A/N: This story was inspired by a theory posted by Jensen_girl22 on Fanforum. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time" and its characters do not belong to me; I'm only borrowing them.

Regina had always liked the stables. Her mother didn't spend much time there, so it was a nice place for her to go and play for awhile. If she spent too much playing outside, her mother would accuse her of being "unladylike." Why did she have to be a lady when she was only 10?

Her mother had just yelled at her about getting dirt on her dress. Regina ran to the stables with tears in her eyes. She sat down on the ground and cried.

"Are you alright?"

Regina looked up and quickly wiped her tears away. She recognized the boy who was speaking to her. His family had just started working for them.

"I'm fine," Regina said, still sniffling a bit.

"Your name is Regina, right?"

Regina nodded. "What's your name?"

"I'm Daniel. It's nice to meet you."

Regina tried to smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Daniel."

"Why were you crying?"

Regina sniffled again. "It's my mother. Sometimes she isn't very nice."

"Oh, that's too bad," Daniel said.

Regina just nodded.

"Do you know how to play hide and seek?" Daniel asked. "It seems like there are a lot of good places to hide around here."

"Sure I do," Regina said. "Are you sure you want to play with me? I know all the places to hide around here really well."

Daniel grinned. "I think I can manage."

Regina grinned back. "Alright then. Count to 20. I'll warn you, though. You won't find me."

"Oh, I think I will."

Daniel didn't find her though, not the first time, at least. He learned quickly, however, and he found some good hiding places as well. They played for a couple of hours. It was the most fun Regina had ever had.

At least, she was having fun until her mother showed up.

"Regina, what do you think you're doing?" Her mother was standing with her hands on her hips.

"We were just playing a game," Regina said.

"Well, you're late for your dress fitting," her mother said, frowning as she looked Regina up and down. "I see you've gotten yet another dress dirty."

Regina looked at her feet. "I'm sorry, Mother."

"For that, you will not be allowed out of the house for the next week."

Regina looked up at her mother. "But…"

"No buts!" her mother snapped. Regina knew better than to talk back to her. "Now get in the house."

"Yes, Mother."

Regina was worried that Daniel wouldn't want to play with her anymore when she was finally allowed to leave the house.

When she went back to the stables, though, Daniel was there. Regina showed him her favorite apple tree, which took about a half-hour to get to.

"I would love to have my own apple tree," Regina said.

A few days later, Daniel brought her some apple seeds, and they planted them together.

"Do you think a tree will really grow here?" Regina asked.

"I do," Daniel said.

Regina smiled. "That would be wonderful."

"Regina?"

"Yes?"

"Your mother…" Daniel hesitated. "You're afraid of her, aren't you?"

Regina nodded. "She can do things, Daniel. Things that most normal people can't do."

"What do you mean?"

Regina paused for a moment, wondering if she should go on. She decided that she could trust Daniel.

"She's a witch," Regina whispered.

"A witch? She can really do magic?"

Regina nodded. "And she's powerful."

"Wow."

Daniel looked pretty shocked. Regina wondered for a moment if it was a mistake to tell him.

"Do you still want to be my friend?" Regina asked nervously.

"Of course I do," Daniel said. "I'm not going to let some witch scare me away."

Regina smiled. They would be the best of friends for a very long time. She just knew it.