juliet •peter pan•

FOURTY-NINE

Juliet sat by the door of the shop. The front door opened, and Juliet turned her head to see her grandmother standing in the shop. Quickly, she stood up. "Emma..." She started to call out, but with a wave of Cora's hand, Juliet was sent flying back. She crashed into the counter and landed on the floor. 

Juliet looked up at her grandmother, who was walking towards the back room. "You won't be able to get back there." Cora turned to her granddaughter. "Oh really?" She took a step forward, but couldn't go any further. She muttered something under her breath. "A barrier. Of course he put up a barrier." Juliet stood up. Cora smiled. "A word of advice. Don't test me. I'm about to become the Dark One." Juliet rolled her eyes. The barrier fell, and Cora waved her hand. The front door opened. "Don't interfere in this, granddaughter." Juliet took a step back. She never hated a word more. 

In the back room, Juliet heard a whooshing sound, and she walked in to find Emma and Neal were no longer there. Instead, she saw Cora putting her hand on Gold's face. "You are the only man I ever truly loved." Juliet gagged. 

Cora stood up, the dagger in her hand, ready to strike. Before she could stab Gold, Regina was right behind her, putting her heart back in her body. Juliet looked around, wondering where Regina came from. The dagger fell to the ground. 

Cora stepped back, and that's when Juliet saw the tears in Regina's eyes. 

Cora looked at her daughter and her granddaughter and smiled. Regina started to laugh. It was the happiest Juliet had ever seen her aunt look. "Mother." 

All of a sudden, Cora clutched at her chest. Juliet raised an eyebrow, extremely confused. She fell to the floor, and Regina caught her before she could hit the ground. Juliet sank to her knees. Regina's expression changed from happy to sad. "Mother? What's wrong?" Juliet looked up at Gold, who was now standing and holding the dagger. 

In between breaths, Cora looked at her daughter. "This... would've been enough." Tears were starting to form in Juliet's eyes. Even after everything Cora put her through, it was heartbreaking to see a family member die. 

"You... would have been enough." Cora closed her eyes for the last time. Regina started to sob. "What's going on?" She turned back to Gold, who said nothing. "Mother, don't leave me please." She held her mother's body close to her own. "What am I gonna do?" 

In this, Juliet saw that all Regina really wanted was for her own mother to love her. Just like Juliet wanted Zelena to love her. 

Gold leaned against his cane. "Your mother did you no favors." Regina looked up at him. "Shut up! You stole her life. You cast some spell..." She broke down. Juliet looked at Gold, who made no movements. "I did nothing." 

In came Snow and Charming. Snow was yelling "Regina! Stop!" That's when Regina realized who killed her mother. And Juliet realized it too. She looked at Snow, disappointed. "Snow?"
"You did this."