Killian made his way through the dense foliage of Neverland cursing Pan with every step he took.

"Damn him," he muttered as he stopped to take a drink from his flask. The task was a simple one, retrieve a rare stone for Pan from a cave that was on the far side island and he would be one step closer to leaving this place and avenging his Milah. He checked the map and saw that he wasn't that far from his destination, tucking his flask back into his coat he continued on his way until finally reached the clearing.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed when he saw what was in front of him. Of course that fucking imp would forget to tell him that the cave was located on the other side of a lagoon. Killian looked up and down the shore, hoping that there was another way to the cave without having to swim there. Seeing that there was none, he let out a disgruntled sigh before shedding his coat and boots and stepped into the water.

Killian had made it halfway when he suddenly stopped. He could have sworn he felt something brush up against him. While he hadn't been in Neverland long, he did know about the treacherous beings that live in the deep. Deciding to press on, he hurried his strokes and was almost to the rocky outcropping of the cave when he was violently pulled under the water.

Looking down he saw the unmistakable shape of a mermaids tail and hands pulling on his leg. Killian began to thrash wildly to get away from his attacker. He had heard stories of the vicious creatures and did not wish to become their prey. He swung his hook downward as hard as he could under the water, hoping to strike her so he could get away. Miraculously his next blow hit its mark, and the mermaid reared back as he saw blood in the water.

He made a mad dash for the surface, his head just breaking through when he was pulled under again this time by his shoulders. Suddenly, he was face to face with his attacker. She was beautiful, in a deadly sort of way, with dark hair and a menacing smile. She began to drag him down further into the deep, wrapping her hands around his neck, his vision began to blur. Then, out of nowhere, something rammed into her and he was torn loose from her grasp. Killian tried to swim, but he had grown weak and could feel himself starting to lose consciousness. Just before everything went black he saw a brilliant flash of golden light.

Killian woke up disoriented. He looked around and saw that he was laying on a mossy patch of rock inside the cave. Sitting up he scanned the water, trying to figure out how he got here since the last thing he remembered was that he was slowly drowning.

"What the hell?"

"Oh, good! You're awake," a female voice called out.

Killian whipped his head around looking for the source of the voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!" he demanded.

Movement from deeper inside the cave caught his eye. Moving toward him, almost hesitantly through the water, was a beautiful woman with hair the color of the sun. She stopped about half way but it was close enough for him to see what else she had… a tail.

"Get back sea witch!" he seethed.

Instead of advancing on him like he thought she would, she merely smirked at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say to someone who just saved your life."

Killian was taken aback at that but then remembered something knocking him free from his would-be killer. "That was you?" he asked surprised.

The blonde mermaid smiled at him. "Yes, that was me."

"Why?" he asked incredulous.

She looked at him in confusion. "Why what?"

"Why did you save me? I thought all mermaids hated humans?" he asked

"Would you rather I let you be killed?" she said sarcastically

"Well, of course not," he said matter-of-factly.

She moved closer, stopping only a few inches from him. "Let's just say the others and I don't exactly see eye to eye about a lot of things," she said cryptically, moving until she was directly in front of him.

Killian's eyes went wide as he got his first good look at her. With eyes the most brilliant shade of emerald, she wasn't just beautiful, she was stunning. "What is your name?" he asked mesmerized.

"Emma" she simply said.