Lily Page

"It's like my whole life is darkness, and... when you're around, things are brighter."

- Lily to Emma Swan Lilith Page, better known as Lily, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She debuts, with her first appearance, in the fifth episode of the fourth season. She is portrayed by guest star Nicole Muñoz and Agnes Bruckner.

Personality
As a teenager, Lily is a bright, self-reliant teen who boasts a charming, take-no-prisoners punk exterior and the heart of a secretive, insecure opportunist.

As an adult, Lily is cold, slightly a liar and unforgiving, but still insecure.

Powers

 * Transfiguration/Shapeshifter: After Regina Mills cuts her hand, Lily's eyes become a reptilian yellow color, she then unwillingly transforms into her dragon form; in this form, she can fly and breathe fire.

Before First Curse
In the Enchanted Forest, a dragon named Maleficent lays an egg that contains her child, guarding it in a cave. Burning all of the surrounding land as her territory, this sends all the inhabitants fleeing, as she places her allies Ursula and Cruella De Vil outside the cave as extra guards. Sometime during this period, Snow White and Prince Charming seek to keep their own unborn child from becoming evil by infusing another vessel, namely Maleficent's child, with darkness. The couple, perceiving the child of a villain would likely be just as bad as her mother, agree to steal the egg so the Apprentice can cast the spell. While still in dragon form, Maleficent is startled awake by the couple's thievery, and after reverting to human form, she pleads for Snow White's mercy. Snow White promises to return the egg once everything is settled, and as she runs off, a devastated Maleficent makes a futile attempt to stop her by throwing a blast at the cave entrance. When presented with the egg, the Apprentice casts a spell to plant darkness in it, and since such darkness will be a danger to this world, he sends it to another world. As a portal opens, the horrified couple look on as the egg hatches, revealing the child's hand, as the infant lets out a cry. Realizing they made a grave mistake, Snow White and Prince Charming try to save the child, but they are blocked by Cruella and Ursula who are attempting to protect the baby from the couple. Cruella and Ursula are then accidentally sucked into the portal along with the baby.

In the Land Without Magic, the child is found and placed into an orphanage. Some time later, she is adopted by a man who names her Lilith.

During First Curse
Despite being adopted into a family, Lily begins feeling invisible and unseen. Deciding to run away from home, she takes her father's credit card and disappears. In Hopkins, Minnesota, she spots a blonde girl, Emma, eyeing a poptart box. When Emma notices her, Lily walks out of the aisle. Realizing the girl is stealing the box, she grabs a shopping cart and covers for Emma just as the blonde is nearly frisked by a store employee. Relieved, Emma expresses gratitude, to which Lily flashes a credit card; instructing her to use this method next time rather than stuffing stolen goods under a jacket. Emma begins leaving, but Lily suggests they team up. After buying food and exiting the store, Lily sees her father racing down the street in his car to haul her home. She escapes with Emma into an alley where they duck for cover. Later, they stop at a nearby lake and have a picnic with their food. Lily learns Emma is originally from a Boston group home and she ran away after realizing no one is going to adopt her. Emma assumes the man from earlier is Lily's social worker, but her new friend hides the truth. Pointing out a house across the lake, Lily explains that it's vacant during the fall season, and she wants to crash there with Emma, who happily agrees. Inside the house, following a video game session, Emma sees a star imprint on Lily's wrist. Lily imagines the star makes herself special, and she then draws a matching one on Emma's wrist. Upon finding a camera, they record themselves goofing off. Growing close, Lily and Emma promise to remain friends no matter what. That night, her father arrives and Emma learns of Lily's lies. While sitting in a car, Lily scribbles down her contact information so Emma can find her once everything blows over and they will run away together. Emma is hurt at her lies, but Lily attests everything she spoke of is real, despite having a family. However, Emma doesn't accept this and walks away, ribbing the star off of her wrist as Lily repeatedly calls after her. Some time afterwards when Emma has been fostered by a new family in Mankato, Minnesota, Emma has an encounter with Lily in her foster family's garage. Lily apologizes Emma for lying and states that she is in big trouble while stating that her wanting to be Emma's friend was true. She joins Emma's foster family for dinner as she quotes to them that Emma is lucky to have her. After dinner, Lily states to Emma that she was covering up how they really met. They witness a news report about a store robbery as Lily states that she can explain. Lily tells her that her boyfriend dragged her into the store robbery as Emma states to Lily to get out of town. Lily states that the necklace of her birth mother is at her boyfriend. Emma states that she'll get her necklace and afterwards, Lily is to get out of town. At the house of Lily's boyfriend, Emma finds Lily's necklace and learns from her foster parents that Lily took some of their money. Emma then leaves to find Lily. At the bus stop, Emma confronts Lily where she claimed that Lily set her free. Emma gives Lily her necklace as she claims that her foster family had kicked her out upon her life is darkness. When Lily begs Emma not to walk away, Emma states that she is better off alone and walks off.

The Apprentice travels to a A Land Without Magic and meets Lily on a bus. He compliments her on her necklace and remarks how it compliments the birthmark on her wrist. Questioning how her knew this, he tells that he knows everything about her and can explain why her life is so miserable. He believes he owes the truth to her, having been the one who cursed her with darkness and banished her.

After the Second Curse
Lily later gets into trouble as an adult, leading her to fake her death, relocate to another home and go under the alias of Starla where she works at the Coffee Mug diner near a gas station. After having been told by the Apprentice about her true heritage as she collects research trying to locate Storybrooke. One day after having served coffee to a woman, she tells her that she knows her and reveals herself to be Emma. Emma tries to explain to Lily that it's her fault that her life is the way that it is, but Lily shrugs it off and tells her that she hasn't thought about Emma in a long time and she now has a young daughter and husband. She tricks a young girl into walking with her so that it looks like her daughter, however, Emma knows she is lying and her and Regina enter Lily's house and realise that she know the truth about magic and who she is. Lily breaks into Emma's car while Emma and Regina are inside the house and drives off with the intention to find Storybrooke and get revenge on Mary Margaret and David. Emma stops her and is close to shooting her until she is talked out of it by Regina. Lily then has a talk with Emma until Regina relaises that her leverage against Gold is gone and the three rush to New York. Lily enters Robin Hood's house where she see's Marian undo a glamour self and turn back into Zelena. Lily returns with Emma, Regina, Robin, Roland and Zelena to Storybrooke where she is finally reunited with her mother Maleficent. The two go to Granny's Diner and Lily asks Maleficent about what they are going to do about Snow White and Charming. Maleficent tells that she doesn't want to waste her time on revenge and that they should all look forward telling her that they can either be happy for the future, or angry about the past. Maleficent works to keep Lily in Storybrooke while warning her that she won't be able to get back into Storybrooke if she leaves and she can't leave as the magic keeping her alive will wear off and she will turn back into dust, however, Lily doesn't care and decides to leave. She is later waiting at the bus stop when Regina approaches Lily who tells her to leave. Regina realizes that she needs her blood for the Author's ink and cuts Lily's hand and disappears while quoting "Welcome to Storybrooke". After Regina leaves, Lily's eyes become a reptilian yellow colour. Maleficent, Mary Margaret, and David later encounter Lily in her dragon form. Maleficent approaches Lily's dragon form as Mary Margaret runs after her. David states to Mary Margaret that Lily is out of control as she knocks Mary Margaret out. When Maleficent confronts Lily, she regresses back to dragon form as Maleficent gives Lily her baby rattle which she never got the chance to give her. Lily claims that she destroys everything she touches ever since Snow White and Prince Charming put Emma's darkness in her. Maleficent convinces Lily to stay for a week to teach her some tricks.

After the Author writes everyone into an alternate universe, it is revealed that in this world, Lily guards Emma Swan for the Evil Queen Snow White. Emma, Hook and Henry are able to sneak past her and when she transforms into a dragon, they shoot her down with a canon into the sea.

After the real world is restored again The people of Storybrooke celebrate at Granny's diner and Lily tells Emma that she wants to find the identity of her father and plans on staying in Storybrooke during her search.

Trivia

 * Her casting call describes her as, "a bright, self-reliant teen who boasts a charming, take-no-prisoners punk exterior and the heart of a secretive, insecure opportunist".
 * The name Lily is of English origin and comes from the name of the flower, which is a symbol of purity. The word is derived from the Latin word lilium.
 * However, the latter is terribly ironic, as Lily was cursed with eternal darkness and potential for evil as an infant.