Tainted | Hannibal Lecter

28. Tainted

Hannibal pushed the needle into her neck and covered her mouth from behind.

"Shh"
He hushed her as she squirmed in his arms

Her eyes soon shut and her body became limp. Hannibal picked up her inert figure and took her to their room.

He gently lifted her slender wrist and tightened the handcuffs around her. He wanted to keep them lose, allow her some comfort, but he couldn't, he couldn't risk anything. He then attached the handcuffs to the side of the bed, making sure she wouldn't be able to move her arm.

He pulled the blanket over her body and admired her peaceful expression as she slept.

He pulled a chair next to her and sat down. He knew it would be a while, but he wanted to wait for her to wake up. He had to be there for her.

After a few hours, Madison's eyes struggled open. Once she adapted to the light, the first thing she saw was Hannibal asleep in a chair beside her.

Her body felt numb as she fought to move away. Hannibal instantly woke as he heard the rustling of the bedsheets and whimpers from Madison. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her body back towards him. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't move away.

"Madison, i need you to listen to me."

Tears streamed from her eyes as she heard his voice.

"Please let me go."
She whispered

"You are confused, Madison. You have to listen to me."

"I won't tell anyone, i promise, just please let me go."
She cried

Hannibal couldn't see her like this, it hurt him too much.

He tried to move his hand towards her  but she jumped back.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you need to trust me."

"Trust you?!"
Her throat stung as she shouted

"You need to calm down, you don't have enough energy for this."

Hannibal realised that no progress will be made while she is still processing what has happened, so he stood up and walked towards the door.

Before leaving, he turned to look at her. She had pushed the blankets off of her body and was struggling to move her arm. Hannibal opened the door, closed and then locked it.

Madison's struggle didn't last long, she had drained herself of all energy she had and fell asleep within an hour.

While she was unconscious, Hannibal made some food for them both. He hoped she would allow him to explain his side of the story over a nice meal.

He took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, holding two plates full of food in the other hand. When he walked into the room he saw that Madison was now awake. He placed the plates on the bedside table and sat on the chair by the bed.

"Are you ready to talk?"
He said calmly

Madison avoided eye contact and remained silent.

Hannibal handed the plate to Madison, she sat up and placed it on her thighs. Hannibal watched as she stared at the food. She suddenly felt as if she was going to throw up. She pushed to plate off the bed, the food fell to the floor as she tried to pull on the handcuffs to get free. Hannibal's nonchalant expression didn't alter, he simply left the room, purposely leaving his own food on the table next to her. He was disappointed, but he had hope - he knew that one day she will understand him.

After not entering the room for a day, leaving Madison to fight with her own thoughts, he decided to give it another try.

He unlocked the door once more, with some water and food in hand. He had decided to make Madison's favourite breakfast, Oeuf Redux.