Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Prelude to Eternity ❯ Waking up ( Chapter 7 )

Her mind is pleasantly foggy and she finds herself wishing to stay there in the mist. “Miss Victoria! Miss Victoria!” Walter's voice cuts through her peace.

He shakes her gently, wary of the damage a slumbering vampire can do when awakened rudely. “Miss Victoria, please?” The cold tiles are disturbingly rigid beneath his knees. Integra voices her arrival in response to his call. “Walter?” Her ice-blue eyes fix on the still form of Seras.

“ALUCARD!” The ancient jerks to attention, the familiar tug at the very center of his being is now a vicious wrenching. His Master's mind is disarrayed and he catches fleeting images of his fledgling lying as if dead on white tiles. With a low growl he wills himself into his Master's presence.

“I'm… okay.” Her voice is soft, almost as if she doesn't quite believe it herself. “Miss Victoria, are you sure, you're bleeding…” `Quite heavily.' Walter's gaze falls to the deep scarlet staining his immaculate gloves. She lifts her face but her eyes do not seem to focus on his properly. “Yes, I mean, I…” Her words are cut off as the pressure in the room drops sharply and all eyes turn to the doorway as Alucard exits a portal. “What is the meaning of this?” His voice is laced with raw fury and Seras cowers instinctively behind Walter. Her Master takes in the room at a glance, crimson eyes lingering on the still form of the Freak. Thick, squalid blood runs trails from its eyes and ears. His gaze jerks to his fledging as she whimpers, acutely aware of the outrage that emanates from him. In one smooth movement he steps past Integra and around Walter to hoist his fledgling violently upward by her arm. “You foolish child! What were you thinking!”

Seras shuts her eyes as he speaks, the velvet baritone having given way to a coarse, sinister pitch. When she doesn't answer, he shakes her, demanding a response. “Are you so stupid? Could you not think?” She quakes before her Master's rage and instinctively retreats into herself, blocking out his threatening ire. “Enough Alucard!” Her Master stiffens at his Master's voice. His response is low, filled with malice. “Stay out of this.” Integra's eye twitches and she takes a step forward, acutely aware of the strange atmosphere that permeates the room. “Enough. You will cease Alucard, that is an order.” She watches a sleek muscle in his jaw twitch. Without warning, he disappears.

Walter does his best to ignore the greedy fashion in which young Seras consumes the blood pack. She winces as his fingers brush her wound. “Are you sure you're alright Miss Victoria?” Nodding, she continues to consume the scarlet liquid. Walter concentrates on binding the lesion on her neck. “You seem to have reopened this…” He deliberately leaves the sentence hanging, hoping to draw some sort of response from her, but the midian is intent on her meal. `No wonder. She lost twice as much blood as what's in that pack. Though, I would be pressed to say for certain how much of it was hers and how much was the Freak's.' The pack runs dry and he studies her as she places it on the bench beside them. There is something in her eyes, something sad. “Miss Victoria, do not worry about Sir Alucard.” She fixes the butler with a beseeching look. “Am I that obvious?” He smiles gently at her. So honest, more so than vampire or human. “No. It is my duty to understand those under my care.” Her brows furrow, as if she is trying to remember something. “Are we really so dishonest?” Walter watches her carefully. “Many times the truth does not lie in easy reach. It is buried in the subconscious, far from the prying eyes of those we care for.” She lifts her face to meet his eyes and he sees comprehension spark in her ruby orbs. “I think I understand.”

An hour. Sir Integra studies the blonde vampire before her. The young woman is obviously fatigued, but she is a dutiful officer, and her report comes before her recovery. “This might have waited Officer Victoria.” `For longer than an hour.' Seras shakes her head. “I'm sorry Sir, but I think it's important.” Her commanding officer nods and gestures for her to take a seat. Seras waits long moments as she lights a cigar and draws a comforting breath. “Tell me what happened.”

“They were attacked.” Integra nods, that much was obvious from the Freak's condition. Seras looks furtively at her lap. “I questioned him and he… told me that, well,” The girl's discomfort grates on Integra, the vampire's obvious anxiety upsetting her nerves. “Yes…?” She looks up suddenly, eyes boring into her commander's. “It was the ghouls Sir, they were after the ghouls.” Her back snaps rigid as she processes the information. “What could they possibly want with…?” “Control!” Seras blurts the word without thinking and Integra's eyes fix on the young vampire. “What? They wanted what?” She flinches back under the icy gaze. “I… I don't know. All he knew was, control.” Integra nods, forcing herself to sit back in her high leather chair, drawing strength from the grounding of her solid desk and slow-burning cigar. “Who are they?” A frown tugs at the young vampire's features. “I don't know Sir. But they knew what they were after.” Integra nods, “They were certainly thorough with those Freaks. Who ever they are, they knew how to silence them.” Seras shakes her head slowly, causing the knight to watch her carefully. The girl's eyes are fixed on something she cannot see. “They didn't care if they killed them. It was all a show.”

The chair disintegrates into pieces of jagged wood no larger than twigs and Alucard's smile has still not returned. He scowls distastefully at his chambers. There are no chairs left. With a growl he flashes from his stance near his door, to a seated position on top of his coffin, too enraged to walk the short distance. “Fool.” The words are uttered with poisonous vehemence. She stank. He lifts his hand and stares at it blindly, her blood stains the glove. She stank of Freak and… something else. With an animalistic growl, the stain disappears and he stands. `Things are getting out of hand.'

She presses the button to open the lid of her coffin and jumps. Her Master is there, lounging back on one of her chairs as if nothing has happened. “Master?” Her voice is timid. He tips his head to eye her from beneath his red fedora. “Good evening Police Girl.” His voice holds amusement and she feels a flutter at its familiarity. “Good evening Master.” She steps carefully out of her coffin. The world tilts to a crazy angle and she feels her knees give way. With a cry of pain, she comes down hard on the cold stone of her floor. Staying still for a moment, resting on her hands and knees, Seras gasps for unnecessary air. Gradually, the pounding in her head lessens and her world settles into a less absurd angle. “Feeling a little sore Police Girl?” Her Master's voice holds a mocking tone, a tad crueler than what she is used to. Gritting her teeth, she peers up at him. He has not moved an inch to assist her. “Master I,” His smile darkens. “You what Police Girl? Are you sorry? Are you in pain?” The smile has become a sneer. “Are you now seeing your own foolishness? Do you have the slightest idea how close you came?” He rises to his feet as he speaks, towering over her, fighting to control the powerful flaring behind his yellow glasses. Suddenly angry, she forces herself to her feet, unwilling to grovel in front of him. “I don't care. I did my duty, I found what I needed to know!” His eyes narrow. “And did you enjoy your little romp in the meantime Police Girl? Did it satisfy you to feel that Freak dying around you?” His voice is low and husky, a menacing anger twisting it into something indefinable. She trembles before him, his darkness reaching out in writhing tendrils to engulf her chambers. “I…” His scent is strong, it carries on the shadows that fill the room. He steps forward. “Did he touch you Seras?” She feels his arms slip around her and his body is stiflingly close. “Did he hold you?” Her Master's voice is a venomous purr. “Is he the reason you drink? Does it make him happy?” Seras feels something snap at his words. Bastard! Wrenching herself hard, she pushes violently away from him. “How dare you? Get out!” Her eyes shine with unshed tears and the rims redden as they escape. “That's not it! That's not it at all!” Her Master's face darkens and his eyes flick upwards. With a growl his gaze meets hers again. “My Master calls Police Girl.” He takes a step backward and darkness swallows him. She stares at the empty space in which he stood, disbelief shining in her crimson orbs. Of all the… to just disappear… Sinking to her knees, she lets out a sob. Not for him. She would never do it for him.

I don't know about this chapter, I think they went a little OOC, the atmosphere of the story keeps crashing back and forth, no doubt confusing the people trying to read it.
Please read and review anyway though, it is nice to know what people think of my attempts to write :)

Disclaimer: Not mine.