Post by Annabel Lee on Sept 12, 2016 18:17:43 GMT
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
• • •
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee
• • •
Silence had a way of making your ears ring. Like a Tibetan singing bowl, the timbre and volume would rise and fade, but the echo remained in your head long after the real sound had faded. There in the silence of her otherwise empty locker room Annabel couldn't hear anything but that ringing.
Teardrops splattered on the cracked design of the Crank Championship. She was sitting on the bench with the belt draped across her knees where she stared down at it. The very first Addiction show was over, but how long it had been since the stands had cleared and the behind-the-scenes crew got to work was lost on the plucky brunette. In fact, it may have been the longest she had been still for months.
Her ponytail was quite the mess from the match. Her body was sore and bruised. Ice packs were strapped to one shoulder and knee. As ever, though, the nearly unshakable smile that defined Annabel Lee was in place.
Her fingers traced across the stylized, now slightly damp, jagged metal shards as she sat in the echoing silence. The door to the changing room was now locked and her phone was still turned off in her bag. She needed these quiet moments to herself without the congratulatory calls and texts and tweets. Another set of tears rolled off of her lashes as she blinked, plummeting down onto the face of the championship.
Good tears. Happy tears. Tears of shock and pride.
With every step the road only got steeper. Going forward the journey would be more and more difficult, and she knew that. But those were thoughts for another day. No sacrificing the moment to plan for the future, right?
Six matches. Six. She had signed her contract with PAW what seemed like barely more than yesterday and in that time she'd fought six tooth-and-nail battles, be it alone or with Kelsey, and come out ahead in five of them. Now, on the eve of the sixth, she was a champion.
It had taken her father almost a year before he won his first championship. It had taken Uncle Joe more than two. Uncle Bobby was a tag team specialist and hadn't held a singles championship over the course of his entire career.
Annabel didn't think that she was better than her father or her “Uncles.” So... how had she done it? How, after just six matches, had she achieved this? Was it luck? It didn't feel like luck had put any shoulders on the mat.
Was it... planned? Had someone been orchestrating this? She certainly feel like any of those matches had been anything less than an absolute battle. No, that was a silly thought. She never would have let anyone hand her anything, but she hardly had the profile of someone anyone would want to bribe anyway.
How she had managed it would have to remain a mystery for now.
With a deep sigh, Annabel finally looked up from the championship belt. She reached down and hauled her bag up onto the bench beside her. As expected, it sent a little ache all through her, one that made her laugh. A few moments after turning her phone on the incessant buzzing of congratulatory tweets, texts, and missed calls began.
• • •
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
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