Look at me, updating on time. I love this chapter. So much. I had too much fun writing it, and I hope you're also as excited for it as I am. Enjoy!
Will ordered all the royal guards to take double shifts over the next week. He felt security needed to be tightened after the Archbishop had been found crucified in the middle of the city the night before. The murder had made peasants and nobles alike quiver with fear. Poor Lord Chilton had been so rattled that he'd lost his senses and was sent to a mental institution in the countryside. All of London was disturbed and there had been a few riots in the poorer districts.
The only two people who didn't seem alarmed were Will and Hannibal. They took their tea from Freddie as normal that morning and received the fearful nobles, especially Lord Franklyn who was concerned about the whereabouts of his friend Tobias who had not appeared for breakfast. Hannibal did an excellent job assuring them of their safety and they dispelled calmly.
"Your Majesty," the Prussian Ambassador stepped forward. His movements were sharp from years of military refinement. "Do you have plans to organize your troops to search for this killer?"
"Ambassador Dolarhyde," said Hannibal. "We already have royal guards investigating the crime scene. Jack Crawford is their commander. You have expertise you'd care to share with us I encourage you to contact him."
"If anything comes to mind, I shall contact him immediately," he said. He gave Will a quick glance over, as if he was assessing his threat level. It was the first time Will had heard him talk. He spoke English well, although his thick accent slowed his speech.
"Your concern is appreciated," Hannibal said. "And I assure you that you are in no danger while within the safety of the castle."
Dolarhyde smiled and turned away. Will was left pondering this interaction before Hannibal made some mention about the necessity of implementing his beautification plan soon.
When Will returned to his room, he was surprised to find a note on his bed. He recognized the handwriting and grabbed his attention immediately. It simply read, Is replacing a tyrant with a murderer an improvement? It was signed G.R.D.
No royal guards had let anyone break the perimeter, and no one had seen anyone enter Will's room. Somehow G.R.D. had infiltrated the castle. That meant the king was in danger and Will had to act quickly. He dug out the leather journal from Chilton and skimmed through it until he found the section about the previous king's death. It detailed the breakage of the neck, which couldn't have occurred as observed from falling. The twisting exhibited suggested someone had forcefully twisted the king's neck with intent to kill. They had been successful.
This information filled Will with relief that he hadn't simply been losing his mind, but the letter from G.R.D. confused him because it seemed to imply that G.R.D. knew fully of the journal's contents.
Will contemplated just how much G.R.D. knew and if his letter was right as he snuck out of the castle with the journal and a sense of validation. As he blended into the streets with peasants, he perceived the paranoia among them. He received more glances than usual. It was apparent that the people were barely keeping their panic at bay. Between the murder of the Archbishop and the recent plague of unsavory activity, Will understood why they felt this way.
He felt a sense of security and excitement when he finally reached Jack's house. The Ripper would finally be caught. Will quickly glanced around, suspicious of anything or anyone that would stop him when he was so close. He didn't wait for Jack to invite him in, but stepped through immediately after he opened the door.
"Will!" Jack said, standing at the opened door. "Is this about Countess Bloom?"
"No," Will said. "Please close the door."
Jack paused, appearing offput by Will's excitement, but slowly closed the door. He watched cautiously as Will pulled out a worn leather journal from his coat.
"The scientific journal of Dr. Abel Gideon, who performed the autopsy of the deceased king," Will announced and dropped the journal on the table.
"Will…" Jack said, a touch of warning in his voice. Will ignored him.
"Dr. Gideon details the breaking pattern of the neck that doesn't match that found on necks broken from falling," Will didn't bother to hide the pride in his voice. "Rather it matches the twisting found on victims who have had their necks twisted violently."
"Will-" Jack tried again.
"Jack, this is conclusive evidence. You cannot deny that anymore," Will said, angry that Jack didn't seem as shocked or ready to believe him as he had been anticipating. "Hannibal is king because he killed his predecessor. He is a monster that abuses his power for his own amusement or to silence anyone who gets close to the truth. He is the Ripper and it's time for us to act."
Jack was silent, his lips pressed tightly together. Will had been expecting many reactions but not one of regret and almost...shame? His hand moved protectively towards the journal.
"You can't argue with evidence," Will said.
"I know," Jack said, suddenly sounding exhausted. "I can't keep this from you anymore."
Jack rubbed his eyes and took a moment to gather the strength to speak.
"I'm sure you remember the last king," Jack said. "He was a tyrant, a bloodthirsty monster and a bad ruler. The people were starving and the country was breaking apart yet he'd insist on going to war again, taking the few surviving famished men of Britain and sending them off to die for a war we'd lose anyway. The people were too powerless to do anything against him, the nobles were too afraid. The country was hitting its breaking point and something had to be done."
"Jack-" Will knew where Jack was going but he refused to believe it.
"I had to do something," Jack said defensively. "When the prince, and heir to the throne, approached me with a proposition to save the country, I didn't even hesitate. He killed the king and took the throne, and as the new Commander of the Royal Guard I covered up his crime."
"Did you know he was the Ripper?" Will asked, his voice close to breaking.
"I had my suspicions, but at the time anything seemed better than the current king," Jack said. "And Hannibal is a good king. The people are happy and the country is thriving. Who could be fit to replace him? And how do you suppose we'd even overthrow him? We'd sooner lose our heads."
"This whole time you knew," Will said. "You let me chase around faint clues for months, you watched it consume me, and you allowed him to kill London citizens who were under your and his protection and you never did anything."
"I couldn't do anything!" Jack said. "I expected you to drop the entire thing after you failed to find any evidence."
"It probably would have been better for both of us," Will said bitterly. "Unfortunately, I've always been stubbornly persistent."
Will stuffed the journal back into his pocket and stormed past Jack and out the door. Jack called after him, yelling about not doing anything foolish, but Will tuned him out. He focused his sight on the castle but as he made his way back he began having visions. Not really visions, more like memories. People starving in the streets, killing and robbing each other. The city in flames. Disease spreading rampantly and infecting both rich and poor. The king failing to do anything to save, or even ease the pain of his people.
He remembered how few people had actually mourned the king. The Royal Guard had been established almost immediately after his death, with Jack at the helm. Will was one of the first recruits. They had brought order back to the city, and the rioting, looting, and murdering had drastically decreased almost immediately.
Then Will remembered the Ripper's murders, how he had taunted his victims and the royal guards. His hand brushed over his sword. He reasoned it was time for a reckoning, even if Jack didn't agree.
Wanting to avoid royal guards, servants, and pestering questions from Freddie, Will took the secret passage he'd discovered months ago. The few servants that he crossed paths with didn't seem suspicious of him and one of them informed him that the king was currently in the ballroom. Will instructed the royal guards in the area to leave because he had a private matter to discuss with the king. They followed his orders without question.
Hannibal was sitting on the throne at the top of the grand staircase, almost as if he had been waiting for Will.
"Your Majesty," Will said, his hand resting on his sword as he carefully made his way up the stairs.
"Will," Hannibal said, his voice uncomfortably steady and even. "You've been scarce today."
"I'm afraid I had business to attend to," he said, eyeing the heavy cloak that Hannibal was wearing.
"I hope you worked everything out," Hannibal said. Will narrowed his eyes.
"I have," he said, nearing the top of the expansive staircase. "There's just one piece that's not finished yet."
Will swiftly unsheathed his sword and swung it in a vast arc, picturing Hannibal's head toppling over and rolling down the stairs leaving a red trail in its wake. Instead a jolt went up his arm and shattered his spine as Hannibal materialized a staff from beneath the velvet cape trimmed with fur. Neither the heavy cape nor the bejeweled crown seemed to hinder the king, as Will had been hoping. Realizing a fight was inevitable, he grimaced, withdrew his sword and tried again. Hannibal continued to deflect his blows with his staff. When the sword and staff met again, Will leaned into his sword in an attempt to throw Hannibal off balance, but he remained firm and returned Will's glare with a steely gaze.
"I see you've talked to Jack," Hannibal said. Will grunted and jumped back. He followed Hannibal's movements from across the throne as Hannibal followed his. Slowly, they circled the lavish chair never taking their eyes off each other and their footsteps naturally falling into rhythm with each other.
"Jack only confirmed what I'd already known," Will spit. "You must've suspected when you stabbed me in the back, when you threw me off a balcony, when you sent Randall Tier to kill me...that this was going to happen. It was inevitable."
"Inevitable is a dangerous word," Hannibal said.
"That makes me even more skeptical that you didn't expect this," Will said. "If anything, isn't this what you wanted all along? Kill me, and your throne and life are secured. Unless I kill you."
"Killing me is sentencing yourself to die," Hannibal said. "And I do not think either of us wants that."
Will laughed, taking his eyes away only for a moment.
"If dying is what it'll take…" Will said.
As they passed the sides of the throne, Hannibal prepared to retort. As his lips formed the words, Will pounced onto the arm of the throne. He pulled himself up and balanced his feet on either arm of the chair as he drove his sword down on Hannibal, who for a brief moment was caught off guard. It was clear he'd been shaken because he was barely able to raise his staff quickly enough to block Will's blow. But he and Will were once again locked, until Will kicked Hannibal squarely in the chest.
Hannibal stumbled backwards caught in his fur-trimmed coat, and fell. His crown toppled off his head. Having shoved his weight into the king, Will lost his balance as well and fell besides Hannibal. The two men scrambled to regain control of the fight. But as Will reached for his sword, Hannibal already had his staff and firmly bashed Will in his shoulder with it.
He was sent sprawling down the immense staircase. He heard something shatter as he tumbled and felt a sharp pain when his head connected with the stair. The room continued to spin around him after he landed on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up to see Hannibal gazing down vindictively as royal guards appeared behind him. Will spit out blood and shakily tried to pick himself up. He was injured, but if he could just stand back up he was sure he could finish this fight. His leg collapsed behind again as the guards appeared before him.
Two men held him by each arm and began to drag him away. He cursed at Hannibal, barely able to hear himself over the ringing in his ears, as he was pulled across ballroom floor. Hannibal returned to his seat and watched Will be taken away, with only the slightest curl of displeasure to his lips to reveal the betrayal he felt.