Back Story
Cora had always been an ambitious woman. She had strived to be more than a Miller's daughter, a mere peasant, unheard and unseen. She had dreams, aspirations and a desire that was unmatched. She wanted to rule, to control those who had turned their backs on her, who had spat on her. Those who had said she was nothing; the pompous, gold wearing, pathetic beings who hid behind guards and high walls. Soon she would not need to hide, Cora had learnt magic, dark magic and she had made a deal. All deals and magic came with a price and she had gladly paid with the removal of her heart.
When the opportunity to wed Prince Henry arose, thanks to a certain meddling imp, Cora grasped onto it tightly. She needed to climb higher though and with the unfortunate, and perhaps not due to natural causes, death of Henry's father, Cora played the supportive wife; sympathetic but strong for her husband who had to become King. Cora was Queen, finally holding some semblance of power but still it wasn't enough.
It was with the birth of her sweet daughter, Regina however, that Cora's vision grew. Why stop at one Kingdom? All she needed to do was mould Regina into the perfect princess; a princess ready to be a doting wife and a perfect royal.
She would marry her off to a neighbouring Kingdom. All Cora would need to do then would be to get rid of whatever pathetic King stood in her way. That would be easy; the world was a dangerous place after all. Once the King was removed, Regina's new husband, prince turned King, would be disposed of also.
Oh yes, she would make her daughter into a Queen. With magic, kingdoms and armies united, they would rule the entire Enchanted Forest by the time she was through.
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Henry on the other hand, didn't have a scheme or a plan in mind for his little girl. He doted on his daughter from the moment he had laid eyes on her. In secret, Henry would teach Regina sword play and insisted she learn how to ride a horse. He would give anything to see those russet orbs light up and that smile; the smile that could brighten the darkest room. Unfortunately, his coddling ways weren't appreciated by his wife.
Henry stayed out of Cora's way when he learnt of her dark magic. It was a shame that he was such a weak man; only becoming weaker as the years passed by.
His wife at times was awfully cruel to their daughter but King or not, he couldn't stop it. He watched the vines coil around their child until she submitted. His eyes widened with every line inflicted; each breaking the skin, allowing blood to track down Regina's smooth flesh before sealing up and vanishing.
Of course he would hold his daughter close until her tears ceased once the punishment had ended. He even kept infection away from her split upper lip; the only time Cora had left her mark as a reminder.
To his surprise, Regina never looked at him with betrayal in her eyes; no she loved her Daddy. As Henry watched his daughter bloom, the fact he never begged his wife to stop, not once; only gained in weight on his heart.
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It was the summer of the year Regina turned fourteen that Henry found a blonde girl amongst the ruins of a burnt village. She was covered in soot and lying unconscious with a few deep gashes littering her body.
Just like the other bodies they'd found, one of the knights felt for a pulse. Unlike the ones before, this girl held a very weak pulse and so the knight decided to do what was right and end her suffering quickly. For reasons, he would never be able to explain, Henry halted the action and the girl was brought along back to his castle.
After one moon's cycle, falling in and out of consciousness and fighting to live, bluish-green eyes finally opened. With her healthy appetite and desire to thank those who saved her, Emma Swan, at the ripe age of eleven, went against protocol and begged to be trained into a knight.
Against all odds, her new King allowed it and so began Emma's training. She may have lost four years as a Page but she was a fast learner. When she wasn't serving her assigned Lord or training with the other Pages, she was practicing in the solitude of her quarters. The blonde grew to be a worthy opponent.
Emma had seen the royal family she was training to protect and fight for but it was during one cool afternoon, of her fifth month at being in the castle, that she laid eyes on the princess. Being young and not knowing what the feeling was, the blonde vowed, as she watched the brunette ride effortlessly across the fields, that until her last breath she would protect the princess above all else. That day, the seed was planted within her chest and it only grew as the years rolled on.
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Regina grew up under the strict instruction of her mother. Every gesture, every word she spoke, was drilled into her mind through repetition and punishment for each failure.
The way she sat, the clothes she wore, the knowledge she was fed, all had a purpose. Regina worked this out before her mother's announcement that she was at the age to marry, on her thirteenth birthday. The announcement only made her realise how much her life had never and would never, be her own. That was the day she promised herself that she'd get in as much horse riding, sword play, time at the lake and story time with her father.
By the age of ten she had realised her father was a weak man, after all she had been taught every trait, emotion etc. that made a person weak. However, not once did her love waiver for him. No, she understood the reasoning behind being afraid of her mother; she knew first hand. It made her strive to be better, to excel in every lesson; she had to ensure the safety of not only herself but her father as well.
When the match making began, keeping her father in mind, she found or created faults in every boy or man whom she was forced to socialise with. The brunette understood to a degree, the reasoning for uniting the Kingdoms but she also knew that Cora would not stand for anything but the highest ranking husband for her daughter.
This technique paired with the lack of available princes, prevented Regina from leaving their castle but it also prevented the brunette from forming any sort of relationship.
That was until her fourteenth year when Emma Swan had shown up. Regina would always remember her father's story of finding the blonde and the fight she had given to live. She didn't realise that what she was searching for was now within reach.
It had started with the blonde thinking she had the right to speak to her as she passed the training grounds on the way to the stables. Then at some point that had turned into her watching the blonde train once her riding lessons were complete. Somewhere between the glances which lasted too long and the apparent chance meetings on horseback, a friendship formed and evolved into something Regina refused to let go of.
Unfortunately, Cora had noticed the budding relationship between the two growing girls. She would use it to her advantage, what better way to ensure the safety of her daughter than by keeping an infatuated knight-to-be within close proximity? When the time arose, the blonde would be disposed of. No one would stand in the way of the plan she had worked meticulously on since her daughter's birth.
AN: Chapter 3...done. Still with me? All reviews, faves and follows are greatly appreciated :)