Disclaimer: I own nothing. *starts crying hysterically*
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been working on other stories, but I finally decided to do something with this one . . . or at least attempt to do something.
Warning: Towards the beginning of this chapter, there is a very bad case of OOCness, mainly over a game of cards. Do not flame me for it; you have been warned. And you can't really blame me, how can a game of Go Fish be as serious as Hannibal and Clarice really are?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clarice walked over to the table, slightly nervous about what was on it. She knew that Hannibal had promised to stop killing, but that didn't necessarily mean that he didn't have leftovers that he had been keeping for a special occasion. Clarice definitely counted this as special, but not quite special enough that she would eat someone. When she saw what was on the plate, she laughed. There were two sunny side up eggs with a strip of bacon along the bottom of the plate.
"It's more juvenile than I would've expected from you, but it looks quite good. Thank you," Clarice said, smiling at Hannibal.
"Well, I figured that you wouldn't want a real face, so I made you a fake one. Myself, however," Hannibal said, glancing over at his plate. On it was something that looked suspiciously like part of a face. Clarice jerked away from the table with a repulsed look on her face.
"Hannibal! I thought you said that you would stop!" Clarice said, almost yelling.
"I am. These are merely leftovers that I didn't want to go bad. I thought that you would appreciate the van not smelling like a corpse," he said and walked over to Clarice.
"You could throw them out," Clarice said and walked over to the table. She picked up her plate and went to the opposite end of the van. She sat down on the couch and began to eat.
"Clarice, I'm sorry. I didn't think that it would bother you so much," Hannibal said, remaining where he was. He wanted to go over to her, but knew it would only make things worse.
"Not bother me? How could that not bother me? It was once a human's face! Yeah, that would bother me, and you know it, or have you forgotten the evening in Chesapeake?" Clarice spat. Hannibal winced.
"No, I haven't forgotten," he said and went over to the plate. He quickly ate everything on it, either ignoring or not noticing Clarice gagging in the corner. Once he was done, he got up, put the plate in the sink and went over to a small cooler in a corner of the van. "I'll be right back," Hannibal said and took it outside. He returned shortly and put it back where he had gotten it from. He went over to the sink and began washing his plate. With his back still towards Clarice, he said, "You'll need to go shopping soon to get some new cloths. You'll probably also want to get your hair cut or died, preferably both. I suggest you write a letter to Agent Mapp telling her not to worry, otherwise she'll come looking for you. She probably will anyways, but at least there will be a chance that she wont'. I don't suppose you have your wallet with you?"
"Yes, actually I do."
"You'll also need to get rid of it and get new identification papers under the name of Anna Rickman. You're forty three and grew up in London. You moved to America six months ago after you met me. Before you get your papers, we'll need to get rings so it looks as if we're engaged. Once you have the papers, we can go wherever you want," Hannibal said monotonously. Clarice stared at him. He could feel her gaze boring into his back. "What?" he asked.
"You've done this a lot, haven't you?" Clarice asked, slightly awed. She told her self that she shouldn't be considering who she was dealing with, but she couldn't help it.
"You should know," Hannibal said sharply.
"What is it?" Clarice snapped. Hannibal sighed.
"Nothing," he said. Clarice knew that if she tried to ask him again, she would either get silence or meaningless answers. She sighed and finished her breakfast. She walked over to the sink where Hannibal was still washing his breakfast dish.
"It's clean," she said softly. Hannibal turned snapped his head up from the dish. He put it in the dish drainer next to the sink and took Clarice's plate from her. "Hannibal, what's wrong?" Clarice asked again. Her voice was soothing and he leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Nothing," Hannibal repeated. Clarice sighed.
"You're going to have to tell me sometime."
"I know," he said, and started washing her dish. Clarice sighed again and went back to the couch. Next to her was Hannibal's sketchbook. She picked it up and began leafing through it. Most of the drawings were of places, but a few were of her. She stopped at a particularly stunning one. She didn't recognize where it was, but it was absolutely beautiful. All of the buildings seemed to have a surreal quality, like they shouldn't really be standing up. The lines seemed wavy, but not as if it was because that was how he had drawn it, but as if that was how the buildings actually were. It seemed as if the city was underwater, but knew that it wasn't. Hannibal drew things that had he had either seen or heard about, real things, not fantasy. Like all his pictures, it wasn't coloured in, but Clarice knew that if it was, everything would be in blues, purples and greens.
"That was in Venice," Hannibal said. Clarice looked over to see where he was. He was still standing by the sink.
"How do you know what picture I'm looking at?" Clarice asked.
"Because when I drew that one I was thinking of you. Art calls to the person it is made for."
"Still. . ." Clarice said.
"If you want to go there, we can."
"I'd love to," she replied. "How long will it take before we can go?"
"About a month once we get going. Maybe a little longer."
"When can we start?"
"Once we're far away enough from your home so no one will recognize us. We need to be in a big city where no one is remembered, and the nearest city like that is probably three days away. I know you're anxious to leave, but if we're not properly prepared, it's going to make our lives much more difficult. One thing about living like I do is that you have to be patient," Hannibal answered.
"What do we do until then? From what you're saying, we're facing three days worth of doing absolutely nothing." Clarice answered. At that, Hannibal finally turned around smiling. He walked over to Clarice and reached up to the shelf above the couch. He brought down a deck of cards.
"You'd be surprised at how many card games one picks up when one travels across the world," Hannibal said. He held his hand out to Clarice. She took it and stood up. He led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her.
"Thank you," Clarice said sitting down.
"Of course," Hannibal said and sat down across from her. He began to expertly shuffle the cards. "What game would you like to play?"
"Most of the card games I once knew, I haven't played in years. I'm afraid that the only ones I really remember are War and Go Fish," Clarice said, somewhat sheepishly (A/N: no pun intended).
"Go Fish, then?" Hannibal half asked and began dealing out cards.
"Somehow I never imagined myself playing Go Fish with someone on the Top Ten list," Clarice chuckled. She picked up her cards. "Pairs or four-of-a- kind?"
"Four-of-a-kind, of course," Hannibal said with mock surprise. "I intend to make this as challenging as a game of Go Fish can be."
Three hours and twelve games later, they were still at it. The score was tied. Since they had both decided that they needed to get going, the game they were playing now was the final game. They each had three cards left and it was Clarice's turn.
"Do you have nay fives?" she asked for what seemed like the ten thousandth time.
"Go fish," Hannibal said. She picked up a card and smiled.
"I win," she said, laying out four fives. Hannibal threw his cards down. "I never would've guessed that you were such a sore looser," Clarice teased. Hannibal harrumphed.
"Perhaps that would be because I am not used to loosing," he said.
"Shame. At any rate, you need to get us out of here. Start driving," Clarice said. Hannibal's eyes shot daggers at her, but she only smiled sweetly. He mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?"
"Nothing!" Hannibal snapped and went up to the driver's seat. Clarice sat down next to him.
"Since you are being so kind, I guess I'll sit up here next to you," Clarice said and buckled herself in. Hannibal smiled.
"Thank you. It does get rather lonely driving by yourself for many hours in a row."
"I know," Clarice said and put a hand on his thigh. Hannibal's smile widened and he started the van. He carefully drove out of the woods and onto the road and began to really drive. He and Clarice talked about various things, but never about what had been bothering him that morning, even though it was on both of their minds. Clarice's hand stayed where she had put it.
At around three in the afternoon, Clarice said that she was hungry. By then they were on a real highway, so Hannibal said that they could stop at the next food place. A half hour later, she finally saw a sign for one. Two minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. They got out of the car and went into the McDonald's. They walked up to menu and decided to get some macaroni and cheese. Clarice wanted to eat there, but Hannibal said that it was too dangerous, so they settled on eating in the van still in the parking lot. Hannibal still didn't think that it was a good idea, but he did it for Clarice. A half hour later they started driving again. Clarice put her hand back on his thigh.
They drove until six when they started looking for a place to stay in. Again, Hannibal wanted to just sleep in the van, but Clarice really wanted to sleep somewhere where she wouldn't wake up with a sore neck.
"Clarice, you woke up with a sore neck this morning because you spent most of the night with your head on my shoulder," Hannibal reasoned.
" I don't care. I want a real bed."
"You are far too stubborn for your own good," Hannibal said, but he pulled up at the next hotel which happened to be the Marriot. Clarice stared at him.
"I didn't mean that we had to spend thousands of dollars," she said.
"The bigger the better," Hannibal said. He parked the van and went into the back to get anything they might need. A few minutes later they were standing in the lobby. "Wait by the fountain," Hannibal whispered to Clarice. She nodded and went over to a large fountain. She saw Hannibal talking to the desk attendant, and after about five minutes he came back holding some keys. "I'm Alexander White and you're my wife, Carmen." Clarice nodded. A bell boy walked up to them.
"Do you need any help?" he asked. His name tag proclaimed that he was Henry.
"No, thank you. We're fine," Hannibal said and smiled coldly at him. The boy scampered away. Hannibal led Clarice to the elevator and rode up to the third floor. Their room number was 335 and they had no trouble finding it. When Hannibal opened the door, Clarice couldn't help but gasp. He hadn't just booked them a room, but a whole suit.
"Hannibal, we're only going to be here for one night," she said, walking into the room.
"First, my name is Alexander. Second, I was thinking that we might stay a little longer. I've always liked the Marriot," he said smiling. "Besides, it would probably be a good idea to rest for a few days before we start getting everything together."
"I'm not complaining," Clarice called from another room.
"I didn't think you would," Hannibal said, walking into the bedroom where he saw Clarice sprawled out on a huge canopy bed. He sat down next to her and put her head in his lap. He began massaging her forehead.
"Hannibal, Alexander, we don't have rings," Clarice said.
"We can get them later today," Hannibal said. "What I'm most concerned with is your having only one outfit. We should go out now," he said, but didn't move.
"I know," Clarice said, but she didn't make any move to get up either.
"We really should go," Hannibal said.
"I know."
"Clarice, you realize I can't easily get up with you on me?"
"I know."
"Clarice, please."
"Fine," she said and got up. "Where should we go?"
"Some place fancy. This is one of the best rooms in the hotel, and we need to be dressed well. For accessories, we can go to Tiffany's, but for actual cloths, I'm not sure. Where Tiffany's is, other stores are, generally of the same standards. We can look around," Hannibal said.
"Alright," Clarice said, and walked out of the room with Hannibal at her side.
"And Carmen, remember that we're married," Hannibal whispered in her ear. She nodded, and leaned slightly on him. Hannibal put his arm around her waist and smiled. They walked down the hall and towards the elevator. When they got there, it was just leaving so they had to wait for another to come. It did, and they went down to the lobby. They went out the doors and to the van. Hannibal was almost sure that someone would be there waiting for them, but no one was. They got into the van and in a few minutes they were in the parking lot of a gigantic mall.
"Alexander?" Clarice said.
"What is it, Carmen?"
"How did you know where this mall is?"
"Because I do," Hannibal said and got out. Clarice followed and soon they were weaving there way through the crowds. "Tiffany's is on the second floor, Hannibal said and led Clarice to an escalator. When they got off, they were standing in front if Tiffany's.
"I suppose it would be useless to ask how you knew this?" Clarice said.
"Yes," Hannibal smiled.
"Do you have really have enough money to go shopping in Tiffany's?"
"We, Carmen. Yes we do. Rings are this way," Hannibal led Clarice to the rings section. "What's your favourite gem?"
"Um, diamond. But you don't need to buy me a diamond ring just so people think we're married."
"I know I don't." Hannibal led her towards the diamond section. "Carmen?"
"Mmmm?"
"Why don't you go look at other jewellery. We can meet up again later," Hannibal said. Clarice looked at him oddly.
"Ok," she said, and walked away towards where she remembered the necklaces to be. She found them quite easily; it really paid off to have a good memory, and when you're and F.B.I. agent, that's something you need to have. She was in a slightly dilemma. She wanted to get diamond necklaces to match her ring, but didn't want Hannibal to have to pay for them. She knew that he was rich, but asking for a set of diamond jewellery seemed like a lot.
"Excuse me, but do you need any help?" a clerk asked her.
"Yes, please. I'm looking for diamond jewellery, but not too fancy or expensive," Clarice answered.
"Ok. Is there any style in particular that you are looking for? A certain animal or shape?" she asked.
"Well, I guess dragonflies. I've always liked them," Clarice said.
"You're in luck. We just got in a new shipment of dragonfly jewellery. What piece are you looking for?" the woman asked.
"I'm kind of new at jewellery shopping, so I'm not really sure. Could you help me?" Clarice said. She hated not knowing anything, and wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Being in a store this fancy and expensive made her feel incredibly awkward and out of place.
"Sure. Follow me," the clerk said and began to weave her way through the many showcases. Clarice followed easily, another skill she had picked up from the F.B.I.. "Here are the dragonflies. I think you'll probably want a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a brooch. Those are the basics."
"Ok. What's the price range?" Clarice asked. Before the clerk had a change to answer, Hannibal came up to them.
"Carmen, I've told you. Price doesn't matter," Hannibal said to Clarice. He then turned to the clerk. "Thank you for your help, but we can do the rest by ourselves."
"Of course," she said, and walked away.
"Dragonflies? I can't say I'm surprised. They're free and beautiful, like you," Hannibal said. Clarice blushed.
"Thank you. Are you really sure price doesn't matter? You must have a limited amount of money. Everyone does."
"Price doesn't matter," Hannibal said again. He turned towards the display and picked out a brooch, bracelet, necklace and a pair of earrings. "She was right about one thing. You need to have the four basics: a brooch, a bracelet, a necklace and a pair of earrings. But in general, never trust sales people. Try these on," he said and handed them to her. Clarice took the necklace first and fastened it around her neck. The dragonfly was hanging from a silver chain the same colour as the embedding where the diamonds were on the pendant. Next, Clarice took out her earrings and put in the new ones. They were also silver with diamonds and hung down about an inch below her earlobes. She then clipped the brooch on, which was the same dragonfly as on her earrings and necklace. Finally, the bracelet, which had a single dragonfly charm. In her new jewellery, Clarice felt incredibly awkward and afraid to move because she knew that if she did, everything would break. "You look beautiful Carmen. Come, lets buy everything and then we can go looking for clothes."
"Ok," Clarice said and took off all the jewels. "You don't have to do this, you know. The total is going to come out to some ridiculously high price."
"I know," Hannibal said and took the jewels and put them in their boxes. They walked up to the counter. "I'll meet you outside, ok?" Clarice looked at him oddly again.
"I'll be right outside," she said and walked out of the store. She sat on some benches and in about three minutes Hannibal came out holding a bag.
"Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"You know more about living high class than me. I don't know anything at all about fancy dresses. The last time I wore a dress was at my father's funeral, thirty two years ago. And I'm not exactly the type of person to watch fashion shows or anything. DO you have any ideas?" Clarice said.
"Even though I am high class, I know almost nothing about woman's clothes," Hannibal said.
"Since neither of us knows about any good stores, why don't we just try one at random?" Clarice suggested.
"That's the only logical thing to do," Hannibal said and began to walk in no particular direction. Clarice followed, and soon they came to a store that looked like it might be good. They went inside and Hannibal nodded in satisfaction. It was medium size so it wasn't as overwhelming as Tiffany's had been, but it seemed that it was of very good quality.
"This place should be perfect," Hannibal said.
"May I help you?" a woman asked from behind them. They turned around and saw a clerk standing there.
"Sure," Clarice said quickly before Hannibal could refuse. Since neither of them new anything about the store, she figured that a guide would be helpful.
"We're looking for evening gowns," Hannibal said.
"Ok. My name's Mia. Is there any particular you're looking for? A certain style?" Mia said.
"No," Hannibal answered.
"Colour? Anything that could help me figure out what to show you?"
"Black, yellow or red would be nice," Clarice said, thinking of the colours she normally wore. "Maybe blue. I don't really know. What do you think?"
"I think you're right. Let's start with black," Mia said and led them towards the back of the store. "What size are you?" Mia asked.
"I haven't worn a dress in over thirty years; I really don't know," Clarice answered.
"Then what's your pants and shirt size?" asked Mia. Clarice told her.
"These should fit you then." Mia took down three dresses. "The dressing rooms are here," Mia said pointing to where they were.
"Thanks," Clarice said. She took the dresses and walked over to the rooms. She selected one of the larger stalls and undressed. She picked the first dress up. It was made of satin and felt like water. Clarice out it on, but couldn't zip it. After several failed attempts, she took hers arms out and turned the dress around. She zipped it, turned it back the right way and put her arms through. She looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. She looked nothing like herself. The dress accented all of her curves in a way that no clothes she had ever owned did. She stepped out of the stall to see Hannibal and Mia in front of her.
"You look amazing, Carmen," Hannibal said.
"He's right," Mia agreed. "Try the others on." Clarice nodded and went back into the room. She took her dress of the same way she had put it on, turning it around to undo the zipper and put it back on its hanger. The next one she picked up was made of silk and was quite cold. She slipped this one on, again turning it around to zipper it. This one was much fancier, with a lower neckline and a slit down the side. It reminded her of the dress that Hannibal had given her at Chesapeake so much that she had to sit down for a second. She put her head in her hands as the scene at the dinner table played in front of her eyes. Her asking for some wine, Krendler sitting at the table with his hat on, then Hannibal taking it off as well as the top part of his head. Serving Krendler's brain to himself and then clearing the table. Herself getting up with the candle stick to kill Hannibal. Hannibal kissing her.
"Are you ok?" Hannibal's voice cut through the memory and she was jolted back to the present.
"I'm fine," Clarice said and opened the door. Hannibal gasped, instantly aware of the resemblance.
"Get that one," he said.
"I will," Clarice said and went back into the room. She put on the other one, but this one didn't fit her nearly as well and quickly changed out of it. She took the two dresses she would be buying in one hand and the one she wasn't going to on the other. She came out.
"The last one didn't fit?" Mia asked. Clarice shook her head, still slightly out of it from the flash back that had just occurred.
"No. I think that I'd only like to try on a few more and then leave," answered Clarice.
"Sure. Which colour?" Mia asked.
"Red," Hannibal and Clarice said at the same time. Mia laughed.
"This way," she said and led them towards the reds section. "Any shade?"
"Dark," Clarice answered.
"Here," Mia said handing Clarice two dresses. She went back to the changing room and put the first one on. It felt as if she had been wrapped inside a waterfall. She looked at herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. The dress was quite a bit darker than her hair, but it contrasted nicely. It seemed to fit her like a second skin. She walked out of the room and saw that Hannibal and Mia were where they had been last time.
"Beautiful," Hannibal said.
"Definitely. Try the other on," Mia said. Clarice went back into the room and tried the other on. It also fit and she showed it to the others. They nodded and she went back into the room. She changed back into her normal cloths and went back out, holding the two dresses. She handed them both to Hannibal who had been holding the others.
"Let's go," Clarice said. Hannibal nodded. They quickly paid for the cloths and left. At the first bench she saw, Clarice sat down heavily. Hannibal sat down next to her, carefully placing the bags next to him.
"Are you ok?" he asked again.
"No. Give me a second," she said. Hannibal put an arm around her and she leaned into him, grateful for something real to hold on to. Memories were coming back to her at an alarming rate from her entire life and she wasn't happy about it. A few minutes later she sat up again, rubbing her cheeks where she had been crying. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's ok. Let's go," Hannibal said soothingly and helped her up.
"One problem. I still don't have any normal clothes," Clarice said. "I can't go around in these dresses all the time."
"Am I right in thinking that you would much rather do it later? We can come back tomorrow," Hannibal asked.
"Excellent idea. Let's go," Clarice said. They went quickly back to the van, put their purchases carefully into the back and drove back to the hotel. They went up to their room and put everything on the bed, carefully laid out. Hannibal swore when he saw everything.
"What is it?" Clarice asked.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to the store in the hotel. I'll be back in a few minutes," Hannibal said.
"Why. . ." Clarice started to ask, but he was already gone. She sighed and sat down on a chair by the window and looked out. The view was spectacular. Even though they were only on the third floor, the hotel was on a hill so Clarice felt as if she could see for miles. A pond was almost directly below her and a woods started about ten yards away from the edge. It went on as far as she could see, rolling over hills until it reached the horizon. She started thinking about the last time she had seen a view like this and decided it was when she had flown to California a couple of years ago on a mission. She tried, but couldn't remember exactly what it was, but decided that it didn't really matter. Clarice let her mind relax and started thinking about random things, none of which were very important. About ten minutes later, she heard the door open. Hannibal walked in carrying a bag which he dumped on the bed. Make up flew out of it, but it all managed to stay on the bed. "No," Clarice said.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Carmen, if this is going to work, you need to," Hannibal said.
"I haven't ever worn make up in my life and I'm not about to start," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Besides, I don't even know how." Hannibal sighed.
"I'll do it for you," he said.
"You know how?" Clarice said, surprised.
"Yes, actually I do," he said. "Why don't' you get dressed, and then call me when you're done." Clarice nodded, and Hannibal left, leaving her alone with the immense task of making herself looking like she belonged in the Marriott. She took off her clothes and slipped into the black dress that didn't look like the Chesapeake one. She put on all of her jewellery and put her hair up in a bun, something she rarely did. That taken care of, she called to Hannibal. He came in and smiled when he saw what she looked like.
"Sit on the chair," he said, motioning towards the chair that was by the window. "On second thought, move next to the bed first." Clarice did as she was told. Hannibal sat across from her on the bed. "Don't move," he said. She nodded and then stilled. Hannibal looked down at the make up he had brought. He picked up a dark red lipstick. "Smile." Clarice did. He took the top off and ran it gently across her taunt lips, resisting the urge to kiss her. Hannibal couldn't tell what she was thinking because he was so wrapped up in his work, so he didn't notice how close they were until he felt her breath on his face. She opened her eyes, and looked straight into his maroon ones. He realized that he didn't know when she had closed them, but didn't really care either. They stared at each other for a few minutes until Hannibal backed away and put the lipstick back on the bed. He picked up eye liner and told Clarice to close her eyes. She did and he quickly applied it. He then put on eye shadow, followed by mascara. He then put on a light coat of blusher before he said that she could open her eyes. When she did, Hannibal gasped. She looked so amazingly beautiful, not that she didn't usually, but she looked so . . . different.
"What," she said nervously.
"You look perfect," Hannibal said, still staring at her.
"Mirror?" Clarice asked. He pointed at the one mounted on the wall. She got up gracefully and walked over towards it. She stared at herself in disbelief. "This isn't me," she said.
"I know, but she'll have to do for now. Come, dinner's ready," Hannibal said.
"How do you know?" Clarice asked.
"Because all hotels have the same dinner schedule. Carmen," he offered her his arm. She took it.
"Then let's go eat," she said. Hannibal smiled and led her out of the room towards what promised to be a delicious dinner.
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been working on other stories, but I finally decided to do something with this one . . . or at least attempt to do something.
Warning: Towards the beginning of this chapter, there is a very bad case of OOCness, mainly over a game of cards. Do not flame me for it; you have been warned. And you can't really blame me, how can a game of Go Fish be as serious as Hannibal and Clarice really are?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clarice walked over to the table, slightly nervous about what was on it. She knew that Hannibal had promised to stop killing, but that didn't necessarily mean that he didn't have leftovers that he had been keeping for a special occasion. Clarice definitely counted this as special, but not quite special enough that she would eat someone. When she saw what was on the plate, she laughed. There were two sunny side up eggs with a strip of bacon along the bottom of the plate.
"It's more juvenile than I would've expected from you, but it looks quite good. Thank you," Clarice said, smiling at Hannibal.
"Well, I figured that you wouldn't want a real face, so I made you a fake one. Myself, however," Hannibal said, glancing over at his plate. On it was something that looked suspiciously like part of a face. Clarice jerked away from the table with a repulsed look on her face.
"Hannibal! I thought you said that you would stop!" Clarice said, almost yelling.
"I am. These are merely leftovers that I didn't want to go bad. I thought that you would appreciate the van not smelling like a corpse," he said and walked over to Clarice.
"You could throw them out," Clarice said and walked over to the table. She picked up her plate and went to the opposite end of the van. She sat down on the couch and began to eat.
"Clarice, I'm sorry. I didn't think that it would bother you so much," Hannibal said, remaining where he was. He wanted to go over to her, but knew it would only make things worse.
"Not bother me? How could that not bother me? It was once a human's face! Yeah, that would bother me, and you know it, or have you forgotten the evening in Chesapeake?" Clarice spat. Hannibal winced.
"No, I haven't forgotten," he said and went over to the plate. He quickly ate everything on it, either ignoring or not noticing Clarice gagging in the corner. Once he was done, he got up, put the plate in the sink and went over to a small cooler in a corner of the van. "I'll be right back," Hannibal said and took it outside. He returned shortly and put it back where he had gotten it from. He went over to the sink and began washing his plate. With his back still towards Clarice, he said, "You'll need to go shopping soon to get some new cloths. You'll probably also want to get your hair cut or died, preferably both. I suggest you write a letter to Agent Mapp telling her not to worry, otherwise she'll come looking for you. She probably will anyways, but at least there will be a chance that she wont'. I don't suppose you have your wallet with you?"
"Yes, actually I do."
"You'll also need to get rid of it and get new identification papers under the name of Anna Rickman. You're forty three and grew up in London. You moved to America six months ago after you met me. Before you get your papers, we'll need to get rings so it looks as if we're engaged. Once you have the papers, we can go wherever you want," Hannibal said monotonously. Clarice stared at him. He could feel her gaze boring into his back. "What?" he asked.
"You've done this a lot, haven't you?" Clarice asked, slightly awed. She told her self that she shouldn't be considering who she was dealing with, but she couldn't help it.
"You should know," Hannibal said sharply.
"What is it?" Clarice snapped. Hannibal sighed.
"Nothing," he said. Clarice knew that if she tried to ask him again, she would either get silence or meaningless answers. She sighed and finished her breakfast. She walked over to the sink where Hannibal was still washing his breakfast dish.
"It's clean," she said softly. Hannibal turned snapped his head up from the dish. He put it in the dish drainer next to the sink and took Clarice's plate from her. "Hannibal, what's wrong?" Clarice asked again. Her voice was soothing and he leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Nothing," Hannibal repeated. Clarice sighed.
"You're going to have to tell me sometime."
"I know," he said, and started washing her dish. Clarice sighed again and went back to the couch. Next to her was Hannibal's sketchbook. She picked it up and began leafing through it. Most of the drawings were of places, but a few were of her. She stopped at a particularly stunning one. She didn't recognize where it was, but it was absolutely beautiful. All of the buildings seemed to have a surreal quality, like they shouldn't really be standing up. The lines seemed wavy, but not as if it was because that was how he had drawn it, but as if that was how the buildings actually were. It seemed as if the city was underwater, but knew that it wasn't. Hannibal drew things that had he had either seen or heard about, real things, not fantasy. Like all his pictures, it wasn't coloured in, but Clarice knew that if it was, everything would be in blues, purples and greens.
"That was in Venice," Hannibal said. Clarice looked over to see where he was. He was still standing by the sink.
"How do you know what picture I'm looking at?" Clarice asked.
"Because when I drew that one I was thinking of you. Art calls to the person it is made for."
"Still. . ." Clarice said.
"If you want to go there, we can."
"I'd love to," she replied. "How long will it take before we can go?"
"About a month once we get going. Maybe a little longer."
"When can we start?"
"Once we're far away enough from your home so no one will recognize us. We need to be in a big city where no one is remembered, and the nearest city like that is probably three days away. I know you're anxious to leave, but if we're not properly prepared, it's going to make our lives much more difficult. One thing about living like I do is that you have to be patient," Hannibal answered.
"What do we do until then? From what you're saying, we're facing three days worth of doing absolutely nothing." Clarice answered. At that, Hannibal finally turned around smiling. He walked over to Clarice and reached up to the shelf above the couch. He brought down a deck of cards.
"You'd be surprised at how many card games one picks up when one travels across the world," Hannibal said. He held his hand out to Clarice. She took it and stood up. He led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her.
"Thank you," Clarice said sitting down.
"Of course," Hannibal said and sat down across from her. He began to expertly shuffle the cards. "What game would you like to play?"
"Most of the card games I once knew, I haven't played in years. I'm afraid that the only ones I really remember are War and Go Fish," Clarice said, somewhat sheepishly (A/N: no pun intended).
"Go Fish, then?" Hannibal half asked and began dealing out cards.
"Somehow I never imagined myself playing Go Fish with someone on the Top Ten list," Clarice chuckled. She picked up her cards. "Pairs or four-of-a- kind?"
"Four-of-a-kind, of course," Hannibal said with mock surprise. "I intend to make this as challenging as a game of Go Fish can be."
Three hours and twelve games later, they were still at it. The score was tied. Since they had both decided that they needed to get going, the game they were playing now was the final game. They each had three cards left and it was Clarice's turn.
"Do you have nay fives?" she asked for what seemed like the ten thousandth time.
"Go fish," Hannibal said. She picked up a card and smiled.
"I win," she said, laying out four fives. Hannibal threw his cards down. "I never would've guessed that you were such a sore looser," Clarice teased. Hannibal harrumphed.
"Perhaps that would be because I am not used to loosing," he said.
"Shame. At any rate, you need to get us out of here. Start driving," Clarice said. Hannibal's eyes shot daggers at her, but she only smiled sweetly. He mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?"
"Nothing!" Hannibal snapped and went up to the driver's seat. Clarice sat down next to him.
"Since you are being so kind, I guess I'll sit up here next to you," Clarice said and buckled herself in. Hannibal smiled.
"Thank you. It does get rather lonely driving by yourself for many hours in a row."
"I know," Clarice said and put a hand on his thigh. Hannibal's smile widened and he started the van. He carefully drove out of the woods and onto the road and began to really drive. He and Clarice talked about various things, but never about what had been bothering him that morning, even though it was on both of their minds. Clarice's hand stayed where she had put it.
At around three in the afternoon, Clarice said that she was hungry. By then they were on a real highway, so Hannibal said that they could stop at the next food place. A half hour later, she finally saw a sign for one. Two minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. They got out of the car and went into the McDonald's. They walked up to menu and decided to get some macaroni and cheese. Clarice wanted to eat there, but Hannibal said that it was too dangerous, so they settled on eating in the van still in the parking lot. Hannibal still didn't think that it was a good idea, but he did it for Clarice. A half hour later they started driving again. Clarice put her hand back on his thigh.
They drove until six when they started looking for a place to stay in. Again, Hannibal wanted to just sleep in the van, but Clarice really wanted to sleep somewhere where she wouldn't wake up with a sore neck.
"Clarice, you woke up with a sore neck this morning because you spent most of the night with your head on my shoulder," Hannibal reasoned.
" I don't care. I want a real bed."
"You are far too stubborn for your own good," Hannibal said, but he pulled up at the next hotel which happened to be the Marriot. Clarice stared at him.
"I didn't mean that we had to spend thousands of dollars," she said.
"The bigger the better," Hannibal said. He parked the van and went into the back to get anything they might need. A few minutes later they were standing in the lobby. "Wait by the fountain," Hannibal whispered to Clarice. She nodded and went over to a large fountain. She saw Hannibal talking to the desk attendant, and after about five minutes he came back holding some keys. "I'm Alexander White and you're my wife, Carmen." Clarice nodded. A bell boy walked up to them.
"Do you need any help?" he asked. His name tag proclaimed that he was Henry.
"No, thank you. We're fine," Hannibal said and smiled coldly at him. The boy scampered away. Hannibal led Clarice to the elevator and rode up to the third floor. Their room number was 335 and they had no trouble finding it. When Hannibal opened the door, Clarice couldn't help but gasp. He hadn't just booked them a room, but a whole suit.
"Hannibal, we're only going to be here for one night," she said, walking into the room.
"First, my name is Alexander. Second, I was thinking that we might stay a little longer. I've always liked the Marriot," he said smiling. "Besides, it would probably be a good idea to rest for a few days before we start getting everything together."
"I'm not complaining," Clarice called from another room.
"I didn't think you would," Hannibal said, walking into the bedroom where he saw Clarice sprawled out on a huge canopy bed. He sat down next to her and put her head in his lap. He began massaging her forehead.
"Hannibal, Alexander, we don't have rings," Clarice said.
"We can get them later today," Hannibal said. "What I'm most concerned with is your having only one outfit. We should go out now," he said, but didn't move.
"I know," Clarice said, but she didn't make any move to get up either.
"We really should go," Hannibal said.
"I know."
"Clarice, you realize I can't easily get up with you on me?"
"I know."
"Clarice, please."
"Fine," she said and got up. "Where should we go?"
"Some place fancy. This is one of the best rooms in the hotel, and we need to be dressed well. For accessories, we can go to Tiffany's, but for actual cloths, I'm not sure. Where Tiffany's is, other stores are, generally of the same standards. We can look around," Hannibal said.
"Alright," Clarice said, and walked out of the room with Hannibal at her side.
"And Carmen, remember that we're married," Hannibal whispered in her ear. She nodded, and leaned slightly on him. Hannibal put his arm around her waist and smiled. They walked down the hall and towards the elevator. When they got there, it was just leaving so they had to wait for another to come. It did, and they went down to the lobby. They went out the doors and to the van. Hannibal was almost sure that someone would be there waiting for them, but no one was. They got into the van and in a few minutes they were in the parking lot of a gigantic mall.
"Alexander?" Clarice said.
"What is it, Carmen?"
"How did you know where this mall is?"
"Because I do," Hannibal said and got out. Clarice followed and soon they were weaving there way through the crowds. "Tiffany's is on the second floor, Hannibal said and led Clarice to an escalator. When they got off, they were standing in front if Tiffany's.
"I suppose it would be useless to ask how you knew this?" Clarice said.
"Yes," Hannibal smiled.
"Do you have really have enough money to go shopping in Tiffany's?"
"We, Carmen. Yes we do. Rings are this way," Hannibal led Clarice to the rings section. "What's your favourite gem?"
"Um, diamond. But you don't need to buy me a diamond ring just so people think we're married."
"I know I don't." Hannibal led her towards the diamond section. "Carmen?"
"Mmmm?"
"Why don't you go look at other jewellery. We can meet up again later," Hannibal said. Clarice looked at him oddly.
"Ok," she said, and walked away towards where she remembered the necklaces to be. She found them quite easily; it really paid off to have a good memory, and when you're and F.B.I. agent, that's something you need to have. She was in a slightly dilemma. She wanted to get diamond necklaces to match her ring, but didn't want Hannibal to have to pay for them. She knew that he was rich, but asking for a set of diamond jewellery seemed like a lot.
"Excuse me, but do you need any help?" a clerk asked her.
"Yes, please. I'm looking for diamond jewellery, but not too fancy or expensive," Clarice answered.
"Ok. Is there any style in particular that you are looking for? A certain animal or shape?" she asked.
"Well, I guess dragonflies. I've always liked them," Clarice said.
"You're in luck. We just got in a new shipment of dragonfly jewellery. What piece are you looking for?" the woman asked.
"I'm kind of new at jewellery shopping, so I'm not really sure. Could you help me?" Clarice said. She hated not knowing anything, and wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Being in a store this fancy and expensive made her feel incredibly awkward and out of place.
"Sure. Follow me," the clerk said and began to weave her way through the many showcases. Clarice followed easily, another skill she had picked up from the F.B.I.. "Here are the dragonflies. I think you'll probably want a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a brooch. Those are the basics."
"Ok. What's the price range?" Clarice asked. Before the clerk had a change to answer, Hannibal came up to them.
"Carmen, I've told you. Price doesn't matter," Hannibal said to Clarice. He then turned to the clerk. "Thank you for your help, but we can do the rest by ourselves."
"Of course," she said, and walked away.
"Dragonflies? I can't say I'm surprised. They're free and beautiful, like you," Hannibal said. Clarice blushed.
"Thank you. Are you really sure price doesn't matter? You must have a limited amount of money. Everyone does."
"Price doesn't matter," Hannibal said again. He turned towards the display and picked out a brooch, bracelet, necklace and a pair of earrings. "She was right about one thing. You need to have the four basics: a brooch, a bracelet, a necklace and a pair of earrings. But in general, never trust sales people. Try these on," he said and handed them to her. Clarice took the necklace first and fastened it around her neck. The dragonfly was hanging from a silver chain the same colour as the embedding where the diamonds were on the pendant. Next, Clarice took out her earrings and put in the new ones. They were also silver with diamonds and hung down about an inch below her earlobes. She then clipped the brooch on, which was the same dragonfly as on her earrings and necklace. Finally, the bracelet, which had a single dragonfly charm. In her new jewellery, Clarice felt incredibly awkward and afraid to move because she knew that if she did, everything would break. "You look beautiful Carmen. Come, lets buy everything and then we can go looking for clothes."
"Ok," Clarice said and took off all the jewels. "You don't have to do this, you know. The total is going to come out to some ridiculously high price."
"I know," Hannibal said and took the jewels and put them in their boxes. They walked up to the counter. "I'll meet you outside, ok?" Clarice looked at him oddly again.
"I'll be right outside," she said and walked out of the store. She sat on some benches and in about three minutes Hannibal came out holding a bag.
"Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"You know more about living high class than me. I don't know anything at all about fancy dresses. The last time I wore a dress was at my father's funeral, thirty two years ago. And I'm not exactly the type of person to watch fashion shows or anything. DO you have any ideas?" Clarice said.
"Even though I am high class, I know almost nothing about woman's clothes," Hannibal said.
"Since neither of us knows about any good stores, why don't we just try one at random?" Clarice suggested.
"That's the only logical thing to do," Hannibal said and began to walk in no particular direction. Clarice followed, and soon they came to a store that looked like it might be good. They went inside and Hannibal nodded in satisfaction. It was medium size so it wasn't as overwhelming as Tiffany's had been, but it seemed that it was of very good quality.
"This place should be perfect," Hannibal said.
"May I help you?" a woman asked from behind them. They turned around and saw a clerk standing there.
"Sure," Clarice said quickly before Hannibal could refuse. Since neither of them new anything about the store, she figured that a guide would be helpful.
"We're looking for evening gowns," Hannibal said.
"Ok. My name's Mia. Is there any particular you're looking for? A certain style?" Mia said.
"No," Hannibal answered.
"Colour? Anything that could help me figure out what to show you?"
"Black, yellow or red would be nice," Clarice said, thinking of the colours she normally wore. "Maybe blue. I don't really know. What do you think?"
"I think you're right. Let's start with black," Mia said and led them towards the back of the store. "What size are you?" Mia asked.
"I haven't worn a dress in over thirty years; I really don't know," Clarice answered.
"Then what's your pants and shirt size?" asked Mia. Clarice told her.
"These should fit you then." Mia took down three dresses. "The dressing rooms are here," Mia said pointing to where they were.
"Thanks," Clarice said. She took the dresses and walked over to the rooms. She selected one of the larger stalls and undressed. She picked the first dress up. It was made of satin and felt like water. Clarice out it on, but couldn't zip it. After several failed attempts, she took hers arms out and turned the dress around. She zipped it, turned it back the right way and put her arms through. She looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. She looked nothing like herself. The dress accented all of her curves in a way that no clothes she had ever owned did. She stepped out of the stall to see Hannibal and Mia in front of her.
"You look amazing, Carmen," Hannibal said.
"He's right," Mia agreed. "Try the others on." Clarice nodded and went back into the room. She took her dress of the same way she had put it on, turning it around to undo the zipper and put it back on its hanger. The next one she picked up was made of silk and was quite cold. She slipped this one on, again turning it around to zipper it. This one was much fancier, with a lower neckline and a slit down the side. It reminded her of the dress that Hannibal had given her at Chesapeake so much that she had to sit down for a second. She put her head in her hands as the scene at the dinner table played in front of her eyes. Her asking for some wine, Krendler sitting at the table with his hat on, then Hannibal taking it off as well as the top part of his head. Serving Krendler's brain to himself and then clearing the table. Herself getting up with the candle stick to kill Hannibal. Hannibal kissing her.
"Are you ok?" Hannibal's voice cut through the memory and she was jolted back to the present.
"I'm fine," Clarice said and opened the door. Hannibal gasped, instantly aware of the resemblance.
"Get that one," he said.
"I will," Clarice said and went back into the room. She put on the other one, but this one didn't fit her nearly as well and quickly changed out of it. She took the two dresses she would be buying in one hand and the one she wasn't going to on the other. She came out.
"The last one didn't fit?" Mia asked. Clarice shook her head, still slightly out of it from the flash back that had just occurred.
"No. I think that I'd only like to try on a few more and then leave," answered Clarice.
"Sure. Which colour?" Mia asked.
"Red," Hannibal and Clarice said at the same time. Mia laughed.
"This way," she said and led them towards the reds section. "Any shade?"
"Dark," Clarice answered.
"Here," Mia said handing Clarice two dresses. She went back to the changing room and put the first one on. It felt as if she had been wrapped inside a waterfall. She looked at herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. The dress was quite a bit darker than her hair, but it contrasted nicely. It seemed to fit her like a second skin. She walked out of the room and saw that Hannibal and Mia were where they had been last time.
"Beautiful," Hannibal said.
"Definitely. Try the other on," Mia said. Clarice went back into the room and tried the other on. It also fit and she showed it to the others. They nodded and she went back into the room. She changed back into her normal cloths and went back out, holding the two dresses. She handed them both to Hannibal who had been holding the others.
"Let's go," Clarice said. Hannibal nodded. They quickly paid for the cloths and left. At the first bench she saw, Clarice sat down heavily. Hannibal sat down next to her, carefully placing the bags next to him.
"Are you ok?" he asked again.
"No. Give me a second," she said. Hannibal put an arm around her and she leaned into him, grateful for something real to hold on to. Memories were coming back to her at an alarming rate from her entire life and she wasn't happy about it. A few minutes later she sat up again, rubbing her cheeks where she had been crying. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's ok. Let's go," Hannibal said soothingly and helped her up.
"One problem. I still don't have any normal clothes," Clarice said. "I can't go around in these dresses all the time."
"Am I right in thinking that you would much rather do it later? We can come back tomorrow," Hannibal asked.
"Excellent idea. Let's go," Clarice said. They went quickly back to the van, put their purchases carefully into the back and drove back to the hotel. They went up to their room and put everything on the bed, carefully laid out. Hannibal swore when he saw everything.
"What is it?" Clarice asked.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to the store in the hotel. I'll be back in a few minutes," Hannibal said.
"Why. . ." Clarice started to ask, but he was already gone. She sighed and sat down on a chair by the window and looked out. The view was spectacular. Even though they were only on the third floor, the hotel was on a hill so Clarice felt as if she could see for miles. A pond was almost directly below her and a woods started about ten yards away from the edge. It went on as far as she could see, rolling over hills until it reached the horizon. She started thinking about the last time she had seen a view like this and decided it was when she had flown to California a couple of years ago on a mission. She tried, but couldn't remember exactly what it was, but decided that it didn't really matter. Clarice let her mind relax and started thinking about random things, none of which were very important. About ten minutes later, she heard the door open. Hannibal walked in carrying a bag which he dumped on the bed. Make up flew out of it, but it all managed to stay on the bed. "No," Clarice said.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Carmen, if this is going to work, you need to," Hannibal said.
"I haven't ever worn make up in my life and I'm not about to start," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Besides, I don't even know how." Hannibal sighed.
"I'll do it for you," he said.
"You know how?" Clarice said, surprised.
"Yes, actually I do," he said. "Why don't' you get dressed, and then call me when you're done." Clarice nodded, and Hannibal left, leaving her alone with the immense task of making herself looking like she belonged in the Marriott. She took off her clothes and slipped into the black dress that didn't look like the Chesapeake one. She put on all of her jewellery and put her hair up in a bun, something she rarely did. That taken care of, she called to Hannibal. He came in and smiled when he saw what she looked like.
"Sit on the chair," he said, motioning towards the chair that was by the window. "On second thought, move next to the bed first." Clarice did as she was told. Hannibal sat across from her on the bed. "Don't move," he said. She nodded and then stilled. Hannibal looked down at the make up he had brought. He picked up a dark red lipstick. "Smile." Clarice did. He took the top off and ran it gently across her taunt lips, resisting the urge to kiss her. Hannibal couldn't tell what she was thinking because he was so wrapped up in his work, so he didn't notice how close they were until he felt her breath on his face. She opened her eyes, and looked straight into his maroon ones. He realized that he didn't know when she had closed them, but didn't really care either. They stared at each other for a few minutes until Hannibal backed away and put the lipstick back on the bed. He picked up eye liner and told Clarice to close her eyes. She did and he quickly applied it. He then put on eye shadow, followed by mascara. He then put on a light coat of blusher before he said that she could open her eyes. When she did, Hannibal gasped. She looked so amazingly beautiful, not that she didn't usually, but she looked so . . . different.
"What," she said nervously.
"You look perfect," Hannibal said, still staring at her.
"Mirror?" Clarice asked. He pointed at the one mounted on the wall. She got up gracefully and walked over towards it. She stared at herself in disbelief. "This isn't me," she said.
"I know, but she'll have to do for now. Come, dinner's ready," Hannibal said.
"How do you know?" Clarice asked.
"Because all hotels have the same dinner schedule. Carmen," he offered her his arm. She took it.
"Then let's go eat," she said. Hannibal smiled and led her out of the room towards what promised to be a delicious dinner.