Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Tale As Old As Time ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

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

I have taken some liberties with this story. Seras is a few years younger to suit the time period. Also, anything else you may spot is probably something I took a liberty with. Please do not berate me about it, unless you sincerely think it’s something that needs to be brought to my attention.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hellsing manga or anime. They are owned by Kouta Hirano and Geneon Entertainment Studio, respectively.

---
Chapter One
550 years after the introduction
---

“Seras!”

Mumble.

“Seras! Come on, lass, get up!”

More mumbling. A groan was thrown in for emphasis.

“Seras Victoria! I’ll not say it again, chile, chores need to be done. Poor Bess isn’t gonna milk herself, you know.”

With a loud moan, the young Seras Victoria raised her head from her pillow. She shook her golden hair out, and sluggishly moved her body to a position from which she could easily get out of the cot she slept on. “Coming, Father.”

Seras had gotten on her daily clothes before the comment he had made sunk in... “Wait, since when have we had a Bess?” she asked, walking to the kitchen. “We don’t even have a dog, let alone a cow.”

Her adoptive father laughed a little. “Aye, but I wanted to see how long it would take for you to figure it out. It’s rather amusing to watch you stumble around in the morning.”

“You know, for a man of God, you can be kinda mean sometimes...” Seras muttered, to the amusement of her father. Father Alexander Anderson loved her because of her strong-willed spirit, never succumbing to the ways of the other village girls.

“Hey now, I’m just a lowly priest in this small village. But I enjoy every moment of it.” He smiled at her, and their morning banter was complete.

He handed her a plate of breakfast. “Hurry and eat. I must meet with the village elders today, so you are free to do as you wish in town.”

Seras munched happily on the meal. “What do you have to discuss this morning, father?”

She didn’t notice his smile fade, and his body stiffen slightly. “There’s a... threat to our town, and I might have to go and do something about it soon.” Seras accepted this explanation and continued eating her food. Hey, it was delicious, her father made good dishes.

An hour later found the two entering the outskirts of their small hamlet. The church was a good 3 miles or so from the town, to the utter bewilderment of Seras.

“Father,” she had asked once, “why is the church so far from the village? It takes so long for the people to get here that almost every Sunday that no one shows up too often. And another church is being built in town. Why?”

Father Anderson’s lips had tightened, and he frowned deeply. “People in this area have embraced Protestant ways, and I’m afraid the Catholics are dying out. And...” he’d hesitated.

“And?” Seras prompted her guardian. This was why she loved him so much. The women in the village were supposed to be demure little girls who listened to every direction a man gave and never questioned anything. But her father let her ask away, and had not denied her information or made her do the silly things other girls her age had to do.

He had sighed then, and patted her head. “I don’t like not telling you things, Seras dear, but I’m afraid this is one thing that I cannot reveal to you at present.”

The conversation had taken place four years ago, when Seras was thirteen, and since then she had not asked about it again. She knew the time would come someday when he would tell her what she needed to know.

Now they had reached the center of the town, and Seras left her father to do what she felt like. And right now, she felt like visiting the market.

“And how are you this week?” her favorite vender asked. He sold weapons of many different kinds, and knew how to use all of them. Her father didn’t know about her weapon affection, and she figured that if he ever found out she would be in trouble.

“I’m fine. We’re in town today on Father’s business; he must meet with the elders.” She paused to look at a fancy sword. “This is nice,” she commented.

“It’s new, from the far east. The man that sold it to me said it’s never been used, but that it was forged for demon slaying,” he said.

“Mmm,” Seras nodded vaguely. She spent a few more minutes glancing through the collection he had, then made her way to where the food was sold - they were almost out of fresh fruit.

“Hi Sophie,” she said to the lady behind the counter. “I just need a few things today.”

“How are the apples coming along?” Sophie asked. There was a small apple orchard at the end of the church’s property, and they were the envy of the town. Everyone loved them.

“Very well, actually. I hope to see them in soon, then I can make applesauce.” Seras grabbed what she required, paid, and left, agreeing to meet Sophie in a few more weeks to talk about apple selling.

For the next half of an hour the teenager walked around the village, talking to few and admiring many of the natural features. It was early spring, and everything was in bloom.

But then the trouble started.

---

“I am here.”

“The monster. It is almost time for his return.”

“I am aware of that.”

“You must not fail in your removal of him.”

“Yes.”

“You know what will happen.”

“Yes.”

“And your daughter...”

“I know.”

“Do not fail. You are dismissed to talk with the others.”

---

Seras knew it would come eventually. Whenever they came to the village she was sure to get trouble to follow her around. It had even before her family died.

“Seras, girl. Why don’t you come over here?”

No, Seras groaned in her head. “No, Jan.”

Jan Valentine stepped into the light, out of the alley. “But don’t you want to hug your future husband?”

“I’m not going to marry you, Jan, you know that.” She tried to quickly get away, but he was faster than she.

Jan grabbed her wrists. “C’mon, a quick hug? Peck on the cheek? Roll in the hay?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, and made to touch her chest. However, she was used to the attempts at groping, and was unusually good at avoiding them.

“I said no, Jan, now leave me alone.” Seras twisted in an attempt to escape, but his grip was firm and, if anything, only tightened on her arms.

“Yeah, babe, just keep doing that. Your spirit makes me want you even more...” He let out a nasty chuckle, making her squirm.

“Let me GO!” Seras cried, panicking and looking around for help.

“Jan Valentine.”

Seras immediately stopped moving, and grinned in a mock-evil way at Jan. He was very pale. “You’re in for it now,” she whispered.

“Let go of my daughter. Now.”

Whimpering slightly, Jan dropped Seras’s wrists like they were poison and turned to run. However, the priest was very speedy, and managed to grab the back of his shirt. “Never touch Seras again. Do you understand?” He could be scary when he wanted.

Jan nodded so fast it appeared as if his head would fly off of the neck, then scampered away like the rat he was when Father Anderson let him go.

Once he was out of sight, Seras turned to her surrogate father, smiling. She hugged him, and said “Thank you” so many times she lost count.

But then she realized that he wasn’t really responding to her embrace, and looked up at his face. With a gasp she took a step back, worried.

He was frowning, and there was a distinctly angry look in his eyes. He didn’t say anything to her then, nor on the way back to the church, and all he said as she turned in for the evening was “sleep well.” Seras almost cried before falling asleep, because she didn’t know what had caused his mood, but she felt guilty all the same.

---

The next morning broke bright... and late. For Seras, at least.

As she sat up in her bed, she didn’t know why it was so light in the room... and then she figured out that she normally was awake (however unwillingly) by this time of morning. Father Anderson had let her sleep in? She frowned to herself; that wasn’t normal.

The girl put her clothes on and trotted to the kitchen, where she found no one. “Father?” she asked. “Where are you?”

She wandered all over the religious building, trying to find her missing man. Finally, she gave up and went back to the kitchen, where she noticed a note on the table.

“Dear Seras,” she read aloud.

I am afraid that I have to leave on church reasons. I do not wish to alarm you, but there is a possibility that I could come back injured. Please prepare emergency items for me to use when I come back, so that I have them if needed. Also, if I have not returned within three days, on the fourth day ride into town and ask the elders to explain things to you. Please listen to them, even if what they say seems far-fetched and silly.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t very responsive last night. I love you very much, and I didn’t want to say anything to upset you before I left on this most important mission. Please know that I care for you and I will carry you forever in my heart.

“With love, Father Alexander Anderson.” Seras was stumped. “Okay... so I just need to find things to keep my busy. Yeah. Okay. Chores then....”

The day passed, and turned into night. There was no sign of the Father. His adoptive daughter lit a candle and sat in the comfy chair in the kitchen, eventually falling asleep.

The next morning came, and the day passed much like the previous one. Seras fell asleep in the same chair, waiting in vain for her father to come home some time during the night. At daybreak she woke again and found him to be missing yet again. It was the third day, and Seras hoped beyond all measure that he would appear, if only so that she didn’t have to go and face the elders.

As the sun grew higher in the sky, Seras’s heart sank lower into the pit of her stomach, until it was pitch black out and her blood-pumping organ was in her bladder. That night, she slept in her father’s bed, clutching a blanket that smelled of him to her body. “Where are you?” she whispered, almost crying again.

---

The fourth day dawned clear and bright, and Seras set off, determined to find out what happened to her father from the elders. She rode bareback on their one horse all the way to the village, where she jumped down in front of two of the elders and tied her mare to the post. Nodding to the old men, she entered the council building.

“I need to see the elders about what happened to my father, the priest Alexander Anderson,” Seras explained to a frazzled looking middle aged man, who was shuffling through papers. “It is of the utmost importance that I speak to them,” she pressed, and the man waved her in.

She entered a circular room, with many people murmuring to each other and shuffling around. As soon as they spotted her, the room went dead silent. Seras could feel her cheeks go red; everyone was staring at her.

“So,” one of the elders started, “your father has not yet come home.”

“N-No,” Seras flushed, facing downwards.

“Then,” he grimly stated, “the time has come for you to learn who and what he truly is, Seras Victoria.”

She looked at them, startled. “But I know that! He is a priest of the Holy Catholic Church, a servant of God. He raised me after my own parents were dead, and he taught me just and truthful ways.”

“He was that, and more,” another voice said, from the very back of the room. A figure cloaked in shadow moved forward, revealing themself to be possibly the oldest woman Seras had ever seen. “Child, do you know why no one ever came to your house of worship?”

“The Father always said it was because everyone in the town had become Protestant, and the Catholic ways were being shunned as old-fashioned,” she said nervously.

A chuckle swept through the room. “Well, that’s one reason,” a man in the front laughed.

“Indeed, but also because of the rumors. Father Anderson had lived in this town since childhood, and suddenly disappeared one day. When he left, he was twenty years of age. Ten years later, he came back, unchanged. He hadn’t aged at all. No one was sure what had happened to him, and he never told anyone. Except for the elders of the time. All but one have passed on since then, that one being me.” The old lady smiled warmly at Seras. “Do you know what he told us?”

Seras shook her head, and many of the elders did the same. She felt a little relieved that the story was new to some as well.

“He had gone to Rome, to the Vatican to see the Pope. Once there, he had been taken in like a brother, but one night he was attacked by some sort of monster. Near death, the Vatican had offered him another chance at life as a being more than human, one to carry out God’s holy work. He agreed, and was made into a human that can regenerate body parts and manipulate sacred text at will.”

Seras had no idea what to say, and stayed quiet.

“The elders thought this to be blasphemous, and demanded he show them. When he displayed his power, the elders - myself among them - decided to cast him out of our town, to keep the demonic influence away from the humble citizens. I must admit it was a difficult decision to make, as he was very charismatic and beloved by the townsfolk.”

She stopped there, and sighed, sitting in a chair offered to her. Seras waited for more, but after a minute passed she asked warily, “What does that have to do with where he is now?”

“My name is Ruth,” the elder said suddenly. “Please address me as so.”

“O-Okay,” Seras repeated her question. “Ruth, what does that have to do with where he is now?”

“There is a castle, just a little over ten miles from this town.” Ruth’s voice had dropped lower, like reliving a horrifying memory. “It holds a curse. Once, there was a spoilt prince who lived there, and denied an old beggar woman a place to sleep.”

“That’s terrible!” Seras couldn’t help but cry.

“Yes, for the old woman turned out to be a young, beautiful girl. She curse him and everyone in his castle to eternal damnation, until he met someone that could melt the ice of his heart.”

Seras nodded, eager for the rest of the story.

“But the worst part was that the prince was transformed into-”

Someone burst through the door then, interrupting the story. He had a wild look in his eyes. “There is a being at the town square, demanding to talk to a Seras Victoria!”

All eyes strayed to the young girl in their midst, who backed away slightly. “Me?” she questioned weakly.

The man nodded vigorously, and gestured for her to follow. She did so meekly, worried about who - or what - she would meet.

---

Father Anderson opened his eyes. “Where am I?” he asked, confused.

A voice answered him that sent chills down his back. “In my castle, of corse.”

He raised up angrily from his laying down position. “What have you done to me?”

“Nothing much, except look through your memories.”

“How long have I been out of it?” Anderson couldn’t tell if it was day or night, but it was a semi-dark room that he currently rested in.

“Oh... four days.”

“NO!” Sweat broke out along his head.

“Yes.” If a disembodied voice could smile, Anderson was sure that was exactly what it was doing right now. “But don’t worry, I’ve sent a messenger to your daughter. She will bring her here, and then I’ll decide what to do with the last of the family.”

---

Seras followed the shaking man to the town center, where a strange looking woman sat. She was short, with a funny eye and tattoos all over her body. “Seras Victoria?” the woman questioned, standing up.

“Yes?” Seras was proud that her voice didn’t shake. Well, didn’t shake very much, at least.

“Come with me.” The woman had appeared at her arm, and started tugging on her.

“Wait! Where are we going?” Seras could barely hold her ground, but the whole town had started to gather.

“Te see your father. Don’t you want to see him?”

“Yes! More than anything!” Seras allowed the woman to pull her along, until Jan stepped in front of them.

“Hey, babe, where’re you going?” He reached for Seras, but the tattooed woman swatted his hand away.

“We are leaving, now step out of my way.” She made to go past him, but the stubborn teen didn’t move.

“Now c’mon, your betrothed should always know where you’re going, right baby?” Jan sure was annoying.

“You are betrothed to him?” The woman looked rather mad.

“No! I hate him, and would never marry him!” Seras cried, moving as far away as possible from the man.

“In that case...” the woman muttered something, and Jan screamed in pain and fear as his fingers suddenly broke. But before Seras could ask, the woman muttered something else, and her tattoos glowed as they transported to the entrance of a large castle.

“Wow...” Seras breathed, awed by the height of such a building. She was jerked back into reality by a sharp tug on her sleeve.

“Come, you must see your father,” the woman said.

---

Father Anderson was restless. “Why? Why are you doing this to the girl, foul demon?”

“Because I can.” The voice had still yet to reveal its source, and now seemed bored.

At that moment, the door to the room creaked open, and light flooded the room as candles suddenly lit up. “Father?” a small voice asked.

“Seras!” Anderson cried, blinking in hopes his vision would clear up. “Seras, over here.”

His daughter ran forward and hugged him, overly happy to see him. “Father, what is going on?”

“I will explain that.” Seras jumped at the sudden voice, but this time it had a body to go with it. He stayed to the shadows, not revealing himself yet. The girl moved closer to her adoptive dad, seeking the safety and comfort he provided.

“You are the last of the Victoria line, Miss Seras,” the man said. He nodded to the tattooed woman, who left, closing the door behind her.

“How did you know that?” Seras asked, not sure if she should be mad or nervous.

“All in good time. Now, your father here-” a white-gloved hand motioned to Anderson, who stiffened in response “-tried to kill me, because he was convince of something absurd, I’m sure. Now, I thought, how was he going to pay me back for his rudeness? Well, after looking through his memories, I decided that I would take the last of the famed Victoria line from him.”

Famed? Seras thought.

“So now it comes down to you. Would you let your father, who never explained anything regarding him or your family, die here, or would you come with me, and remain in my castle, my home, as long as you live?”

Seras was shocked, and stared at the man in the shadows. “I would rather stay here forever than let my father die,” she announced loudly.

“No! Seras, no! I cannot allow you to do that, my child, I cannot. You don’t know what you’re doing-”

“I’m saving another father of mine from certain death.” Seras glared at the priest. “Would you deny me the right to keep my only family member safe?”

Anderson hesitated, but in the end, “No. I wouldn’t. But-”

“Then it’s decided.” She turned to face the darkness. “I choose to live here forever, so that my father can live.”

“Done.” He snapped his fingers, and the tattoo woman came back in. “Zorin, escort this man to his church.”

Zorin nodded, and reached for Anderson. “No!” he yelled. “Foul beast, I’ll be back to rescue my daughter. I will not rest until she is back at my house!” His rant was cut short, though, as Zorin knocked him out with a few pressure point blows. A wind swirled around the two, as she transported them to the church where he lived.

The wind blew the candles’ lights around, letting the flames flicker in many directions. One went in the direction of the man in the shadow, and she caught a glimpse of his teeth.

She froze.

He had fangs.

Fangs.

Everyone in the village had listened when the traders and storytellers came to town, and even Seras knew about the legends. She realized that Ruth hadn’t finished her sentence, “But the worst part was that the prince was transformed into-”

She filled it in.

A vampire.

Oh God, what had she gotten herself into?


---
A/N: That was quite possibly the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I kinda want the rest of the chapters to be the same way, so it might be a while until the next chapter.

Please review!