Regina waited three days and then sent for Anita again. She was wary of going to see Anita at her shop as it would be noticeable to others if their queen frequented a place.

She had spoken to Emma in length about having Anita come up to the castle once more. They agreed that she would speak to her alone this time. Emma was a little nervous about it, but she told Regina she trusted her to handle it. That meant a lot to her, that Emma believed in her.

She had Anita shown to her private study – a place people knew not to disturb her. Early in their marriage, she spent a lot of time there to avoid Emma. It seemed almost ridiculous to her now the lengths she went to to be away from her wife.

Now, they sought each other out it seemed when they had been apart for even a few hours.

"Your majesty," Anita said as she bowed to her.

Regina waved off the servant and offered Anita a seat. "Thank you for coming."

"As I said, I'm at your disposal."

"I was hoping we could continue the discussion we started the other night."

"Of course, what else would you like to know?"

"I'm not sure," Regina said. She and Emma thought it best if she kept things open-ended so Anita didn't think she was after any specific information. "As I said before, outside of my mother, I have never had the opportunity to converse with another person who has magic."

"I envy you in that you had someone to teach you from the very beginning," Anita said. "I sometimes wonder what that would be like. To not have that confusion of not knowing if this is magic is some sort of gift or a curse."

"Do you view it as a gift or a curse?"

"Oh, it's a gift most certainly. I truly believe I would not be here where I am today if it weren't for my magic," she smiled. "Have there been times when I viewed it as a curse, yes, but overall, it has been a gift. In every way it makes us different, it also makes us special. Is that not how you view it?"

Regina was taken aback by the question being thrown back at her.

"I haven't given it any thought," Regina said. "I don't use my magic for the most part."

"Nor do I," Anita said. "As I have said there are some prejudiced people out there who have no love for magic users. That was one of the things my teacher taught me – that magic isn't always welcome."

"Who was this teacher? Do you mind telling me more about her?"

"Not at all. It's nice to have someone to talk about such things with," Anita responded. "Her name was Mara and she was a hard teacher. She would push me to fulfill all my potential. She didn't suffer fools and she didn't accept excuses."

"Did that help you, being pushed by her?"

"Yes," Anita said. "Without being pushed, I don't think I would have been successful at all. You see, not knowing about my magic as I was growing up, not knowing what it meant or anything, it had made me wary of it because I didn't know anything about it. But at the same time, the few times I had been able to use it on my own, I had this feeling of … well I'm sure you know how it feels."

"Please," Regina said. "I would like very much if you explained how it makes you feel."

Anita smiled, "It's like excitement and anticipation but at the same time there is this naturalness to it. It's like when I'm using magic, I know that it's a part of me and there is nothing wrong with that. Its power comes from me so when I do things with magic I can see that power on display. But it took a while before I felt those things because it took a while to master it. When I came to Mara I knew nothing about magic beyond knowing I had it. She explained to me the elemental nature of magic and how those components – earth, air, water, and fire can be woven together to allow us to affect the world around us."

"Which element are you strongest with?" Regina asked, unable to help herself from asking another question.

"Fire," Anita said. "Which explained a lot since I was able to start that small fire when I got lost in the woods. What about you?"

"Also fire."

"I've never actually met another fire," Anita said. "Mara was water. At first, when she was explaining the elements to me and she said she was water, I asked her if that meant she couldn't teach me since I was a fire. She must have thought I was a complete fool because I knew nothing about magic so I asked stupid questions. She would get impatient with me and all my questions and that usually led to her making me practice drills over and over. She would work me from morning to night some days and there were days I wanted to walk out of there, to quit all together because she would not let up on me, but in the end, I realized her doing that made me better. It wasn't just my magic either. In learning magic I became more confident in myself and my ability to do things. Her teachings helped prepare me to be out here in the world at large."

"Even though you don't use your magic, you still feel that confidence?"

"I told you I don't use my magic, but that's not entirely true," Anita said. "I do use it regularly just not openly. Mara always told me that using it regularly was important, although she never did a very good job of explaining why. I think I understand why though. I think she meant that you have to use it regularly to keep your skills intact, just in case you do need to use your magic."

"What kinds of things do you do to use it regularly?

Anita shrugged, "Little things. You know, moving something or shutting a door with magic. Nothing major. Just enough to feel the magic fully and then let it silence itself once more. That is one of the things that Mara never explained and I have never understood – why you feel the magic less right after you use it. Did your mom ever explain it?"

Regina shook her head no.

"That's a shame, it's a question I always wanted answered. I always thought you should be more aware of your magic right after you use it, not the reverse," Anita said. "Like right now, I can feel my magic inside of me. And it would be so easy to concentrate and bring it to life."

Regina considered what she said, and while she knew she was taking a risk, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you find it that easy?"

"Yes," Anita laughed, but then stopped as she saw the serious expression on Regina's face remain. "Don't you?"

"No, for me it's been a struggle."

There, Regina thought, there was no going back from what she had just confessed. She knew she should be more cautious, but listening to Anita talk about magic so casually was the complete opposite of her mother and so she wanted to know more.

"Do you mind, I would like to try something?" Anita asked, standing.

Regina had no idea what Anita had in mind, but she found she was nodding her head yes. Coming right up to her, Anita took her hand in hers so that Regina's hand was facing palm up on top of hers. Anita kept her eyes locked on Regina, but Regina looked down at her hand as she felt something. It was an odd feeling, but a somewhat familiar one. She felt her hand start to tingle like it normally did when she was about to use magic but again it felt different. Then a small ball of flame appeared just above her hand.

"That's my magic," Anita said softly. "Keep your concentration on it, now I'm going to use my magic to boost yours. Once you feel it, let your magic take it over."

"How?" Regina asked, keeping her eyes on the flame.

"Don't think about it, just let your instincts take over. Ready?"

Regina nodded.

At first, Regina didn't feel anything, and then she felt that strange sensation again a moment before she felt her magic and felt it grab the flame for a moment it looked like it was going to flicker out but then it stabilized.

"See that wasn't so hard," Anita said. This time Regina looked at her and realized Anita had removed her hand and it was her magic holding the flame. "Now, add some more power to it, not a lot, just make it a little brighter. Again, use your instincts to know how much. Feel your magic and let it flow just a tiny bit."

Regina turned her attention back to the flame. She could do this, she thought. She had dealt with flames before, so this shouldn't be hard. Closing her eyes, she let herself feel her magic and as instructed she sent it into the flame.

"Ok, that's enough," Anita said quickly.

Regina opened her eyes and saw that the flame was indeed brighter than it had been.

"Ready for something else?" Anita smiled.

Regina smiled back at her.

…

Emma was eager to speak with Regina after Anita left so she went straight to Regina's study.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"I think we've found someone who can teach me," Regina replied.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes."