Cora was always ambitious, and dark magic only amplified those tendencies. Under Rumplestiltskin’s tutelage, she learned how to take what she wanted, and what she wanted was power—for herself and for her daughter. She arranged for her daughter, Regina, to rescue young Princess Snow White, and used that to manipulate King Leopold into marrying her. She killed Regina’s lover, Daniel, before her very eyes, to get her daughter to marry the King. Her plans were set back, however, when Rumplestiltskin helped Regina banish Cora to Wonderland, but once there, Cora quickly became The Queen of Hearts, establishing herself as its ruler. She even managed to abduct her husband, Henry, as a way to get back at Regina—who later rescued her father with Jefferson (The Mad Hatter’s) help. When Regina sent Captain Hook to assassinate her mother, Cora struck a new deal with the pirate and was brought back to Fairy Tale Land, where she spared a piece of the land from her daughter’s Dark Curse. From there she plotted her journey to the new world, with her powers intact, so that she could be reunited with her daughter.