Aurora's Palace

Aurora's Palace
Enchanted Forest Location
Character Affiliations
Owner:	King Stefan
Inhabitants:	Aurora (formerly) Briar Rose King Stefan Prince Phillip (formerly) Mulan (formerly)
Visitors:	Emma Swan Evil Queen Maleficent Mary Margaret Blanchard Neal Cassidy † The Wraith
Show Information
First appearance:	"Broken"
Latest appearance:	"Enter the Dragon" "Leaving Storybrooke" (archive footage)
Relevant Pages

“

This palace was to be our home. We were to spend eternity here.

”

—Aurora to Mulan. ^src

Aurora's Palace is an Enchanted Forest location featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the first episode of the second season.

Aurora's Palace is based on the king's castle from the fairytale "Sleeping Beauty," and on King Stefan's castle from the Disney film Sleeping Beauty.

History

Before First Curse

Princess Aurora is cursed by a witch, Maleficent, and willingly accepts being put under the sleeping curse. Presumably, she is placed upon the bier in her palace where she lies sleeping forever. Maleficent also curses her true love, Prince Phillip into the form of a beast, but the curse is broken with Belle's intervention in freeing him with the power of fairy dust. He and Mulan set off on a search for Aurora. ("The Outsider")

The Evil Queen, Regina, casts the dark curse to bring the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest into another land where their happy endings do not exist. Cora, Regina's mother, protects herself and an ally, Hook from being affected by the curse as it is sweeping throughout the land by putting up a protective spell over a small area. The spell also ends up keeping some of the land inhabitants from being touched by the curse including the sleeping Aurora in her palace. ("Queen of Hearts")

During First Curse

Due to the savior not prophecized to break the dark curse for another 28 years, those left behind in the Enchanted Forest become frozen in time with the inability to age due to being untouched by the curse. Prince Phillip and Mulan scour the lands for Princess Aurora for the following 28 years.

After First Curse

After the Dark Curse is broken in the other world by Emma, Prince Phillip and his companion, Mulan, who have been searching the land of the Enchanted Forest for 28 years for Phillip's true love, Aurora, finally find her. At the remnants of an old palace, Aurora rests on a bier asleep under the sleeping curse. Phillip awakens her with true love's kiss, but the happy reunion is interrupted by the appearance of a wraith. Phillip fights with the creature; managing to steal its Wraith Amulet; not knowing that by touching it he is marking himself for death.

After Phillip is killed that night by the wraith, Mulan and Aurora return to the palace to place Prince Phillip's corpse on Aurora's bier. Mulan reveals to Aurora the palace is in a corner of land that was not affected by the Evil Queen's dark curse, and the inhabitants were merely frozen in time without being able to age in appearance wise.

Shortly after giving this explanation, Mulan and Aurora hear a noise from the hole the Wraith came through. Upon investigating, the pair find Emma and Mary Margaret unconscious on the ground, having passed through the portal via Jefferson's hat along with the wraith. ("Broken")

Following a mishap that causes Neal to fall through a portal with a gunshot wound, he lands in the Enchanted Forest and is found by Mulan, Aurora and Prince Phillip. They take him back to the palace and tend to his injuries as Mulan keeps a close watch on the stranger. Upon awakening, she asks who he is, to which the man responds with his name, Neal. Her companions, Aurora and Prince Phillip, rush over to inspect the stranger. Hastily, Aurora helps to bring water to him while Neal wonders where this is. She says him he is in their kingdom, and further questioning prompts Prince Phillip to tell Neal they are in the Enchanted Forest. Shocked, Neal murmurs he is back, which causes Aurora to think he's a native of this land, but Mulan points out his clothes are foreign and similar to Emma and Mary Margaret's. At the mention of Emma's name, Neal realizes they are acquainted with her as well, and tries to explain he needs to save Emma from harm. In attempting to move from the bier, Neal struggles to sit up as his wound is not yet completely healed, but despite that, he is set on finding out if Emma and Henry are alright. Aurora queries if Neal is Henry's father, and goes on to fill him in on how she once met Henry in the Netherworld. She mentions having harnessed the power to walk the dreamworld and find others like her, and it's possible to find Henry. Neal asks if she can find Emma to let her know he is alive.

Assuming a laying spot on the bier, Aurora attempts to find with Emma or Henry in the dreamworld. While Prince Phillip watches over her, Mulan and Neal wait at the sidelines and converse. Mulan learns Neal assumed death was imminent after falling into the portal, and from focusing his thoughts of the Enchanted Forest, that's how he ended up here. Curious about the other world, Storybrooke, she asks what it's like there. Neal starts off by saying people of that land believe the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to be fictional, and exemplifies it with the Mulan animated movie. Confused, she inquires what a movie is, but the exchange is interrupted by Aurora's awakening.

Crestfallen, Aurora notifies Neal she was unable to make contact. However, Neal recalls his father always had plans, and could have left something behind if he ever came back to the Enchanted Forest. He has hopes of finding such an item and using it to get to Emma and Henry by travelling to his father's castle. Prince Phillip raises the question of who his father is, and Neal admits it's Rumplestiltskin. While Aurora and Prince Phillip stay behind, Mulan and Neal head off towards the castle. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning," "The Heart of the Truest Believer")

After Neal has gone to Neverland because he is worried about Emma and Henry, Mulan returns to the palace and approaches Aurora as she is tending the flowers in the area. When Aurora notices her, she runs up and gives Mulan a warm welcome back embrace. Then, Mulan asks if Phillip is around, though Aurora says he isn't. She has news to share with Aurora, who coincidentally also does as well. Excitedly, Aurora announces she and Phillip are expecting their first child, which Mulan reacts to with shock and quickly congratulates her. Recovering from her stupor, Mulan hastily states she is joining Robin Hood's Merry Men. Aurora, stunned by the decision, watches her friend depart. As Mulan walks off, a tear trickles down her face. ("Quite a Common Fairy")

Trivia

• Production Notes
• Set Notes

Production Notes

• Concept art for an interior scene in Aurora's palace was created for "New York City Serenade," but this idea did not make it onto the screen.

Props Notes

• The dais which Aurora is lying on while under the Sleeping Curse, the same platform which Neal rests on after he is rescued, was later redressed and reused as the dais that Dorothy lies on while under a sleeping curse in Oz in "Ruby Slippers." ("Broken," "The Heart of the Truest Believer")

Set Dressing

• Among the numerous fairytale illustrations pinned to the wall in Henry's room are an engraving by the nineteenth century French artist Gustave Doré. It is from Les Contes de Perrault (an 1862 edition of the seventeenth century French author Charles Perrault's fairytales) (link to page) and depicts the prince walking into Sleeping Beauty's palace. ("A Land Without Magic")

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Two
"Broken":	"We Are Both":	"Lady of the Lake":	"The Crocodile":	"The Doctor":	"Tallahassee":	"Child of the Moon":	"Into the Deep":	"Queen of Hearts":	"The Cricket Game":	"The Outsider":
Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"In the Name of the Brother":	"Tiny":	"Manhattan":	"The Queen Is Dead":	"The Miller's Daughter":	"Welcome to Storybrooke":	"Selfless, Brave and True":	"Lacey":	"The Evil Queen":	"Second Star to the Right":	"And Straight On 'Til Morning":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Three
"The Heart of the Truest Believer":	"Lost Girl":	"Quite a Common Fairy":	"Nasty Habits":	"Good Form":	"Ariel":	"Dark Hollow":	"Think Lovely Thoughts":	"Save Henry":	"The New Neverland":	"Going Home":
Appears	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"New York City Serenade":	"Witch Hunt":	"The Tower":	"Quiet Minds":	"It's Not Easy Being Green":	"The Jolly Roger":	"Bleeding Through":	"A Curious Thing":	"Kansas":	"Snow Drifts":	"There's No Place Like Home":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Four
"A Tale of Two Sisters":	"White Out":	"Rocky Road":	"The Apprentice":	"Breaking Glass":	"Family Business":	"The Snow Queen":	"Smash the Mirror":	"Fall":	"Shattered Sight":	"Heroes and Villains":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Darkness on the Edge of Town":	"Unforgiven":	"Enter the Dragon":	"Poor Unfortunate Soul":	"Best Laid Plans":	"Heart of Gold":	"Sympathy for the De Vil":	"Lily":	"Mother":	"Operation Mongoose Part 1":	"Operation Mongoose Part 2":
Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Seven
"Hyperion Heights":	"A Pirate's Life":	"The Garden of Forking Paths":	"Beauty":	"Greenbacks":	"Wake Up Call":	"Eloise Gardener":	"Pretty in Blue":	"One Little Tear":	"The Eighth Witch":	"Secret Garden":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"A Taste of the Heights":	"Knightfall":	"The Girl in the Tower":	"Sisterhood":	"Breadcrumbs":	"Chosen":	"The Guardian":	"Flower Child":	"Is This Henry Mills?":	"Homecoming":	"Leaving Storybrooke":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Archive

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Absent	Archive	Absent	Absent	Archive
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Archive	Absent	Absent	Absent

"Archive" denotes archive footage.