The Imp and the Miller's Daughter - a Once Upon A Time fan theory

Note: this theory has been disproven.

If you had a surprised reaction to Rumple and Cora's kiss during "In The Name Of The Brother," you're not alone; I was pretty surprised myself. After all, it's not the kind of thing you'd expect to see after one of them tried to kill the other with a force field. But aside from their truce being sealed, Rumple and Cora's meeting also gave a few hints about their history. Details of their relationship have been spread over several episodes, and putting them all together should help us figure out what happened in the past.

The Rumplestiltskin Story

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the classic Rumplestiltskin tale, here is a recap:

A miller attempts to impress the king and claims that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Taking the girl into his castle, the king shuts her in a tower room full of straw and a spinning wheel, demanding that all the straw be turned to gold by morning or he will lock her in a dungeon forever. The miller's daughter is desperate when an imp appears and requests her necklace in exchange for completing her task. The girl agrees, and the next day the king sends her to a larger room with more straw to do it again. The imp arrives that night and she accepts his offer for help in exchange for her ring. The next day, the king is again delighted, and the girl is taken to an even larger room with more straw; however, this time she is told that if she does not complete her task, she will die. The imp returns to help her, but she has no jewelry left with which to deal, and finally agrees to give up her firstborn child instead.

The king makes good on his promise and marries the miller's daughter. Eventually a child is born. The imp returns for his payment, but the desperate queen offers him all the wealth she has if she may keep her child. The imp has no interest in more riches, but agrees to let the queen keep the baby if she can guess his name within three days. Her guesses during the first two days fail, and on the night before her loss, she sends a messenger into the mountains. He comes across the imp, listens as the creature reveals his name to be Rumplestiltskin, and returns to the palace. Rumple arrives the next day to collect the child, but the queen reveals his name, and he falls into a chasm and is never seen again. 

Easter egg hunt: In a homage to the trinkets in the original story, Rumple wears a ring while Cora wears a necklace as their bargain over their babies takes place during “In The Name Of The Brother.”

Rumple and Cora: The Story So Far

The first clue of Rumple and Cora's history came in “The Stable Boy,” when Daniel mentioned that Cora is “the daughter of a miller.” Now, the miller's daughter is well-known from the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale, enough so that any mention of her would immediately bring that story to mind. Since this was the first time such a character was mentioned, Daniel's words made it fairly obvious that this is the role Cora plays in the history of the Enchanted Forest. However, her introduction as a someone who uses magic against their own child makes it clear that she's had some dark influences in her life. Later in the same episode, Cora mentioned that she had made deals to escape poverty and refused to accept Regina's love with a stable boy because of what those deals had cost her. “Deals,” another buzzword from “Rumplestiltskin” and earlier Once episodes, immediately connected with Daniel's earlier comment, and it became clear just who had influenced Cora into such a dark place. But just how dark was about to be seen.

Season Two's “We Are Both” gave us some more tidbits about Cora and Rumple's history during Regina's conversations with her father, Henry, and Rumple. Henry revealed that “not quite a man” had brought a book of spells to Cora and taught her magic before Henry knew her; later, Regina summoned Rumple after finding his name in Cora's book. He interrupts her introduction by telling her he knows her already; she asks if it's because he taught Cora and he says no, “I knew you long ago, dearie. It's been some time, but I knew this day would come. I've been waiting for it. And I'm so happy we're back where we belong.'” Regina asks “Where's that?” and he replies “'Together.” Rumple went on to say that he held her in his arms when she was “more portable.” After telling her there is past and future history between him and her family, she finally asks if he can help her, and they have the following exchange: “Possibly. You seek power... the death of your enemy... the death of your friend?” Regina acts horrified, “No! I don't want to hurt anyone!” Rumple comments, “Hard to believe you're from the same family.” His words are a pretty clear indication that Cora had asked him for help with all of those things in the past (more on that shortly).

In their reunion during “In The Name Of The Brother,” Cora arrives with a globe that will find Baelfire; in return, she wants Regina, saying “Let me try to get her back, and let us live.” When Rumple questions the globe's authenticity, she says “Darling, I have no reason to cheat you,” to which Rumple replies “Anymore.” Cora tells Rumple that she wants him to find the one person in the universe who might still love him, and that she's looking for the same. When he asks if she has spells to return memories, she tells him that she knows only that which he taught her, and then refers to him as “Master.” Cora then seals their truce with a kiss.

It was Cora's words before the kiss that were so shocking, not the kiss itself. If Cora had said, “Let's seal it like we did before,” that would be one thing. But “like we used to” suggests more than one kiss and an accompanying romantic subtext. The idea of a romance between Rumple and Cora is difficult to digest, but the possibility is there nonetheless, and Cora's first appearance gave clues for it.

The Story Back Then

We know where Cora's story began from her own words in “The Stable Boy”: a life of poverty, from which she wanted to escape. Rumple, recognizing her desperation, showed up and offered to teach her magic, for “magic is power.” We know from his future history with Regina and Belle that he prefers female apprentices/helpers around the house, and Cora may be the beginning of that trend. After a time, perhaps their relationship grew beyond student-teacher. I think Cora fell in love with her unnamed “Master” and thought they could be together. (“Love is weakness... It feels real now at the start, it always does". Maybe, she told him of her feelings, but he turned her down, no doubt speaking about how he cares more about power than her. "but it's an illusion. It fades. And then you're left with nothing... but power". Similar to what happened to Regina, Cora's broken heart turned evil, and instead of leaving she continued her lessons to become more powerful. ('True power endures. And then you don't have to rely on anyone to get what you want.”

Eventually Cora went on her own and came to a kingdom. Knowing that her Master could complete the task for her, she offered to spin straw into gold for its king, who accepted her offer. On the first night Rumple arrives and she uses her feminine wiles to get him to accept her deal, sealing it with a kiss; in exchange, he took her ring, on the second night he took her necklace. On the third night, the king tells Cora that if she can do it again, she will marry his son the prince (Henry). When Cora asks for Rumple's help, he demands her first-born child. She agrees, Rumple spins the straw to gold and Cora and Henry are married. When Regina is born, Rumple arrives to collect, but Cora loves her daughter and doesn't want to give her up. She begs Rumple to let her keep Regina, and Rumple agrees if she can guess his real name.

Her attempts to discover his name fail. Never one to give up, Cora returns to Rumple's castle believing she will find his name there. Using manipulation, she tricks him into believing that he can keep Regina. Later, she finds the dagger with his name on it and breaks their deal. Furious at his defeat, Rumple ensures that Cora's new kingdom is dissolved while she is still married to Prince Henry, ensuring that she never becomes queen.

The Death Of A Friend

Now, back to what Rumple said in “We Are Both.” Present-day Cora is power-hungry to the point of madness, so it's not a big stretch to think she would ask for that. And for Cora to ask for help with the death of an enemy, I'll just remind us all that she's the Queen of Hearts for a reason and leave it at that. But the death of a friend? That's very interesting, but did Cora have any true friends? If so, as evil as Cora is, it's hard to imagine why she would want to kill them, unless that friend had something that Cora wanted desperately. Her pursuit has always been power, even to the point of forcing Regina to marry Leopold, so it all looks as though Cora killed a friend who became queen. With the way that Once Upon a Time mixes characters and stories, it's safe to think that the regal friend of Cora's will be someone well-known, in the form of Snow White's mother Queen Eva. This monarch has been mentioned variously throughout both seasons and will be played by Rena Sofer in an upcoming episode.

I think Cora and Eva were friendly when Cora was still a miller's daughter, with Cora being older than Eva, mirroring Regina and Snow's relationship. Eventually they had a serious falling out, possibly over Cora's apprenticeship with Rumplestiltskin, and their friendship ended. Possibly, when Cora learned that Eva had become queen after losing out on her own chances at the throne, she was upset to the point of insanity and came up with a plan. She arrived at Leopold and Eva's palace and met with her old friend, presenting her with some kind of peace offering. During their meeting she poisons Eva, ensuring her death as part of a plot to have Regina replace her on the throne. Her scheme later advances when she ensures that a young Snow White's horse runs wild, causing Regina to save her.

What Happens Now



Cora clearly knows how to manipulate Rumple, as evidenced by her successful attempt to get him to accept her truce. When she tells him, "Oh, the Crocodile snaps at the little bird," she uses his other name to remind him of Hook, and by extension, Belle and her lost memories. She emphasizes Rumple's loss by offering him the globe as a means to find “the one person in this universe who truly loves [him].” Cora knew that Rumple has had his heart symbolically ripped out, and that his desperation to heal his soul would lead him to agree to her terms. The fact that she called herself "the little bird" in relation to Rumple's other name "the Crocodile" may also mean she has yet another fairy tale identity beyond the Miller's Daughter and the Queen of Hearts. The truce between them will surely be temporary, but whatever Cora has planned during Rumple's absence, it won't be good for him or the rest of Storybrooke. Especially if Cora knows about the dagger.

Originally appeared on OnceUponAFans.com. Images property of ABC Studios.

Zach Van Norman is a writer, reporter, and podcast host for Once Upon A Fan. He is also a film student with  an interest in editing and directing who enjoys symbolic analysis and studying the use of color and light in movies and television.