juliet •peter pan•

SEVENTY-SEVEN

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

When the smoke cleared, Juliet looked around to see that she was in the dress she was wearing when the curse hit. She, and all the others from Storybrooke, were in the Enchanted Forest. And in front of them was Aurora and a man. Juliet assumed this man was Aurora's husband Philip.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, and Aurora nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so." She looked around. "What was that?" Turning her head, Aurora noticed the group. She seemed to recognize them. "Snow." She remarked. Mary Margaret looked over at her, relieved to see a familiar face. "What happened?" Mary Margaret sighed.

"We're back."

Mary Margaret and David were catching up with Aurora. Juliet leaned against one of the pillars of the gazebo, staring off into space. In the span of a few hours, every part of her life had turned upside down. She was no longer in Storybrooke. Emma and Henry had no idea who she and the rest of Storybrooke was. The love of her life was killed by his own son. It was a lot for her to wrap her head around. 

"How have things been since we left? The Ogres?" Mary Margaret asked. Aurora shook her head.

"Oh, defeated. We are restoring our kingdom and our lives." She looked over at Philip, smiling. Mary Margaret smiled.

"And congratulations." She gestured to Aurora's bump. The princess chuckled.

"Is it that obvious?" 

"You're glowing." Mary Margaret remarked. Behind her, Regina groaned.

"Why is she pregnant and I'm the one who's sick?" That comment brought Juliet out of her funk and she covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh. 

"We have much to celebrate." Philip spoke up. "And know that you and your friends are welcome in our kingdom. If you need anything, we are at your service." David nodded.

"Thank you, but all we need is horses. We have our own kingdom, our own castle..." Mary Margaret put a hand on his shoulder.

"Our castle was destroyed in the curse." She reminded him. 

"Well played, Your Majesty." Hook commented. "You laid waste to everything." Aurora shook her head.

"Not everything. Her castle still stands." Regina nodded.

"Of course it does. I protected it." 

"Well, technically, the castle doesn't belong to her." David muttered, and Juliet rolled her eyes. "It was Snow's before she took it." 

"Well, to be fair, I married into it." Regina corrected him. 

"That you did." Mary Margaret agreed. After a moment, her expression changed. "And now we're taking it back." She looked at Regina. "And you're coming with us." Regina scoffed in disbelief. 

"You can't be serious." Mary Margaret nodded.

"Regina, everyone out there is scared and confused. They need hope. What better way to do that than to return united?" She ignored the expression on Regina's face. "You're coming with us. I know you don't like it. You'll learn to. For our good. For yours." David turned to Aurora.

"Thank you again for the hospitality. We should begin preparations." He shook Philip's hand. 

"Good luck to all of you." He smiled. David and Mary Margaret turned around and started walking. Regina and Juliet soon followed. Out of the corner of her eye, Juliet could see Aurora and Philip whispering about something, but she didn't care enough to try to overhear. 

They set out on the journey to Regina's castle. Hook left the group to go find the Jolly Roger. Juliet was walking next to Neal, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her.

"You will see them again." Belle put her hand on Neal's shoulder. "Emma and Henry." Neal sighed.

"Yeah, well, let's hope I don't have to curse an entire kingdom to get back to them." Juliet silently chuckled. 

"I heard you talking to David about Rumple." Belle continued her train of thought. "You know, we never saw his knife." Neal's eyes widened. "I think we can get him back." They kept walking until Juliet heard Leroy's voice.

"The Queen is missing." She looked around to see where Regina had run off to, but it seemed like Mary Margaret was on the case. Juliet turned her attention back to the road.

After a while, Juliet heard a screeching noise that made her stop in her tracks. She looked up at the sky. She hadn't heard a noise like that in years. It sent a shiver down her spine.

By the time she looked back at the road, the group had passed her. So, she took off running to catch up. She got back to the group at the same time as Mary Margaret and Regina – and a few others. 

When they got to the castle, David spoke up.

"Look." He called out. 

"What happened?" Mary Margaret asked. 

"That's exactly what I'm about to find out." Regina walked closer to the castle and stuck her hand out. As soon as she made contact with the protection spell, a ripple of green magic emanated out. Juliet's eyes widened. "A protection spell. The entire castle's encircled by it." Regina noted. 

"Didn't you do this?" David asked. "Undo it." Regina scoffed.

"Well, don't you think if I could, I'd be halfway home by now?" She walked back to the group. "No. Someone hijacked it." Juliet took deep breaths. 

Relax. She told herself Just because the protection spell is green, doesn't mean she's behind it. 

"Who? Who's in there?" Mary Margaret looked worried. Regina shook her head, looking back at the castle.

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out whoever's eating my porridge." She turned back to face the Charmings. "Nobody sits in my chair. Nobody takes our castle." 

"Hey." David interjected. "We've got a lot of people looking to us. They're scared and rightfully so. Let's get them to safety first." 

"They'll be safe when whoever's in there is dead." Regina argued. Juliet had to turn away from the castle. The deep breaths weren't working, and she couldn't let them know that she might have an idea as to who is in the castle. 

"Rushing in there is a bad plan, Regina. You know that." Mary Margaret reminded her. Suddenly, the guy next to Juliet spoke up.

"I can offer safe harbor in Sherwood Forest." All eyes turned to him. "It's not far. We can offer food, shelter, a thick canopy no creature will spy you under." 

"Do you have weapons?" David asked, and the guy nodded. 

"We're lousy with them." Regina sighed.

"Fine. Lead the way. But we're coming back. And whoever did this... is going to suffer." 

Please don't be her. Please.

"Regina, it's our home. We'll make it safe again." Mary Margaret promised. 

***

Hey! Sorry it's been a while, finals week killed me, and then I got busy with Christmas, but I should be back to regularly scheduled posting.

Also, for the chapters covering the 2nd half of season three, I'm going to alternate chapters. One chapter will be set in the enchanted forest, the next will be set in Storybrooke, and so on. 

But get excited, because Juliet's reunion with her mom is coming up!!