Forget Me Not | ✓

00 | 'Twas A Midnight Dreary

  
00
Prologue
'T w a s    A    M i d n i g h t    D r e a r y

    
IT WAS A dark and gloomy night in late November of the year 1663. Every resident in a small London village hid within the impenetrable walls of their homes, praying to their god that they would not be victims of the pale ones that night. The pale ones were terrifying, heartless beings with pale  porcelain flesh. The village was plagued by these pale ones since the first residents settled and their numbers always remained limited, as the vampires stalked their prey by day and hunted them by night to sustain their everlasting thirst for human blood.

Only one man in the village stood up to the vampires: Carlisle Cullen. He reluctantly took on the profession of hunting the vampires after the untimely death of his father. Hunting the ruthless creatures was a risky task, proven so when his father was killed by one himself. But unlike his careless father, Carlisle had something to lose: he had a beautiful wife and young daughter to take care of.

His young daughter, Adelina Carlisle Cullen, awaited his return home from a hard day's work when midnight crept upon them. And so on that very night, just like any other, six-year-old Adelina set herself down on her wooden toy chest and waited for him to come home. She inherited her father's light blonde hair,  her mother's curly ringlets, and big blue eyes accompanied by long eyelashes. Their neighbors thought of the Cullen family as the standards to meet when it came to perfection and beauty; as if they were enchanting China dolls to be marveled and adored.

When raindrops slowly began to beat against the paned glass windows of the small cottage, Adelina hugged her dolly closer to her and watched the droplets race down to pass the time. Her mother, Rosaline, was fast asleep down the narrow hallway – she was used to her husband returning home late at night. Even at her ripe age, Adelina found time to worry about her father and a dozen questions plagued her mind when he was just a minute later than usual.

Just as she thought she saw his skinny figure emerge from the treeline across the path, she heard a loud crash downstairs. She froze and stayed completely silent as she heard footsteps follow the crash. The bedroom door creaked open and her mother – dressed in a silky nightgown with blonde ringlets spilling over her shoulders – slipped through and shut the door again. Her young face was vexed with fear as she listened for any indication of activity downstairs and suddenly, it dawned on her daughter – someone bad was in the house.

"Mama, what is hap–"

"Shh!" Rosaline hushed her and wedged a chair beneath the doorknob. She had no means to protect herself and her daughter and it would be useless to hide – she could only buy them another minute. No one in their right mind was out at this hour and she acted before coming to the conclusion.

The vampires were in the house.

"Darling, you must hide!" she whispered frantically as she removed the cushions from atop the toy chest at the window and opened it. She picked her daughter up and placed her inside the spacious box. "No matter what may happen or what you may hear, do not make a sound, Adelina. Promise me!"

"I promise."

Just as she was about to close the chest, the young girl cried out in a whisper, "No, Mama! Don't go!"

"I love you, my dear Adelina." tears welled up in her blue eyes, "Do not ever forget that I love you, baby girl."

"I love you, too, Mama."