Chapter Text
“Ms. Lounds, I hope you are not lying to me because you should know that I do not take being lied to and stolen from lightly,” said Hannibal as he let the woman drive him to the prearranged meeting place. “I warn you that I have taken certain precautions that if I am ambushed or go missing, you will not escape punishment.”
She scowled. “I may be a lot of things, Mr. Lecter, but I don’t ruin things for myself. The only reason the Shahinai bothered to talk to me at all was because I promised them that I knew a prospective buyer for one of their treasures. You have no idea how long I had to search to find them.”
“Have you seen the treasure yourself?” said Hannibal. He had been told that this was a once in a century opportunity that would never be repeated in his lifetime. There was only one or two men every generation in the tribe and one was not sold every generation but only when the tribe had almost run out of all its resources.
“No,” she said. “They only show to prospective buyers. You do have the gems?”
“I do,” said Hannibal. He had a bag of colored diamonds and rubies, all of them large stones of deep color, perfectly cut and flawless. He had been fortunate that many of his former patients and clients had willed their estates to him and that quite a few of their treasures involved gemstones that rivaled any that were on the open market. Freddie had explained to him that they did not believe in bank accounts and electronic transfers but something they could examine and hold in their hands. She also warned him that they would know if he was giving them fake stones. He had no intention of cheating them; he had little use for jewelry.
He realized that what he was doing was rather sketchy. However, his curiosity had been extremely excited when he had heard about this strange tribe and its treasure. He had made dozens of inquiries before he found Freddie and Frederick who were willing to offer their services.
They finally went into a small house on the edge of town. Freddie knocked on the door and the door was opened by a rather hideous woman. Hannibal briefly thought of pictures he had seen of women who lived in the desert, aged before their time with toil and the harsh sun. However, it was nothing like that. The women in the pictures were people who showed the effects of a hard life; the hideousness he was looking at struck him as a product of a supernatural curse.
The woman waved for them to come in. There were a dozen women like her, each holding a sword as if anticipating an attempt to steal their prize.
Freddie talked to the women in a language that was foreign to Hannibal though he spoke half a dozen fluently and had passing knowledge of half a dozen more. Freddie turned to Hannibal and said, “They’re going to bring out the treasure.”
Hannibal half expected someone that was only passing fair, considering that even a mildly attractive lad would seem god-like in comparison to the women he saw. However, what stepped out of the room was a something that reminded him of paintings of classical myths. He was a youth, no older than seventeen, with dark curly hair and blue eyes and skin that had been shielded from the sun and anointed with oil. He brought to mind Dionysus in his youth, unashamed in his nakedness, promising ecstasy and revelations. Hannibal caressed the young man’s face and neck, looking for makeup or even a mask but found only soft skin under his thumbs. He kissed him on the mouth and smelled the sweetness of his body underlying the spices that infused the body oil.
“What is his name?” said Hannibal.
Freddie turned to the woman who had opened the door. She said a short phrase, pointing to the treasure.
The woman mumbled a reply.
“His name is Will,” said Freddie. “She wants to know if you want him or not. Also, she’s not in the mood to haggle.”
“I am interested, very interested,” said Hannibal as he pulled out the bag of jewels he had with him. The boy looked down as if shy and embarrassed.
***
The first thing Hannibal found out about his new treasure was that he needed to be kept warm. The women had wrapped Will up in robes and blankets and Freddie had told him that Will needed to be kept warm as he was unused to the current chill of Baltimore. He had turned the heat on full blast as he drove them away from the house.
The second thing Hannibal found out was that the boy did not speak a word of English though he did respond to his name.
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” said Freddie as she sat smugly in the backseat.
“No, not one,” said Hannibal coolly. “What language were you speaking back there?”
“It’s one of those really old time dialects. Frederick told me it’s a lot like a mashup of Aramaic and some Northern European language group. It was a total pain in the ass to learn.”
“Why didn’t he come and translate instead?” Hannibal knew that Dr. Chilton was an expert on rare and unusual languages and had written several books regarding the origins of various dialects.
“Because he may know his languages but he’s shit at getting people to talk and open up,” said Freddie.
Hannibal could not disagree with Freddie’s assessment of Frederick Chilton. “Could you tell Will not to be afraid and that I will be taking care of him from now on?”
Freddie said a few words and Will said something at length back in the same language. Freddie turned to Hannibal. “The old woman told him that already. He’s been told his entire life that he was to wait for someone like you. He knows that he is yours and hopes that you will treat him kindly.”
“Of course, of course,” said Hannibal by means of reassurance. He hoped the tone of his voice was something Will could understand even if he didn’t understand the words.
***
He dropped off Freddie at her apartment. As a parting gift, she had given him a pamphlet with a few words in Will’s language and how to say them and said that he understood what nodding and shaking one‘s head meant. His mouth pressed himself in a line at how little information she had given him. He would have to talk to Chilton further regarding this.
However, he had to tend to Will. He parked in the garage and after closing the door, he led Will into the house. He noticed that Will looked a little scared as he saw the paintings and furniture in the house. He mused that Will had never been in a house before he had come to this country. From what he had been told about his tribe, they were nomads who lived in the desert, far away from villages and only came near a metropolis when selling one of their treasures.
Hannibal turned up the heat for his house and decided to take Will to his room. He took a space heater from his closet and turned it on. Will immediately sat in front of it, putting his hands out towards it. Hannibal sighed, “You really are a hothouse flower.”
Hannibal pointed to himself, “Hannibal.”
Will smiled. “Hannibal.” He pointed to himself, and said, “Will.”
***
It turned out that Will was rather quick in learning things. While his vocabulary was still very limited, he quickly learned how to use a toilet, a toothbrush, cutlery and how to put on the clothes Hannibal laid out for him on the bed. As for bathing and showering, Hannibal was always on hand to soap him up, shampoo his hair, rinse him off and then have him soak in the warm water. Afterwards, he would take care to towel him dry and have him wear plaid flannel pajamas and a wrap on top of it before escorting him back to the warmth of the bedroom.
Will had been awestruck by his surroundings. He had been surprised by running water and had been even more astonished by all the equipment Hannibal had showed him in the kitchen. He had watched with wonder as Hannibal made their meals and plated the various ingredients into works of art. He had been cautious about eating what was on his plate but when he saw Hannibal put the food in his mouth and making encouraging motions, he mimicked Hannibal and put a spoonful into his mouth and looked stunned.
Hannibal enjoyed watching Will slowly get used to this life. He remembered that someone had said that having children was like seeing the world anew. He noted things like the first time Will heard music on his stereo system or the first time Will tasted chocolate, both of which Will loved. He had chortled when he had seen Will make a face when he had tasted the last few drops of wine he had in his glass. He had enjoyed teaching Will how to do various forms of ball room dance.
Most of all, he had been happy that Will’s beauty hadn’t been an illusion, something that faded in the morning after. If anything, it had been enhanced by the mutual desire reflected in Will’s eyes and the nimble mind that seemed to pick up English like that of a small child learning his mother tongue. While Hannibal still prodded Chilton into teaching him more phrases over lunch, he no longer feared that it would be an insurmountable barrier to a true meeting of the minds.
As Will’s vocabulary expanded, Will began telling him of his life before he lived with Hannibal. As Hannibal had surmised, they lived in the deepest desert. He was kept out of the sun, massaged with scented oils and fed with flatbread, cheeses, honey, dates and spiced minced meat and stews. His first impulse on seeing Hannibal’s food had been to use his hands but he had stopped when he realized that Hannibal was using tools to eat. At night, he was kept near a fire and watched over during the cold desert nights. They had told him over and over again that someday he would be taken over the sea and save his tribe by buying their freedom for a century. They had told him that there he would given to a man who would prize him and care for him even better than they had.
“I hope that I have lived up to their promise,” said Hannibal.
”Yes. They told me that I was beautiful but they did not tell me that you would be beautiful too.”
”I am not beautiful,” said Hannibal though he was deeply touched by this pronouncement.
***
Before he had gone to collect Will with Freddie, Hannibal had installed windows where one could see out but nobody could see in. After Will came, he also had a contractor build a fence that was ten feet tall that surrounded his backyard. On the off chance there was a heat wave and Will wanted to go outside, he didn’t want anybody to see and then desire to possess him. Fortunately, Will showed little to no inclination towards socializing though he would confess that he felt very alone when Hannibal went out of the house.
”When I go out, it is necessary. I do not like to be away from you.” He had taken a sabbatical away from work but knew he would have to go back to work at least on a part-time basis so Jack Crawford wouldn’t pester him with demands that he work on his cases.
There was the sound of the doorbell being rung. Hannibal sighed. There were drawbacks to being such a popular man. ”Stay here and do not come out no matter what.”
Hannibal closed the door behind him and opened the door. It was Frederick Chilton, looking suspiciously eager. ”I know that we do not have a lunch date today,” said Hannibal.
”We don’t. I just want to see him. It is so unfair for Freddie to see him when I’m the one who did almost all of the language work. She didn’t even get me a photo.”
It hadn’t been for lack of trying. Hannibal had searched her purse and checked her coat for cameras before they set off. ”Part of the reason I paid the price I did was not just because of his beauty but also the exclusivity. Both you and Ms. Lounds have been well compensated. If you try to trespass in order to have even the slightest contact with him without my permission, I will treat you like any trespasser. Take care, Chilton, take care.”
Chilton pouted. ”I do not swing that way, Hannibal. I will not be running off with your beloved. I don’t understand the point of picking someone that handsome and not showing him off.”
”I have no desire to cast pearls before swine, said Hannibal. ”I will talk to you later, Chilton.”
Chilton scowled and stomped off. Once Hannibal closed the door, he saw Will slowly opened the bedroom door and poked his head out. ”If he wants to look at me for a few seconds, I would not mind.”
”I would mind. You do not know him like I do. He may look harmless but he can be quite selfish and perfidious. If he ever comes to the house and I happen not to be there, do not open the door. Please just pretend to be asleep.”
”I promise.”
Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will. ”Tonight, I have something to show you, something I have been meaning to show you from the beginning.”