"I don't even know these people, Cora," Henry protested tiredly. He knew he was always fighting a losing battle with his wife and she would always win.

"But they are royals and are looking to arrange an engagement for their son, who is second in line to inherit the throne of their kingdom! Don't you want to secure Regina's future, Henry?"

Henry sighed. "How old is this Prince turning?" he inquired.

"It will be his fourth birthday," Cora answered.

"Cora, it has only been half a year since Regina's first birthday."

"That makes him less than two and a half years older, Henry. That would not be an outrageous age difference."

"What age would a wedding be expected to happen?"

"It's too early to know, now. I would expect as soon as both are able to conceive an heir. If we're lucky, Regina will be 10, the Prince 12. However, the most realistic expectation would be when Regina is 12 and the Prince 14."

"I don't like it."

"Well, I don't want Regina to be an old maid by the time she's married like we were. The least you can do is meet them, Henry."

Forfeiting, Henry asked, "When is this birthday event?"

It was September when Henry found himself accompanying Cora and Regina to the royal birthday event of the Prince that Cora was hoping to make engagement arrangements with for Regina. By this point, Regina had enough hair to pull up into a cute, tiny ponytail. She fidgeted on her father's lap as the three rode in the carriage, playing with her stuffed horse, combing its mane.

Suddenly, as they rode over a bump, magic sparked from Regina's fingertips, animating the stuffed horse. It even made a neighing sound. Henry jolted, shocked. He looked at his wife with wide eyes. "What – What was that?"

Cora waved a hand, quickly countering Regina's weak magic with her own, reversing what it had done. "She must have been born with magic. Let me see her!" She pulled Regina roughly off of her father's lap, holding her to her own. Regina began to cry, not understanding what was going on. Cora bound her wrists together, holding them tightly together in one of her hands. Under her breath, she began murmuring an incantation that would bind, suppress Regina's magic, until she was of an appropriate age to learn how to control it.

Baffled, Henry leaned down to pick up the stuffed horse and the comb from the carriage floor, which had been dropped when Regina was suddenly grabbed by surprise. "What are you doing to her?" he asked, hearing the muttering that he couldn't understand.

"Making sure nothing like that ever happens again for a very long time," Cora answered once the incantation was complete and she could feel that Regina's powers had been successfully bound.

"Dada!" Regina wailed, reaching for him, clearly frightened.

Henry's heart broke seeing his little girl so upset. He took her back into his arms, which Cora gladly let him do. "You're alright, mija," he cooed to Regina, hoping it wasn't a lie. "Dada is right here, Regina." He wiped the little tears from her cheeks. "It's alright," he soothed in a hushed tone. "Here's your horse." He held the thankfully no longer animated stuffed horse close to Regina, who quickly took it and hugged it close while settling in her father's arms.

"I'm glad that happened before we got to the party. That would have been disastrous," Cora commented.

The party was disastrous anyway. Not only was the Prince a royal jerk to Regina and made her cry, the attempted engagement arrangement turned out to be a joke.

"I'm sorry, what did you say the bride price would be?" Cora asked.

"This really isn't a matter for wives to discuss," the King stated sharply. "Prince Henry, if you'd come talk with me privately?"

As Henry begrudgingly followed the King to a more private area, he could feel his wife's glare burning into his back. "I apologize, Princess Cora is rather eager to secure our daughter's future."

"I believe she is, as are many others here today."

"Her question was good, however. What would the bride price be?" Henry wanted to know what this King thought Regina's engagement would be worth.

"A cow and two pigs."

Henry blinked. "That's what my daughter is worth to you?"

"We have several options to choose from."

"Are you aware of my wife's… talents?" Henry asked the King covertly.

"I'm aware of her origins," the King answered snidely.

Incensed, Henry walked away from the King, deciding to let Cora deal with the matter. "A cow and two pigs," he told her, then nodded in the King's direction.

"Excuse me?!" Cora stomped her way over to the King. "Your Majesty, surely you must be joking?! My daughter is worth far more than a mere cow and a couple of pigs! Do you know how insulting that is? I can spin straw into fucking gold, and you think a cow and two pigs is a worthy bride price for an engagement?"

"I had," the King responded smugly. "However, the offer is now off the table, and your daughter will not be marrying my son, no matter how hard you should beg. Now, kindly remove yourself from this party, Your Majesty," the title was spoken in a mocking tone without respect.

"Arrrrrgh!" Cora let out in an agitated rage. How dare this King of some nobody kingdom disrespect her in such a way? She wanted to punch a wall, but she refrained. "Grab Regina, Henry," she snapped at her husband. She spun on her heel, making sure to hold her head high and walk out of the place in a regally entitled way, as if she had just done everyone a favor by gracing the party with her presence.

Henry shook his head and went off to find Regina. He was just in time to see the spoiled birthday boy of a Prince knocking her down and laughing about it with his friends that were closer to his own age.

"Dada!" Regina cried out sorrowfully. As soon as she saw him, she reached towards him with grabby hands.

Henry swept Regina up into his arms although she had the ability to walk on her own. "Ssh, you're okay now," he soothed, running a hand along her back. He pressed soft kisses to her temple. "I've got you. We're going home."

"Home?" Regina repeated, sniffling.

"Yes, mija. We're going home."

"A cow and two pigs!" Cora ranted on the carriage ride back. "What kind of fool does he take us for, anyway? You should have negotiated better, Henry. If he were only going to offer animals, no less than horses would be acceptable. But you could have pushed for so much more, Henry. You could have pushed for land, jewels, a new estate! What use are you, Henry? This has been a colossal waste of my time!"

Henry sighed heavily. Of course everything was all his fault now. It didn't matter that he hadn't been the one with the desire to attend in the first place, he had failed in acquiring what Cora had wanted, so he was naturally the one to blame. That was just the way their marriage worked, especially since Regina had been born. "That Prince was a brat, anyway. I saw him push her and laugh about it with his friends. He would have made a horrible husband. We can find another match, there's still plenty of time."

"Time to do better than a Prince second in line to the throne?" Cora scoffed. "I doubt it," she groused.

"Then perhaps it would be better to wait until she is old enough to entertain her own suitors and make her own choices in the matter of her own future," Henry suggested, despite already knowing it would be ill-received.

"You have gone absolutely daft, you fool! Mere girls can not be trusted to choose worthy husbands on their own merit."

Regina held her hands over her ears before letting out a piercing scream, not liking all the harsh tones.

"Regina!" Cora scolded. "Stop that at once!"

"Stop!" Regina projected her voice loudly. "No like!"

"Maybe we should just be quiet the rest of the ride," Henry told Cora. He was on Regina's side, fighting with Cora and listening to her nitpicking was tedious. It also couldn't be good for her to be present during such terse exchanges. He pressed kisses to the top of Regina's head, bouncing her on his knee until he successfully got her giggling again.