I return with a second Poe-poem fic. Last year, I gave you Nevermore. This year, I give you Kingdom by the Sea. Not as creepy as its predecessor, but definitely sad and depressing. So for those of you who enjoy that kind of thing, enjoy. Happy Halloween!
It was a peaceful night. The air was warm, despite the coming winter. The neighborhood was finally winding down, barely functioning after a long night of costumes, candy, and a fair number of tricks. Despite their reputation, the little ones still went to every house within sight, even the Fenton house.
Jack, Maddie, and even little Danny had stayed up well into the night emptying the candy bowl. Seven-year-old Jazz was 'too old' for such a childish holiday (where she got that idea from, neither Jack nor Maddie had the faintest idea), and Danny didn't really wish to go trick-or-treating. One thing he didn't inherit from Jack was his sweet tooth.
Still, the boy wanted to help out, and so stayed up hours past his bedtime to hand out candy to the slightly older kids. He made it until the last of the candy was given, and stayed in a half-woken stupor afterwards.
As Jack turned off the porch light and closed the door, Maddie picked Danny up and the child almost immediately buried his nose in the crook of her neck. Maddie smiled and started up the stairs, saying, "I'd better get him up to bed. He's had a long night." Jack smiled and nodded as his wife disappeared, turning off the rest of the lights.
Maddie nudged the door to Danny's room open with her foot, using both arms to cradle her son. She hitched him up on one arm and quickly used the other to peel back the blankets. She laid him down, tucked him in, and was about to leave quiet as a mouse when a whisper of "Momma?" stopped her. Maddie quickly turned her head to see a bright eyed Danny sitting up in bed.
Chuckling softly to herself, Maddie walked back and knelt by the bed. "I thought you were asleep," she scolded playfully, violet eyes shining as Danny giggled.
"I was," he said, turning himself so that he was facing his mother, "but you didn't read a story yet."
Maddie blinked, eyes widening when she remembered. It was Friday, and every Friday she read Danny a story to put him to sleep. With all the fuss about Halloween, she had forgotten about it completely. And seeing as it was almost midnight, she was surprised that Danny didn't as well.
Maddie tilted her head thoughtfully. "Isn't it a little late for a bedtime story?" she asked, emphasizing the question with a weird lilt in her voice, making Danny giggle again.
"It's never too late for a bedtime story!" he laughed, as if it was the most wonderful thing in the world. And knowing her little Danny, to him it probably was.
Maddie smiled, silently agreeing. Even if it were 4:30 in the morning, she wouldn't miss a chance to spend a few minutes with Danny if she could help it. So, keeping that in mind, she whispered, "So, what would you like to hear tonight?"
Danny was about to say something, but it was swallowed by a large yawn. Maddie chuckled, and Danny threw her a semi-serious, completely adorable pout before saying, "I want you to pick tonight, Mommy."
Maddie blinked in surprise. Danny always chose the story, whether it be a new book that she had just gotten him, or the umpteenth reading of Dr. Seuss' There's No Place Like Space. "Are you sure?"
"Mm-hmm!" said Danny, bobbing his head enough times to give anyone but a child a headache. Maddie shook her head at him, then whispered a quick "be right back" before she moved into the playroom next door, heading for the bookshelf.
She had reached for one of Danny's favorites when an old, battered volume caught her eye. It was an old book of poems. She kept both adult and children's books in the same bookcase, but the children's ones were lower so that they could reach them. Of course, there were plenty of times she caught Jazz standing on the toy box, trying to get some of the more advanced books down. Maddie let it be, since the main thought was 'At least she isn't standing on the building blocks again.' That hadn't been pretty.
Maddie shook the thought out of her head as she continued to look for a suitable bedtime story. It wasn't a book for children Danny's age, and it wouldn't make a very good bedtime story.
But the more Maddie thought about it, the more she believed that Danny may actually like one of the poems. She often stayed up late reading the different stories when she was a little older than Danny. And the boy was so dead tired that he would most certainly fall asleep before she finished. So, smiling to herself, Maddie slid the old volume from the shelf and flipped through it as she left the playroom and returned to Danny's room.
As Maddie toed the door open once more, she glanced up at the child. Danny had been slouching precariously over himself, but within a second of seeing his mother return had sat himself straight up, eager to hear whatever story his mother had picked out.
Maddie smiled to herself as she reached her son's bed and knelt down, still flipping through the book. When Danny saw that it wasn't one of his usual bedtime stories, he curiously asked, "What story's that?"
"This," Maddie replied, "is actually a book of poems." Danny made the smallest of faces at that, but his mother still noticed. "Now, now, don't do that. A poem is really a small story, wrapped up in rhymes and riddles. All you have to do is listen very closely." Maddie hummed in triumph when she found one of her favorite poems. It wasn't the happiest poem, but she felt he would enjoy it anyway.
She cleared her throat dramatically and stated, "Annabelle Lee, by Edgar Allen Poe." This was the cue for Danny to once again straighten himself up, waiting patiently for his mother to start the story. Maddie repressed a laugh. She took one last glance at her son before she took a deep, silent breath... and began.
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 Annabelle Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
The mother read her poem to her young son, and he remembered it. Even now, ten years later, Danny could still remember it. But not right now, as three figures flew high in the red sky, heading towards town. The last hours of the day were spent on training, but as the sun began to set, the trio knew that they had to get home. As the young hybrid flew, carrying his two friends, he allowed the wind to sweep through his white hair and the freedom of flight to sooth him, if only for that moment.
"I'm jealous, Danny," said Sam, looking over the scenery with wide and wistful eyes. "You get to see all of this whenever you want to. It's beautiful."
"Yeah, yeah," said Tucker, who had his eyes covered completely with his hands. His tight fingers left no room for light, let alone scenery. "Real pretty. Can you put me down now? Preferably on the ground, where the highest I have to be is in my bedroom on the second floor."
"Unless you want to walk the rest of the way back home, which, by the way, is ten miles, then no," Danny deadpanned. He then laughed at Tucker's crestfallen groan. "Relax, Tuck. Just enjoy the view!"
"I'm very much enjoying the view," moaned Tucker, "of my palms."
Sam laughed, completely foregoing her gothic persona for the time being. She always loved doing this with Danny; even if it wasn't under her own power, she felt as though she had wings. Danny smiled down at her, temporarily forgetting about Tucker and imagining that it was just the two of them.
Both he and Sam were cut away from their thoughts when they heard the sound of a camera shutter. They turned towards each other, and then to Tucker, who had one eye squinted open and was holding up his PDA with a sly grin. "No matter how many miles up I am, I just can't resist a lovebird moment."
He waited for the tell-tale 'We're not lovebirds' claim, and frowned when it didn't come. Sam and Danny glared at Tucker a moment longer before their eyes met and they both smirked. Sam gripped Danny's arm tighter just as he did a wild back flip, making them all scream; Danny and Sam in excitement, Tucker in absolute terror.
Danny evened out as he and Sam laughed, sparing glances to Tucker clutching his small computer for dear life. "D-dude..." he stammered, his face white as a sheet. Danny and Sam said nothing, both grinning like fools the rest of the trip.
She was a child and I 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 winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
After Danny had taken Tucker and Sam home, he had phased into his bedroom. "Ugh..." he groaned, brushing off the snow that had covered itself in his hair and back. It had only taken another ten minutes or so to drop off Sam and Tucker and get to his own house, but the snowfall had developed into far more than a light sprinkle that wouldn't even stick to the ground. As Danny peered around his blinds, he guessed that it would continue for a while yet, despite it only being October.
Danny closed the blinds and looked around the room, groaning again when he saw the backpack full of homework. He hadn't wanted to touch it all weekend, but without anything to distract him (indeed, not even the ghosts had bothered him too much. He would wonder why, but he was enjoying the fact too much,) there was nothing stopping him. So while the storm took hold, Danny decided, albeit reluctantly, to start on it before turning in for the night.
He was only a few minutes in before his cell phone began to ring. He smiled slightly; he had personalized ring tones, so he knew it was Sam calling. He answered long before the song had really begun. "Hey, Sam."
"Hey, Danny," said the goth, her voice a little heavy. It sounded like she was walking. "Mind if I rant to you for a bit?"
"No, not at all," said Danny, shifting the phone to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "What happened?"
"You mean who happened, and who else? My parents. My 'pretty in pink,' 'black is the scum of fashion' parents." Danny stifled a laugh as a gagging sound was heard in the background. "They tried, yet again, to put me in a pink dress."
"Well, that's nothing new."
"No, but the fact is, they had removed the lock from my bedroom door."
Danny sat up a little straighter. "Seriously?"
"Very seriously. And guess what I found in my room after I had gotten past the lock thing?"
He almost didn't want to ask. "What did they do?"
"They had remodeled it! Remodeled! My black walls were pink! My pillows were yellow instead of purple! My CDs, gone! My books, gone! My gothic, Poe-inspired safe haven had been turned into this, this... prep room!"
Danny's mouth hung open, speechless.
"You know what else? They had the nerve to act surprised at my reaction! As if they expected me to be as happy as a clam!" A deep sigh sounded through the receiver. "I couldn't stay there," she continued, "not after that. I left immediately. But now this storm's gotten so bad, I have no clue where I am."
Danny shook his head and looked out the window. Indeed, there was nothing but white. Danny gaped. "You're outside in this!?"
"I know, I know," said Sam, and he could hear the grimace and apology in her voice. "But Danny, I couldn't stay there. They didn't just cross the line, they obliterated it! They chopped it up into little pieces, painted them pink, stuck them in little lace dresses and framed them to mock me!"
Danny didn't know where she got all of that, but he agreed with the overall concept. Problem was, though, what now? "Do you have any idea where you might be?"
"I told you, this storm's too bad. I wasn't even looking where I was going, so I could honestly be anywhere. Wait," she said suddenly, and Danny heard the sound of running over the wind. "I think... yeah, I'm at the library."
Danny sighed in relief. "Alright. Stay there, and I'll see if I can find you." It shouldn't take him too long; he knew the city like the back of his hand, and had traveled with his eyes closed once or twice.
"Thanks, Danny," said Sam, and her relief was eminent. "I'll be inside; this storm's a bit too much for me."
"Okay. I'll be there soon." And he hung up, grabbing a coat for his human form before transforming and darting off into the storm.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
Peering out into the blank background, Danny didn't search so much as feel his way around the city. For obvious reasons he hadn't been to the library often, but he had made it his business to know everything about Amity. He didn't even know they had a library before he became Phantom. Go figure.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Even over the roar of the wind, he could recognize his sister's ring tone. "Hey, Jazz," he said, continuing on to where he thought the library was. "What's up?"
"Danny, you have to get down here! The doors are frozen solid, the windows are covered in ice, and--"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" called Danny. "Jazz, what's going on? What's happened?"
"The storm's caused the entire library to freeze over! There's no way out and it keeps getting colder!"
"The library?" Danny's insides froze, despite this form's ability to withstand extreme temperatures. But it wasn't the storm that did it, anyway.
"Yes. The police have already been called, but I'm not sure how long it'll take for them to get through all of this."
Danny thought quickly. "Alright, keep everyone together. If you can find any source of heat, gather around it. I'm on my way."
"Please hurry, Danny," whimpered Jazz, and the line went dead, with Danny speeding ever faster towards the library. When he found it, he stifled a gasp. He remembered it being a brown and black building, but now it was completely white with frost and snow. The snow had built up above the door, and the second floor windows were cracking from the cold.
Shaking his head, Danny phased in quickly, almost afraid of what he would find.
Everything was frozen. The walls and floor were covered in ice. Stalactites were attached to the unmoving ceiling fans. The bookshelves were frosted and the books themselves looked more like individual sculptures than actual books. Danny grew more worried, phasing through the walls and floors. Where were Jazz and the others? And Sam...
Finally, he found them in the basement. They were all huddled together, just like he had told them. Thinking about it, Danny supposed would've made sense for them to gather in the library's boiler room. The old thing was run down and damaged, and the storm wasn't helping matters, but it worked well enough. As he approached them, several lifted their heads. A few recoiled in fear while others breathed sighs in relief. One of the latter was Jazz, who smiled and stood up. The space in the group that she left behind was quickly closed up by the others as she approached him.
"Danny," said Jazz, gathering her coat tighter around her. In fact, now that he noticed, she was one of the few who did have a coat. The storm was rather sudden. "You're here!"
"Of course," said Danny, almost drawing her into a hug, but refrained from doing so. Since was still in ghost form, it would only make her colder. "How is everyone?"
"Everyone is fine," she said, turning back towards the group. "One of the librarians remembered the boiler room and when we found that it was still working, we all instantly turned into this." She faced Danny again. "We've been like this ever since. But the boiler's been getting colder. I wasn't sure how long it would last, so I'm glad you came when you did."
Danny nodded slightly, thinking quickly. He then floated up and over the group, to the boiler. Even with his gloves he could tell that it was still warm, but not nearly as hot as it should've been. So, placing his hands on the metal, he focused some of his energy into the metal basin. After a few seconds of this, the red glow previously filling the room turned an eerie green. It unnerved a few, but they hardly cared as the room grew much warmer.
As they all gathered closer to the boiler, Danny took in the sight. There were a couple dozen people there, at least. There weren't any younger children, thank goodness, and no elders either. There were a few teens that he didn't know, presumably the study group that was the reason Jazz was here in the first place. The rest, including the library staff, were adults. However, as Danny continued to scan the area, he couldn't see Sam among the group.
Danny floated down next to Jazz and asked her, "Where's Sam?"
"Sam?" said Jazz, loosening her grip on the jacket now that it was warm. "I haven't seen her at all. Why?"
"She had a nasty fight with her parents and ended up here," he said, voice shaking slightly at the implication of Jazz's answer. "I was already on my way here to pick her up when you called me."
Jazz had an odd look on her face as she took in the situation. "When we realized what was happening to the library, everyone sort of just gathered together." The look faded into horrified realization. "Now that I think about it, I have no clue if we have everyone in the library. We asked around, and everyone has their friends or family, but if someone came alone..."
Danny didn't allow her to continue. "Stay here with the rest. I'm going to look for anyone else."
"Danny...!" said Jazz, but he had phased through the ceiling before she could finish. All she could do at this point was hope that both Danny and Sam made it out of this alright.
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 a cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.
In only a matter of seconds, Danny had emerged from the floor and begun to search the library. Sam was here, he knew she was. But she was alone. And to be alone in this frozen hell was the worst thing he could imagine. So he didn't. He only thought about finding her.
"Sam!" he called out, rushing into the main lobby. He looked into every shadow, around every bookcase, underneath every desk...
And there she was, curled up in the corner. She was hunched over, so it was impossible to see her face. But he knew it was her, almost without looking.
"Sam," said Danny, floating towards her and almost slipping on the ice when he landed and knelt beside her. "I'm so glad I found you. You had me worried..." He took her shoulder, intending to pick her up, but she didn't move to hold onto him. Confused, Danny shook her slightly. "Sam?" Her head rolled to the side, allowing Danny to see her face.
He sighed in relief. She was just asleep. He moved to pick her up once more and bring her to the boiler room when something fell. He looked down and saw it was a book, but he hardly focused on that. He had to get her downstairs so that she could... warm... up...
Danny's fingers brushed against her cheek, and he froze. Even through the gloves, he could tell she was cold. Too cold.
Danny felt panic overcome him as he looked closer at her face. Her skin was far paler than normal and her lips, despite the purple lipstick, were clearly blue. And now he realized that even if she were asleep, the cold would cause her to shiver. She was completely still.
He didn't know how long he had just stared at her, nor did he know when he had just hugged her close to him. He didn't hear the sirens when the police and fire department had finally managed to make it to the Godforsaken library, didn't notice when he had changed back, didn't feel the cold intensify tenfold when he did. He just knelt there, crying silent, desperate tears he didn't feel flowing down his cheeks.
Then, he felt warm. The cold had long since disappeared, but he had no explanation, so he ignored it. The warmer it became, the tighter he hugged Sam, as if the heat was more of a threat than the cold was. He heard voices, but again he ignored them. All he knew was Sam, the young girl sleeping in his arms. The girl he had to keep from danger.
Danger that, in his muddled mind, increased tenfold when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had no thoughts about his powers; those had been lost and forgotten in the ether of his mind. His hands and arms were busy keeping Sam warm. So he did the only thing he could. He screamed.
He fought with all he had. He didn't very much care about what he must've looked like. All he could do was fight the danger. Fight for Sam. And he did. He yelled and cursed, spat and bitten them. He had even taken his arms from around Sam to claw and kick at them. He had fought with all the energy he could muster until, finally, he could no longer move.
So Danny simply sat there, remaining stiff as the medics finally succeeded in separating him and Sam. Sam. Not Sam's body.
Because she wasn't dead.
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.
A stark white room was watched through a one-way mirror, a sick, pale boy on one side and a weary-looking man on thee other. Vlad's face was filled with pain as he watched the boy stare, mutter, and rock himself into his own personal oblivion.
Daniel had fought the paramedics like they were demons from hell, and had drawn blood from several. One of them had almost died from blood-loss. Even Daniel himself had been injured, but not by the paramedics. He had broken both of his hands and one his feet from his own attack. Because of the injuries, Daniel had been declared a danger to himself and others by the courts.
How did this happen? What had gone wrong? Questions such as these ran through the man's mind, but he already knew the answer to them. He thought he had chosen his words carefully. But he should've known that that vixen of a genie would've ruined it the moment he turned to her. No one, man or ghost, had control over their wish once they'd made it. In fact, Vlad doubted that the mage herself could control the outcome of the wishes she granted.
After all, who could possibly know that the Mansons never touched their daughter's room and were just as surprised, if a little pleased, at the change? Who could know that the spell made the weather several times more dangerous than normal? Who could know that Samantha was the only one killed specifically to get to Daniel?
And who could know that one death would cause insanity, despite the general outcome? Despite the lives that were spared and saved?
All he meant to do was shatter Daniel's ideas about good and evil and finally become his son. Instead, the wish shattered Daniel's mind. His soul. Him.
And Vlad was left with nothing to show for his disastrous efforts. With Maddie in hysterics and Jack beside himself with grief, the man couldn't bring himself to even kick the idiotic genius, let alone kill him. He couldn't even have Jasmine, since the events had led to her complete and utter withdrawal, bordering on insanity herself. Nothing would do him any good.
Fate was indeed a cruel mistress. And Vlad sighed wearily, leaving the observation room and soon the asylum itself, knowing that it was all his fault.
For want of a nail... for want of a son... all was lost.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see 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 sepulcher there by the sea--
In her tomb by the side of the sea.
A young boy rocked in the corner of a small, white room. He was emaciated, as he rarely ate. Not that he wasn't fed; the men and women in white often tried getting him to eat. But he just wasn't hungry. He only ate enough to keep alive, because he knew that she, wherever she was, wouldn't want to starve himself to death. No. No, she wouldn't want that at all.
Being in a room with nothing in it but a bed sealed to the floor and wall, he had a lot of time to think. He could think of a lot of things, but he chose to think of her. He remembered the book she had been reading the day she left. It was a book of Edgar Allen Poe's poems, opened to one of her favorites. Annabelle Lee.
He mumbled it to himself quietly. He often mumbled to himself. Much too low for the men and women in white to hear. He wouldn't want them to hear, anyway. They kept saying that she was dead. But that wasn't possible. He knew they were lies. And he hated them for it.
So, he allowed no one to hear. They didn't have the right to hear. It was one of her favorite poems. Only when everything was okay again, and she was back with him, would he let anyone hear. Granted, he muddled the words up a bit. He hadn't had the chance to memorize it properly before he was forced in here. But that was alright. He was sure that she wouldn't mind.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this endless, snow-white sea...
But we danced on the ice of our secret love--
I and my Sammy and me...
And the boy formerly known as Danny Fenton, now known as utterly mad, lifted his head. His dead, blue eyes gazed out at nothing as he held a lazy smile on his lips, barely moving them as he whispered the last line.
I and my Annabelle Lee...