Blood and Love
A Story of Hannibal Lector
Hannibal
I opened the door slowly so as not to startle her. The room was brightly lit, thanks to the dangling chandelier, and it highlighted the soft gold coverlet of the king-size bed. It was on this bed that Lady Murasaki was curled up asleep. I had tended to her wounds soon after Maia's, and pumped her full of sleeping pills. This was best, as she had been sent into several fits of hysteria. Her long black hair was splayed like a fan across her pale shoulders, her face pained, even in sleep.
As I sat in the chair by her side, I waited for her to wake up, my eyes wandering around the room to try to prevent boredom from setting in. The walls were high and covered in a thick material that made the room seem to be soundproof. Perfect. I averted my gaze to the swirls high above me on the ceiling, finding patterns that were not really there. When I looked down again, Lady Murasaki's eyelids were fluttering.
I felt a hand stroke my cheek. Reaching up, I caught her hand in mine, holding it tightly.
"Hannibal." she croaked, her voice no more than a weak murmur. "I've missed you so much."
"I know Aunt. It's been so long. What are you doing here?" I asked, never letting go of her. Pain crossed her face instantly, so I leaned in closer, my face inches from hers. "What happened to you?"
She took a deep breath as she started.
"I was simply sitting on my porch, back in Paris. I think I was...reading." her face lit up slightly. "Your letter. I must meet this Maia. I want to meet my future niece." Before I could correct her, she continued. "Suddenly there was a loud bang...a gunshot I think. There was a most horrendous pain in my leg and I think I passed out. The next thing I know, I'm in a room. A very dark room. Grutas was there. He has these eyes...eyes like a wolf." she curled up tighter than ever and covered her face with a shaking hand.
"My dear aunt, what has that cretin done to you?" I muttered, stroking her cheek with my thumb.
Maia
I stood in the hallway of the hotel, the hood of my jacket up, my hair curled around my cheeks to hide my scars. I knew that I must have looked suspicious and shifty, but I wasn't ready to see people's horrified reaction to my face. Along with the strain of most recent events, I'm sure that would be my undoing. Leaning against the wall, the mirror on the opposite side of the hall showed me my reflection; one leg crossed over the other, arms folded loosely, ready to hide my face. Slowly, I reached up and pushed the hem of my hood away. The light instantly splashed onto my face, chasing the comfortable shadows away.
My face had changed all traces of childhood that my face once held; vanished. My lips were fuller, still slightly swollen. My eyes seemed darker, larger and were outlined with light purple bruises, as delicate as powder. I stared at the angry, jagged scars that were now my most dominant feature. I stroked my cheeks gently, feeling the new surface. It was rough and...Crusty. I took one broken breath as I resolved not to cry. Not here. For the first time since I had met Hannibal, I felt scared. Really and truly scared. Not just scared for Hannibal, and now Loleia, Nico and Lady Murasaki. For once I was actually frightened for my own life.
I had never fully grasped the danger that being with Hannibal would put me in. I tried so hard not to dwell on that fact. Loving Hannibal was now the only thing that kept me alive, even if it was the thing that would inevitably kill me.
A member of staff at the hotel, a maid or something, strode past me, eyeing my scuffed trainers and jeans with evident disgust. I pulled my hood down further, until she could no longer see me. Only when I heard her footsteps disappearing down the hall did I resurface and regain my sight.
Lady Murasaki's door opened and Hannibal came out, his face grave. He saw my expression and immediately encased me in his arms. Equally, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his chest, even though the pain was astronomical.
"I would like for you to meet her." he murmured, not allowing any emotion to escape into his voice. I began to shake all over and my resolve to cry seemed to be disappearing rapidly.
"No." I whispered fearfully. Looking up into his face, which was still an emotionless mask, I gave in to my panic. "No. Not looking like this." Setting one of my hands free from his grasp I pointed to my face, being careful not to put too much pressure on the wounds. Hannibal's mask cracked. He kissed each of my cheeks, leaving them stinging in more ways than one.
"She'll understand." he said. Then, pushing my hood down, he lead me into the room.
Lady Murasaki
My vision was impaired. Everything was blurred to me, and all I could really see were shapes and shadows, only little colour and texture. Maybe because of this, I could hear everything perfectly. So when I heard the soft padding of female footsteps, followed by Hannibal's, I knew instantly that he had brought her to see me. Hannibal's polite cough followed shortly after the door clicked shut. I rolled over in the bed and opened my eyes, scrutinizing every detail that I could make out. She was tall, but not freakishly, at least three inches shorter than Hannibal. Her hair was long, black and shamelessly curly, poking out from the sides of her hood. She was dressed all in black, but maybe that was my eyes. She seemed to whither under my gaze. Immediately I smiled at her, to calm her, but she shrunk into Hannibal's side.
"It's okay." he whispered to her. "Grutas sprayed her with gas to knock her unconscious, and her eyesight is still suffering from the attack." This seemed to calm her more than anything I could have done. I reached out a hand to her.
"Please sit down" I said, gesturing to the chair in which Hannibal had sat earlier. She sat down tentatively, fingers still interlinked with Hannibal's, who stood behind her protectively. I never knew a pause in conversation to be so awkward.
"Hannibal has told me so much about you." she said, quietly. I smiled. At least she was trying to make an effort, which is more than can be said for me. Taking a deep breath, I reinstated my efforts.
"Good things, I hope." I croaked, my throat drying up. She nodded; a slight bob of her head. Hannibal leaned in towards me, holding a glass of water. I let my eyes graze over it, barely noticing its existence, before weakly waving it away from me. He set it back down on the table with a small clunk, and then returned to Maia's side. All the while I watched. There was something about this girl that I did not trust. Although she was nice enough, she would unwittingly be the fall of Hannibal.
It's not nearly as long as I had hoped, but I wanted to update and this appeared to be a natural break. Maybe I'm just lazy...yeah, I'm just lazy. But if I was to go on to the next bit, I'd have to carry on for ages and I wouldn't update for several days. This is quicker.