juliet •peter pan•

EIGHTY-SIX

STORYBROOKE

The next day, the gang gathered in Regina's house. Earlier that day, Zelena had Gold take Regina's heart, and Regina spent the entire day trying to figure out what the witch wanted it for. 

"I'd watch out for the apples in this house if I were you." Emma warned as she opened the door to see Hook holding a green apple. He looked at the apple. 

"Aye." Emma scoffed.

"It was a joke. Where's your sense of humor?" Hook threw the apple to the side and got up to walk towards the table.

"It left when the witch arrived." Emma nodded.

"Well, we're gonna take care of that. Regina said she had a plan." Hook sighed, sitting down. 

"I'm sure she does." They tuned in to David and Mary Margaret's conversation.

"Emma, will you please tell your mother we're not gonna name your brother Leopold?" David tried to rope Emma into the conversation. Juliet chuckled. 

"Um, why not? It was my father's name." Mary Margaret argued back. 

"People will make fun of him." David responded. Mary Margaret frowned.

"My father was a king."

"Which is why nobody made fun of him." 

"Okay, what about Eva, after my mother?" Mary Margaret suggested. David sighed.

"I don't know how well that will work with a boy." 

"It might not be a boy." Mary Margaret stated. Juliet leaned close to Hook to whisper to him.

"Is it bad that watching this is the most fun I've had since we've been back?" Hook chuckled. Before he could respond, the door opened and Regina walked in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I was making this special tea." She poured tea from the pot she was holding into the glasses sitting in front of everyone. David went to drink it, but Regina stopped him. "No! Don't drink it." David looked up at her. "It's a deadly poison for summoning the dark vortex." Juliet subtly pushed the drink away from her. 

"I prefer Earl Grey." David put the drink down. 

"The dark what?" Emma asked. Regina sighed.

"Zelena came by this morning." She sat down. "While the Dark One was stealing my heart, she was gloating. She said my weakness was that I didn't know enough about her past. So, I've decided to summon someone who does." Juliet raised an eyebrow. Besides her, who else could Regina know about who knows Zelena's past? "We have to talk to my mother." Juliet froze up. 

The last time she saw Cora, the woman had tried to kill Gold so that she could become the next dark one. If she had succeeded, it would have only been a matter of time before she tried to kill Juliet. 

"It's a fairly simple ritual. But not often performed." Regina explained. Emma tilted her head, looking at the candle at the center of the table.

"If it's easy to talk to the dead, why not do it more?" She asked. 

"Well, because to do it, you need the murder weapon and..." She looked at Mary Margaret. "...the murderer." Mary Margaret gasped. Regina lit a match and brought the match to the candle. She lit the light side of the candle first, then the dark side. 

"What do we need to do?" Emma asked another question. Regina held her hands out, palms facing up. 

"Focus on Cora." 

"Welcoming thoughts?" Hook joked. Regina sighed.

"Whatever you've got." Juliet placed one of her hands on top of Hook's, and the other on top of Mary Margaret's. She closed her eyes, thinking of the only experiences she's had with Cora. The Enchanted Forest. Storybrooke. How Cora paid Hook to kidnap her from Neverland. 

After a minute, the wind started to blow through the windows and into the house. Juliet heard a whooshing noise and opened her eyes. Sure enough, a dark vortex had opened up above the table. 

"We did it!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. 

"Cora?" Regina called out to her mother. "Mother, can you hear us? Cora, give us a sign." The only noise was coming from the vortex, but no Cora. "Do not ignore me now, mother. Please, you owe me this." All of a sudden, the table started shaking. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the vortex disappeared. Juliet looked around the room, puzzled. 

"Sorry love." Hook remarked. "That was me. I crossed my legs and bumped the table." Juliet let go of his hand to whack him on the shoulder. Regina looked up at the ceiling. She sighed, blowing out the candle. 

"Do we try it again?" Mary Margaret asked and Regina shook her head.

"No. There's no point. It worked. The portal opened, but nothing came from it. She doesn't want to talk to me. Guess whatever secrets lie in her past, she wants to keep buried there." 

"Maybe Belle will have more luck." David said as he opened the door. "There has to be something that can help us." 

"Right. My magic gets more powerful every day." Emma added. "By the time this all goes down, I'll be ready." 

"Make sure that you are." Regina emphasized. Emma looked at her parents.

"Come on, let's go." They started to leave.

"You know what, go ahead. I'm gonna stay and talk to Regina." Mary Margaret spoke up. David nodded. The three left the house, leaving Juliet and Regina to talk to Mary Margaret.

"I'm not in the mood for a heart-to-heart." Regina muttered. 

"I'm not sure that's physically possible right now." Mary Margaret commented. Regina chuckled. 

"You can help with the teacups." Mary Margaret nodded, following Regina and Juliet into the room to clean up.