The Fairy and The Ravenstag King

Paruoštas

Will woke up slowly to the fresh scent of lavender and the feel of silken sheets entangling him in a rather cozy cocoon of warmth.

He yawned, popping his back and stretched lazily. Wings fluttering happily behind him, Having only a few moments of contentment before he remembered where he was and sat up with a start. A quick glance at a nearby (And rather expensive looking) antique clock told him he had only managed to sleep for a little under three hours. A quick survey around the room told him he was still, thankfully, alone. Though he felt rather strange waking up without any dogs around like he was used to, the bed feeling much emptier without them.

I hope Winston's behaving himself...

He stood, looking down in surprise at the sheets and towels that appeared barren of any of his usual wing powder. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep for that long? Whatever the case, It was a relief to him he didn't have to worry about that just yet. But still, the situation he had found himself in was odd now that he had a chance to properly think it over. He had been too exhausted when they first arrived to really question why he hadn't seen anyone else in the 'castle' besides Hannibal and Misha, from what he had heard of the Lecters, they were a bit of a large family.

Maybe we got here too early and everyone's still asleep? But I would have thought with the sheer size of this place there'd be at least a few employees working at that hour...

Shaking his head dismissively, he made quick work of getting dressed into a new shirt with the same binder and pants as earlier before he found the courage to open the door. The hinges were well oiled, not creaking like he worried they would as he warily glanced to both ends of the hallway. He didn't see anyone on either ends of the passage, (Whose oak floors were covered by beautiful Indian rugs lined with red tassels) so he took a few careful steps out of his room and began to peruse the nearby paintings that bordered the intricately designed tinted windows.

The paintings themselves appeared to depict various macabre scenes of both Roman and Greek origin. As he wandered, he saw a whole menagerie of gods and goddesses in the midst of troubling various mortal men. But one painting near the end of the hall had drawn his attention the most in just how much it had stuck out. The scene depicted what seemed to be a celebration of some kind for a Roman royal, but what had caught Wills attention the most was the rather chaotic and beautiful mess of rose petals that seemed to smother the unsuspecting guests beneath.

"I see you are fond of 'The Roses of Heliogabalus' as well?" The sudden sound of Hannibal's voice mere inches behind him made Will nearly jump a mile in surprise. He turned, embarrassed, to see the man in question looking at him with a tight smile.

"G-good morning Dr. Lecter."

"Good morning Will, I was just coming to wake you for breakfast. Though I regret not allowing you to sleep for longer."

"Oh that's alright, I'm feeling pretty well rested at the moment so don't worry." Will said apologetically before turning back to the painting. He felt Hannibal move beside him, close enough to touch if Will so much as twitched. He found he didn't mind it as they both took in the romanticized cruelty the art depicted.

"What is the story behind this one?" He asked curiously after a minute of heavy silence. He heard Hannibal laugh and looked up at him expectantly.

"This work was originally painted in 1888 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. It illustrates the moment in which Emperor Elagabalus, who was 14 when he was given power over Rome, smothering his guests with countless rose petals during a dinner party." Flashing that secretive smile again at Will.

"I thought in the original story he used violets?"

"You are also a fan of Roman History?" He sounded immensely pleased with that information. "It is often debated what sort of flowers he used in the massacre, The roses here were Tadema's own personal interpretation. He even bought hundreds of roses in order to make the petals as realistic as possible."