Believed six impossible things before breakfast. That unusual, yet distinct, phrase was what he had said. Just thinking about those words for a second or two caused Nora to smile ever so slightly as she took a sip of tea. She had read the book many times. It had slowly become one of her favorites; all the growing and shrinking, and the murderous Red Queen had terrified her when she was younger. Jefferson had read the book, too, that much was obvious. First the note near the muffins and now this.

But asking her to believe the story he told her about Storybrooke went far beyond a novel quote. Jefferson had been matter-of-fact and earnest as he spoke; his delivery was even and far from a rant. There was no extra embellishment as Nora would have expected from someone intent on making their tale sound as impressive as possible. The more she considered it, the more the whole thing gave Nora pause. Jefferson truly believed every word he had uttered. She again chastised herself for going up to the mansion even though the alternative would've been walking, for who knows how long, into town.

Nora raised her eyes and found Jefferson staring intently at her. He was clearly waiting for her to say something but she had been so lost in her thoughts that she had no idea what he had just said.

"Your phone. It's buzzing." Jefferson pointed at the device sitting on the table near her plate.

Nora quickly picked it up. Her shoulders visibly sagged as she read the messages.

"Everything okay?"

"Rainbows and butterflies." Nora dismissed his concern with a sardonic tone as she put the phone down. This time, instead of Michael, the messages were from Gwen. As usual, her friend sent a series of short staccato questions. WTF? Maine? You okay? Nora couldn't muster the effort to answer her nor did she want to explain any of it to Jefferson. She sighed and rested her chin in her hand.

Across the table, a slight smirk formed on Jefferson's lips as he nodded. He decided to try another tack in his attempt to convince Nora about Storybrooke while she seemed disenchanted. He refilled Nora's tea before jumping up from the table and telling her not to move. Moments later, he returned with a large sheet of paper in his hands. He spread it out on the table and pointed to a brown square.

Nora looked from Jefferson to the spot marked by his finger and back again. "What am I looking at?"

"Storybrooke. This is my house. This... is the garage. And this red line is the border to the Land Without Magic."

"That's the best name you could come up with?"

"It wasn't my decision. This is where you managed to cross." Jefferson pointed out a road not far from his house.

"And this," Nora gestured towards a cluster of streets located a bit of a distance from Jefferson's house. "This is where all the fairy tale characters live."

"Yes."

"Are you listening to this conversation? It's crazy."

Now it was Jefferson's shoulders that were sagging at Nora's words. He leaned in across the table in an effort to convey his sincerity. "I'm not mad, I'm telling you the truth. I'm trying to get you to remember what you're dealing with so you don't get hurt."

"Remember?" Nora asked with wide, questioning eyes.

"Understand," Jefferson said while silently cursing in his head at the slip.

"You're saying that all the stories I've ever read are true."

"Why is that so difficult? You read about the American Revolution... in a book."

"That's different," Nora declared. Although she didn't dare say it aloud, he had made an almost valid point.

"How?"

"Mice weren't turning into soldiers. No one was spinning straw into gold. There's no magic, no spells, no curses. If you're a storybook character, how do you know about the American Revolution?"

"I've been stuck here for 27 years. I read it in a book." Jefferson turned and again hurried out of the room. He returned with another large piece of paper that he placed on top of the first. It appeared to Nora to be another map. She could discern what looked like jagged borders and names of places: the Enchanted Forest; Wonderland; Camelot.

"RPG map?" Nora asked as she stood up to get a better look.

Jefferson looked at her curiously before shaking his head. "It's some of the different worlds that I've been to."

"I love to get lost in a story, too, but Camelot... Lancelot... King Arthur... it doesn't exist."

"This is not the only world," Jefferson said. The volume and sharpness of his voice coupled with his fist hitting the table rather loudly caused Nora to back away. Upon seeing her distress, he immediately tried to cover his frustration and gestured to the Enchanted Forest on the map. When he spoke again it was much lower and gentler. "Just because you can't see them doesn't mean that they don't exist. They all touch one another and stretch out in a line. Some have magic, some don't. And some need magic... like this place."

"But...they're stories," Nora shook her head.

"I'm telling you the truth. Deep down, you know."

Nora looked around the kitchen and caught a glimpse of herself in the polished chrome of the espresso machine. The curves of the coffee maker distorted her reflection into something reminiscent of a funhouse mirror. Appropriate given the conversation, she thought wryly.

Nora pulled out her chair and took her seat, all the while trying to ascertain Jefferson's current temperament. He had begun slowly pacing the length of the table, his gaze going from the map to her and back again. When she met Jefferson's eyes, he smiled as he continued walking.

Nora decided that it was as good a time as any to ask her question again. "Why do you remember and no one else does? What makes you so special?"

"Knowing is my curse," Jefferson replied cryptically. "I'm also not the only one. The Queen is well aware of everything she has caused."

"Why does everyone stay here? If you have no memories... or no ties here, why not leave?"

"I have my reasons. So do they. Besides, bad things happen when you cross the border between lands."

"I came in and nothing happened to me," Nora stated with a conviction she didn't truly possess. Her mind reminded her that the somewhat mysterious and somewhat capricious man across the table was definitely a happening.

Jefferson agreed and pointed out that she was an outsider so the rules didn't apply. After a few halting attempts at an argument to the contrary and a glimpse of her reflection again, Nora gave up on an attempt at an argument. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the messages. Gwen's texts had devolved into question marks causing Nora to type out a quick reassurance that everything was fine.

"What difference does it make to you if what I'm telling you is true or not? The curse isn't affecting you," Jefferson said. He spoke calmly and somewhat slower than usual to emphasize his words. Nora looked up from her phone with her eyebrows raised and bit her lip. Coming up with an answer wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be.

"Well... uh... I... I don't know. I guess I'd like to think that my habit of making impulsive decisions isn't going to get me killed."

"It won't with me but the rest of them you can't trust. Would you like more tea?"

Nora declined the tea and let out another exasperated sigh as her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She glanced down and shook her head. After a deep breath to try and center herself, she straightened up in the chair. "I would really like to try and write."

Jefferson nodded and offered to carry her bag. As he led the way to the second floor of the mansion, Nora followed silently. At the moment, she wasn't sure that she believed his tale about Storybrooke but she was willing to trust her instinct that he wouldn't hurt her.

Nora pulled her laptop out of her bag and plugged it in. Jefferson watched with satisfaction as she logged on and sat down at the desk. He shared that he would be downstairs and just to let him know if she needed anything.

"Stolen Starlight: A Navigator's Tale. I wonder what land that's in," he mused before leaving the room.