Clarissa shivered slightly in the cold breeze that was suddenly blowing from the sea. The sun, which had been shining when they headed out, had vanished behind a thick grey cloud barrier and now small raindrops had started to fall on the small group walking on the sandy beach. If she was not so damn tired she would have been excited at this kind of weather change, just because that was her thing; she loved everything that had to do with meteorology. She even studied it solely back home!
"So", Rowan said, walking next to her, "what now?"
"Well, we know some new things, at least", Indira said. "We know for sure that we were in the Enchanted Forest for about a year and that we were trying to track down Ollivander while fighting the Wicked Witch."
"If we were successful in doing so is unknown", Catriona sighed. "Ella's memories might not be completely wiped, but enough has been lost to keep her from knowing the whole story."
"Basically we're back on square one", Rowan muttered and tossed a stone out into the sea. To everyone's surprise it caused someone to yelp when it hit the surface and the next moment a head appeared above the water. The young woman was pale and shivered slightly.
"Get her out of there!" Indira exclaimed. "The water's freezing!"
Rowan immediately took off and helped the woman get up and out of the sea, placing her on a flat stone and then providing her with his jacket. Clarissa could not help but notice that the woman was seriously underdressed; she wore a sparkling, purple bra and a blue, sparkly skirt that seemed to be in tears below her knees.
"Thank you", she now said, warming her hands between her knees. "Humans certainly do not adapt well to cold water. I couldn't even move my arms."
"What do you mean?" Clarissa asked. The woman looked up.
"Well, I do not always look like this. I'm a mermaid."
"Woah, wait, what?" Rowan said.
"What's going on?" a voice behind them called. Clarissa looked around and noticed David and Mary Margaret hurrying towards them.
"She just washed up on shore!" she called back to them.
"Who did?" Mary Margaret asked. "Who's here?"
Clarissa quickly jumped aside to let them through and the eyes of the two newcomers widened at the sight of the young woman.
"Ariel?" Mary Margaret said. The mermaid-turned-human gave a weak smile and wrapped Rowan's jacket tighter around herself.
"She needs to get something warm to drink", Indira said. "Cat?"
"I'm on it", the younger girl quickly responded and hurried off. Clarissa knew that she would probably conjure a cup of tea or some other warm beverage once out of sight; heading back to Granny's to fetch one would take too long.
Sure enough; Catriona came back within a minute, carrying a paper cup filled with tea. Ariel accepted it with another smile, holding it in both hands to keep warm.
"Where have you been?" Mary Margaret asked. "We thought you'd been turned into a monkey!"
"A monkey?" Ariel said with a surprised frown. "No, I'm a girl that turns into a fish..."
"Yeah, we know", David responded with a slight smile. "What happened to you?"
"I've been under the sea, searching", Ariel answered after taking a sip from the cup. "I've travelled to every known realm looking for Prince Eric."
"Wait, you can travel between the worlds?" Indira asked.
"Yeah, all mermaids can do that", Ariel said, then frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't think I know who you all are."
"We're sort of new here", Rowan responded. "I'm Rowan, this is Indira, Clarissa and Catriona."
"I'm very happy to meet you all", Ariel said with a smile.
"You too", Clarissa said. "So... what about Prince Eric? He's missing?"
"How long has he been gone?" Catriona filled in. Ariel swallowed.
"After Pan failed, I woke up here like everybody else", she explained. "I... I couldn't find him. And then I overheard someone saying that we'd all gone to the Enchanted Forest and been there for a year without remembering it, so I thought... maybe he had ended up somewhere else. Maybe he was back there."
"But he wasn't?" Clarissa asked. Ariel shook her head.
"No. That's why I came back here; I thought maybe I'd overlooked something, that he'd be here... but, obviously you haven't seen him."
"We're sorry", Mary Margaret said. "We've been trying to piece together what happened. All we know is that we're up against Regina's sister; the Wicked Witch."
Ariel's eyes widened.
"Do you think that... that she might be responsible for Prince Eric's disappearance?"
"Without our memories it's impossible to know everything", Catriona responded. Ariel nodded and looked down at her hands.
"Maybe for us, but what about Hook?" David suddenly asked. Ariel's head shot up, her eyes wide.
"The pirate?"
"Yes, he wasn't part of the Witch's curse", Mary Margaret agreed. "He has his memories; maybe he can, I don't know, shed some light on what happened to Prince Eric."
"Do you think he'd help me?" Ariel asked.
"He helped us save Henry", Mary Margaret said. "I don't see why not."
"Let's get you into some warmer clothes first", Indira decided and helped Ariel get up from the stone. "You're about my size; I've got some back at Granny's that I think will fit you."
Wolfgang stopped himself from cursing in the last minute when Hook, once again, cast the two dices he had brought to the diner and the dots showed two sixes. Henry groaned in defeat. The pirate laughed in triumph and reached across the table, grabbing another piece of bacon from his plate.
"You want to know the secret to winning?" Hook asked. Henry leaned onto the table and smiled slightly.
"Practice?"
"No, my boy", Hook said and gathered the dices again. "Loaded dice."
"That's cheating", Filipi remarked.
"No, it's not", Wolfgang argued. "I mean, only if you get caught."
"I think it's cheating either way", Henry said. Hook drained his cup of chocolate and leaned back in his seat.
"Point is; you win."
The bell by the door chimed, signalling someone's arrival, and Hook's eyes immediately glanced in its direction. Wolfgang followed and saw David standing in the doorway. Something in his appearance said that he needed to talk to the pirate. Hook seemed to understand this and dropped the dices on the table.
"Practice", he said to the young boy before rising. Wolfgang hesitated momentarily before following him, leaving Henry with Filipi and Tessa, who could hardly form a coherent sentence with the pirate around, something that amused the others greatly. Hook gave him a sideways glance but did not object to him coming along.
"Hook, Wolfgang, this is Ariel", David said as they approached. Just then Mary Margaret came in through the door, followed by Indira and a red-haired, unfamiliar woman. The name Ariel, however, was enough to let Taimoor know who she was.
"She's looking for someone who didn't return to Storybrooke with the rest of us", David continued.
"He's from a maritime kingdom", Ariel explained, "and he loved to sail. Perhaps... you came across him on the high seas?"
Wolfgang glanced at Hook and noticed, to his surprise, that the pirate seemed at a loss for words.
"His name's Prince Eric", Ariel continued. Hook momentarily dropped his gaze and Wolfgang instantly knew that he was hiding something.
"Sorry, lass", the pirate eventually said with a hint of an apologetic smile. "I wish I could help, but I've never heard of him."
Ariel forced a smile, seemingly acting as if it did not matter, though her eyes betrayed her devastation.
"Think hard, Hook", David begged. "Are you sure you can't remember anything that can be useful?"
"My apologies, mate", Hook said, his voice suddenly sharp, "but if I'd run across a prince during my adventure I think I'd remember it."
"I just..." Ariel begun and swallowed hard before managing to continue. "I don't understand. How could he vanish without a trace?"
"That's it", Mary Margaret suddenly said. Everyone turned towards her in surprise.
"That's what?" Indira asked.
"Maybe he didn't vanish without a trace", Mary Margaret clarified. "When the curse brought us back here it brought our things too. Gold's shop is filled with them."
"And if we find something of Eric's we can use a locator spell to track him", David filled in. Ariel's face split up in a wide smile.
"Let's go", she said.
"Sounds like a plan", Hook said and smiled at them. "Best of luck with that."
He turned and gave Wolfgang a sharp look, telling him that he should probably also leave now if he did not want to get pulled into this.
"Wait, no, you should come with us", Mary Margaret said. "You might remember something that we won't, or can't. In fact, you'd be far more helpful than us."
She indicated to herself and David when she spoke the last sentence. Hook looked at them and tried to come up with something to say.
"Someone has to keep an eye on the boy", he eventually said and nodded at Henry, who was by now trying to get the right spin on the dices to hide the fact that they were loaded with a weight.
"Well, Mary Margaret and I can take over", David suggested. Hook gave him a defeated look, before he sighed.
"Could we... could we talk for a moment?" he asked the other man. David nodded and followed the pirate to the bar. A look from Hook told Wolfgang that he should come along; this was a men's talk.
"What is it?" David asked, keeping his voice low to keep the women by the door from overhearing it.
"You sure this is such a good idea, mate?" Hook countered. "Let's be honest; there's only one obvious explanation why the little mermaid can't find her prince."
"You're saying he's dead?" Wolfgang asked. Hook nodded.
"I don't see a reason to ply her with false hope."
David sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
"In my experience there's no such thing", he said, eyeing the pirate. "You just have to believe."
Hook glared at him, something that David did not even seem to notice. Instead he patted the other man on his leather-clad shoulder.
"Now go. Good luck."
Hook grunted and moved towards the door again.
"Wolf, you're with me", he ordered. "Let's get this over with."