Return of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs

Starling woke in a poster bed with satin sheets.

Her shoulder was tended to, the blood cleaned from her body and, yes she was right, the scar on her face had been skilfully stitched with gentle hands.

A faint piano melody drifted through the room and cut off just as suddenly as she moved and cried out.

Hannibal Lecter appeared at the door and smiled,

"Good evening, Clarice."

"Dr Lecter."

He hesitated and then walked into the room, dressed only in his dress shirt and dark trousers.

Starling sat up in bed, drawing the sheets tightly around herself until she realised that she was wearing a small robe which meant that Lecter had seen her naked anyway, and judging by the way the material brushed against her flesh, she was completely naked beneath it.

He sat on the edge of the bed beside her and cocked his head,

"May I check the wound on your face, Clarice?"

She let him, turning away as his hand moved lightly over her skin, moving lower.

"Did the lambs start screaming again, Clarice?" He murmured as she groaned and moved into his touch, "I notice the shadows beneath your eyes. I heard you whisper my name and I was curious about what would happen once we were alone."

He moved so he was kneeling over her on the bed and she was underneath him.

"You responded to me in the opera house, Clarice. The scent of you drove me mad, I wanted to see if your flesh tasted as delicious as your scent..."

He bit her neck, gripping it as she cried out and arched up. Dr Lecter sucked and licked the wound, still smiling as she reacted to him.

He pushed off his shirt and let her run her hands over him, let her feel him as she fumbled with his trousers until he grew bored and moved her hands aside to pull them down.

"So eager, Clarice."

He paused, his mouth over her stomach.

She met his eyes and did not look away.

Dr Lecter hummed in satisfaction and smiled.

--

Dr Lecter and Starling lay together in silence, his hand running up her arm.

"I wonder if perhaps, Clarice, if the lamb is a symbol of...unfinished business."

Starling looked at him with soft eyes, strangely vulnerable. He likes that she is vulnerable with him in a way she is not with others, he enjoys seeing those walls eroded.

"I thought so too."

"Perhaps the silence will return tonight." 

He stares into her eyes, unblinking and is lost for words.

"Why here?"

He stares for a long time and then speaks several minutes later,

"It's calm here. I am an art curator here, I speak fluent Czech and can move across Europe to any place of my choosing. I could even go home."

She frowns.

"Lithuania," he says after a moment, "Vilnius. I went back to dig up Mischa's remains, to give her the burial she deserved. Mischa was my baby sister, they killed her and fed her to me in a broth and I didn't... I have not returned in many years...but you, I would like to show you my home country, if you would do me the honour."

"Dr Lecter, I-"

"Hush, Clarice. Do not rush your answer, I will wait several days. Now, it is time for me to rest. Would you care for me to sleep elsewhere?"

When she does not speak, he makes to move.

"Please," she says quietly, "stay with me."

He lies back down and draws her into his chest.

"Of course."

He began to sing softly, rocking her gently.

'Ein Männlein steht im Walde ganz still und stumm, Es hat von lauter Purpur ein Mäntlein um.'

For Hannibal Lecter, the memories of a baby sister being led away in the snow keep him awake until he too succumbs to sleep. 

And still, the silence of the lambs remains unbroken.