Nerissa

> I just...pointed you in the right direction. People like us get forgotten all the time. The Crooked Man was counting on that. When we suffer, we do it in silence. And the world likes it that way. We just... *fade*. **Like we never existed**. I couldn't watch that happen to Faith. Or Lily. Nobody cares about us. Not really. You'll make things right, you and Snow.
>
> Nerissa to Bigby about her and the girls working at the Pudding & Pie, before saying she has total confidence in him and his work as sheriff., Cry Wolf

**Nerissa** (formerly known as the Little Mermaid) is a main character and former stripper working at the Pudding & Pie. She first appears in Episode 2 of *The Wolf Among Us*, helping Bigby discover and gain access to Lily's last known location. She was Lily and Faith's friend.

## Synopsis

### Episode 2: Smoke & Mirrors

> You're trying to place me. They used to call me "the little mermaid"...
>
> Nerissa to Bigby

When Bigby and Vivian enter the Pudding & Pie, Georgie is angrily watching Nerissa pole dance and berating her for her terrible performance. Bigby tells Georgie to leave her alone, to which she shows appreciation for. When his boombox breaks, he yells at Nerissa to go where he can't see her face. After talking with Georgie, Bigby goes into the backroom to speak to Nerissa, and she reveals that she used to be called "the Little Mermaid."

Bigby tries to ask her for help, but she only replies "these lips are sealed," and that she isn't supposed to talk about work. After Bigby demands she cooperates, she offers to make an appointment with him. Catching her veiled attempt at helping him, he agrees and she retrieves a key for Room 204 at the Open Arms Hotel. When Bigby questions why he wasn't given the key to Room 207, the same room Lily last used, she replies, "you'll think of something."

### Episode 3: A Crooked Mile

> Let's go, Holly.
>
> Nerissa begs Holly to speak up for Lily.

Nerissa is in attendance at Lily's funeral under the Buckingham Bridge. She briefly talks with Bigby, asking him what he found in Room 207 at the Open Arms. Later, when Bigby and Snow arrive at the Pudding and Pie to get Crane, they find him furiously shaking a scared and crying Nerissa and demanding she tell him what she knows about the murders. He explains that he wants to use the Ring of Dispel to break the spell that keeps Nerissa from talking freely. He pleads with her for information when the ring doesn't work, but she painfully replies, "these lips are sealed." She is later seen peeking out from behind a building at the aftermath of Bigby's fight with the Tweedles and Mary.

### Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing

> Thank you for listening, Sheriff. You should *go* on to your next business. I don't think you'll be wasting your time....
>
> Nerissa hinting that Beauty and Beast might help Bigby out in his case.

After the night with Bloody Mary, Nerissa went to the Business Office the next day to see Bigby. When Bigby entered his Office to greet Nerissa she wanted to talk about last night and wanted to help him. Just then Bigby pulls out a cigarette, offering one to Nerissa. She notices he smokes a "Huff and Puff" brand and comments about how not many people smoked that brand, then pulled out her own cigarette. Bigby and Nerissa both try to work around the spell that had been cast upon her. but no matter how hard they try she says "My lips are sealed". She tell Bigby to be careful and protect his friends which might be a clue that they might be in danger. Just then Bigby notices the ribbon around Nerissa's neck and realizes it looked just like Faith's. Nerissa asks him if he liked her ribbon and Bigby realizes that the ribbon might be the source of the spell. Bigby walks to Nerissa and asks her if she could take it off and reaches for it. Just then Nerissa jumps out of her chair, freaks out and begs him not to remove it. After comforting her, suddenly there is a knock at the door; at first, she thinks someone followed her then Bigby told her not to worry. Before opening the door Nerissa asks Bigby to keep this conversation between them. So Bigby opens the door to reveal Snow White, needing Bigby and telling Nerissa that it would take a minute. But Nerissa just leaves.

### Episode 5: Cry Wolf

> You enslaved us for **years**, let us hear stories about what'd you do, told us that we would lose *everything* **if we stepped just *one toe* out of line!** And we couldn't say a word about it because of these *damned ribbons*. But you know what? **Now it's my turn to talk.** I found Vivian's body. Did you kill her? Did he?
>
> Nerissa to the Crooked Man about Vivian's dead body. *(Determinant)*

After finding Vivian's body and realizing she is now free to speak, Nerissa shows up at the Crooked Man's trial and claims to have witnessed him ordering Georgie to murder Faith and Lily. Alternatively, if Bigby killed him at the foundry, then she will show up and reveal what really happened with him if Bigby doesn't leave the trail.

At the end of the episode, Nerissa explains that she, Faith, and Lily were planning on escaping the Pudding & Pie for good. However, Faith decided to steal a photo of Crane with Lily in order to gain some leverage. Worried that the Crooked Man would find out Faith stole it and kill them, Nerissa decided to confess this to Georgie, who said he'd smooth things over with his superior. When he returned, he told Nerissa that he had instead been ordered to make an example of them, and removed Faith's ribbon in front of her. Nerissa then tried to warn Lily, but found that she wasn't with were scheduled appointment. With no other options, she left Faith's head on the doorstep of the Woodlands, hoping to get Bigby's attention. After finishing her story, Nerissa tells Bigby the same "You're not as bad as everyone says you are" line that Faith gave in Episode 1, before walking off, causing Bigby to become curious. As Nerissa walks off Bigby slowly pieced together subtle clues from conversations during the investigation he had overlooked before and got more suspicious with each one:

* Faith had known where Bigby lived and that's where her head mysteriously turned up
* Faith had used a very suggestive tone when saying she would "See him around" and had said she wouldn't be prostituting much longer
* Both Faith & Nerissa had drawn Bigby's attention to their ribbons and had said they had to tell Bigby something
* Faith's backstory included her using magic to disguise herself
* Dr. Swineheart never spoke of his tests with Faith's body
* Bigby thought Nerissa seemed familiar
* The prostitutes of The Pudding N' Pie were often glamoured
* Both Faith and Nerissa told him that he's not as bad as everyone says he is.

All of this lead Bigby to suspect that Nerissa had actually been a glamored Faith the whole time and that the head left on his doorstep at the start had been the real Nerissa, glamoured to look like Faith. Or that it was really Nerissa glamored as Faith at Woody's apartment when she and Bigby met and he had never actually met Faith. He then decides whether or not to go after her.

## Book of Fables Entry

*Nerissa's story never had a happy ending. She's known as the Little Mermaid, the young girl who gave up her tail for a pair of legs in the hopes of winning the heart of a handsome prince. When he married a princess instead, Nerissa was left heartbroken. She made the journey to the mundane world hoping for a better life. Now she dances at the Pudding and Pie, but each step she takes feels like walking on shards of glass. She has very little left, but finds some comfort in the company of her fellow dancers.*

## Killed Victims

This list shows the victims Nerissa has killed:

* Faith *(Indirectly Caused)*
* Lily *(Indirectly Caused)*