Chapter 13
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Will Graham will never know how Saskia was able to always convince him to get on a plane and travel to wherever she asked him to. Wait, he knew why. She more or less said that either he would come with her for two weeks or Hannibal will find a way to get him to the theatre that was playing a rare and exceedingly hard to find opera Hannibal had been wanting to see for a while.
Will was not going to the opera regardless of what Hannibal said, and just to get the cannibal off of his back, Will agreed to a small holiday. Of course, both men needed to discuss what was going to happen in the upcoming weeks, Hannibal even relayed what Saskia had told him and her concerns.
What happened would happen, and both men wouldn't put it against her or themselves. Sometimes things like that just needed to happen to get it out of their systems and minds before they became enticed by the almost overwhelming thoughts and temptations.
Temptations in their lives were not a good thing unless it was a permanent one.
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"How are you this rich, Saskia?" Will asked as they got into a Mercedes-Benz G Class he was sure wasn't yet released to the public.
Saskia swung open the door to reveal the matte black leather seats and let Countess into the back seat. She quickly stepped onto the side step of the black car before getting fully in. "Daddy dearest was from old money but he never spent most of it. With everyone else dead on his side besides some cousins he wasn't too fond of, I got everything when he died. Perks of being the only child."
Will nodded as he sunk into the warm leather as Saskia turned on the heating in the car and even inside of the seats themselves, warming him throughout. "My mother left my father and I when I was young. I can barely remember her. My father is dead now, died a few years back. I don't know about my mother, where she could be isn't any of my concern. And siblings, I don't think I have any. Do you like your siblings?"
"Well…" Saskia quickly glanced at him as they began the journey to the village.
Saskia turned the screen wipers on as the snow changed to rain, diminishing the large amount of snow on the roads to mere puddles and mounds of snow in random areas on the edges of the streets. The rain was soft and gently made sounds of hitting the dark car as they travelled away from the nearest airport and onto a rural road.
Getting to the house, they dropped their stuff in their respective rooms. Saskia took the Master bedroom as always, some of her old winter clothes still in the wardrobe. Saskia suggested that they go to the local tavern to get food. The house wasn't used to being used and so everything needed time to heat up before they could use the stove and such.
"It really started chucking it," Saskia commented as she brought up the furred hood of her coat after undoing her seatbelt. "Come on. I called earlier to book a booth."
"You planned this," Will narrowed his eyes knowingly as she smiled sheepishly and got out of the car, slamming the door shut.
"Maybe. I knew the house wouldn't be ready for food making, I planned ahead," She shrugged as they entered the place at a slighter higher speed to get out of the snow. Her toes were freezing in her boots and fluffy socks.
A dozen wooden tables seated six people each, sometimes full of food and other times full of empty glasses. The bar stood to one corner, going against one of the walls before ending. The rest of the wall was taken up by a table that seated just under two dozen. Two of the other walls were covered in dark booths and tables.
"Saskia!" A male voice called from the bar. "How are you doing?"
Will blinked as Saskia grinned brightly and quickly strutted to the bar, encasing the large man in a hug. Will smiled softly as he saw Saskia plaster on a smile that wasn't fake, a rarity for Saskia as she didn't like people all that much.
Even as Will listened to them speak in Lithuanian, he understood great parts of it and could piece together what he didn't. He'd have to thank Hannibal for the lessons he was forced to take. It was either Lithuanian or Italian, and Will wasn't fond on the latter.
"I'm doing well!" Saskia said back. The man clasped her on the back before bringing up two steaming cups of hot liquid. Saskia picked both up as they walked over to a booth with a little white plack. She sat down and Will followed, sitting across from her.
"What will you have?" The man asked as he also followed to the table, barely an accent on his tongue as he spoke the English fluently. A barely there smile on his face as he watched Saskia.
"Beetroot soup, no meat," Saskia answered straight away. "Then cheese pierogi."
"You?" The man looked to Will, his nice face suddenly falling into a cold glare.
"The same," Will said, unsure of what to get as the menus the man handed out were not in English. "But with meat."
The man's eyes were dark and uncaring as he stared at Will with an unamused look. Will just sent the same look back and added a raised eyebrow to challenge him.
"Stop it." Saskia brought the hot cup of tea to her lips as she gave them both a nonsense glare. "Viktor, this is Will. He's been helping with Leroy Harris' case. He's a good friend so stop trying to intimidate him. Will, this is Viktor, my GodFather."
"I didn't know you were religious," Will spoke as Viktor called out their order in Lithuanian to the other person manning the bar.
She shook her head, placing the cup down as Will picked his up and sipped at it. "I'm not but my family was. Viktor's my father's best friend and since my mum and Močiutė wanted me christened, Dad compromised." She began to fiddle with the little blue ring on her left thumb.
Will knew this meant she was thinking of something she didn't like, a nervous habit of hers. And when she began to pick at her natural nails —she had the false set of nails taken off a few days prior to let her natural nails grow and heal— Saskia was becoming angry but felt the need to contain it.
She always prefered to not let the brewing storm inside her show until it was time.
To distract her, Will tried to pronounce the foreign word, getting quite close. Probably by Hannibal's teachings. Saskia explained that it meant grandmother or grandma, before their food was brought to them and Viktor tossed Countess an absurdly large cow thigh to chew on as they ate.
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When a new man decided to slide in next to Will, giving Saskia a smirking grin of which Will wanted to slice off, Will noticed one thing;
Saskia's eyes would darken to allure her prey in before she realised she needed to keep the beast inside of her cage.
Her eyes darkened but her lips curved into a beautiful smile worthy of the gods as she flashed her teeth in a grin. Saskia flicked her hair back, bringing attention to it and the neck she exposed. There was just something about the throat, something primal and inviting that could tease with the smallest glance and glimmer of it.
Saskia cupped her left hand on the back and side of her neck, hiding it away a little as she played with the cup's handle with the other. She leaned into her hand, finding comfort in knowing she wasn't exposed.
"Hello, Yasha," Saskia greeted her old friend. Saskia knew him since she was in her late teens and still visited her dad every summer.
"Sasha!" He beamed as he greeted her with her nickname, hooking an arm behind him on the booth's edge as the other went to sweep his hair away from his face. "It's been almost ten years, hasn't it?"
She nodded. "Fourteen years this week."
"Just as precise as always. Why don't you ever visit?" He pouted. "Viktor always knows when you're coming but you never stay long enough to visit."
Saskia tilted her head, rubbing her neck a little before summoning the right words that weren't None of your fucking business, or Because I don't ever fucking want to. She knew she couldn't just outright say these things, she had a reputation to uphold in Lithuania, in her father's little village.
"I'm busy." And she didn't expand on that. There was a reason for her yearly trip, but this year's trip was longer compared to the single day she usually stayed.
Yasha jutted a thumb towards Will, giving him an up and down before looking at Saskia with an unimpressed look. "Is this the best America has to offer? You know you can do better here."
Saskia didn't smile but squinted her eyes in displeasure as she sipped at her drink. "He's better than you and he doesn't pass out at the sight of blood."
Yasha paused, his smirk vanishing as he slammed his hand on the table and pointed his finger at her. He became slightly red in the face as he fumed. "That was once!"
"You literally hunt and skin animals for a living and you can't handle blood?" She smiled as his frown turned to a matching smile before it descended back into a smirk.
His next words sent rage storming through her. "And you have a psychology degree but you couldn't see that you were being abused! What would your dad say? "
How dare he mention him?
He had no right to mention her father, no right to refer to him in way or form.
Hot, blinding rage filled her. Her vision narrowed until she only saw the red flush of blood within Yasha's skin. It would only take very little pressure to break his skin, letting the crimson flow and stain his skin.
What a pretty sight he'd be.
All decked in torn clothes and broken bones. Blood would look lovely caked on his pale skin, staining it a brilliant red without very much effort. Maybe a stab wound here or there, one right into his heart so she could feel the pulse of his heartbeat in the blade before twisting it out.
His eyes would be glazed over by the time she would be done with him, torturing him for hours would be the fun bit before she would carve him up like a prized swine for slaughter. What a meal he cou—
"Saskia." Will's even voice brought her back into seeing reality again.
She exhaled through her nose, nostrils flaring as she tried to keep her anger in and not let her want to take the knife closest to her plate and stab Yasha through the eye. Her expression was even. "Don't you dare bring him up."
Yasha was ready to put a hand on her shoulder. "Or what? You need to— ARCK!"
As soon as his hand got too close to her, Saskia snatched it out of the air and bent it backwards until she felt resistance. If she bent it back an inch more, she could do some serious damage to his muscles and ligaments in his hand and arm. Oh, the rush of power knowing she could do this within a moment's pause, and without hesitation if she knew she could get away with it.
Saskia pulled his arm until he was completely out of the booth seat and she could stand face to face with him, glaring harshly and without any warmth in her eyes as she brought his face closer to hers. She bent his wrist back half an inch, enough to strain his muscles as she carefully watched the pain enter his eyes as he gritted his teeth.
"I will break your wrist before snapping your neck like you do those birds you say you hunt," Saskia let his arm go with a push, letting his tumble to the floor.
"Don't even think about it, dog," Viktor yelled from the bar as soon as he saw Countess cock a leg to piss on Yasha. He saw Countess' pout and pointed to the door. "Go do that outside or in his car. Not in my place. Yasha, you can leave. You've caused enough trouble for today."
"What?" He almost screamed, clutching his arm closer to himself as Saskia sat back down and resumed eating. "She's the one who started it! Why do I have to leave?"
"Because you know Saskia doesn't like the mention of her father," Viktor gestured to the door with a wide arm. "Just leave. I don't want to ask again."
Yasha left, only after trying to step on Countess' tail which the dog almost bit him for. Viktor had to grab him by the scruff of his shirt and physically walk him out of the building and straight into the waiting snowstorm.
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"Put your goddamn coat back on, Will!" Saskia shouted from the back door, a heavy blanket thrown over her shoulder with a thick turtleneck and hoodie already on. "I swear if you catch a cold…"
"I won't," He said, lifting the axe once again and swiftly cut the log in half before taking both sides and chucking them to the growing pile. "The storm will be here soon. Since someone refuses to cut the wood —"
"I said I wanted to get one of the village lads to do it!" Saskia snapped, huddling the blanket so it sat right next to her neck as her breath began misty in the air. "Viktor knows some boys who could do it for a bit of cash."
"Why pay someone when I could do it?"
"You are going to get a cold, Will, I know it."
Will had decided to wear thick jeans with a simple red tartan shirt, which Saskia thought brought out his muscles quite nicely, with a winter vest over it to keep his torso warm. His coat laid on the ground next to him, having got too hot while swinging the axe.
She shook her head but kept him company by staying by the door, the blanket still clutched close as they spoke.
Within three days, the snowstorm had captured most of the village in a metre of snow, which was extreme even on the heaviest of winters. Saskia, ever the prepared, had known that the power would go out in the village as it did every time it got too cold for too long, and had made sure that there was enough heated water for showers and baths. The power outage would only last a day or so but the temperatures dipped dangerously at night.
The fireplace burned beautifully as they placed the blankets in front of it.
Will had gone down into the basement to get more wood, placing the logs next to the side of the fireplace. He took a seat next to Saskia, letting her throw the blanket over his legs as Countess moved to lay over his feet as well.
"There are barrels in the basement," Will said, watching Saskia pause in her writing. "What kind of stuff is in that? It looks old."
"Did it have an A and the other have an M on them?" She didn't look up but fiddled with the black pen between her fingers..
"Yes," He leaned over to the side, grabbing the hot drink Saskia had prepared a few minutes ago. Carefully taking a sip of the burning tea, he said, "Gold A and then a F in a circle on the other. What is it?"
"It's Starka, a type of alcohol. The A stands for my name and the F for my dad's. Used to be made for when a child was born into a family and drank when the child got married," Saskia said without pause as she went back to writing in the spiral notebook again. "I'm my dad's only kid. It's tradition for the father of the household to brew it after a child is born, to seal and bury it. The ground around here isn't good for any type of burial. Too hard. So he did the next best thing, placed it in the basement until I would get married."
"Did you ever get married?"
"Will, you know this." As Will didn't relent on his question or the meanasiing eyebrow twerk that made her smile, Saskia continued. "Samson proposed and I panicked. Gods, I panicked. I was scared but I knew my worth and he wasn't anywhere near my level. I outed him and his bullshit to the whole restaurant before storming away. I didn't even go home."
"Where did you go then?"
"Storage locker," She exhaled as she paused her hand. "I had plenty of money he didn't know about. And I always kept run away cash in stock. I grabbed my laptop from his house, took my first edition of Alice In Wonderland and fled."
"Why does the A represent your name?"
"The name I was christened with was Alexandria, Sasha is a shortened version, and to distance myself even more from my family, I changed it to Saskia. It's more or less a nickname. Like Will is short for William, and sometimes Bill can be too," Saskia looked up. "Is your name actually Will or William?"
He smiled, looking into the fire for a moment. "My full name is Will Graham. What about you? What's your full name?"
"I was born with the name Alexandria Alasite," Saskia nodded softly to herself.
"When did you change it?"
"I'd been known by Saskia for a few years, a nickname. After Dad died, I decided that it was time I severed the bond with my mum's side of the family," She shuddered a breath, slight tears appearing in her eyesight but she blinked them away. "In a few days is my dad's death day. I haven't visited since just after I left Samson."
"Then why did you decide to come this year?"
"Samson didn't approve of me visiting the grave. Lucky for him, he had both parents still alive and both sets of grandparents. He didn't understand death," Saskia watched as Countess let out a shuddering sigh of relief as she fell swiftly asleep in the warmth of the fire. "I visited after my mother's funeral, because it had been a few years since I came. I came this year because of you, Hannibal, and Abigail."
"What?" Will asked, sitting up a bit straighter. He turned to face her better as his eyes flickered between hers, Saskia watched the flames of the fireplace instead of looking at him. "What do you mean because of us?"
"When you saw Samson Tyler's body, what did you see? What did you interpret from it?"
"There was only evidence of two people there, and neither reminded me of you," Will began, looking somewhere into the distance as a smug little smile appeared on his lips. It curled up to show teeth. "It was like you put on a costume and mask, hiding yourself from me. I wouldn't have known you were one of the people unless Hannibal had told me. How did you do that?"
She hummed softly. "Naturally, my emotions are dulled. Think of them as coal, dull and brandless. The situation would be the spark that would ignite the fire. But the fire is mainly instinct, but when it gets too hot, when the flames turn to blue, is when I feel proper emotions. I have no shame. I have no guilt. Well…" She clicked her tongue. "Only when I get caught but that's mainly because I did something stupid to get caught."
"Did you ever get tested for anything when you were younger?"
"If you try and psychoanalyse me, you will find yourself smothered with a pillow tonight," Saskia, however, nodded. "I thought I was a psychopath as a teen, but such a thing doesn't technically exist. I've got a mental disorder called AntiSocial Personality Disorder. I know right from wrong but I just don't care if society says something is good or bad. Going into the philosophical side of things, life has no meaning. Life is not a right, it's a privilege that many abuse."
"This is the kind of conversation I have with Hannibal in our sessions," Will scoffed. "I understand. Killing is not inherently good or bad. Hannibal kills because he is doing a good deed for the society by getting rid of the rude."
"And that guy at christmas?"
"The way he looked at you getting into the elevator just pissed me off,"
Saskia laughed at that, making Will chuckle too. Countess jumped up at the sudden noise of laughter, whining loudly as she realised what happened and went back to laying again. All of them turned quiet for a few minutes.
She felt the familiar wave of chills as she began to think of the best way to lure Yasha into the forest. Gazing off into the fire, she began to think. With how heavy the snow is, it wouldn't be hard to fake an animal attack. Especially if he was found in the forest with several chunks of him missing, the local police wouldn't think much of it. They wouldn't even suspect her because it was so close to her father's death day.
"You've got your sadistic face on," Will suddenly said. "What are you thinking of?"
"How to lure Yasha into the forest and stage an animal attack," Saskia said without pause. When Will stayed silent, she turned to him to see a surprised look on his handsome face. "What? You asked what I was thinking of and that was exactly it."
The surprised look stayed on until it dropped into amusement. "How would you do it?"
"Yasha isn't the most prepared, and from what I remember he doesn't live that far away from the forest but too far from the village to travel in this kind of weather. He would need to get more wood eventually. It would be so easy to take him in the forest because it is utterly soundproof because there are no houses nearby beside this one. If I wore men's shoes and added a limp, no one would suspect me."
"You've really thought this out, haven't you?"
"I'm a writer, Will. I can make these seronies in my head within a heartbeat," Saskia took her own cup of tea and sipped at it. "You and Hannibal aren't the only ones with eidetic memories, and you aren't the only one with an overactive imagination."
He grinned faintly. "With Yasha, do you actually plan to do it?"
"Will you stop me?"
"I'd help you if you wanted me to,"
"Yes, please."
"And our alibis?"
"His body won't be found for days," Saskia smiled. "He will be frozen within twenty four hours and he isn't expected in for work for the next few. As long as we are seen around town and interacting with the locals, we won't be suspected. I'll even go to church to show the locals that I'm here because of my father."
"When?"
"You see," Saskia grinned a beaming smile and lifted her phone. "I got a message that Yasha needed to get firewood, and he has to ask me to go into the forest to get it because I'm in the country. He plans to go tonight."
"How long do we have?" Will flicked the blanket away from him.
"Two hours until he gets into the forest," Saskia checked her watch before letting Will help her up.
"Plenty of time then."
Their sadistic little smiles just made Countess chuff. She got up from where she was laying, knowing she would have some part in this. Replacing her in front of the fireplace was that blasted fox, now swishing five tails with a little smile on its lips.
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Yasha donned his hunting gear and rifle.
Even if he wasn't actively hunting, there were creatures in the forest that he couldn't take on by himself. It was one of the only reasons he texted Sasha, to make sure that someone knew where he was and that he got back safe. He didn't really want to ask for her permission to use the forest wood, but since she was back in the country, he had to ask her before even going in. All of the forest had been Fabius' and since he died, it went to Sasha as she was his daughter.
He trudged through the thick snow, dodging the roots sticking out of the ground by muscle memory alone. He had been through this forest enough times to know it off by heart. With the full moon in a few days, there was plenty of natural light so he didn't need to bring his torch.
That was his first mistake. The second was when he didn't heed the number of crows and the warning they brought.
One for Sorrow.
Instead, he continued to walk on in the snow. It took a good fifteen minutes for him to reach the area he prefered to take the wood from. This bit of forest remained his little place. He doubted even Saskia knew of this place.
Two for Mirth.
He placed his rifle down on a nearby, letting himself have more movement as he had to undo the axe from his belt. Choosing one of the skinnier trees because he knew it would be easier to chop, he began to cut it down.
Three for a funeral.
There was the howl of the wind that could be mistaken for wolves but there were no wolves native to here, at least to his knowledge so he ignored it. The snow still continued to pour slowly. It would start up in the morning again.
Four for a Birth.
The chills ran down his back violently as he heard the howl of the wind again, along with the hoot of owls. The caw of the birds didn't register in his mind, making him think there weren't any crows at all.
Five for Silver.
He paused when there was the crunch of snow to one side. He turned his head to look at the small deer, antlers bloody as it shed the lining of it. Only male deer shed their antlers in the winter, making the deer a stag.
Six for Gold.
He reached for the rifle, coming empty handed. Looking down, he couldn't find it but instead found canine footprints. He doubted a wolf could have taken it and so thought he must have placed it somewhere else. He looked around, first using the moonlight as a guide.
Seven for a secret that won't ever be told.
He didn't see the three shadows behind him where there should have only been one.
Eight for Heaven.
The sharp pain started in his neck, right near the jugular as the blade stood out of his throat. He gasped, tasting the blood in his mouth as fear filled him and made him take out the knife. The dark figure behind him became clearer as he turned around with a hand on his throat. He lunged for them.
Nine for Hell.
He was restrained by two arms under his armpits, hooking over his shoulders to hold his head in place. The moonlight reflected off of their eyes beautifully. He knew those eyes. The cold, dead look inside yet they held the fiercest kind of heat that he had only seen in the wolves he illegally hunted. Her teeth were beautifully white as she smiled, the blood staining her hands as he struggled within her grip.
Ten to the Devil wherever he may dwell.
He also didn't see the dog until it was too late.
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Saskia had placed her hair up into a tight bun because she wasn't stupid enough to leave it down. Her clothes could be burned if needed. The blade she could clean.
Will kept him restrained in a type of headlock, his own hair had been slicked back. Using his strength and height over the man, it didn't take long to get a good grip on him as Will nodded for Saskia to continue.
She used the knife to cut into his throat a few more times, making him scream and thrash in pain. Will held him and felt the blood splatter onto his bare elbows and forearms, even saw some go onto Saskia's face. When a bit got on her lip, she just licked that tiny splatter away.
"You can drop him," Saskia said after he stopped struggling and began to become faint with blood loss. "Countess, finish."
Countess pounced onto the man, quickly baring her teeth and biting into his arm to cause more pain. She thrashed with it in her mouth, tearing the muscle and skin before going for his throat. It didn't stain her muzzle and her paws were clean because she was a good predator.
"You really shouldn't have mentioned my father," Saskia muttered as the knife dripped blood onto the crisp snow. There was already a huge bloody mess around him as Countess got his jaw open and bit his tongue.
Will handed her Yasha's phone, already open and on with a little help from Yasha's dying fingers. He just smiled as he watched the life quickly drain from him, Yasha even tried to grab Will but he stepped out of the way and sent a swift kick to the kidneys. Yasha gasped and groaned but couldn't speak.
Will crouched to look into his scared eyes. "Cat got your tongue? Or really a dog ate it. Good girl, Countess."
Saskia used a clean hand and typed a message.
All safe and back inside. How does lunch tomorrow sound like? I want to apologise for Thursday's incident.
It was sent to her own phone which was left at the house.
She wiped the screen clean and made sure to leave some of Yasha's fingerprints on it before tucking it back into a pocket.
They left him like that, alone and dead in the middle of the forest with bites that looked like they came from a wolf or something.
The little fox looked at the body with disdain as the wolf appeared next to her and the stag right behind him. They wished Hannibal was here for this.
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She didn't expect to be forced up against a wall as soon as they teached the house.
Saskia gasped into the hungry kiss, her bloody hands touching his face and jaw. She smiled into the kiss as she saw the marks her fingers left on his jaws and cheek, knowing as Will began to kiss down her jaw and onto her neck that he left a small trail of blood that was from his neat and maintained beard. It tickled her skin and sent warm goosebumps over her, letting Will know that Saskia enjoyed this sensation and so nuzzled into the crook of her neck, where her throat and jaw met.
His arms caged her in on both sides of her head, making her tilt her head up as Will left tiny bites on her. After a few minutes of this, one of his hands snaked down to her ass and pushed her forward. She groaned into his mouth, biting at his lip which made him squeeze her closer and grind his hard on into the front of her.
"Nah, nah," Saskia was barely able to say as Will tried to silence her with kisses.
"What is it?" Will muttered into her ear, letting the bristles of his beard tickle the side of her cheek.
"Shower,"
He whinied, "Why?"
Saskia laughed, hooking a hand behind his head and letting him drop his forehead so it touched hers. "We're both covered in blood, and I rather not have to burn my sheets along with these clothes. Shower can also be foreplay. How does that sound?"
He tilted his head in thought after giving her another kiss. "How much hot water is there?"
"Enough for two hours straight, I thin—" Saskia gasped, feeling herself being lifted up and over a shoulder. "I am not a sack of potatoes, Will Graham!"
"Your safeword is still Fox, correct?" Will asked as he climbed up the stairs and into the master bedroom. He paused, and looked around for another door, finding the bathroom and turning the light on. "You're still on birth control?"
"Yes, and of course I am. Why are you going into the— WILL, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU CHUCK ME—" Saskia felt the cold water on her before she saw Will's shadow hiding the light from her eyesight. She gritted her teeth. "The water is cold!"
"I'll warm you up."
The hot water lasted for more than two hours but their little session didn't finish until the morning light started to appear and they collapsed from exhaustion.
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