Chapter 22: Hypnosis
As the day progressed, Mandy was getting nervous for tonight, not to mention she would have to tell Regina about the pregnancy sooner or later, but she couldn't let Regina notice. If she did, she wouldn't let her go through with it. She also had to hide her morning sickness that seemed to come whenever she was around Regina and it didn't just pertain to the morning. Mandy put on her brave face for the rest of the day. Waving off Regina's constant worrying. By 10pm, the normal group began arriving at Regina's. The Charming's arrived first followed by Neal and Gold. Once everyone showed up, Cora and Gold began explaining their plan in further detail to the rest of the group.
"So how is this all going to work?" David asked once everyone was gathered in the living room and was comfortable.
"Well what needs to happen first is for Miranda to fall asleep. Once that happens, we wait until she hears the song." Cora said as she took her spot next to Gold who was standing in the middle of the room.
"And when she does?" Emma asked wanting to know more information.
"We will be able to control her." Gold said simply.
"What do you mean 'control her'?" Regina asked wanting to know exactly what he meant.
"She will be under the influence of the child snatcher but we will be able to communicate with her and gather information. She needs to drink this first." Gold said pulling a little bottle from his jacket pocket.
"What are you going to do, poison her?" Emma asked, laughing at her joke. No one else thought it was funny. She looked confused.
"Poisoning someone is no joking matter, Emma." Snow said correcting her daughter.
"Oh right…I forgot I was surrounded by a bunch of fairytale characters who solve their problems by poisoning people and then waking them up with a simple kiss." She said throwing her hands in the air.
"You know you are one of those fairytale characters, right?" Mandy hissed. Emma heard her although she chose not to respond. She never thought of herself as a fairytale character. That was just too weird for her.
"She is not drinking that!" Regina said firmly.
David tried to reason with her. "But if it will help her fall asleep quicker…"
Regina interrupted. "If it were your daughter, you wouldn't let her drink it." David just stared at her. She was right, if it were Emma in her shoes, he wouldn't let her drink it. Gold wasn't the most trusting person after all.
"This is not going to make her sleep. It will only let us control her while she is hypnotized. If she doesn't drink it, then there is no point in being here." Gold informed.
"And why should I believe you?" Regina asked crossing her arms.
"Because my grandson was taken and I want him back." Gold replied angrily.
"So you can kill him yourself?" Mandy questioned implying he still wants Henry dead.
Gold stared at Mandy with anger. "No. I want him safe."
"No offense Gold, but you did try to kill him twice." Emma added.
"He's changed now, trust me." Neal said putting his hand on Emma's shoulder to reassure her he's telling the truth.
"That's hard to believe." Regina mumbled but loud enough to be heard.
"We are wasting time." Snow said sighing.
"Regina let her drink it. It won't harm her. I promise." Cora said holding her hand up like a girl scout would when making a pledge.
Regina saw the truth in her eyes when she made her promise so she agreed. "Fine but if something happens to her as a result of drinking that, I'll have your head on a plate Gold!" She threatened.
Gold rolled his eyes at Regina's pathetic threat. "Here. Drink this." He said roughly handing the potion to Mandy. She looked at it unsure if she should drink it but she gulped it down anyway. She was hoping it wouldn't do anything to the baby. "That tastes horrible!" She said making a sour face as she handed the bottle back to Gold.
"I didn't say it would be pleasant." He shot back.
"You could've warned me!" Mandy said trying to get the taste out of her mouth.
"She should try to sleep now." Snow suggested. "It's getting late."
"She should sleep in here so we can keep a better eye on her." Cora added.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep with everyone staring at me." Mandy said looking at everyone in the room.
"We will be in the kitchen. Regina, you stay and try to get her to fall asleep." Cora instructed.
Gold stood right in front of Mandy, making sure she understood his next instructions. "You need to relax and clear your mind so the potion will work. This is crucial."
"I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances." She said a little frustrated. They all headed into the kitchen to give Mandy some quiet.
Regina came into the kitchen after a half hour of trying to get Miranda to fall asleep with no luck. "I told her stories; read to her…I even tried singing." She said plopping into an open chair.
"We heard you singing…you're not bad." Emma commented.
"Someone else try." Neal said trying to move this along.
"I'll go!" Snow volunteered eagerly as she raced out of the kitchen before anyone could object. She wanted to spend some time with her step-sister.
"Mandy?" Snow whispered just in case she fell asleep.
"Hey Snow." She whispered back as she sat up.
"Still can't sleep?" She asked sitting next to Mandy on the couch.
Mandy shook her head. "Listening to Regina reading and singing made me tired but…" She said her voice trailing off.
"But what?"
Mandy sighed. "Please don't tell my mom, but I'm nervous."
"It's okay to be nervous." Snow said smiling trying to offer her sister comfort.
Mandy was dying to tell someone about her pregnancy. She needed advice but she couldn't ask Regina or Cora. "That's not the only reason I'm nervous."
"Care to explain?" Snow questioned arching her eyebrow.
Mandy took a deep breath before telling Snow. She didn't know how she would react to her news but it had to be better than how Regina would react. It could either go really well or completely downhill in seconds. "You have to promise, and I mean seriously promise, you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, especially my mother." She said moving closer to Snow so she could whisper better.
Snow felt like history was repeating itself. She didn't want to disappoint another generation of the Mills family. "I don't know if I'm the right person you should be telling any secrets to." She said shaking her head.
Mandy put her hands on top of Snow's. "I have to tell someone and you're the only one I'm kinda close to other than the Lost Boys, Regina and Cora…and I can't tell them about this. I really need advice."
Snow was still unsure whether or not to let Mandy tell her secret to her. Snow saw the worried look on Mandy's face and the desperation in her eyes. "Alright, you can tell me but I can't promise."
Mandy was disappointed but she still wanted to tell Snow. She really needed someone's opinion. She leaned closer to Snow's ear and whispered, "I'm pregnant."
Snow's eyes grew wide. She was not expecting a pregnancy confession from the 15 year old. "Are you sure?" She whispered back.
Mandy nodded. "I took a pregnancy test last night and my period's late. I don't know what to do."
Snow didn't really know what to do either. She was never in this type of situation nor knew anyone. "Honey, the first thing you have to do is tell Regina."
Mandy shook her head. "No, I can't. I don't want to disappoint her. She'll be so angry with me." She said putting her head down in shame.
"Everyone lets a person they love down. It's a part of life." Snow lifted Mandy's chin. "Regina will love you just as much as she does now, if not more."
"You think so?" Mandy asked looking hopeful.
"Of course!" Snow exclaimed. "I'm not saying she won't be mad at first, but she will be there for you when you need her."
Mandy shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I guess I'll tell her after all of this is over. I want to help out as much as I can."
"What you need to do is rest." Snow ordered as she fixed the blanket so it would cover Mandy better.
Mandy shook her head no. "Not yet. Regina wouldn't let me help out if she thought I didn't feel good…and Gold and Cora said I would be fine."
"You have to understand where Regina is coming from." Snow said trying to make her listen. Mandy looked confused.
"She thought she lost you when you were a baby. She mourned your death every day after that and never really recovered. She just got you back and she will do anything not to lose you again. So if she comes across as over bearing or too protective at times, just know she wants to keep you safe and close to her. She loves you very much." Snow said defending Regina's actions. As a mother who lost her daughter when she was a baby, she knew how Regina felt. She didn't know if she was going to see Emma ever again, so she understood why Regina acted this way with Mandy.
Mandy smiled. "I'm really glad I found her. I spent most of life dreaming of her and how my life would've turned out."
"I can see tiny pieces or her former self coming through. I think she's finally healing." She said smiling back.
Mandy pondered over Snow's words. She realized that Regina had been mourning Daniel every day, with deep hatred for Snow. Of course it wasn't going to go away overnight but she hoped Regina could forgive Snow someday; she really liked her. "When she was your step-mother, what was she like?" she asked curious what her mother was like back then.
Sow sighed. "I loved her. I wanted her to be my mother, to be a family. She spent a lot of time with me. We got to know each other pretty well. We really only had each other to talk to. She's the one who helped me get back on the horse after my incident." Snow said remembering Regina before she changed.
Mandy smiled but it didn't last long. "She tried to get over my disloyalty to her but she just couldn't do it. I think she wanted to let me in again, to love me the way I loved her, but it was too painful. I think she felt like if she forgave me, she would be betraying Daniel." Snow said thinking about Regina in the days leading up to her transition.
"We could've been sisters and had so much fun together." Mandy said thinking about how her life would've been like growing up in the palace with Snow as an older sister. "I wish things turned out differently."
"You have no idea how long I wished for that! But we can still be sisters now, it won't be the same but it's a start." Snow offered as she grabbed Mandy's hand.
"I'd really like that." She replied smiling.
Snow smiled back. "Me too."
Mandy took a long pause before asking her next question. "So she wasn't a good mom?"
Snow tried her best to put this correctly. "She was under a lot of pressure at the time, especially from her mother, I realize that now. She was basically thrown into a marriage she had no interest in. She had no idea how to be a mother; she was only a few years older than me…and she certainly didn't want to be queen." Mandy just nodded as she took in all of the information.
Snow looked at her watch and realized they've been talking for a long time. "You really need to get to sleep. No more questions." She said pointing her finger at Mandy.
"I'm still nervous." Mandy admitted.
"I can tell you're tired. How about I stay with you until you fall asleep?" Snow offered holding her arm out for Mandy to come closer. Mandy slid closer to Snow and leaned on her shoulder, her head fitting perfectly in the crook of Snow's neck. Snow began running her fingers lightly up and down her arm which relaxed Mandy quickly causing her to fall asleep within minutes.
Gold and the rest of them came into the living room ten minutes later.
"Shh." Snow put her finger up to her lips then pointing down at Mandy who fell asleep on her chest. "She's sleeping."
"Finally!" David said a little too loudly and was shushed by everyone.
"How did you get her to sleep?" Regina whispered not too happy that Snow got her daughter to sleep but she couldn't.
Snow shrugged her shoulders. "I just talked to her…you already made her tired. She just needed to talk a little." She whispered back trying to give Regina the credit.
"Why didn't she talk to me?" Regina asked sounding jealous.
"You'll have to ask her…" She whispered not wanting to get in the middle of mother and daughter, even though she technically was.
"So now what?" Asked Neal.
"We wait…" Cora simply said and she took a seat on the other couch in the room.
They all followed Cora's example and took seats, either on the other furniture or on the floor. As it got later, they kept dozing off one by one. Mandy got off the couch and slowly began walking towards the front door without making a sound. Snow felt the sudden shift on the couch and opened her eyes slightly. She saw Mandy walking and shook Emma awake who was the closest to her.
"She's up! She's up!" Snow whisper-yelled so people would hear but not disturb Mandy.
Emma jumped up to block the door so she couldn't get out. Everyone awoke with confused looks on their faces but then quickly remembered what was going on. "Someone grab her. She's getting closer and she's freaking me out! She's like a zombie!" Emma said panicking.
"Be gentle so you won't wake her." Gold warned before David lightly scooped her up and placed her back on the couch. Mandy stood up only to be lightly held down.
"What now?" Neal asked.
Cora stood in front of Mandy. "Miranda. Miranda, what are you hearing?" Mandy didn't respond.
Gold stood next to Cora. "Mandy, I need you to sing us the song you are hearing." He said. Slowly but surely Mandy began singing the song.
"Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away, Into A Land Of Enchantment
Come Little Children, The Time's Come To Play, Here In My Garden, Of Shadows
Follow Sweet Children, I'll Show Thee The Way, Through All The Pain And, The Sorrows
Weep Not Poor Children, For Life Is This Way, Murdering Beauty And, Passions
Hush Now Dear Children, It Must Be This Way, Too Weary Of Life And, Deceptions
Rest Now My Children, For Soon We'll Away, into The Calm And, The Quiet
Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away, Into A Land, Of Enchantment
Come Little Children, The Time's Come To Play, Here In My Garden, Of Shadows."
As soon as she was finished singing the song, she tried to get back up again to leave. She was pushed back down and remained silent.
"That's a creepy ass song." Emma commented when no one else said anything.
"Disturbing." Regina said shaking her head in disgust.
"Mandy." Gold said trying to get her attention to ask her more questions. "I need you to concentrate on the place she wants go."
Mandy didn't answer. She kept staring straight ahead, almost in a daze. "Where is she taking you, Miranda?" Cora asked her voice soothing.
"Woods. Deep. Hidden. Only children." She said slowly only giving a few words.
"Okay, so it's deep in the woods and only kids…what?" He said trying to piece together the information she just told them.
"What about the kids Mandy? Only kids can what?" Gold asked wanting the answer eagerly.
"Can enter." She whispered.
"How are we going to save them if only kids can get in?" Emma asked throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.
"We send in a kid." Gold replied staring straight at Mandy.
"Oh no! She is not going in there. I agreed to this hypnosis but I will not allow her to go in there." Regina said her voice rising in anger.
Snow didn't want Mandy going in there either. She could get hurt and so could the baby. "I don't think she should go either." Regina was surprised Snow was on her side for a change.
"She wants me to come play." Mandy whispered as she stood once more only to be lightly pushed back down by David and Cora.
Regina kneeled in front of her and put her hands on Mandy's knees. "Tell her your mother won't let you." She said sternly.
"She doesn't like that answer." Mandy replied still staring off into the distance not making eye contact with anyone.
"Too bad. You're staying here." Regina informed.
Mandy whispered, "I have to go. I want to go."
Emma saw the worry on Regina's face. "That's it. I'm waking her up." Emma said walking over to Mandy.
"No. We need more answers." Gold exclaimed.
"We can't risk her safety anymore. That woman is dragging her to her lair." Snow declared as she agreed with Emma.
Emma lightly shook Mandy. "Mandy, Mandy wake up. Don't listen to her anymore. Wake up." She commanded. Emma snapped her fingers in front of Mandy's face.
Mandy refocused her eyes and looked around confused. "What happened?" She asked holding her head.
"You helped us find her location." Cora answered happily.
"That's great!" Mandy replied in delight.
"Do you remember anything?" Snow asked as she walked closer to her.
Mandy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't remember anything I said. I just remember the path she wanted me to follow."
"Great! You can lead us there." David exclaimed.
"And that's the only thing she is going to do." Regina warned.
"Can I take some aspirin first? I have a headache." Mandy asked still holding her head in pain.
Gold waved it off. "Side effect from the potion. It should wear off shortly." They all grabbed their jackets and headed out the door with Mandy leading the way.
Well let me know what you think. I hope you liked this chapter. Please Review! The song Mandy sang you can find on YouTube. It's called "Come Little Children" if you wanted to listen to it.