The camp Will lead her to was small, but lively. Full of horses and goats and the odd sheep, the place was teeming with humans. Mostly men, Arista noticed with a hint of dread. All of which were loud and a bit smelly, if she were to be honest. Still, none of them passed her much of a second glance and none seemed hostile, so she decided she liked them. For now, anyway.

Will gave her hand a squeeze. "They might be a bit rowdy, but they mean no harm, Miss."

"I've never seen so many… people before," the young mermaid confessed. She popped up on her tiptoes to get a better look at the few horses that were being tended to. One of the men that stood beside it was large enough to meet the animal's gaze and Arista shrunk back a touch. Paling slightly, she let her heels touch the ground. "I never realized they were so… big."

A chuckle came from behind them and they spun to face the man it came from. He was tall and broad shouldered and smirking at them. "Well, it takes all shapes and sizes to make the world go 'round."

"Oh!" Arista covered her mouth with her hands in a mock of embarrassment. "I didn't mean any offense! I just-"

"It's fine." The man smiled benignly at her. With a perked of an eyebrow, he looked to Will. Unimpressed, but unsurprised, he asked, "And who is this lovely creature, Scarlet?"

"Robin," Will pulled the blonde a bit too close to his side for her liking. Still, he kept his hand a respectable distance from her ass as he touched her back, so the mermaid said nothing. "This is Arista. Arista, this is our leader, Robin."

She bowed to him, hand clasped over her heart and somber as she spoke, "It's an honor, sir."

Will grinned and nodded at her, as if she was something novel. "She's looking for directions to Camelot."

Arista fluttered her hands in front of her chest in a mock of anxiety. She had seen Rumplestiltskin do it before, twiddle his fingers and flex them erratically to convey tone. "I don't mean to be a bother, but any help you can give would be most appreciated."

Robin lifted a brow. With a hint of wariness, he asked if she had a map. The blonde nodded and began to search through her small pack. The leader plucked the entire satchel from her grasp. Arista glared at him, but mellowed her features before he noticed.

After examining its contents, Robin glanced at her. His gaze went from her open features to the small satchel once more with suspicion. "This is your pack? This is all you have?"

"My Master said…I only need pack lightly." She bit her lip, a bit nervous by his forwardness and how displeased he looked. "Why?"

"Well, you hardly have any food, much less-"

"Actually," Will held up a finger and leaned between them. Clearing his throat with a hint of sheepishness, he interrupted, "That's my fault."

Robin narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the younger man. At least, Arista was fairly certain Will was a man. "Tell me you didn't-"

"She's a very generous young woman," His friend explained with a smirk. He inclined his head with a hint of shame and admitted, "And a bit sheltered. And we should probably give her a lesson on self-defence given her first instinct was sharing when I pulled a knife on her."

The taller man's jaw dropped with horror. "You pulled a knife on her?!"

"She was trespassing!" Will took a step back and hid behind the woman. Hands on her shoulders, he positioned Arista so she could block any blow Robin might dish out.

"I didn't mean to get in anyone's way," The maiden broke in with a frown. Shrugging off Will's touch, she batted her lashes at the leader with what she hoped came off as naivety. "I was just following my map."

Robin hummed and eyed her with doubt. She was quite young, probably not out of her late teens just yet. There was something strange about her features he couldn't place; something about how her cheekbones were too wide and the shape of her eyes odd. Still, unfamiliar or not, she was just a girl, and he couldn't bring himself to send her out on her own in the dead of night. Frowning, he asked, "A man pulls a knife on you and you offer him what's left of your food?"

She lifted her shoulders in a helpless, childish manner and played with her fingertips.

He regarded her a moment, perhaps doubtfully, perhaps not, before his expression softened. "We'll fill your pack and you can spend the night with us." The leader of the men smiled warmly at her. "We'll have someone send you on your way in the morning."

The mermaid hesitated. Biting her bottom lip, she glanced at Will for assurance. It was best she continue her act, at least until the men proved useless. "I don't know…"

Robin waved away her hesitance. "With my wife, then."

Arista smiled at him, unsure of this new word. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"Nonsense." His smile never wavered. "Marian will be thrilled to have another woman about."

Unable to resist the offer of meeting more people, much less another woman, the young maiden beamed at him. "Thank you. I'd be most grateful, sir."

"Call me Robin."

She nodded respectfully. "Robin."

The man spun on his heel and gestured for her over his shoulder. "Follow me."

As she complied, Arista vaguely wondered what it was about human males that made them so needlessly overdramatic.

"Well, don't bother to say goodbye, then!" Will called after her.

The blonde spun and gave him an excited wave before chasing after Robin.

In her Master's study, a familiar man had just stepped through a portal. Jefferson smirked and righted his ascot. His gaze flickered around the room, looking for any trace of the blonde before he turned to Rumplestiltskin. He tensed at the sight of him, the memory of their last meeting still fresh in Jefferson's mind. He could still feel the fingers wrapped around his heart, still see the imp's sneer as Rumplestiltskin warned him away from the little mermaid.

The imp was seated behind the desk, looking completely calm, if not a little bored by the Hatter's sudden appearance. His fingers steepled and lips pursed, he arched a brow and waited for the young man to speak.

The portal jumper swallowed and tucked his hat under his arm. "Evening, Rumple. How's business?"

Rumplestiltskin offered him a smile, showing off sickly green teeth. "Fine."

"Glad to hear it." Jefferson gaze checked the door once more, but there was still no sign of the blonde. Pushing down the hint of dread he felt (who knew what Rumplestiltskin could have done with the little mermaid), he slipped his hat back on his head as he approached the desk. "I got you wanted."

A smirk tugged at the corner of the imp's mouth, but beyond than that, he was completely still "Did you now?"

Sliding the strap of his satchel from his shoulder, Jefferson licked his lips. He pulled the feathers from his pack and offered them to the man. Three in total, each one long and inky black and admittedly, rather hard to come by.

His employer grinned and picked one of them up by the quill. Making circles in the air with it, he chuckled. "How'd the Wicked Witch take you battering her little pets?"

"It's molting season."

"Lucky boy." Rumplestiltskin kicked a foot up on his desk and leaned back in his seat. Smile darkening, he tilted his head. "Aren't you going to ask where your precious little mermaid is?"

Jefferson swallowed. "Is she not here? I hadn't noticed."

The imp rolled his eyes at him. "Don't act like you're not dying to know where the little fish is."

"It did seem a little quiet around here…but I wasn't going to mention it." Fiddling with the brim of his hat, he hoped his employer didn't notice his eagerness- or how he winced at the emphasis on dying.

"You'll be happy to know I sent her on her first ever solo task."

And the portal jumper was happy. Unable to help himself, Jefferson didn't resist the smile that came to his lips. "Good for her. She must be thrilled."

"She seemed to be."

Feigning disinterest and hoping Rumplestiltskin would ignore how pleased he had been, Jefferson leaned his hip casually against the desk. Slipping his hat back under his arm, he shrugged nonchalantly as he asked, "So where's she off to then? The woods, the village-"

"Camelot."

Jefferson all but leapt away from the desk. "Camelot?! By herself?!"

The Dark One's eye narrowed slightly, but he didn't move from his chair. "Are you questioning how I put my assistant to use?"

"She'll get herself killed!" The younger man raked a hand through his shaggy hair and shook his head, desperate to convince his employer of the mistake he had made. "That part of the Enchanted Forest is filled with dragons and thieves and-"

"And she wanted excitement." Rumplestiltskin smirked. "She was the one who asked for a chance to prove herself. I'm merely…letting her live up to her own expectations."

Jefferson bit his lip. "She's not ready for that."

"You haven't forgotten our little chat, have you, dearie? About boundaries?"

The boy swallowed, looking painfully young and distraught in the study's bright lights. "You're doing this to punish me? To punish us because we're friends?"

"I'm doing this to prove a point." Rumplestiltskin stood. He eased around the desk and stood before the portal jumper with a condescending smirk on his lips. "When I netted the little guppie, it was because you needed an assistant and since I introduced the two of you, all you've done is make eyes at each other."

Jefferson felt his jaw twitch. He thought of Arista's bright smile and soft blush and let out a quiet, "So?"

"So romance is bad for business." Crossing his arms, the Dark One tutted at him. "You really think it will last? This little infatuation she has for you? Mermaids are fickle. Hell, women are fickle, dearie, and Arista will long for the comforts of her watery home soon enough." Rumplestiltskin kicked off from the desk and looked into the boy's eyes with something that was too aggressive to be pity. "And she'll forget all about you, just like your mother did."

Jefferson flinched at that and dropped his gaze. Fisting the brim of his hat, he swallowed and asked for his payment.

The imp waved a hand and turned away from him. "You know where it is. Help yourself to as much as you feel is necessary."

Stomach heavy, the young man gathered his allowance and left without another word.

In a small but lively camp in the forest, Arista was absolutely overjoyed. The man known as Robin had introduced her to a beautiful, fierce woman by the name of Marian, and frankly, Arista was just as infatuated with her as she had been with Regina. Oddly enough, Marian, too, had similar features to one of Arista's elder sisters'. Perhaps there was a common lineage between female humans and mermaids. Beaming, she followed closely at the woman's heels as Marian dispensed food and water to the men around camp.

"Is it difficult?" The blonde asked, smiling warmly at one of the men as they nodded to her. Her attention never left Marian. "Living in the forest?"

The brunette inclined her head with a gentle laugh. "Sometimes."

Arista nodded sagely. "Like when you menstruate."

Marian looked to her in surprise. "…Yes. Especially then." Sheltered or not, there was something suspicious about the young woman. Something about her lack of tact and abundance of curious energy. Still, Arista was a nice, if not strange girl, and so the brunette indulged her. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"Neverland, originally." The blonde skipped over a log and moved to follow her from the front. Her feet were on fire, aching and sore in an unfamiliar way but she was too excited to care. "My master brought me here."

"Neverland?" The taller woman repeated with a bit of surprise. "That's quite a ways away."

Arista shrugged. She didn't understand the humans' fascination with her home world. It was so dull. Beautiful, she supposed, but boring. "Are you from around her? One of the schools?"

"Schools?"

The blonde's brown eyes widened momentarily, embarrassed by her slip and quickly corrected, "Villages. One of the villages around here."

"Oh, yes, I am."

"It must be wonderful living out here," Arista inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air and loud chatter of the men. "It's so… free."

Marian frowned at the blonde's wistful expression. "Didn't you have much freedom in Neverland?"

The girl's smile fell. Instead of answering, Arista merely lifted a shoulder.

Marian squeezed her shoulder gently and nodded. "I understand. Will says if you complete your task, your master will let you go?"

"Well, not exactly. If I can complete my task, he'll let me work outside the castle."

"Castle?" Marian repeated dubiously. "Who do you work for?"

Smirking, Arista crooked her fingers toward her chest and teased, "My business."

The woman squinted at her, amused and a bit annoyed with the blonde's sudden secrecy. Her gaze fell to Arista's restless feet. It occurred to her that the girl had travelled a long way and a sympathetic smile crossed her lips. "You've had a long trip. Perhaps you'd like to rest?"

Arista hesitated. True, she was exhausted, but there was still so much to see. She glanced around her and noticed the humans were winding down for the night, settling into their tents and around the fire and she nodded with a relieved, but disappointed simper. "That would lovely."

Marian nodded and led her around to a lone canvas tent. It wasn't very big, but the blonde was alone (and would be staying alone, after the earful Robin had given Will about bringing strange women back to the camp) and rather slim, so she didn't think the girl would be uncomfortable.

Arista crawled inside it and beamed as she peered up at the ceiling a moment. The sounds of the forest were unfamiliar and soothing, the breeze pleasant and inviting as she sat up. Poking her head out of the tent, she told Marian, "Thank you. You and your husband both. I don't know how I'll repay your generosity."

"Just promise me you'll remember how we helped you the next time you come across someone in need," Marian told her with a warm smile.

Arista nodded firmly and placed a fist over her heart. "You have my word, Lady Marian."

The brunette chuckled and the left the girl to her own devices.

A/N: Shout out to my lovely beta, UnsightlyDreams! If you're a Pan fan, check out her story, The Power of Dreams! Thanks to all my reviewers, I appreciate the support so much, guys.