Jefferson blinked, and then grinned.

"That's impressive," he said. "Very complex magic."

Mai cooed at him and fluttered over to land on his shoulder. Anastasia was looking at her, calculating, and Mai fluttered her wings a bit again.

"Well, I suppose it's time to head back to Storybrooke," Jefferson said. He looked at Anastasia. "Your Majesty, if you would step back until the portal is stable?"

Anastasia stepped back obligingly, and Mai burrowed in close to Jefferson. Just in case. They were both watching Jefferson and the hat.

Jefferson twirled the hat quickly, jumpstarting the portal magic, and set the hat down. The portal swirled to life, opening up across the floor. Jefferson gestured to it.

"Your Majesty," he said, nodding to Anastasia. "I need to be the last one through, the portal will close behind me."

Anastasia nodded and jumped into the portal easily. Mai refused to budge from Jefferson's shoulder, instead cuddling into his neck and staying as close as possible to him.

Jefferson gently put his hand on Mai to steady her, and then jumped into the portal after Anastasia. The portal dumped them out on the outskirts of Storybrooke, right near the town line. The hat fell to the ground once the portal closed, sitting there innocently, and Jefferson dusted himself off.

"And here we are," he said. He offered Anastasia a hand to her feet.

Anastasia took his hand, getting to her feet and brushing herself off a bit as she looked around. "This is Storybrooke?" she asked, sounding a little dubious.

Mai cooed gently at Jefferson, still snuggled into his neck. She wasn't going to change back until she had some privacy.

"We're right on the edge of town," Jefferson replied, bending down to pick up the hat and being careful not to dislodge Mai. He dusted it off. "But yes, this is Storybrooke. It's a rather small town."

"Hmm." Anastasia nodded. "I'm grateful for the assistance," she said, nodding briefly to him. "I believe I can find my own way from here."

"With all due respect, your Majesty," Jefferson said, looking at her, "it might be a good idea to let us accompany you into town, at least. I doubt anyone is expecting any new faces to show up."

Anastasia looked at him for a few moments before she nodded. "Very well," she agreed. "Lead the way, then."

Jefferson nodded and gestured for her to follow him. The least he could do was take her to Granny's so someone else might be able to help her.

Anastasia looked around as they walked, though she kept quiet, just letting him lead. She knew that he knew better than to deceive her.

Jefferson could tell that they were starting to get some odd looks, since Anastasia was still wearing a formal red gown, but he ignored them. He led her to the little inn.

"Granny should be able to put you up here," he said. "At least long enough for you to take care of whatever it is you wanted to be here for."

Anastasia nodded to him once more and moved off to talk to Granny. She had work to do.

Mai cooed gently at Jefferson, shifting on his shoulder to remind him that yes she was still there and they needed to get somewhere quieter and private, please.

"I'm going, I'm going," Jefferson said quietly, chuckling a bit. "Home sound good?"

In response, Mai cooed again and settled more firmly on his shoulder. She noticed that he got a few odd looks for carrying a dove around on his shoulder, but she ignored the looks.

Jefferson took a shortcut back to his mansion, heading through the trees. As soon as they got back, Jefferson nudged her gently.

"Go ahead," he said.

Mai fluttered off his shoulder and inside, heading up to a quiet room. It took her a few minutes, but she changed back. At least mostly. Some feathers were still left mixed in with her hair, along with a few going up her arms and around her navel. Embarrassed, she pulled on long clothes to hide the feathers as much as possible.

Jefferson was in the hat room, checking over the Wonderland hat before he put it back. He put a few extra stitches in the satin band, where the decorations were wobbling a little, and then he set it gently on the empty stand where it belonged.

"Everything alright?" Mai asked from the doorway. She had long sleeves on and pulled low over her hands to hide as many feathers as possible.

"Yeah, it's fine," Jefferson said as he put away his repair supplies. He turned around and paused for a moment. "I could ask you the same question, though."

Mai blushed. "Magic is more difficult here," she said, shifting self-consciously. "I can't seem to get rid of these last bits yet."

Jefferson blinked at that, and then grinned a bit.

"I'm sure it'll get easier soon," he said, doing his best not to laugh. In and of itself, it was funny, but he didn't want to laugh at Mai.