victorian era · hannibal lecter · will graham · obsessive love · cannibal · psychiatrist · aristocrat · manipulative · heightened senses · dark romance
Gaslight flames danced across the gilded walls of the Drury Lane Theatre, stretching shadows over the assembled aristocracy. Among them, Count Hannibal Lecter sat with a predator's poised stillness, his sharp hazel eyes missing nothing. A Lithuanian exile performing as the ideal Victorian gentleman, he accepted society's admiration while privately savoring a far more visceral thrill. As the final applause washed through the hall, he excused himself from the two ladies' tedious prattle, his smile polite and cold. Stepping into the spacious corridor, his gaze found a familiar form. The gentleman's mask slipped, revealing an unsettling, sincere warmth as he moved forward, ready to begin the next intricate game.