Chapter 18: Some Cheering Up
The memorial service for Peter was held two days later outside of the Mills Family Mausoleum. A good amount of people showed up. It was a sad event but the people most affected were Mandy and the Lost Boys. People paid their respects and left one by one. Mandy and the boys were the last to stand by his coffin when Hook walked over.
"What are you doing here, Hook?" Nibs asked rudely.
"I came to pay my respects." He answered sincerely.
"Thank you." Mandy whispered.
"He was a worthy opponent." He said smiling knowing that the boy was dead.
"He bested you every time!" Slightly yelled.
Hook ignored the boy. "He always did put up a good sword fight. I'm just upset I wasn't the one to kill him." He sighed. "You're lucky you did." He said to Mandy.
"You can go now Hook." Mandy hissed not wanting to deal with him.
"I see you got Regina's temper along with other features…"He said looking Mandy over before walking away.
"He is so annoying!" Mandy mumbled.
"And creepy...don't forget creepy." Cubby added.
"Why did you have to kill him anyway?" Nibs asked angrily.
"We already had this discussion…I told you I didn't mean to." Mandy argued.
"You should've controlled your magic." Slightly added.
"There's a lot of things I should've done, but didn't. I wish I can go back and change what happened, but I can't!" Mandy screamed drawing people's attention. The boys walked away without saying a word.
"Guys, I'm sorry!" She yelled after them.
"Mandy?" Snow said as she tapped her on the shoulder. Mandy turned. "I couldn't help but over hear. Is there anything I can do?" Snow asked trying to help in any way she could.
"You could take the boys to the Blue Fairy, if you don't mind? They need someone to look after them." Mandy said hoping Snow would do her this favor.
"Of course. I'll take care of it" Snow said smiling.
"Thank you. I would do it myself but they are kinda mad at me right now." Mandy said trying to force a smile.
Snow pulled her into a hug. "It's no problem, really." Normally, Mandy would pull away by now but she didn't have the strength nor did she want to. She really liked Snow and wished she grew up with her as her older sister.
Cora walked over. "Honey, it's time to move Peter into the mausoleum."
After David, Neal, Grumpy and surprisingly Hook brought Peter's coffin down and placed him next to another coffin, they left. Mandy walked into the empty room. It was cold and damp down there. She had only been down there one other time, when she and Regina came to get Cora's heart. She didn't really notice anything before but now she had time to take it all in. She noticed the other glass coffin next to Peter's and was curious as to who else was buried down here. She walked over and looked at the well-preserved body. She read the name on the side of the coffin. "Daniel." She whispered. "This must be my father." She thought to herself. She studied his features and was amazed at how young he looked. She thought about the life she would've had with Regina and Daniel. It would've been completely different than the one she had now. She took a deep breath before walking up the mausoleum steps to join Regina and Cora who was waiting for her outside.
A week had gone by since Peter died. Mandy didn't leave her room and wasn't up to talking to anyone. Regina knew what it was like to feel depressed but her mother never gave her time to be alone when Daniel died. She was always making Regina try on dresses, having tea, and preparing to become Queen. She was, after all, going to be married to the King soon.
Regina was making breakfast when Cora walked into the kitchen. "You have got to get the girl out of that room. It's no good to dwell on the past." Cora said playing with the basket of fruit in front of her.
"She needs time to herself. I never had that when you killed Daniel. You always kept me busy." Regina argued.
"To keep your mind off that stable boy…and you had to focus on becoming Queen." Cora shot back.
"You wanted to be Queen, not me! I could care less who ruled as long as I was happy…but that never seemed to happen." Regina yelled as memories started filling her head.
Cora put her hands up in defense. "I realize I may have overdone it just a little…"
"Overdone it?" Regina scoffed. "You basically smothered me!"
"Oh, don't exaggerate Regina." Cora said rolling her eyes.
"I thought you were supposed to be nicer now that you got your heart back." Regina growled.
"I'm working on it Regina. You're not making this easy." Cora hissed.
"It's not supposed to be easy, Mother!"
"Alright Regina, calm down." Cora ordered.
Regina took a minute to compose herself. "I'm sorry…I just…don't know what to do about Miranda. She hasn't been eating lately." Regina confessed.
"Well, you don't like my advice so you'll just have to figure it out yourself…" Cora said biting into an apple as the doorbell rang.
"Nothing new there…" Regina mumbled as she headed towards the door.
"What was that, Regina?" Cora asked.
"Nothing…nothing…" Regina replied as she quickly hurried out of the kitchen to answer the door.
"Henry, how are you?" She asked when she opened the door to see who it was.
Henry walked in and gave her a hug. "I'm good. I was wondering if Mandy wanted to hangout." He said.
"She won't come out of her room." Regina admitted.
"Still?" Henry asked in disbelief. Regina nodded. "Alright, I guess I'll find someone else to play with."
"No, wait!" Regina said grabbing his arm. "Maybe you can cheer her up."
"How?" Henry asked.
"I don't know. You're always thinking of fun things to play. You would entertain yourself for hours when you were younger." Regina said remembering how cute Henry was when he was little.
"I'm not that creative now…" Henry sighed.
"Just try." Regina commanded as she pushed him up the stairs. "At least get her out of that room!"
Henry knocked on Mandy's bedroom door. "I'm not hungry." Mandy yelled thinking it was Regina again trying to make her eat.
Henry opened the door and walked in. "Good because I didn't bring any food. I'm here to play with you." He said as cheerful as a six year old.
"Sorry Henry, I'm not in the mood to play." Mandy said as she stared at the ceiling.
"I know you're still upset with what happened, but you need to move on…" Henry said showing tough love.
"I don't want to move on. I don't deserve to be happy." Mandy whined.
"Why do you think that? I'm sure Peter would want you to move on and be happy." Henry said trying to convince her to return to her normal self.
"He didn't want me happy…he hated me in those final moments." Mandy sighed.
"All the more reason to move on…" Henry said shrugging his shoulders.
"It's not that easy Henry." She replied. "I loved him."
"Well at least get out of this room!" Henry complained.
"And go where?" Mandy asked as she sat up on the bed to look at him.
"Let's go outback. It's really nice out today." Henry suggested.
"Fine, but I'm not playing any games." Mandy said as she looked for her sandals.
"Fine. No games. Promise." He said crossing his fingers behind his back.
Regina saw Mandy and Henry heading for the backyard. She gave Henry a thumbs up before going up to Mandy's room. She couldn't wait to clean her room and do laundry, it's been weeks. Mandy was lying out trying to get a tan. She had nothing better to do since Henry made her come outside. She had her sunglasses on but her eyes were closed. They were sitting out there for a little over an hour when Henry started to get bored.
"Can we do something?" He whined.
"You promised. No games." She answered without moving.
Henry noisily got up and stomped his way toward the house. Mandy turned her head to peak at Henry but resumed her tanning position when she saw him walking away. As he was walking towards the house something caught his eye. He picked up the green hose and began to quietly unravel it.
"This should be fun." He mumbled to himself.
He snuck closer to Mandy. She must've still had her eyes closed because she didn't move as he got closer. He aimed the hose at Mandy and squeezed the trigger. Mandy began screaming as cold water hit her body. She held up her hands defensively. Henry laughed at her failed attempt to stop the water. He kept spraying her and she kept screaming.
"Henry, stop! It's freezing!" She yelled.
"No. You need some fun in your life." He shot back as he kept the hose aimed at her.
"This is not fun for me!" She screamed as she attempted to stand up and block the water.
"Well I'm having a great time!" He said as he changed the setting on the hose from the rain setting to the jet setting.
"Ow Henry! That hurts! Stop!" She yelled. "I was having a good hair day today."
"I didn't think it looked that good." He laughed. "You're such a girl."
"That's it!" She disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. He stopped spraying the hose and began to spin slowly, trying to figure out where she would show up. He backed up slowly towards the house and hit something behind him. He quickly turned around and began spraying the hose, aiming at the figure in front of him.
"Henry! What the white rabbit are you doing?!" Cora screamed as she got hit with water.
He stopped when he saw who it was. "Oh, sorry Cora. I thought you were Mandy."
Cora just stood there dripping wet. "Well where is she?"
"If I knew, you wouldn't have gotten wet." He shot back.
"You sound just like Regina and Miranda. I hate when you three come back with smart alec remarks." Cora said crossing her arms.
Before Henry could respond, Mandy suddenly appeared behind him. She made a bucket of water fall on his head.
She walked over to Cora who held out her hand for a high five. "Direct hit!" Cora said. They both laughed.
He lifted the bucket off of his head. "I don't know why you two are laughing." He began spraying both of them with water. Screams escaped both women. Cora flung out her hands and made Henry fall backwards. When he stood up, he was covered in mud.
"I only got you wet, not dirty." Henry whined.
"You never said there were rules." Mandy argued.
Henry noticed the hose was wrapped around Mandy's foot. He yanked the hose and Mandy was face first in the mud within seconds. Cora began laughing.
"I thought you were on my side!" Mandy said as she spat out mud, her face fully covered in it.
"I am. But that was funny." Cora said pointing to Mandy in the mud.
"You wouldn't be laughing if it happened to you." Mandy said getting to her feet. She noticed the hose was now wrapped around Cora's foot. Mandy looked at Henry to make sure he saw. He did.
"Because it wouldn't be funny." Cora said as her face turned serious.
"Are you sure about that?" Mandy asked arching her eyebrows. Henry knew it was time to make Cora fall. He pulled and she was soon covered in mud. It was now Henry and Mandy's turn to laugh.
"Henry! That wasn't very nice!" Cora said angrily.
"You're not on my side so I don't have to be nice." Henry shot back.
"That's what you get Cora." Mandy smirked before walking towards the house.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Cora said to Mandy as she flung out her hand, freezing Mandy's feet so she couldn't go anywhere.
Mandy almost fell by the sudden freeze of her feet. "Ugh, seriously Cora?!" She shouted as she tried to turn to face Cora.
Cora tried to stand up. "I'm dead serious." She noticed Mandy's face. She shouldn't have said 'dead'. "Sorry, poor choice of words. But Regina wouldn't let you in her house covered in mud." Cora took one step and slipped, landing right back in the mud. A smile spread across Mandy's face as she watched Cora fall.
"Well I'm glad I can amuse you." She said to Mandy.
Henry looked down at Cora in the mud." You're a mess."
"Enough out of you!" She snapped her fingers and Henry was suddenly wearing a dress with a bright pink bow in his hair and makeup on his face.
Henry looked down and saw the dress. "You made me look like a girl!" He shouted.
Mandy laughed. "An ugly girl."
"We'll call you Henrietta!" Cora said smiling wickedly up at Henry. Henry smirked and sprayed Cora right in the face.
Mandy wanted to get Cora back for freezing her feet. She knew Cora hated White Roses. Mandy made them begin to grow all around Cora.
"No! Not white roses! You know they have to be red! Off with her head!" Cora screamed as she pointed to Mandy.
Mandy laughed at how worked up Cora was getting. "We're not in Wonderland anymore, Cora. That's not gonna work."
Cora flew out her hand. Mandy ducked and her spell hit Regina right in the face. Regina closed her eyes and scrunched her face when the spell hit. "What is going on out here?" Regina asked as she surveyed her once perfect backyard and the three mud covered people. "Why is my son wearing a dress and a bow in his hair?"
Henry's hand shot right to his hand as he felt the bow in his hair. "You just had to add a bow, didn't you?" Henry asked as he pulled the bow out and threw it to the ground.
"I thought it added a nice touch." Cora said smirking.
"Mother, explain this." Regina demanded.
"Hey, for once I didn't start anything. It was your messy kids." Cora shot back. Henry started laughing out of nowhere.
"What's so funny, Henry?" Cora asked as she followed his gaze to Regina. Mandy gasped as she saw the pimples begin to appear on Regina's face.
Mandy turned to yell at Cora. "You were going to give me acne?!"
"Well teenage girls hate acne." Cora said shrugging her shoulders.
Regina touched her face. "You gave me acne?!" Regina said freaking out.
"Apparently, grown women hate it too." Mandy said as she watched Regina freak out.
"It wasn't meant for you Regina. Grow up." Cora demanded as she rolled her eyes.
"Says the woman sitting in mud surrounded by flowers." Regina said pointing to Cora on the ground.
"You caught me in a bad moment. We are in the middle of a battle." Cora said angrily.
"Do you have to destroy my backyard in the process?" Regina complained.
"Oh Regina, lighten up!" Cora whined.
"Fine." Regina smirked as she made the Cheshire cat appear next to Cora who despised the cat.
"Hellooooo" The Cheshire Cat said in an echoing voice.
Cora jumped up and ran over to Regina. "Oh no! Not him! I'll take the white rabbit over him. Please get rid of that annoying cat!" Cora begged Regina.
"Get this acne off my face and unfreeze Miranda and the cat disappears." Regina bargained.
With the snap of her fingers, Regina's acne was gone and Miranda was unfrozen. Regina, in return, made the cat disappear.
"I always hated that damn cat. He confused the hell out of me when I was in Wonderland." Mandy complained.
"What about me?" Henry asked still in the dress.
"You weren't part of the deal." Cora said flatly.
Henry decided to get back at all three of them. He began spraying them with the hose. Mandy had enough of getting wet by this stupid hose. She took off chasing him. He dropped the hose and began running around the backyard with Mandy close behind.
"How do you run in dresses?" Henry shouted as he was holding up his pink dress as he kept running.
"Ladies never run in dresses." Cora replied.
"I did." Mandy and Regina said in unison.
Cora looked shocked. "Well that's very unlady like. I thought I raised you better than that Regina." Regina just rolled her eyes as she watched her kids running around.
Mandy finally caught up to Henry. She grabbed the back of his dress. He tripped over the hose and fell directly into the mud, pulling Mandy down with him. They both began laughing at how ridiculous they must've looked. It warmed Regina's heart to see her kids playing and Mandy's laughter again. She knew Henry could cheer her up. They continued messing around for the rest of the afternoon until they all grew tired and decided to call it a day. Since Henry was so good with the hose, he was in charge of rinsing everyone off before they entered the house. They all got showers and returned to the kitchen for dinner. Mandy realized she wasn't as depressed as she used to be and she had Henry to thank for that. She also realized that she rarely ate since Peter died. She ate everything on her plate at dinner; she even went back for seconds and thirds. Regina was pleased to see her daughter's smile and appetite return. She looked at the people sitting around her dining room table. Henry, Cora, and Mandy were all chatting away about the day's events. She couldn't be happier to have her family with her and see them enjoying themselves.
I didn't know where to go from the last chapter so it took me a little while to get motivated. I wanted to add some excitement since the last chapter was kinda depressing so I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!