The Fallen

Prologue

1829

The chapel doors flew open as a man burst in. A gust of cool spring air came in along with him, alerting the congregation of the intruder. Annabelle strained against the confines of her best Sunday dress to get a look at this strange man. He was tall, and even handsome. His brown hair was combed and parted neatly, and he had a strong jaw. He was dressed smartly in a tailored suit, and in his hands he carried a small black box.

Pastor Jeremiah stood with his arms outstretched and his mouth hanging open in the shape of an "o". He had been in the middle of a sermon about devotion when this strange man barged into the place of worship.

"Good Morning, pastor", the man spoke in a clear and strong voice. He walked up to the altar and stood directly in front of the pastor. He smirked slightly, and cocked his head to the side. It was his arrogant way of showing that he was waiting for an answer. The old man before him let out a small choking noise, and quickly shut his gaping mouth. He fumbled a few moments, trying to find the right words. He placed his arms on the alter in front of him, and leaned forward.

"Young sir, I do not know what evil spirit possessed you to interrupt my sermon, nor do I want to. If you would kindly take a seat over th-"

"Do you believe in god?", the man interrupted. Pastor Jeremiah adjusted his spectacles.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that a virgin was made pregnant by a Holy Spirit? So you believe that a flood purged the earth of everything evil? Do you believe that Jesus was crucified, killed, and buried for our sins? Pastor, I asked you, so you believe in god?"

"Yes", Annabelle croaked out before she could stop herself. Her small and pale hand flew up to her mouth in shock- she didn't mean to draw attention to herself. The man in front slowly turned around to face her. Annabelle was breathless by the sight of his face- he truly was a very handsome man.

When he finally turned around and got a good look at the poor girl, his mouth parted slightly. He walked slowly to the young woman, who had a look of complete terror on her face. While he may be handsome and clean, he was also dangerous. No sane man would intrude on church, especially during the sermon.

He stood in front of her for a few moments, just looking down at her. His eyebrows furrowed with confusion, and he slowly dropped to one knee in front of her. Annabelle let out a small gasp. He placed a small box in her lap, and looked up at her face pleadingly.

"I never thought I would see you again", he said as he reached to caress her cheek. Annabelle moved away in fear. A look of pure agony showed on his face.

"I don't believe we have ever met.." Annabelle spoke softly

"But of course, we have not met, have we?", he said with a sad smile playing on his lips. He cleared his throat, and rose back up to his feet. He looked down at Annabelle with a serious expression, and motioned to the black box sitting in her lap.

"All I ask of you is to open the box and look at what is inside. Then I want you to answer my question one more time"

Annabelle's conscience was screaming at her to not open the box. There was probably something dangerous inside. A mad man was the one who gave it to her; it had to be dangerous. But another part of her mind was pleading with her to open it. It wanted to know, and to understand why this man was here. Simply put: Annabelle was curious.

It has been said before that curiosity killed the cat.

After a moments hesitation, Annabelle slid the lid off of the box. Looking into the box a dark realization dawned on her. She felt her throat closing. She managed to let out a cry of pain. She felt numb from all the lies and deceit that she had believed for so long. Annabelle took a long shuddering breath, and looked back up at the man.

"Who- what are you?", she said quietly.

"Tell me princess, do you still believe in god?"