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William Blake
1805 - 1810

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TRAGEDIES destroy and unite people. They can be considered a curse to some, while a blessing to others. It comes suddenly, without warning, and erases anything in their way. They can be the motive to stay awake at night, and overthinking at day. Either way, there's only a clear conclusion of it: you can't escape.

But you might aswell overcome then.

That's how it felt when Blanche disappeared. When the Graham's family future turned dark. When hope seemed suddenly lost.

Alice Mallory that night could barely breathe, she only continued wandering, walking, until she decided to make a call.

"Hello?" The serene velvet voice replied across the line. She didn't reply, was too schocked to do anything. "Hello?" He asked once again, as they both continued silent for a moment. "...Alice?" Hannibal's guess made the tears breakdown her cheeks in small soft gasps. The sound made his heart suddenly ache, his eyes open wide. "Alice? Did something happen?" She didn't reply, only sobbed. "Alice, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" He became desperate. "Where are you?" He asked nervous. "Lissy, please...please answer me."

"He...took her..."Alice finally mumbled. He continued perplexed. "....he took her, Hanni....she's...blanche..."

The nickname and the fragile tone of her voice stabbed his soul. The realization finally hit him. "Is she...?"

"Will said the dragon took her...in order to make you both meet him." She covered her mouth in horror. "I'm..."She took a deep breath. "Hannibal..."Her lips trembled, the sensation was too horrible to bear it. "....I'm...I'm so scared..."

He took a deep sigh across the line, if only he could get through that phone and hug her, if only he could clean and wipe away her tears...

"I won't lie to you." He softly established. "Your daughter is in danger. There is a high risk of no survival." Alice whimpered across the line. "But that doesn't mean that will happen."

"You can't be sure..."She shaked her head in pain.

"I know you have no reasons to believe me. That I'm the one who you trust mostly now.."Her sobs crushed his bones and squeezed his brain, it was almost too much to handle. Alice's sadness was his deadliest poison. "But I promise you...I'll do anything, and everything to keep your daughter safe." He whispered at last, pouring all his sincerity and letting aside his coldness for a moment. "I'll bring her back to you safe. Did you hear me?"

Alice paused her sobs for a moment, still processing the information inside her head, letting it achieve her heart slowly.

"...why would you do that?" She mumbled incredulous at his vow.

Hannibal took a moment to answer. His hands gripping onto the phone as he tried to gain courage, almost as if that was the first time he declared himself to her again. There was this huge expectation and tension that grew up more and more at each second, until he finally did it. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Lissy." He whispered. "I'd do anything within or beyond my reach, anything...because I-"

And the line was suddenly cut.

"Hannibal?" Alice asked as she heard the steady sound of the line over. "Hannibal?" She looked at the phone and sighed, sitting on pavemebt of the parking lot's motel while staring at oblivion.

She could only imagine what was the reply.

"Denise." Hannibal called the officer who was always willing to participate. "Why was my call suddenly interrupted?"

"Time's over." The woman shruggdd her shoulders. "Inmates only have a limited time to speak on the phone, otherwise the line is cut."

Hannibal rolled his eyes frustrated. "How rude."

▫️

"Why did you request me?"

"I knew you'd come soon."

Alan Bloom crossed her arms as she looked at the man inside the cage. He had a smug expression, as if he was willing to bargain.

"You've guessed. I believe you must know what is happening then." She commented.

"Alice and Will's daughter was kidnapped by the Great Red Dragon. He wants me and Will in return." He answered. "That means, if you don't want more deaths, you'll need me."

Alana sighed. "Perphaps you are right." She pursed her lips, the heels tapping the floor. "Go on. Tell it already, what is your price?" He smirked finally. "Freedom is not an available choice."

"It is a rather easier request." He smiled.

▫️

Colin Mallory was stable now, he tried to helplessly consolate his sister, who tried to appear strong while Jack poured her another shot of whiskey. Alice didn't use to drink, but this time, it helped erase some of the pain. Will's presence was a bit distant, he seeed extremely worried and tried to create plan's to come up with a solution. Until now he had decided what to do, give Hannibal to the cops, to serve as a bait for the Dragon, Alana and Jack had agreed, he would receive the doctor's answer that afternoon...but his anxiety wouldn't stop kicking in.

Of course he found himself a jerk for not being able to support or comfort his wife when she needed him most, he hated himself for it, but deep inside he has never been so scared. Blanche was the slightest ray of sunshine in his life. She became the reason he'd wake up for everyday, he knew noe what it means to love someone undotionally. He watched that girl grow up and speak "dog" as her first word, he watched her became curious about the word and being the most funny, intelligent and caring kid he has ever met.

She meant the world to him. And he would be capable of burning the whole world for her.

"Maybe you should slow down on the drinks." Colin whispered to his sister, who already seemed close to a drunk aspect.

"And maybe you should shut up." Alice replied sharply as her face blushed and she drank at oncr another glass burning down her throat.

"He's right, Alice. That's enough." Jack pondered, trying to take away the glass from her hands.

She then pushed it abruptely, almost in a violent mannerism, but the drink fell of the floor, scattering across the carpet of Jack's house.

Will's eyes finally shifted back to her, realizing her state. He took in a deep breath and walked torwards the scene.

"It's okay, I can deal with-"

"That's not you." Will interrupted Jack and looked serious at her. "Our daughter is lost and you're drinking, what kind of mother are you?"

"Hey-"

"Shut up, Colin, please." Will cut him off, the boy made a face. "You became just like your father, drinking and becoming a burden to everyone." He continued.

Alice looked at him angry, almost growling. "Don't compare me to him."

"Maybe you're right. You're losing yourself.'" He admitted. "Look at you then. You think this is gonna save Blanche?" He dared her, Will squat down and looked into her eyes, almost as a mocking glance. "That's pitiful."

When he last realized she pushed him so he fell on the ground, Alice got up, furious as never, grunting. "Your..."She looked down at him, as Will finally let out a smile followed by a chuckle. For a moment she could regain herself, that same grin from when they used to be young, when they used to pick fights and challenge one another. When they were...them. "...Jerk." She sighed and offered her hand for him to  get up. Will didn't think twice and accepted her help. "Thanks..."She whispered as he touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He muttered at her ear. "I wasn't the best husband. But I'm here for you. And I promise, we'll find her. Whatever it takes." After those words he wrapped her up in his arms, and Alice let his warm embrace comfort temporairly her heart.

"They are so dramatic." Colin rolled his eyes.

"You can say that again." Jack agreed.

But the soft scene couldn't continue as someone knocked on the door and Jack picked it up. The figure who followed him inside was no one other than Alana Bloom.

"He agreed." Alana said as the whole room turned to her hopeful. "But with one condition." He turned to Alice. "You gotta be the one to ask."

"That fucker." Colin complained.

▫️

"It is a surprise to see you." Hannibal Lecter smile as he watched the young man at the door. "You seem a bit taller since the last time we've met. How's college going?"

"I don't know, maybe because your little game with that psycho killer made me get shot." Colin snapped back as the staff adjusted Hannibal in some sort of control hacket to make him not move.

Alice was next to her brother, watching as Hannibal remainred calm and playful tied to a little cart where the moved the most dangerous people. The glass was removed and there was nothing between them anymore.

That thought made her loose her breath for a moment.

"Alice told me about your performance. You were very courageous." Hannibal complimented. "I knew you had something inside you besides being a jealous boy."

"At least I'm not some cannibal sociopath!" Colin growled. "Oh my god...I ate one of your burguers back when I was in high school...were they...?" Hannibal chuckled at his realization. "OH MY GOD-"

"Knock it off you both." Alice crossed her arms tired.

"He killed Bree. He killed Katia. I don't think we should trust him." Colin insisted. Alice tried not to be bothered by the death mentions.

"I am only doing this to help Alice's daughter." Hannibal responded politely. "I do not mean any harm."

"But you risked her life when you sent the Tooth Fairy there! I know it was you, I heard the people from the FBI commenting about it!"

"Colin please-"

"I am doing the right thing now, Colin." Hannibal established peacefully. "I wish that you could trust me at least for once. Unlike you think, I've never wished bad for you. Otherwise, I've helped you immensely through these years."

"You?" Colin sniffed in sarcasm. "Oh, please do tell me, Mr.Cannibal, what have you done instead of ruining mine and my sister's life?!"

Alice exchanged glances with Hannibal. The college, the escape from the girl who never loved him. Maybe Hannibal did belp him but that would never cover up for the scars he made on him by Bree or Katia's death. And perphaps, that should never be mentioned either.

"I sincerely wish we could've gotten along." Hannibal changed the subject. "We could've been brothers-in-law."

"Ew." Colin reacted in disgust. "Ali, come on, say whatever you need and let's get out of here."

"Actually..."Alice turned to her brother. "I'd like to speak with Hannibal...privately, if you don't mind." Her gaze was delicate and almost embarrassed.

Colin looked at her perplexed at the request, he didn't wish to leave his sister alone with him, of course not, but when she asked him that way...what other choice he had?

"If anything goes wrong, I'm just across the hallway." He replied, and she nodded thankfully. "And you,  your creepy." He pointed to Hannibal, who just smirked, having fun. "If you try to kidnap or do something to her again..."

"Understood," Hannibal said with no concern at all. "It was great to meet you again, Colin."

"Fuck off. I hate you."

And with that, Hannibal, Alice, and only some staff were left by the young Mallory brother.

It took a while for any of them to speak up. "About that phone call.."

"Please forget that happened." She avoided looking at him, her face completely red. But both of them knew it wouldn't be possible to forget it when she needed the most, he was the one she sought, and nothing would change it. "About Will's plan with Alana..."

"There's still a condition hanging from that thread."He responded calmly, a subtle smile forming on his lips. "There's no glass between us anymore." They looked around the room. "How does that makes you feel?"

Alice took careful steps forward, standing just in front of him, close enough to watch his chest move with his breath and observe the hazel details in his shining eyes that grew more and more passionate as she got closer.

"You seem very satisfied with it, aren't you?" She whispered in an almost teasing tone.

Hannibal grinned in a mix of cuteness and sassiness. "You're avoiding my question."

"And you're avoiding mine."The two smiled at one another. "It feels...weird. A good kind of weird." He smirked softly, admiring her figure as if a change stood before him. "You know I don't like to beg." He chuckled. "But you know...we..."She took in a deep breath, her expression a bit more nervous. "...she needs you...I need you, Hannibal." She looked into his eyes for a tender, almost heartbreaking moment as lifted her hand, in a moment of hesitation and fear. She closed her wrist and contained herself before reaching for his face, avoiding any sort of affect display, his heart stopped for a moment in anticipation. Alice lowered her arms and came close to his ear. "Please." She whispered in a hot breath. When she took a step back, her eyes almost brought flashbacks to his mind...that smile, that sweet but also risky smile that made him fall for her, that good girl sparkle in her eyes, and the small hint of emotions letting out into a sassy attitude.

Hannibal pursed his lips, trying to contain his urge to smile, and looked down, as a shy boy.

Even if she hadn't asked so gently...he would've done anything for that woman.

▫️

The operation was beginning in some minutes, Will would go with Hannibal in the FBI's vehicle, and they could only hope to arrive safely at the location that was scheduled for them to meet the villain.

Alice on the other hand felt a bit uneasy, maybe because of her husband's sudden silence as he orchestrated his plan, or due to Hannibal's prompt participation in the rescue. Either way, something seemed off, and she wasn't willing to just let them do this in such a reckless way.

"You know you can't go, kid." Jack sighed. "It's dangerous, you better stay here with your brother and wait for Will to come back with Blanche," Jack explained as they gathered at the station watching as the agents walked through the hallways in a hushed rhythm.

Alice stopped at his words. "...what about Hannibal?" She muttered as both Jack and she exchanged different knowing glances. A sudden fear took over her chest. "Jack...what about Hannibal?"She asked again and the agent looked, away. That was it, the confirmation of her fears. Hannibal and Will would risk their lives out there and probably never come back. "You sent him to a trap?!"She asked angry.

"Hey, lower your tone."He recommended softly. "The mission's a secret, you don't want people talking about it." 

"You sent Hannibal to death."Her eyes filled with tears and she spoke angrily through her teeth. "Will's gonna give him to the dragon, isn't he?"

Jack sighed, running his large hands through his tired face. "What else do you want us to do, Alice?" He looked at her. "To let Will die? To let Blanche d-"

"Stop." She said it before he could, taking a deep breath. "I...I just don't want anyone to die..."

Jack looked sadly at the girl he cared for, the daughter he kept failing to protect. He knew the attachment she held for Hannibal wouldn't disappear even after time, but she couldn't let her risk herself in order to save that man, not that man. She was, in Jack's eyes too good for him, even too good for Will, to good for this world.

"Sometimes we need to make the hardest choices, kid...even if they ruin us."Jack tapped her shoulder. Alice crashed into tears, throwing herself into his warm embrace as he tried to comfort her but it was useless. "I'm sorry..." He whispered in her ear while caressing her brown hair. "I'm so sorry, kid."

"Jack..."She whispered between sobs while holding. "When...when...is it happening...when are they taking him?" She asked softly.

"Within an hour, at the back of the hospital."He sighed and pulled her back. "You should take some rest...try not to think too much about it."He recommended and she nodded, whipping away the tears with the long sleeves of her shirt. "I'll keep you informed, don't worry. We'll save her."

"Alright..."She whispered. "Thanks..."

He tapped her shoulder one last time and watched Alice walk away, clueless that he had just given her the ticket to witness hell on earth.

▫️

"Did she tell you about...?" Will asked as the vehicle shook and the two of them stared at each other, stuck between armed agents and a loud silence until their new graveyard, where the's soon bury themselves with the Dragon. Hannibal made a face with confusion. "Did she tell you she...um..."Will didn't dare say it.

"The ring?" He said in a muffled voice due to the mask he tightly wore. "Yes."

"She...just told you about that?" Will's eyes seemed a bit surprised.

 Hannibal became even more curious, what else would Alice have to tell him? What other secrets hid beneath the surface of Graham's old perfect life?

Hannibal was about to question what the secret was when the vehicle started to shake. The cops started to panic. Someone was attacking them.

The two old friends exchanged glances, it was their cue now. 

While a conflict happened inside that van, two vehicles were far, one with a hidden driver on a killing spree, shooting at the many other cops that surrounded and followed the van for security means. And behind it, there was a concerned, anxious, and extremely nervous woman who started to gasp when she heard the shootings.

But the worst of it all was when she saw the huge crash and twist of the accident that followed with the van. Her hands turned the wheel fastly to avoid a colision as she watched from the window the smoke that grew more and more towards the sky.

The car that caused that disaster had disappeared and now...now what was happening? Were they dead? Were Will and Hannibal dead?

The horrific though made her get out of the car, slowly walk through the road next to the van, hesiting to open the back doors.

That was until they crashed abruptely by two figures who emerged from it.

Alice covered her gasp with her hands as she visualized Will alive, she ran to him hugging him tight, as the agent still tried to process the information.

"What are you doing here?" He asked shocked.

"I...I was trying to help you but... a car came in, and when I realized yhe van was rolling down and..."Alice stopped stuttering when her eyes landed on the figure behind Will who tried to remove a mask from their face.

Will looked behind him, noticing what she was staring at and feeling his heart squeeze inside again.

"Hannibal?" She asked still in awe when the canninal finally realized her presence. His hands paralized as he looked back at her.

Aloce took in a deep breath, almost as if she still tried to figure out if that was some sort of mirage or not. She didn't think about the next action, she just walked torwards him, and promptly put her hands above the cold mask, gladly removing it, freeing his face from that suffoctaing method of torture.

Hannibal was finally allowed to breathe properly but he couldn't. His fragile gaze just became even more vulnerable now standing there, free in front of her. God, all sorts of emotions took over his body. He wanted to hold her and never let her go, he wanted to run away, the two of them again, and proclaim his love for her to the entire world. He wanted to be on his knees and ask her to be his again, beg her if needed to.

The warm sensation of her fingers against his skin when she removed the mask gave him chills. Not because of the touch privation during the time he was locked, but because it was her, the goddess who he daydreamed and fantasized about everyday. She was there, inches away, breath to breath, heart to heart.

"Lissy..."He mumbled softly, about to lean forward.

When someone cleared loudly their throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt my wife with her ex, but we have an issue here." Will complained and Alice stepped back embarrassed. Hanninal was a bit annoyed tho. "Alice you weren't supposed to be here. Didn't I warn you this is dangerous?"

"He is right." Hannibal agreed. "You should return and be safe."

"No!" She shouted. "No, I've had enough. My daughter is with some psycho who calls himself a dragon and none of you are telling me what to do. I'm going to save her." She closed her wrists in a stubborn mannerism and entered the car, hands on the wheel as she looked back at them. "Are you coming or not?"

Hannibal and Will exchanged glances, until the first one laughed. "Oh...how much I've missed her." Hannibal sighed and walked the vehicle.

Will rolled his eyes, finding that insane. "Fine...wait! I'm taking the front of the seat!"

▫️

"Is it just me or do you also find this extremely awkward?"

"I do not find it awkward at all." Hannibal smiled softly as he couldn't stop staring at Alice like a puppy in love at the front seat bybher side.

"You mean the fact that my ex and my husband are with me to save my daughter from a serial killer, and they are, in fact, killers themselves?" Alice raised one of her eyebrows. "Yeah, awkward." She continued to drove to the address they indicated that would be the meeting point.

"In my defense, I'm not an ex." Hannibal justified.

"Uh, yes you are." She looked at him.

"We never truly divorced." He crossed his arms. "Actually, if anyone should be considered an ex here, should be Will."

"I'm married to her!" Will shouted from the backseat as a child.

"Me too."

"Not officially." The agent snapped back.

"Can you two stop it?!" Alice shaked her arm in the air in an angry act. "You two are so immature, and...childish." she groaned.

Will chuckled softly. "Looks like you've got a type: Immature and childish."

"Say it again and I'm throwing you at the road." She growled.

The two laughed again. The journey continyed for a while until Hannibal tried to turn on the radio. Alice slapped delicately his hand.

"No." She complained ashe pouted his lips. He tried once again. "I said no." He smiled and did it again, until she grabbed firmly his hand "Can you stop it?!" She looked annoyed at him until she realized.

The electrifying touch of his hand again with hers, of course he did it om purpose, and his mischievous smile only confirmed her suspicions. She let it go, but her head spinned and her stomach filled with a cold, butterfly feeling.

"So...what's the plan once we get there?" Alice asked. The two remained in silence. "Aren't you going to answer me?" She asked again. No response. "Oh really, more secrets?" She glanced at Hannibal slightly.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Was that meant for me?"

"Think what you want."

"I don't keep any secrets anymore."

"But you keep untrusting me. Just like now."

"It's not that, I am caring for you."

"By trying to kill Will in Florence?" She pointed to the quiet man at the back, who nodded with his head.

Hannibal made a face and tilted his head. "I consider it as caring as well."

"Fuck you." Will complained and kicked his bench.

"Rude." He complained. He then looked at Alice, the expression serious, hands tight to the wheel. "I love that expression." She looked at him confused. "The one you make when you are focused on something." She shaked her head and laughed. "It's good to see you smiling again."

Her cheeks blushed. "You got certainly more brave now that you're out of the cage."

"I'm still behaving very nicely due to the circumstances." He commented. "I had other plans in mind once we'd meet properly with no glass between us..." He looked at her with a malicious sparkle in his hazel eyes.

Alice pursed her lips and tried to look away, giggling softly at the comment.

"Wait, what plans?" Will asked confused and the two laughed more. "Oh so that's how it's going to be, you two conspiring without me, great." He rolled his eyes.

"You seem too interested, I'm starting to believe you want to join us, Will." Hannibal chuckled. Alice's face became completely red. "Maybe we can arrange this rendezveous à trois better after this mission." The three looked at the window. "We have arrived."

▫️

The red lights illuminated the area filled with corpses and destructions. The FBI team ibvestigated the fallen van who niw freed Hannibal Lecter, showing no sign of Will Graham either.

"The number you called...." The same line repeated itself whenever Jack Crawford tried to call Alice. With an appearent answer due to the situation, he infuriated himself and threw the phone on the ground, tiredly.

"She's with him, isn't she?" Colin asked softly by his side as the two stared at the road. He took the boy with him for security reasons. Jack nodded. "Damnit, Alice..."

"Risking herself for others...guess she'll never change after all." Jack sighed and Colin agreed with him.

"I just hope she's safe now."

"Yeah." He tapped the boy's shoukder. "Me too."

▫️

There was peace within those shores. Violence in the wave's sound. And justice that blew through the wind agaibst their faces.

Aloce Mallory had an unknown, almost pessimist feeling about that whole situation, and it tied itself around her neck, almost as a rope that killed her slowly. There she found herself, in front of a cliff, next to a house that faced the deep ocean, with the two men who twisted her life in order to save her daughter from a monster.

The ending still tried to remain unpredictable.

"The bluff is eroding." Hannibal popped up by her side as she faced the huge height beneath her feet. "There was more land when I was here with Abigail... More land still when I was here with Miriam Lass."

"Now you're here with me." She whispered.

"And the bluff is still eroding." He concluded.

"This is the place isn't it?" She turned to him. "The place to told us to runaway to. The house facing the sea. The dream life you had for us."

Hannibal looked down for a moment, his eyes reflecting nostalgia on the empty promisses that once filled his soul with happiness. He nodded softly.

"You and I are suspended over the roiling Atlantic." He responded. "Soon all of this will be lost to the sea."

She admired the depth of the waters once again. "If I said yes in the past. If I ignored everything..." She whispered. "Do you think it could've been different than this? That we wouldn't suffer any danger?"

"We can't torture ourselves with the past anymore." He showed compassion. "All I need in this moment is for you to live your future." Her heartbeat increased. "I know your soul craves and screams for freedom, for change. I've always known." He gave a half sad smile. "And I know that'd never happen while with me or Will. Not yet."

"Is that why you called me here?" She looked at him with a different perspective. "Is that why you...asked for my help...? You wanted me to see it." His eyes reflected pure love and sincerity. "You made me see the truth."

"You did it yourself." He whispered. "I've only made an invitation." He smiled softly, and with those words, he left her by the cliff to reflect on the current situation.

It didn't take a while later for another presnce to appear.

"Joint custody." His voice invaded her ears. "And I want to spend the holidays with you." Will's puppy eyes looked at hers. "And I want to visit the dogs."

Alice looked at him a bit surprised. "What?"

"My requirements for the divorce." He sighed, the tone in his voife showed clear displeasement with the idea. "When Blanche disappeared, I went after you and I...."His voice failed. "...I saw you calling him. Hannibal."

"Will-"

"I've been a shit husband these days." He confessed. "And not just these days because...you're right." His tone eas extrenely painful to realize that. "Ever since I found you broken after Hannibal's arrestment, I thought to myself: 'hey, that's my opportunity'....but I didn't think about you." He shake dhis head. "I lived my dream in these three years. I love our dogs, I love our sweet daughter, I love this curse on our house, I love-" He stuttered helpless. "I love you." He gave a trembling smile. "I hate to say this, but it won't change. Years will pass and what I feel won't change. But I keep messing up, I keep failing to forget you." Will bit his lip in o4der to avoid any sort of tear. "I kmow I should let you go...I know but..But I still want to see your morning face when i wake up." He smiles." I want to hold your hand with no reason. I want to make you laugh, to walk with you and Blanche around the lake...I never wanted it to end." His voice tilted a bit. "But I saw you cry. I saw you fight, I saw you deal with these ghosts all this time...and I ignored it." He realized. "I focused on creating paradise when the most precious flower in it was dying. And it was my fault."

"Will... it isn't your fault."

"I wanna do the right thing." He affirmed. "Even if that is against all I feel. Even if my darkest nature screams for me to keep you with me." He exposed his thoughts, pouring them at her sight. "We will save Blanche, and I'll free you." He softly let it go. "Just..."He clenched his jaw. "Just please...don't forget me."

"Will, don't say that..."

"From the class where you annoyed me, until my very last breath, Alice Mallory." He smiled painfully, a tear scrolled down his cheek. "I've always loved you, and always will...so I'll I beg is for a footnote on the story of your life. That's enough for me."

Alice held the tears and hugged him tight. The friend, the lover, the partner. Will woudl always be someone special and meaningful to her, no matter what hsppened between them.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered as they both cried silently, holding onto one another. "I love you too." She cupped his cheeks and looked tenderly at him. Will grabbed one of her hands and delicately kissed it, the warmth of his touch in contrast with the cold wind and the goodbye echoeing in their minds.

"We should get inside." He whispered. "It's time to go."

▫️

Candles illuminated the serene yet haunting house by the sea, the stars shining above marked the beginning of an ending, the last night of an era.

Hannibal Lecter had prepared everything, almost as if that was their last party on earth, to soon be completed in afterlife. A post reunion to conclude that act. He was setting the expensive wine bottles above the table facing the large glass windows when she stepped into the room. The scent invading his veins, as he looked to her, dazzling in a dark blue dress just a smystic as that evening. His blood pumped fastly into his veins, the heartbeat increased, and he found himself blushing, nervous at her sight.

"Looks like you really prepared everything. How long have you been keeping all this stuff here?" She asked since she discovered a full closet inside with closets her size.

"I've prepared this house for us to live in after our wedding." He replied softly. "I picked this dress by myself, I rememver I chose it because it enlightens your eyes." She spinned around for him, Hannibal smiled as silly. "I think I just fell for you again." He giggled.

"Oh...wow." Will came up behind with a light blush on his face. "You look...good. Very good." His eyes scanned down her  ody shy.

"The suit looks nice as well." She complimented adjusting the large blazer om his shoulders.

"It's a bit large." He confessed

"I told you he had a large chest." Will made a face at her comment and Hannibal laughed loudly.

Hannibal gathered the group around the table, opening up the bottles as a celebration, they agreed that soon the dragon would arrive in Blanche as an exchange for the criminals, Aloce was still a bit uneasy but tried to trust their judgement. It was their last choice either way.

"You're playing games with yourself in the dark of the moon." Hannibal muttered to Will as Alice distracted herself while staring through the window.

"Wasn't surprising that I heard from the Great Red Dragon." He replied as they both watched her silhouette.

"Was it surprising when you heard from him?"

"Yes and no." He sipped the wine calmly.

"You intend to watch him kill me?" He asked.

"I intend to watch him change you." He declared.

Hannibal smieked unbothered then gave him the glass. The two looked again at Alice. "It's been a long fight for us to finally reach the conclusion."

Will nodded quietly. "And in the end, she choose neither of us" He took a sip of the wine. "I wouldn't blame her."

Hannibal agreed. Both of them were sad, that was true, but they couldn't deny that Alice's happiness matter much more than their both.

"Save her, kill them all?" Hannibal suggested.

Will cheered his glass with him in agreement. "I don't know if I can save myself." He said in a morbid tone that Hannibal completely understood. "Maybe that's just fine."

Alice returned to them, she still seemed a bit nervous about all the idea of rescuing Blanche.

"Do you think it'll take long for him to arrive?" She asked.

"He must be watching us at this moment." Will declared.

"What?" She widened her eyes. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Everything is according to plan, Lissy, don't worry." Hannibal attempted to tranquilize her. He savored the air of that moment. "This is the end of the opera, where the curtains close and the crowd overcome with screams of joy, tears and applause."

Will looked at the ground for a moment, almost as he thought about something for a long time. "You should tell him." He suddenly said to her. Alice looked at him surprised. "Tell him the truth, Alice."

Hannibal turned to her, as she became even more anxious. "No...not here, not now." She shaked her head.

"I believe there won't be more opportunities in the future." Hannibal whispered. "Regarding our circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"We might not come out of this alive. You know that." Will said fiercely. "Tell him."

"Don't say that-"

"Ali."

Her heart ached inside, that was the meaning of that ending, of that last supper together. Death was near, and they probably wouldn't be able to run away from it. The question was, would she still take that secret to the grave?

Her eyes met Hannibal's in a fragile, fearful mannerism, almost as if that declaration was too much for her to handle.

"Whatever you have to tell me, I'll accept it." He said kindly. "Nothing you say will upset me, Lissy."

Alice took in a deep breath and decided to say it at once. "...after....after you were arrested..."She held her tight to the glass, it was possible to see the object trembling as she continued to hold it. "I discovered that I was...we were..." She closed her eyes and then opened them again, meeting his hazel ones full of passion. "...Her eyes are just like yours..." Hannibal looked at her for a moment, tryung to understand what she meant. "And sometimes she tries to say difficult words like you..."Alice smiled with tears in her eyes. "It is so weird..."She chuckled. Will looked down, knowing how hard it was for her to say it. "You don't even know each other...but you are both so similar..."She shakes her head. "She likes to draw a lot...and her sketches are impressive for her age...very impressive." She took in a deep breath. "She likes to cook too, even though I raised her as a vegetarian...she learns everything very fast, faster than a normal child." Hannibal's lips parted in slight surprise, as if the truth was reacging him slowly. "And whenever I look at her...I see you. You were gone, but never truly." She confessed as a tear rolled down her eye. "My daughter's name is Blanche Graham. " She took courage to say it. "Mischa Blanche Graham." Hannibal's face completely change to a surprised, paralyzed one, as if he tried to take the information in. "And she is your daughter, Hannibal."

For the first time in so long, the most eloquent man in the world had lost his words.  He rest the glass before he could drop it on the ground, his legs seemed to fail for a moment.

3 years.

His daughter. His family. It was there the whole time.

"My..."He took in a deep breath trying to say it.

"I discovered I was pregnant just after you were arrested...so Will... he helped me raise her, he married me, and we loved her as a true family." She said softly as the agent agreed with her in silence. "I had no courage to tell you..I was so...scared...I didn't want her to live a life like we did in Florence, I didn't want danger near, I wanted her to be...to be normal." She sighed. "But Will is right...I should tell the truth, and here it is."

Hannibal's eyes sparkled by how crystalline they were, and for a moment, Alice became disappointed by his lack of reaction.

"...My daughter..."His voice was tilting by the tears. "Our...daughter." He mumbled with a genuine, sunbathed smile growing on his lips. "I...it is still hard to believe it." He sniffed and Alice smiled by realizing his happiness. "My daughter..."He chuckled silly. "She must be so wonderful." He said still feeling in a dream. "And her name..."a tear fell from his eyes fastly, he was unable to control it. Alice knew how much that meant to him. "She is perfect." He smiled softly. When he looked at Alice, God, the world seemed to become brighter by their love, by the devotion, the gratefulness expressed in his face. He has never felt so happy, so realized and satisified, it was almost as life finally made sense. Flesh of his flesh, his descendant, the child of the woman he loved...what else could he ask for? He didn't know if he deserved that much, probably not, but he was simply so jubilant. Hannibal looked at Alice, his eyes sparkling with joy, tears rolling down as she contained herself not to hug him at that moment. His smile showed a redeemed man who only wanted to respect, cherish and love her and that child forever. To finally fulfill the dream they hoped for so long."...I want to meet her so much..." he confessed in a sigh as Alice smiled back at him.

But soon her smile would fade by the scarlet splashes that floated in the air in a slow motion moment. By the hole created in his abdomen and the bullet that crossed the glass windows into the house. Alice could almost feel the shot in her own self as Hannibal dropped on his knees and she screamed.

She could see it in the shadows, a creature creeping into the dark, and a small piched scream behind him. "MOMMY!" Alice's body trembled as she visualized the killer's haunting eyes holding the gun pointed to her daughter's head as they entered the room.

"LET HER GO!"She screamed at him.

"Silence, or I'm gonna shoot both your heads." Francis warned and Will took the opoortunity to shield his wife with his body.

Hannibal looked at the girl bleeding from the ground, her eyes sparkled with fear as she met her, and that undescribable connection made his soul vibrate. He needed to protect her.

"Don't run. I'll catch you." He told Will Graham and Alice.

"Daddy!" Blanche whimpered as she stared into Will's eyes.

"Hey sunshine..."Will's expression softned at his daughter's sight and tried to tranquilize her. "It's okay...don't be scared."

Hannibak tried to cover the wound that bleed as he held down any moans in pain, when he realized the child looked scared at him. "You must be..."He took strentgh to speak as his breath came out fastly. "Mischa, right?" She nodded, his heart warmed by her response. "Pleasure to meet you, little miss Graham." She gave a tiny smile at the doctor. "Hello Francis." He turned to the killer.

"Hello, Dr. Lecter." He responded.

"I'm so happy you chose life, Francis. You were seized by a fantasy world with the brilliance and freshness and immediacy of childhood. It took you a step beyond alone." He tried to get into his head.

The killer brought the child closer in a push. "Don't you dare hurt my daughter your-"

"Quiet or I'm gonna kill you!" Francis groaned at Alice's menace.

"Francis." Hannibal mumbled. "You want to change me. Not the child. Let her go." The dragon remained quiet. "You crave for me. Not her."

"The Dragon wants her." He whispere din a chilly breath

"No, it doesn't." Hannibal tried to contain the pain.

"I'm going to film your death, Dr. Lecter..."He ignored him and took a camera from his ling coat, setting it in front of the bleeding man.  "...as dying, you meld with
the strength of the Dragon."

Hannibal bit his lip in order to avoid the awful sensation he felt. "It's a glorious and rather discomforting idea." He responded calmly.

"Watching the film will be wonderful, but not as wonderful as the act itself." The man responded.

But, in that subtle hint, Will Graham looked at Hannibal and grabbed his pocket knife, atempting to hurt the dragon, who initiater a fight with him until outside.

"Mommyyyy!" Blanche cried as she was finally free from the dragon.

"Lock her in one of the rooms." Hannibal shouted at Alice as an order.

"What about Will?" Alice asked desperate as she took the child in her arms.

"I'll help him, now go!" He demanded as he exhaled heavily and looked at the little girl one last time. "And Mischa." He said as the two looked at him, the child amused at his words. His eyes filled wuth tears, his heart already warned him of the upcominh ending and the impossible future he dreamed of. He looked into the girl's eyes...her eyes resembled so much his sister, it hurt but healed him so badly. "Don't be afraid. You will survive."

Maybe the little girl didn't understand properly his words, but they resonated into her, and that unspoken connectiom made her stop crying for that moment.

Alice entered one of the rooms and found a large closet who she deliactely put her daughter in. "Stay here, don't open the door until I come back, okay?" She adviced her daughter.

"And daddy??" She asked.

"Mommy will go now help daddy and his friend. I will lock the door and you will stay quiet. Remeber, don't make a sound, no matter who appears, okay?" She told her again with a strong voice and Blanche nodded. "Good girl." She kiseed her forehead with tears in her eyes. "Mommy loves you very much you know that, right?"

Blanche nodded. "I 'wove' you too mommy" she mumbled back adoeably.

Alice chuckled softly and hugged her one last time before getting up from the ground and closing the wardrobe.

Once the room was fully locked and the ket thrown away, she hushed back to the living room, but Hannibal wasn't there anymore.

When she came out to the frontyard, she  could see the bloody and gruesome conflict through the moonlight. Will and Hannibal engaged into a fight against the merciless dragon, their clothes soaking wet, in almost primitive aspects.

She could see it now, the darkest parts of their nature engaged together, bleeding together. And she could see it, the moment both of them were down and Francis tried to hit Will.

She didn't think twice, only ran into the scene, the dress shaking by the wind as the rain suddenly started to pour down violently, blurring her view.

She tried to push Francis, do something when he violently threw her across the yard.

"ALICE!" Will shouted desperate as he sa whis life pass through his eyes fastly. He watched the Great Red Dragon advance in slow, haunting steps after her, as Hannibal still tried to get up from the ground.

There wasn't time to think or do anything else. He only advanced into the battle, jumping onto Francis and choking his neck just in time he could hit her. But before Will could've done any damage, he was dragged to the ground, he couldn't escape.

The rain became heavier, the drops mercilessly pouring and mixing wity the blood as the Dragon lifted his fists in the air and smashed Will's chest. His bones became weapons slowly shattering by each attack, until they became sharp enough to cut his lungs.

"NOO!" Alice screamed horribly as she saw the scene.

Her old best friend started to choke on his own blood, the eyes twisting with weakness as the brutality continued. His members tried to move but he barely had strentgh to continue.

The attacks only stopped when Hannibal advanced after the Dragon, biting his arm, ripping of the flesh as a groan from the enemy echoed with thunders in the air.

Alice hushed after Will while Hannibal dealt with the menace. The tears rolled down nonstop as she saw him coughing red and trying to breath.

"Will..."She mumbled with a trembking voice, even the bare touch of her hands on his chest was painful enough. "Will, hold on...you'll be alright..."She nodded fastly but was more nervous than ever before.

She then turned her head to the fight that continued, the lightning blinking into the darkness as she visuallized two beasts in a fight or die duel. She looked intensely at Hannibal, finally able to see the monster that lied underneath joined with his humanity in some sort of cursed blessing she couldn't understand.

She knew this wouldn't end well. She felt that in her soul, a creepy and torturing feeling that only grew up faster and more painful. It taunted her thoughts and led her to complete madness as she spot the dragon attacking her lover, throwing and dragging him on the ground.

Alice realized the situation. It was almost as if the ground shaked and crumbekd beneath her feet. Everything she knew, everything she loved and existed for now was dying in front of her.

She would loose him.

She would loose all she fought and died for, she would loose that greatest vice she never got rid from. And it came back, recalling on the back of her mind over and over again in synch with each cut, punch and kick the monsters ave each other. From the moment where he worshipped her as a rose in his garden and cut sharply all her thorns apart, to the moment she abdicated her own soul to him.

The rain marked a sign of the times. The end of an era. The end of a perfectly maniac love story.

When she found herself in that underneath that gelid and morbid sky, she didn't know what kept her still on her feet, or what encouragee her hands to move, grab whatever was nrxt to her, without even looking at it. Her feet only loved on their own, in paced steps torwards the battle, watching her soldier about to loose, the clothes stained red, the body weak.

And she saw the creature over him, about to end his life while she only continued walking, the expression still neutral, completely out of her mind already, as she cintinued torwads the edge of sanity.

There were some things worth dying...no.

There were some things worth killing for.

The blade of Will's pocket knife glistened in the moonlight, sharp enough ti cause damage if precisely used, if permanently used. The distraction of destruction of Hannibal eas efficient enough for Francis not to see her behind him.

It was enough so he could only see the blood that squished from his neck veins. Widening his eyes into oblivion as she took the blade off and inserted it again, over and over in a massacre that covered her being in blood.

Hannibal took the opportunity to also advance into the dragon, making him drop on his knees. His eyes met her mystic blue ones.

And for the first time, he could see something new in them. Something that had awaken inside her.

Something different yet familiar to his own nature.

The duo massacred the creature, within stabs and even bites frok the cannibal, the blood poured as fountain and a growl, a primitive scream cut the atmosphere as thhe dragon fell on the ground, a dark puddle underneath him marked the wings of a fallen angel who succumbed to darkness.

Hannibal's eyes turned to the only light between that sufferement, her skin glowing by the  sweat, the chest moving up and down, trying to catch her breath. Even the scratches couldn't erase her beauty or her strentgh.

It was over.

Hannibal tilted a bit, stumbling to walk torwads her as she still remained there, watching the dead body in front of her, realizing how her whole body was covered in red.

But he couldn't touch her, not when they both heard a soft cough corrupted by the trembling voice tone that marked a candle about to blow out.

"Will..."Her voice came out as a hoarse word that kept stuck insid eher throat. Alice hushed to her husband's body on the ground, Hannibal behind, as she kneeled next to him, trying to somehow hold him, but knowing that was impossible. "Will....oh my god..."She assumed again the position of the worried Alice Mallory.

"You....you did it..."He mumbled with some sort of surprised admiration. "...you killed it...."

"Spare your strentgh." She said while cupping his face, sensing how his temperature lowered scarily fast. "Hannibal." She turned to the doctor, but his semblant was rather somber, almost as if he already predicted the ending. "Hannibal help me, he is hurt." But Hannibak could barely move himself either by how injured he was. She turned to Will again. "I'm going to call for help." She tried to get uo but a firm hand held her wrist still.

Hannibal glanced at Will, the two sharing that unspoken connection. It was over. The hate, the fights, everything didn't matter anymore, hence they were both the same, and would have the same destiny. Only the silence between them prevailed as their last words to one another.

Will tried to shake his head, shivering as a little kid in the rain. His hand slowly lifting in the air to touch her face as a painful, nostalgic smile crossed his lips. "Take....care of her..."He whispered into the rain. Alice's heartbeat stopped at that sentence. "...Blanche...please...don't...don't let her forget me...tell her...i love her..."

"Will." She shaked her head in denial. "Will stop it, you will tell that to her by yourself. Stop saying that." Will shaked his head in negative, still holding her wrist as his breath failed even further. "Will...please...don't..." The tears started to break free. "Don't you dare..."She cursed in frustration.

"..thank you..." He whispered, his eyes reflecting pure gratefulness through all these years. "...with you...I discovered what it is to be happy..." Will confessed as Alice sobbed helplessly. "...shh...it's okay..."His thumb stroked softly her skin. His other hand lifted trembking to caress her cheek. Alice closed her eyes to the sensation. "Ali..." He whispered. "Look at me.." she shaked her head  she didn't eant to say goodbye, she didn't want to accept that fate. "Please...look at me...I want to see you...I just want you to be the last thing I see..." She forcefly opened her eyes, as Will gave a painful smile full of compassion. "You are so beautiful..."He tried to chuckle but coughed even more blood, Alice was crumbling, almost able to watch that moment. "...you are my first love..."He whispered sweetly. "...and will always be my last...the owner of my heart ever since I've met you." He swallowed the blood.

"Will, please..."

"Please...be happy..."He asked at last. "...I'm so sorry for not being enough....so please...be happy..." A tear of his own scrolled down his cheek and fell into the cold ground. "...promise me one last thing...?"

She nodded fastly. "Anything, Will." She mumbled in a fragile voice.

"If there are any lives after this..."He gathered his strentgh. "...can you meet me again?" She closed tight her eyes and held doen the pain.

"....of course." She replied softly. "Of course, Will."

"...All I want is a chance to love you right..."He sighed. "Let's meet again...and try...please."

Alice nodded and looked into his puppy eyes that slowly started to fade away, the pain was too much for her to handle, it was consuming, devouring her whole being as burning flames.

"...hey..."He softly whispered. "...you'll be alright...you've always been..."He smiled. "...you've always been strong Ali...you don't need any of us...you'll be alright." He assured as she tried to hold back the tears. "...we had good three years...didn't we?"

She gulped trying not to sob. "...the best..." She agreed. "Will..."

"You know..."He chuckled softly as the rain disguised the watercolor tears that fell from his sweet nostalgic eyes. "...you never returned me that pen..."

His touch became cold. The words vanished into the air. His hands fell to the ground. And the eyes...that adorable chestnut brown now faced a void into hers.

It took a moment for Alice to notice that his breath and heartbeat had stopped.

"Will..."She called him but there was no reply. "Will?" She called again as the realization slowly reached her. "Will!" She shouted, ignoring the injuries and shaking him. It was useless. "No...no...will!" She screamed and she hugged him tight. "NO!" She screamed horribly, kissing his forehead in a devastating grief. "No, no,no...." She sobbed as she held him in her arms.

Hannibal watched his friend die in front of him and the woman he loved. It was a rather heartbreakibg scene worth to shed a tear for, even if discretely. He wiped away the tear and took in a deep breath, taking a  step torwards Alice.

The touch of his hand on her shoulder was warm as she still held tight to Will.

"Lissy, he's gone." Hannibal whispered into her ear. But she didn't want to accept it. "Will...he is gone, darling." He tried to say it as gently as possible. "You need to let him go."

It took sime effort but he could make her stand ul again, and just then Alice realized how injured Hannibal was, almost suppirting his weight in her. He tried to drift her away from the scene, the two walking in silence torwards the edge of the cliff until they stopped and watched the furious shores underneath.

"The Great Red Dragon is dead.. Will Graham is dead..."Hannibal muttered as Alice tried to breathe again. His eyes turned to her. "But you have been reborn."

She shaked her head. "I've never felt so much pain..."She tried to speak. "Feels like I'm dead too."

"It takes pain for us to achieve the epitome of our nature." He established. "You'd understand if you saw yourself with my eyes as I'm seeing you now. If you saw what you did back there with Francis..." His hand softly reached her cheek, caressing it gently. "...This is all I've wanted for us Alice."

She glanced at Francis dead on the ground. "It feels...different." She whispered in surprise.

"You don't feel guilty anymore." He looked at her again. "Can you feel it? The selective kidness that burned inside you...the darkness you tried to hide..." He smiled sweetly. "They are blossoming...and it is spectacular..."

"I think...I think I understand it now..." She whispered as Hannibal felt his heart speed inside his chest. "To become what I was meant to be..." she softly said in a warm yet scared feeling that excited her for the future ahead.

"It's been a long time to reach here...we took tortuous roads...we lost, suffered, hurt one another...but we are here."

"And what happens now?" She asked unsure.

"Now, you are free." He said gently. "You finally pursue your destiny, your choices are your own. You are not someone else's. You don't exist for anyone." He encouraged her as the wind breeze continued to shake their hair. "You can build yourself again....because you survived."

"What about you...?"She said. "Can I make you part of my destiny?"

He grinned softly, so chamingly that contrasted with that haunting aspect that surrounded them both.

"I feel honored." He responded in a velvet tone. "But Will is right...this is where our story ends."

Alice blinked in confusion. "What?"

Hannibal slowly embraced Alice into his arms. Almost as a way to shape her body into his, to mark her warmness into his in a way to never forget it, to take it with him as  souvenir in afterlife.

"Lissy." He called her softly, and smiled gently, holding her tight. "Don't be scared." He whispered. "From all the people in the world...between darkness and light, the most hiedous and the most saint...there is no one as strong, as divine and brave as you. And there will never be." He confessed in her ear. Alice's eyes started watering again. "So don't be scared, darling." He whispered. "Our paths collided and created this hellish paradise...but it is time for you to follow your own...the one you should've followed before I ruined it."

"No...no, you never ruined it-"

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." He said fiercely. "I don't deserve it since I won't be able to keep my promises. I won't be able to change. This is who I am, and who I will always be. I am this demon who you fell for. Who corrupted you." He carresed her hair and closed his eyes. "I wish I could say I am sorry, but I can't...because if that was the only way to find you...I'd commit my sins all over again to just lay my eyes upon you again." He smiled softly.

Alice backed away for a moment only to eatch Hannibal's peaceful expression while her own continued to show sadness.

"Only a glimpse...a sight..."He cupped her face, his eyes lightning into the darkness. "It takes barely a gesture of yours to make me surrender." He chuckled. "Only that and I gladly become an object in your hands...I gladly become anything you desire...as long as I get to be in your presence, I am happy." He took in a deep breath. "And when i realized that...I knew how dangerous that was. I knew that you...this strange woman...this outsider has cast a spell upon me...and I couldn't escape it. I tried to..."He shaked his head. "...but it was useless...the more I tried to run, the more your sweetness attracted me. Because you are my soulmate." He confessed. "I've existed, I was born only so I could meet you.  I have always been waiting for you. And I see it now. Everything makes sense, because of you." He stroked her cheek, noticing the sprinkles of blood all across it.  "I was fated to fall in love with you. Because you, Alice Mallory..."He smirked gently in a mix of fun and devotion. "...you are my goddess, my purpose, my Achilles' heel."

Alice smiled back fragile, holding his hand in hers as the shores continued furiously underneath.

"I can see what you're doing." She whispered. "You are leaving me." Alice mumbled frustrated. "Don't do this, Hanni." She begged. "Not you...from everyone else....I can't loose you."

"You will never loose me, Lissy." He assured her. "Even if this shell, this corpse of mine rots...if lungs don't breath, if my blood doesn't run...my love for you will remain alive, existing within you." He looked at her gently. "This is a different goodbye...let's take it as a farewell to meet each other soon...to someday, be together." She shaked her head refusing the idea. "Don't be so stubborn" He grinned. "I'm doing this for you. Just as Will, I wish your freedom. As long as you're with me, you'll be locked into my life, locked into this hell I bring upon you...and you'll never be yourself."

"But what if I became who I am?" She looked at him. "What if I overcome the dependency? Would you stay?"

He looked down, containing himself not to give up and imprison her into his heart again. "Then we will reunite again." He promised. "Then...there will be nothing else between us...all the patterns, the rules and the dogmas...everything will be broken, there will only exist you and me." Alice nodded, finalky accepting it. "But as long as you don't live, we'll be stuck in a sick cycle of hurting...and I'd rather die than hurting you again." He stopped for a moment and then smiled. "Strange...perphaps you did change me after all." The two smiled painfully. "The opera is over, it is time for the curtains to close and the audience applaud."

Alice's hands gripped into his stained dirty shirt, gatheribg all remaining strentgh and pulling him against her. The gelid air wasn't entough to stop their lips from meeting one another for one last time. The devastaing, craving act concluding the show was a rather hungry, thirsty one that almost devoured each other's souls. He could feel the taste of death and blood on her lips, while she tasted the sweetness, the passion in his. In some way along the road, their essences mixed with one another, and there was no him or her, but only them.

Mere gasps for air, touches to remind themselves of what was present and what would become past. It was just as euphoric as their first time, and just as symbolic as now the last. Salty and spicy, sweet and tender, hot breaths against shivering skins, knuckles white to grip onto that feeling, legs shaking to keep standing.

Even the pain seemed completely gone while in that kiss.

The union almost became a fight where she didn't want to let him go, he almost didn't want to go. They knew what was right, they knew what was wrong but the world became a deadly neutral grey. What was the future? What was ideal and what was not?

While Alice's soul craved for freedom, her heart screamed to surrender and only be his.

When he finally could break away, almost with no air inside her lungs, their forheads touched, still processing the last goodbye.

"Promise me." She whispered. "Promise me we will meet again."

Hannibal pursed his lips while thinking. How stubborn, how possible that woman was...maybe that is why he fell for her.

"As long as you be true to yourself..." He nodded softly. "I'll find my way back to you."

Alice nodded as if she accepted the promise for now. The two locked glances once again, hazel and blue, now decided of what to do. Hannibal grabbed her hands and calmly set them above his chest, the rain poured, the wind continued to blow as he looked at her once again, a monster to others, a vulnerable boy to her.

"Thank you." He whispered. "To be the only one, into this whole universe and miserable existence, to understand me." He confessed in a fragile voice. "Even as insane and painful...you've always understood me. And I can not express how grateful, how blessed I am to have found you."

"Thank you." She whispered back. "To awaken my life. To open my eyes to what i've never expected to. Thank you..."Her voice failed into a sob. Hannibal's heart ached to see her cry. "Thank you for loving me...for making me feel loved."

He smiled softly. "There is a nitid line beween the time we met and after it. Isn't it?" She nodded  "J do not ever want to cross back that line...I want to continue to love you forever." He smiled painfully. "To endlessly dream of you, my princess, my artist, my eternal wife." Her tears reached her mouth, bitterly. "The vow we made will always exist, even when our generations and this planet be consumed by the sun...our vow will continue to live on."

"I wish...I wish you could meet her." She recalled the young Lecter still hiding inside the house. "To watch her grow..."

"If you wish for her to be happy, you know i should stay away." He assured her. "There was a reason you kept her as a secret until now." Alice hesitantly agreed. If she wanted Blanche to have a normal life, to stay away from the haunting past of her parents, she needed to maintain distance within them. She couldn't drag her daughter to that same destiny, not if she had  thr choice not to. And Hannibal seemed to think the same way. "Wherever I go, I'll always be with you both. I'll never be truly gone."

The two glanced at the cliff behind him, Hannibal taking a deep breath, still holding her hands above his chest.

"It's time." He stated, Alice remained quiet. "I know this isn't somehow...pleasing, but
..I need your help." He asked gently. "You will have to do it."

"No...no, please, I-"

"I don't think I have enough courage to force our separation, darling." He declared. "Please, Lissy." He asked gently.

"How can you ask me this...?" She bit her lip in order not to cry.

"There is no one else I'd rather choose instead of you." He let her hands go from hers and took in a deep breath, almost as if he was already prepared for that moment, as if he waited his whole life for it. "Until soon, my love."

Alice swallowed dry, touxhing his chest as if she got lost into those tender eyes and his soft words. "Until soon." She whispered. "I love you."

He grinned at last. "But I love you more."

It is hard to put into words the sensation inside their beings or how it happened. The movement of her hands was light but enough to push him as he desired. She didn't heat any sounds of his weight colliding against the rocks, onky the sound of the sea, and only the sound of the sea...

The sky, was starting to clean, the stars...they shined so much, so bright...did they made fun of her or became empathetic to her sorrow.

The sobs paced, the tears dried on her cheeks, gelid to the wind.

Her steps only continued on their own, making their way inside the house and breaking open the door that kept her daughter in.

"Mommy!" Blanche hushed and hugged her.

Alice held tight to the only fragment of thrm she had left. Trying not to scare her child by the sadness reclected on her face. "Hey sunshine..."

"Where's daddy?"

Alice didn't respond. She only hugged the child. "Take some rest, Blanche. We'll soon go home." She spoke instead. "Try to sleep a bit."

"Is dad coming later too?"

"Your dad..." She gulped in order to avoid crying. "He said that he really loves you. And that he's still with us. No matter what, he'll always be with us." The little girl nodded, abit confused.

"I 'wove' him too." She mumbled and Alice smiled briefly in pain. Blanche slowly fell asleep in her arms, unaware of the massacre that happened outside that closet.

Alice walked through the house, visualizing it all iver again. The wine bottle crashed on the floor, the glass shattered across the path until outside, blood missed with grass. The sounds of sirens approaching marked the end of the horror. The body of her husband stood miles away cold and lifeless, along with the dragon's haunting one.

Hannibal's was nowhere to be seen, even if she tried to look over the cliff. It was almost as if it had vanished into the air.

She didn't even move when the FBI approached,  didn't move when Colin took Blanche from her arms, or when the employees put a blanket above her shoulders.

The red and the blue lights continued to remind her of the new chapter she would continue but her sight was still glued to the cliff.

"Kid?" Jack Crawford asked as she faced oblivion. She didn't look at him, she only continued there, staring at the endless sea. "Where's Hannibal?" He asked delicately, since they had already found Will's body. His voice was filled with sadness and grief, but not surprised though, something inside him already knew this would happen...it had to happen.

But Alice's mind drift somewhere else, to a capella in florence, wher eshe walked through an isle with candles and knly God as the witness. Where she saw an elegant, devilish but holy posture waiting for her at the end of the alter, the smile so pure, the sight so kind and soft...in their mind palace, he would always stay there, frozen in time.

Jack looked at her, and gave up on obtaining an answer. The grief must've hit her hard, he thought, so he didn't insist in asking for answers.

"Whenever you feel ready, the car's waiting for you." He said gently. "I'm...I'm very sorry, Alice." He could only mumble before walking away.

Alice didn't reply to his statement, and didn't even mind when he left.

The cliff remained there, timeless, staring back at her, cold and permanent. Her hands still felt the vibration of his heartbeat when she pushed his chest, when she ended his life. Of course it had to be her. The only one able to end that nightmare, that daydream.

Now there was only that sight of the cliff, the memories, and the hangung promise.

Live. Be herself. Build up a legacy.

Alice looked at the dark horizon one last time, recalling Hannibal's question inside her mind.

"I'd do it again." She whispered peacefully while staring at the calm sea. "If I could, I'd do it all over again, for you."

THE END