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"Come on, you can do better than that! Put your back into it." Morgana growled as she avoided the blast of dark purple magic sent her way. She quickly hid behind a tree, her head peeking out to the side to look into the small clearing that had been made their training grounds. She had a sheen of sweat covering her, and she hated to admit it, but she was losing. She gasped for air and hugged her arms around her stomach as she leaned behind the tree. "Lillian are you getting weaker?" She taunted in a baby voice once she caught her breath.

However, she was not talking to a baby or an innocent little girl any more.

Stood at the other side of the clearing was a full grown Lillian Jones. Her raven black hair was pulled back into a loose braid, and her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she pulled an arrow from the quiver hanging from her back. "Are you out of breath already, Morgana?" She called with a cocky grin on her face. She blew on the arrow in her hand causing an eerie purple glow to come over it. "Guess there is an advantage to knowing magic, huh?" She said to herself under her breath.

She notched the arrow on the bow and stalked quietly towards the tree Morgana had hidden behind. She was as lithe as a jungle cat, and as quick and silent as one too when it came to combat. She smirked when she saw Morgana twisting and turning behind the tree, trying to find any sign of the young woman. She crept forward more, her eyes widening and glinting as she ever so slightly gripped the bow in her hands tighter.

She pursed her lips as she thought about what had happened over the many years she had been with Morgana. After she had been taken by Morgana, she had first been taught how to act like a proper lady. She winced thinking on old memories that plagued her from that time. After she had been groomed and turned into a "fine young lady," she had started her combat training. One day, when she was about ten years old, she had accidently tapped into the magic she did not know she had. Morgana was more than pleased by that…

Lillian gently fingered the small locket hanging from her neck, her eyes hard as she continued to stalk her prey. Her father had sent her things for every birthday until she was fifteen, and the only thing she had gotten that year was a letter saying that he would be there for her on her seventeenth birthday and a gold locket.

Her seventeenth birthday had been four months ago.

Lillian shook her head and smiled stiffly as she turned around the corner of the tree while Morgana was looking the other way.

"Boo." She whispered. The older, graying woman turned with a startled look on her face and screamed as an arrow came speeding towards her. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain of the sharp arrow piercing her skin. She waited to feel the burn of her flesh being broken, but it never came. She opened her eyes in confusion, her hands coming up to her chest. Looking down at herself, Morgana realized she was covered head to toe in pink glitter. She detested pink.

Lillian's face was bright red, and her eyes were watering as she tried to hold in her laughter. "Oh yes, there is definitely an advantage to knowing magic!" She said before bursting out into soft peals of laughter.

Morgana grunted before dusting herself off and rolling her eyes. "Oh, grow up already! It's time to stop acting like a child, Lillian." The older woman snapped at her. "Get your things, it's time to go." She snapped at her again.

Lillian scoffed before rolling her eyes at the woman. "Why would I want to grow up? It seems so utterly boring if you ask me." She sighed before turning to look at her guardian. "I want adventure! Not... well not what you have." She huffed at her as she secured the bow and quiver of arrows to her back.

Morgana turned and locked her eyes on the girl. "Listen here, girl." She snapped and her body became rigid. "You will not find a husband with that sort of attitude, and I'll be damned if you turn into an old maid." She growled. "Do I make myself clear?"

Lillian pursed her lips before turning to face the woman once more. "I'm seventeen now. My father –" She began to say with anger.

"Isn't coming back, you silly girl!" She shouted. "And you would be daft to think otherwise. It has been four months since your birthday, and he hasn't shown his face once. What makes you think he will be here any time soon?" She spat with wide and angry eyes.

Lillian huffed and turned away from the woman, her whole body shaking with unreleased anger. She was furious, and when she got angry the magic inside her would well up and wait until it could be released, like a caged animal waiting to pounce.

"Oh Morgana, stuff it up your corset!" Lillian huffed under her breath and began to jog ahead of the older woman.

"Lillian Jones, what have I told you about scampering?" Morgana yelled to her as she watched the younger woman jog along the dirt path back to town.

"I'm not scampering, Mother." She called back, rolling her eyes as she said so. She hated how Morgana would act like she was her mother. Of course, she supposed she was the closest thing to a mother she had, but the truth was clear. She was not her mother. "I'll see you back at the house." Lillian said. She ran a little faster, not wanting to even hear a response from the woman.

She didn't hate Morgana, but sometimes she hated the things she said and the things she did. She made her feel weak and sometimes even pathetic, and she hated that beyond belief. Lillian wasn't the best at magic, but she knew a good amount of it. She liked to use her magic to distract her opponent and get their attention off of her. Her strong suit was weapons, mostly the bow and arrow. She was decent at throwing knives, but she loved the thrill of the hunt.

Morgana had once told her before that a lady didn't hunt, and a lady didn't show her skill unless forced to. Lillian smirked as she thought about what she had said back to her.

"Well, I'm not a lady now, am I?" She had blinked owlishly up at the woman with amusement. "As you so love to remind me, I am just a foolish girl."

She shook her head as she neared the small port town she called home in the Enchanted Forest. It was a small town, having no more than one hundred people living there on a regular basis. It smelled strongly of fish and salt water, and yet the nicest of people lived there. Lillian glanced up at the large ships that were at port with a frown on her face. "Three ships in one day?" She questioned to herself as she wiped sweat from her forehead. It had to be the hottest day of the summer so far.

It was unusual for large ships to come to such a small port, especially so many at one time.

She slowed to a stop as she stood in front of a large, decaying building with a sign in the front window saying 'Ernie's Fish Market." She smiled fondly as she read the sign. Ernie was an older man that lived at the port, and he had been running a fish market for the past forty years after he had retired from his career as a sailor. The sign had faded and withered away just like the rest of the building, and hardly anyone ever went in or out. A new fish market had opened up not long before Lillian had taken residence in the town, and it was not good for Ernie's business. But, she went to him every day.

She opened the old and rickety door with a smile on her face. "Ernie?" She called as she stepped into the dark and dank building. There were different displays and sculptures lying around, featuring different fish and other types of sea creatures.

She ran her hand down the spine of a newer model, her eyes narrowing as she observed it with wonder. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was odd to say the least. It only had the tail of whatever type of fish it was, and the tail had to be three to four feet long. The scales were now a dull blue color, and she imagined that they had once been bright and silvery.

"Ah, I see ye found her." She heard a gravelly voice say. She jumped and felt her heart pound against her rib cage.

"Ernie!" She chastised. "You scared me." She laughed.

The old man smiled at her and limped forward as he leaned heavily on his cane. He came to stand beside her and observed the large tail in front of them. "My apologies, young miss." He said as he patted her shoulder with a shaking hand.

She smiled at him and patted his hand. "Don't worry about it." She said before turning to look out of the dusty old window. "It's quite odd, isn't it?" She asked him.

"What be that, young one?" He asked.

She frowned and came forward. "Three large ships here in one day. It's odd." She said to him warily.

The elderly man shrugged and paced forward. "Aye, it is odd." He said lowly. "A young man came by earlier today… He dropped her off asking for me to observe her. Wanted me to find any possible weaknesses in her structure." He said gesturing to the large fish tail.

Lillian furrowed her brow and looked at him oddly. "Her?" She inquired with a frown.

The man let out a jovial laugh and grinned at her. "Ye didn't think that was a fish, now did ye?" He asked her. He hobbled forward and looked down at the mysterious tail with fascination.

"Uh, I suppose not…" She said with embarrassment as she watched the older man. "Well what is it then?" She was curious to know what had the old man so excited.

Ernie's eyes widened and glistened with excitement as he gestured to the unknown specimen before them. "That, lass, is the tail of a mermaid." He said to her.

Lillian frowned and raised an eyebrow at him. "A mermaid?" She questioned. "I thought –"

"They weren't real?" He asked her. "Aye, they are real. They are very real." He shook his head and frowned down at the tail. "Those creatures are a sailors worst nightmare…" He trailed off as he stared at the tail.

"Where did they get it from?" She asked him. It was kind of disgusting in her opinion.

Ernie glanced at her fearfully with dark eyes. "Another land…" He said with a sigh. "A dangerous land." He paced back to the counter of the shop and shook his head with fearful eyes. "Most sailors don't leave that God forsaken land alive, and if they do they are dead soon enough." He let out a series of loud coughs before continuing. "And only one ship has ever left that island with most of the crew and its captain still alive." He told her as he sat down on a wooden stool behind the counter of the old and dusty shop.

She pondered over this. "Why?" She asked.

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Ever the curious one, aren't ye lass?" He laughed causing a small smile to spread across her face. "They say that the captain made a deal with the Devil…" He said with a serious expression. "He does the Devils work, ye see?" He asked as he leaned forward and leaned on his cane. Lillian nodded at him with wonder as she dusted off a wooden figure of a ship. The old man shook his head and frowned. "Whenever ye hear the name Hook, you run the other way…"

The ship slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor with a thud. "Did you just say Hook?" She asked him with wide eyes.

"Aye, I did lass." He studied her curiously. "He's a cruel one, he is… They say he once killed a man for looking at his hook the wrong way." He shook his head with wonder before pausing at her sickened expression. "What's the matter?" He asked her with gentle eyes.

She froze and met his gaze with a stiff smile. "Nothing, I'm fine! I just thought I heard the name before." She lied quickly. "What land was it that you said he frequents?" She asked him with a charming smile.

The old man stared at her with a worried expression on his face. "I didn't say." He cleared his throat and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "It's a land called Neverland." He said to her. "I've only ever heard stories of it, but from what I heard…" He shook his head. "It's not a place to want to go to." He turned to one of the many old wooden shelves behind the counter and shifted through some stacks of parchment. Seeming to find what he was looking for, he handed it to the younger woman with a frown. "That's all the knowledge I have on it." He said to her with a gruff expression.

Looking down at the parchment in her hand, Lillian furrowed her brow. It was an old piece of parchment and it looked as though it had seen many places and many people. There was a small map of what looked like an island, however it seemed as though all that was drawn was the shape of the land mass. Blood stained the upper right hand corner of the parchment, and it was then that she realized that the parchment must have been from one of the many dead men that had made it to Neverland.

"Do you mind if I borrow this?" She asked him hesitantly.

Ernie chuckled and waved her away. "Keep it lass. Yer gonna need it to find yer Da." He said to her with a knowing look. She gaped at him and he winked at her with a secretive smile. "Ye didn't think your Da woulda left ye alone with just that witch to protect ya, did ye?" He cackled at her with a grin.

She swallowed and looked up at him. "But, sir," she began with an irritated look. "I don't even know where to begin to look… How can I get there?" She asked him.

The old man patted her knee and spoke quietly. "Even I don't know how to get there, lass." He continued when he saw the forlorn expression on her face. "But I can send you to someone who can." His face turned grim as he thought about just who he was talking about.

Taking out a piece of fresh parchment, he wrote on it with a shaky hand. "Now, once ye leave and are clear of that witch, say this name." He told her as he handed her the piece of parchment. "Do not say the name until ye are sure ye are ready, do I make myself clear?" He questioned her.

She nodded and grabbed the parchment with sweaty hands. "Why are you helping me?" She asked him quietly.

Ernie smiled a toothy smile at her and spoke softly. "I don't want ye to end up like me, lass. Ye should take the opportunity ye have… Find yer Da." He said and shook his head. "Who knows, ye might find somethin' else along the way." He said with a furrowed brow. He sighed and waved his hand. "Ah don't listen to an old codger like me." He laughed. "Get on yer way now. Leave old Ernie be." He grinned at her.

She laughed and nodded at him. "Thank you, Ernie. This means a lot to me." She said with a serious expression on her face.

He reached forward and pulled at her braid. "Take care of yerself, lass." He watched as she nodded and waved. "Good luck." He called as she exited the shop.

It was only once she was out of the dark shop and out into the sun that she read the name on the piece of parchment.

Rumplestiltskin.