LEOPOLD'S LADIES
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.
For those of you who still read "Thicker than Water Part II," I'm still writing that story, don't worry.
But I've been thinking about the condition of Leopold and Eva's marriage ever since I realized Snow White's mother didn't die in childbirth (like she did in classic Snow White). Since they would have had no reliable birth control in the Enchanted Forest, and royals are expected to produce multiple heirs anyway, there had to be a reason for that. The idea that they didn't have a happy marriage became more of a possibility after watching 3 x 18.
King Leopold didn't really see it as a big deal when he married his betrothed, Princess Eva. He didn't love her, but they seemed to get along alright. He had briefly hoped for a more romantic relationship than an arranged marriage, but that idea ended almost before it began. Still, at least Eva didn't lie to him. Things would be fine between them. About what you would expect from a royal marriage.
OOOOOOOOOO
Leopold was never happier than the day his precious daughter, Snow White, was born. This was made everything with his marriage to Eva worth it. Perfect, even because Snow was perfect. He spent hours thinking about her perfect little hands and feet. Being a king unfortunately didn't give him much free time to himself. But he spent as much time as possible with his wonderful daughter. Sometimes that meant spending time was Eva as well, and that was fine. After all, they got along well enough.
OOOOOOOOO
Royals were supposed to produce multiple heirs; Leopold knew that and he was sure Eva knew that as well. But as King and Queen, they had a lot of duties that required them to travel separately. And when they were together in the same place occasionally, they seemed to agree it was more important to spend time with Snow. Even after Snow was asleep, there was always more paperwork to fill out and problems of the kingdom to solve. Who had time for intimacy? It wasn't that important, anyway. They had all the time in the world.
OOOOOOOOOOO
One day, when Leopold got home from another extended trip at the other end of the kingdom, he realized how wrong he was. They didn't have all the time in the world at all. Because Snow White's mother, his wife Eva, was dead. How was Leopold supposed to continue now? Could he really rule his kingdom by himself? He knew he was a good king and his people loved him, but he wasn't sure he could bare that burden alone. Even worse, his precious Snow had lost her mother. Eva had been wonderful with Snow, Leopold knew from the few times they'd spent together as a family as well as the way Snow would talk about her mother when she spent time with her father. Snow had nannies and servants to help take care of her after all. It wasn't as if he would have to take care of her himself. Still, Leopold knew Snow needed more than that. She needed a mother.
So after a couple months of mourning Eva, Leopold had to face facts. He needed a new queen and Snow needed a mother. Surely somewhere in the kingdom or a nearby one there was a suitable young lady for the task? He talked to power – hungry duchesses who would never make a good queen he could rely upon. He talked to princesses who never even talked to Snow while they visited. Finally one day, he met a young woman who saved his precious Snow from a runaway horse. Her mother was a duchess, so she was one as well. The young girl didn't seem to be power – hungry, though. She was simply happy to be where she was. As Leopold watched the woman pay attention to Snow, his heart swelled. This woman, this Regina, would be the perfect queen for him, and more importantly, a mother for Snow. She was also young enough that she could still bare children, so there was plenty of time for him to produce the additional heirs he was supposed to.
So Leopold took Regina, and her parents back to his palace and married her within a couple of months. He thought things were going well at first. Regina seemed like a competent queen and she and Snow got along alright, although there was some yelling involved there, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Eva and Snow used to yell sometimes too, after all. Eva. Leopold remembered how he used to watch Snow and Eva interact, and his heart would swell with love. Love for Snow, he always thought. But now he wondered…was it loved for Eva as well?
Eva would also listen carefully whenever he needed to talk to her about the kingdom, never interrupting, although she would often provide suggestions after he finished talking. He missed her ear and her steady council. Regina helped run the kingdom of course; he had chosen well in that respect. But when they talked…she interrupted. A lot.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Leopold missed Eva. As the years past, he missed her more, not less. "I loved her," her realized to himself one day, looking at her portrait hanging in the great hall. Not just as Snow White's mother, or as my co – regnant (as he had always thought before). But as her, just Eva. "Why didn't I ever show her when I had the chance!" he wondered, over and over. He rarely kissed his wife, he never told her he loved her, and he never made the point to spend time with her. Not the way he did with Snow. And being intimate? After they had Snow, forget it. There was always something else to do.
Missing his beloved wife and the guilt of not showing her his love or even realizing what a wonderful woman he'd married to ate away at Leopold. The situation became worse because he had no one to talk to. After all, as the king he had to always appear strong to his subjects. He began to ignore Regina. Worse than he'd ever ignored Eva. And he never did invite her to his bed. How could he, when hadn't shared that with Eva in many years when they were married? And she was the woman he'd actually loved. At every feast he hosted, he would give toasts in his late wife's memory. At every ball he hosted, he would talk on and on about the accomplishments she'd made.
The only bright side of his life was the time he was able to spend with his wonderful daughter, Snow. He tried to make up for the way he treated Eva by spending more time with Snow. By telling her he loved her. By giving her all the hugs and kisses he'd never had the time to give his first wife.
OOOOOOOOOOO
When Snow became the age when most princesses would be courted, he declined every invitation, as gracefully as he could. He knew, intellectually that Snow would probably need to find a husband eventually. But how could Leopold part with the only person he still loved? How could he part with his last piece of Eva? His "fairest of them all"? He needed to continue to show Snow how much he loved her, and that would be easier to accomplish if she stayed with him, right? Of course it would. It didn't hurt that Snow had no desire to meet what she described as "spoiled, stuck – up" princes.
There was always something interesting to do, right at home for Snow, anyway. Tonight, he was bringing home an interesting visitor. An Ex – genie.
And we all know what happens afterwards, don't we?
I was also trying to create a reason why Leopold ignored Regina so much and wasn't willing to move on with her as a wife. (Regina said she was mostly angry at Snow for "ruining her relationship with Daniel" but she did mention she was angry at Leopold for ignoring her and constantly talking about his dead wife as well.) Some people would say he ignored Regina because she was so disagreeable by then. And I definitely think that was part of it. But I also think since Leopold always believed the best in everyone, that he wouldn't see her dark side as much as he should have. I also think Regina tried to hide some of it, while she was married to him. (That's why no one believed she'd killed her husband.)
And I know it a popular theory that Leopold couldn't move on with Regina because Eva was his true love. But the show makes it quite clear that you can have more than one True Love, even in the Enchanted Forest. There's also a theory that their age difference was too big for them to become a real husband and wife. But May/December romances exist, even in our world. And in a world like the Enchanted Forest, they would have been expected , because as I've already indicated men, especially royals were expected to produce many heirs.
So I thought it would make sense if Leopold took Eva for granted, and never even realized he loved her until after she died, that lack of closure could prevent him from moving on. (Especially considering, as I said, being king he had no one to talk to.) His guilt became very toxic.