A girl walked through the jungle, languid in her assurance that whatever lay at her destination would wait for her. The underbrush was thick and heavy with thorns, yet she had no trouble picking her way through; the vegetation parted for her in adoration and their leaves billowed after her passage in flurries of curtsies and bows. Neither flora nor fauna could resist the attraction she commanded, just as the earth was incapable of withstanding its orbit of the sun. She was the essence of the land, the source of the blood and sap that gave them life, she was their god. The island revered her. It could not remember a time where it had been devoted to another, she had always been all that mattered.
She, with her exquisite grace and terrible power. She, who was breathtaking in her sublime presence and who would take life as readily as she had given it. She, who possessed the raw beauty of nature and all of its cruelty.
The golden cascade of her hair, the soft roundness of her face, the endearing crinkles around her eyes during an occasional smile; it all served as a glamour. The stories liked to depict her as the prophesized savoir of the land, as the great defeater of evil. She had killed the unkillable. Tales were spun of her glory and of the peace she had brought with her, of how the land flourished under her reign. She was the epitome of virtue.
And yet.
The girl had not shown clemency to be part of her vocabulary. She ruled over her kingdom with an iron fist and, however severe she acted towards its denizens, it was nothing compared to the ruthless manners in which she dealt with her foes.
The pirates had been the first to fall. Leaderless and scattered throughout the sea aboard sinking ships, their demise had been swift. Skull Rock had crumbled beneath the waves that had shielded it for so long.
The Indians, at least, had been granted a choice. Death or subservience. And though many had bent the knee, far more had refused. There had been too many piles of cooling bodies, and the cloud of ashes from the pyres had choked the skies for days. Only a small vestige of their people remained, terrified and cowering in the shadows.
The fey had been bestowed with a fate befitting their crimes. The faerie queen had been sentenced to death, and the populace had been sequestered to their island, confined inside the watery borders they had once used against Neverland. They were barred from any exchanges, either information or commerce, with the other lands and would remain so until they had repented for their insurgence.
Every mermaid involved in the assassination attempt of Neverland's queen had met the fate they would have so willingly inflicted upon her. Their entire hierarchy had crumbled. Yet, as long as the undersea population renewed and kept their vows of loyalty, they were left in what could be loosely interpreted as peace.
Nonetheless, the girl was adored by her people. Be it by some blind devotion or the magic of the land twisting their minds, she was hailed and showered with love wherever on her island she stepped foot. They overlooked what transpired beyond their borders; they had never felt as safe, nor as at home.
The girl stopped, having arrived to destination. The sunshine broke through the canopy and adoringly caressed her features, bathing her in a golden halo.
Cowering in the gnarled roots of a tree, a child was trembling. She looked up, alerted by the sound of footsteps. Her wide eyes were red-rimmed and puffed. Fear had left salted tracks down her round, youthful cheeks.
"Who are you?"
The queen crouched down before the child, holding out a hand to help her to her feet. "I'm Adelina."
Her lower lip trembled, yet her tears had dried. "Why am I here?"
"Because you asked to be." She cocked her head to the side, appraising her. "Did you not pray every night for someone to take you away from your family? Did you not beg for anyone out there to free you from your father?"
"I did."
"And I answered."
The child would be a wonderful fit, the queen could see as much. She was strong, she was resilient and adaptable. Hidden inside her small heart, she yearned for adventure and magic, for danger and excitement. She also craved a family she could call her own.
Her eyes darted around, on edge but no longer scared. She clutched at her clothes as though it was a stuffed toy. "Where am I?"
The queen smiled, a display of teeth that was both reassuring and unnerving. "You're in Neverland. You're home."
<3
I know it was one hell of a long time ago but I quite like the fact that the epilogue mirrors the first chapter (where Adelina first arrives to the island and Pan is the one to fetch her)
So that's that. It's all over.
For those interested, now that I'm finished with this fic I will be directing my attention on my third Peter Pan fic (I know, it's an addiction) Glass Wall. I've got a hell of a lot of planning to do for it and I will be rewriting the chapters already posted because I've changed quite a lot of the story I'd already planned, so it might take quite some time. But it would be an immense pleasure to find some familiar faces there once I start posting again <3
I hope everyone has a beautiful day :)
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Potential for Darkness (Peter Pan)//(Robbie Kay)
Fanfiction"You have two options. You can suffer through the fires of our passion with clenched teeth, writhing in agony, or you could become one with the flames, dancing in the night skies, burning through everything in your incendiary path, indestructible, i...
