My friends, this is just an Interlude to get in track for things to come. Is really very short, so I'll try to upload a full chapter in a few days.

In the meantime, I'm most grateful to the nice folks who commenter : Guber, ShelleyYW, Jennifer, Christine, Ducki, Cristina, Shanna, LadyBug, Marcus Aurelius, Steel, LoT, RivanKnight, Nanci, Kurt, Elbereth and all the folks who took the time to read this fiction.

Of course the characters belong to T. Harris…

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Exchanges, an Interlude

Ever hopeful for the good things that come to those who wait, Dr Hannibal Lecter –who had waited; shopped for a diamond eternity wedding band and an engagement ring, as part of the preparations he made for Clarice's arrival.

When the time came, if it did, he wanted to be prepared. He was looking for fine estate pieces with the character and elegance of old craftsmanship.

After a dedicated search he found what Christie's catalogue described as an EXCEPTIONAL oval cabochon of very fine-textured vivid emerald green and exceptional translucency, flanked to each side by a heart-shaped diamond, mounted in 18k white gold. Size 6. And matched earrings.

The lot was estimated at US$ 70.000 – 80.000 and was to be auctioned in Hong Kong a few days later.

He considered himself fortunate when he also found, in the same auction an eternity ring with all the diamonds set channel style around the entire ring, set in platinum with the most beautiful hand etchings all around,. Size 6. Estimated at US$ 4000. That was exactly what he had in mind. The channel setting will make it more wearable, because it wouldn't catch on sweaters and such

While at it, he also found studs for his tuxedo shirts. Dr. Lecter never felt guilty for his extravagances and loved to shop.

Christie's, one of the most prestigious auctions houses in the world, offers telephone bids for the expensive items lots in some auctions. Otherwise, written absentee bids can be faxed up to 24 hrs prior to the auction. He called.

The buyers receive payment and shipping instructions with their invoice, which is mailed immediately after the sale. They accept wire transfers. None of the transaction had to be done in person, and the items can be delivered or picked up.

Dr. Lecter was planning to pick up his purchase in Paris.

Hannibal Lecter was an enthusiastic planner and had years to think about details. If Clarice accepted his proposal, he wanted her to have a real wedding. They were both Christians, he reasoned, so it was only appropriate that they would be bond together under God, legally married by a vested Christian priest.

It never occurred to him, that the idea might appear bizarre, absurd or even risky.

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During his early years practicing at Maryland-Misericordia, Dr Lecter had meet and became acquainted with people from all myriads of life.

One was Salvatore Maugeri, a powerful businessman with headquarters in Sicily and strong connections in the US.

Maugeri considered himself forever indebted to Hannibal Lecter. A debt of honor that would never lapse. The Dr. knew that Maugeri, totally unconcerned by his status as one of the FBI 10 most wanted, had always been delighted to hear from him, on the few occasions he got in touch.

Hannibal was one of the few outsiders who knew of the existence of a totally isolated private Island that Salvatore Maugeri owned off the coast of Sicily. He thought, such an island would be the ideal place for an elegantly serene, yet festive Christian wedding.

He spent some time mentally picturing the ceremony, and decided on the setting, flowers, gift for his best man and his hosts and, naturally, the music.

The more he thought about it, the more the entire project came together. Even when his choices were limited, he congratulated himself for his choice of best man.

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As it is expected, Gods and Monsters trying to develop human qualities, acquire as a bonus, some human insecurities. Hence Hannibal experienced a small, but nudging concern about Clarice's acceptance of his plans, or even his proposal.

The issue that gave him the most conflict was the timing and setting for the proposal.

Hannibal Lecter stopped experiencing love at age 6 and didn't experience it again until Clarice came along. Feelings were not something he had cultivated . He studied them in books and in patients, he analyzed in others and rationalized them, but he didn't have much first hand experience with feelings. Clarice was his first real love, and he felt uncharacteristically awkward and a little apprehensive.

"Clarice," he thought, "can be rather unpredictable….even for me".

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Clarice, quite complex on her own right, didn't posses the intellectual depth of Hannibal's complexity, and having never acquired herself Goddess status, was mighty used to deal with insecurities, fear and anxieties. She had plenty of those .

Her main fear was the loss of a loved one, either by death or abandonment.

She deeply feared to lose Hannibal. And if she allowed herself, she could imagine endless ways for that to come about.

She suspected that it was possible she had spent all those years trying to capture him as a way to keep him safe in a place where nothing bad could happen to him and she'd always know where he was …..She considered the thought sick and twisted and would eventually discuss it with him…. thought he probably knew about it already.

On the other hand, realizing that like herself, this was the first time Hannibal was in love, she perceived his uncharacteristic uneasiness and decided to lower her own defenses to provide him with the emotional balance that would ease his temporary awkwardness.

Clarice was trying very hard to put her own fears to sleep forever. What she had to figure out was what tool she needed to put her fears to rest.

"I want to marry him, that's what", she thought. "I want to be forever bound to him, under God, for better or worse and the whole ball of wax…I want to have the undeniable legal right to be with him"…, she grinned "I want to kick his ass when he does something stupid…like talking about dying."

She marveled at how far removed she was from the original Special Agent Starling of yore. And liked the though.

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I hope you liked, let me know

Clariz