𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 ♡ 𝘰𝘶𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘯

ꜰᴏᴜʀ | ᴏꜰꜰ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅꜱ

"It would be so nice if something made sense for a change."

—♢♡♧♤—

"Pardon me, but—what?" Mirana questioned, trying not to let her mouth fall open—it wasn't ladylike.

"You heard her," Killian sighed, turning away from the small group, "it's our only choice."

"No—it can't be," Mirana protested. She looked at Snow White and her husband, her eyes wide and pleading as she said, "Please don't ask me to do this. If he's as bad as you say, then..."

"Then you're our only hope," David, Snow's husband, finished for her.

"I don't think I like this plan."

"Will you do it?" Emma asked, leaning onto the small kitchen island that Mirana was sitting at.

After a pause, Mirana sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Of course, I'll do it," said the White Queen defeatedly, "I have to. It's in my nature to help those in need."

Snow White relaxed into David's side, closing her eyes in relief. Regina—the Evil Queen—stared at Mirana, her expression blank and hard to read. They'd all been worried that the White Queen would disagree—Mirana guessed they hadn't known who exactly she was. Mirana, despite her wants, couldn't help but be kind. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling a chill—or maybe it was just nerves.

"Okay, so the Lost Boys will be out at night, patrolling and looking for people to harass. That's the best time to try and talk to Pan," Emma started, bringing everyone's attention back to the task. "Yesterday, they attacked Granny's Diner. They'll probably lay off of it tonight, so that's where you'll be, Mirana."

The White Queen nodded, her head still down, keeping her dark eyes away from everyone else. She didn't want everyone to see the tears welling up in her eyes from the anxiety she was experiencing, causing a burning sensation to fill the back of her throat. From how they all spoke about the Lost Boys and their leader, Mirana worried that the plan wouldn't work. After all, talking to their leader wouldn't push him out of Storybrooke, would it? It'd take more than that. But that all acted as if this was a sure way to get him out of Storybrooke—and Mirana worried that they thought she had some sort of convincing way of speaking.

She didn't know how to do convincing potions yet—potions that would help the drinker be more open to a concept. She'd tried it out on some of the roses that were annoying Iracebeth—to make them quieter—but they'd been more open to the concept of astrology than whispering.

"Look here—Mirana, once you see the Lost Boys pass Granny's Diner, then just walk this way . . . then here . . . and then you'll be at the mayor's office—well, now it's where Pan is. Anyway, just go in, and you'll find him there. Then just talk to him about leaving Storybrooke or something—you'll figure it out—see? Not hard at all," Regina said matter-of-factly.

Mirana nodded, still hiding her face. Stop crying, please, Mirana told herself. There's no time for such emotions.

She carefully wiped away the tears that got stuck in her eyes, as she hadn't allowed them to leave. When she looked up, she realised that Snow White had moved closer to her—Mirana supposed that seeing a teenager shaking in fear had triggered a maternal instinct that wanted to comfort her.

Mirana smiled reassuringly and stood. She turned, noticing that Hope was still playing and having the time of her life with Nivens. As she watched them, the rabbit seemed to notice her gaze, and Nivens turned to look at his friend with a tilted head.

Hope reached over to grab Nivens, but he hopped away and dashed toward Mirana, jumping into her arms. "Nivens—that wasn't very kind," she told him quietly. "You left Hope without saying goodbye. Go and say goodbye, Mr. White Rabbit."