A/N: Hello! This is an Alucard/OC and slight Seras/Pip Hellsing fanfic I wrote in the past two months. It is complete with 30 chapters and I will be uploading them once or twice a week depending on demand. This story was a way to pass the time and improve my writing skills overall, so I'd love any input. This first chapter is really just setting things up, but the plot will pick up towards the end.

Chapter 1

It was twilight, and the air was filled with the sounds of gunfire and screams. The crisp fall breeze carried the fragrances of gunpowder, blood, and anguish.

In short, it was a symphony to Alucard, who was unhurriedly making his way through a ghoul-infested manor in search of the host, his trusty Casull and Jackal making quick work of the herd of ghouls. Alucard chuckled to himself as one of his bullets shot through one of the mindless beasts, wrending a great hole in its chest and splattering fetid blood everywhere.

Something was amiss, though. He could hear the heartbeat of a human from the second floor. Unless the host liked to play with his food before he ate it, there was no chance that a mortal had survived the sea of famished ghouls.

His interest piqued, he doubled the pace of his firing. The thirty or so zombies that had been running at him all fell before they could kiss his bootheels.

Alucard floated weightlessly up through the ceiling and to the second floor, where there were a handful more freaks that were dealt with in a matter of moments. He could sense the presence of not one but three host vampires and a single human behind the door to his left, and a sneer twisted his lips impossibly, revealing his shark teeth.

He didn't even need to see into the room; his ears and nose were sharp enough that he had already pinpointed the vampires' locations. The mortal was on the floor, though its quick pulse indicated that it was conscious.

Alucard fired both of his guns, blowing holes into the door and the three targets, who hissed and yowled as the silver bullets purified and destroyed them. The door was tenaciously hanging onto the wall by a single hinge and Alucard faded through it and into the room. The survivor would need to be taken to the soldiers.

He had expected a woman or man to be huddled on the floor, cowering in fear or unconscious, but there was nothing but a wriggling bundle of cloth between where the vampires had been standing.

Kneeling down, his crimson eyes grew wide as he realized that it was an infant just over a year old. It wasn't wailing like a normal babe would when it had been surrounded by monsters and was now covered in their blood. On the contrary, Alucard's expression turned to a dark, mouth-splitting grin as he saw the child laugh and reach out for him. Its eyes were a brilliant emerald that clashed gloriously with the blood that speckled its smooth cheeks.

"You would reach for a monster?" he asked, more to himself than to it.

His inky black hair sprouted until it reached the floor and the tendrils picked up the child and placed it in his arms, where it smiled anew and touched a bloody hand to Alucard's cold cheek.

Never before had he seen something so innocent so at home in carnage. It made his still heart twitch in excitement. This, this was what he had been seeking for untold years.

He silently took off his red overcoat and wrapped the child up in it. The thin blanket would do little to insulate it from the cold fall air.

"You will do nicely," he whispered.

It cooed as it clutched at his now shoulder-length locks.

The first thing he was met with upon exiting the empty manor was Integra, who was flanked by Hellsing soldiers and looking more imperious than any ten-year-old had a right to.

Her authoritative scowl turned to one of suspicion. "Is that a baby?"

"Yes," Alucard answered. "It's mine."

Integra demanded, "Vampires cannot have children. What on earth are you prattling on about?"

It seemed that despite her family's infinite knowledge of the arcane, the Hellsing heir was unaware of this facet of vampirism. A smug smirk curled his lips.

"This child will be my queen," he explained simply.

"Your what? It can't even stand."

"I will wait, and in that time I will ready it."

"Alucard, I can't let you take an infant."

The dark smile fell away to be replaced with a frown and his fingers curled imperceptibly tighter against the bundle in his arms.

"I will not relinquish it. It is mine."

"I order you to hand it to the authorities, servant," the blonde decreed.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips when the sigils on his gloves failed to energize and force him into compliance. He knew from the start that she wouldn't be able to stop him for taking the child.

"It's my right as the No-Life King," he hissed as Integra stared in open-mouthed shock. "No mortal magic can deny me this."

"You can't be serious. You can't raise a mortal child. You'll kill it."

Alucard tutted his master. "There have been children raised by wolves. This one will be raised by a monster."

And with that, his shadows engulfed him and his new charge and he was gone, leaving Integra trembling with rage.

He materialized in his chambers in the Hellsing estate. A look down at the babe in his arms showed that it had fallen asleep, a lock of his hair still clutched in its tiny hand. It looked so tranquil in his cold arms that he was taken aback. Did this little creature already understand its fate on some level? Had it accepted it?

The sun was about to rise and fatigue was beginning to trickle into him. His shadows swelled over him and the child, wiping the blood and other detritus from them before opening his black coffin. His boots and other clothing melted away until he was in only his slacks and a white undershirt.

The coffin was only big enough for one, so Alucard lay down and rested the babe on his chest, still swaddled in his red overcoat. Its soft breaths were oddly calming.

He grinned to himself. The next couple decades were bound to be quite interesting.

He chose the name Maria, partially because he had always liked the name and partially because he knew it it would infuriate his master beyond all belief that he was giving his queen the same name as Jesus' mother. She had turned such a delightful shade of red when he had informed her of his choice. Even now it brought a smirk to his lips.

She was six now, and even he was surprised by how easily she accepted the darkness. She had never cried, not even once. Her nights rose and set in time with Alucard's, and she was always at his side, except when he was sent away for a mission. During those times, she was babysat by Alucard's trusty hellhound and Walter. She usually spent her time pestering the vampire, perfecting her aim at the shooting range with him or Seras, or riding around on the great hellhound she had named "Mr. Eyes."

Exceptionally precocious, she could already speak three languages: English, Italian, and Romanian. Italian was a practical choice, as the Vatican bastards had been in business for two millennia and showed no signs of slowing down yet. Romanian, while less practical, because Alucard enjoyed the sound of it.

The No-Life King was seated in his high-backed chair, his boots propped up on the nearby table as he read a book he had procured from the library. Maria was somewhere above playing, no doubt pestering Seras or Walter, if he was still wake.

Alucard, her singsong voice flitted into his mind. Though he hadn't turned her yet, she had been bestowed with a few vampiric powers as his future bride. It was a mental bond similar to the one he shared with Seras, allowing them to communicate freely between each other with a bit of concentration.

Hmm?

You would catch me if I fell, right?

In a flash, he was able to see from her point of view. She was sitting on one of the balcony ledges, her feet dangling precariously over the edge. The ground was three stories below.

No, he said simply.

You liar. I bet you'd catch me.

He snorted. She was impudent today. Jump and you will do nothing but break your bones.

Maria paused, considering his words, before giggling and pushing herself over the edge. This welp, he sighed to himself, sending his shadows to her aid. They cushioned her fall just enough that she couldn't be killed, but enough that the arm she landed on broke and she would be covered in bruises.

I told you, he said coldly.

I can't believe you didn't catch me. She sounded betrayed and angry.

Alucard laughed darkly. Then you are a simpleton. I am not your protector. You must rely on yourself if you wish to become strong.

He watched with his mind's eye as she gave a dignified sniff, holding in the pain radiating from her broken radius. She hobbled back into the castle in search of Walter, who would fetch the doctor.

He couldn't help but smile as he saw her biting back her pain. She had more grit than any of the soldiers Hellsing had on payroll, excluding the police girl.

After Maria had roused Walter and had him get the doctor, she made her way down to Alucard's dungeon. He didn't look up from his book as she neared him, lifting one arm up so she could crawl onto his lap.

"You sent your shadows at the last minute, didn't you?" she whispered, a devious glee in her fiery emerald eyes. "The ground was much too soft when I fell."

Alucard chuckled, pleased with the girl for noticing. "Perceptive," he praised, and went back to his book.

"My arm hurts," she admitted after a while.

"Let the pain serve as a reminder not to be so foolhardy. The doctor is on his way."

Her chocolate curls tickled Alucard's cold flesh as she leaned against him.

"My birthday is next month," she reminded him. He turned another page in his book, but she knew that he was listening to her. "What are you going to get me?"

"Nothing, if you keep jumping from balconies."

She put on a pout. "I've learned my lesson; I'm not going to do it again. Please tell me what my present is."

"You will wait until your birthday to find out."

"You're no fun," she whined.

A small smile grew on his lips. He did enjoy teasing her.

Before long, the doctor showed up to x-ray the girl's left arm. It had been a clean break, and all he could do was put it in a cast. She frowned at the offensive appendage and swung the heavy cast about experimentally.

"I don't like it," she decided, and she spun around in Alucard's lap to look up at him. "Why is it that you go on all these dangerous missions and never get hurt?"

Alucard closed the book. It was nearing daybreak now, and her fall had taken a toll on Maria. There were dark circles under her eyes as she gazed up at him.

"Because only a pathetic little mortal gets wounded when they fall or are shot."

His wine red gaze was reflected in her emerald ones, and he could foresee how she would look when he turned her. It made him impatient.

"Will I be like you someday?"

"Yes," he hissed, his grin inhumanly wide. It made any other mortal uneasy, but Maria had never minded it. "You will have all of my power and kingdom. You will be the Queen of the Night."

"I'd rather be a princess," she yawned.

On her seventh birthday, Alucard gifted Maria with her first Hellsing issue silver-bullet firing pistol. It was a small thing, modeled off a Derringer. It fit perfectly in her little hands and she had never been happier.

"Does this mean that I can come with you now?" she had asked eagerly.

He nodded, and she was so pleased that she wrapped her arms around the vampire in a rare show of affection.

She crowed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's the best present ever!"

"You will heed my every command," he warned.

"Of course!"

As luck would have it, there was a disturbance the following week that required Alucard's assistance, so he picked her up with one arm and allowed his shadows to swallow them up and transport them to the small village with a freak infestation. She giggled as the shadows tickled her exposed arms, and Integra and Walter watched the scene in mild horror.

What child in their right mind would be excited to be carried into battle against freaks by a five hundred year-old vampire? They wondered how much Alucard had molded her, and how much of her was natural.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Walter asked.

Integra turned around, already heading back upstairs to pressing matters as she replied dismissively, "Alucard would never let anything happen to her."

At the village, all that could be heard were gunshots and gleeful giggles. Maria sat on Alucard's shoulders, taking careful aim before blasting away a ghoul with each shot, her ear-to-ear grin making her uncannily resemble the Nosferatu.

A few of the ghouls had firearms of their own and aimed for the two of them. Normally, Alucard would let the bullets pass through him, but today his shadows were wrapped protectively around Maria, absorbing the bullets and spitting them out before they could reach her.

"This is so much fun!" the girl exclaimed as she shot one of the ghouls in the head.

"It only gets better from here," he said darkly, unable to keep a smile off his lips. This girl was still so small, yet she was just as enthralled by the carnage as he was. Her little heart was fluttering with excitement and its staccato only made his hunger grow. He couldn't help but hope that there was a mortal around that had seen too much or had been culpable so that he could have a fresh meal. The medical blood was alright, but nothing could ever compare to the velvety richness of warm, sweet blood flowing from a living body.

They had dispatched all of the ghouls in plain eyesight, but their work wasn't over yet.

"There's more ahead, past those buildings," Maria said helpfully, pointing to the south.

Of course Alucard had been aware of the ghouls' presence, but he was pleasantly surprised that she had been able to sense them from such a distance. He had yet to give her any of his blood and begin truly giving her power, yet just from being around him for so long she had absorbed enough of his dark energy to pick up on the unique energy of the ghouls even when they were a quarter of a mile away.

"Very good," he praised, and she giggled and nuzzled his soft black hair with her nose.

They headed in the direction of the ghouls, with Maria casting about warily. He had taught her to always be vigilant, and she was obeying perfectly.

Alucard waited to open fire on them until they were within Maria's weak human eyesight. She laughed as she took them out one-by-one, revelling in their growls and guts.

"Now what do we do?" she asked as she landed a shot squarely between the last freak's eyes.

"Now, we find the host."

"Will I get to kill him too?"

"Perhaps."

"Oh please, can I?" she implored, looking down at him with those emerald puppy dog eyes.

Part of him rankled at her begging, which he despised. The other part of him was amused, however.

"Why do you want to kill the vampire?" he asked.

Her reply was just two words. "It's fun."

That was all the explanation he needed. He threw his head back and let loose a long, deep laugh. She laughed with him, though her voice carried none of the madness that his did.

Further into the village they traipsed, taking out the occasional ghoul they came across. It wasn't long until they had reached the center of town and the courthouse, where the vampire was waiting with two half-alive mortals whom he had been feeding from gradually. They were semi-conscious and lying on the dewy grass on either side of him, blood slowly leaking from their wrists. The No-Life King wasn't fond of sloppy seconds, but his cravings were strong enough that he would take what he could get tonight. Just the thought of the warm blood coursing from their veins and into his open mouth had his fangs burning with desire.

The vampire was a weakling who didn't know his limits. He charged at Alucard and the child as though he thought he stood a chance, and the old vampire grinned as the girl on his shoulders unflinchingly took aim and fired.

The disappointing creature screamed and turned to dust when the bullet passed straight into his heart and out the other end.

"I did it!" Maria exclaimed.

"You did," was all the vampire said before setting her down on the ground. "Wait here. I have some loose ends to tie up."

"The humans? What are you going to do with them? Aren't they about to die?"

The girl didn't know how true her words rang.

He glided towards them as they both struggled to sit up. The vampire's thrall combined with blood loss had kept them sedated, but with the vampire dead and its hypnotic hold over them gone, they were beginning to stir.

He met the eyes of the most lively, a petite redhead with glassy black eyes.

"Be still," he murmured. "It will all be over soon."

Already mesmerized by his glowing red eyes, she relaxed and closed her eyes, and Alucard knelt down beside her before sinking his elongated fangs into her neck. She let out a soft moan of pleasure and then the warm, red elixir was flowing into his open mouth, its flavor made ever the more exquisite by the rarity of its freshness.

It was over too soon, and a pang of hot indignation flashed through him when she ran dry. He retracted his fangs and looked up to see Maria watching him.

She was biting down on her lip, but not as though she were trying to swallow aversion. On the contrary, her grass green eyes were shimmering with a feverish want.

"Can...can I…?" It seemed as though the girl had nearly lost the ability to speak.

Now this-this was the most interesting thing she had done yet. In a few years, once he began conferring his powers to her, she would start to crave blood even though she was still a mortal. It was as unexpected as it was pleasing that she desired it already.

"This isn't a monster like the ghouls or vampire," he warned in a soft voice as she stepped closer. "This is a mortal just like you."

"No, it isn't," she argued calmly. "This weak girl is nothing like me. We are the same in name only."

If he had ever had a shadow of doubt in his choice, she had just ripped into shreds. A grin cut into his lips as he beckoned the girl closer and she ran to him. The second girl was barely awake, patiently awaiting her fate. Maria was on her hands and knees beside her and Alucard, looking at the girl covetously.

"You mustn't tell Master," he cautioned.

"Yes." She would have agreed to anything he demanded at that moment.

Smile still on his cold lips, he took the woman's hand and bit into the underside of her wrist, allowing the precious blood to leak down her arm. He proffered it to the child, who to her credit hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and dragging her tongue along a rivulet. Alucard was riveted as he watched her throat bob when she swallowed it down.

He couldn't contain the dark laugh that rumbled forth as the girl began to suck in earnest on the woman's wrist. Had it been anyone else, he would have felt cheated out of a well-earned reward. But watching this sweet mortal child succumb so completely to the darkness was a reward all unto itself.

It was a few minutes until Maria had gotten her fill and pulled away from the girl's wrist. A thin trail of blood trailed from her lip and Alucard wiped it away with a gloved thumb.

"How was it?" he asked, already knowing her answer.

The brunette considered for a bit, as though trying to think of the right words. "It's like I've been thirsty for it this whole time and never realized."

The vampire was veritably brimming with pride for this girl. He had no doubt that she would become the finest vampire ever, second only to him. He said nothing, however, and finished draining the woman beside them.

"What happens to them now?" Maria asked once he had stood up to his full height.

"Now the soldiers come in and clean everything up, including them."

Her next question was a bit hesitant, as though she felt guilty voicing it. "Are there always people like them with the vampires?"

"Hungry for more, my dear?" he teased, and when she pouted up at him he smiled. "No, they're not. You've been spoiled on your first mission."

She sighed and then yawned. "Can we go home now?"

His shadows enveloped them once more and they were back at the Hellsing estate, specifically in Integra's office. She had been in a conversation with Walter when the two came out of the floor, and the two fell silent upon their entrance.

"What have I told you about using doors, Alucard?" she ground out.

"Apologies," he said unapologetically. The six-eyed hellhound trotted through the wall and towards Maria.

"Mr. Eyes!" she cried in greeting. "I had so much fun! You should've seen it! There were all these ghouls and I was like 'bam bam bam!' and they all died! And then-and then Alucard even let me shoot the vampire!"

Mr. Eyes seemed bored by her spirited tale and made her drop the subject by giving her a challenging look and bounding to the other side of the room. Maria giggled and the two engaged in a wild game of tag while the two adults and vampire watched.

"That summarizes the mission," Alucard said.

"Did she really kill the vampire?" his master asked.

Alucard nodded. "A perfect shot to the heart."

"And she is unfazed by everything?"

The three watched as she laughed and chased after Mr. Eyes, who kept diving into the floor and through the walls to evade her grasp.

"She sensed the freaks' presence from a quarter of a mile," he said, inwardly preening.

The mortals' eyebrows rose in surprise. Walter said, "But you haven't given her any of you blood yet."

"It seems she is even more eager to become a Child of the Night than I had hoped," he grinned. "She absorbs a small amount of my energy and it allows her these abilities."

Integra heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What are we getting ourselves into with this child?" she muttered to herself. She then turned back to Alucard, back to business. "You're dismissed."

He gave her a short bow and the hellhound bounded through the wall. Maria let out a disappointed groan and then turned to Alucard.

"It's unfair that Mr. Eyes can run away like that. I can never win!"

"Then you'll have to learn how to walk through walls, won't you?" he said teasingly, then turned on his heel. "Come. The sun will rise soon."

Maria gave a polite bow to Integra and Walter before running to catch up with the undead's long strides.

"Can I really learn how to?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"Perhaps in a few years."

"You hear that, Mr. Eyes?" Maria said loudly, as the hellhound in question was nowhere within sight. "Your days are numbered!"

For someone who had existed for over five centuries, a decade was over in almost the blink of an eye. In that short time, Maria had sprouted into the most beautiful and dangerous woman ever to walk the Earth. She was peerless among the other mortal Hellsing soldiers thanks to Alucard's extensive training and her natural but very slight osmosis of his powers. She was brutally beautiful, with long tresses of chocolate brown spirals and emerald eyes that could almost enthrall an unsuspecting mortal. Receiving her smile felt like a blessing from God, and receiving her displeasure meant tasting unholy wrath.

On this night, her sixteenth birthday, Alucard summoned her to his chambers. She entered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"It's barely sunset," she groaned.

"You would sleep the night away if left to your own devices," he chided, "even though tonight is a special occasion."

She perked up at this and took her customary seat on his lap, sitting sideways so she could rest her back on the arm of the chair and look up at him easily. "What did you get me for my birthday?" she asked.

A subtle smile upturned his lips as he took her in. "Now that you have come of age, it is time to begin the ritual."

Her eyes widened and she gave a quiet gasp.

"There is no turning back once it has begun," he continued, his smile only growing as he saw her breath catch in her throat, elation and disbelief on her features, "so I will ask: Do you agree to become my queen, my equal? Are you willing to stay by my side for all of time?"

Her answer flew from her lips the very moment he had finished speaking. "Yes. Yes, please."

Tonight Alucard was dressed only in his black slacks, white undershirt, and black vest. He unhurriedly took off the cufflink on his right wrist, and Maria watched in silent apprehension as he bit down on the exposed wrist. The two punctures began to weep his deep crimson blood, and the young woman chewed on her lip to contain her excitement.

"Drink," he commanded, his voice black silk. "Drink and take the first step down the path of becoming true immortal."

She took his hand in hers and unhesitatingly lapped at the long trail flowing down his forearm. A soft sound of longing and satisfaction issued from her lips as the red elixir met her tongue and overwhelmed her senses in its complexity. His blood was completely different from the human blood she had been drinking ever since her first mission with him. It had an iron undertone, but it also tasted of exotic spices and burned her tongue slightly, leaving it tingling. It was exquisite, and she had half a mind to drain him if he would let her.

Maria quickly licked her way up to the pulsepoint where he had bit into himself, desperately suckling and licking the wound in search of more.

She felt his other hand run through her curls in an unusually affectionate way, and he continued his ministrations as she continued hers. Vaguely, she felt like a cat who was being rewarded for obediently drinking the milk its master had set out for it.

Maria wasn't sure how long she had been attached to his arm when the flow slowed and gradually stopped. She let out a grunt of frustration and renewed her efforts, but Alucard's hand had stilled in her hair.

"Just a taste for tonight," he said in an unmistakably teasing tone.

The girl reluctantly pulled away from his arm and looked up to him, her emerald eyes blown with bloodlust. A line of his blood trailed from her lips and he wiped it away with a thumb. She instantly took his gloved hand and sucked on the digit, her eyes closed as she groaned in bliss.

He hadn't expected the girl to hunger for him so, and when she drew his thumb into her mouth and sucked on it wantonly a thrill of arousal shot down to his cock. He repressed the urge as soon as he felt it, though. She was still young and she wasn't aware of how he would react to such a display.

"When can we do it again?" she whispered, looking up at him through her long lashes.

"A month from today."

She let out a disappointed sigh, but didn't complain. She knew that he abhorred such behavior.

"And how long until I can finally become a vampire?"

"Five years."

He saw the disappointment in her hazy gaze, even though she didn't voice it. He tucked an errant curl behind her ear.

"Patience," he whispered. "That night will come sooner than you can imagine."

Maria nodded obediently, but he could see another question in her gaze. "Why did you choose me?"

"Because you were born to be mine," he said simply.

That vague answer seemed to satisfy her because she gave him a beautiful smile. "Thank you for the birthday present."

He said nothing, but moved to stand up and she rose to her feet with him. She was due on the training grounds in ten minutes and she still had to change. Flashing him a quick grin, she hurried out of his chambers and to her own, where she threw on the standard issue Hellsing uniform and grabbed her gun before dashing out to the obstacle course.

A/N: Thanks for the read! Leave a comment and tell me what you thought.