Personal Journal, Katherine Wilde
June 14
After an interesting three weeks in England, I arrived back home two days ago. The trip didn't go exactly as planned, but when has the universe ever complied with my schedule?
Brown's was all I could have desired; a charming and elegant hotel with an excellent staff. Of course, their resident ghost woke me to tell me about a Seal that was failing. Long story short, King Edward the Martyr sealed a portal to Hell a thousand years ago that was failing. Fortunately, David Holt's former association with the Hellsing Organization proved invaluable and together we made sure the Seal was re-established.
I was a little singed around the edges during the event and they took care of me themselves rather than dropping me off at a hospital. Sir Integra is a fiercely lovely and intelligent woman in her early to mid-twenties. She hides her compassionate nature behind an unyielding wall of stone, but the façade has a few cracks in it that let her personality shine through.
Her butler, Walter Dornez displays a mild-mannered and chivalrous nature, but he is much more. I think I counted his roles as butler, bodyguard, researcher, weapons research and development, and haute couture specialist (getting items for Sir Integra). He took a bullet meant for me and I insisted my blood be used for his transfusion. Yes, I know, I know. But he challenges my mind and refreshes my spirit…
Alucard is a 500-year old Nosferatu, and if my suspicions are correct, he is the original Dracula (note the name reversal). He can be charming when he wants, but seems to thrive on challenges and entertainment. That and protecting Sir Integra. We had quite an interesting couple of hours sparring one night. Although I should note his idea of entertainment usually involves blood and a great deal of death.
Alucard has a fledgling named Seras Victoria who was around 20 when she was turned. She is a sweet and timid girl, terrified of losing her humanity. Of course, Alucard doesn't understand her. He's like a father who is not quite sure why his daughter isn't an exact duplicate of him. I hope Victor will be able to help her with the adjustment. I called him last night, and he was agreeable to speaking with her.
My kei'dran let me know that Sir Integra has an energy signature comparable to mine and I began evaluating her as a potential apprentice. She at least has the ability to learn fire magic. Because of that, I agreed to write up a treatise on elementals; I wanted to help her know what she could be getting in to.
I think Integra is suspicious that I am not simply a fire elementalist, especially as she asked what one calls someone who is an adept in all four elements. I haven't lied to her, but I haven't offered unnecessary information either. She did let me set a portal gate on her property though. That will allow me to portal over if she decides to accept training or if they need me for anything. Much better than a 10 hour plane flight.
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Chicago, Illinois
June 14
Good afternoon Miss Victoria,
Thank you for permitting me to use your private email address. It is certainly faster than sending a letter between countries, isn't it?
It was a pleasure meeting you in England, and I only regret that we didn't have more opportunities to get to know one another. Your vitality, lovely smile and good-nature always helped brighten my day.
I was speaking about you to an old friend of mine, and he expressed an interest in communicating with you if you would permit it. His name is Victor Duval. His father was the steward for a large estate, and while not a nobleman by birth, Victor is a gentleman through his behavior and actions.
Perhaps I should mention that he was born in the middle of the 17th century and turned by a vampire when he was 24 years old, only a little older than yourself. He too struggled with situation, but has learned to cope with it while maintaining his courtesy, kindness and compassion towards others.
He is too much of a gentleman to intrude on your privacy, so will only contact you if you give your permission for me to offer him your email or telephone number.
I hope your training with the newest members of Hellsing (the Wild Geese I believe you said they were called) is going well.
Sincerely,
Katherine Wilde
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Hellsing Manor
June 15
Dear Miss Wilde,
I trust your journey back to the United States was uneventful and expect that you are pleased to be back in your own home.
It was with great pleasure that I opened the package you left for me and saw the "The Age of the Impressionists" by Denis Thomas. It was with even greater wonder that I saw the signatures of Cezanne, Degas, Monet and Renoir on the pages dedicated to their works. I am pleased and grateful that you would offer me such a unique and obviously cherished book.
The attachment you see to this email contains security software that permits communication between you and anyone at Hellsing without fear of jeopardizing confidentiality. You are certainly not obligated to use it, but it has proven effective in the past. It is unique to our organization and highly unlikely to be compromised.
We have been quiet here at Hellsing since your departure. Sir Integra is working diligently with members of the Council of Twelve to learn more of Millennium and making plans for the protection of the Queen and Country. There have been only a few minor deployments, so our senior vampire is feeling a bit bored. Unfortunately, he then resorts to trying to irritate Sir Integra to alleviate his boredom. Miss Victoria has been training with the Wild Geese, and seems to be doing well with them, although she is still such a shy and reserved young lady that it is hard to ascertain her well-being.
I must mention that your idea of adding a small amount of blood to a fruit-flavored drink was an excellent idea. I have begun concocting various mixtures of fruit drinks and fruit plus ice cream drinks to help her accept at least a little blood every day. While she is not drinking a pint a day, she at least is tolerating some per diem.
I have been researching various aspects of the barriers that separated you from your kei'dran and Sir Integra from Alucard. My research does indicate that a form or witchcraft or sorcery was involved as you suggested. Unfortunately, my own contacts are not versed in those skills, so I am endeavoring to locate a reliable local advisor.
By the way, I neglected to request the honor of receiving the recipe for the tea you brewed before you left that was a mixture of Ceylon and Oolong. I thought it was quite refreshing and would like to add it to my own private mixtures.
Your obedient servant,
Walter C. Dornez
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Hellsing Manor
June 16
Dear Miss Wilde,
Thank you for your note. I'm a little shy about talking to someone I haven't met before, but it would be interesting to talk to someone other than my Master about this. I think I would like to talk to Mr. Duval, so please go ahead and give him my email address. As long as he isn't another Pip Bernadette, of course. That man is driving me crazy. Some days he's nice as can be and then he turns into a skirt-chasing Don Juan. It makes me so mad!
Thank you for thinking of me and please call me Seras,
Seras Victoria
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Chicago, Illinois
June 17
Dear Seras,
I'm delighted you're willing to speak with Victor. I don't think you'll find him much like Captain Bernadette and he will be able to answer many questions for you. I will provide your email address to him today.
Don't worry too much about the Captain. Perhaps Victor could provide some advice on that as well.
Katherine Wilde
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Chicago
June 18
Dear Mr. Dornez,
If you insist on being so formal, then I must of course acquiesce to the necessity. However, I would much prefer that you call me Katherine so that I may return to naming you as Walter.
I am delighted that you enjoyed the book. I actually acquired it when it was newly published and had the good fortune to beg the signatures from the gentlemen in question in person. But those are stories for another time.
Thank you very much for the security software. It does provide a very effective method of scrambling and securing communication. I tried to read a message on a computer system that didn't have it loaded and couldn't break it at all. Well done!
While I will admit that it was a pleasure to sleep in my own home again, I do miss my new friends in England very much. I have the good fortune to have a very capable woman, Mrs. Jackson, who comes in several days a week to perform housekeeping duties (a charwoman I believe is a British term?), so the condominium was in pristine condition when I arrived. She even had a pot of tea waiting for me, bless her heart.
Thinking of tea, the recipe for which you asked is simply white Ceylon tea to which I added three (rolled) Oolong tea leaves for a standard pot. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Although I miss London, Chicago is nearly as interesting in June, albeit without the same historical flavor. The annual Blues Festival is this month which I always enjoy. Also coming up is an annual event called the "Taste of Chicago". Each day more than 60 local restaurateurs offer ethnic, exotic or traditional fare, in addition to the entertainment provided by a variety of musical performances across multiple stages in Grant Park. Later this summer, the Latin Music Festival allows me to indulge in my partiality for latin dancing.
I empathize with your research efforts into the barriers that sealed Alucard apart from Sir Integra. My network here does have experienced and skilled Wiccans, so as soon as I receive additional information, I will be sure to forward it to you. I'll see if they can recommend any contacts there as well.
And now I must return to developing my newest story characters. My tentative story line is a brother and his younger sister who relocate to a new city when their mother gets a new job (widowed mother, which opens additional story lines if I make this a series). They move into a very old home that has the rumor of being haunted. My plan is for them to find some old letters that send them on a treasure hunt, which lets them meet everyone in the neighborhood, making new friends, meeting the neighborhood bullies, etc. My target audience is 8-12 year olds.
Best wishes to everyone at Hellsing,
Katherine G. Wilde
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Personal Journal, Katherine Wilde
June 18
Miss Wilde is it now? We'll see about that. Hopefully, he's just making sure I'm fine with him using a less formal term while writing.
I certainly hope I didn't misinterpret anything. At the very least, I want to develop and maintain a close friendship.
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