The third place winner of the one-shot contest was Areida by vanessa5836!
This could totally become a whole story all by itself, and vanessa5836's stories always have very unique character names! The premise was super unique, and I loved seeing moments of my story through a totally new set of eyes (and character)!! Your one shot & character strayed a bit far from the Innocence-canon, but were clearly thought out & I saw a lot of parallels/themes that were really cool. I was so sad by the end!!
****************************************************************
I held my breath as he passed, trying to brace myself for the intense pain that I always felt when I sensed how close he was. He couldn't see me, but I could see him oh so clearly.
William.
I had been watching him for at least a century before he went home, but I suspect more time has passed since then, since time changes, depending on the realm.
William came to my Island home, Neverland, around 1883 according to him. Each realm has different versions of time, and in Neverland, time is slower, so when you go to the realm with no magic, more time has passed there than here.
You might be wondering who I am? well, my name is Areida. I'm what happens when the most powerful Siren in existence falls in love with the most powerful Kapre. Though both are considered villains, or at least dangerous, their love, in addition to their land and water magic, managed to create me, a wielder of all light and dark magic, including moon magic.
Unfortunately, that creation broke the ancient laws of magic, set by some unknown force. My very existence defies nature.
Long story short, my parents were destroyed by the Council immediately after my discovery, and I went into hiding. A thousand years after this occurrence, all of the creatures who knew of my existence were dead. It didn't matter anyway. I lived in my own realm.
Somehow, when I was only 200 years old, I created my own realm. It was designed to put a clear layer of magic over all of the other realms, separating me from all other beings and creatures. I could observe, and not be disturbed. It was supposed to be painless.
Most beings of magic, particularly the villains, can sense how much power another being has, and me magic could pretty much blow all of theirs out of the water. (That is probably the primary reason why I'm not supposed to exist. Most of the time, when beings are more powerful, everyone else wants them destroyed. Funny how that works.)
Anyway, I tried to just go about watching people, and sometimes even slightly influencing their fates, although not too much. At first, I spent all my time in the realm without magic, but every once in a while, when a human proves themselves worthy, they are able to see through the layer. They see me, freak out, and I strongly dislike having to erase memories, but I am forced to. It is probably one of the most energy draining and disgusting things I've ever done.
For the most part though, they don't see me. They only kind of know I'm there, but ironically enough, most realms even know of me by another name, other than Areida, and I kind of like it.
Karma.
Most think that Karma is a kind of magic or fate, but no, when someone says Karma, they are actually referring to me. When you let your dark side have control, I believe there should be a consequence, so I make sure that in your future, something equally dark happens to you. Vice versa with light.
I never even wanted my life different. I just accepted it as it was, and tried to help as many people as possible. After I got tired of the realm without magic, I tried out all of the other realms and settled on Neverland.
The day William showed up, I had spent my morning watching the fairies. When they aren't around other creatures, fairies are the most adorable and hilarious creatures. They love to make each other laugh.
They were playing on the beach, when all of a sudden, I heard a shrill voice cry out in the native language of the fairies. Then, they all disappeared. I assumed that they were hiding because of another arrival. The arrivals were getting more and more common these days, and I sensed that the Era of the Truest Believer was swiftly approaching.
Suddenly a huge wave crashed into the shore, and when it retreated, the body of another boy was left there, soaked and pale, his tattered clothes covered in blood, as well as water. I made my way over to him, preparing to use my magic to heal him.
After the healing had taken place, he woke up, and looked to the sky, and unknowingly, straight into my eyes. I fell in love right then and there.
I was so shocked by the new feeling, that I fell through the realm. Not an easy thing to do, I assure you, but I managed.
As soon as I entered the realm I felt almost a weird feeling of nakedness. Before I could even stop to reenter my realm, Peter Pan appeared in front of me, his initial look that of relief and worry.
"Elle! I thought you'd never come back!"
I froze.
He froze.
The boy, still lying in the sand, watched us, his head bobbing back and forth. Pan flicked his wrist, as if to test out my abilities. I saw the wave of magic coming towards me, so I put my hands up deflecting it on to the boy. He fell into a deep sleep immediately.
"Who are you?" Peter Pan asked, putting on a smirk to hide his confusion. "And how did you get on my island?"
I really didn't want to explain anything to this child, so I used what I picked up as a weakness.
"Who is Elle?" I asked, though I knew the answer. I had seen her.
He closed his eyes, squinting in what appeared to be pain. I took that as my chance to disappear. Back in my realm, I sat on the sand next to the boy as Pan kicked the dirt in anger, and then disappeared.
With a wave of my hand, I released him from his deep sleep. I walked next to him as he decided to explore the island.
In fact, I pretty much walked with him everywhere. I was there for almost every second. (I pretty much only gave him privacy when it was time for him to relieve himself.)
I was there when the lost boys found him, when they made him one of their own, when initiation nearly caused his own death, when he went out on his own to find Elle. All of it witnessed by yours truly.
I had to step back once to make sure I didn't slaughter the bunch of them one time though. They had been walking through the woods, looking for Elle, and William had mentioned that he wanted to go home. He missed his sister. Right then and there Pan shot him in the shoulder. William whimpered as the arrow pierced his skin and went straight through, pinning him to a tree.
Then they left him there, telling him to find his own way back to camp when he was ready to be a brother.
I was about to explode. I really truly was.
Then something happened. A beautiful, yet oddly pale, girl with a delicate frame, stepped out of nowhere. She had long white hair, and it almost looked like it was physically made of light. She put one finger to her lips, as if to say to be silent. She placed her hand on his shoulder. The arrow disappeared, and so did the wound. He looked up in shock at her, only to find that she had disappeared.
This all took place over a time frame of about three seconds.
Pan appeared instantly, then scowled again and disappeared.
I followed him. He went straight for his tent. He was sitting on the ground looking at a map of Neverland. His eyes were squinting as if he were deep in thought.
I quickly put the pieces together, and wrote him a note, quickly pushing it through the realm, and straight into his lap.
Pan,
I know what you want, and I can help. In exchange, you owe me one favor. Simply speak out loud and I will hear you.
Karma
"Oh I'm not stupid." Pan said immediately. "What is it that you want? You could be asking me to die or give up my power."
I rolled my eyes and decided to be more dramatic. I went to the dying fire, and took a stick covered in charcoal.
On the side of his tent in front of his face, I wrote in big ginormous letters:
TRUST ME
He frowned, but nodded, so I wrote him a hint.
Pan,
Some mermaids know more than they are telling you.
Karma
He smirked, and asked what I wanted form him. I decided I needed to do this in person.
I pushed through the clear barrier on the realm, and fell through. Pan's mouth actually opened slightly from the shock. He rose, and we stood and stared at each other for a while.
Finally, I gave my demand.
"Peter Pan. You will send William home. You will not harm him or his offspring. If you ever choose to do so, I will be there to make sure you pay for it. I am karma. I will not be cheated."
I held out my pale, and glowing, hand for him to shake on it. He put his hand in mine, briefly, before I pulled away and disappeared. William had already been sent home, and I followed.
I have spent every day watching. Making sure no harm comes to him. The pain kills me, but what else can I do?
That's true, I could make him immortal, but I love him so much, I want him to have a real life. Magic always comes with a price. It's my number one rule as Karma, and the price for cheating death would be massive and unpleasant.
I cannot be with him. I accept that fate. He will die without ever knowing me. I accept that too. He is happy. That's all that matters.
And so, I will watch. I will be Karma. I will hold the balance. All these things are my job until people stop believing. Then I fade into oblivion.
****************************************************************
This story belongs to vanessa5836, the content on this page is copied with permission. The original story can be found/viewed here: https://www.wattpad.com/141739962-innocence-one-shot-areida