Flesh of My Flesh (part one)
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 9:32 pm
After rebutting Millennium?s efforts of war at every turn and the destruction of Rip Van Winkle, the Nazis went into hiding once again, using only blitzkrieg attacks on Hellsing to test the strength of the mighty organization in hopes of one day finding the chink in it?s armor. The tentative alliance with Iscariot still stands and there is almost nothing to fear for now from the Roman Catholics. That doesn?t mean, however, that all is quiet. . .quite the contrary. . .
Millennium had settled into quiet; a mere shadow of it?s former self as they regrouped and redoubled their forces for the next time Hellsing was to be their target. And not just Hellsing, more specifically Alucard, the vampire held in servitude by the head of said organization. Integral Wingates Fairbrooks Van Hellsing, great-granddaughter to Abraham Van Helsing (the famed vampire hunter and the one who bound Alucard, the feared Dracula of lore, to the Hellsing name) sat at her desk in her office at the heart of the mansion. Years ago, when she was little and her father ran the organization, this office was a place of light that smelled of the special peppermint tea and chocolates he kept especially for Integral?s lectures and classes. The windows were always open and pictures of her and her mother covered the entire desk. No such personal items, however, were to be found on Integral?s work space.
When her father died, those windows had been shut tight, the curtains closed. Personal pictures were taken down, all gone but the stern portrait of the man who left the child in charge of everything, including the monster. The only light in that office was a small work light and the glow of Integral?s lap top monitor. And that was fine with her. Sometimes she could smell the peppermint again when she opened the drawer containing her Walther PPK and Hendi Wintzerman cigarillos. But it was a faint smell, chased away by the strong, cancerous stench of her cigars. And for a moment before the smell was dispelled, she was at ease. Not that she would admit that to anyone. Somehow she thought Alucard knew, spying on her thoughts, but he wisely held his tongue on such issues. Seeking instead to torment her in other ways.
Though in the end it wasn?t really torment but the sly battle of wills between master and servant. He was bound to her, bound to her word, so if he won these little games of witticisms, he no doubt felt his existence validated. So human of him. So male. It was almost ironic. The need to dominate, to prove. To validate. Or perhaps she was reading into things. Stubbing out the cigar butt in the ashtray, Integral?s gloved fingers slipped up under the nose pads on her glasses, massaging the sore skin there. How long had she been up? It didn?t matter. She wasn?t sleepy as much as physically exhausted. But like a true insomniac, sleep proved illusive to her.
In the corner of the room, unbeknownst to her, the shadows gathered. They poured onto themselves and swelled to a near tangible consistency. When the churning of blackness stilled, eyes opened. Hundreds of different sized, glowing red eyes. They blinked and were gone, disappearing back into that black mass of shadows. Then, lazily, the shadows lunged out, coalescing into the form of a man with a large red hat and crimson Victorian cloak. As he appeared the shadows screamed and Integral felt him, but made no move of acknowledgement.
?Miss Hellsing.? Alucard addressed her, quite informally and pronouncing the lack of her title in his address. She, normally, would have either corrected him or made it a point to give no response until the title was properly replied. But today was different. The weight of Hellsing, safety of Queen, sanctity of God and preservation of Church were heavy on her shoulders.
Not tonight, Alucard. She wanted to say it, but that would be giving in and admitting she couldn?t take what he had to give at all times. True, she was only human and entitled to moments of weakness, but she was Hellsing. A Hellsing was the last stalwart, the last bastion of hope. The last defense. Though tired, Integral straightened her spine, throwing shoulders back and looking up to meet his dead eyed gaze with her own. She pictured his eyes behind those tinted sunglasses and bore into them with her glacier cold gaze.
?You are only human, my master. . .? his voice was low, almost growling in it?s timbre. And aloof, but softer than she had heard him in a while. For a moment she wondered if he was reading her thoughts again, then shook it off. Integral had ordered him to stay clear of her mind. It was the only place she had left to herself. ?I can see fatigue wear your body. A human requires sleep to function, Integral, you will be of no use to Hellsing in an exhaustive and overly caffinated state.?
Her mouth opened as she prepared a cold retort, then closed. Teeth drawing together with a little click, her lips sealed and she inclined her head, moonlight pale hair falling around her face. He was right. She was tired. And she wasn?t going to argue. It was strange, but she knew he was looking out for her well being. Things had changed since Incognito?s initial attack on Hellsing involving Bobansidhe. The opportunity to let Integra die and finally be free of humans was offered however unwillingly to Alucard. And he declined. Actively declined and participated in Integra?s recovery. From then on it was an odd sort of feeling that someone aside from Walter was truly in her corner. She should have seen it from the beginning. The child and the monster. Alucard had helped raise her in his own twisted way. She was as much his as he was hers. And that was quite frightening.
?I?m tired. But when I am finished, then I will retire.? Was her sighing reply to the vampire in red. He strode to the front of her desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs before it and leaning back to prop long legs at the edge of her desk. His hat slid low, shading his face so only the tops of his red irises shown over the rims of those sunglasses.
The corner of his mouth twitched up, baring one white fang, sharp as a carving knife. ?Then I will stay with you until you finish, Integra.? He was pushing his luck tonight, using a nickname only Walter ever called her. But of course he had heard it long before his release, when her father whispered sacredly above her crib and the heart of her mother still beat. His luck held. She either didn?t notice or didn?t care.
?Very well. .? the corner of her lip twitched in frustration at his feet on her desk and with a contained gesture swept them off and to the floor. He yielded easily and that grin deepened. ?Keep your feet off my desk, Alucard.? Her fingers found the pen, abandoned seemingly so long ago and got to writing again.
Silently, the vampire studied her, neck bent over her work, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and blinking erratically to clear the blurriness that her deprivation wrought upon that fragile human body. Just for one minute, she thought to herself, one . . .minute. Those blue eyes closed, no blinking, just slid shut and her head drifted gently forward, only to be snapped back up as she realized what she was doing. When Integral looked up, she caught Alucard?s eyes and frowned. ?Very well. My work will wait until morning.?
?Integral. . .? he chuckled, standing in a grand display of vampiric agility and grace, ?It is morning.? He turned, red cloak snapping behind him and walked through one of the walls, red and black death portal opening as he stepped to it and vanished.
?Damn. .? she whispered to herself. She?d lost track of days again. Entire days and nights. One hand removed her glasses and the other began unbuttoning her coat as the Lady Hellsing walked slowly to her bedroom, wondering vaguely if she would even make it that far. Her legs tingled from sitting all that time and her limbs were just plain exhausted. As well as her mind. And eyes. And everything. Even her suit was looking tired. Upon reaching her room, she didn?t bother to take that off either, merely placing her glasses on the nightstand and falling asleep fully dressed, shoes and all as soon as her body hit the mattress.
And her sleep was a peaceful one, for in the back of her mind, she could feel Alucard?s presence like some comforting blanket or light. Which was humorous to say the least. Being comforted by a death god amongst vampires. But she was and these past few months were the best sleep she had ever gotten when she bothered to take it. And she was quite safe. Alucard didn?t leave her when she slept. Hadn?t for a very long time. While he didn?t blame himself for what happened, he tried to be extra vigil around the Lady Hellsing. At least until this millennium business was finally resolved. Or so he told himself.
***
The next morning, quite literally, Integral awoke with the sun streaming in through a crack in her closed blackout curtains. That thin beam was warm and bright against her closed lids and she awoke, eyes opening slowly in one extended movement. She felt absolutely rested, every muscle full of lazy energy waiting to be used. ?Impossible. .? she murmured to herself, she couldn?t have slept more than an hour, and to feel this good? Glancing at her nightstand she read the clock and noted that it was one hour behind when she fell asleep. Which meant. . Damn. She?d wasted an entire day and night on sleep. But ruefully, she did admit it was a good feeling.
As she sat up, the shadows in her room seemed darker than what they should be for early afternoon, thicker, corners obscured with blackness. ?Alucard. . .? Integral murmured to herself and groped blindly at her nightstand with one gloved hand. She found her glasses and slid them on. Once on, she blinked to adjust and her vision more than cleared, it seemed to lighten. The shadows receded, drawing their inky blackness onto itself and vanishing like any normal shadow would when hit head on with light. Only these shadows were neither naturally occurring nor chased away by light.
It was a strange feeling, knowing that he was actively upholding his duty forced upon him by the bond to protect her. With a sigh, half sitting up in bed, Integral tried to convince herself to get out. A bit of a held over ritual from her child hood. The warmth and embrace of a soft bed and sheets called to her in a way no one could understand. Like just the smallest taste of some glorious chocolate or wine, but only a sip, and then it was taken away. Sleep was her vice. That and cigars. And she had already wasted God only knew how many hours sleeping. So with a resigned sigh, Integral twisted, shifting her feet over the side of the bed and sliding to the floor.
First a shower, then a fresh suit and she would be ready to see what disasters had taken place in her time of rest. That thought gave her pause, Walter, of course, would have woken her had anything called for her immediate attention, wouldn?t he? Of course. Hellsing business was the forefront of import above any mere human needs such as sleep. Crossing the room, she removed her cross shaped tie tack, holding that in one gloved palm as she shed her suit jacket and unbuttoned her shirt. Her shoes were left at the entrance to the bathroom and inside, she placed the small cross on one of the marble counter tops.
The rest of her clothing came off, deposited in the dirty laundry receptacle, and in a split second, Integral decided a hot shower was in order, as a bit of a luxury compliment to her hours of sleep. She preferred cold showers, more so to wake her up and get her blood going than for any comfort. She turned the handle on the antique fixtures and slid the door closed so water wouldn?t splatter out. As she waited, she glanced in the mirror over the sink at the three prominent scars adorning her body like her own personal stigmata. The scar on her left arm, where a bullet grazed, a bullet from her own uncle?s gun as he sought to kill her and take over Hellsing. She had first discovered Alucard then. The second was a long thin scar across her abdomen, a cut from a letter opener at the hands of the vampire Bubansidhe. The third was inflicted by her own hand, one decisive stab wound at her neck, delivered to clear out the infected blood from her system.
Steam started to obscure the lenses of her glasses and Integral turned, morbid thoughts falling away. Removing her glasses, she placed them next to her tie tack on the counter and opened the glass door to the shower. A heavy breath of steam escaped in such metaphors as in exhale or the like, and Integral stepped inside. The water felt good beating against her skin, massaging into her muscles. She faced the spray, hands splayed against the tile wall a few feet below the shower nozzle, head ducked, hair falling in wet strands around her face while the soothing spray of water beat into her neck.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching. He stood in that rift between this world and the next, a space he affectionately dubbed ?dead side?. As it was neither living nor dead, but a side of each. Her bent neck, that column of tan flesh in such a submissive posture started a lovely ache in his canines. Oh yes, she was his, there was no doubt of that. A debt owed to him by her great-grandfather, Abraham Van Hellsing. The long dead vampire hunter had taken away his darling Mina. And this, he saw, as a sort of karmic repayment. A female Hellsing. HIS female Hellsing. He would have that slender neck offered up to him willingly, and he would replace Integral?s self inflicted mark with his own.
He reached out and ran a single, gloved digit across the thin scar, lain bare by the sweep of her hair falling forward. The water surged through his form, tucked away in another realm, to splatter and bead across Integral?s back. She shivered, cold suddenly permeating her flesh, as, from his peculiar dimension, Alucard brushed her skin. Despite the warm water, goose bumps rose along her flesh, pinching it into tiny, prickly lumps.
She whirled, straightening suddenly and stared right into the knot of Alucard?s tie, looking through him to the tile on the opposite wall. Integra opened her mouth, then paused. If she called to him and he wasn?t there, he could, by all rights simply appear. The warmth of the spray chased away the gooseflesh and she turned, not wanting to risk inviting the vampire into the shower with her. He smirked, fangs indenting his lower lip.
His master was quite beautiful by any standards, with the naturally tanned skin of her Indian mother and the characteristic glacier blue eyes and moon colored hair of her Hellsing forbearers. She had just the right amount of muscle and curve that was quite hidden by her militant suits. He supposed seeing her in the nude was a pleasure reserved for him alone. As no man had witnessed Integral undressed aside from Doctor Trevellion, and really, doctors were practitioners of the morbid so they, by Alucard?s logic, did not count.
The beads of water from the shower spray clung to her skin like fluid diamonds, dripping down the curve of muscle in her back, hip, and thigh. Glittering, the liquid beads shivered at her ankles, then reluctantly parted from her body to swirl down the drain. He preferred to watch blood drip from her skin like that, but one can?t always have their way, even if one is a true immortal. So he watched her from over the rims of those orange tinted sunglasses, pondering his vantage in the situation.
Alucard reached out again, two gloved fingertips snaking around Integral and stroking across the scar on her abdomen. She grit her teeth, skin shivering involuntarily and glanced over her shoulder. Nothing. Damn. Perhaps she was imagining things, too much stress in the past few months? Then again, she only had the vaguest ideas of what her vampire was capable of though God only knew why he would spy on her in the shower as it didn?t involve blood or death. With a sigh she closed her eyes and concentrated on shampooing her hair.
Private, unsure moments like these were the only instances in which the servant would dare touch his master, however ghostly the caress. Voyeuristic thrills widened Alucard?s smirk, the situation was to his advantage; dominance game he played against her without Integral?s knowledge or consent. And this game, he would always win.
As she rinsed her hair, Alucard slid those fingers across her abdomen, palm pressing down to cup the scar, hand splayed across her stomach. His other hand pressed against her left arm where the scar she received before waking him lay. Chuckling darkly, that grin widened, lips pulling back, thinning out and he leaned in by inches to her neck, guarded only by a mass of freshly washed hair.
Furious, she whirled again, nearly losing her balance but too stubborn to actually fall and Alucard receded completely into the void. ?ALUCARD!? She warned and seconds later he materialized on the other side of the shower door, giving her a sense of retained modesty as through the frosted and steamy glass doors of the shower, only a silhouette of the Hellsing heir could be seen.
From her side, she could just make out the outline of his large hat and Victorian cloak. ?You . . .called. . . Master?? He asked, smirking and knowing she couldn?t see it, fangs gleaming white in the light of the bathroom. Right now, he knew, she would be debating with herself whether he had actually been there, or if it had been her paranoia acting up. Without her being in that exact situation, the same feelings she previously had were hard to recall. He knew that. He counted on it to hold the upper hand.
And she was thinking that. Was it my imagination? Paranoia? She asked herself, she couldn?t accuse him of being in there and not look foolish if he hadn?t been. But on the other hand, the damn vampire had no doubt been in the shower and would simply laugh off her attempts to extract punishment or truth. So with a frown and a tight voice she replied, ?Nevermind. Dismissed.? And he left. The haunting echo of his laughter hanging in the air, unheard, but present none the less. Lady Hellsing merely frowned and finished her shower quickly, noting her good mood was quite ruined now.
Everything in her life was a battle of some sort, a challenge, and always had been. There was no rest, no respite from the war. Though she knew nothing but the fight, and so, she didn?t quite know what she was missing as far as peace and a stable sense of mind were concerned.
***
Long ago she had asked for a knight in shining armor to save her, had closed her eyes and cast herself into the abyss hoping to find one there. As Integral toyed with the cross shaped tie tack around her neck, she realized that she was the knight herself. Then she could not save herself, but then, she mused, she had not taken the Royal Order. Eyes sliding halfway closed she leaned back in her chair and leveled with herself. In all honestly, she was capable of saving herself against most human and inhuman foe, but when it came to true vampires, the odds increased. Against her favor.
Alucard was her weapon, her inheritance, if he did not count as a branch of herself than how else could she justify his use as a weapon. It was an odd situation. On the one hand, he was either an extension of her and thus she was connected to the darkness, or on the other hand, she was not strong enough to protect England. Abraham and Arthur hadn?t had this problem, she would bet. Nor her father. And not due to their gender. They were raised knowing of the vampire in their basement, raised thinking of him as a weapon and knowing that they themselves could not defeat their foes alone. Or could they? Abraham had captured Alucard in the first place.
Oh now this was making less and less sense. Could humans fight monsters or did it truly take a monster to defeat them? The strange train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door, Walter?s voice from the other side was muffled but recognizable, ?Sir Integra. .? he addressed her.
?Enter. .? she answered and the door opened. His face was grim, but there was still the sly look about his eyes. Something about him that was lost to humanity and forged during the fight in WWII when he was partnered with Alucard.
?The Round Table had this sent over for your immediate attention. A coroner at Scotland Yard flagged this for our department when the body arrived on her autopsy table. Integra, this isn?t a vampire,? his voice was stern but tempered with patience and the right mind of one who knew a serious situation when he saw it.
The file was nearly harmless looking, a plain brown filing folder with an extended tab and the scribble of a doctor?s shorthand on it. The red and black plastic tag still stuck to the front, marking it as an anomaly for Hellsing to deal with. Taking the folder with one gloved hand, she set it on her desk neatly before opening it. The first thing she noticed was the Polaroid stapled to the inside cover. A- a body didn?t even begin to describe what this was. Aged, aged beyond any natural mortal process. The face was twisted in agony, liver spots covering the bald head and skin yellow and tough like leather. Nails were extended past the natural point of breaking and yellowed as well, cracked at the tips. The eyes were open, but flat and sunken in.
She pursed her lips and scrutinized the photograph. ?Not vampire victim. Not a dead ghoul, the body would have dusted. Not were creature?s prey. . .? Perhaps someone made a bad bargain with a demon and it had gone awry. Or a magic practitioner searching for some potion of youth and putting in the wrong ingredient. These things couldn?t be discounted.
?Shouldn?t MI-5 be taking care of the investigation?? Her voice was level, that detached stoic tone of bureaucracy. They had been a bit miffed when the police girl had done a bit of her own investigating after all. Besides, Hellsing barely had the resources to get together a ghoul extermination team these days, let alone an investigation team. Her time in the Tower, the smearing of the Hellsing organization?s honorable name, and the notoriously short lifespan of it?s troops bled into making the organization quite unpopular for transfers. Right now they only had a group of mercenaries. Good for killing, but she wouldn?t let them near an official investigation for the crown.
Walter hesitated, ?There is no human element to this killing, Sir Integra. MI-5 turned the entirety of it over to the Round to give to you for a team of your own assembling.? The butler had made a full recovery of the helicopter crash, but his age was slowly catching up to him and he had been a bit slower than before it. Though it had more to do with the Judas? attempt to destroy Integra and Hellsing than any injury he received. And even now MI-5 wouldn?t turn over files to her, in protest of her release from capture.
Anger turned those cerulean eyes shiny, giving off an almost silver sheen. ?Then MI-5 still refuses to have dealings with the Hellsing Organization? I will notify the Queen. There is no place for a personal vendetta in the war against the impure souls of the night. Whatever grudge they have against me should not be allowed to interfere in the work we do in the name of God, Queen and Country!? Her voice had risen ever so slightly, cold tone like ice cracking with the heat of passion beneath it. How foolish, were they not all fighting for the same cause? Were they not all loyal to the Queen? The idiocy of these male position holders sometimes escaped her.
?Thank you, Walter, I will finish going through the file and assemble an investigation team to meet with you and debrief before sending them out. That is all,? her eyes moved back down to the file in dismissal. Walter gave a half bow to her, sly old eyes taking in the picture of Integra tirelessly throwing herself into her work. At least Alucard had gotten her to rest for a good while. Though her spirits hadn?t seemed to dim by the Judas and her time in the Tower, he could tell the wistful edge that had always lingered in the corner of her eyes had grown. And he couldn?t help her with that, he wasn?t the one.
With a last look, he finally turned and moved out the door, carefully opening it and then shutting it quietly so as not to disturb Sir Integra?s thoughts. Though as he shut the large, carved mahogany doors a shiver of familiar presence ran up his spine. Alucard. Integra was still shaken from the experience, though she hid it well, and it was times like this, when the vampire thought her at her weakest, that Alucard appeared. When she had been younger, before she had tasted her own mortality, Walter had strongly objected to his former comrade?s half whispered offers and lingering presence, always watching. But now, with scars of battle decorating Integra?s body and knowing she was a pariah in the mortal society she fought so hard to protect?well, he wasn?t so adamantly opposed to Alucard?s brand of taking care of Integra. Those thoughts were treacherous and disloyal to both Lionel and Arthur, but she was so alone. Leaving the hall, he no longer felt Alucard?s presence and his thoughts drifted to the matters at hand.
The vampire?s form seemed to pour in, almost an ironic acknowledgement to times past that was set to amuse the master, but also unnerve her a bit. Sometimes, Alucard mused, Integra seemed far too used to vampires after having him around most of her life. The thought that he was truly immortal, not only in battle but through the years seemed to not be as imposing as it should. So through the balcony doors he poured, opaque mist rolling over itself and then dancing up, higher and higher until it formed the familiar shape of a Victorian coat and wide brimmed hat.
Integra had felt him and turned, watching over steepled fingers, an elbow on either side of her open case folder. For all of his antics, as amazing and frightening as they were to most, she knew she had control over him and that defeated the purpose of these little shows meant to intimidate her, she supposed. ?Alucard. I didn?t call for you.?
He ignored her comment, ?You realize the Queen could have prevented this all in the first place. She held that power. The power to pardon you fully, the power to announce that Hellsing was some grand anti-terrorist organization and that was simply a mission. Any number of things, but she would have gone against the Round Table, MI-5 and all the power combined they hold. Her Highness was no doubt sympathetic to you, but it would seem not enough to risk the disapproval of those who put you in the Tower. Even pardoned, you are still shunned.? Oh, it was a deliciously sensitive subject with her, the imprisonment and knowing the Queen had no advice or support for her except asking to stand tall and trying to secretly sort out the business of the traitor. Integra?s pride was still smarting from that and thus, she was a tick more vulnerable than usual.
The barest corner of her upper right lip twitched, imperceptible to most, but obvious to Alucard. He found the small twitch quite endearing. ?The Queen did what she thought was best and executed my return when she had good reason to. I have no right to question her actions, I am only her loyal servant.? She shot him a look on that, he could learn a thing or two about loyal servitude.
?And how many times, my master?? He trailed off as he stepped forward, the dim light reflecting on the red tinted lenses of his sunglasses, ?Have you saved the country for Her Highness? How many injuries decorate your pure body with the reminder of scars? Surely, for all the flesh and blood you?ve given up for her, your own and those of your soldiers, she could have pardoned you sooner. Done something. And if not for you, for those hundred and fifty or so men and women that died at the Tower. For Farguson and Pickman, buried in shame. Cursed by those whose lives were saved by Hellsing that night.?
She swallowed hard, but did not flinch away as he approached, as his words hit her, stinging rain to the fragile protection from her own emotions. The destruction of Hellsing?s honorable reputation, her own imprisonment she could take. But the shame of those who served her, the humiliation on top of the death of loved ones the families of her soldiers had to endure, dear God that haunted her. He knew that. He of all people knew that. And his knowledge did not stop him, but made the pursuit heat up all the more.
?What are you left with, Integra?? Alucard?s voice lowered, a harsh growl of a whisper, timbre low and rolling as he moved to stand behind her chair. One hand went to either side of the chair?s back, one hand behind either shoulder. ?Pagan mercenaries, vampires, an aging Angel of Death? The echo of a once proud tradition?? And of course there hung the unspoken comment, ?and what would your father think?? Were she a weaker person, Integra might have broken down, but his taunts only fed her determination.
The layer of ice around her emotions grew solidifying her strength, ?Pagan mercenaries that get the job done. A true immortal whom I trust could never lose a fight, if only for the sake of his pride. His progeny, who seems to be coming along as an introduction to the mercenaries of vampires, a bit of a teacher. And the steward to my family, loyal and quite resourceful.? She replied slowly, voice low, considering every word she spoke and choosing them carefully. ?I would think, vampire, that would be enough for us to win any battle. Pride isn?t an object anyone can take away. You, I believe, understand this. My pride and that of Hellsing will continue to thrive as long as I do not falter in my determination to destroy the impure souls in the name of God, Her Majesty and Great Britain.?
Though she could not see him, Alucard?s fanged grin grew obscenely wide, the tips of fangs indenting his lower lip. Integra faced forward, away from him, and he watched the pale platinum strands of hair fall neatly down her back, down the arms of her steepled fingers. How strong she was, this Maiden of Ice. Swathed in tragedy that honed her will to succeed, and in succeeding show her detractors how wrong they were. His hands slid from the chair back to her shoulders and he felt her stiffen beneath the starched material of her suit. Thumbs rubbed unconsciously into the tension between her shoulder blades as the vampire slowly leaned in. Integra?s breath halted and she had to force herself to remember just how to take in air and exhale it.
He?d never touched her before. Though there was material between their skins, he?d never been so bold as to lay hands on her like this. Cold, dead breath stirred the fine platinum strands near her ear as the vampire moved in closer. Alucard could smell her shampoo, the clean soap and water aroma of her skin. And she could smell him, like smoke and night time, a Halloween evening. It was a bit disquieting. ?Your pride will be your downfall, Integra.? So simple a statement, but said in such an intimate whisper, rough yet forceful and amused. Her hair stirred and he swallowed the urge to lean in and nose against her ear. ?Either too stubborn to take my offer and Hellsing will fall victim to your mortality or too proud to die and you will come to me. . .?
Integra suppressed a shiver at the low tone of his voice, a growl so near her ear. She half turned, watching him from the corner of her eye. Alucard?s hands still lazily lay on her shoulders, working her muscles. She didn?t relax into his touch, though those persistent thumbs stole away her tension. He dropped his sunglasses to once side, a single, crimson eye boring into her blue one.
?Then you have nothing to worry about, Alucard,? a hint of a smirk turned up her lips as heavy lashes slid down halfway over her eyes. She stared at him from the corner of her eye, look triumphant, like she knew secrets he could only guess at. ?As soon as my life ends you will be free. I have said before, I will never give in to a vampire.? That half amused tone smirked at him, but once again he knew something she didn?t, and thus got the last word.
?I won?t allow mortality to claim you, Integra?? His lips did brush her ear then and a maddeningly triumphant laugh growled from his throat between them. She turned sharply at that touch of cold lips to her warm flesh, but he was gone like a shadow in sunlight. Damn. He watched her from the other world, from his dead side, lips warmed by that brief contact. But it wasn?t enough. He wanted more. It irked him that she would never willingly come to him. He realized that now, when he pushed her breaking point and her strength did nothing but intensify. Though there were so many back up plans.
He was still watching. He wouldn?t pull something like that without awaiting her reaction. She turned forward once more, looking down at the file but not seeing it. How dare he, Integra?s mind raged, take liberty with her person, touch her, get that close. Spine straightening, she squared her shoulders and her face fell back into familiar stoic lines. She affected a determined person because inside she was shaken. Her muscles still tingled where his gentle pressure had eased the knots from them. Merciful God, she had wanted him to stay. She had wanted something she didn?t understand, held no experience with. But it wasn?t right. She was a warrior of God and couldn?t give in to such crass and low feelings. And for a vampire. The sworn enemies of Hellsing. Though he was her vampire.
Noisily, she opened her drawer, bumping around objects and pulling a cigar out, then flaring up and taking a deep drag. She had to think of something else, had to chase these thoughts from her head. Alucard wanted this, no doubt. It was part of some game of his. To disturb, to unnerve, to gain dominance over her in retribution for the dominance she held over him. And Integra just couldn?t let that happen.
***
(To be continued. . .))
Tell me what you think. . and yes, it's going to be very. Very. Long. I used to never be able to write novels. Now it seems, I can't write short stories.
Millennium had settled into quiet; a mere shadow of it?s former self as they regrouped and redoubled their forces for the next time Hellsing was to be their target. And not just Hellsing, more specifically Alucard, the vampire held in servitude by the head of said organization. Integral Wingates Fairbrooks Van Hellsing, great-granddaughter to Abraham Van Helsing (the famed vampire hunter and the one who bound Alucard, the feared Dracula of lore, to the Hellsing name) sat at her desk in her office at the heart of the mansion. Years ago, when she was little and her father ran the organization, this office was a place of light that smelled of the special peppermint tea and chocolates he kept especially for Integral?s lectures and classes. The windows were always open and pictures of her and her mother covered the entire desk. No such personal items, however, were to be found on Integral?s work space.
When her father died, those windows had been shut tight, the curtains closed. Personal pictures were taken down, all gone but the stern portrait of the man who left the child in charge of everything, including the monster. The only light in that office was a small work light and the glow of Integral?s lap top monitor. And that was fine with her. Sometimes she could smell the peppermint again when she opened the drawer containing her Walther PPK and Hendi Wintzerman cigarillos. But it was a faint smell, chased away by the strong, cancerous stench of her cigars. And for a moment before the smell was dispelled, she was at ease. Not that she would admit that to anyone. Somehow she thought Alucard knew, spying on her thoughts, but he wisely held his tongue on such issues. Seeking instead to torment her in other ways.
Though in the end it wasn?t really torment but the sly battle of wills between master and servant. He was bound to her, bound to her word, so if he won these little games of witticisms, he no doubt felt his existence validated. So human of him. So male. It was almost ironic. The need to dominate, to prove. To validate. Or perhaps she was reading into things. Stubbing out the cigar butt in the ashtray, Integral?s gloved fingers slipped up under the nose pads on her glasses, massaging the sore skin there. How long had she been up? It didn?t matter. She wasn?t sleepy as much as physically exhausted. But like a true insomniac, sleep proved illusive to her.
In the corner of the room, unbeknownst to her, the shadows gathered. They poured onto themselves and swelled to a near tangible consistency. When the churning of blackness stilled, eyes opened. Hundreds of different sized, glowing red eyes. They blinked and were gone, disappearing back into that black mass of shadows. Then, lazily, the shadows lunged out, coalescing into the form of a man with a large red hat and crimson Victorian cloak. As he appeared the shadows screamed and Integral felt him, but made no move of acknowledgement.
?Miss Hellsing.? Alucard addressed her, quite informally and pronouncing the lack of her title in his address. She, normally, would have either corrected him or made it a point to give no response until the title was properly replied. But today was different. The weight of Hellsing, safety of Queen, sanctity of God and preservation of Church were heavy on her shoulders.
Not tonight, Alucard. She wanted to say it, but that would be giving in and admitting she couldn?t take what he had to give at all times. True, she was only human and entitled to moments of weakness, but she was Hellsing. A Hellsing was the last stalwart, the last bastion of hope. The last defense. Though tired, Integral straightened her spine, throwing shoulders back and looking up to meet his dead eyed gaze with her own. She pictured his eyes behind those tinted sunglasses and bore into them with her glacier cold gaze.
?You are only human, my master. . .? his voice was low, almost growling in it?s timbre. And aloof, but softer than she had heard him in a while. For a moment she wondered if he was reading her thoughts again, then shook it off. Integral had ordered him to stay clear of her mind. It was the only place she had left to herself. ?I can see fatigue wear your body. A human requires sleep to function, Integral, you will be of no use to Hellsing in an exhaustive and overly caffinated state.?
Her mouth opened as she prepared a cold retort, then closed. Teeth drawing together with a little click, her lips sealed and she inclined her head, moonlight pale hair falling around her face. He was right. She was tired. And she wasn?t going to argue. It was strange, but she knew he was looking out for her well being. Things had changed since Incognito?s initial attack on Hellsing involving Bobansidhe. The opportunity to let Integra die and finally be free of humans was offered however unwillingly to Alucard. And he declined. Actively declined and participated in Integra?s recovery. From then on it was an odd sort of feeling that someone aside from Walter was truly in her corner. She should have seen it from the beginning. The child and the monster. Alucard had helped raise her in his own twisted way. She was as much his as he was hers. And that was quite frightening.
?I?m tired. But when I am finished, then I will retire.? Was her sighing reply to the vampire in red. He strode to the front of her desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs before it and leaning back to prop long legs at the edge of her desk. His hat slid low, shading his face so only the tops of his red irises shown over the rims of those sunglasses.
The corner of his mouth twitched up, baring one white fang, sharp as a carving knife. ?Then I will stay with you until you finish, Integra.? He was pushing his luck tonight, using a nickname only Walter ever called her. But of course he had heard it long before his release, when her father whispered sacredly above her crib and the heart of her mother still beat. His luck held. She either didn?t notice or didn?t care.
?Very well. .? the corner of her lip twitched in frustration at his feet on her desk and with a contained gesture swept them off and to the floor. He yielded easily and that grin deepened. ?Keep your feet off my desk, Alucard.? Her fingers found the pen, abandoned seemingly so long ago and got to writing again.
Silently, the vampire studied her, neck bent over her work, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and blinking erratically to clear the blurriness that her deprivation wrought upon that fragile human body. Just for one minute, she thought to herself, one . . .minute. Those blue eyes closed, no blinking, just slid shut and her head drifted gently forward, only to be snapped back up as she realized what she was doing. When Integral looked up, she caught Alucard?s eyes and frowned. ?Very well. My work will wait until morning.?
?Integral. . .? he chuckled, standing in a grand display of vampiric agility and grace, ?It is morning.? He turned, red cloak snapping behind him and walked through one of the walls, red and black death portal opening as he stepped to it and vanished.
?Damn. .? she whispered to herself. She?d lost track of days again. Entire days and nights. One hand removed her glasses and the other began unbuttoning her coat as the Lady Hellsing walked slowly to her bedroom, wondering vaguely if she would even make it that far. Her legs tingled from sitting all that time and her limbs were just plain exhausted. As well as her mind. And eyes. And everything. Even her suit was looking tired. Upon reaching her room, she didn?t bother to take that off either, merely placing her glasses on the nightstand and falling asleep fully dressed, shoes and all as soon as her body hit the mattress.
And her sleep was a peaceful one, for in the back of her mind, she could feel Alucard?s presence like some comforting blanket or light. Which was humorous to say the least. Being comforted by a death god amongst vampires. But she was and these past few months were the best sleep she had ever gotten when she bothered to take it. And she was quite safe. Alucard didn?t leave her when she slept. Hadn?t for a very long time. While he didn?t blame himself for what happened, he tried to be extra vigil around the Lady Hellsing. At least until this millennium business was finally resolved. Or so he told himself.
***
The next morning, quite literally, Integral awoke with the sun streaming in through a crack in her closed blackout curtains. That thin beam was warm and bright against her closed lids and she awoke, eyes opening slowly in one extended movement. She felt absolutely rested, every muscle full of lazy energy waiting to be used. ?Impossible. .? she murmured to herself, she couldn?t have slept more than an hour, and to feel this good? Glancing at her nightstand she read the clock and noted that it was one hour behind when she fell asleep. Which meant. . Damn. She?d wasted an entire day and night on sleep. But ruefully, she did admit it was a good feeling.
As she sat up, the shadows in her room seemed darker than what they should be for early afternoon, thicker, corners obscured with blackness. ?Alucard. . .? Integral murmured to herself and groped blindly at her nightstand with one gloved hand. She found her glasses and slid them on. Once on, she blinked to adjust and her vision more than cleared, it seemed to lighten. The shadows receded, drawing their inky blackness onto itself and vanishing like any normal shadow would when hit head on with light. Only these shadows were neither naturally occurring nor chased away by light.
It was a strange feeling, knowing that he was actively upholding his duty forced upon him by the bond to protect her. With a sigh, half sitting up in bed, Integral tried to convince herself to get out. A bit of a held over ritual from her child hood. The warmth and embrace of a soft bed and sheets called to her in a way no one could understand. Like just the smallest taste of some glorious chocolate or wine, but only a sip, and then it was taken away. Sleep was her vice. That and cigars. And she had already wasted God only knew how many hours sleeping. So with a resigned sigh, Integral twisted, shifting her feet over the side of the bed and sliding to the floor.
First a shower, then a fresh suit and she would be ready to see what disasters had taken place in her time of rest. That thought gave her pause, Walter, of course, would have woken her had anything called for her immediate attention, wouldn?t he? Of course. Hellsing business was the forefront of import above any mere human needs such as sleep. Crossing the room, she removed her cross shaped tie tack, holding that in one gloved palm as she shed her suit jacket and unbuttoned her shirt. Her shoes were left at the entrance to the bathroom and inside, she placed the small cross on one of the marble counter tops.
The rest of her clothing came off, deposited in the dirty laundry receptacle, and in a split second, Integral decided a hot shower was in order, as a bit of a luxury compliment to her hours of sleep. She preferred cold showers, more so to wake her up and get her blood going than for any comfort. She turned the handle on the antique fixtures and slid the door closed so water wouldn?t splatter out. As she waited, she glanced in the mirror over the sink at the three prominent scars adorning her body like her own personal stigmata. The scar on her left arm, where a bullet grazed, a bullet from her own uncle?s gun as he sought to kill her and take over Hellsing. She had first discovered Alucard then. The second was a long thin scar across her abdomen, a cut from a letter opener at the hands of the vampire Bubansidhe. The third was inflicted by her own hand, one decisive stab wound at her neck, delivered to clear out the infected blood from her system.
Steam started to obscure the lenses of her glasses and Integral turned, morbid thoughts falling away. Removing her glasses, she placed them next to her tie tack on the counter and opened the glass door to the shower. A heavy breath of steam escaped in such metaphors as in exhale or the like, and Integral stepped inside. The water felt good beating against her skin, massaging into her muscles. She faced the spray, hands splayed against the tile wall a few feet below the shower nozzle, head ducked, hair falling in wet strands around her face while the soothing spray of water beat into her neck.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching. He stood in that rift between this world and the next, a space he affectionately dubbed ?dead side?. As it was neither living nor dead, but a side of each. Her bent neck, that column of tan flesh in such a submissive posture started a lovely ache in his canines. Oh yes, she was his, there was no doubt of that. A debt owed to him by her great-grandfather, Abraham Van Hellsing. The long dead vampire hunter had taken away his darling Mina. And this, he saw, as a sort of karmic repayment. A female Hellsing. HIS female Hellsing. He would have that slender neck offered up to him willingly, and he would replace Integral?s self inflicted mark with his own.
He reached out and ran a single, gloved digit across the thin scar, lain bare by the sweep of her hair falling forward. The water surged through his form, tucked away in another realm, to splatter and bead across Integral?s back. She shivered, cold suddenly permeating her flesh, as, from his peculiar dimension, Alucard brushed her skin. Despite the warm water, goose bumps rose along her flesh, pinching it into tiny, prickly lumps.
She whirled, straightening suddenly and stared right into the knot of Alucard?s tie, looking through him to the tile on the opposite wall. Integra opened her mouth, then paused. If she called to him and he wasn?t there, he could, by all rights simply appear. The warmth of the spray chased away the gooseflesh and she turned, not wanting to risk inviting the vampire into the shower with her. He smirked, fangs indenting his lower lip.
His master was quite beautiful by any standards, with the naturally tanned skin of her Indian mother and the characteristic glacier blue eyes and moon colored hair of her Hellsing forbearers. She had just the right amount of muscle and curve that was quite hidden by her militant suits. He supposed seeing her in the nude was a pleasure reserved for him alone. As no man had witnessed Integral undressed aside from Doctor Trevellion, and really, doctors were practitioners of the morbid so they, by Alucard?s logic, did not count.
The beads of water from the shower spray clung to her skin like fluid diamonds, dripping down the curve of muscle in her back, hip, and thigh. Glittering, the liquid beads shivered at her ankles, then reluctantly parted from her body to swirl down the drain. He preferred to watch blood drip from her skin like that, but one can?t always have their way, even if one is a true immortal. So he watched her from over the rims of those orange tinted sunglasses, pondering his vantage in the situation.
Alucard reached out again, two gloved fingertips snaking around Integral and stroking across the scar on her abdomen. She grit her teeth, skin shivering involuntarily and glanced over her shoulder. Nothing. Damn. Perhaps she was imagining things, too much stress in the past few months? Then again, she only had the vaguest ideas of what her vampire was capable of though God only knew why he would spy on her in the shower as it didn?t involve blood or death. With a sigh she closed her eyes and concentrated on shampooing her hair.
Private, unsure moments like these were the only instances in which the servant would dare touch his master, however ghostly the caress. Voyeuristic thrills widened Alucard?s smirk, the situation was to his advantage; dominance game he played against her without Integral?s knowledge or consent. And this game, he would always win.
As she rinsed her hair, Alucard slid those fingers across her abdomen, palm pressing down to cup the scar, hand splayed across her stomach. His other hand pressed against her left arm where the scar she received before waking him lay. Chuckling darkly, that grin widened, lips pulling back, thinning out and he leaned in by inches to her neck, guarded only by a mass of freshly washed hair.
Furious, she whirled again, nearly losing her balance but too stubborn to actually fall and Alucard receded completely into the void. ?ALUCARD!? She warned and seconds later he materialized on the other side of the shower door, giving her a sense of retained modesty as through the frosted and steamy glass doors of the shower, only a silhouette of the Hellsing heir could be seen.
From her side, she could just make out the outline of his large hat and Victorian cloak. ?You . . .called. . . Master?? He asked, smirking and knowing she couldn?t see it, fangs gleaming white in the light of the bathroom. Right now, he knew, she would be debating with herself whether he had actually been there, or if it had been her paranoia acting up. Without her being in that exact situation, the same feelings she previously had were hard to recall. He knew that. He counted on it to hold the upper hand.
And she was thinking that. Was it my imagination? Paranoia? She asked herself, she couldn?t accuse him of being in there and not look foolish if he hadn?t been. But on the other hand, the damn vampire had no doubt been in the shower and would simply laugh off her attempts to extract punishment or truth. So with a frown and a tight voice she replied, ?Nevermind. Dismissed.? And he left. The haunting echo of his laughter hanging in the air, unheard, but present none the less. Lady Hellsing merely frowned and finished her shower quickly, noting her good mood was quite ruined now.
Everything in her life was a battle of some sort, a challenge, and always had been. There was no rest, no respite from the war. Though she knew nothing but the fight, and so, she didn?t quite know what she was missing as far as peace and a stable sense of mind were concerned.
***
Long ago she had asked for a knight in shining armor to save her, had closed her eyes and cast herself into the abyss hoping to find one there. As Integral toyed with the cross shaped tie tack around her neck, she realized that she was the knight herself. Then she could not save herself, but then, she mused, she had not taken the Royal Order. Eyes sliding halfway closed she leaned back in her chair and leveled with herself. In all honestly, she was capable of saving herself against most human and inhuman foe, but when it came to true vampires, the odds increased. Against her favor.
Alucard was her weapon, her inheritance, if he did not count as a branch of herself than how else could she justify his use as a weapon. It was an odd situation. On the one hand, he was either an extension of her and thus she was connected to the darkness, or on the other hand, she was not strong enough to protect England. Abraham and Arthur hadn?t had this problem, she would bet. Nor her father. And not due to their gender. They were raised knowing of the vampire in their basement, raised thinking of him as a weapon and knowing that they themselves could not defeat their foes alone. Or could they? Abraham had captured Alucard in the first place.
Oh now this was making less and less sense. Could humans fight monsters or did it truly take a monster to defeat them? The strange train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door, Walter?s voice from the other side was muffled but recognizable, ?Sir Integra. .? he addressed her.
?Enter. .? she answered and the door opened. His face was grim, but there was still the sly look about his eyes. Something about him that was lost to humanity and forged during the fight in WWII when he was partnered with Alucard.
?The Round Table had this sent over for your immediate attention. A coroner at Scotland Yard flagged this for our department when the body arrived on her autopsy table. Integra, this isn?t a vampire,? his voice was stern but tempered with patience and the right mind of one who knew a serious situation when he saw it.
The file was nearly harmless looking, a plain brown filing folder with an extended tab and the scribble of a doctor?s shorthand on it. The red and black plastic tag still stuck to the front, marking it as an anomaly for Hellsing to deal with. Taking the folder with one gloved hand, she set it on her desk neatly before opening it. The first thing she noticed was the Polaroid stapled to the inside cover. A- a body didn?t even begin to describe what this was. Aged, aged beyond any natural mortal process. The face was twisted in agony, liver spots covering the bald head and skin yellow and tough like leather. Nails were extended past the natural point of breaking and yellowed as well, cracked at the tips. The eyes were open, but flat and sunken in.
She pursed her lips and scrutinized the photograph. ?Not vampire victim. Not a dead ghoul, the body would have dusted. Not were creature?s prey. . .? Perhaps someone made a bad bargain with a demon and it had gone awry. Or a magic practitioner searching for some potion of youth and putting in the wrong ingredient. These things couldn?t be discounted.
?Shouldn?t MI-5 be taking care of the investigation?? Her voice was level, that detached stoic tone of bureaucracy. They had been a bit miffed when the police girl had done a bit of her own investigating after all. Besides, Hellsing barely had the resources to get together a ghoul extermination team these days, let alone an investigation team. Her time in the Tower, the smearing of the Hellsing organization?s honorable name, and the notoriously short lifespan of it?s troops bled into making the organization quite unpopular for transfers. Right now they only had a group of mercenaries. Good for killing, but she wouldn?t let them near an official investigation for the crown.
Walter hesitated, ?There is no human element to this killing, Sir Integra. MI-5 turned the entirety of it over to the Round to give to you for a team of your own assembling.? The butler had made a full recovery of the helicopter crash, but his age was slowly catching up to him and he had been a bit slower than before it. Though it had more to do with the Judas? attempt to destroy Integra and Hellsing than any injury he received. And even now MI-5 wouldn?t turn over files to her, in protest of her release from capture.
Anger turned those cerulean eyes shiny, giving off an almost silver sheen. ?Then MI-5 still refuses to have dealings with the Hellsing Organization? I will notify the Queen. There is no place for a personal vendetta in the war against the impure souls of the night. Whatever grudge they have against me should not be allowed to interfere in the work we do in the name of God, Queen and Country!? Her voice had risen ever so slightly, cold tone like ice cracking with the heat of passion beneath it. How foolish, were they not all fighting for the same cause? Were they not all loyal to the Queen? The idiocy of these male position holders sometimes escaped her.
?Thank you, Walter, I will finish going through the file and assemble an investigation team to meet with you and debrief before sending them out. That is all,? her eyes moved back down to the file in dismissal. Walter gave a half bow to her, sly old eyes taking in the picture of Integra tirelessly throwing herself into her work. At least Alucard had gotten her to rest for a good while. Though her spirits hadn?t seemed to dim by the Judas and her time in the Tower, he could tell the wistful edge that had always lingered in the corner of her eyes had grown. And he couldn?t help her with that, he wasn?t the one.
With a last look, he finally turned and moved out the door, carefully opening it and then shutting it quietly so as not to disturb Sir Integra?s thoughts. Though as he shut the large, carved mahogany doors a shiver of familiar presence ran up his spine. Alucard. Integra was still shaken from the experience, though she hid it well, and it was times like this, when the vampire thought her at her weakest, that Alucard appeared. When she had been younger, before she had tasted her own mortality, Walter had strongly objected to his former comrade?s half whispered offers and lingering presence, always watching. But now, with scars of battle decorating Integra?s body and knowing she was a pariah in the mortal society she fought so hard to protect?well, he wasn?t so adamantly opposed to Alucard?s brand of taking care of Integra. Those thoughts were treacherous and disloyal to both Lionel and Arthur, but she was so alone. Leaving the hall, he no longer felt Alucard?s presence and his thoughts drifted to the matters at hand.
The vampire?s form seemed to pour in, almost an ironic acknowledgement to times past that was set to amuse the master, but also unnerve her a bit. Sometimes, Alucard mused, Integra seemed far too used to vampires after having him around most of her life. The thought that he was truly immortal, not only in battle but through the years seemed to not be as imposing as it should. So through the balcony doors he poured, opaque mist rolling over itself and then dancing up, higher and higher until it formed the familiar shape of a Victorian coat and wide brimmed hat.
Integra had felt him and turned, watching over steepled fingers, an elbow on either side of her open case folder. For all of his antics, as amazing and frightening as they were to most, she knew she had control over him and that defeated the purpose of these little shows meant to intimidate her, she supposed. ?Alucard. I didn?t call for you.?
He ignored her comment, ?You realize the Queen could have prevented this all in the first place. She held that power. The power to pardon you fully, the power to announce that Hellsing was some grand anti-terrorist organization and that was simply a mission. Any number of things, but she would have gone against the Round Table, MI-5 and all the power combined they hold. Her Highness was no doubt sympathetic to you, but it would seem not enough to risk the disapproval of those who put you in the Tower. Even pardoned, you are still shunned.? Oh, it was a deliciously sensitive subject with her, the imprisonment and knowing the Queen had no advice or support for her except asking to stand tall and trying to secretly sort out the business of the traitor. Integra?s pride was still smarting from that and thus, she was a tick more vulnerable than usual.
The barest corner of her upper right lip twitched, imperceptible to most, but obvious to Alucard. He found the small twitch quite endearing. ?The Queen did what she thought was best and executed my return when she had good reason to. I have no right to question her actions, I am only her loyal servant.? She shot him a look on that, he could learn a thing or two about loyal servitude.
?And how many times, my master?? He trailed off as he stepped forward, the dim light reflecting on the red tinted lenses of his sunglasses, ?Have you saved the country for Her Highness? How many injuries decorate your pure body with the reminder of scars? Surely, for all the flesh and blood you?ve given up for her, your own and those of your soldiers, she could have pardoned you sooner. Done something. And if not for you, for those hundred and fifty or so men and women that died at the Tower. For Farguson and Pickman, buried in shame. Cursed by those whose lives were saved by Hellsing that night.?
She swallowed hard, but did not flinch away as he approached, as his words hit her, stinging rain to the fragile protection from her own emotions. The destruction of Hellsing?s honorable reputation, her own imprisonment she could take. But the shame of those who served her, the humiliation on top of the death of loved ones the families of her soldiers had to endure, dear God that haunted her. He knew that. He of all people knew that. And his knowledge did not stop him, but made the pursuit heat up all the more.
?What are you left with, Integra?? Alucard?s voice lowered, a harsh growl of a whisper, timbre low and rolling as he moved to stand behind her chair. One hand went to either side of the chair?s back, one hand behind either shoulder. ?Pagan mercenaries, vampires, an aging Angel of Death? The echo of a once proud tradition?? And of course there hung the unspoken comment, ?and what would your father think?? Were she a weaker person, Integra might have broken down, but his taunts only fed her determination.
The layer of ice around her emotions grew solidifying her strength, ?Pagan mercenaries that get the job done. A true immortal whom I trust could never lose a fight, if only for the sake of his pride. His progeny, who seems to be coming along as an introduction to the mercenaries of vampires, a bit of a teacher. And the steward to my family, loyal and quite resourceful.? She replied slowly, voice low, considering every word she spoke and choosing them carefully. ?I would think, vampire, that would be enough for us to win any battle. Pride isn?t an object anyone can take away. You, I believe, understand this. My pride and that of Hellsing will continue to thrive as long as I do not falter in my determination to destroy the impure souls in the name of God, Her Majesty and Great Britain.?
Though she could not see him, Alucard?s fanged grin grew obscenely wide, the tips of fangs indenting his lower lip. Integra faced forward, away from him, and he watched the pale platinum strands of hair fall neatly down her back, down the arms of her steepled fingers. How strong she was, this Maiden of Ice. Swathed in tragedy that honed her will to succeed, and in succeeding show her detractors how wrong they were. His hands slid from the chair back to her shoulders and he felt her stiffen beneath the starched material of her suit. Thumbs rubbed unconsciously into the tension between her shoulder blades as the vampire slowly leaned in. Integra?s breath halted and she had to force herself to remember just how to take in air and exhale it.
He?d never touched her before. Though there was material between their skins, he?d never been so bold as to lay hands on her like this. Cold, dead breath stirred the fine platinum strands near her ear as the vampire moved in closer. Alucard could smell her shampoo, the clean soap and water aroma of her skin. And she could smell him, like smoke and night time, a Halloween evening. It was a bit disquieting. ?Your pride will be your downfall, Integra.? So simple a statement, but said in such an intimate whisper, rough yet forceful and amused. Her hair stirred and he swallowed the urge to lean in and nose against her ear. ?Either too stubborn to take my offer and Hellsing will fall victim to your mortality or too proud to die and you will come to me. . .?
Integra suppressed a shiver at the low tone of his voice, a growl so near her ear. She half turned, watching him from the corner of her eye. Alucard?s hands still lazily lay on her shoulders, working her muscles. She didn?t relax into his touch, though those persistent thumbs stole away her tension. He dropped his sunglasses to once side, a single, crimson eye boring into her blue one.
?Then you have nothing to worry about, Alucard,? a hint of a smirk turned up her lips as heavy lashes slid down halfway over her eyes. She stared at him from the corner of her eye, look triumphant, like she knew secrets he could only guess at. ?As soon as my life ends you will be free. I have said before, I will never give in to a vampire.? That half amused tone smirked at him, but once again he knew something she didn?t, and thus got the last word.
?I won?t allow mortality to claim you, Integra?? His lips did brush her ear then and a maddeningly triumphant laugh growled from his throat between them. She turned sharply at that touch of cold lips to her warm flesh, but he was gone like a shadow in sunlight. Damn. He watched her from the other world, from his dead side, lips warmed by that brief contact. But it wasn?t enough. He wanted more. It irked him that she would never willingly come to him. He realized that now, when he pushed her breaking point and her strength did nothing but intensify. Though there were so many back up plans.
He was still watching. He wouldn?t pull something like that without awaiting her reaction. She turned forward once more, looking down at the file but not seeing it. How dare he, Integra?s mind raged, take liberty with her person, touch her, get that close. Spine straightening, she squared her shoulders and her face fell back into familiar stoic lines. She affected a determined person because inside she was shaken. Her muscles still tingled where his gentle pressure had eased the knots from them. Merciful God, she had wanted him to stay. She had wanted something she didn?t understand, held no experience with. But it wasn?t right. She was a warrior of God and couldn?t give in to such crass and low feelings. And for a vampire. The sworn enemies of Hellsing. Though he was her vampire.
Noisily, she opened her drawer, bumping around objects and pulling a cigar out, then flaring up and taking a deep drag. She had to think of something else, had to chase these thoughts from her head. Alucard wanted this, no doubt. It was part of some game of his. To disturb, to unnerve, to gain dominance over her in retribution for the dominance she held over him. And Integra just couldn?t let that happen.
***
(To be continued. . .))
Tell me what you think. . and yes, it's going to be very. Very. Long. I used to never be able to write novels. Now it seems, I can't write short stories.
