Chapter 23: Into the Woods
Mandy was leading the way with the group following close behind. They picked up a few extra people on the way. Ruby, Granny, The Blue Fairy, Jiminy, and the 7 dwarfs joined them. They also told all the parents to wait by the edge of the forest and they would be told when to come when they found the witch. Mandy had to stop a few times to remember exactly which way to go. As they were walking, her mind began to wander. She thought about the little baby growing inside her. She had so many thoughts running through her head. "How am I going to take care of it? Will I know what to do? What would Peter say if he were here?" She was so deep in thought, she didn't hear Grumpy's question.
"Hello? Earth to Mandy?" Grumpy said tapping her on her shoulder.
She snapped out of her daydream when she heard her name. "What?"
"How much further?" He whined.
Mandy looked around. "We should almost be there. Just past those trees." She said pointing further up ahead.
Grumpy groaned. "Are you sure you're leading us in the right direction?"
"Do you ever stop whining?" Regina questioned looking annoyed.
Grumpy glared at her. "I don't like you."
"Feelings mutual." She replied returning the glare.
"Oh there it is!" She exclaimed as she began running.
"Miranda wait!" Regina yelled firmly. Mandy stopped at the sound of her mother's voice. She hid behind the closest tree as she waited for them to catch up to her. When they finally did, they looked confused.
"Where is it?" David asked.
"What do you mean, 'Where is it'? It's right there!" "She said pointing directly in front of her.
"Honey, there's nothing there." Regina said putting her hand on Mandy's back as she stared at the empty space in front of her.
"Yes there is! I can see it, plain as day." Mandy argued.
"What the hell was in that potion you gave her?" Emma asked Gold.
"Is she hallucinating?" Snow then asked.
"No, I'm not hallucinating." Mandy said rolling her eyes. "It's right there. Why can't any of you see it?"
"Only children can see it." Gold said simply.
"So…what now?" Neal asked.
"Miranda, what else do you see?" Blue asked.
Mandy peaked out from behind the tree. "The cottage is quite big. I think there's a cellar…"
"Probably where she keeps the kids." Ruby noted.
"There's also two force fields surrounding the place." Mandy added.
"Two?!" David exclaimed.
"What kind of force fields?" Neal asked.
Mandy peaked again. "The outer one looks like it is meant to keep adults out while the inner one is meant to keep the kids inside."
"That explains why we can't see or hear anything." Cora said.
"Get down!" Mandy ordered. "Someone's coming." They all ducked behind the tree that was just big enough to hide them all if they squished together.
"Ow. David get off my foot." Snow whispered in pain. "Sorry." He replied.
"Emma, move your hair. It's in my face." Neal complained.
"Rumple, stop breathing down my neck." Cora whined. "It's creepin me out!"
"Get your elbow out of my side, Regina." Emma muttered.
"Achoo!" Sneezed Sneezy. "Be quiet!" Everyone whispered in unison.
"What's that smell?" Granny asked making a sour face.
"Sorry." Grumpy grumbled. "You didn't have to point it out."
"Who is it?" Ruby asked Mandy.
"I'm a little squished here!" Her voice muffled because she was under everyone. She slowly managed to crawl out of the pile. "It's Slightly! He's alive!" She exclaimed.
"Who?" Grumpy asked not recognizing the name.
"One of the Lost Boys." Snow answered.
"What's he doing?" Granny asked.
"I don't really know. He dumped a bag outside and is going back into the cottage." She replied as she watched what he was doing.
"So what's the plan now?" Jiminy asked.
"Ruby, go get the parents and bring them here. Regina. Emma, Cora, Blue and I will work on breaking down the outer force field, while Miranda works on the inner one." Gold said pushing one of the dwarfs away from him. Ruby began running in the direction they had just came from to bring the parents back.
"I thought I made it clear that Miranda was only leading us here and that was it." Regina said angrily.
"You also said that she was only doing the hypnosis but she's done more than that…" Emma noted causing Regina to glare at the blonde.
Blue tried to reason with her. "Regina, she's the only one that can enter. If she doesn't, those kids will most certainly die."
Regina was having a tough time making her decision. She didn't want to endanger one child's safety for another but it seemed like she didn't really have a choice.
"Is there any other way?" Snow asked breaking Regina's thoughts.
Blue shook her head. "I'm afraid not."
Mandy took a deep breath. "Looks like I'm going in…" She began running down the hill.
When Snow finally caught up to her, she grabbed her arm. "You can't! What about the baby? It could get hurt…you could get hurt." She whispered so no one else would hear. She was concerned for Mandy's safety.
"I know but I have to save all those kids, I'm the only one who can. I'm going." She whispered firmly.
"You have to tell her before you do anything else." Snow wasn't whispering anymore, her voice very serious.
"I will when I get back." Mandy said still whispering hoping Snow would catch on and return to a whisper.
"What's going on?" Emma asked when she caught up with the pair.
Emma was ignored. "You need to tell her right now." Snow said in a strict motherly tone. Emma only heard her use that voice when she was being yelled at by her, which was rare. Snow usually didn't over-step her boundaries.
"Snow, I already told you I would tell her afterwards. Now please just drop it!" Mandy said angrily. She didn't want to do this here, not now, especially in front of everyone. She wanted to break the news to Regina in a more private setting and she didn't want everyone to know about her pregnancy.
"Tell who what?" Emma asked, her eyes darting back and forth between the two seeing who would be the one to tell. Neither seemed to be listening to her.
"Tell her, or I will," Snow threatened. She didn't want to be the one to tell Regina about Mandy's pregnancy but she would if it meant protecting her.
"I thought I could trust you, Snow." Mandy hissed.
The rest of the group finally caught up to them. "What is with all the shouting?" Cora asked as she grabbed hold of Rumple's shoulder to regain her balance.
"They're fighting about something…" Emma answered shrugging her shoulders.
"It's not something I want to do Miranda but it's for your own good." Snow said, causing confused looks from the people around her.
"Please don't tell Regina." Mandy begged. "I will as soon as this is over."
"Tell me what?" Regina asked when she heard her name.
Snow spun around when she heard Regina. She was looking from Regina to Mandy. She saw the hurt in Mandy's eyes. She didn't want to betray her trust but she had to protect her. "Are you going to tell her, or should I?"
"Miranda?" Regina questioned arching her eyebrows. Mandy gulped. She wasn't ready to tell Regina, not in the least. The courage she had when she was about to pass through the force field left her and she needed to get it back fast. Regina walked over to her, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Are you nervous?" Mandy looked down, not wanting to make eye contact, and began crying. "Honey, what is it?"
"Please don't be mad at me." She begged still looking down at her feet.
Regina lifted her chin to stare directly into her eyes. "You can tell me anything." She whispered wiping away Mandy's tears.
Mandy began shaking because of how nervous she was. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. "I'm…I'm…pregnant." She whispered her voice trembling. Regina was shocked as was everyone else. They all held their breath, waiting to see how Regina would react.
"Didn't see that coming." Emma mumbled.
Regina's jaw dropped. She couldn't stop staring at her daughter. "What do you mean you're pregnant?!"
She asked her voice rising.
Mandy knew she would be mad; she couldn't help but apologize for her mistake. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."
Cora came up behind Regina, hands on her hips. "That was really stupid of you, Miranda!" She scolded. "How could you let that happen? You shouldn't have been engaging in such activities in the first place. You're just as stupid as Regina was when she was younger."
Regina knew that was something her mother would say when she was heartless. She knew Cora was still getting used to having her heart but she wasn't going to let that be an excuse, at least not for this matter. She could only deal with one problem at a time and right now Cora wasn't her priority, her daughter was. "Mother, I can handle this." Regina hissed.
"Cora, I think we should talk real quick." Jiminy suggested. Cora was reluctant at first but soon complied, which relieved Regina. She couldn't deal with her mother now.
"I know it was stupid. I'm really nervous about the whole thing. Please, please don't be mad at me. I'm so sorry." She said before she started crying again.
Regina pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her close to her chest. Her head tucked under Regina's chin as she stroked her daughter's head. "I'm not mad, honey…..shocked is more like it."
"I didn't mean to disappoint you." Mandy sobbed into Regina's blazer.
Regina smiled, although Mandy couldn't see. "You didn't." She said reassuring her daughter that she still loved her.
"I'm scared." Mandy whispered not wanting to let go of Regina. She felt safe in her mother's arms.
Regina held her tighter. "I know, sweetie. I'll be here to help you. Don't worry."
"Really?" Mandy asked shocked as she pulled her head back to look at Regina.
Regina smoothed Mandy's hair down and caressed her face, wiping away the remaining tears. "Of course, dear. I'll always be here for you." Mandy hugged her again, this time with a smile on her face. She was surprised at how well Regina was taking the news. She was hoping Cora would come around eventually.
"Sorry to break up this little love fest, but we have kids that are in need of saving." Grumpy said trying to move things along. They didn't exactly have a lot of time to waste.
"The grouch is right." Emma added putting her hands on her hips. She received a glare from Grumpy but it didn't faze her. "What? I mean your name is 'Grumpy'. It's not like I gave you a mean nickname."
"Get going Miranda." Gold commanded.
Regina turned around angrily. "This changes everything. She is definitely not going in there."
"You might wanna tell her that…"Emma said nodding towards Miranda.
Regina turned around and saw Miranda running down the hill, closer to the force field. "Miranda, stop!" She screamed her voice full of fear and worry.
"I have to save them!" She shouted as she kept running until she passed through the force field and wasn't able to be seen anymore. Everyone stared quietly waiting to see if Mandy would come back out, but she didn't. Ruby finally got back with the parents right behind her.
"We need to start breaking the force field." Gold said breaking the silence.
Regina turned around very angrily, staring directly at Snow. "Why didn't you tell me about Miranda as soon as you found out?" She screamed.
"Did I miss something?" Ruby whispered to David.
"Miranda just told Regina, and the rest of us, that she's pregnant." David informed her.
Ruby's jaw to dropped ."Alright, that was out of the blue and I'm pissed I missed it! How did Regina react? Was she totally freaking out?" She asked her face not hiding her eagerness to find out how the scene unfolded.
"She actually took it pretty well…better than any of us would've expected." David admitted.
"Well that's no fun…" Ruby said pouting.
"She needed someone to confide in. I told her to tell you but she wanted to wait until all of this was over and it wasn't my place to tell you." Snow shot back.
"Oh, now you decide to keep secrets..." Regina hissed her eyes focused on the woman in front of her.
"Regina I…" Snow began only to be interrupted by Regina. "She could get hurt and you didn't say anything." Her eyes full of rage.
"I didn't know she would have to go in there, and neither did you!" Snow shouted. "I wanted her to tell you."
"What's done is done." Gold said trying to end the fight.
"Who the hell are you? Macbeth?" Emma asked knowing the phrase came from that Shakespeare play.
"Actually, Lady Macbeth said those words not Macbeth." Cora added.
"And how the hell do you know that?" Emma asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Regina doesn't let me do much so I've been reading a lot." Cora said shrugging her shoulders.
"Look ladies, you can't change anything so let's move on." Neal suggested.
"Why can't you two just get along for a change?" Emma whined.
"Emma, we have a very long history together. More complicated than you'll ever know." Snow said trying to get her daughter to understand that it wouldn't be that easy.
"All the more reason to work it out…" Emma said trying to sound cheerful. She noticed neither one was budging. "Do it for Henry and Miranda if not for yourselves." They stared at her and then at each other.
"I'm willing to try to work it out if you are." Snow offered looking hopeful.
Regina almost gave in. She wanted to make amends with her former step-daughter but it was hard to forget what she had done. "I have no interest in fixing our relationship." Snow's hopeful look quickly disappeared.
"Regina, stop being so difficult." Emma through her hands up in frustration. "Maybe you should start seeing Archie and let go of some of that anger." She yelled.
"No one asked for your opinion, Emma." Regina said glaring.
"No, but I'm giving it anyway." She shot back placing her hands on her hips.
"We don't have time for this. It would take years for those two to sort out their differences." Ruby chimed in.
"The dog has a point." Cora said crossing her arms. Ruby shot her a look but Cora ignored her. "They have a lot of issues."
"We need to break the force field. Now!" Blue said loudly.
"Let's go!" Cora said dragging Emma and Regina with her. They all took their positions around the force field and waited for Gold's instructions.
I would love to know your thoughts about the chapter or the story in general. Thank you for your reviews so far, they really keep me going and give me knew ideas. Thanks for reading!