#crackingwalls

What they smell like: Black licorice

What music they enjoy: mostly baroque or classical music, but he finds an odd charm in the gothic Voltaire

The day was perfect. Chilly morning air nipped their noses as the two children went running along the snowy slopes, laughing and shrieking as they almost slipped on patches of ice. Before long, they had reached their destination, and both marveled at the endless expanse of the frost-bitten lake before them. An instant later, and both had strapped on their ice skates.

Annabel had turned 6 that morning, and after blowing out the candles on her birthday cinnamon rolls, she had been bouncing in her seat in anticipation of her gift. Being in a rented rustic wooden lodge at the top of a craggy mountainside tourist attraction was present enough for the little girl, but she knew exactly what her beloved Vincent had bought her. For weeks, she’d admired the pair of bright pink ice skates in the toy shop window, just the right size for her and the same color as her own sneakers. When she passed by one day after school, she knew without a doubt her brother had bought them for her. It didn’t even occur to her that another family might have purchased them.

But lo and behold, to her sheer delight, when she pulled apart the electric green wrapping paper, there were her ice skates, simply gleaming in the flickering overhead lamp. She wasted no time in running to the lake, skates in one hand and Vincent in the other.

Vincent had gone out first onto the lake, skimming masterfully on the ice before attempting a twist that landed him squarely on his rear. From the short, his sister giggled, holding onto a nearby tree for dear life. She had never skated before, and was confident her lovely brother would be able to show her all the tricks of the trade (though in truth this was only his second time skating).

Out over the ice they soared, faster than a speeding snail! Of course their movements had to be small at first, but the more the sun rose over the little valley, the more confident the two became, until they could finally let go of each other’s hands.

That was their mistake.

Annabel was ecstatic, trying to close her eyes as she felt the wind whip through her rusty locks of curling hair, her arms thrown out on either side of her. She let out a whoop, but that was as far as she got, for when Vincent turned around, she was gone. All that marked the spot were large frozen shards and slowly stilling water.

Down she sank, down, down, down, the air scored from her lung the moment she fell through. Her eyes were frosted over with shock, lips turned blue, the weight of her skates dragging her further towards the bottom. Slowly her mind slipped away and her eyes closed as black water began to seep into her lungs… b-b-but, Vincent…!

P-please, V-V-Vincent, c-come g-g-get m-me…

When she opened her eyes again, it was not an endless expanse of dark water she saw before her. It was a large bed, with flowers and “get well soon” cards propped up on the plain white table. Something was pinching her arm, what was… She looked away quickly, stomach threatening to overthrow her at the large needle sticking out of her elbow.

How long had she been asleep? An hour? A day? A year? How could she possibly know? What would Vincent- VINCENT! The mere thought of her brother forced her to sit up, frightened blue eyes searching the plastic white room for that mop of black hair.

And there it was, placed right next to her hand, the boy attached slumped and almost lying across her bed with the stiff blanket. Her energy left her as her relief set in, pushing her back lightly as she sank against the lumpy pillow. Even her breathing sounded a little more harsh… or had it always been like that? Her chest felt really tight too, as if someone had sewn rocks into it.

((I've updated some of my tags to better fit the blog, and they are as follows:

'outofinsanity' are personal posts

'CrackingWalls' are any headcanons I've come up with about Vincent

'PriceOfFear' includes anything relating to Vincent Price

'NotAlmostDead' are queued posts

'QuothTheRaven' are asks

'HorrorsHesInvented' are scientific posts

'AloneWithThePortrait' include gifs, fanfiction, cosplays, and fan art of Vincent

'MyDarlingAnnabel' are any posts that relate to Annabel Lee Malloy

'SheSpokeFromHerCoffin' are audio posts that I've recorded myself

'SweetsForTheSweet' are posts done specifically for someone

(( )) are when I'm making comments or am talking as a mun