Chapter 14
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Saskia wasn't a dreamer by any means. Of course she had the odd nightmare that resulted in her being unable to sleep or cause unimaginable anger she had to take out while sparring, something she was not able to do whilst in Lithuania.
That night, the night of Yasha's death and an amazing amount of just as amazing sex, Saskia couldn't fall asleep. She laid in the bed, her arms curled under a pillow as Will's arm was a heavy weight on the small of her back. Half lidded eyes replaced her usually alert ones, half aware of what is actually happening and half imagining her memory palace.
There were very few moments that Saskia was comfortable enough to almost fully go into her own mind, even fewer when someone was with her. There was actually never a moment Saskia could think in as much peace as this. Blood and body lust quenched, her mind fully clear for the first time in long months.
She felt free.
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The first room of her palace was always the same. A dark plain room with two doors on the middle of two opposing walls and no windows. To one corner sat a brown leather armchair, a red pillow on it and a dark wood desk to the right arm. A fireplace burned across from the armchair with a bookshelf of her smallest trinkets linked to her most prized memories.
She sat in the armchair, one leg curled up as the other touched the dark rug that covered the marble floor. Hugging the red pillow, feeling the handknitted case and remembering her grandmother and her cooking. The tiny tin of mints that always sat on the desk were one of the best memories she had of her grandmother's second husband, the man Saskia saw as her true grandfather as that was what she knew him as.
The door furthest away from the fireplace and armchair, closer to the desk and bookshelf instead, opened out to a U-shaped room that mostly encased the smaller one. Every inch of the walls held bookcases upon bookcases, sometimes filled with books, other times tiny boxes that were locked with special keys. To one corner was another door, leading out to an even bigger room with more doors, then a bigger, more extravagant room.
All in all, the golden ratio she used to create each room, going from the smallest items to the largest memories, made sure that the tiny room on the other side of the door was kept safe. That tiny room, which wasn't the room with a fireplace, was protected by that room and had only one entrance.
This tiny room was the most intimate part of her mind and memory, the place she kept secure and safe from any and all of those who would try and gain entry.
One blanket and a small engraved wooden box sat in the room on a single shelf.
If she wanted to remember, and she did, she would take the blanket and box off the shelf and sit in the middle of the couch under the shelf. The blanket would be thrown over her legs, reminding her of how much her childhood dog loved the blanket and thus ripped it to pieces one evening.
The box would be opened and placed onto the circular side table, each item was taken out slowly; a tiny portrait of Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, Countess' namesake, a silver ring with sapphires from her father, a ring with a teardrop sapphire for her mother, a pair of gold earrings for her grandmother, Dutch mints for her grandfather, a four leaf clover representing herself and her sisters, the hair clip from christmas to represent Saskia's acceptance of Hannibal and Will's involvement in her life.
The last item she took out was a bronze fox figure, matching the dark figure of a fox protecting this very room. Six tails swishing behind her.
These items were the ones she had the most intimate memories of.
And now she added in a small handful of bloody snow, encased in a snowglobe for all of time.
This was her memory palace and, unless they were told the way out, they would be lost like a labyrinth, eaten alive by what is there.
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"They would be eaten without mercy…"
"What?" Will traced a hand until her shoulder blades, making her shiver as more skin was exposed to the cold air. "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Saskia yawned and sought out Will, curling closer to him as he wrapped an arm around her. "You're warm…"
"And you're tired," He mused when she let out a large yawn and felt chills from the cold. Tucking her head under his and letting out a low whistle, he watched as Saskia fondly smiled at Countess strutting into the room. "We have all day. The snow hasn't stopped and we need some more sleep."
"Sleep?" Saskia asked, her hands in the fur around Countess' ears and cheeks as the dog leapt onto the bed and laid down again. Saskia closed her eyes, feeling Will's heartbeat and warmth. "Sleep sounds good."
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"Gods give me patience or an untraceable handgun with a good fucking alibi," Saskia muttered to herself at the kitchen table, rubbing her hands down her face before dialing the number Will dreaded so ever much.
"Is something the matter, Saskia?" Hannibal's words were laced with slight concern after he answered the phone. "You wouldn't call unless something happened."
"Hi. How do I convince Will that he is sick with a bad cold?" Saskia gave Will the stink eye as the man tried to stand from the table, instead he reached for the cup of tea and sent her a glare back in retaliation.
Hannibal then heard Will's voice yell, "I've told you I don't have a cold!"
"YES, YOU DO!" Saskia turned the phone to her chest before speaking into it again after she finished yelling. "He has a fever and won't stop complaining about becoming hot and cold constantly. And he says his body aches. He was fine yesterday, he only had the sniffles but he woke up with a fever."
"That does sound like the cold," Hannibal sighed. "Put me on video."
"Sure," She situated the phone onto the table, propping it against her coffee cup as Hannibal's tired face came on the screen. She stood behind Will, a blanket over his shoulders as he held the tea in his shaking hands.
He smiled softly before addressing Will., "Do you have any other symptoms? Headache? Exhaustion?"
Will tilted his head side to side in thought, before grumbling, "Yes, both of them."
"I do believe you have a moderate cold, Will," Hannibal stated calmly. "Saskia."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Yeah?"
"Can you make sure that he drinks plenty of liquids that doesn't include coffee?"
Will frowned, lifting the cup with one hand. "She already forced a honey and lemon tea on me."
"Good," Hannibal shook his head at Will's frown and pout mix. "It may not taste the best, but it will help clear the cold out of you. Is there a chance of you making chicken soup, Saskia?"
"Yeah," She nodded, pausing for a thought. "I'll have to head to town to get a chicken though. I only keep beef on stock because of Countess. Anything else I need to know to keep Mr Graham in line with his recovery?"
Will turned his head, giving her a look. "You make it sound like I've been shot or stabbed."
"You're lucky you're cute when you're sick," Saskia shook her head. "I would have left you to fend for yourself if you were my sisters, or told you to suck it up."
They snorted, laughing for a moment before Will asked with a depressing shrug, "How can I have a cold?"
Saskia shook her head with a laugh. "Will, do you even remember what we did on Tuesday?"
"What did you do?" Hannibal asked, an eyebrow quirked in question. Will glanced at Saskia as she looked away, suddenly interested in her bare nails instead of the conversation. "Should I be concerned about something?"
Will gestured with his head to Saskia, making her sigh with a little sheepish grin.
"An old friend of mine decided to insult Will, then mention my father and Samson in the same sentence, and then he tried to step on Countess on purpose," Saskia batted her eyes with a sad little pout, faking sadness. "He met his untimely demise late Tuesday. Ravaged to death by animals in the forest when he went to collect more wood. We didn't find out until the rest of the village did, only after he didn't show up to the lunch today."
Hannibal shook his head gently. "And your alibi?"
Saskia smiled to herself, tilting her head a little. "I can't wait to tell the police this. Our alibi is each other. We spent all night keeping warm in various ways, including the use of a shower and a bed. I already burned the clothes we wore."
"You've had plenty of fun then," Hannibal said.
Will rolled his eyes. "She made us take a shower before we got to the bed."
"And he decided to pick me, throw me over his shoulder, before me in a cold shower," Saskia sent Will a sour look as he smirked. "With our clothes still on."
"You weren't complaining,"
"You were quite vocal,"
"And both of you are exhausted from it."
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Thigh high boots were the first thing anyone saw as Saskia parked her car and got out, the matte leather smooth and clean as it crunched against the fresh snow. There wasn't much to her outfit. Black boots over tights with a red jumper dress cinched at the waist with a belt. She shrugged on a long brown coat, the hem and neckline lined with beautiful orange-brown fur.
First she went to the butchers' and asked for the freshest chicken they had, something they were surprised by. She had to explain that her American friend was ill and she would cook him chicken soup to help his recovery. The boys at the butchers' threw Countess a bit of fat, one of her favourite bits.
Countess needed more beef anyway.
"Saskia," Viktor greeted as she walked into the tavern half an hour later. She took a seat at the bar after giving Viktor a quick hug. He placed a cup of hot coffee, already knowing how she liked it and that she really needed it.
Today would be tense.
Fabius Alas died many years ago.
This visit would be the longest one since she planned her father's funeral. There was still another five days before she would go home but she was glad for this opportunity to visit.
This trip was the first time Viktor had seen Saskia in a few years. Viktor hadn't attended Saskia's mother's funeral, having his own disdain for the woman in question. Three years ago, Saskia visited because Samson had died, murdered. Viktor caught small glimpses of Saskia during that single day she stayed at the house.
Viktor had already lit the candle, something he did for very few people in his life.
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It might've been snowing and below freezing, but Saskia continued to sit at the end of the grave. Two crystal glasses sat on the smooth edge of the headstone, a matching crystal decanter was to the side with the stopper. A beautiful scripted A was scared into the crystal, signifying her Family name.
These crystal glasses and decanter were passed from parent to eldest child, so Saskia had the privilege of ending the tradition by choice. She was going to be the last of the Alas line, her uncle didn't want to have children too. She was the furthest the line would go.
None of her half siblings had the same last name as her, they took their mother's maiden name or their father's in her older sister's case.
"Hi Dad," She poured a small amount of alcohol into the glass that sat on the headstone, leaving the glass as an offering to her dad's spirit. "I'm here for a bit longer this year. I've decided to make this year's visit a little bit more of a holiday, I need it and so does Will. Oh, I brought someone with me this time, and no, I'm not pregnant nor am I getting married…"
Time seemed to stop.
Saskia couldn't tell if any or all time as she spent it speaking to her father's grave. Even with him dead, she could relish in knowing that his ashes were in a ring she wore on her right middle finger. His ashes were compressed into a blue teardrop stone encased with silver and tiny matching blue stones all around the main one. It was a well fitted ring and Saskia had to literally twist the ring off to remove it.
"They're good men," Saskia smiled as a giggle escaped her. "Well, good is subjective, but they've been good to me and Countess. I've told you about Abigail, haven't I? Well, she's on her way to becoming a vet now. With a rocky start with her own father trying to kill her, she took on both Hannibal and Will as her parents quite quickly. She's a good kid, just needed a push away from killing people and finding herself someone nice to settle down with."
Will watched from the back door of the house, leaning against the doorframe as he listened to Saskia speak in Lithuanian. He was able to understand it to a certain degree because of some lessons Hannibal forced onto him. Now he was grateful that he understood what she said, even if he felt like this was a slight invasion of privacy but he was a curious man.
Will rubbed his forehead before rubbing his hand down his face, sighing silently as the Wendigo appeared on the forest's edge. Out of all times it decided to terrorise Will, it chose now as a good time.
Almost seven feet tall, the Wendigo barely had to duck its head underneath the branches of the forest trees. It didn't want the large, curling antlers to get caught in the branches as it moved towards the bench and grave. Its body was thin but strong as it moved the branches out of the way, silently snapping them before chucking them away.
Only a few metres away from where Saskia sat cross legged on the ground with the glass of starka in hand, it stood and watched for a moment before walking closer.
Will narrowed his eyes as Saskia looked up, seeming to see the creature before looking back to the grave. Behind her, a fox of seven tails just laid and also watched the Wendigo sit next to the woman on the floor.
The fox and Wendigo turned their heads, looking to Will's feet where a grey wolf sat next to him. The wolf looked up at Will, tilting his head as Will did the same before it got up and trotted over to lay on one of Saskia, leaving no footprints in the snow.
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It was barely past eight when Will and Saskia walked into the dining room just to find Hannibal having a dinner party.
Saskia groaned. She was dressed in black joggers with a red hoodie and Will's oversized coat he gave her when she fell asleep on the plane after the fourth hour, only awakening when they began to land on the tenth hour. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she held a coffee in a disposable cup in one hand and her laptop case in the other.
"Will, Saskia," Hannibal said as he dabbed at his mouth before getting up. "I didn't expect you home until later."
"Flight came early," Will said as he greeted Hannibal with a kiss to the cheek. Hannibal smiled when Will's hungry eyes glazed over their guests before landing back on him. "I see you're having a dinner party. What's the main dish this time?"
"Lamb mostly," Hannibal said before turning to Saskia who yawned lightly. He greeted Countess with a scratch before greeting Saskia with a nod and a smile, knowing she was too tired and jittery for physical contact by her clenching and unclenching jaw. "There's some food heating up in the kitchen for you, Saskia. Lentil lasagna. "
"Hmm," Saskia softly smiled back. "Sounds good."
"Nonsense, Hannibal," One of the older ladies said, waving her hand in front of her face. She reminded Saskia of Madam Crow. "Both of them can join us, can they not?"
"I can't," Saskia said, crouching down to unclip Countess from her harness and collar. "I'm vegetarian and I doubt Hannibal anticipated my arrival for the meal, meaning everything is not at all vegetarian. But Hannibal did create a masterpiece for me to eat."
Saskia walked straight into the kitchen, seeing a few people there that probably acted as support staff for Hannibal when he cooked and displayed the food. There was a small white dish covered with a clean towel and a small card on top that said do not touch and that it was for Saskia.
"Ah, you're not supposed to be in here," A man said. "Get out."
"Excuse you?" Saskia turned to him after picking up her dish. "Who're you?"
"I'm in charge in here. So…" He took the dish from her and placed it back down. "Don't touch anything. I'm being paid handsomely for helping Mr Lecter. That includes keeping riffraff like you out of here."
"Riffraff. Right." Saskia turned sharply on her feet, quietly walking until she stood next to Hannibal and leaned down to his ear. She switched to Lithuanian as she angrily spit out. "This son of a bitch you hired to be in charge of the servers has refused to allow me to take my food. What do I do that doesn't involve me carving him like a prized pig in front of everyone because I am this close to doing it?"
Hannibal paused, exhaling swiftly before untucking himself and standing up. "If you will excuse me for a moment, there is a slight problem in the kitchen." He nodded for Saskia to follow him into the kitchen.
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Hannibal placed the little white business card into the roll, carefully tucking it in before trying to think of a new recipe that would be worthy of the misfortune.
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