and walks away from Lily, who cries and repeatedly calls for Emma.

Arriving in a net foster home, she meets a carer called Ingrid. When she catches her trying to escape, Ingrid convinces her to stay and the two eventually become close until one day she tells Emma that she is going to adopt her and that even though Emma doesn't see her as a mother, she can be like her older sister. While the two are waiting for a bus, Emma thinks out loud about having magic like Harry Potter. Knowing she does, Ingrid (who is really the Snow Queen from the Enchanted Forest) tries to endanger her by forcing her in front of a car so that she can unleash her powers, however, Emma gets away from her grip at the last minute. Thinking she is crazy, Emma runs away from her.

Years later, Emma attempts to steal a car and breaks in, not knowing it has already been stolen by someone else called Neal