____

James Hamilton
1864
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"HE'S wounded. He's worried." Destiny brought two previous friends and noble agents into the same place and time. But it wasn't destiny that called them, it was death.

"Hannibal doesn't worry." Will Graham empathized again, wondering through the half destroyed Palazzo Capponi's saloon where the duel happened. The police had already found the Comendatore's body and allowed them to investigate the area. "Knowing he's in danger won't rattle him
any more than killing does."

"I'm not speaking about worrying of danger." Jack Crawford exchanges glances with Graham. "He is rather worried about someone."

This time Will couldn't deny it.

"If Rinaldo Pazzi had decided to do
his job as an officer of the law, he would've determined very quickly that he was Hannibal Lecter." Jack Crawford lamented. "It would've taken thirty minutes to get a warrant."

"All those resources were denied to Pazzi." Will explained, admiring the destruction of the room. "As soon as he decided to sell Hannibal, he became a bounty hunter. Outside the law and alone."

"Well, here we are: outside the law and alone." Jack affirmed.

It took a moment for Will to formulate the next words, his mind worked nonstop as a fast machine. "Have you told la polizia they're looking for Hannibal Lecter?"

Jack side-eyed him. "They're motivated to find Dr.Fell inside the law. Knowing who he is, what he's worth, it'll just coax them out of bounds."

"And Hannibal will slip away." Will muttered.

"Now I wonder if he would slip away alone or not." Jack commented. Will turned to him curious. "I wonder if things have changed during these 8 months."

"What do you mean?"

"If someone has changed."

Will turned silent. That was an outrageous yet reasonable question at the same time. He turned to the agent again, both with serious, concerned expressions.

"You had him, Jack. He was beaten." He looked into his chestnut brown eyes. "Why didn't you kill him?"

Jack took a moment to answer, clearing his sore throat, as his eyes reflected a hidden conflict of his own. "Because she was there."

▫️

She adored that image. Her recovered husband sitting by the balcony, on the window, as he supported his sketchbook in one of his legs and drew with facility the images of Florence in the well shaped grafitti. His hair was down, almost covering his eyes, and his clothes were easy, comfortable enough not to hurt the curatives previously made last night.

The truth is, that seeing him now recovered, made her sigh in relief, almost thank heavens for her monster to be kept alive.

"I want to be able to draw the Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo." He muttered as he admired the city with sadness. "I want to visit the Bargello Palace National Museum with you, hold your hand while we walk through the terrace of Piazzale Michelangiolo..." His bitter smile made his soul ache.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible anymore." Alice mourned as she held softly his hand and he looked tenderly into her eyes as a sad puppy.

"Memories of Florence will be all I have." He half smiled. "Florence is where I became a man, where we married." He held tight to her hand. There was something rather tragic and tense in his tone that made her aprehensive. "I see my end in my beginning."

"Don't say that." She tried to change his mind.

"It is the truth." He got up from the balcony and they walked inside the apartment, where he watched their packed bags together at a corner."You made your bags."

"We need to leave as soon as possible." She said while preparing some last tasks that needed to be done.

Hannibal glanced at the huge canvas by the side of the room, buts she hasn't finished finished. Just as them,  a masteepiece that would never become true.

"Do you really want to do this?" He asked finally. Alice looked at him confused. "To leave with me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Why would you?"

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment in silence.

"I don't understand why you're saying this." She looked at him serious.

"We both know you shouldn't leave like this." Hannibal felt his heart bleed in his hands. "To keep running away from trouble, to kill, to cry when I am hurt." He took a step forward and held her hands, admiring them for a second. "To suffer accepting a vice of mine you still helplessly try to fix."

She almost gasped as he realized what she thought. Of course she didn'tget used to the cannibalism, it did hurt her, but she loved him, loved more than anything else, loved more than...herself.

And perphaps that was even more dangerous than she realized.

"Why are you telling me this?" Alice had a bad feeling.

Hannibal cupped her face and warmly looked into her eyes, his eyes were shielded with tears, she has never seen him that way, so broken, it almost resembled when she discovered the truth, when his walls broke down in front of her.

"You won't leave with me." He suddenly said. Alice felt her breath escape her lungs.

"What?! No! I-"

"Shh, listen to me." He stared deeply into her blue jewels. "Most of all, I wish your happiness. But you will never be happy with me." He whispered, realizing the bitter truth. "Not like this." He shaked his head and held her face gently. "Alice, you...you are the best thing that ever occured to me. You expanded my sight, my heart and my soul to a world I never believed was possible." He softly said. "I love you." He suffered in a trembled breath as her eyes let the tears fall and roll through her flushed cheeks. "Which is why I can't make you suffer any longer."

"Don't do this..."She begged "No, Hanni, please, you promised me-"

"I promised to love you until the day that I die." He remembered her. "And that is what I shall do. Even if we part ways, even if you start again, far from me. Far from everything that happened between us..."he stroked her skin and gave a painful small smile. "You will always be my only muse, my princess, my wife."

She shaked her head and sobbed, sobbed as if he had stabbed her chest "No, no, no, please..."She gripped onto his sweather, she didn't know how much it hurt him to see her like that. He wanted to take her with him, he wanted to live the rest of his days by her side. But that could never be possible. As long as Hannibal Lecter existed, he'd always have a target on his back, knives pointed at his direction and bullets aiming on his head. And he couldn't risk her life like that. "Hannibal you can't do this to me.."Her voice distorted by the crying. "Not after all of this, not after I accepted you, not-"

"After all your efforts I push you away." He nodded. "And I apologize for that." He softly let it out, his hazel eyes tearing up. "I should've let you go when I had the chance."

She shaked her head again and insisfed in saying no, but he was impassive, his decision was made, and she could never break through his choice. All he did, was pull her into his arms and hold her tight, so tight that they almost couldn't breath. No, instead he cried on her shoulder, silently, but inside, he screamed.

He let her go at that moment, softly kissing her forehead, as the tears continued to run.

"Don't follow me." He whispered as she looked at him feeling betrayed.

And just like that, with a blink of an eye, he took his bags and disappeared.

All of this while shattering her heart once again.

▫️

The knocks on the door still didn't awake her from her melancholy. Alice couldn't cry anymore, she just...existed, blankly staring at the door expecting him to come back, for him to erase his words and say that it was all a stupid joke, but it wasn't.

She wanted to follow him, she wanted to find him and convince him that she should go with him. She could've said that before but she had no reaction, she just cried.

And the opportunity appeared again, at the door, which opened suddenly, since she didn't bother to lock it after his departure.

The 4 hushed steps entered the house cautiously, attentive to any signs of danger, but instead, they found a broken woman at the sofa, hipnotized at the void, with signs of dry tears on her face.

"Alice?" A voice suddenly called her. She turned her head to meet him. The guardian who she met the night before, who she turned her back to in order to protect Hannibal. "What are you doing here...?" He walked fastly and touched her shoulder, squating on the ground as a worried father who didn't care about her previous mistakes. "What happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

But she couldn't reply. When she finally met his eyes she felt that punch at the back of her throat and that waterfall fighting to run through her eyes.

"He's gone." She could only mumble. "Hannibal left...and he isn't coming back."

"He...left you here?" The agent widened his eyes almost not able to believe in her sentence.

But before he could ask another question, other steps brought her back to reality. That same aftershave, the cautious steps she knew too well, that presence she couldn't ignore when entering a room.

"Ali..."Will Graham gasped at her sight, feeling his heart sink into his chest. She was alive.

"...Will..." Her eyes lit up at his figure, the face injured by his fall from the train, the hairstyle different after those 8 months. He was alive. "Oh my God...Will...!" She had to repeat it again to believe it. She abruptely got up from the sofa and ran towards him, as he promptly standed his warms and embraced her tightly.

It was surreal. The touch, the warm of his body, his sight. Just the realization that Will Graham was alive brought a comfort into her soul, and almost recovered a dead part of herself that was kept hidden into those dream/nightmare-like months.

"You survived...how...I thought..." She gripped onto his shirt for her life's sake. As he softly kissed part of her head that was turned to him. She still had that distibct and same candy scent of always.

"It doesn't matter." He whispered. The sound of his voice was so good. So gentle, so caring. "You are safe. That's all that matters." He reassured.

Jack watched the scene for a moment, almost feeling sad for that reunion. But he knew that something was wrong. After what he witnessed yesterday, Alice couldn't have possibly decided to let Hannibal go by his own. She cared for him.

Will looked into her eyes and a beautiful smile crossed his long closed and serious lips. After all, she have always been the reason of his happiness. And now she was back again, lightning up his world.

They suddenly heard so eone clear their throat. It was Jack, just then she minded his presence, and left Will's arms to hug him fastly. "Oh."He exclaimed surprised and tapped her back, letting a half smile escape his lips. "Good to see you, kid."

Once Alice let go again and managed to calm herself, she sat on the sofa and took a deep breatb before their questions.

"Alice, you need to tell us, what happened? Where is Hannibal?" Jack questioned.

"He knew you were coming for him" she glued her hands above her lap. "So he left."

"To where?"

Her sight lifted up to him, staring deeply, suspiciously at him, the mouth slightly curved in disapproval. "Why do you want to know?" She glanced at Will. "Are you going to kill him?"

"What if we do?" Jack buried his hands inside his pocket and stuffed his chest. "Are you going to stop us?"

She didn't hesitate and neither tried to hide what she felt this time. "Yes." Alice let out a declaratory whisper.

Jack Crawford took a deep breath. She knew who that monster was, knew what he was done and what he was capable of, and yet she protected him. The situation was worse than he expected it to be.

"Jack." Will called him, breaking the awkward silence. "Watch over the door, we can't let the police reach her." Jack nodded, still against the idea of leaving her there, but did as he asked and left the apartment. Will Graham watched Alice on the sofa. Still quiet, awfully quiet and sad. Whatever happened for Hannibal to leave her, must've broken her heart. He squated on the ground, to be on her height at the sofa, and looked tenderly in her eyes. "Ali." He called her and she looked at him. "I need you to tell me where Hannibal is."

"I'm not letting you kill him." She answered right away.

He took a deep breath. "I won't kill him. That's what Jack wants, not me." He whispered. "I want to talk to Hannibal."

"Why?"

He searched for the right words to make her understand. "You were right about me." He whispered. "I am...sort of...similar
to him." Alice suspended her breath. "Not in gore cannibalistic aspect but...maybe in the death one." He delicately held her hand. "Which is why I need to understand him. I need to speak to him." Alice avoided his sight for a moment, pursing her lips and thinking. "And I think you also have more left to talk about between the two of you." Alice couldn't reject that hypothesis. "Do you know where he could be?"

▫️

"It is just as a tipical tragic comedy of ancient times." His voice continued slowly as she sat by his side, admiring the well known colorful painting in front of them. "I just said goodbye to you an hour ago, yet I delayed myself so I could stay here, drawing you into Primavera." Her eyes lowered down the sketchbook, at the drawing he took decades to finish, where she could recognize her face at the scenter of the flowery image. "I told you not to follow me." He whispered at last.

"You wanted me to find you." Alice Mallory whispered softly. "So you could show me this." They both stared at the canvas. "So you could show me your heart." She looked at him.

"And what do you see in it?"

"Me." She realized. "Mostly me...and madness."

He nodded quietly. Resting the sketchbook on his lap. Their suits were purely black, only dark dots in the well known and respecrful Ufizzi Gallery.

"Did you find him?" He asked. "Will Graham?"

She took a moment to reply. "Yes, I did."

"And you brought him to me."

"He assured me he won't kill you." She justified herself, hesitating to say it out loud. "He said...that you both are similar, in some way." Hannibal nodded again.

"He is quite correct in that aspect." He looked at the muse of his thoughts, how gorgeous she looked beneath those glistening lights. "Just as we aren't similar."

She looked at him surprised, but accepting it. "I believe that is also correct." She tried not to show her emotions.

"Where does the difference between the past and the future come from?" He questioned, letting the void of the gallery consume that moment.

"Mine?" She questioned, thinking for a moment. "Before you and after you." He gave a half painful smile. "Yours?" She raised an eyebrow. "Mischa? Abigail?"

"Before you and after you." He whispered in correspondance, Alice felt her heart speed abruptely at his words.

She sighed heavily, feeling an immense pain of carrying the world on her shoulders. He wished he could prove her some comfort, but that would only make things harder.

"You are right, I wanted to change you, to save you." She whispered. "That is all I've done my whole life to others..." Alice reflected. "It is strange but...every crime of yours...feels like one I'm guilty of." She looked deeply into his eyes. "Every murder stretching backward and foward in time."

"But you aren't." He insisted. "And you will never be." He resisted to the urge to hold her hand. "Freeing yourself from me and me freeing myself from you, they're the same." He admired the woman he would die for. "In the end, we began to blur, and ignored who we truly are."

"I thought you were being who you truly are with me."

"But you aren't being yourself." He snapped back gently. "I know you, Lissy...and I know how much this hurts you. How much this affects you." He couldn't control it and finally caressed her cheek. "The veil between love and madness is deceiving, and I'm afraid I took a step of no return between both of them when it concerns you." He explained carefully. "But you don't need to go through this."

"I already did." She whispered vulnerably, holding her hand on her face. "After all we've done...I gave myself to you, Hannibal..."

He gave a bitter smile. "And you made me so happy." He felt his heary bleeding again. "But now I must free you." He whispered. "I imprisioned in this cage, Alice. But as much as I want you to be mine, I can't let you suffer."

He softly kissed her cheek, where one tear discretely rolled on as Alice touched her forehead against his, trying to control her uge to sob violently again as before.

"You speak as if you're going to die at any moment." She whispered in fear. "Is this where you're leading to? Is that why you're leaving me?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, abosbing her touch, her essence, her perfume, to memorize each aspect and detail in his mind forever. "We live in the shadow of the doubt, darling." He whispered. "Whatever path I am going through, I shall accept it." His hazel eyes opened and sunk into hers. "But I can't accept the same being applied to you." He let her go now. Taking a deep breath and looking again at the Primavera. "Please, bring him in."

Alice hesitated but left, at each step, one heartpiece fell, hurting as never before.

She looked at Will when he was about to come in and he could see it, the moment where her crying couldn't hold any longer and she just left the saloon.

"I must say, it is hard to accept it." He said as he sat by his side. "The possibility of you leaving her." Hannibal smirked sadly, he was broken. "But I can understand it, since I've done the same before." They met eyes. "You don't want to hurt her."

Hannibal nodded. "In different ways, we managed to push her away when we need her the most, isn't it?" The doctor realized. "Almost as a cycle that repeats itself."

"I wanted to understand you, before I laid eyes on you again." Will declared as he saw the blue injured man by his side. "I needed it to be clear what I was seeing."

"And what do you see?"

"A mirror." He muttered gently. "No matter if we wish it or not. We're conjoined." He looked up at the canvas. "Conjoined by the loss, death, the same woman.." Hannibal gave a soft smile.

"Now is the hardest test, not letting rage and frustration..." he closed the sketchbook. "...nor forgiveness, keep you from thinking."

"I forgive you." He whispered. Hannibal felt his body jitter. "So I'll give you one more chance to fulfill the deal we've made before." They locked eyes intensely. "I'll let you leave, I'll take you until the town's exit safely..." Will told him. "If only you never come back and meet Alice again."

Hannibal chuckled softly. "We are indeed alike." He tilted his eye. "The only difference is that after seeing her scared eyes, the gelid and trembling breath, the nightmares followed by sweat where she woke up screaming..." He lamented. "...I realized I should let her go."

Wil gave a bitter smile. "Perphaps I'm tired of playing nice."

"Well, as long as you don't hurt her..." He muttered. "You don't need to concern yourself about a thing." He standed his hand to him. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." He shook his hand. "Now let's go, she is waiting outside."

▫️

He insisted for her to not to go, but she did it anyway. Holding Hannibal's hand through Florence's street outside the Uffizi Gallery, Alice stood between them, as Will Graham standed by his side serious.

Even in those last times she expected to be in her husband's presence, she tried to show her sweetness, her love and tenderness to him, as he squeezed her hand back, somtimes unable to give a painful smile at her figure.

It hurt them to leave each other, Hannibal was fighting with a part of himself to make that decision...perphaps she did have changed him in some way, since he'd never be able to do this in the past.

But it didn't hurt as much as the next actions that took place in that city. When Will Graham, who had managed to fool the couple, fastly took a knife from his long coat, mentally apologizing to make her witness that attitude.

It happened quickly. Will took the knife, as Chiyoh's, Hannibal's guardian, prepared her gun in a high building, a proper sniper rready to shoot, when Alice spot the blade shining by the sunlight in her friend's hand.

"WILL, NO!" She screamed and suddenly pushed her lover's hand, getting him out of the way and standing in front of him as a shield.

Already in the process and unable to control it, the blade now was aiming at Alice Mallory. It happened at once. The shooting, the cut, the fall, the bleeding.

Will's knife stabbed the area between her shoulder blade, creating a large red area that dripped blood constantly. It only hit there because luckily, Chiyoh shoot him on time, making him fall on the ground.

Alice groaned in pain and in fear, as Hanmibal realized the action, suddenly panicking in a furious attack.

"ALICE!" He shouted desperate and tried to hold her close, his eyes unable to keep away from the injury. "No...no, no..."He knew it, at thay moment again, it showed to him. As long as she was by his side, she'd always be risking her life. "Does it hurt? How much?"

"A bit..."She lied, clenching her teeth as the blood rolled down her arm. She turned to the person shot on the ground. "Oh my God, Will! What happened?!"

Hannibal's face turned cold as a stone as he abruptely grabbed the agent by the shirt's collar and looked into his eyes. "Help me take her home. Now." He demanded.

Even hurt, Will agreed with his wish, even though Alice wasn't as hurt as him and helped him stand instead.

They quickly reached the house and dropped the agent on the sofa. Hannibal hushed with curatives and water to clean up her wound. He seemed desperate, it was like someone scratched a rare art piece, or if the world was ending. He needed to help her, immediatly.

"Hanni, I'm okay." She whispered to him. "You need to help, Will."

"You could've gotten killed on my place." He said horrified. He couldn't stand that thought. "You are not fine, Alice." He finished bandaging her arm and wrapped it around tightly "You're lucky it didn't hit a major artery. The bleeding may stop soon. If it becomes worse, you need to warn me, okay?" She nodded obediengly, Hannibal sighed worried and held her cheeks. "You can't hurt youself like this Lissy, if something happened to you, I don't know...I...I would..." he looked helplessly into her eyes. And oulled her close, ending the gap between them and kissing her hungrily, afflicted and helplessly.

He shouldn't do that, savor her again only to miss her taste. To attach himself even more to make their hearts bleed. But he couldn't help himself. At each heartbeat, each breath in her presence was almost as he gained will to live.

He aparted breathless, stroking her flushed cheeks. "I'll check upon Will." Was his only last muttering.

"Okay." She whispered back as he let her go and walked towards the friend next to them, restlessly and painfully sitting on the sofa.

"Is she okay?" He groaned, closing his eyes and twitching his face. Hannibal gave him some water and took off his coat in abrupt movements, opening the lower part of the shirt where he was shot.

"Yes." He said coldly. "Not because of you, of course." . "This is going to hurt, the bullet is still inside of you." He watched his body full of blood. He took an object and put it on the agent's hands. It was the knife he used "You dropped your forgiveness, Will." He looked into his eyes with an immense rage underneath. "You forgive how God forgives." He complained. "How would you have done it? In front of her?" He seemed very offended by his idea. "For what? To frighten her? To make her suffer? Maybe to gloat yourself."

"Does God gloat?" Will trembled.

"Often." Hannibal replied as he stood up and took something in his hands. "But you are no God, Will Graham." He then used a needle, some sort of drug into his veins, as be slowly drifted to sleep.

"No, no..."He whimpered as he closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.

"Hanni?" Alice asked. "Is Will okay?"

"Don't worry about him, darling." He walked towards her, preparing another needle. "Now, relax, I'll take care of it."

"What is that?" She stared scared at the window as he applied it on her skin, a painful sting ran across her spine.

"Just trust me."

And, while looking helplessly into her favorite monster's eyes, she also drifted away to an imaginary world of her own.

▫️

"Ms.Mallory?" A velvet deep voice interrupted her illusions. Alice got up from her seat immediatly, noticing that the door to the office was now open. "Are you Alice Mallory?"

"Yes, I-" She just turned to the figure on the door.

"I am Dr.Hannibal Lecter..." A tall, elegant man standed by the door. His suit had no wrinkles. A stone, calm expression printed all over his face, marked by strong traces and cheekbones. "You're 5 minutes earlier than I expected". His hazel bewitching eyes scanned her figure, analyzing her slowly, memorizing each detail on the surface. That made her paralyze for a moment.

"Hanni?" She furrowed her eyebrows confused, just then realized where they were. "Are we...in Baltimore?"

He tilted his eyes confused at her speech. "It is Hannibal." He corrected serious. "And yes, we are in Baltimore. Why? Did you expect to be somewhere else?"

"But we were in Florence..." She stuttered. Hannibal looked at the woman slightly suspicious. "Where is Will?"

"Our sessions need to be private in order to make you feel more comfortable." He declared professionally. "Well, since you arrived early, we may already begin...I do appreciate punctuality. Please, come in." He indicated as they both entered his office again.

She watched cautiously, still a bit obliviois to all that was happening and that strange dèja vu she had inside her mind. The office was dark just as the first time she entered it. The same display of furniture and dark walls, everything summing into that sophisticated and intimidating ambience she thoyght had once becane friendly.

Hannibal sat down, elegantly crissing his legs as always, adjusting the immaculate posture as he watched that strange woman still standing in the middle of the room. "Dr.Bloom informed me that you are set in Baltimore, so it would be easier for you if she transferred your sessions to me" Dr. Lecter explained, noticing the girl's visible anxiety. "The FBI believes you're an important part to the copycat case, isn't it?"

She immediatly looked at him, her expression became irritated. "What?" He stared at her serious, not altering expression.

"Is there a problem?"

"Hannibal, are you joking?" She walked and stood in front of him.

He didn't like her tone. Just lifted his chin to watch her figure that was now taller than him. "Pardon me, Miss Mallory, but I can't seem to follow your thoughts, what ar-"

"We moved past this! I know the truth!" She reacted. Hannibal's face became serious as a stone.

"The truth...?" He asked smoothly, not moving a muscle.

"What is going on with you?" She asked frustrated and walked through the room. Her eyes scanned the walls. "Where is it?"

Hannibal got up from his chair, interested in her alarming state and continued listening. "What?"

"The painting I made for you." She looked at him, Hannibal didn't know a thing aboyt what she was talking about. "Watching the sun glow, by George Inness."

"I'm afraid I am not aware of what you are speaking about."

"How-" She clenched her jaw. "What about those curtains?" She pointed to the jaw. "We bought new ones together, remember?"

Hannibal studied her figure. "I see the situation is even more delicate than what Dr.Bloom informed me. Could you please tell me what type of symptons you have been feeling lately, miss Mallory?"

"Hannibal, stop that!" She groaned shaking her arms. He realized she was angry now. "Did you hit your head or something? Why can't you remember anything?!"

"Miss-"

"It's Lissy!" She said irritated, tears filled her eyes. "I'm Alice! Your Lissy! Remember?" She looked into his eyes helplessly.

He stared into her eyes for quite a minute,  a sparkle of hope lightned up inside her heart. "No. My apologies."

"But..."She gulped the crying. "But I'm your wife."

In his mind, Hannibal Lecter believed that woman was insane. "I'm afraid to tell you this, Miss Mallory, but...that can't be possible, since it is the first we meet each other." She paralyzed, the world stopped. "I am not interested in involving myself in any relationships either."

"No..."She shaked her head in refusal. "No, no, no, you don't understand..." She walked fastly, searching around. "I'l prove it to you."

"Miss Mallory, please-"

"Where's my ring?" She looked at her hand. "Where's my ring? The ring you gave me, where is it?" She was completely desperate.

He didn't even bother replying to her. The situation was quite burdening now, due to the fact she started to search and mess his shelves and belongings.

"Miss Mallory, I ask you to please sit down-"

"No! You sit down!" She shouted pointing at him. His eyes widened at her. How could she dare to speak to him that way? Who did that woman think she was? "Where are them? The drawings you made of me?" She walked over his desk and started to mess with his papers.

"Please don't-"

"They are here, you did many, I know they are here-"  Her eyes stopped at them. The ripper's victims, all of them horribly drawn into the paper. She has seen them before after the truth was revealed, but they didn't manage to scare her anymore, not like now.

But this time, he wouldn't allow her to just take a peek at his artwork.

Her mouth was covered by a large hand, an arm embraced around her neck, as a hot breath was let out against her skin. "I wish I didn't have to take consequences as this so soon, Miss Mallory, but you leave me no choice." He whispered as he suffocated her. Her surroundings became dizzy, she couldn't move. "You say that you know me..." her sight became blurry and her heart sunk into her chest as he took away her life. "...truth is: you know nothing about me at all."

And he killed her.

▫️

A gasp recovered her consciouness. Her eyes abruptely opening to meet chestnut colored ones a bit far from her, sitting across a large table in an european apartment.

"Will...?" Alice mumbled as she recovered herself, the head still spinning. "What...where..."

Footsteps brought her attention as she saw Hannibal entering the room, walking towards her with a kind smile. "Darling, you're awake." He pet her hair softly.

She was back. It was all a bad dream.

A horrible dream that revealed his true nature. If she didn't make her way into his heart...what could've have happened to her?

"Hanni...what is going on..?"She asked in a whisper. He almost melt at her fragility.

"I wish I had a larger dose so you wouldn't witness this, but maybe it is necessary." He continued casually, as Alice started to notice she couldn't move. "It is a shame honestely... that our chapter needs to end this way." He walked towards Will and made him drink a sour soup.

Alice suddenly felt the light pain on shoulder. Realizing what happened. Her body was tied to the chair. Both arms and legs completely wrapped as she couldn't get rid of them. "Hannibal?" She asked him widening her eyes. "Hannibal, what is this?" Her heart speeded. "Hannibal, this isn't funny."

"I am sorry dear, if I let you free, you would get in the way." He finished giving Will the soup.

"Get in the way for what?" She looked at Will, he was in the same situation as her, also tied and locked into that madness. "Hannibal, you said you wouldn't do this-"

"It won't be permanent, just until I get rid of an issue." He calmly established. "Soon enough I'll let you go, just as I promised. I just need to make sure you'll be safe."

"How? By tying me?!" She said annoyed.  That was not what they promised to each other, not what he trusted him to do.

"You're so impatient, Lissy." He smirked. "Calm down and see, okay?"

In the meantime, both Jack Crawford and Chiyoh looked for their targets. Jack managed to foll Chiyoh for a moment by changing the floors of the buildings and quickly got into the apartment.

He cautiously entered the place, homding his gun, as he could only hear a creep, ausoicious silence followed by his own anxious breath. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his lungs.

That's when he spot them, Alice and Will, both by a table. He reached the girl and touched her shoulder "Alice?"

"Jack! He's under the-"

A thin, sharp cut made agent groan. A blade slashed against his skin, as a snake biting his ankle. He looked down and could only the serpent's wicked and twinkling eyes: Hannibal Lecter.

When Jack Crawford realized: everything went black.

▫️

Jack woke up in the same unfortunate situation. Tied to a chair, a bit far from the two, by the center of the table. Three distant guests all gathered around to the same hauting menu.

"I've taken the liberty of giving you something to help you relax." Hannibal said calmly as he grabbed a box in his hands and places above the table. "You won't be able to do much more than chew, but that's all you'll need to do." He looked at the agent, who was furious and scared at the same time. "I didn't have an opportunity to ask you during our last encounter, but did you enjoy the exhibition?" He mocked. "A different kind of evil minds museum."

"Not that different." Jack muttered, staring at the villain.

"Hannibal, whatever you are planning, please stop this." Alice softly pleaded to her husband. He looked at her, in a mix of love but also rebelance. "You don't need to do this."

"That's where you mistake yourself, Lissy." He gave a soft smile. "Look at you...always seeing the best in others...maybe that is why you complete me." He opened the box and prepared some sort of gear in his hands. "Because I always see the worst" he looked back at her. "I thought that just letting you go would be enough. It would rip a part of me, but that would mean your safety, at least. But now I've realized, after Will's reckless attack, that is still not enough." Alice suspended her breath. "I can't trust your safety to these two selfish and dangerous men." Some metallic sound echoed in the air as he prepared the gear. "I've taken care of damage before to save you...the Caddels...Katia..." He said with no remorse in his voice.. He took the equipment in his hands, something that resembled an eletric blade used to make furnitures, a small saw. "And that is what I'll do."

He walked towards Will. Alice had the worst realization of what he would do.

"Hannibal, no..." She asked him but he ignored. "Hannibal, no, you can't do this!" Silence. "You promised me!" Tears filled up her eyes as she realized: he would never change. "Hannibal, you promised me!" He turned on the deadly machine. "You promise me, your asshole!" She cried, she was fooled again.

Maybe that dream was an alert, a sign: Hanninal was a monster, and that is what he would always be.

She could never change him.

"Hannibal, stop!" Jack shouted. The blade finally touched Will's skin on his forehead, cutting it fastly. "STOP!"

"HANNIBAL, NO!" Alice whimpered as her eyes locked with Will. The blood splashed around in a gore scenario that made her want to vomit. His shirt stained red as the liquid flew around the room. Her husband was going to rip his head open just in front of her, and God knows what else he would do to Jack. "NO!"

And just in that moment, Alice realized the mistake she has done.

Was it really worth the risk to love him?