A/N: This is my first attempt at a Hannibal Lecter Fanfic. Be nice, my dears. *winks*

Disclaimer: This is not mine. Most unfortunate for two reasons. One, who would not want to own the deliciously dangerous Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Two, had I ever the pleasure of owning these fine characters and storyline I would have made sure the ending of Hannibal had a much better ending. As we all know, the ending was unspeakably horrid, not to mention the result in every one wanting to slap the shit out of our dear Starling—if you will pardon my vulgar language. Thomas Harris as well as Orion, and whoever the other lucky bastards are, owns them. I also do not own the lyrics of the song Gatekeeper by Within Temptation. However, I do actually own Audrey and whatever plotline that diverts from the original storyline that we all know and love.

Now…let your imaginations fly…fly…fly…my darlings, as you read this story.

The shadows of the night,
are unleashed again.
Where their greed begins
the end is near.
A morbid hunger for blood,
lies in their cold black eyes
They've come to take our lives away.

Prologue: Gatekeeper

Twelve Years Ago

She stalked in an animalistic manner through the now familiar, darkened hallways of the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital, slowly and stealthily like that of a predator stalking her next kill. Her toned, slender body crept through the dungeon-like corridors, her black boot encased feet silently moved while avoiding the cameras. The black Kevlar bodysuit she donned on clung to her body, much as her feeling of exhilaration did now at the prospect of the hunt. Although tonight, she was not so much hunting as she was meeting one who hunted. A fellow hunter, as one may call it. An old friend, she mused. If Doctor Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter could be considered a friend, which, regardless of society's frown, she did consider him as one.

As it seemed, he did have a taste—no pun intended—for a person such as herself. Having known him as well as she did, one would assume that she was alright in his observant maroon eyes. The easily hack-able security network had shown that sure enough, as she had replayed the quid pro quo sessions with the Good Doctor, gazing at the tapes with her very observant eyes. Watching his moments, watching how he responded. Very intriguing. And that little, ah, incident he had with Miggs…especially after his actions that night before. Yes…very intriguing indeed.

She stopped her movements, hearing a low, feminine moan emitting from the hallway to her left, two doors down. Her deep, blue-violet eyes narrowed at the noise before closing them briefly as she inhaled a deep lungful of the musty smell of the old building, breathing in the thousands of scents created by the many people that pursued the facility daily in hope of being somebody. Taking another large breath, she disregarded the stale odors from the past day's working hours and sought out fresher ones. She opened her eyes, smirking a little at the knowledge of what caused this questionable aroma. After another minute passed by, she heard a rather masculine groan and smirked wider in triumph at having presumed the correct activity of the couple. She continued down the hallway confidently, knowing that they were too busy indulged into their, ah, present nocturne pastime to hear anything.

Taking a right, she traveled down the stone-covered floor until she reached the red brick wall that sealed off any other way in or out. Of course that's what many people thought who walked this ancient, castle-like structure on a daily basis. Little did they know that there was a specific brick that if pushed in a particular spot would open a trapdoor that allowed her to sneak into the maximum security holding for all the insane evils of the world—as if they had a damn clue what the term 'evil' meant. If she were allowed to speak freely to them, she would most definitely tell them to look into the mirror if they wanted to see real evil. Silently, as always, she slipped into the tunnel and closed the opening behind her, carefully. She then continued her progression to her mark.

Another unusual noise flowing through the corridor, causing her to, once again, pause her advancement. The secret passageway she traveled down presently—not found in public records nor known by the naïve, oblivious practitioners or the ignorant, power-seeking supervisors that were under the ridiculous impression that they policed this nation—seemed to be filled with a quiet hum of a classic melody that she could not currently place. But that was not something that she cared to indulge her magnificent brain in as there were far more appealing subjects to ponder upon than anything as petty as a temporarily forgotten hymn. The tune may have been unknown right now to her but the voice was not a mystery. It was one that echoed through her thoughts in the day and haunted her dreams at night. She felt her pale pink colored lips curve upwards; she was getting close.

Closer, please…

Closer…

Smiling humorlessly at the taunting voice seeping into her mind again, she perused forward until she saw small, rectangular-shaped slivers of light coming from a circular opening up ahead. The speed of her pace increased upon seeing this. Almost there…

She removed the barrier, setting it down behind her gently. She then sat back on her haunches, crouching much like a cat as she served the situation below her. Several pipes ran both in lines both in parallel and intersecting formation, not precisely close but not impossibly far away either. Also, there was the trivial matter of the three story height to contemplate. Nevertheless, it was an easily feasible feat to get to the ground. Impossible for most, yes, but not for her.

With a considerable amount agility, flexibility and swiftness, she managed to reach the unforgiving, cold floor of the so-called dungeon. Although she had not made a sound, she knew that he knew she was there. Walking on her tip-toes in a more than cliché sneaking manner, she approached the cell of the renowned psychiatrist, passing by the three empty cells that had once belonged to the other sociopaths. When she passed by Miggs' cell, she smirked remembering the call from Jack Crawford.

Miggs is dead.

Dead? How?

They heard Lecter whispering to him all afternoon and Miggs crying…They found him at bed check. He'd swallowed his own tongue.

So, she walked closer to the last room…

Closer…

Just until she was just a few feet away…

Closer…

She reached the cell, approaching, but not touching, the bulletproof glass fearlessly with slow but smooth, fluid strides. Even with her hawk-like eyes and wonderful night vision, she could see no movement. For a slight moment, she almost believed that he wasn't there. Stupid. Idiotic. Naïve. So when a familiar voice of consisting of the strange combination of both silk calmness and piercing metal struck through the air like a recently sharpened knife, it took every inch of her being to not appear startled. "And to what occasion do I owe the pleasure of this obviously unauthorized visit, Clarice?" She then heard him take a very deep breath. "You are not Clarice," his voice now taking on a rather curious tone.

"No, Doctor. I am not," she responded, her accent sinking deeply into her words and a vampire's smile now playing on her coral-colored lips as the moonlight glistened off her unusually razor sharp incisors. "You know, I have always thought rather favorably of you, my dear Hannibal Lecter. Although, it would seem that I now find myself quite offended by your lack of knowledge upon my identity, Hannibal. You do not remember who I am?"

There was a shocked pause. "Audrey?" The deep voice had taken on a somewhat surprised quality that was exceedingly rare to ever hear from him.

"Ah, so you do recall who I am," Audrey replied teasingly. "I thought for a fearful second that this inhumane cage you have cruelly been trapped in had begun to desecrate that magnificent brain of yours."

"Never," Hannibal retorted, easily falling back into their past banter, a smile clear in his tone. "That incompetent Chilton may take away every other freedom that I might so meagerly attain in this dungeon, but he will never rob me of my thoughts. I can promise you that, my dear."

She approached the glass wall that separated the two of them with a smile; a true one this time. "How have you been, H?"

"As good as one can be considering the circumstances that I have endured in for the last eight years," Hannibal responded, a faint sliver of bitterness.

Audrey nodded understandingly. She was all too familiar with what it was like to be in a position of entrapment and unable to do anything about it. It was actually the reason she knew Hannibal in the first place. He had saved her from a childhood of loneliness and a teenaged life of isolation. Audrey practically owed her life to Doctor Hannibal Lecter. "I can't believe it has been eight years."

"Neither can I, Audrey."

There was a pause.

"I was at your trial, Hannibal," Audrey spoke hesitantly.

"I know. I saw you," Hannibal took a deep breath. "Although it was nice to see a friendly face in a sea of sharks, I really wish you hadn't gone. It was not my finest hour, let me assure you."

"I owed you that at the very least." She looked down, studying her boots. "But nothing could've stopped me, Hannibal. Not even my foster parents—for lack of a more appropriate name to call them seeing as they were not around. They were horrified when they found out that their foster daughter had been spending the majority of her life with a serial killer." She laughed at the memory. "They attempted to ground me, but I just ran away. Having turned eighteen earlier that week, I saw nothing that could possibly hold me back."

"You always were ridiculously stubborn."

She laughed lightly. "So says the man that would refuse to listen to 'Goldberg Variations' on a CD because he claimed that it messed up the C and D notes even after the record player broke."

"Touché." Audrey could hear the smile in his voice.

A comfortable quietness fell between the two friendly companions. Sighing heavily, she broke the silence. "It seems only yesterday that we were engaged in an exchange of one of our 'quid pro quo' games—"

"Say that again."

She looked at him strangely, the sudden sharpness in his voice startling her a little. "Say what again—?"

"Quid pro quo. Repeat it, please."

"May I ask why?"

Hannibal was clearly not in the mood to answer her question. "Just repeat it."

Still lightly confused, she nevertheless relinquished to his request, saying with exasperation. "Fine. Quid pro quo. Doctor, why—"

Suddenly, he was there, right up next to the glass, maroon eyes flashing. "Why did you not tell me?"

"Tell you what—" she stopped herself, realizing exactly what was going on here. "Because you had not known her up until a few weeks ago. What purpose would it have served to tell you eight years ago when you had no knowledge of her?"

"You could have written it to me."

"And have that unbearable bastard, Chilton, read it? I think not. He already gives her enough hell as it is without knowing about me."

His maroon eyes seemed to penetrate her very soul as he examined her. "I cannot believe I had not noticed this before. You look almost exactly like her in a twisted manner. The indigo eyes...the dark hair...and the ah, fangs, aside, of course."

"You have not seen me for eight years, Hannibal. I have changed from that little girl playing in the piano shop to a young woman. I would not blame you for not recognizing the relation between the two of us. No one has before."

Hannibal continued to examine her. "Fraternal twins, I imagine. May I take another assumption in deducting that you were sent off to foster care at the same time that she was sent off to the cousin's ranch?"

"Yes. Our cousins could only take one of us. They choose her, of course. As you and I both already know, I was in hell that year when they decided to adopt me. I was only ten years old. Then, that one cold, Christmas day, I decided to play on my favorite piano at that music shop that I always retreated to when I needed an escape from my monstrous foster parents. I remember that I had just finished Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' when nice man came up behind me and offered me piano lessons. Of course, my foster parents were ecstatic to have such a reformed, elegant man taking such an interest in my music ability. They allowed me to come over and take lessons from him," Audrey smiled kindly at him. "And the rest is history."

"I have to admit, that was the most beautiful playing that I had heard in a long time. I could hardly believe that you were as young as you were." Hannibal smiled as well. There was a moment of blissful happiness before he went on to a more serious matter. "So, my dear Audrey, why is it that you have come here? And please, refrain from lying. As good as you are at it, I will still know."

She didn't doubt it for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she answered. "I came here to both see you, as a trusted friend and a former apprentice, and to ensure my sister's safety. I know you will eventually get out, it is rather inevitable as we both know, and she has enemies—enemies that will harm her. I also know that you have enemies that—if it is found out of your fondness to her—they will most likely use that against both of you."

Hannibal tilted his head slightly, indicating for her to continue. "I have done my best, as I have been doing since I found out our relation, to keep her safe. I am okay for now at protecting her, but I cannot do it alone, Hannibal. I know you care for her. It is rather obvious in the security footage I have seen of your, ah, intellectual discussions together. She tried to deceive you a few days ago; foolish as we both know. If you had not cared for her the way you did, or as deeply as you do, you would not be feeling a sense of betrayal right now." Audrey paused. "I know you are going to escape in Memphis. That handcuff key that you've been making—don't be shocked that I know. Why else would you keep staring at Chilton's beloved gold pen as he lay there mocking you yesterday?—is what you're going to use, isn't it?"

"It appears that I have perhaps taught you a little too well, my dear."

"Only the best from you, H."

After a moment, Audrey looked at her watch, realizing the time. "Hannibal, the orderlies will be waking up in the next three to five minutes. Can you please do me that favor of helping me protect Clarice?"

He seemed to consider it for a couple of seconds, but they already knew his answer. "Alright. I will assist you. And to answer you from before…I will not deny any of your allegations that you have set upon me nor will I refute any of the assumptions you have insinuated thus far. But I will also not agree to them either."

"You never can make it easy, can you?"

"Where would the fun be in that, my dear? Are you suggesting that I live a boring life as well as make other's lives just as dull? I do have a reputation to live up to."

Audrey laughed at that. "And lest we forget about your massively over-sized ego…"

"Oh, never, Audrey, never. That would be simply criminal—pardon the pun if you will."

There was a groan from down the hallway, suggesting that one of the orderlies had begun to awaken. "I'm sorry Hannibal, but I need to—"

"Go," he stated simply, gesturing to the hall.

"Alright. I will…" Audrey put her hand up flat against the glass, smiling sadly. "Good-bye, Hannibal Lecter."

He likewise put his hand up to the glass, precisely where hers was but on the opposite side of the glass. "Until we meet again, Audrey Starling."

Then she was gone, nothing more than a flutter of the wind. Later, when she thought back to this particular moment, she could have sworn that there was something being whispered as she exited. Almost as if a soft, gentle verbal feather was going through the air…

Fly, fly, fly…

Fly, fly, fly…

A/N: Let me know what you think :) Constructive criticism is welcome with open arms. However, if you will, please refrain from blatantly using a verbal flame thrower if you do not find this story up to your high level of standards. If you feel that you must use it…well, we all know what the good doctor thinks of discourtesy and unspeakable rudeness. Need I say more? *silence* I thought not.

Now if you don't mind, please review.

Ta ta,

Dreamiest Nightmare