Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Tale As Old As Time ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

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

AN: Reading over the last chapter made me realize just how many mistakes I made... argh. Once done with the story, I’m going to edit. I will edit like there’s no tomorrow!

It took me friggin forever to come up with what exactly the characters should be, so they may not be precisely what one thinks of right away. I am including Millennium people in this, but not really anime people as much (so no Incognito, unless I think of a mad smexy role for him).


Recap: 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?

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Chapter 2
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“You.... you’re not human...” Seras fell against the wall, her face going pale. The man clapped mockingly, and moved into the light where she could fully observe him. He was tall, with long black hair. His red eyes were strikingly beautiful in an eerie way. Red eyes?!

“What was your first clue? Oh, the fangs, I suppose.” He stopped clapping, instead observing her in a disconcerting way. “You have your father’s eyes,” he murmured.

Seras bristled at that. “How do you know my father?” She re-stood her ground. “He’s dead, killed almost 12 years ago. What do you know of him?”

He chuckled. “Think nothing of it, girl. I just knew him, that’s all the more information you’ll ever need.” The man’s expression turned serious. “Now, to important things. Follow me and you’ll be shown to a more comfortable room.” He glanced around the cold tower room. “That is, unless you wish to stay here?”

The young girl shook her head mutely. She followed the man to another floor, with candles lighting the hallways and casting a warm glow over everything. They stopped in front of a nicely carved wooden door, which he pushed open to reveal a large room.

Seras could feel her eyes widen as she stared at what the room held. A giant four-poster bed with a canopy was off to one side of the room, and a huge oak dresser sat on the opposite side.

“Everything you’ll need is in this room,” the man said, “except for food. One of the servants will be around when supper is served to lead you to the dining room.” He gestured for her to enter, which she did gleefully.

After settling onto the bed, Seras looked back at the doorway. The man still stood there, watching her in a way that wasn’t entirely unsettling, but still made her nervous. “Um, Sir, you never told me your name.”

He pretended to smack his forehead in fake stupidity. “How silly of me. I am Alucard, master of this castle.” He smiled a fang-y grin, causing Seras to blanch and fidget. “While I am here, a few things that you should know: nothing in the castle will hurt you, under pain of death. The exception to that is, of course, me. Also, you are here for life, so get used to it. You promised that you would remain here forever so that your father could live. Yes, I am a vampire, yes I can read your thoughts, and no, garlic does not work on me. And lastly...” his face darkened. “Do not ever go into the dungeons, unless it is an extreme emergency. If you remember anything of what I tell you, remember that. Never go into the dungeons.”

The teenager nodded, and Alucard grinned again. “Excellent! Someone will be up in a while to alert you for dinner. If you feel the need to change, any clothes you may want are in the dresser there.” And with that, the vampire swept out of the room to leave her to her own thoughts.

---

An hour later, Seras was fully bored. She had explored every last recess of the room, and opened up the closet to go through the assortment of dresses there. All were exceedingly beautiful, and all fit her wonderfully. She even found a pretty but simple night shift to sleep in. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, and it was starting to really scare her.

Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Hello? Is someone there?” She peered around her new room, trying to see if she could find the peeping tom.

Someone cleared its throat, causing Seras to jump. “I’m here,” said a small, somewhat masculine voice. A rustling sound made the young girl whip around to see a boy about her own size smiling sheepishly at her. “Hi.”

“Wahhh!!!” Seras backed away from him. “Who are you, and where did you come from? And what in the world is on your head?”

He frowned. “My name is Schrödinger, I’ve been in here for a while, and these are ears. In that order.” He walked towards her. “Are you okay?”

“How long have you been in here exactly? Were you watching me change? Wait... Ears?!” Seras was backed into a wall. She really had no idea why she was so scared, especially since she had spent at least 20 minutes in the presence of a vampire.

Schrödinger groaned. “More questions? Okay, I’ve been in here since before you were in here, I was not watching you change because I was sleeping, and I’m a werewolf, so these are ears, yes.” He twitched the ears, which despite the circumstances, made Seras giggle. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, sorry. But now that you’ve seen me, we can be friends, right?”

Blinking, Seras pretended to mull over the idea while stealing glances at the boy in front of her every so few seconds. Schrödinger was actually shorter than she was (Yes! she thought, finally a boy shorter than me!), and seemed to be a little younger. His big eyes and slight build made her think that he was a girl at first. “Oh, alright,” she said, “why not? Let’s be friends.”

Schrödinger laughed and bounced to the other side of the room happily. Seras moved to the center of the room and sat in a squishy chair that had been conveniently placed there earlier, when she was exploring the room. “So, what do you do in the castle for fun?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“I mainly hang around Walter or Rip, but when I feel brave I’ll go and bother Alucard,” the werewolf said. He noticed her confused look at the mention of the other’s names. “Heh, I guess I’ll have to introduce you to all of the others! It will be a while until dinner is ready to be served, so what do you say?”

“Since I’m going to live in this place forever, I might as well get to know everyone as soon as possible, huh?” The teenager smiled. “Okay.”

Schrödinger hopped up and walked to the door. “Follow me!” He bounded down the long hallway, with Seras attempting to match his pace. “Here’s the kitchens, where you’ll usually find Walter, but we’ll come back to him. Let’s do the hardest one first; we’ll go find Integral.”

He slowed down enough for Seras to catch up, and pushed a door open. Inside was a huge library, filled with every possible book imaginable. “Wow,” the girl said.

“Do you read a lot?” Schrödinger asked politely.

“I can read, but I never really got the chance to, except for old bibles and whatever Father left lying around.” Mentioning her father brought an air of sadness to her features. I’ll never see him again.

The boy saw the brief expression of sorrow cross her face, and said quickly, “It’s okay, you’ll be allowed to read whatever you want in here. Master Alucard has books from every nation around the world, I think. But now, you’ve gotta meet Integra. That’s what everyone calls her,” he told Seras when she raised an eyebrow. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” Seras nodded.

“Integra?” Schrödinger called into the room. “Are you in here?”

“What do you want, werewolf?” A stern voice said. “I’m over here.”

“The girl has arrived, and I thought you might want to meet her.” Schrödinger led Seras to a section of the library with cozy looking chairs in little circles. A woman of medium height was seated in one, reading an enormous book through thick glasses. “Meet.... Oh wow, you never told me your name!”

“I’m Seras Victoria. Nice to meet you,” Seras said, curtsying slightly.

Integra stood up and placed the book on a table. “I am Integral Hellsing, but you may call me Integra.” She inclined her head in Seras’s direction. Something flickered behind the older woman, and Seras jumped.

Schrödinger laughed at her twitching. “It’s okay, Seras, it’s only Integra’s tail.”

She gaped soundlessly at them both. “Tail?”

Integra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I am a werecat (1). That’s my part of the curse. At least it isn’t as bad as Rip.”

“Curse? There’s a curse?” Seras got over her momentary terror of the tail. Integra turned to glare at Schrödinger.

“Did he explain anything to you? We can’t actually talk about it. Only Alucard has the power to discuss the curse in detail, so the servants can’t inform random people of it.” Integra made a shoo-ing motion. “Now go find someone else to bother. Pip is in the kitchen with Walter, go introduce them.” She went back to reading her book.

Schrödinger and Seras left the library and headed back towards the kitchens. They were stopped along the way by someone else, though.

“Schrödinger! There you are! And who is this?” A screechy woman’s voice reached the pair, and Seras came face-to-face with a harpy. Literally.

“Rip! This is Seras Victoria, the girl Master was speaking of. Say hi to Rip, Seras!” Schrödinger pushed the younger girl right up to the other woman.

“Hello, Ms. Rip,” Seras said shyly.

Rip grinned. “I am Rip van Winkle, at your service!” She made a showy bow. “Half-lady, half-bird, falcon to be exact! But you can call me Rip. Or harpy. Whichever suits you.” She turned her focus to Schrödinger. “Walter is looking for you. Said something about you and trouble, I didn’t listen. But it was nice meeting you, Seras! Gotta run before Master finds me.” She continued down the hall, waving while she ran.

“She was nice,” Seras commented.

Schrödinger shuddered. “Never get on her bad side, though, or she’ll make your life a living hell. Now, let’s get to the kitchens, since Walter seems to need me so badly.”

Again, the two set off to find Walter, and this time they made it to the kitchens without any interruptions. Schrödinger pushed open a swinging door to enter into a spotless, shining room. “Walter! Hello? I’m here! Pip?”

A pan was thrown at the werewolf’s head. “Shut up, shorty!” A heavy French accent reached Seras’s ears, and with a shocked expression she watched a stuffed animal walk up to her.

“What in the name of all that is holy is THAT?!” she shrieked.

The animal thing looked offended. “I am a bear. To be exact, I am a bear filled with the stuffing that you find inside of dolls and such.”

“Pip, who did you scare?”

Around the corner came another surprise - a man, but he was flying. With wings. He was only about three feet tall, too. “What the heck kinda place is this?” Seras mumbled to herself, but Schrödinger overheard and smiled.

“Meet Walter. He’s the Angel of Death! See, back when we were human, he was wicked when it came to defending the castle. So with the curse he became the image of what he was.” The werewolf looked proud that he had explained it that well.

“Does that mean that Mr. Pip here became the image of what he was inside, too?” Seras asked curiously.

Pip made a spluttering noise. “It most certainly does NOT mean that! I am a very cuddly and warm person, but I’m also a wild man who would kill without any regrets!”

“Pfft,” Schrödinger snorted. “Right now, you couldn’t hurt a fly. I know, I’ve seen you try.”

Seras picked Pip up. “You look like you have a seam ripped,” she noted.

The bear nodded its head. “Yeah, I caught that on a sharp corner the other day, and it pulled loose. I didn’t get around to fixing it yet.”

Seras inspected the torn area. “I can sew a little bit. Father would get caught on some branches when he was out in the woods, as would I, so I had to learn how to repair basic things. Would you like me to fix you?”
If a stuffed bear could get a lecherous expression, that was what Pip had on his face at that moment. “Babe, you could fix my seams anytime...”

“Pip!” Walter commanded sternly. “Go hit on Integra, if you must. It’s more satisfying to watch her beat you silly. Miss Seras, I believe you have now met everyone, right?”

“Integra, you, Schrödinger, Pip, and Rip. But who was the lady that brought me here? Zorin?”

Pip nodded. “She’s a magician, but a pretty pathetic one. She can only do the bidding of Master Alucard. Otherwise, she’s just a mindless slave. There are some other people in the castle, but they’re even lower than us. I know there’s a pixie around here somewhere, but it’s an evil pixie, I swear. She hates me.”

“The idea of the curse was to make us all mmmmmmmmph.” Schrödinger’s lips had pasted together. He gently tried to pry them apart, just barely doing so. “I guess I can’t tell you. Ask Master Alucard about it, when you see him.”

Seras’s face fell. “I don’t think I wish to speak to him much. I’ll try to avoid him as much as I can.” She put Pip back down on the floor. “Schrödinger, can you take me back to my room now? All of these angels and were-things are making my head spin.”

The boy smiled and led her back to the large bedroom she called her own. “Walter will probably send Pip up to get you for supper. Just so you know, you’ll be dining with Alucard, so dress nicely and think clean thoughts.” He winked at her, then disappeared out the door.

The teenage girl’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Dining with Alucard? I’ll pass.” She shut the heavy door, then threw herself on her bed. “I’ve always wanted one of these beds,” she said in a girlish tone. “I feel like a princess or something. Except that princesses aren’t usually held against their will in castles.” Seras allowed her body to fall against the soft cushion below, her head hitting the pillow. Yawning, her eyelids slid shut.

“Mama?”

“No! Seras, stay back!” A loud yell.

“What’s going on? Mama?”

A thudding noise, and then a gurgled scream.

“Hey! There’s one left.”

“Leave it. She predicted this.”

A huge red eye was seen.

“Miss Seras?”

“Ahhh!” Seras shot straight up in bed, not realizing she’d fallen asleep. Breathing heavily, she glared at the intruder. It was a soft looking bear. “Mr. Pip?”

“Just call me Pip, please, Mister makes me feel so old,” the bear said airily. “Walter sent me up here to fetch you for dinner. He said that there is a plain silver and blue dress in the closet that should set your eyes off wonderfully, and to wear it tonight.” Pip hopped onto her bed. “Well? Do you want food or not?”

Seras shook her head, feeling queasy. “No thanks,” she said weakly. The nightmare was one she had been having for years, but even now it could still make her sick to the stomach. “Why do I have such dreams?” she had asked Father Anderson. “It is the demons of your past haunting you,” he’d tell her. “The dreams will go away once you’ve faced your monsters.”

Pip shook his head. “If you don’t eat now, you won’t get food until tomorrow,” he told her. “It may be hard to sit with him, but once you get to know the Master, he isn’t so bad.”

The girl sighed, and slowly stood up. She made Pip sit in a corner (“I promise I won’t peek!” he cried, trying to look innocent, but Seras knew better) while she changed into the simple dress. “I’m ready.” She followed Pip into a grand hall, where a long table sat.

“There you are.” Alucard’s deep voice boomed from the other side of the room. Pip bowed his way out. “Sit down here, next to me.” Soft music was playing on a phonograph at the side of the room. Seras made her way to the seat the vampire had pointed out, and gently sat down.

“I trust everything has suited you?” he asked. Seras nodded, watching as he poured himself a glass of deep red wine. “Have you met the servants yet?”

“Yes,” Seras spoke. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “They all are very nice.”

Alucard raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. “Walter will be pleased to know that,” he said. “Ah, speak of the angel.”

Walter had appeared, carrying a tray that was twice his size, laden down with delicacies of all kinds. Seras didn’t even recognize a few of them. “Here is your dinner, Miss Seras,” he said while placing the entire tray in front of her.

“Wha? I mean, excuse me? I, I don’t think I can eat all of that.” She stared at the plates apprehensively.

Walter blinked. “By all means, we did not expect you to eat everything,” he smiled. “I was not sure of what you would like, so I prepared plenty of food so you could choose. Master,” he bowed to Alucard, then slipped back to the kitchens.


“It all looks so good,” Seras murmured, not knowing what to eat first.

“May I suggest this?” Alucard pushed an exotic looking dish forward. “It’s really quite delicious. It comes from France.”

“It’s not snails, is it?” Seras asked warily. “I don’t wish to waste Mr. Walter’s good cooking, but I ate snails once and I was sick for days afterwards.”

The vampire grinned. “No, it’s not snail.”

The girl gave a tentative smile back. She took a small bite of the dish, and found it to be as good as he had said. Before she knew it, the food was gone. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “Did you want some?”

“I have no need for human food,” Alucard sneered. “I have all I need right here.” He swirled his glass around, and Seras realized that it was blood.

Face going slightly green, the teen bowed her head. “I don’t think I’ll be eating anymore,” she said lowly. Silence prevailed over the table for several minutes, before Alucard set his glass down with a soft ‘chink’ noise.

“You want to know about the curse,” Alucard stated. Seras glanced up at his face.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“Well, a vampire in disguise came here about five hundred years or so ago, wanted in the castle, I said no, she bit me, and made everyone in the castle some monster or another.” He leaned backwards in his chair. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” she said, getting braver. “What does any of this have to do with me? All of the servants say they have a part in the curse, do I have a part, too? And earlier, you said ‘famed’ Victoria line, what was that all about?”

“Breathe, because I know you have to,” Alucard said disdainfully. “It’s not my place to tell you of your family’s history. Read about it in the library.”

“But what about the parts everyone has in the curse?” Seras pressed.

Alucard’s grin was gone. “They all have something they must do before they are released. Most have finished their given tasks, like Schrödinger. He was supposed to become more carefree. The curse was designed to make them figure out what they needed in their life.” The vampire was almost growling.

“What do you need?” Seras asked after he had finished. He glared at her, then took her hand in his icy cold ones.

“Will you marry me?”


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(1) Someone other than just Christopher Paolini has to have come up with the idea of a werecat, but in case he has it copyrighted, the idea of a werecat is not mine, and I’m only using it to benefit my work. Thank you.

In the manga, Schrödinger is a cat/human hybrid, but I’m changing that. Additionally, I am so terrible with accents I will not attempt to put the phonetic way the characters speak in the story.

Please tell me what you think!