Disclaimer: Alucard, Integra, Walter, Hellsing, and England were all
thought up by people smarter than me. None of them are mine. All will be
put back nicely when I'm done with them, too.
Walter listened to the house settling.
Dawn was his favorite part of the day. Integra's best moods were always in the morning. The soldiers were safely in for the evening. He could be sure there was no curious vampire reading over his shoulder or playing with sharp things in his kitchen.
He heard gunshots.
Walter hurried through the kitchen. He paused at the door to the rest of the house. The shots had been fired from downstairs. They were the sharp cracks of a small pistol, rather than the high-powered pistols Alucard carried. Walter reasoned that either Integra was down there shooting Alucard, or Seras was.
If Seras decided to use Alucard for target practice, that really wasn't Walter's problem. However, if Integra were shooting him, she might want backup, moral support, or a calming influence.
Walter found Integra standing in front of Alucard's door, firing into it repeatedly. She stopped shooting, emptied a shower of shells at her feet, and reloaded.
"Ah, Sir Integra?" he asked.
"Yes, Walter?" Integra paused with the gun held level.
"You're not wearing ear protection." He offered her the small set of foam earplugs he carried for when Seras felt compelled to listen to her music stations.
"Thank you, Walter." Integra lowered the gun and clicked the safety off. "Is the sun up?"
"Yes, Sir Integra."
"He's asleep by now, then." Integra swung around. "Walter, we're going to shut him in the cellars."
"Ah?" Walter studied the door. "Has he been informed of this?"
"He will be." Integra walked down the hallway.
"Is there something I should know about?"
Integra swung around, her gaze fixed on him critically. "Walter, I have not yet produced an heir. You know the significance of that. And Uncle Richard has fathered a child."
"Oh." Walter nodded slowly.
"The child is three-three!-and I heard of his birth today." Sir Integra was trembling with rage. "He was hidden from me deliberately. I've been watching Uncle Richard for years, I've met with his consort once to discuss succession and inheritance, and now I find that I've missed something for three years."
"But Alucard knew?"
"Alucard knew." Integra put her hand on her hip. "Somehow, Alucard knew." She tilted her head to one side. "And he didn't think to tell me." Her voice held deep sarcasm. She walked past him, moving aside to give him space to walk beside her.
"Alucard is thoroughly kept from moving against you," Walter said. "I do not believe that he has encouraged your uncle."
"Uncle Richard wouldn't be so stupid as to send assassins after me. He also had a bad experience with trying to control Alucard himself. He won't try controlling him with a three-year-old. But the fact that Richard is keeping this child secret is a sign in itself." Integra noticed that Walter was working harder to keep up with her and slowed. "He's going to groom him to take this house."
"This is by no means a certain sign that Richard's son will claim Hellsing." Walter's voice was wry. "Richard's strategy is outwaiting and undercutting his opponents. His bold strokes tend to fail crashingly. You were a witness to this."
"He has plenty of time to plan as his child grows," said Integra, although she somewhat reassured by this fact. "And his son will be older than any heirs I produce."
"The heir of Hellsing is named," Walter said. "Your Uncle Richard does not have the authority to name his son the heir regardless of who came first chronologically. Only you do."
"But Richard knows this, and he still kept his child secret." Integra turned. "You said yourself that his plan has always been to undercut. Richard may have a nonfatal accident in mind for me. Picture it. I'm hurt, unable to command. . . and Richard sympathetically goes over my head and tells the Queen that there is a possible heir."
Walter slowed. "What other reasons could Richard have for keeping his child secret? Do you know who the mother is?"
"Yes." Integra shot him a sideways look. "He married three years ago. It was, obviously, a very hushed wedding. I never heard about that either."
The two of them walked in silence. They had headed straight through the house (Walter content to keep pace with Integra until she dismissed him) and entered one of the grounds' small, ornamental gardens.
"I'll have to have children," Integra said. "There's simply no other way to know that he's not trying."
"Are you still going to chain Alucard?"
"That's a definite possibility." Integra frowned. "Things have quieted."
"Then what about Seras?"
"Seras can't hide things from me like Alucard can, nor does she have an interest in seeing me replaced." Integra thought aloud.
"But he is her master."
Integra retraced her steps back towards the house. "I'll be in the library this morning reviewing binding symbols. I do not wish to be disturbed."
Walter listened to the house settling.
Dawn was his favorite part of the day. Integra's best moods were always in the morning. The soldiers were safely in for the evening. He could be sure there was no curious vampire reading over his shoulder or playing with sharp things in his kitchen.
He heard gunshots.
Walter hurried through the kitchen. He paused at the door to the rest of the house. The shots had been fired from downstairs. They were the sharp cracks of a small pistol, rather than the high-powered pistols Alucard carried. Walter reasoned that either Integra was down there shooting Alucard, or Seras was.
If Seras decided to use Alucard for target practice, that really wasn't Walter's problem. However, if Integra were shooting him, she might want backup, moral support, or a calming influence.
Walter found Integra standing in front of Alucard's door, firing into it repeatedly. She stopped shooting, emptied a shower of shells at her feet, and reloaded.
"Ah, Sir Integra?" he asked.
"Yes, Walter?" Integra paused with the gun held level.
"You're not wearing ear protection." He offered her the small set of foam earplugs he carried for when Seras felt compelled to listen to her music stations.
"Thank you, Walter." Integra lowered the gun and clicked the safety off. "Is the sun up?"
"Yes, Sir Integra."
"He's asleep by now, then." Integra swung around. "Walter, we're going to shut him in the cellars."
"Ah?" Walter studied the door. "Has he been informed of this?"
"He will be." Integra walked down the hallway.
"Is there something I should know about?"
Integra swung around, her gaze fixed on him critically. "Walter, I have not yet produced an heir. You know the significance of that. And Uncle Richard has fathered a child."
"Oh." Walter nodded slowly.
"The child is three-three!-and I heard of his birth today." Sir Integra was trembling with rage. "He was hidden from me deliberately. I've been watching Uncle Richard for years, I've met with his consort once to discuss succession and inheritance, and now I find that I've missed something for three years."
"But Alucard knew?"
"Alucard knew." Integra put her hand on her hip. "Somehow, Alucard knew." She tilted her head to one side. "And he didn't think to tell me." Her voice held deep sarcasm. She walked past him, moving aside to give him space to walk beside her.
"Alucard is thoroughly kept from moving against you," Walter said. "I do not believe that he has encouraged your uncle."
"Uncle Richard wouldn't be so stupid as to send assassins after me. He also had a bad experience with trying to control Alucard himself. He won't try controlling him with a three-year-old. But the fact that Richard is keeping this child secret is a sign in itself." Integra noticed that Walter was working harder to keep up with her and slowed. "He's going to groom him to take this house."
"This is by no means a certain sign that Richard's son will claim Hellsing." Walter's voice was wry. "Richard's strategy is outwaiting and undercutting his opponents. His bold strokes tend to fail crashingly. You were a witness to this."
"He has plenty of time to plan as his child grows," said Integra, although she somewhat reassured by this fact. "And his son will be older than any heirs I produce."
"The heir of Hellsing is named," Walter said. "Your Uncle Richard does not have the authority to name his son the heir regardless of who came first chronologically. Only you do."
"But Richard knows this, and he still kept his child secret." Integra turned. "You said yourself that his plan has always been to undercut. Richard may have a nonfatal accident in mind for me. Picture it. I'm hurt, unable to command. . . and Richard sympathetically goes over my head and tells the Queen that there is a possible heir."
Walter slowed. "What other reasons could Richard have for keeping his child secret? Do you know who the mother is?"
"Yes." Integra shot him a sideways look. "He married three years ago. It was, obviously, a very hushed wedding. I never heard about that either."
The two of them walked in silence. They had headed straight through the house (Walter content to keep pace with Integra until she dismissed him) and entered one of the grounds' small, ornamental gardens.
"I'll have to have children," Integra said. "There's simply no other way to know that he's not trying."
"Are you still going to chain Alucard?"
"That's a definite possibility." Integra frowned. "Things have quieted."
"Then what about Seras?"
"Seras can't hide things from me like Alucard can, nor does she have an interest in seeing me replaced." Integra thought aloud.
"But he is her master."
Integra retraced her steps back towards the house. "I'll be in the library this morning reviewing binding symbols. I do not wish to be disturbed."