juliet •peter pan•

EIGHTY-THREE

STORYBROOKE

It seemed like hours had passed by since Zelena locked Juliet in the cellar. She sighed, leaning back against the railing. There was nothing to do, and it was quickly getting boring. Juliett groaned. She closed her eyes, moving down onto the ground when she heard footsteps above her. The door to the cellar opened, and Juliet shot up. She looked over to see Gold hurrying down the stairs.

"Gold?" The Dark One looked at her confused, like he didn't know why she was there.

"What are you doing here?" Juliet sighed.

"Zelena locked me in here. Can you get me out?" Gold walked over to the cage and opened the door. As soon as he opened it, Juliet ran out. Before she could leave, she noticed the expression on Gold's face. "Are you okay?" Gold shook his head, saying nothing. He just started spinning. Juliet stood there for a moment before running out of the cell. On her way out, she heard him mutter in a sad tone.

"Oh, Bae."

She ran through the forest and into town. She needed to tell someone, anyone. Noticing that she was right in front of Gold's, she went inside. In the shop, Mary Margaret and Belle were hugging and David was standing a few feet away from them.

"What's going on?" She asked. All three pairs of eyes turned to her. Belle and Mary Margaret looked like they had been crying.

"It's Neal." Belle spoke, her voice shaking. "He's dead." Juliet's eyes widened.

"What?" She recalled what Gold had said earlier as she left the cellar. It was all making sense now. Gold must have watched Neal die. She went over to give Belle a hug. "I'm so sorry."

"He died bringing back Gold so that Gold could tell us who the Wicked Witch is. It's Zelena." Juliet sighed, avoiding his gaze.

At the funeral, Juliet stood next to Regina, tears in her eyes. Neal was her best friend when they were in Oz, and she couldn't imagine that he was gone. Hook took a shovel and dug up some dirt, throwing it into the grave. He handed the shovel to David, who did the same. One by one, everyone there said their goodbyes to Neal. When the shovel was handed to Juliet, she picked up some dirt. She closed her eyes before throwing the dirt into the grave.

After the funeral, they went to Granny's. Juliet sat in a booth, staring at her coffee. She couldn't tell anyone that Zelena was her mother less than an hour after lowering Neal into the ground. But she knew the longer she waited, the worse it would be. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Regina walking over to the bar. Guess now was probably as good a time as any. Juliet stood up and strolled over to Regina.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Regina turned her head.

"Yeah." Juliet sighed, looking down at her hands.

"There's something you should know. And I figured I should tell you before I told anyone else." Regina tilted her head.

"What is it?" Juliet sighed, looking up at her aunt.

"The Wicked Witch, Zelena, she... she's my mother." Regina blinked a few times.

"What?" Juliet brought her hands together, fiddling with her fingers.

"Yeah. Zelena is my mom." Before Regina had any more time to react, the doors opened. In walked Zelena, holding the dagger. Juliet took a step back, clenching her fists.

"My condolences." She announced. "So sorry I missed the funeral. I could never pass up a wake. Oh, did I miss the speeches? Shall I make one? I mean, I am, after all, responsible." Juliet was about three seconds away from seeing red. Zelena killed one of her best friends. Emma also seemed to have the same idea, as she charged forward. Lucky for Zelena, Mary Margaret grabbed Emma's wrist.

"Emma, no. Too many people will get hurt."

"Listen to your mother. She's right." Zelena warned. "Anyone who tries to interfere with my plan is gonna have to deal with the Dark One." She took a step towards Mary Margaret, and was blocked by David.

"Don't come any closer." He put his hand on Mary Margaret's baby bump protectively.

"Don't worry. I'm not here for your baby." Zelena assured. "Not today, anyway."

"Then why are you here?" Regina asked, and the witch's eyes turned to her.

"Now that my cover's blown, I can finally pay a visit to my little sister." Regina scoffed.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Juliet folded her arms.

"Why you, of course, Regina." The crowd started murmuring. Regina looked over at Juliet for a second, then back to Zelena.

"I'm an only child." Zelena shook her head.

"Cora lied to you, Regina. I'm your sister. Half, if you want to get technical." She looked at Juliet. "And I'm assuming Juliet here has told you that I'm her mother, which makes her your niece." All eyes turned to Juliet.

"What?" Mary Margaret asked. Regina put her hands on her hips.

"Why should I believe anything you say?" Zelena sighed.

"Oh, well, you shouldn't. It's a lot to swallow, which is why I've brought a gift to help." Regina chuckled.

"I don't want a gift from you."

"Oh, but you shall have it." Zelena responded. "You see, my gift to you is this sad, sad day. Use it to dig into our past, Regina. I'm sure Juliet will be a lot of help. You need to learn the truth and you must believe it." She smiled. "And then, meet me on Main Street tonight. Say, sundown."

"And then what?" Regina asked. Zelena's smile disappeared.

"Then I'll destroy you." Regina took a step closer to Zelena, not intimidated.

"This isn't the Wild West." Zelena shook her head.

"No, dear. It's the Wicked West." She turned around. "And I want everyone to be there to see the Evil Queen lose." Regina chuckled.

"I don't lose." Zelena sneered.

"Neither do I. One of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis." She laughed, leaving Granny's.