Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN INTO THE WOODS, JUST TOM AND THE PLOT!
Chapter 3: Annabel Lee
The announcement of the sleeping arrangements made Tom's stomach flutter with anticipation. At dinner, which had fresh baked bread, good chunks of pork, apples, carrots, and cheese, Tom told the baker, Cinderella, Jack, and Red about how his family died and how he was living in the woods, making the most of anything he could get his hands on. They didn't seem that interested, however. The baker seemed to be the only one of the group who cared; Cinderella was focusing on her food and Red and Jack talked quietly under their breath about wolves and how tough (or from what it sounded like, lack thereof) Jack was. After dinner, Cinderella washed the dishes, refusing Tom's offer to help her, and they all went up to bed.
When Tom was done with his bath, seeing as he very much needed one, he came out to see that Jack and Red were already asleep in the smaller bed, each of them on opposite sides, as close as they could get to the edge without falling off, facing anywhere but each other. Cinderella was also asleep, sadly. He really wanted to talk to her and get to know her better. Oh, well. Tom softly lowered himself onto the bed and slowly shifted under the covers. He fell asleep watching her soon after.
He woke up an hour later. He didn't know why; he was warmer than he'd been for months under the blanket. He tried to go back to sleep, he really did, but he was too distracted by Cinderella's beauty. She looked so peaceful as she slept, less guarded, not that she was very guarded to begin with. He had to get these thoughts out of his head. What was the point? Why would someone like her fall in love with a guy like him? He reached below him and pulled something out of the messenger bag full of old, ragged clothes, bits of stale bread, and a few of his dad's possessions including an old book entitled Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems. It was certainly a morbid book, but it always had a calming effect on him. He turned to a page that had a bent corner, a favorite poem of his, Annabel Lee. He began to read in the dim candlelight. '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.'Tom heard a faint rustle coming from Cinderella's side of the bed. She was watching him intently and as he looked at her, she asked what he was doing. "Reading," he answered shyly. She smirked sleepily, "I didn't know homeless orphans could read." Ignoring that comment, Tom simply said, "you should be asleep." As if he'd never said anything, she continued, "what are you reading?" "Annabel Lee," Tom replied in a small voice. She was sitting up next to him now, looking down at the book in his lap. "Will you read to me," she asked, "I can't go back to sleep." So Tom began the next stanza, aloud this time, "'She was a child and I was a child,| In this kingdom by the sea'" She leaned her head on his shoulder as he continued through the whole poem. "'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.'" As Tom finished, he looked down at her and allowed himself to smile. He carefully shifted her so she was lying on the pillows, pulled the blanket up over her, and fell asleep with the feeling of her head on his shoulder in mind.
A/N: There's the much anticipated third chapter. How did you guys like the Edgar Allan Poe thing? Please review with what you thought. As always, no flames but always constructive criticism, please. I'll try to get the next chapter done and posted tomorrow. Thanks for all the support! Bye! ~Stay Classy~
