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.
Roy met her at the Academy. Blonde hair, brown eyes, tall, his type. He struck up a conversation. She struck the back of his head with a pistol. They had a strange understanding ever since, she had his back and he had everyone else's.
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 winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
Neither of them knew exactly what they were getting into. They were just kids really, but their bond had already been made out of diamonds. It only got stronger in Ishbal. They almost lost each other numerous times to fate and fire. But they lived through that war, and Roy knew he could achieve anything.
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 kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
And Roy did achieve. He achieved everything and anything he could ever want. He married Riza in the middle of Central to make up for all the years he had to hide and deny their relationship. But no matter how much Roy achieved, no matter how high he climbed, no matter how much he did, he wouldn't be able to save Riza.
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.
The higher Roy climbed the more people who were watching him. The higher Roy climbed the more people he won over. The higher Roy climbed the more envious a certain man got. Until that day when that man didn't quite aim right at the car. Until that day when Roy didn't die. Until that day when Riza did.
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.
Roy did die that day, but in a much more painful way. He lost the spunk and charm that had won over Amestris. He lost the fire in his eyes that was so convincing that you couldn't help but believe everything he said. He lost the motivation to try anymore. His soul was her soul, and her soul was far beyond the gate.
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 the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
He dreamt of her every night. He thought of her every day. He hated himself more every second. One day there was nothing more he could do. No more motivation to face those stacks of paperwork. No more life apart from work. No silver lining to his dark cloud. He went to Riza's grave. He never left.