juliet •peter pan•

TWENTY-FOUR

Jade kept her hands in front of her. "Why do I need to tell you who I am?" Regina sighed. "Because I need to know if you're going to be a threat." Jade gestured to Henry's room. "I'm not the one you need to be worried about. I only remembered because he showed me the book." Regina narrowed her eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you're lying?" Jade gulped. "Even if he hadn't shown me the book, I still would've remembered." Regina folded her arms. "I assume now that you know I remember, I'm going to end up like Graham?" Regina said nothing. "You killed Graham because he remembered." Jade started. "But he isn't the only one. More people will remember who they are before the curse is broken, and there is nothing you can do to stop that." She smirked. "Besides, you cannot crush my heart if there's no magic." Regina frowned. "No, I suppose not. But if I were you, I'd keep an eye out." She turned around and opened the door. "Good night, Juliet." She then closed the door, leaving Jade stunned.

The next day, Jade got her stuff together for school when the doorbell rang. "I GOT IT!" She yelled, and ran downstairs. She slowed down to a saunter right by Regina, and opened the door to see Lily. "Oh, hey." Lily sighed. "Jade, can I talk to you for a second?"

Lily and Jade sat inside Jade's room. "What is it?" Lily looked down. "I feel like we've known each other for a long time." Jade nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling." Lily smiled. "You do? You have the dreams too?" Jade tilted her head. "What dreams have you been having?" Lily thought about it for a moment.

"So, I'm in the woods, and I turn my head and I see you, and you're talking to me. Except you use the name Paisley instead of Lily." Jade's eyes widened. "Uh... w-when did you have this dream?" Lily sighed. "Last night." Huh, more people are waking up. She folded her arms. "Okay, so I started having dreams about last week, and eventually, you'll have more." Lily nodded. "Okay, but what does it mean?" Jade sighed. "Well, Henry has this book that explains everything." She looked around, then stood up. "Follow me."

Jade opened Henry's book, and started to read it. She showed Lily the picture of her and Jade. When she was done reading, Lily sighed. "This is crazy. There is no such thing as fairytales." Jade folded her arms. "Then why'd you come over here." Lily shrugged. "You said he had a book, I thought it was a dream analysis book, not a freaking fairytale book." She stood up. "I'll see you at school." She left the room. Jade set the book down, and stood up.

Walking to her room, Jade noticed an object in her room. It was a picture of Jade holding a three year old Henry. She smiled, and tears started forming. She went to her desk and started to write a note.

Once she was done with the note, she set it on her bed with the picture, and started to gather her things. She stuffed her clothes and the box in her backpack, and opened the window. She then proceeded to climb out and down. She started walking towards town.

A week later, when Henry got back from school, he went up to Jade's room. "Jade, guess what happened?" He looked in her room, but she wasn't there. "Huh, maybe she's still at school." He then saw the note on the bed. He reached for it and unfolded the letter.

"Hey Henry. By the time you're reading this, I'll be halfway to the town line. I know the risks, but I need to find someone who remembers, or even more, something that'll take me back to Neverland. I'm sorry I couldn't help you further. And I'm sorry I wasn't a better cousin. Don't come looking for me, it'll put you in danger. After all, SHE KNOWS. Juliet."

Henry looked up at the open window. He grabbed the note and ran out the door.

Downstairs, Regina was getting ready for another meeting. "Henry, where are you going? You have homework." Henry made up an excuse on the spot. "Jade said to meet her at Granny's." Regina nodded. "If you find her, tell her to come home." Henry nodded, and left the house.

He ran to the Sheriff's station, where his mom was. "Kid, what are you doing here?" He handed her the note. "The date on this is last week. Jade hasn't come back in a week. I'm really worried about her." Emma sighed. "First Mary Margaret, and now Jade." She gave Henry the note. "Go home, I'll try to find her." Henry nodded.

Jade shifted her bag to her other shoulder and sighed. So far, her trip had not been what she had expected. She pulled her hair up into a bun to keep it out of her face. "Maybe I should just stay here for a little bit." She set her bag down and sat on a tree stump. Eventually, she heard a cracking of branches behind her. She turned around sharpy, and her eyes widened.

That night, Emma drove in her car. "Okay, where are you." She took her eyes off the road, and by the time she looked back on the road, there was someone in the road. She almost hit him. "Whoa." She got out of her car and walked over to him.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I didn't see you there." The man nodded. "I-I think so." Emma folded her arms. "Are you sure?" "I'm fine. I'm just not used to sharing the road with cars so late." He looked at her. "You're the sheriff, aren't you." Emma nodded, and the man tilted his head. "What brings you out here in the middle of the night?" Emma shrugged. "Oh, nothing to worry about. I'm just looking for 2 lost dogs." The man sighed. "Well I hope you find them."

He started to walk away, and Emma could see he was limping. "Oh, you are hurt." The man shook his head. "No, I just twisted my ankle. I live just a mile down the road, I'll make it okay." Emma started walking to her car. "No, let me drive you. I insist." The man thought about it for a moment, then agreed. "Thank you, I'm Jefferson." They got into the car. "Emma."

They pulled up to Jefferson's house, and Emma's eyes widened. "Wow, this is your house? It looks more like a hotel. You must have a huge family." Jefferson shook his head. "No, it's just me." Emma turned the car off, and they walked inside the house.

Jefferson handed Emma a cup of tea. "Here we go. Thought you might want to warm up for your search. It's cold out there." Emma nodded. "That is kind of you, but I think I should get back to it." Jefferson smiled. "I know. That's why I brought this." He picked up a map and unrolled it. "I'm a bit of an amateur cartographer. Mapping the area is a hobby. Maybe this will help you track down your dogs." Emma looked at the map. "Wow."

"What's their names? The dogs?" Emma looked up at Jefferson. "Spot and Fido." Jefferson nodded. "Cute." Emma sighed. "Well, Route 6 runs the boundary of the forest so..." She took a sip of her tea. "So, if I follow that, I should... be able to..." Jefferson frowned. "Something wrong?" Emma placed her teacup on the table. "I'm just, uh, feeling a little..." Jefferson nodded. "Oh. Here, let me help you." He helped her over to the couch. "There you go, let me get you some air." He stood up and walked away, not limping. Emma raised an eyebrow. "Your limp..." Jefferson walked back to her. "Oh that. I guess you caught me." Emma dropped her cup. "Who are you?"