Chapter 6

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The small lecture room was full of FBI agents in training, all eager to listen to the words on the case that had been under wraps for several months. The Miscreant Killer was a hot topic at the FBI Academy, they all wanted to know what was happening and how close they were to finding him.

Saskia stood to the side of the room, just about hidden from sight as she watched Will talk to the room of young adults that wanted to learn. Her arm was in a shoulder sling but it was more for her to not move the shoulder unneededly. She wore a blazer over it to try and minimise the sight, the wound was covered with an adhesive bandage to keep it clean and dry.

"For the last year, the Miscreant Killer has been reading the Murder with Miscreant Trilogy and creating his kills out of devotion to the books and their author. Saskia Alasite, the author of the books, has been helping us profile each kill within the books and how they correlate with the real life killings. The seventh and seventeenth victims both had notes. I'll let Miss Alasite expand on the matter."

Will gestured for Saskia to walk to the middle of the room. It was almost daunting to be standing in front of so many people but Saskia knew she could do this, she had spoken in front of a hundred people, almost a thousand at one point during her education. A few dozen trainees shouldn't be that hard, should it?

"This," She began by gesturing to her shoulder with dark humour, "is the work of the Miscreant Killer, confirmed personally by myself as Leroy Harris, as well as the scar on the back of my neck. Leroy Harris is thirty years old, there's his ugly mug!" Will had changed the screen to show the picture of him from a year ago. "I have a personal history with him, so I know better than most about him."

She paused to take a breath, taking in the faces of the trainees who leaned forward over their laptops and notepads.

"Harris is not a psychopath as many would believe, nor is he a sociopath. He has emotions and he is not impulsive. He is careful in his killings. He's trying to perfectly replicate my written work, even going as far as making notes because he knows I'm helping. The thing is— " She started pacing the length of the room as she spoke, completely knowing that Will and all the agents to be were watching her, "—he's not exactly following my work. For each victim, I stated the gender, male, female, non-binary, whatever, I made sure to get in what was needed. Harris is choosing them on how much he hates them.

"On the screen are the names, ages, and the degree of hate out of ten I dubbed them, of each victim we found. There are eighteen now. Leroy Harris has finished with the Sight and Mouth books and will take a long pause before taking the next victim. The same night Harris stabbed me, Countess, my rescue dog who is extremely powerful, bit him in the shoulder before chasing him away.

"Leroy Harris has been confirmed as the killer but he has not been caught yet…"

Saskia was in her element after she shook off her nerves. She was confident and strict as the agents to be took notes and asked proper questions, even entertaining some personal ones. She loved speaking in front of people, even if she sometimes had stage fright. Her British accent came out even more when she spoke.

There was movement at the very back, to the corner of the rows. A flash of movement and Saskia paused to look.

It was Leroy Harris.

His grinning face was mocking her.

She blinked. He wasn't there, it was a completely different person. A trainee. Why would she think he was after her here of all places? It was stupid to think that.

She sighed in relief after the classroom was empty, save for her and Will. Her heart was fast but that was normal for when she spoke in public. Saskia gave it no concern for the moment.

"You did well, especially answering some of the more personal questions," Will's smile was lopsided. "I was surprised you answered some, I would have thought you would be ashamed to admit something like that."

Saskia shook her head to rid the tears that slightly welled. She shrugged. "I'm not ashamed for being caught having sex in an empty classroom, Will. I was annoyed that I got caught, but there isn't any shame in a good sex life. Leroy and I were two halves of whole madness."

A flash of heat rose up her back and then over her head and down her front. It was the type of flush that got her notice quickly. It happened a few more times, though these were smaller and lasted not as long. Saskia stepped back a few feet until her back hit the wall and she could afford to lean on something without wanting to sway. She tugged at her collar.

"I heard," His eyes narrowed as he stepped forward. "Are you okay?"

She hummed, gulping slightly. "Panic attack."

Saskia knew.

The erratic heartbeat was always the first symptom she had, and now her heart felt like it would explode out of her chest. The beating was hard against her ribcage, almost painful with her chest tightening up unexpectedly. With each pulse, her vision throbbed and she blinked to get rid of the tears that wanted to fall.

Her good hand fiddled with the buttons on her shirt until she undid the top two. Saskia gulped air in as she allowed the tears to drip down her cheek. She didn't sob or make any sounds, her breath was shaky and her hands trembled.

"Saskia," Will stepped forward as she scrunched her face up as more tears dripped. "Saskia, answer me this; when did you get Countess?"

Distraction.

Will was going to distract Saskia from her panic attack.

She blinked as she thought. When did she get Countess? She didn't really get Countess, more like she found her. It had been a year. She would have thought a year by now. It was getting close to Christmas again. Maybe a year and a bit? Or less than a year? She didn't know.

"Um, a year?" Her chest was tight and made her voice an octave higher than normal.

"What colour is she?"

"White. Black. Silver."

"What was the first thing she did when she met you?" Will crossed his arms even though he wanted her to look him in the eye. He knew he couldn't touch her in this state, she would easily lash out even with her injury. "Look me in the eyes."

Her eyes might have blurred with tears but they were still bright with emotion. She had to swallow air before she dared look up, catching his eyes as they flickered between hers.

"She growled at me," She mumbled as she recounted the night. Will found the little smile she did when she thought of Countess as quite becoming on her, a little adorable.

"Where does Countess sleep?"

"In my bed, on the couch," Saskia let out a trembling breath as she felt her heart rate decrease slowly. "I've caught her in the empty bath too."

It took a few more questions but Will saw that her breathing was back under control and she didn't tremble anymore. She leaned her head against the wall, propping it up as her tears dissolved and left her numb.

Saskia hated it when she had a panic attack. Sometimes they came full on, like this one did, or it started but she left whatever had triggered it and it stopped before she cried. She didn't always cry but it usually followed after her heartbeat became erratic suddenly.

"Do you know what triggered it?" Will asked.

"Fear probably. Fear of Leroy killing me, or me him depending on the circumstance. Maybe it was due to the fact that I knew Mia and he killed her, or that he threatened me. Or maybe because we're no closer to solving this and getting him in jail." She paused. "I thought I saw him but it was just a trainee.

"We'll catch him. He's been lazy lately, leaving his DNA at the scene. He's been confirmed and his identity has been sent out."

"I hope we catch him," Saskia sighed. "I hate having to look over my shoulders all the time. I had enough of it with Samson."

Will bristled at his name. He didn't really care that Saskia had something to do with his death. Will could understand why Saskia would do it, even if he didn't really agree with it. He was angry with how Saskia reacted when he asked her to look him in the eyes, like she was too scared to not obey. And with her recent injury, it made him angry with Harris for inflicting it.

He'd have to speak to Hannibal about this.

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"Miss Lounds won't be here for another half hour," Hannibal said as he took Saskia's black coat from her shoulders as she still had a sling on. "So you can speak to Abigail without interruption."

"I don't know what I'd do if I got interrupted by Lounds again. I had enough of her last time," Saskia nodded in thanks as he hung up her coat.

"I see you've begun to train Countess," Hannibal said as he led her to the living room where she sat down on one of the coaches. Countess followed diligently.

"Yes, I spoke to Alana about my panic attack, and she suggested that Countess be trained to react to them and learn how to prevent them," Saskia leaned back on the coach, allowing herself to relax as her shoulder was still stiff from not using it. "Where's Abigail then?"

"In the kitchen, I'll get her before returning to the kitchen to finish up the preparations. Will a nice salad suffice for you?"

Saskia hummed and nodded. "I love a good salad. Thank you."

"Red or white wine with it?"

"Neither, water will do for me. Thank you, though."

"Antibiotics?"

She shook her head. "I don't like wine very much. I've been threatened by a broken bottle before and I'm kinda put off by wine now."

Hannibal paused, waiting for her to continue but when she didn't, he said, "Alright, I'll be back with her in a moment."

The young woman came in, fidgeting with a sleeve as Hannibal introduced her to Saskia. She sat across from her, taking in the simple army green shirt and black jeans that Saskia wore.

"I was expecting…"

"Someone a bit darker with their fashion sense? Or perhaps not as pretty? Or someone stone cold?" Saskia prompted with a smile. Abigail nodded mutely. "I get that sometimes. I've got the best of both worlds, beauty and brains."

"I can see that," Abigail mumbled. "Hannibal said that you wanted to offer to write my book."

"I did offer." Saskia sat up straight on the couch, shifting her shoulders slightly. "I understand, to a certain extent, what you've gone through. I may not have almost been killed, recently at least, but I've been severely injured as you can see."

With the reference to her throat and her experience, Abigail curled up slightly on the couch and hugged herself somewhat. She was uncomfortable talking about this with a stranger, Saskia could tell.

"What's the difference between you and Freddie?"

"Well, I'm a published and accomplished author,"

Saskia's lips curled up as Abigail stated, "Which resulted in a number of murders being inspired by your work."

She chuckled and Abigail allowed a small smile onto her lips. "I'll give you that, Abigail. Freddie has this trait that makes everything she writes seem like the person is in the wrong. Take Will, she used a selective quote from him which was taken completely out of context. Would you want that to happen to you?"

"No, but she said I would get a lot of money from the book,"

"Which she will want a part of. I'm offering as a favor from Hannibal but that isn't all of it. I want to tell your story how you'd like it written. If you want me to write you like you are the victim that survived your father's actions, or the unknowing accomplice that was disgusted by what he did, I'll make sure that everyone who reads the book is convinced."

Neither noticed that Hannibal had listened in to their conversation. He was surprised by how easily Abigail spoke with Saskia, the girl was usually quite closed off with new people. By the end of the conversation, Abigail had comfortably curled up on the couch, speaking with Saskia as she got to know her a little bit more.

Abigail was thinking all throughout the dinner. She weighed the pros of Freddie writing her book, which wasn't many, and the cons, compared to Saskia's pros, which were many, and cons, which Abigail couldn't really find besides the serial killer Ex.

"I feel terrible, Miss Lounds. It never entered my head that you might be a vegetarian," Hannibal almost spat out that word. "A lapse on my behalf."

He wasn't upset that Freddie didn't tell him, but more annoyed. At least Saskia had informed him beforehand, which he considered polite.

"Research always delivers benefits," Freddie smiled.

"And being correctly informed by the source also helps," Saskia mumbled low enough so only Will beside her heard. She cut up one of the vegetables and brought it to her mouth.

She took the sling off before the dinner started, only needing it to keep her shoulder stable in the long run. For a simple meal, Saskia was able to function without it, and since she used her fork in her left and knife in her right hand, she was able to cut the food without a problem.

His lip twitched before he said, "If it contradicts a good story, hell, publish it anyway."

"Are you still angry I called you insane? The libel laws are clear, Mr Graham." Freddie tried to reason mockingly, inclining her head forward.

"Insinuation is such a grey area," Will almost glared through his glasses at the redhead across from him. His eyes darted to Saskia when she tried to hide her laugh behind her glass of water.

"Insane isn't really black or white, is it?" Freddie raised an eyebrow. "We're all pathological in our own ways"

"You choose the version of the truth that suits you best and pursue it pathologically," Will spat.

"Everybody decides their own versions of the truth," Freddie turned to Abigail who gave her an uncomfortable smile. "I'm here because I want to tell Abigail's version of the truth."

"See that you do,"

"I don't have anything to hide," Abigail jabbed her fork into her meat.

Freddie countered with a hum, "Everyone has something to hide."

"Be it an identity, like in my own case, or a tiny secret that you wouldn't want exposed, or an obscure hobby. We all have something to hide, but that something isn't always a bad or negative thing, Abigail." Saskia smiled softly at the younger girl who returned it honestly.

"You must understand our concerns, Miss Lounds," Hannibal began before staring at her. "We care about Abigail. Our only thought is to protect her."

"She's already exposed. Her silence until now has been taken as guilt."

When Hannibal's eyes transferred from Abigail to Freddie, they went from the warm maroon to the cold colour that blood had when left to dry.

"Guilt?" Saskia questioned, easily holding Freddie's gaze. "I don't see how Abigail is being shown as guilty because she wants to take time to compose herself before bringing the truth to the surface. From what I know, there is not a smudge of evidence that shows Abigail as guilty. I would presume her silence is due to the fact that media, such as Tattlecrime, have given the public access to knowledge that even Abigail hasn't completely comprehended yet.

"So, Miss Lounds, don't presume that silence is guilt. Silence can be a coping mechanism for when the mind needs time to think and comprehend," Saskia paused before turning her head to Abigail who had shrunk into her seat when Freddie had spoken. "I do apologise, Abigail, I don't mean to speak like you aren't here but I felt like I had to say it."

"It's alright, thank you," Abigail said and sat up a bit more.

Freddie pursed her lips in annoyance before faking a comforting smile. "Well, I want Abigail to have a future."

"That's what we all want," Hannibal stated.

"I've offered Abigail my expertise in writing if she so desires it," Saskia watched as Freddie turned a little hostile, digging her knife into the salad a bit more than needed.

"Have you? It is a publicity stunt then. After all, your reputation has been darkened because of the chaos you caused," Freddie smirked as Saskia's face dropped, only the smirk faltered when Saskia's eyes turned cold. The icy stare just made Freddy want to either agitate her more to see how far she could push without Saskia pushing back, but she didn't know how Saskia would push back, and with how the foreign woman was twirling her knife, she was almost scared to even move.

"Careful, Miss Lounds." Saskia almost purred as she saw the familiar wariness in her eyes. "Remember who got you that article for your blog. Didn't it get you several hundred new followers?"

"Eleven hundred I believe," Freddie cleared her throat.

"I can quite easily request that my articles be taken down,"

"You can't do that, they're in the public domain,"

"Oh, honey. They're not. The contract I made you sign gave me every and all rights to take down, republish or draft anything I want with what you wrote about myself, my series, or a few others things you forgot to read about before signing." Saskia's pleasant smile dropped and she saw Freddie almost gulp. The woman nodded stiffly before continuing to eat her salad.

Abigail looked up from her plate, almost smiling with amusement with eyes that flickered between Hannibal, Will, and Saskia. Saskia winked when she caught her eye, then continued to eat.

The room was silent as there was a slightly uncomfortable feel to the atmosphere. Four out of the five dinner attendees were completely at ease but one made everyone else stay on guard. They all continued to eat like nothing was said.

"This is possibly the finest salad I've ever eaten in my life," Freddie started, turning her eyes to Saskia. "Don't you think, Miss Alasite?"

"I agree, it is brilliant," Saskia nodded to Hannibal. He smiled softly as she said, "Thank you for the meal, Hannibal."

"Shame to ruin it with all that meat," Freddie's eyes darted to the three plates that held meat. Hannibal stiffened, even Saskia could see how cold he turned to the redhead.

"Well, the meat looks quite nice too, smells good. I may not eat it but I can appreciate the work it went into making a small masterpiece." Saskia went to pick up her knife, one of the vegetables was too big and she wanted to cut it. "Fuck! Sorry!"

The edge of her pointer finger had grazed the side of the sharp knife, now blood dripped slowly from it. She brought her finger to her mouth before it could drip to the table.

Hannibal took a deep breath in, concealing it with his wine glass. "Are you alright, Saskia?"

"Yeah," She shrugged, checking the long cut on her pointer finger. "Just cut my finger. I'll be fine."

She hissed through her teeth.

"Let's get it cleaned up, Saskia, you don't need to get an infection." Hannibal stood up, coming to her seat on the other side of Will to help her out of the seat. It was unnecessary but he felt like he needed to do it. Saskia nodded her thanks as she followed Hannibal to the kitchen which was surprisingly already clean.

He went for the cupboard under the sink, grabbing the orange first aid kit and opening it on a clean bit of the island. Saskia put the bleeding digit into her mouth, keeping the blood from dripping. She examined it, it was mostly shallow but at the end, it went slightly deeper where the tip of the blade went into her finger.

Hannibal had watched her suck on the small wound, the scent of her blood was spicy and made the air thick with flavour. Even if it made her even more enticing and edible, Hannibal knew that Saskia didn't deserve that fate, not yet at least. He wasn't surprised, but perhaps a little saddened, when Saskia had put the finger in her mouth, causing the pain, and scent of her blood, to lessen.

"Here, let's get it disinfected first. This may sting." He warned her.

Hannibal carefully held her palm, holding it a certain way so her cut was unobstructed, and applied the alcohol wipe to it. Saskia flinched but otherwise didn't move, only biting her lip to prevent the hiss that wanted to go through her teeth.

"There." Hannibal said when he finished putting the tiny finger bandage on it. "You'll need to keep it on until tomorrow, then let it air out. Some of it is deep but not enough to warrant concern. Let's go back to the others before Miss Lounds says something she may regret."

They both sighed.

As soon as they had left, Miss Lounds had started on Will again. Will easily spouted back facts and debunked each remark she made. It was like a spitting fit between a wolf and a cat, one might have been domesticated but both were able to keep up with the intellect needed to outwit the other.

"Poor Abigail," Saskia mumbled. "Thank you. We'd best get that under control."

By the end of the dinner, Abigail already knew who she wanted to write her book.

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Saskia opened her eyes and just knew today would just be plain horrible.

She curled up onto herself, trying to diminish the pain. Clicking her fingers gently, Countess woke up with a yawn before realising what Saskia was doing. The dog quickly jumped off the bed and trod to the bathroom, opening the cabinet under the sink and quickly bringing the painkillers back.

She dry swallowed two pills and waited for the effects.

Blaming her birth control implant, Saskia knew she would be in pain for a bit. The damned thing was supposed to completely stop her periods, as it did, but the immense pain she had every few months just reminded her that it was there. A day or two of pain was worth it if she didn't want the little pitter patter of feet around her house just yet; the pain only occurred a few times a year and even the doctors said it wasn't a concern.

Her phone blared and she flinched from her dozing. She accepted the call with a swear.

"Are you alright? You're never late and you're late by half an hour," Jack almost demanded, his voice covered with concern.

"I'm not coming in." She said, almost mumbling into the pillow. "Even if there's a body, which there shouldn't be for another month, I'm not leaving my home."

"What? What happened?"

"You've got a wife? Does she suddenly go bitchy once a month?"

It took a moment for him to realise. "Oh, you'd better stay home. Will it be the whole week or just today?"

"Just today, Jack. I feel like I've been run over by a truck and I can barely move without pain," Saskia admitted as she slowly sucked air in. "The pain will be gone by tomorrow. If anything happens, call but I physically can't move much."

"Alright. Hope you feel better soon, Saskia,"

She hadn't gotten out of bed until the afternoon. Saskia grumbled into the sofa as the TV played quietly, laying almost completely on the hot water bottle that she laid across her lower abdomen. She gave up and tucked the water bottle into the waistband of her grey sweats, hiding it mostly by her t-shirt.

Her sling wasn't needed anymore. The staples were removed and left tiny, tiny, little dots along the length of the scar. It sat on her shoulder, just under the hollow of her collarbone and shoulder attaching together. It was two inches long and not very thick, but still pink due to the healing stage,

She swung open the front door with a glare. Hannibal stood there, almost smiley but it faltered as he took in her tired appearance. Her hair was tossed into a bun so it would be out of her way.

"Did I wake you?"

"No,"

"Why are you still in your sleep wear?"

"I called in sick for a reason," Saskia scowled as she lifted the edge of her top to show the water bottle before grunting softly when a jolt of hot pain went through her. "I told Jack that I wasn't coming in even if he needed me. I can barely fucking stand."

"Go sit down, I brought lunch," He lifted the small bag he held up. "Are you in this much pain every month?"

"No, it's the birth control I use. Every few months, it hurts alot to even move around for a day or two," Saskia almost waddled to the island, muttering as Hannibal softly chuckled. She sat down carefully and Hannibal quickly went into the kitchen to get the plates. "What did you make?"

"A simple tofu dish with sweet and sour sauce, egg fried rice and prawn crackers,"

"Hmm, tofu," Saskia hummed, her mouth already watering as Hannibal opened the food containers. "I don't have tofu often because I would gorge myself on it otherwise."

"Understandable. Tofu has been used as a meat substitute for almost two thousand years in China alone," Hannibal sat down across from Saskia after placing two plates down. He paused as he looked at her. "How have you been sleeping recently? Friend to friend, not patient to psychiatrist."

Her lips curved into a half smile. "Better. Since Samson died, I've been able to sleep well and my insomnia has almost gone completely."

"Almost?"

"I stay up late still, only because that's when I work best," Saskia picked at her tofu before speaking, half putting her weight onto an arm against the countertop. "It's not often that I go more than twenty four hours without sleep anymore. I try my best to go to sleep at one in the morning if I have to write, or it turns into four AM and I need to get up at seven."

"What's the average amount of sleep?"

"Between five and seven on a normal day, seven to nine on a good day, and three to five on a bad day,"

"At least you're sleeping better," Hannibal smiled before it dropped. "I've been meaning to ask, why did you kill Samson?"

Saskia stilled, frozen with slight fear before she shook it off. "As I said before, I didn't kill him outright. He bled out as I watched life leave his body. He deserved it. I had asked Leroy and Liam to help me because they both knew what Samson did and were willing to help me. Liam's death was his own doing, I told both of them to leave but he didn't, and then he threatened Jack and I with a gun."

"And the blood in the coffee machine?"

"I didn't know about that. It sure as hell wasn't planned but due to Liam's altered mental state, paranoia and schizophrenia I think, and maybe weed, he did it." Saskia sighed, her shoulders slumping down. "I still don't know."

Hannibal hummed approvingly. "I'm thankful that you're helping Abigail write her book. I wasn't happy with Abigail's choice of Miss Lounds at first."

"It's not like I had much choice in the beginning, now did I?" Saskia drew her eyes from her delicious tofu to Hannibal's dark maroon eyes. "I don't appreciate being manipulated."

"Nor do I." his smile was mocking and Saskia didn't like it. It was off putting and made her want to run.

"On the topic of killing people, how many have you killed? From the full conversation on that day, it sounded like you both had experience."

"Why would I tell you such a thing, Saskia?"

"Because I just admitted to being an accomplice to Samson's death," Saskia said it like it was a known fact. "You could easily testify against me and I would be put away. That, and I'm curious. You're not normal, Hannibal. I remember the dinner, I'm not stupid enough to not notice. As soon as I cut my finger, and then again when you bandaged it, you could smell the blood. It excited you."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Your pupils dilated quite suddenly both times, and even more when you bandaged them."

Hannibal's smile unnerved her completely. She had never seen something so predatory as his grin, his all teeth and wide grin that didn't reach his eyes. Her heart pounded as fear rippled through her bloodstream, unknowing if she would be his next victim or if he was just trying to scare her into submission.

She sank into her seat a little, averting her gaze to her plate.

"I am a cannibal, Saskia,"

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A laugh, a deep hearty laugh erupted from her chest. She clutched her stomach as it pained her but it didn't stop her laughter. She didn't know why she found it so funny. Her laughter was stifled when Hannibal gave her a dark look, making her go silent but her grin was plastered onto her face.

"You don't believe me?" He said slowly.

"No, I do!" She stuttered. "It's just… Hannibal, cannibal. It rhymes."

Saskia snorted when she tried to stifle her giggles at Hannibal's face then. It was too good to not laugh at.

Eventually, Hannibal gave in and also laughed, nodding, "I'll give you that. It does rhyme. I'm surprised that you're not repulsed by this."

"That meat you served at dinner looked a bit too good, and my step father was a chef for a time. He loved his meat so I grew up with how different meats look like. What you served didn't look right so i presumed it was foreign but i didn't realise how foreign it was." Saskia brought another bit of rice and tofu soaked in sweet and sour sauce to her mouth. "Meat is meat, no matter where it comes from. Society has said that killing each other is wrong, yet they leave people homeless and without health care? As long as it's for the good of the country, it's legal. Bullshit."

"You're quite relaxed about this. Will wasn't as relaxed as you until later on," Hannibal mumbled.

Saskia paused. "Will knows?"

"Yes, he figured it out quite a while ago. Will feeds the FBI lies that keep them from finding out that I am the Chesapeake Ripper, and I help him with his mental health and keeping him stable. He was the one who suggested that I use my sense of smell to actually find the culprit, which led us to you." He paused as he finished another mouthful. "I was a bit…reckless with one of my recent kills. Will didn't find out about my diet until then."

"Hm," Saskia finished her plate. "Thank you for the meal, Hannibal. I hope I didn't consume any of your victims just now?"

He shook his head with humour. "You did not. I would not betray your trust, as I hope you would do me the same courtesy."

"Of course. I've been meaning to ask." This caught Hannibal's attention as he lifted his chin to acknowledge her. "I want to take Abigail out some point in the upcoming week, get to know her some more and figure out her past before we begin to piece together her book. I was told that I needed to either ask you or Will to take her out of the place for a day."

"Of course. As long as you don't plan to kill her too, you can take her out."

"I've only ever killed Samson, I'll have you know, Hannibal," Saskia snorted. "It would be good for her to get out of that place. Clear her head before we delve into the depths where she fears she will be lost."

Hannibal was utterly surprised and quite pleased with how their conversation went. He did not expect her to react how she did, taking it well to finding out that he ate other human beings, who he considered pigs usually. Most, if not all, people would have been repulsed by the confession but Saskia shook it off as one of his unique traits. Will had taken it okay, not too positively or negatively. Will didn't really care as long as he was treated and had Hannibal's companionship.

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Review replies: (cause not everyone will check their PMs on this site)

d'elfe: (love the name BTW) Thank you for reviewing! I had to choose a name that was 'foreign' enough but still readable and without any accents. I do have a plan, of sorts, for Saskia. But I don't know if I want to keep Abigail as a 'surrogate daughter' to Saskia, as she is to Hannibal and Will. As for Saskia's craziness, you'll have to wait and see. This chapter elaborates on some of her 'moral standards' but I'll go into more detail a bit later.