King Xavier's Castle

King Xavier's Castle is the home of the King of the kingdom in which a young Cora once resided in.

Before the Curse
One day, Cora arrived home to the mill to find her father passed out drunk, not having delivered the flour that they need in order to eat that week. Due to this, Cora goes to sell the flour in her father's stead, however, when there, she collides with a familiar face: Princess Eva, causing both of them to trip. King Xavier, who is also there, forces Cora to apologize, and she does so through gritted teeth, feeling absolutely humiliated. That night, she sneaks into the royals' masquerade ball but is soon recognized by the king, who tells her that despite his kingdom's poverty, he is still of higher social standing than her. Insulted by this, Cora tells him that she is able to spin straw into gold, and Xavier announces this to his subjects, locking Cora up in a tower full of straw overnight, telling her that she will die if she fails to produce gold. As she contemplates jumping, Rumplestiltskin appears to her and offers to spin the straw into gold in exchange for Cora's first born. However, Cora refuses this, demanding that Rumple teach her magic, and the contract that Cora signs changes to state that she must only present Rumple with his own child. He teaches her to use her emotions to wield magic and she does so by remembering her humiliation via King Xavier, and the next day, she is able to spin straw into gold before the kingdom's very eyes. Prince Henry then proposes to her and Cora accepts, and on her wedding night, she is met by Rumple and they decide they will run away together. Before they do so, Cora decides that she wants to rip out Xavier's heart and crush it. When she arrives to do so, he reveals that he knows she loves the imp and not his son, and tells her that love is weakness. Taking this in, Cora rips out her own heart as she sees it as an obstacle, and tells Rumple that she cannot run away with him. He accuses her of breaking their deal, but she points out that she must only present him with his own child, and from now on, any child she does have, will be the prince's. Months later, Cora presents her baby to the kingdom, telling them that she is to be called Regina, for one day, she will be queen.