Eilonwy nodded sympathetically. “I understand that. We had to be pretty self sufficient for the same reason.” It was Dohmnall’s sorcery work that paid more of the bills when they needed to trade and invest, he just liked the farm and he liked not living in town. 

“Oh that’s interesting! I’ve never had that. I’ve read about it, but I didn’t know anyone grew it still.” She was curious to try it now though, if only to compare it to the lettuce she had had before. And kale, which was new and was pretty delicious but could be a little bitter at times so she wasn’t always in the mood for it. “Did you have a favorite?”

☼

“It’s kind of lame...” Rapunzel pursed her lips, a soft pink hue tinging her cheeks. Her mother had always taken pride in growing unique vegetation and truthfully, it was one of her more redeeming qualities. Rapunzel might not have been able to go very far, but she could imagine it with all the different kinds of foods that her mother had prepared. 

“What? Oh no, they’re my guardians. Or rather, Dohmnall is my guardian and Coll is his partner who got saddled with taking care of me as well.” She smiled softly as she thought on the both of them and the farm that had been home for a few short years. They weren’t family in any blood related way, but they were the first people she’d known who cared for her. 

But she tuned back in to the question about vegetables. “Mainly we grew lettuce, tomatoes, peas, green beans, and cucumbers. Things that we could can easily and would feed us for awhile. We used most of the rest of the land for growing food for the animals, so the garden could be just ours. What about you?”

☼

“Oh!” She pursed her lips. Her mother had grown a lot of things in her garden... Herbs, vegetables, the occasional flower. “It was more of a hobby for my mom. We lived in a pretty remote area.” Remote didn’t even cover it. The nearest grocery store had been over a half hour away. Not that Rapunzel herself had ever been, but she’d estimated the time it took her mother each time she went out. 

Eilonwy mentally filed away the information, all foods were fine but not cheese, just in case she decided she was in the mood to make food for the both of them. But for now she grabbed another cookie for herself as well.  

“Oh, its wonderful! Dohmnall mainly focuses on livestock like goats, pigs, and chickens but he also keeps a few horses which I learned to ride around on. Mainly he likes to stay in the library and study and Coll does a lot of the actual farm work, but there’s always something to do. Then they also grow all kinds of plants and crops. We had a nice little vegetable garden as well which was where I started to learn how to grow things.”

☼

“Are those your brothers’ names?” Rapunzel was instantly envious if that were the case. A little known fact about her (one that she didn’t divulge for fear of sounding insane) was that when she was younger, she used to imagine what it would be like to have a sibling... Older or younger, she wasn’t picky. Every so often in her solitude, she’d conjure one up in her mind. It would have been nice not to feel so alone.

Eilonwy nodded enthusiastically and pushed the plate of cookies closer to Rapunzel. “Of course! I only made these yesterday so they’re still really fresh and delicious. And if you want something more substantial, I’m sure we have lots of good things around, depending on what kinds of food allergies and food restrictions you have.” 

She nodded, absently kicking her feet as she spoke. “Yeah! I moved here from a farm that’s sort of close to Cardiff but was basically in the middle of nowhere.” The slippery edges of that truth were familiar to her now, none of it a lie exactly, just missing the most crucial piece of information. “I think the weirdest part of moving here was all the English accents.”

☼

Rapunzel’s stomach grumbled as her hungry eyes took in the plate of cookies in front of her. Sometimes she got so caught up with work that she forgot to order lunch --today was one of those instances. It hadn’t even hit her just how hungry she’d been. “Thanks!” She offered Eilonwy a smile as she reached for a cookie. “I don’t have many restrictions,” she mused. “I just don’t like cheese. --But I’m sure the cookies will be fine!” 

Eilonwy grinned over at that. “Yeah, even back in Wales where names like mine are a little more common, there weren’t any other Eilonwy’s. And once you get down to Eilonwy Llyr, even twitter admitted I was the only one.” It was only later she had realized how unusual it was to be able to get your name on the first try as a handle. At the time, she hadn’t thought of anything else. 

She finished putting away the groceries, and immediately shifted to putting together a plate of cookies from the jar that she had been steadily filling. She put it on the table and immediately picked up a cookie right s Rapunzel said it was official. “Yay! This is exciting! And thanks again for all of your help, I really appreciate it.”

☼

“Of course!” See! Her mother was wrong --not all people were monsters. In fact, some were just as kind as Rapunzel herself. She glanced at the jar of cookies that Eilonwy was filling and her stomach growled. “I know you’re putting away groceries, but... Would it be alright if I had one? I skipped lunch.” Time flew when you were making fun flower arrangements.

Moonrise || Eclipse

It was odd in the best kind of way how easily Rapunzel slotted herself into his home. Sometimes, it was nice to look around and just see the little signs that she’d been there, like how he never seemed to have to put his clean dishes away anymore or how there was now color splashed on one of his living room walls that was growing into something only Rapunzel knew the final image of.

Sometimes it made his skin crawl with nerves. 

He tried to ignore that feeling.

“You know you’re my favorite, right?” Flynn said with an appreciative groan, taking a deep breath and almost drooling at the smell of Chinese take out. He’d have to sneak some money into her bag again, she flat out refused him any time he tried to pay her back.

Again, he had mixed feelings on that, appreciating her wanting to help without any desire for repayment but not understanding that particular kind of selflessness at all, so he tried to ignore that too.

“How was your day?” he asked, coming up next to her and resting back against the counter.

☼

“I know,” the blonde smiled. Rapunzel had begun to assume as much, but she still enjoyed hearing it. For someone who wasn’t used to being anyone’s anything, the sheer mention of being a favorite fluffed her fragile self esteem. “But I don’t mind you telling me over and over...” 

She laughed and began to open up the Chinese containers one by one... Rapunzel noted how nice it was to do this with someone rather than by herself in her apartment. Her gaze drifted from a carton of pork lo mein to Flynn resting beside her against the kitchen counter and her heart beat quickened. How silly. 

As soon as Rapunzel took the phone, Eilonwy turned back to all of the groceries and started to put them away. She didn’t even consider that it might be rude, too comfortable with having other people around and behaving however she liked. Besides, she didn’t want to leave the items out that needed to be refrigerated any longer than necessary. 

“Oh, you add emojis too? It’s so helpful for remembering people right? I love meeting new people, but if I meet a bunch together, all of the emojis help keep straight who is who. Um, I like stars or anything connected to light.” She felt like she could also say swords, but that might come with other explanations she didn’t need to give. 

☼

“I like giving everybody something to identify them,” Rapunzel laughed, typing out a quick message to herself. Her own phone buzzed in her purse, signaling that it had gone through and she gave a small, self satisfied smile. “Especially if you don’t know their last names. But, I don’t think there are many Eilonwys or Rapunzels in the world, so we’re probably good.”

Moonrise || Eclipse

Flynn woke, as he often did in recent days, feeling like crap.

Which was odd, because apparently, he had a clear bill of health. The poison that he’d had at the Gala had been cured by the antidote that had been found. His arm had healed up pretty well, a long, pale blue scar that ran from his left wrist to the bend of his arm the only remnant of what was once a long, deep gash.

The only issue was the opal that was fused into his chest.

☼

Rapunzel was nurturing by nature --surprising, given how lacking her upbringing had been in that department. Still, she found it to be one of her best qualities, far and above her artistic abilities. She chalked it up to her healing magic. Perhaps one had to do with the other. 

When Flynn had... Rapunzel still struggled to come to terms with what had happened to her friend, so much so that she could barely say it in her own head. She cared for him, more than she wanted to admit at times. Much like when he’d sliced his hand open at Garden’s Grove a few weeks ago, her inherent need to help him heal took over. 

She’d been coming and going from his place since everything and truthfully, Rapunzel didn’t mind. It was nice not to be alone, even if Flynn was still on the mend and spend most of his time resting. She took it upon herself to keep his space tidy, keep the fridge stocked, and even started painting a small mural on one of his walls (unprompted, of course). 

Rapunzel had been pulling take out containers from their plastic bag, setting them on the counter, when he emerged, all rumpled. Each day, his defining features seemed different and her magic alone seemed unable to fix them, which was slightly devastating. 

“Yeah, absolutely! Laurel is really welcoming so she wouldn’t mind at all. I mean, if you walked in by yourself and helped yourself to it that would be one thing, but you’re with me so its fine!” Eilonwy made most of the snacks that were currently available anyway, so it wasn’t like she was giving away Laurel’s food. And she was nice. 

Assuming that it had answered the question, Eilonwy walked farther in with the bags, heading for the kitchen where she could finally put down her coffee, her book, and the various groceries. “Mission success! And now I can give you my phone to get your number.” She matched action to words as she handed over the phone to Rapunzel. 

☼

She took Eilonwy’s words to heart, despite her sudden shyness, and stepped through the front door. Rapunzel followed the other girl into the kitchen, quietly taking in her surroundings as she did so. It was always interesting for her to see how others chose to decorate their living spaces --what colors and shapes they used in their artwork, their furniture, the color of their walls...

As they arrived at Laurel’s house, Eilonwy carefully set down the bag in her hand and used the key that she had been loaned to open the door. (Laurel said it was her copy of the house key, but she couldn’t really fathom having access to that permanently like she was really family, so she always thought of it as being loaned.)

“Thanks again for your help. And come on in! Do you want any kind of water or snacks?” As she spoke, she led the way inside, picking up the bag and walking in towards the kitchen with it so she could finally set everything down. 

☼

“Is your friend okay with this?” She glanced past the door with a bit of trepidation. Rapunzel chalked it up to old habits and nerves. “I mean, a stranger coming into their home.” For a second, she registered what she was saying. “Not that they have anything to worry about, but I know some people aren’t okay with strangers walking through their front door and eating their food.” 

Jessica’s heart went out to the woman at the hint of loneliness she could hear threaded through those words. After all, she remembered wha it was like to be living on a large property, although the memories were hazy. But she had always had the friends she had made at school here in Swynlake, and they had moved rapidly through various downsized houses so she hadn’t stayed there for long. 

“It can be hard to be that isolated, but I’m glad you were able to explore something that interested you and that you had the time and space to experiment. There always seems to be something new when you’re gardening, isn’t there?”

Explore wasn’t even the half of what Rapunzel had been allowed to do when it came to her interests. On the other end, explore hadn’t remotely been a topic of conversation when it came to actually seeing the world... Until now. “Always!” The blonde’s face lit up. Finding something new was one of her favorite things. 

.

“If you do watch it, you should tell me what you think! It’s a lot of fun to get ideas for new things to try from the bakes that they make, but its also just nice to watch a show where pretty much everyone is nice to each other.”  Maybe it was simple, but there were times that was soothing to her. To see a competition where people could just help each other out? It was practically a new concept, but it was really nice. And she had tried a couple of their recipes. 

But at Rapunzel’s offer, she immediately smiled widely. “Wait, really? That would be amazing! I should give you my - oh. When we get to Laurel’s house, you should give me your phone number so we can come up with a good time for this. We’re almost there, but I should probably not drop everything getting out my phone after I already had to ask you for help.”

☼

“A show where people are nothing but kind to one another? Sign me up!” Rapunzel let out a small laugh and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear out of sheer habit. It was a nervous tick and she was nervous. Putting herself out there to make a new friend took a lot of guts. 

“That was definitely what happened the first time. I couldn’t always remember when I had watered them, and I was so worried about killing them from neglect that I ended up overwatering them.” She shook her head at the memory of what had happened before. “I appreciate the tip, I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

She knew many people didn’t expect much out of her when gardening, and there was a time she hadn’t expected much out of herself. She had gardened mostly because her mother was so excited that they had had a garden again, but hadn’t been strong enough to do it herself. Then Jess had found that it soothed her and centered her, and it had become something healing afterwards. She made plenty of mistakes, but she was getting better. “Can I ask what got you started in gardening?”

“You’re welcome. That’s what I’m here for, right?” At least, that’s what Rapunzel got paid for. Still, she enjoyed the knowledge that her advice would be able to help someone, even in the smallest of ways. 

.

“I mean, my favorite favorite is movies like Lord of the Rings, Stardust, and The Mummy. I like all the fun actions scenes.” Also she new that there were varying levels of ‘its problematic’ with basically all of those, but hey, she was a Magick and she liked them, so whatever. “But I like to watch some competition shows like the Great British Bake Off or Forged in Fire. Those are both really cool. And my friend introduced me to Dimension 20 which has been a lot of fun, but I’m pretty behind on that still.” 

Eilonwy giggled as well, hearing that the two of them were basically opposites. But it meant it would be easy to bake for the other woman if she ever got a chance. “You’re clearly much more patient than I am! But I agree. I nearly got thrown out of the dorm kitchen because I would be in there stress baking a lot, so I had to start using my friend Tomas’s kitchen in his apartment.” 

☼

“I should really start The Great British Bake Off,” Rapunzel mused. She’d seen it countless times whilst scrolling, but never quite got around the pressing play... Mostly because there was so much she felt like she had to consume before. “Maybe I’ll watch that instead,” she continued with a jovial smile. “Thanks for the suggestion.” 

Her smile faded slightly. “I’ve had a lot of time to practice patience.” More than enough... 18 years worth. “I’m happy to teach you, though, if you’d like! --The pie, I mean. You’re welcome to use my kitchen!” 

“Really? Can you show me the spider plant?” Pet friendly, favorite with veterinarian, and an air purifier? That was a lot that she could appreciate coming out of one plant, and it sounded like it would fit fairly easily into her household. 

“I haven’t tried to grow orchids in awhile. My first year gardening, I attempted to grow them and they were a miserable failure that died quickly. However, I do know a little more of what I’m doing by now so perhaps it would be more successful this time.”

“Absolutely! Follow me.” Rapunzel motioned for the other to follow her through the rows of flowers and various house plants. She never got tired of seeing the endless colors of the blooms that seemed to fill up Garden’s Grove. That had to be her favorite part of the job. The worst part was that if she was asked her favorite, she wouldn’t be able to chose just one. 

.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve never seen it either.” She had access to basically no TV shows growing up at all, so most of her TV knowledge had been compressed into the last year and to what she could watch while working on Physics problem sets. The summer she had actually started a few shows with plot in them, but baking shows and cooking shows were the easiest go-to. “That’s a great way to find new things! I’ll have to try that next time. Mostly I just click around until I find a description that sounds interesting.”

“Wow, really! That’s amazing! I like to make cookies a lot, although I’ll do cakes and breads occasionally. Pies are tricky for me just because the pie crust always seems to be so finicky! But when I get it right, its absolutely delicious. What about you? What’s your favorite?”

☼

“What’s your favorite thing to watch?” It was something Rapunzel had the knack of discussing at length. Television shows were just extended books acted out on screen, right? Everything was a story and everyone had their preference. She often thought it was very telling of what people chose to invest their time in. 

“...Pies!” The blonde laughed. “There’s something so satisfying about pulling a near perfect one out of the oven.” Blueberry happened to be her favorite, rhubarb being her least. “It’s a pain to get right, but once you do, there’s nothing better. But, I just like to bake in general. It gives me something to do and I find it therapeutic. Is that weird?” 

.

It was really nice that she had this chance to just share her load for a bit, which she hadn’t been expecting. “Ooh, what series are you thinking? I just started that new Bake Squad show, but I’ve also heard a lot about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt so I was thinking about watching that soon.” 

Eilonwy winced playfully. “I’d never hear the end of it if that was the case. With me staying there, we go through a lot of eggs because I bake sort of a lot. It’s really nice to meet you Rapunzel!”

☼

“It’s nice to meet you too. --Believe it or not, I’ve never seen New Girl in its entirety --only a rerun every now and then.” Rapunzel pursed her lips. Truthfully, there were a lot of series she had yet to see fully. Back home, they’d only had a few cable channels that played reruns of Friends, cooking shows, primetime programs, or PBS. Her ‘mother’ had blocked the news. “I took a quiz and it told me I’d enjoy it.” 

“You bake!?” Rapunzel’s eyes lit up. “I do too! What’s your favorite?”