I pictured a 4- to 5-year age difference between Annabel Lee and her beloved, with him as an angsty teenager, already plugged into the life of the court and capable of the fierce devotion (albeit slightly unhinged) that he manifests upon her death. He's part of the ruling class but a junior member, unable to control his own destiny or hers. The scene displays her innocent unawareness of life's inherent dangers while he stares full face into the viewer's eyes: he is proud, knowing and intransigent, in place to guard her if he can, not to make puppy eyes at her.
The palette is a somber North Atlantic one, chill and eternal.
