"For goodness sakes, Henry, quit coddling the girl so much!" Cora barked.
Henry looked at his wife incredulously. "Coddling? Regina's one month old." He kissed the top of her head, patting her back.
"Too young to be useful. The wet nurse can attend to her needs. We needn't be bothered."
"Cora, she is our child! We are her parents. We're meant to love, nourish, and guide her ourselves. If she is to be Queen one day, why not start treating her like one now? Or like a Princess, at least."
Cora scoffed. "She'll never learn anything about life in this world if we do that, Henry." She wrenched Regina away from her father's protective arms, which caused the infant to cry. She walked briskly away, calling for the wet nurse.
Henry was left staring after his wife in shock. He wondered when it was that he had lost the control of his own life. "I don't understand why you won't let me take care of our daughter, Cora, especially because you don't want to yourself!" He was enraged, but he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to change or better the situation. To be honest, he was a little afraid of his wife. If she had the power to spin straw into gold, who knew what else she could possibly do?
Henry was delighted to be the only one present when Regina first babbled, "Dada," at seven months old. Cora was out shopping for even more new dresses, as she just absolutely had to have the latest fashions despite her wardrobe being over full already. With her off on her mission of self-indulgence, however, Henry had the freedom to relieve the staff assigned to tend to the mundane necessities of raising an infant. He lifted his daughter out of her cradle, hugging her close to his chest. He was absolutely beaming.
"That's right," he murmured proudly. "I'm your Dada, and your Dada loves you so very much." He dropped little kisses all over her face, wherever he could reach. The squeal of a laugh that earned him was music to his ears and warmed his heart. "You are my most precious treasure. Did you know that, little one?" He lightly tickled her small feet. These stolen moments with his daughter were what he lived for.
Whilst no one else was around and the need arose, Henry was glad to change Regina's soiled linens for some fresh and clean ones. He embraced every single angle of fatherhood whenever he was able, even the unflattering ones – perhaps especially the unflattering ones. He wanted to be present enough that Regina understood who he was in her life. As long as Cora was distracted by her own frivolous whims on a regular basis, it couldn't be too difficult a goal for Henry to achieve.
How old would Regina have to be before Cora considered her to be useful, Henry wondered. How old would Regina have to be for Cora to finally start acting like a mother?
For Regina's first birthday, it was one of those times that Cora pretended to care about being a mother, as the festivities would be spent in the public eye, which was an excellent opportunity to show off her new favorite dress.
Instead of putting on her little white shoes like she was supposed to, Regina picked one of them up and threw it across the room. The shoe hit a wall, making the portrait hanging on it fall to the floor. Not liking the loud noise it made, Regina began to wail and sob loudly.
As soon as Henry heard the cries, he wanted to sweep her up into his arms and soothe her. She shouldn't have to cry like that on her birthday. He hustled to the room, but Cora had been closer and had gotten to her first.
"What did you do, Regina?" Cora snarled. She looked between the girl and the wall where the portrait had fallen. She hoisted Regina up. "Naughty girl. You'll learn not to throw anything quite soon." With that, she delivered a sharp smack to her bottom.
That was the moment Henry reached them. "Cora!"
Not paying her husband any mind, Cora brought her hand down again. "Someone has to teach her a lesson, some manners. She'll learn." Again. She reared her hand back to deliver a fourth, but Henry swept in to steal Regina away from her.
"It's her birthday!" he hissed at his wife, whom at this point was very much only in name. "Her very first birthday, and there are going to be a great many guests to celebrate it."
"Then you should be thankful I am teaching her before she throws silverware at someone's eye."
The absurdity of the statement might have made Henry laugh if he weren't so angry at what he had just witnessed. "That is highly unlikely to have ever happened, let alone on her first birthday. She is only one year old, Cora. What are you going to do if she can't be still and quiet for the family painting?"
"Keeping her still and quiet will be your job for that," Cora answered simply.
Henry lightly bounced Regina in attempt to calm her down. "I don't want to see you until the guests have arrived," he bluntly told Cora. "And Regina has outgrown those shoes. They haven't fit for several weeks now." He carried Regina away, hoping he could assuage the justly terrified girl's fears and hurt.
In private chambers, Henry checked to be sure Regina didn't sustain any injuries. He felt a lump in his throat and tears burned in his eyes. It wasn't until Regina had finally calmed that he allowed his tears to fall, feeling his heart breaking for his little girl. "I am so sorry, mija," he apologized. "You deserve so much better, my precious Regina."
Regina reached to him, her hand landing on his cheek as if to forgive him. Henry knew she couldn't possibly have that depth of understanding or that wide a range of emotions yet, but the touch, coincidental or not, was comforting to him all the same.
"I love you, little one." Henry sniffled. The world wasn't fair. He genuinely believed Regina deserved better than the life she currently had, but at the same time his selfish desire to be in her life prevented any true thought or plan towards giving her a better life elsewhere. He knew he couldn't just take her and hide her away from Cora, he was chained to the woman, which, sadly, unjustly, unfairly, selfishly meant Regina would remain chained to her as well.
They played their parts well, as the doting and loving completely functional family that only existed under prying eyes. There was much food to be had and many gifts to be received, many of which things Regina was not yet old enough to actually make use of. Regina was happy enough, at least, being passed around from guest to guest, many familiar as well as new faces to play with and learn. The guests were so distracted and enamored by the birthday girl that not a single one ever realized Cora was only near for the bare minimum of what was expected of her, or that Henry shadowed his daughter wherever she wound up, keeping protective watch over her.
The longest Cora held Regina was to pose for the family painting, making sure she was positioned just so. It wasn't only the longest she had held her for the duration of the party, but the longest she had ever held her in that first year of her life. If she had noticed how distraught Regina appeared the entire time, she hadn't cared.