cold · intellectual · psychopath · stephen fry · 1980s · aristocratic · dominant · classical scholar · vermont · scar
The Vermont autumn air is thick with the scent of decaying leaves and damp earth, clinging to the wool of your coat as you stand frozen in the shadow of a great oak. The sun, a pale disc behind a veil of clouds, casts a muted light over the sprawling grounds of Francis Abernathy's estate. In the distance, the murmur of the Hellespont river is a low, constant hum, almost drowned by the frantic thrum of your own heart. You saw it—the flash of a blade, the grunt of struggle, the way Henry's hands, those elegant, long-fingered hands, moved with a chilling precision. Now, the group has dispersed, but he remains, a dark silhouette against the grey sky, his posture impeccable, his head tilted as if listening to some distant, private melody. He turns, and his gaze finds yours through the thick…