The next days flew by as the citizens of the tiny kingdom, and those who had sought shelter there after the curse, all heard of the news of the princess' return from the land of the cursed. Eilonwy declined visitors, though Grace and Jefferson were excepted from this rule. She didn't want to be plagued with questions when her leg hurt and she just wanted to recover. She spent much time in her room, having long talks with her mother, telling her of the other world and what it was like, and hearing of how things had faired in the Enchanted Forest for the past twenty-eight years.

A place just outside the castle was found and given to Jefferson and Grace as their new home. A lovely stone cottage between the beach and the forest. With a glad and a garden bed that needed to be reclaimed. It had been disused since it's former occupant had gone missing in the forest a few years back. Two guards were sent to help them clean it up and provide them with furnishings to replace the decayed ones, or to assist in repairing the damaged but not ruined. Grace had a room of her own in the upper story of the little two level cottage. She loved it, even though it was essentially a finished attic. She had a little window that looked out towards the forest and she helped her papa to settle in as well. He felt a little awkward, having something just given to him. But then Eilonwy was not Regina, she would not insist on deals, and there was no fear of being double-crossed. He did however fear how little he would see of her now that she was back in her rightful place as princess, and soon-to-be queen.

He would work in the garden behind the house, Grace by his side as they pulled out weeds and trimmed back the overgrowth. It was surprising how fulfilling hard work was. He hadn't felt so happy in a long time. Weeks passed, and he and Grace were invited to dinner in the castle on a few occasions. Though most of the talk bored Grace and troubled Jefferson. He had never seen Eilonwy like this before. She was talking of garrisons and borders and how to increase agriculture and arranging for insentives for the fishermen of Llyr so that the industry wouldn't die out during the harsher months when food was scarcer.

A month and a half had passed since they had stepped foot back in the Enchanted Forest when a knock came on the door to the cottage. Jefferson opened it to see Eilonwy standing there, her carriage parked to the side of the yard.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, unsure what had inspired her to visit him. He wasn't sure if it was proper for her to do so. He felt sometimes like the rest of the kingdom just regarded him and Grace as Eilonwy's charity case. They felt bad for them, sympathised, but didn't understand that they were good friends not just unfortunates she was helping.

"Tea" she said a little surprised by his formal response.

He smiled and helped her inside, calling for Grace to come down. Eilonwy went out to the carriage and brought in two boxes. One much larger than the other and long and not too thick. The other was a squat little square box.

"Eilonwy" Grace said excitedly as she saw who was coming in the door.

"I got something for you" the princess said smiling, "call it a house warming present" she said setting the box down on the table. Grace's eyes went wide.

"Can I open it now?" she asked looking up to her papa and Eilonwy.

"Of course" the princess chuckled.

Grace meticulously removed the ribbon and took the lid off of the box, gently moving the pastel pink tissue paper out of the way to reveal a beautiful tea set.

"I'm sorry, it's not entirely new, luxuries are hard to come by these days, but I had many years of fun with it, and had new pieces made for the ones I broke, and them repainted with your initial" she explained.

"It's wonderful" she said and threw her arms around Eilonwy. The radiant smile of love and joy that covered her face at the girl's embrace melted Jefferson. It made him believe that Eilonwy, while no one could replace Priscilla as Grace's mother, the princess was the only woman he had met who he could ever think of as anything close to a source of everything he couldn't give her. Grace was growing up, she would need a mother soon, too bad the woman he loved was set to become queen and therefore entirely out of his league. He sighed as he watched her and Grace open the second package, which was a variety of teas that Eilonwy had had collected for them.

The three sat down and had tea together, Eilonwy drowning her concerns in hearing the minute details of their charmingly simple struggles, like the deer that came in and wanted to ravage the green shoots of their garden, or the turtles eating the strawberries. She lost herself in listening to Grace talk, while her eyes frecquently met Jefferson's as the two looked deeply at each other, feeling the breadth of the gap that separated them. She wanted to reach out, but the space between them felt immeasurable now with the weight of a crown on her head. She left, promising to resume their Storybrooke tradition of tea once a week. Jefferson watched as the carriage rolled back up towards the castle.

"I wish she could come by everyday" Grace said coming up to her father's side.

"Me too" he confessed as he picked his child up and helped her to bed. He went out that night and walked the beach for an hour or two, his eyes roaming up to the castle every now and again. He couldn't bear this separation, her visit had opened the wound, even just as a friend, he had to be around her. He wanted her company.

The next week on her visit he asked if there was any position in the castle that might be open, gardening was food, but making some money, so as not to live on her charity was something he felt he needed.

"Funny you should ask" Eilonwy observed "I actually need a court advisor, and I trust you, so you could be my prime minister after my coronation, or an advisor on the current cabinet" she said.

"You want me to help you run a kingdom?" he asked incredulously.

"Why not?"

"I've been called mad" he confessed.

"And a little madness is just what that stuffy room of decrepit men old enough to be my grandfather's needs. Every idea I have they want to deliberate on and point out all the downsides, they would do nothing if my mother and I didn't use our right of command to force them to action. I could really use you in there with me" she said looking at him, pleading in her light blue eyes "I understand if you don't want to" she admitted.

"No, if it will help you, I'll do it" he told her.

He went up to the castle the next day, paying a visit to the tailor in the town and getting a decent suit of clothes made on credit. Two days after that, in his new made set of clothes he was introduced as Eilonwy's chief adviser, and the news flew through the castle. Gratitude was one thing, giving this man with a questionable past a position of authority was nothing short of outrageous. Had the land been in normal circumstances, they would have found a way to prevent her decision, but with half the inhabitants missing and times being difficult, most people, except the extremely rigid, were willing to accept her appointment of Jefferson.