Here's a special thanksgiving gift chapter. Hope you have a great thanksgiving!

The ballroom appeared even more expansive without the colorful masks from months ago to fill its space. Will lurked in the shadows created by the large pillars as he slinked his way closer to the grand staircase. He eyed the golden chandelier with welded prancing deer adornments that hung high above him. The cavernous room amplified his footsteps as Will crossed the threshold to the center of the room.

Hannibal was waiting patiently on the throne, just as Will had been expecting.

"You really let your security loosen after I left," Will taunted. He looked up at Hannibal, daring him to join him on the dance floor. Hannibal lowered his eyes and he unlatched his cape, revealing the sword at his side. He hung it against the throne, then he lifted his crown off and placed it on the throne.

He started walking down the stairs. Each delicate step felt like it was pounding against Will's chest. His heels clicked lightly when he reached the wooden floor. Will kept his face steady as Hannibal stopped before him. He was close enough that Will could smell wine on his breath. Digging through his pocket, he held up the key.

"You dropped this," Will said. "I thought it only right to return it to you."

Hannibal gently wrapped his hand around Will's. Will hoped he didn't notice the tremble it sent through his arm. The warmth of Hannibal's hand was distracting, and Will had to focus all his energy into remembering where his sword was. As his free hand inched towards his sword, his other hand held tightly onto Hannibal's.

When he knew that if he waited any longer he'd lose all power to finish his task, Will pulled Hannibal towards him. Hannibal's eyes widened as his mind rapidly assessed what was happening. Then Will swung his sword from beneath his cloak. His cloak unfurled like wings while his sword created an arc through the air that Hannibal was barely able dodge. The key fell to the floor. A fine red line appeared on the arm that Hannibal had raised to protect his face.

Both men looked at the drops of blood, then at each other. Hannibal's face darkened as he purposefully unsheathed his own sword, which refracted the chandelier light, making it dance around the room.

"It's been too long since this floor has been danced on," Hannibal said. "This wasn't what I had in mind."

Will raised his sword threateningly.

"You must be disappointed that one of your pawns had strayed from your plans," Will said, then lunged forward.

His sword met Hannibal's with a scrap of metal on metal. Will sprung for Hannibal's legs, but he hopped backwards. While Will was leaning down, Hannibal swung his sword downwards, aiming for his head. Will rolled to the side and the sword stuck into the wood. Hannibal was able to pull it out before Will's next attack.

Together they attacked and deflected each other's blows, and unconsciously found themselves moving away from the ballroom floor. While stepping back to absorb one of Hannibal's blows, Will's back hit into one of the pillars. It wasn't until then that he realized how far he'd moved, and also that he was now backed up against a pillar. Hannibal realized it too and attacked again. Will barely ducked out of the way, and Hannibal took a chip out of the plaster.

Will jumped up behind the pillar, effectively hiding himself from Hannibal. He peeked his head around, and seeing Hannibal's back, he thrusted his sword towards him. Hannibal turned to catch the attack. Their swords met for a moment as they glared at each other, before they both pushed away. They were both breathing hard.

"Do you expect this to bring Abigail back?" Hannibal asked. "Or Beverly? Alana?"

Will lunged forward to attack.

"Do you feel you need to seek revenge for them?" Hannibal asked, parring Will's blow. "Revenge stems from guilt. Do you feel guilt for them?"

Will didn't answer, he just continued to push Hannibal backwards with his attacks.

"Guilty because you pushed them to their current situations?" Hannibal asked. "Or guilty because after all their suffering, you still found pleasure in my company?"

"I never enjoyed myself with you," Will growled. "I want you dead."

Hannibal smirked.

"If that was true then you would have let G.R.D. kill me," Hannibal said. Will straightened as his eyes widened, before his eyebrows furrowed together in anger. This reaction made Hannibal smile as he continued, "You stayed because you couldn't leave. But you also couldn't admit this to yourself, so you fabricated the motivation of wanting to kill me."

Will shook his head, too violently.

"No, I want to kill you because you are a monster and a tyrant," he hissed. Hannibal's eyebrows raised for a moment.

"A country shrivels and dies under a tyrant," Hannibal said. "Britain is currently thriving, more than it has been for decades."

Will swung his sword again, making Hannibal jump backwards. He eyed the hallway door, then quickly ran through it. Will chased after him. Hannibal paused outside the doorway to a balcony. Will sprung forward, his sword dancing with Hannibal's. Slowly, Hannibal backed onto the balcony. Will followed him. The sky was inflamed with stars that made it easy to find his target.

"Look's like it's between my sword and the drop," Will said sinisterly, nudging his head towards the balcony's edge. "Your choice."

"If you truly wanted to aid the country, you'd support it's ruler," Hannibal said. The wind made Will's cloak bellow as he approached Hannibal, who was trapped between him and the balcony edge.

Then Will noticed Hannibal's face was framed by distant firelight. In a distracted moment, Will glanced out to the city. His stomach turned as he realized what he'd mistaken for stars were torchlights. The entire city seemed engulfed in flames as hysteria consumed its citizens. It threatened to suffocate Will now, but he redirected his fear towards Hannibal. He plunged his sword towards him.

Hannibal raised his sword to block his blow, but Will slid his blade lower. Suddenly he twisted it around Hannibal's, whose sword was flicked out of his hands. Hannibal looked at the fallen sword, which Will stood in front of. A solemn expression gripped his face.

"Look what you've done to this city!" Will said, pushing his sword against Hannibal's throat. "It's in flames."

"That's because of you," Hannibal said.

Will's expression froze. His eyebrows pressed together, trying to expel Hannibal's words or find some counterargument. His hand began to shake at the thought of the destruction of the city being his fault, after he'd sworn to protect it. A smile pulled at Hannibal's lips as he saw Will's breathing becoming uneven.

Trying desperately to push away the thoughts, Will raised his sword again, pushing himself to finish it. All he needed was to move his sword. Even just an inch would do it, take Hannibal's life. The thought made Will itch with excitement, but he couldn't raise his sword. His head throbbed and he felt his organs crawling up his throat. Just an inch. Was it his fault? He was to blame for Beverly. And Alana. And Abigail. And now the city was burning to the ground to find him. Its citizens were afraid of him, not the monster before him.

But he couldn't do it. He felt the sword slipping through his fingers as his feet stepped backwards. He stumbled back into the ballroom. The balcony was suddenly too claustrophobic and the night suffocating and Hannibal's stare too sharp. He needed the great open space of the ballroom.

Will nearly collapsed in the center of the room. His hair fell to the sides of his face as he focused on his breathing, and tried desperately to pull himself together. Hannibal's steady footsteps sounded behind him, coming closer. Then he saw a shadow appear next to him, and he looked to see Hannibal kneeling beside him. His eyes were wide, caring, and begging Will to confide in him. He offered his hand, and Will took it.

Hannibal pulled Will up, and they stood close to each other for a moment. Will left his hand on Hannibal's shoulder. Then, Hannibal quickly broke eye contact to hand Will back his sword. Will took it and tucked it back into his sheath.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," a voice taunted.

Will and Hannibal both snapped up at the voice. They glared up at the Prussian Ambassador Dolarhyde, who was encircling the throne, gazing down bitterly at it. He picked up the crown and glared at it.

"You do not deserve this," he said.

"G.R.D." Will hissed. Dolarhyde's face contorted into a mask of anger.

"I am the Great Red Dragon," he said, nearly howling by the ending of the sentence. The name reverberated through the room, shaking the chandelier. Will repeated the name underneath his breath, understanding the initials.

Dolarhyde raised his head to the ceiling, and deeply breathed through his nostrils as if absorbing the energy in the air and sending it through his veins. He tore off his shirt, and Will caught a glimpse of what looked like a claw curled over the skin of his shoulder. Then Dolarhyde turned and picked up the two swords he'd left resting on the throne.

When he turned, the full extent of Dolarhyde's tattoo could be seen. It was the same dragon that Will had seen in Dolarhyde's wardrobe, except now it had been ingrained onto his back in red-toned ink. Then the tattoo was gone again as Dolarhyde turned to walk down the staircase. Will could still see remnants from the dragon in Dolarhyde's snarl.

"Prussia has worked centuries to propel herself to her current position," Dolarhyde said, stalking down the staircase. "Britain is too dangerous a threat to be allowed to prosper. So Prussia sent her fiercest warrior to topple the demon empire."

Will glanced at Hannibal to gauge his reaction. He remembered a few treaties made with Prussia that he'd read over Hannibal's shoulder. It didn't make sense that Prussia would send a spy to kill Britain's ruler, when they were making peace treaties with Hannibal, and were in a generally better relationship with Britain now than with its previous ruler. Judging from the reaction on Hannibal's face, he was equally as suspicious as Will.

"Tzar Peter II sent you on this mission?" Hannibal asked, scrutinizing Dolarhyde's face.

Dolarhyde recoiled.

"The Tzar doesn't comprehend the danger Britain poses," Dolarhyde snarled. "It was the spirit of the Great Red Dragon that sent me to destroy the beast."

Dolarhyde swung his two swords, testing them out as he reached the ballroom floored. He continued to approach them, but glanced at Will.

"I was expecting you two to destroy each other," he said. "But perhaps this is better. Now the Dragon can feed upon two."

Will and Hannibal both unsheathed their swords, and took a step away from each other. As Dolarhyde neared them, they each drifted towards a side of him. He glanced at each them, then raised a sword to either side. Then he thrust both swords out.

Hannibal dealt his blow down, while Will redirected Dolarhyde's other sword up and then lunged to attack his now vulnerable left side. Dolarhyde's reflexes were sharp and he recovered instantly. He simultaneously blocked Will's blow and attacked Hannibal again. Will was impressed how easily he could fight two different techniques at once.

The four swords clashed again. When Hannibal and Will moved to attack at the same time, Dolarhyde twisted his swords into an X. This drew both men close as they pushed their swords against his. After a long struggle, Dolarhyde noted a key weakness and kicked Hannibal. He fell backwards, and in a moment of distracted concern, Dolarhyde slashed at Will. He jumped backwards, but the sword slashed through his shirt and left a deep red line across his chest. Will remained collapsed on the floor. Having successfully isolated and distressed him, Dolarhyde focused his attention on Hannibal.

Dolarhyde twirled his two sabers, sending air rushing at Hannibal. He was being forced to adapt his fighting style to two swords, making his movements much more rapid than he was accustomed to. Hannibal curled his lips, knowing that Dolarhyde was aware of this. Hannibal made an effort to push back harder against Dolarhyde's attacks.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Hannibal noted Will had picked himself up yet hadn't returned to the fight. He could see a pool of blood where Will had fallen and more blood seeping from the wound in his chest, and at first Hannibal was worried Will was too injured to fight, or worse, that Will was abandoning him.

But then he noticed what Will was limping towards and a smile rose on his face. He focused back on Dolarhyde and began pushing him backwards. Every few seconds he glanced up. As he neared the target though when he looked up, Dolarhyde, having apparently caught onto the pattern, caught him off guard. Dolarhyde slashed one sword at Hannibal's leg and the other at his sword hand. Hannibal was able to block the blow to his sword hand, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge the cut across his leg. Thick blood began to ooze from his leg, and he fell down on one knee.

Dolarhyde sneered down at him and drew his two swords on either side of Hannibal's neck.

"It will please you to know that the Red Dragon will devour your life," Dolarhyde said, then added tauntingly, "Your Majesty."

"I fear that you have not played much chess," Hannibal said, smiling up at Dolarhyde, whose face twitched. "But you should never take your eye off the queen."

It was then that Dolarhyde glanced towards Will, who was standing next to the rope that held up the chandelier. Dolarhyde looked up to see the chandelier hanging directly above his head. When he looked back at Will, he had already cut the rope.

Dolarhyde dropped his swords, and roared at the crashing chandelier. Will lunged himself at Hannibal, pushing him out of the way of the chandelier.

They slid across the floor, narrowly avoiding the chandelier. Will pressed his head into Hannibal's shoulder to protect against glass shards, and Will pulled Hannibal into his neck. After the deafening crash, Will stayed on Hannibal for a few seconds, listening to both of their heavy breathing. He raised his head, his hair falling around his face, and looked at Hannibal to see if he was alright.

Hannibal was beaming up at him. He pushed a lock of his hair back behind his ear. Then he frowned, and ran his hand across Will's chest. Will cringed and Hannibal's hand came back bloody.

"You're hurt," Hannibal said, his now bloody hand gripping Will's face. Will pulled away, leaving a bloody handprint on his face.

"I'll be alright," he said. "You're hurt too. I'd say this makes us even."

Then they heard a groan from the chandelier. Hannibal and Will leaned against each other, and carefully treaded the glass to the other side of the chandelier. It seemed Dolarhyde had tried to jump out of the chandelier's radius, but hadn't made it far enough. His legs were crushed beneath the heavy golden chandelier frame. Now only his tattooed back was free. He writhed, making the dragon writhe with him. He looked up at Hannibal and Will, his eyes overflowing with rage and his mouth nearly foaming at the mouth.

"The Great Red Dragon will devour you," he promised. Hannibal and Will both unsheathed their swords.

Hannibal neatly chopped his head off, but Will drove his sword through the center of Dolarhyde's back, where the Red Dragon's heart would have been. Hannibal picked up the head and examined its permanent snarl.

"I think this would make a fine addition to the Tower of London spiked heads collection," he said. Will smiled.

"I'm sure Prussia won't be very happy with us," Will said, joining Hannibal in looking at the head. "Although, I'm sure Prussia, and all the citizens of London, would be very relieved to learn that we caught a witch trying to kill the king."

"Yes, Prussia would surely forgive us," Hannibal said. "And the citizens of London will forgive you and forget any misunderstanding."

Then Hannibal glanced remorsefully at the chandelier.

"The chandelier is a great misfortune," Hannibal said. Will turned away from him.

"You can get a new one," he said, then sucked in his breath. He fell to one knee and clutched his chest. Hannibal limped over to him. He put his hand on his shoulder.

"Shall we tend your wounds?"

This story is almost done (almost, but not yet!), and I have some plans for future fics but I'm also taking suggestion ideas! So contact me if there's something you'd like me to explore in another fic!