Conversation between Regina/Cora and Mandy/Henry take place at the same time.
Chapter 30: Someone's Jealous
Emma dropped Henry off at Regina's house so he could spend the night. Regina was elated that Henry wanted to stay over. She hadn't seen him in a while and she really missed him. Henry ran upstairs to quickly put his things away so he could join Regina.
Mandy caught him going in and decided to see what he wanted to do tonight. "What's up, Henry?" She asked standing in the doorway.
Henry turned around, startled by the sudden voice that filled the room. "Oh, hey Mandy!"
"I'm excited you're staying over. We can stay up late and watch movies or play games." She said excitedly as she thought of things they could do.
Henry gave her a slight smile. "Actually, I wanted to spend tonight with my mom. You understand, right?"
Mandy was hurt but she didn't show it. "Oh yea, that's cool. I'll see you later then. You two have fun."
"Thanks." He said smiling before he continued to unpack his things.
Mandy left and was heading back down the hall to her room, when she noticed Cora's door was ajar. She knocked and slowly opened it when she didn't hear a response. "Cora?" She asked peaking her head inside.
"In here, dear." She heard faintly from the walk-in closet.
"What are you doing?" Mandy asked.
"Rearranging my closet. I just realized how much clothing I had accumulated since arriving in Storybrooke. I apparently shop too much." She answered looking around her full closet. Mandy let out a slight laugh.
"Why aren't you playing with Henry?" Cora questioned.
"He wanted to spend time with Regina, so I was thinking I could spend some time with you?" She asked hopefully.
"I'd love that!" Cora exclaimed as she wrapped her arm around her and walked out of the closet.
"What do you want to do?" Mandy asked.
"Whatever your little heart desires." Cora answered in a soft voice.
"Wanna go to Granny's and get milkshakes then come back and watch a movie?" Mandy suggested.
"If that's what you want to do, we'll do it!" She said smiling down at her granddaughter.
Mandy grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" She said pulling her out of the room and down the steps.
"Honey, slow down. I don't move as fast as I used to." Cora said out of breath.
Mandy stopped on the stairs and let her go. "Sorry, just got a little excited." She said as an excuse. She walked down the rest of the stairs slowly.
She heard laughter coming from the living room and saw Regina and Henry looking through a scrapbook together. Cora came up behind her and took in the scene as well. "Should we invite them?" Cora whispered in Mandy's ear.
Mandy shook her head but kept her eyes on the laughing pair. "No. They're having fun right where they are." She said sadly as she walked toward the front door. Cora looked at them for a moment longer before joining her granddaughter.
"Neither of us knows how to drive." She said realizing Regina was the only one that could and she was preoccupied at the moment. Cora snapped her fingers and they were both standing outside of Granny's diner. "Forgot about that." Mandy said smiling.
"Magic isn't all bad." Cora replied before leading the way into the diner.
"Do you remember when I brought you to the playground for the first time?" Regina asked Henry as they looked at old photos from when he was younger.
Henry nodded. "You pushed me on the swings for the first time. I was scared at first but you told me it was just like flying."
Regina laughed. "That's right. You loved the swings after that. I couldn't get you off."
Henry found a photo he didn't remember taking. "Where were we in this one?" He asked pointing to a photo of the two of them that had water in the background.
"I took you out on a boat. You were four then and so adorable!" She answered as she remembered that day perfectly.
"You took me on a boat…by yourself?" Henry asked shocked.
Regina nodded. "I'm proud to say I sailed a boat by myself while watching you at the same time. Not an easy task if I must say."
"Did I like it?" He asked looking up at her.
Regina shook her head. "You hated it. I think the rocking made you feel sick. I'm surprised I got you to smile for the picture."
Henry laughed. "I miss doing things with you."
Regina wrapped her arm around him. "So do I."
They heard the front door open and laughter fill the hallway.
"Did you see that girls face when you shape shifted into a younger woman and pretended to be that guys mistress?!" Mandy exclaimed.
"What was better was his face when she told him she was leaving him!" Cora said back laughing.
"And when you pretended to be Dr. Whale and hit on Ruby!" Mandy added making them both laugh harder.
Cora put her hand up to get Mandy to stop laughing for a moment. "The best was when you shape shifted into Snow and started to talk to animals on the way home. So many people were staring at you!"
They laughed. "That was such a great idea you had!" Mandy said through her laughter.
"What was a good idea?" Regina asked as she and Henry stepped into the hallway.
Mandy and Cora both stopped laughing when the heard Regina's voice. "Nothing, go back to whatever it was you were doing, dear." Cora said shooing them away.
"Where were you two?" Henry asked.
"Out." Mandy replied angrily as she crossed her arms.
"Miranda, is something wrong?" Regina asked noticing her daughter's tone and body language.
Cora put her hand on Mandy's back. "She's fine, dear, just tired is all. We are going to watch a movie upstairs. Get back to your bonding time with Henry." She said before guiding Mandy up the stairs and into her room.
Regina watched as they ascended the stairs. "Where do you think they were?" Henry asked also watching them.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to let it ruin my night with you." She said smiling down at him as they walked back into the living room to resume looking at pictures.
"What movie are we watching?" Cora asked as she sat down on her bed next to Miranda.
"The Hunger Games. I think you'll like this movie!" Mandy said excitedly.
"Do people play games for food?" She asked knowing nothing about this movie.
Mandy cocked her head to one side. "Something like that."
Cora seemed bored at first but when the actually games started she seemed intrigued. She kept shushing Mandy every time she tried to talk.
"That Peeta is one hell of a guy…and he's good looking too!" Cora said not taking her eyes off the screen.
"Cora!" Mandy exclaimed playfully hitting her arm.
"What?" She asked. "I'm allowed to look."
"You have a boyfriend though." As soon as Mandy said it she regretted it. She wasn't supposed to know about him and was hoping Cora didn't catch her slip up.
"And how do you know that?" Cora asked looking down at Mandy who sunk lower under the covers.
"I don't know who it is. I just know that you have one." She said hoping Cora believed her and wouldn't freak out.
"But how did you find out I had one?" Cora asked pulling the covers down so Mandy couldn't hide anymore.
Shit. How did everyone know when I was lying or not telling the whole truth. It's starting to get annoying. "I followed you but didn't figure out who it was you were seeing."
"Good." Cora said firmly before returning her attention back to the movie.
Mandy sat up and whined, "Are we ever going to find out?"
"You'll meet him at the party." She said answering her question without taking her eyes away from the screen.
"Is it someone I know?" She asked leaning closer to Cora.
Cora waved her off and shushed her. "No more questions. I'm watching the movie."
Mandy leaned back on the head board, folded her arms and pouted. Cora looked over and laughed. "Why are you laughing? Kids are fighting right now…" Mandy hissed,
"I'm laughing at you. You look just like Regina when she didn't get her way." Cora replied nudging her.
Mandy rolled her eyes. "Just watch the movie Cora."
"What! That's it?" Cora exclaimed when the movie was over, her mouth gaping open.
Mandy laughed at her little outburst. "Yea, for now."
"I need to know what happens!" Cora said tugging Mandy's arm.
"The second movie doesn't come out for another four months." Mandy replied.
Cora shook her head. "No, that's too long. I want it now."
"You'll have to wait like the rest of us." She said turning off the TV.
Cora groaned. "I hate waiting."
"Are you tired?" Mandy asked as she set the remote down on the night stand.
"Not after watching that! I think I'm on an adrenaline high."
"Then would you mind helping me with my magic?" She asked shyly.
"Why? What's wrong with it?" Cora asked confused.
"Ever since I..ya know, died. I haven't been able to do magic that well." She said as she twiddled her thumbs.
"You shape shifted just fine earlier." Cora protested.
"I think because you taught that to me more recently, I was able to do it." Mandy replied.
"You must still be weak. Emma didn't heal you properly."
"So how do I fix it?" Mandy asked hoping Cora knew the answer.
"Here." Cora held out her hands expecting Mandy to take them.
She did. "Now what?"
"I'm going to recharge your powers." Cora said simply.
"That's a thing?" Mandy asked arching an eyebrow at the older woman.
"Yes, it's a thing. Now shut your eyes and focus." Cora instructed.
As soon as she did, she felt a rush of magic flow through her. She felt better than she had in days, magic wise.
Cora let her hands go. "Test it out. Do some magic."
Mandy wasn't sure how much she was capable of so she tried something small. She lifted her hands to remake the bed she and Cora has messed up while watching the movie, only the covers went flying across the room.
Mandy retracted her hands quickly. "I didn't mean to do that!" She said hoping Cora wasn't angry with her.
Cora wasn't angry at all. She simply shrugged it off. "That's okay, try something else."
She's taking this rather well. Mandy looked around the room and saw Cora's night gown hanging on the closet door. She snapped her fingers, hoping to dress Cora in her night gown but it didn't work out that way. She ended up wearing baggy jeans, a black t-shirt with a hat on her hand.
"What the hell did you dress me in?" Cora asked in shock as she looked down at her new attire.
Mandy cupped her hand over her mouth to hold in her laughter." I meant to put you in your night gown, sorry."
Cora was still in shock. "Who in the world would wear these atrocious clothes?"
Mandy whipped out her cell phone and held it up. "What are you doing?' Cora asked when she saw Mandy with her phone.
Mandy smiled. "Taking a picture. This is too good to pass up."
Cora quickly changed back into her previous outfit; black slacks, a red silk shirt and a blazer. "Try something else and this time…leave me outta of it!" She warned.
Mandy nodded. "Right, sorry."
Regina and Henry were in the middle of watching a movie and eating popcorn when they heard a loud thud from upstairs.
"What was that?" Henry asked looking to the ceiling.
"I don't know." Regina answered nervously. She stood up to check it out but the phone suddenly rang. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Who could be calling at this hour?" She picked up the phone. "Hello?" She paused listening. "Is that so?" She said, annoyance clearly present in her voice. A thud was heard from upstairs. She looked up as she listened to the person on the other end. "Well, I'll take care of it. I'm sorry for any trouble they caused. Goodbye." She put the phone back on the hook with force.
Henry could tell she was mad. "Who was that? What happened?"
"We'll let them do the explaining." She said as she marched up the stairs, Henry in toe. She burst through Cora's bedroom door and gasped at the condition her room was in.
"What the hell are you two doing up here?" Regina yelled putting her hands on her hips.
"Just a quick magic lesson before bed." Cora said smiling with her hands behind her back.
"Last I checked, magic doesn't sound like an elephant is about to fall through the floor." Regina shot back.
"We'll be quieter." Mandy promised.
Regina ignored her. "Explain to me why marriages are ending and Snow was seen talking to animals?" She demanded.
Cora shrugged her shoulders. "You'll have to ask Snow about that one, dear."
"Mother, I know it was you two. People saw you." Regina yelled.
"We were only having fun." Mandy said defending their reason for doing it.
"I'm surprised at you, Miranda. I thought you knew better." Regina said glaring at her.
Her glare would've frightened many people but not Mandy. "Sorry for having a good time. I'll make sure I'm miserable from now on." She said sarcastically.
"Go you your room, Miranda. I'll deal with you later." Regina said sternly as she gritted her teeth.
Mandy stormed out of the room. She knocked into Henry on purpose and kept walking.
"Henry, why don't you get ready for bed. We'll finish the movie in the morning." Regina said leading him out of the room. Henry nodded and left.
He was angry at Mandy for ruining his night with Regina. He walked into her room without knocking,
"Get out Henry!" Mandy screamed when she saw who busted through the door.
"You couldn't let me have one night with Regina?" He yelled right back at her with as much anger as she had.
"I did. That's why I was with Cora the whole night!" She growled.
"But you got in trouble and ruined it! You know Cora just leads to trouble, you should've known better." He countered.
She couldn't believe she was being reprimanded by an 11 year old. "What the hell Henry, are you seriously giving me a lecture right now? It's not like we planned to get caught. Besides, you had years to be with Regina."
He relaxed a bit and grinned when he realized why she was acting like this. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
Mandy was caught off guard by the question but kept her icy tone. "Jealous of you?" She scoffed. "Get over yourself Henry."
"You are jealous! I saw you staring at me and Regina when we were looking through the photo album. Just admit it, you're jealous!" He exclaimed.
Mandy was pissed. She stormed up to him, their faces inches apart. "I'm warning you Henry, get out of my room."
He didn't back down; he wasn't scared of her. "Why are you jealous of me and Regina?" He paused, waiting for her to answer. When she didn't, he answered for her. "Is it because we have so many memories together and she watched me grow up? You wish it was you?"
To her, it sounded like he was mocking her, rubbing it in her face that she didn't get the privilege to have her mom with her growing up but he didn't mean it like that at all. He could see the rage in her eyes and became a bit frightened. She forcefully pushed him out the door and slammed it.
"Mother, I leave you alone with Miranda for a few hours and you have to cause trouble!" Regina said angrily as she paced the floor in Cora's room.
"It was all in good fun Regina, relax." Cora retorted.
Regina stopped and turned towards Cora. "Relax? I can't relax. You are trying to change. You can't go shape-shifting into people causing trouble. I don't want people to think Miranda will turn out like us!" She said as Cora caught the worry in her voice.
"What do you mean 'turn out like us'?" Cora questioned arching an eyebrow and walking closer to Regina.
Regina sighed before her tone turned icy. "Everyone in town still thinks we are 'evil' and considering she's the daughter of the Evil Queen and the granddaughter of the Queen of Hearts, I think she has a reputation already."
"Do you think people won't come to her party because they're afraid of us?" Cora questioned. The party was the only thing she was worried about.
Regina shrugged her shoulders. "It's possible but you aren't getting out of this so easily, Mother! So what the hell happened to your room?"
Cora looked over the room. "Miranda was practicing her magic. It doesn't seem to be cooperating."
"I can tell." She said in a disapproving tone.
Cora waved her hand and the room was as neat as it was before Mandy accidentally destroyed it. "All better." She said smiling at Regina.
Regina rolled her eyes and her mother's smile. "Don't take her out again and cause trouble!" She warned.
"Or what, dear?" Cora asked keeping the smile on her face.
"Don't push me, mother." She said before leaving.
As soon as she stepped out of the room she saw Henry fall hard to the ground, right outside of Miranda's room followed by a door slamming.
"Henry?" She yelled down the hall concerned he had gotten hurt.
He quickly got to his feet and began walking towards her. "I'm fine, mom." He said as he heard the worry in her voice.
"What happened? I thought I told you to go to bed." Regina said when she reached Henry in the middle of the hall.
"I was just talking to Mandy." He replied.
"You were 'just talking'?" She questioned arching her eyebrows, not believing him.
He knew she wanted the truth. "It was more like screaming but I had a feeling it would be."
Regina sighed. She didn't realize having a teenager would be this tiring. "She's that mad?"
He cocked his head to one side. "Considering she shoved me out of her room when I accused her of being jealous, yea, I'd say she's mad."
"She shoved you?!" Regina asked surprised her daughter would do that, especially to Henry.
"Go easy on her." Henry begged.
"You know I don't tolerate fighting, Henry. And why did you accuse her of being jealous?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders. "It was just a guess but I think she's jealous of the relationship that you and I share."
Regina nodded. "I think I understand, Henry. Go to bed now, I'll take it from here." She kissed the top of his head before walking towards Mandy's room.
She knocked on the door. She thought she heard Mandy tell her to go away but she went in anyway.
Mandy was facing the window as she laid on her bed, scrunched into a ball. "I said go away." She said firmly before she sniffled.
"Honey, I need to talk to you." Regina said calmly.
"I don't want to talk to you right now so punish me and leave." Mandy said without turning away from the window. She didn't want to listen to what ever Regina had to say.
"I'm not here to punish you, dear." Regina said still as calm as before.
Mandy rolled over to look at her, tears stained on her cheeks. "You're not?" She was surprised Regina wasn't going to punish her.
Regina shook her head. "No, I'm not. I just want to talk to you."
Mandy sat up to prepare for the fight that was about to happen. "Cora and I were just having fun, okay? It didn't hurt you so why are you making a big deal out of this?" She hissed.
"It's not okay, Miranda. Cora should have never taught you how to shape-shift. You have to be on your best behavior."
Mandy stood up, walking around the bed closer to Regina. "Why? Why is it so important to you that I be so good?"
"Because I don't want you to turn out like me!" She yelled.
"I won't turn out like you! It's not like everyone's calling me the 'Evil Princess'!" She yelled back. "I just wanted to have some fun…"
"And you thought tricking people would make you feel better?" Regina crossed her arms.
"Yea and you know what, it did! I had a good time with Cora tonight." Mandy shouted. "You thought getting revenge on Snow White would make you feel better…so what's the difference?!"
"It didn't make me feel better." She screamed back.
Mandy stepped closer as she put her hands on her hips. "That's because it didn't work, the curse failed! You failed!"
"You don't know the half of it, Miranda!"
"Then indulge me, mom."
"I'm not doing this right now. This is about you, not me!" Regina yelled pointing at her.
"Well I haven't done anything as bad as you. You killed hundreds of people!" She yelled.
"How do you know what I did? You were in a whole other land." Regina hissed.
Mandy rolled her eyes. "Word travels, mom and I wasn't always in another land. I've heard some of the things you have done."
Regina looked hurt. "When I told you I was your mother, what was going through your mind? Were you ashamed to be the daughter of the Evil Queen?" She asked in a disappointed tone. She thought she already knew the answer.
Mandy noticed Regina's face and the change in her voice. She shook her head no. "I was too shocked to learn I had found my mother. It didn't hit me until later that you were the Evil Queen. I've killed people too, but for completely different reasons then your own. I'm not saying mine were justified, just different."
Regina frowned. "I just don't want people to treat you badly. I know what that's like, it's not pretty."
"I've been treated badly most of my life, nothing new there. I'm used to it. Whatever crap they say about me, I can handle it." She said trying to make Regina understand that she can take care of herself.
"You don't always have to put up a wall and act like nothing's bothering you. You can put your guard down. I can tell when something's on your mind." Regina argued.
"You didn't early." She mumbled.
"Is this about what Henry said about you being jealous?" She asked arching her eyebrows.
"He would go and tell you! He's such a little nark" She hissed.
Regina sighed. "Just tell me what's going on. Why would he say that if it isn't true?"
"To create drama." Mandy said as an excuse.
"He said you were jealous of our relationship. If you are, it's completely understandable." Regina said trying to get Mandy to open up to her.
"I'm not jealous." She said turning her back to Regina as she crossed her arms.
Regina walked up behind her. "Honey, I would've loved to raise you and watch you grow up. I feel the same way you do." She put a hand on Mandy's shoulder.
She shook it off and mumbled, "Whatever."
She was hurt Mandy pushed her away but she wasn't surprised. "Is this why you pushed Henry?"
Mandy quickly turned around and yelled, "He wouldn't get out of my room after I told him too. He's lucky my magic isn't working well or he would've been out of this house faster than he could say 'Once Upon A Time'."
"You will not use magic on him. EVER!" Regina snapped at her.
Mandy put her hands on her hips as the anger built up inside her. "Why? You have! You freakin poisoned him for goodness sake!"
"That was never meant for him!" She shot back
"Whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night." Mandy muttered under her breath.
Regina put her hand on her head. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with her. "Miranda, why are you acting like this?"
Mandy wasn't answering anymore questions. She didn't feel like fighting with Regina anymore, she just wanted her to go. "I think you should go before we say anything we'll later regret."
Regina wanted to end the fight but she realized this one would have to be continued. "We are talking about this tomorrow, you can count on that!"
I was really unsure how this chapter was going to play out but this was the end result. Let me know what you think. I love the reviews.