Enchanted Forest. Two days before the Curse.
Regina sat against a tree, cradling Winn's body against her own. Winn was breathing regularly and as far as Regina could tell, she was merely sleeping. She had tried to shake her awake but something told her that the girl needed rest. The sky had begun to lighten and Regina waited anxiously for the sunrise. The sky was blanketed with gray clouds but any sun would be welcomed sun. She had stayed awake all night, not wanting Winn to wake up alone, and the darkness seemed to breed anxiety.
When the sun finally rose, Regina could see that the color had returned to Winn's face and she again tried to gently wake the girl in her arms.
"Winn. Winn, child, wake up," she beckoned.
Nothing.
"Winn. It's morning and you need to wake up," she tried again. To her great relief, the girl opened her eyes. They were foggy and moved slowly across Regina's face. Winn smiled through the haze.
"Mother," she breathed.
"No. Winn. It's Regina. You collapsed. Do you remember?" Regina said flustered, trying to push through the mistaken identity and rouse Winn from her state.
Winn furrowed her brow and rubbed her eyes clumsily. Her arms moved heavily from her face to Regina, draping themselves across the Queen's legs.
"Regina. Regina. Why am I on the ground?" Winn asked, regaining her wits as she spoke.
"You fainted," Regina replied, helping Winn into a sitting position.
"I fainted? How ladylike of me. Did I swoon? I bet I swooned," said Winn with faux pride.
"Oh you definitely swooned," Regina assured her jokingly as she hooked her arms around the girl and lifted her to her feet. Winn held her head and tried to gain her balance.
"How is your head?" Regina asked. Winn glanced up towards Regina's forehead.
"Worse than yours, I hope," Winn replied with a smile. Regina ran her hand over where her cut used to be.
"Yes, it would seem so. Winn, is that what made you collapse? I know that magic as powerful as that can be…taxing," said Regina.
"And what would you know of magic?" Winn asked suspiciously.
"Enough," said Regina firmly.
"Then you know about the earth-based forms," Winn assumed.
"Some, yes. Very powerful, very good, and very old magic," Regina remembered.
"That would be them. It sort of comes natural to the women in my family," Winn shrugged.
"Your mother taught you?" Regina asked, thinking back to being mistaken for her before.
"A little bit. I was young and our magic requires a lot of energy and sacrifice," Winn said, standing upright for the first time.
"Sacrifice?" Regina asked. Dark magic required only that your intention be clear and more often than not, driven by something powerful like hate or anger or revenge.
"To use my magic, it must be for selfless reasons. I have to focus on who I'm using it for. The moment I use it for myself, it becomes dark," said Winn.
"If what you are doing is selfless, why does it hurt you? It doesn't seem fair. Dark magic takes nothing," Regina countered.
"Ha. Dark magic only takes. It takes humanity from those who use it and takes happiness from those who are victim to it. Earth's magic works like the world itself. Everything must have a balance. I took your pain from you, healed your cut. When I did that I changed a violent act. But pain can never be destroyed, not entirely," Winn explained.
"What happens to it?" Regina asked, following intensely. Winn grabbed Regina's hand and raised it slowly to her forehead. Regina's fingertips rested just above Winn's eye, right where Regina's cut had been. Though her skin was unbroken, where the cut might've been on Winn felt as if a candle burned beneath it. Regina felt so much for the girl in front of her.
"You took it?" she managed to say.
"I did," said Winn with a sad smile.
"Why?" Regina asked, warmed those two little words.
"Earth magic is good magic. I take the pain but I only feel it for a little while. It'll be gone by tonight. That cut could have killed you. I made a choice between your pain and mine. Magic always comes at a price," said Winn.
"What did you just say?" Regina asked, hoping she had misheard Winn.
"Magic. It always comes at a price," she repeated.
"Where did you hear that?" Regina pressed.
"I don't know. Something my mother used to say, I think," Winn guessed as she reached for her bag and started packing her belongings.
The Evil Queen was rarely surprised nor was she privy to such ideas as fate or destiny but in that moment she knew that something stronger than coincidence had brought this girl to her.
That something was Rumplestiltskin.
