𝕎𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ✩ OUAT Peter Pan

ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ | ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴀᴅ ɪɴᴅᴇᴇᴅ

"All children, except one, grow up."

—♢♡♧♤—

Snow White had insisted that, since Regina and Emma were still livid that Mirana hadn't lived up to their expectations, the White Queen would sleep at the Charmings' house. Mirana hadn't expected to see the Queen of the Enchanted Forest living in a small apartment, but her eyes didn't deceive her. She was also surprised when a boy older than her physical age—perhaps in his early twenties—appeared out of nowhere, a bright smile on his face.

"I'm Neal," he introduced himself.

Mirana nodded and shook his hand carefully, her usual graceful movements shaky and harsh. I've spent too much time crying, Mirana told herself. Nivens is a pushover, and he didn't sob this much. Although, if the queen were at home, Alice would say that sobbing was good for her.

"It's good to cry every so often," Alice would say, "I do it, too. I almost drowned in my tears when I was little—you remember?"

"I do," Mirana would say, forcing a natural smile onto her face, acting like nothing was wrong. "I suppose crying every once in a while might be okay."

Although she would say that to Alice, the White Queen wasn't sure it was true. "Crying feels horrible," she told herself in her thoughts after Alice had left. "It takes time and makes you do things you wouldn't usually—like make a fool of yourself."

"You've been through a lot," Iracebeth added, suddenly appearing in Mirana's wild train of thought. "You deserve to cry—it tires you out, and that's even better for your health: sleep. Anyway—ah! It's my stop."

The train of thought stopped for a beat, letting Iracebeth off at her station before zooming in another direction. Mirana never knew where the train was going next or who would be on it. All she knew was that, whoever it was, there was always something important to be said.

"Nice to meet you, Neal," Mirana said out loud—not in her train of thought. Her face shared a smile with him, though it didn't quite reach her real feelings. Fake smiles were the kind queen's forte. "I'm Mirana. Of Marmoreal."

"You too, Mirana," the boy smiled. His hand retreated from the girl's and returned to the pocket of his jeans, though Neal still smiled at her.

"Give her some space, Neal. You'll frighten her," his mother warned, settling into the couch.

"Sorry," Neal said sheepishly, the smile still evident. Mirana didn't know how he kept it up so long. "You need a room—I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. We always have an extra guest room in case Henry ever comes for a visit and doesn't want to bother his parents."

"Who is Henry?" the White Queen asked once they'd left the main room where David and Snow White were.

"I assume you met Emma, right? She's my sister. Henry is Emma's son, and he left town to find his adventure. He said he would be back, but it's been more than five years, and we haven't seen him anywhere," Neal shrugged, opening the door to a dark room. "They still hope he'll return, but I think he's gone for good. Henry likes to stick to things and won't easily let it go."

"I see," was Mirana's response.

Neal flicked the light on, casting illumination on everything inside the room. There was a bed with fluffy, white blankets covering it and a desk next to it. The desk had a lot of papers and books scattered around on it—it reminded Mirana of the desk the strange boy called Peter Pan sat at. There was a dresser next to the closet, and both looked like they had been ransacked, with drawers left open and nothing left inside them.