FEAR
A Hellsing Fanfiction
Author's Note:
And so my swiftly-written sequel begins. Let me know if this is an interesting approach to an idea that might be awesome, or might be not-so-awesome. I'd love input, ideas, and whatnot.
Happy writing!
-snowglobesAREawesome
Chapter One:
A Mansion of Dust
The massive stone mansion appeared punitive in the unforgiving silver glow of the moon's light. Ivy crawled up the mansion walls and a tall iron gate encompassed the ghostly building. Seras was snatched from her observations when a car door slammed behind her. She turned and inspected the grim features of the driver, who was assigned the arduous task of transporting Seras into Nowhere, far from Somewhere. The drive was four hours long, and with Master in the seat beside her, it felt even longer.
Alucard emerged from the black car and pointed his red eyes toward their new home before slipping his sunglasses on. Seras' skin prickled. When he wore those sunglasses, she had the creeping suspicion that he was taking her in with his eyes, inspecting her as if he were looking for some sort of flaw.
"Do you need help with your bags, Sir?" asked the reluctant driver with a despondent sigh. Alucard fixed his eyes on the human, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"No," he replied casually. "You had better leave, before dear Seras decides she'd like a midnight snack. We can carry our own bags." Alucard's easy manner betrayed his teasing, and the driver laughed nervously.
"I wish you would quit with the teasing, Master," Seras grumbled, extracting their bags from the car's trunk. Once all eight bags were removed, the driver gunned it down the long stone-paved driveway and out of sight. Seras blew a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes and gathered as many bags as she could carry. She began the slow waddle toward the mansion and Alucard trailed behind her, chuckling quietly.
The heavy metal chain that bound the gate was rusted. A thick padlock locked it in place, and an H shaped key-hole was hollowed in the center. Seras also noticed that the gate had a metal insignia, the letter H as well. Alucard extracted a long iron key and unlocked the gate. Seras continued the long march to the front door.
It was a massive door, painted red and adorned with an elegant knocker in the center. She examined it, admiring the carefully-carved cherubs on the knocker's surface. The door was also locked, and Alucard used the same key. He swept by her into the house and Seras struggled in with the bags, kicking the door shut behind her.
The place obviously hadn't been prepared for them. A dense layer of dust covered every surface. The massive crystal chandelier that dangled over their heads was choked with cob webs and the crimson rug was dirtied by mold. The sharp smell of it made Seras' nose burn.
"This place is a pit," she groaned, dropping the bags to the floor as Alucard struck a match and lit a few dusty candles. The light cast eerie shadows on his tall, slender form, urging Seras to look away from him with a thick swallow. The air was stagnant, so Seras opened a window and nearly chopped her hand off in the process. A book was a successful prop for the rickety window, and the cool air that flowed in made her sigh in relief.
"Let us explore, hm? It's been a long while since I've been in a mansion as large and lavish as this." Alucard's deep voice didn't echo through the house, like Seras' did when she responded.
"I've never been in a place like this before."
Seras' keen vampiric eyesight could clearly detect the shapes and forms of furniture in the house, but she wanted to see the colors. She grabbed a large candle from a tabletop and searched her pockets for a lighter. Seras gasped when Alucard appeared beside her and struck a match. As he lit it, his face hovered near hers.
"You don't like the dark, Seras?" he inquired, brow arching over his glasses. Seras shuffled away awkwardly, and nearly tripped over a section of rumpled rug. Alucard radiated with arrogance as he paced away slowly, a broad grin painting his face. If Seras had feathers, they would have been ruffled. She had to step away.
The long hallway that snaked away from the main lobby was even darker, due to the complete lack of windows. The light of her candle cast eerie shadows against the framed photos on the wall. Stuffy-looking individuals from the 1800's stared straight ahead at Seras. She avoided eye contact with the photographs, fearing that their long-dead eyes would follow her down the hall.
The hall opened up into a library, with tall, looming shelves and a heavy wooden reading desk in the center. Seras reached for a lamp, only for it to erupt in sparks when she flipped the switch. She traveled through the library and found a hidden stairwell, most likely intended for the servants to use. The large, regal staircase was in the lobby. The staircase she found was narrow and dull. She ascended the steps carefully.
The first bedroom was enormous. Silver moonlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling window, illuminating the gigantic bed, which was covered in dust. Seras looked around the royal-looking room and appraised the bed, which had distinctly crimson blankets and pillows.
"This will be an interesting time for us, Seras." Her master's voice was unexpected, and Seras jumped in surprise. He was behind her, yet when she turned around, she saw only the silvery light of the moon on the hardwood floors. A chill crept up her spine and she suppressed a violent shudder at the unease that swept through her. A gloved hand gently grazed the skin of her arm before vanishing entirely and leaving Seras alone to the silence.
Even though padlocks and closed doors could not keep Alucard out of Seras' bedroom, she shut and locked the door. It took several hours to strip the massive canopy bed of its heavy red comforters, and replace them with her simple black sheets from Hellsing. The mattress seemed to be in good condition, after a long time of disuse. She secured the thick black curtains firmly closed as the first light of dawn crept over the trees. She crawled into the bed, sighing with exhaustion.
In her efforts to become comfortable, Seras' arm hit a lever on the rail of the bed. Before she could think of how peculiar it was to have a lever so modern on a bed so old, the heavy wooden "canopy" began to descend with a quiet whir. Seras watched with wide red eyes as the canopy closed in on her and stopped once she was firmly enclosed in the coffin.
That is when she realized…
A vampire had lived there before.