There were very few things Seras actually knew about her master.
She knew that he was downright frightening when he wanted to be (and sometimes without his knowing), and that he tended to answer questions cryptically. She didn't know why Alucard decided to choose her- her, of all people- to be his fledgling. He had taken her under his proverbial wing, and she was eternally grateful for that. But she still had no idea what sort of person (or, more fittingly, creature) he was.
Alucard knew much about her, though.
When he drank her blood that fateful night, his suspicion had been confirmed. Though she smiled at the world, it in turn did not smile at her. He knew what sort of life she had led before, and he was proud of her strength. That was one of the reasons why he had chosen to save her; the way she took her blows with her head held high and came back for more.
Rarely did anyone at the manor see him angry, because it was rare that he was.
But Lord help anyone who disrespected his women.
He had been taking a little walk around the manor, only intending to pass the barracks on his way to the kitchen (he'd heard a new shipment of blood had come in), when he heard Seras's name. Being in no real hurry, he slowed his pace to listen more intently. Really, he was curious: what did the other humans think of his Police Girl? Surely she was different, as she was one of two women under the mansion's roof against fifty or so men. And she was quite strong-willed and fiery, though slightly awkward and gentle in interactions.
These men were talking about none of that.
"D'ye think they're fake? Bloody hell, those knockers'd put someone's eye out!" one of the men laughed.
Alucard stopped walking.
"What's she compared to a normal gal, anyway? Double-G?" That earned more laughter.
"Maybe that's why the big one brought her in. Probably couldn't help himself. Hell, I wouldn't if I were in his shoes!"
"And the slag thinks she can boss us around! What's a little girl like her doing in the organization, anyway?"
"An excuse to wear that tight little miniskirt, no doubt."
A very tall, black mass of demonic fury formed right behind the last soldier who had spoken, and the laughter suddenly stopped as all eyes fixed upon a spot right behind him. The soldier paled, noticing the looks, and slowly turned around to meet the chest of a very angry vampire.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he said, surprising everyone with how calm he spoke otherwise.
Everyone in the immediate vicinity slowly began to back up. The man who had called her a slag, smiled anxiously. "A-Ah, evening, Alucard!"
He swept his crimson eyes slowly over the hushed crowd indulgently, committing each and every face to memory. "I trust I'm not... interrupting anything?"
A resounding "no" came from the huddled mass.
His eyes widened, glinting with insanity. "I was just passing through when I heard you lot mentioning my fledgling."
Another man tried to protest. "We didn't mean anything by what we said, Mister! It was locker-room t-"
"SILENCE," Alucard bellowed, breaking for the first time his cool façade. The volume and intensity with which he had roared scared each man in the room shitless. But he regained himself in a matter of seconds.
"As I have said, I was passing through when I heard some of the words you spoke on her behalf. And I thought to myself: surely, these cannot be men, for they sound all too much like squealing pigs. Which really works in my favor after all, because you see…" A wide and manic grin formed on his vicious face, revealing every single one of his flesh-ripping teeth. "I'm ravenous."
Five men quit that night.
Seras, a day later, was speaking with her master on the practice field. As he was surveying her work, she was making idle chatter with him. When she finished her first round and went to reload her Harkonnen, she beamed up at him. "I think I'm really improving! It's the oddest thing, Master. I've been getting so many compliments lately, and they really seem to respect me as one of the team! I was feeling a little left out before, but for some reason, I think I'll be alright."
He smiled rather strangely (for him). "Maybe they finally came to their senses."
"Yeah, maybe," she agreed, though now she seemed puzzled by something. "Master, do the troops look a little shorthanded to you?"
Alucard casually glanced around. "Hm. A bit. Though I suspect there'll be more coming in sooner or later. Soldiers are easy to replace."
Seras went back to firing. After a few more shots, she paused again. "I wonder where they went?"
The old vampire snorted. "Who cares, Police Girl? If a dog wants to run away, he'll run away."
"Run away?"
"I'd imagine that's what happened. Sometimes men quit because it's a dangerous job. And they don't want to get hurt."
Seras continued practicing, but she couldn't help but notice a weird gleam in her master's eyes as she did so. Eventually, she just chalked it up to his normal strangeness and went on with her life.
Happily, blissfully ignorant. Just the way Alucard liked it.
I'm really enjoying writing out Alucard and Seras's relationship. It's just so much fun. I feel like Alucard really cares about his fledgling, but takes the backseat most of the time because he wants her to develop on her own. A lot of people chalk this up as him being neglectful, but I think he's far from that. Maybe there's a lot of stuff you don't see that he does behind the scenes, trying to get her to grow into the draculina she's meant to be. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this!
