Pretty Misfortunes (Cruel Boys of Raven Oak Prep #2)

~Preface~

~Poet Master~

"It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we—

Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea—

In her tomb by the sounding sea

In the tomb I keep her in, my beautiful Annabel Lee.

"The time has come." I stared down at the chained form inside her prison.

Eyes like a forest kissed by the sun,

Skin pale as snow,

Hair as wild as fires in the summer— run

Temptation was her meadow

Sleep had her taken,

A maiden in that darkened dream

Time to awaken

No longer is she— Annabel Lee—to a kingdom by the sea

She stared up at me, eyes bright with questionable saneness which matched the loss of mine. That was the best aspect about her I adored more than her beauty. She matched me inside and out, and the unhinged character within her I have witnessed was like looking into the mirror.

I saw myself.

That was why I made this place for her. Why I kept her hidden from the world?

"Time?" she asked, tilted her head to the side with curious eyes lost to her scrambled thoughts. Then, a slow smile lifted at the edges of her red lips. "Little rose? I can see her?"

A nod.

Her eyes lite up like shiny emeralds.

We were both unstable, I knew. But that was to be expected from people like us. It made for an attractive plot.

Oh, what a plot twist this will be.

The lovely maiden, you must know

Once fallen, now risen

Her name forever is the beautiful Charlotte Monroe.

~

Welcome back, sleuthers! This is the start of the sequel to Pretty Monsters and I hope everyone enjoys this new ride as much as I will and have done in writing the story. So glad to be back. Some many ideas are brewing so expect the unexpected, a whole lot more mystery, surprises and drama that will most certainly make you jump out your seat.

I will post next week on Saturday so make sure you are following me. Like down below and comment your thoughts on what you think this poem might mean? Who is the Poet Master?

Happy Halloween!