Love is Like a Raven [ON (POSSIBLY PERMANENT) HIATUS]

Shadow's Romance

"The year had been a year of terror, and of feelings more intense than terror for which there is no name upon the earth." ~Edgar Allan Poe, "Shadow--A Parable

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Montresor and Annabel stepped on the front porch of Annabel's house. Montresor hugged Annabel and she went inside. Annabel watched Montresor begin to walk home. As soon as he'd gotten a decent way, she flew up the stairs to her room and flopped onto her bed with a sigh. She pulled out her phone and called her dear friend, Elizabeth.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Omigod, Elizabeth," Annabel sang.

"What?" Elizabeth eager to hear the news.

"Montresor..."

"Yes..?"

"He asked me out!"

Elizabeth squealed joyously. "What did you say? How did he ask you? How long ago? Tell me EVERYTHING!"

"We walked around town all day. I showed him the sea, and he asked me then as the sun was setting, even though he thought that his brother would take me away from him. Word for word he said 'will you be my princess?' It was so cute! And I said yes!"

Elizabeth squealed again. "I'm so happy for you, Annabel! I'm sure you two will be SO cute together!"

Annabel blushed. "Th-thanks..."

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Montresor walked in the cold darkness of Church Hill. After a while, he stopped at his home. It was small, and empty. It looked abandoned. He grabbed the key from under the doormat and opened the door. Upon entering, Fortunato tackled him to the ground.

"Where have you been, big brother? I've missed you!" he cried.

"I was with Annabel," Montresor replied. His disgusted mood when Fortunato tackled him had vanished at the thought of the beautiful Annabel Lee. Fortunato grinned.

"Oooh! Montresor! You fell for the girl in Comm Arts?!?"

"Fuck off!"

Fortunato hopped off of Montresor and did a dance around the room. "Troublemaker loves a troublemaker! Darkness loves darkness and big brother loves Annabel Lee! It's all the same to me!" he sang. Montresor clenched his fists.

"Fortunato, è figlio di puttana, è meglio iniziare a correre!" he yelled as he started to charge at Fortunato. Fortunato laughed as he ran around the house, jumping over chairs and tables avoiding the wrath of his brother.

"But, big brother, if I'm a son of a bitch, then so are you!"

"I disown you!"

Montresor grabbed Fortunato by his shirt collar. He flailed in his big brother's grasp, but claimed defeat after a few minutes.

"Big brother, please don't hurt me. You win."

Montresor sighed. "Fine. This time." He dropped the pitiful Fortunato on the floor. "Next time, though, I'm getting Luchesi."

Fortunato's eyes widened and he ran into his room. Montresor laughed. "What a poor man he is."