Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Angel of Mercy ❯ confrontation ( Chapter 16 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

That night Julia went to wander the garden before she sought Integra. She knew there was unfinished business to be seen to. The night before she and Integra gone into Integra’s room. It was shielded by powerful spells so that no vampire could enter without Integra’s permission, nor sense anything that occurred within.
The spells were made with ancient magic and had required extremely expensive ingredients. The protections were only on Integra’s room and not the rest of the house, because their were limits to even Hellsing‘s wealth. But it had been necessary. Having the spell shields put in was one of the first things Integra had had done when she came to power. It was the only way she could keep Alicard from haunting of her young dreams.
Julia feared how Alucard was going to react. She knew he had seen the kiss and what heard was said in Integra’s office, but had had the wisdom not to intervene. Had he made trouble then, Integra would have been sorely tempted to bind him back in the dungeon. He wouldn’t have known what the two women did that night, but Julia knew that when he awake that evening he would find the change in Integra, and there was going to be hell to pay.
She sensed Alucard approaching as she trailed her hand absently along the wall, but she did not expect the blow. Alucard struck his fledgling sending her crashing into the heavy stone. Before she could regain her footing, he lifted her up by the throat and pinned her against the wall.
“You took what was mine!” he snarled, his normally mocking features livid with anger.
“She lay with me of her own free will,” shot back Julia, meeting Alucard’s fiery gaze. Alucard only growled, a low feral sound like an angry dog. Julia spoke again trying to calm her sire.
“She wasn’t yours to begin with Alucard. You know she would never have consented to becoming a vampire.”
“Well she sure as hell can’t become one now. Even if I didn’t want to change her, that didn’t mean I didn‘t want her.” Alucard tightened the grip of his hand against Julia’s throat, if she had been a human it would have broken her windpipe. Julia struggled and kicked Alucard square in the chest. He stumbled back slightly, but he didn’t lose his grip on her. Once he regained his balance he slammed Julia against the wall again.
“What are you going to do? Kill your own fledgling?” yelled Julia beginning to feel frightened, Alucard had never been this violent to her before. His eyes only narrowed, and Julia realized with a stab of terror he was looking at her the way he looked at prey.
“I told you to stay away from Integra. You defied me, and after I helped you save your little fledgling. I should have left you to Vashnicalf. No you‘ve doomed Integra to rot and die as a mortal.”
“Alucard, you wouldn’t want Integra to become an immortal. You want her for her mortal pride, for the strength she has even though she is only human. She is beautiful because she walks beside death, and often nearly falls prey to it yet can evade it still. For her to give up her humanity would be for her to surrender and give up her fight, and you would not want to see your ice princess fall. You never truly wanted to turn Integra, that is not why you are angry.”
“No your right, that’s not why I’m mad,” said Alucard in a terribly cold voice, before he bit into Julia’s throat. Julia’s eyes went wide with the sudden pain and she struggled again desperately, but her efforts where like a child hitting a statue. She could no more protect her life now, than the night she died. At first she though Alucard meant to kill her, but as he drew her blood from her she realized he was actually trying to bypass her mental blocks which he could break only from within her mind.
What Alucard was doing was against the few ancient laws that bound vampires. Had he been weak enough to fall under the control of the council it was a crime worthy of destruction. It was acceptable to kill another vampire and take their blood and soul whole. It was acceptable to prick or control another vampires mind from outside of it. But to invade another vampires mind from the inside while they were still alive, shredding and breaking their mental barriers, while they were helpless from having their blood taken, was far too cruel. It was the worst violation possible, often leaving only a broken shell still sentient but with a shattered mind.
Julia tried to keep him out of her memories, but with the blood link he was stronger. He broke every wall she tried to put up, until she was helpless. Alucard searched through her memories and snatched at Julia’s memory of making love to Integra the night before. He watched the memory, all the while drawing life blood away from Julia. At last when Julia hovered at the brink of death he tore his teeth from her throat.
For a moment he stood stunned in the cool darkness of the night and mumble very quietly “So she loves you, how terribly human or you both.” Then the sound of a cricket chirping returned the No Life King to himself and he glanced down at his slumping former fledgling held up solely by his arm. He realized he had taken too much blood for Julia to regenerate on her own. Her unlife was slowly fading from her, the ties that held her spirit to her cold body weakening. The anger was gone from Alucard’s eyes now and almost gently he lifted up his fledgling and cradled her.
He tore his own wrist with his teeth and offered it to Julia. Julia looked at him through furious frightened eyes. “Drink or you’ll die, I took to much.” Alucard said simply. Julia made a low growl of anger but took the wrist and bit. She pulled at Alucard’s strong blood, and Alucard let her take more back than he had taken. He owed her that much for the insult of breaking into her mind. It was something even a isr had no right to do, it was perhaps even unforgivable.
At last he pulled his wrist away from Julia and set her down on the ground. Weakly Julia pulled herself back to her feet, using the wall for support. She still glared at Alucard.
“Alucard, never ever do that again. I’m not bound to you anymore, you had no right to take my blood, or look into my memories. You‘ve broken the ancient laws” Had Alucard been human he would have been ashamed, but he had been a monster far to long for that. Yet even a monsters feel regret for harming it’s offspring.
“I had to know.” He said simply.
“Know what?”
“That she loved you. I see now little bird. You could take Marie, and now Integra from me, because you still cling to your damned humanity. You gave them the strength to live, and ask nothing in return. If I had claimed either of them, I would have broken them and ended my own game. I am a monster, my strength lies in destruction. Integra will stay strong with you by her side, and I will kill for her as I always have. That is how it should be.”
“Yes, that is how it should be,” said Julia quietly. For a long moment, neither Sire, nor former fledgling spoke.
“Julia I once hoped you might be my heir, that you would remain after I am eventually destroyed. You’re my only fledgling who has lasted so long. I doubt the police girl will chose to continue more than one human life time. But now I see, I will outlive you. You will not survive the loss of a second lover. You are bound to mortality and I will remain untouched by death as I always have. I‘ll watch this fading mortal parade until the end of time.”
Julia reached up a shaking hand and brushed a strand of dark hair from Alucard’s face, as if he were a child. She could not forgive him what he had done to her, but she also could not truly hate him, no more than she could hate a wolf for being a wolf. He was her sir and her blood kin.
“May you never break the thing you pretend not to love. May you remain forever an innocent monster.” Julia spoke as if she were giving a blessing. She kissed her sire on the forehead to show she bore no ill will and then turned her back on him and walked back to the manner and Integra. Alucard smiled his Cheshire smile and vanished into the night.