When Regina pulls out a necklace from the drawer, Zelena sees the box and unlocks it, causing Regina to suspect they are related. The two become fast friends, and one morning, Regina sneaks out of bed to play dress-up with Zelena. Shortly after waking up, Regina meets Zelena for the first time. Without receiving any instruction on how to cure Regina, Zelena effortlessly channels her magic into the unconscious girl, because of her deep desire to use her powers for good. From Oz, Cora returns home with Regina's older half-sister, Zelena. Upon finding her daughter in this state, Cora realizes the only magic that can heal Regina now is from someone who is close to her and who hasn't harmed her.

Regina uses the wand on her doll, but the magic backfires onto her, knocking her unconscious. Not knowing the box is sealed with blood magic, she unlocks it just by touching it and finds Cora's wand inside. Regina notices her mother forgot to remove the key from the drawer, and she curiously opens it to see an intricate box. After locking a box away in a drawer, Cora leaves the room, promising to see her daughter at dinner later. When the girl points out that her mother never has time to play, Cora reminds Regina of the story she once told her about her own childhood, in which she worked in the mill all day and learned to depend on only herself. Regina invites her to play, but Cora declines, saying she is too busy. In her mother's study, she is playing with her doll Isabella, when Cora walks in. Some years after this, Regina is now a young child. It is not known if Cora knows of this event. One day, when Regina is still a baby, Rumplestiltskin holds her in his arms.

When her daughter is born, Cora names her Regina, who she proclaims will become queen one day. Cora comes into power by learning to spin straw into gold under Rumplestiltskin's instruction, which makes the kingdom rich and garners a marriage proposal from Prince Henry. Regina is born to Prince Henry, the son of a wealthy king named Xavier, and Cora, the daughter of a poor miller.

Vipergirls sleeping queen regina