It was a typical night for London, England. The streets were cold and damp; still wet from the previous day's rain. But for the Hellsing house it was a surprisingly different story. They welcomed a guest, a newly made vampire, Seras Victoria; a young girl turned by the family's very own vampire servant Alucard that night.
The girl was excited yet timid about starting her new life as a vampire. Though she still wore her old blue police uniform that was now bloody, dirty and torn from the fight she encountered earlier. Her short blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and her once bright blue eyes now a brilliant shade of red. She was being shown around the Hellsing manor by the family's personal butler Walter Dolneaz. An older gentleman with long black hair tied back. He wore a white collared shirt with a red tie and a black vest and pants.
After being shown her bedroom, Walter took Seras up to the main foyer.
"Before you retire for the evening, Sir Integra would like to have a word with you in her office". Walter pointed up to the second floor to a set of double doors.
"Right" Seras hesitated. She heard a set of footsteps coming from the second floor and looked to see a young woman walk out of Integra's office and stare directly at her. The woman's bright red eyes gazed right through her, giving Seras the most uncomfortable feeling. She could feel the hate and power emanating from the woman; a feeling that Seras had never felt before. This must be one of her new powers she thought.
The woman was tall, thin and her skin was perfect. She looked in her late 20's. Her long, dark brown hair went all the way down to her lower-back. She wore a black corseted bustier with a white camisole top, black tights and black high-heeled boots that went up almost to her knees. After staring at Seras for a moment, the woman continued walking away and vanished into thin air.
Seras was stunned and realized she must be a vampire as well. "Wow, she's beautiful" she said in amazement. "Who is she Walter?"
"Oh, that would be Lady Karliah, another one of our vampires. Her master is Alucard as well. I'm sure you will meet her soon enough. But in the mean time, it is best you leave her be. She isn't exactly the talkative type. Come along" Walter rushed.
After speaking to Integra about her future and what was expected from her at Hellsing, Seras walked down to the main foyer where she saw Alucard speaking to Walter. He wore his usual choice of clothing; his long red duster with a black button up shirt and pants, as well as his red long brimmed hat that covered his face.
"Master" she called out to him, feeling oddly excited to see him again.
"Police girl" he said in his usual monotone voice.
Seras walked to join the two in conversation when Walter turned to Alucard and gave him a perplexed look. Alucard knew exactly what he was thinking; Why the girl? He just gave a small twisted smile and turned to greet Seras.
"Master Alucard. There was something I wanted to…" Seras stopped as Alucard's attention drew to the other side of the foyer. It was Karliah.
"Alucard, can we speak?" She asked, her voice soft but demanding. She looked intensely at Seras for a moment then turned back to Alucard. "In private" she said a little harsher but left no time for a response when she vanished through the nearby wall. Walter and Seras watched as Alucard's smile disappeared and a look of seriousness took over. He was silent. He knew what the discussion was going to be about. After a moment of thought he too disappeared, leaving Seras and Walter to stand in confusion; wondering what just had happened.
"What the heck was that all about?" She thought. Somehow she got the feeling that she was not welcome at Hellsing by Karliah.
Walter on the other hand was not unfamiliar to this sort of behavior and shook it off. Simply saying to Seras it was probably nothing. Of course Walter did know what was going on, having heard it from Karliah herself before Alucard and Seras arrived at the manor.
Karliah was already waiting inside Alucard's cold and empty room. She stood with her back facing away from his throne, her arms crossed. She could feel Alucard materialize in his seat in the middle of the room but she did not turn to face him. Alucard could feel the heaviness as Karliah's silence was over powered by her aura, which was sending a signal to Alucard that she was angry. Instead, he sat quietly in his seat, waiting for Karliah to speak.
Karliah rarely ever raised her voice at Alucard throughout their years together but her frustration was getting the best of her. She took a moment to collect herself and spoke:
"Why did you do it? How could you?" She said calmly while gazing towards the door.
"Do what?" Alucard replied slyly. Karliah did not appreciate his response. She quickly turned around and uncrossed her arms.
"Do what?" she mocked, "Do not patronize me. You know full well what I'm asking" she said angrily. "Why did you turn her into one of us?" she said emphasizing almost every word.
Alucard could see the anger and sadness that showed in her eyes. He let out a small sigh. A part of him felt guilty about the situation he had put her in, but he still stood by his choice.
"I can't tell you why" he said as he looked away.
"What do you mean? You can't? Or you won't?"
"I can't. Maybe it was a whim, boredom, or maybe it was nothing at all. To be honest, I'm not sure why I did it" he said nonchalantly.
"You of all people had a whim? You must be joking" she almost laughed at the thought. "I don't believe you".
"It's the truth" he said looking at her again. Alucard's calm voice seemed to soothe Karliah's fire. But the pain of the situation still rang within her.
Karliah stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "Did you ever stop to think about how I would feel about this?"
Alucard paused for a moment. Clearly battling with himself over the answer.
"Answer me" Karliah pleaded.
"No" Alucard said quietly. "But I didn't intend to hurt you either" He said finally looking at her once again. "Besides, it could be fun to have new blood around here".
"Well you guessed wrong" she blurted a little more unsympathetic, taking the conversation back to an angry discussion. She looked down at the ground, thinking about how long the two of them have been alone together. Not wanting to lose that, she looked back up at him and said: "Make her drink your blood"
"I can't force her. She must drink it of her own free will" Alucard said more sternly.
"Well you never gave me the choice" she said sadly. She hated how he always made things about choice. Of course there was a reason why he acted that way and she understood that but she still didn't like it.
Karliah's words hit Alucard hard. And while he knew she never regretted being turned by him, it still hurt him to hear it. He stood up and walked over to place his hands on her shoulders. "Karliah" he said with a disappointed tone.
Karliah's anger turned into sadness. She looked into his bright scarlet eyes "Make her Al. I don't want to share my master. She is not family. Nor will she ever be. Please, please, do this for me" she said softly, returning to her normal self. She grabbed a hold of his hands and gently took them off herself and walked away.
Alucard wanted her to stay, but he never showed it. He stood quietly, only called her name through thought transference. She turned around and gave him a fake struggling smile. "Good night Alucard" she responded telepathically as she faded away into the darkness.
Karliah had left the next morning without a word to Alucard to go on one of her own missions in which she would be gone for a few weeks. While she was away Alucard was to train Seras in order to hone her skills as a vampire. And once he felt that she could take care of herself, he would make her drink his blood and sever the bond between them. But the task would be harder than he thought.
Though a little hesitant at first, Seras learned quickly of her new found powers and grasped them with ease. After three weeks of missions, Alucard decided it was time Seras became a true, individual vampire. But while on a mission in Ireland they were confronted by Paladin Alexander Anderson, the Vatican's special agent. During that time, Alucard's head was taken clean off, leaving Seras to think that she was alone. Little did she know, Alucard was planning to use his "death" to make her drink his blood, claiming it would save her life. But she refused. After the fight she told her master it was because she felt like something important would end. Keeping with his promises, Alucard did not force her to drink, even though he knew it would bring a great resentment from Karliah.
Karliah returned to Hellsing manor 12 days after her departure. She immediately summoned herself in Integra's office to debrief her when she came upon Alucard and Seras already meeting with her. As she came rising up through the floor and taking her place by Alucard's side she noticed the ties binding Seras to Alucard were still in place. She shot Alucard not an angry look, but one of disappointment. Integra immediately addressed Karliah on her return and Karliah turned away from Alucard.
Integra could feel the tension in the room. It was all too quiet. Seras, being young and naive, did not understand her role in the matter. She turned to look at her master who was looking forward, hiding his eyes from behind his welder glasses, seemingly unaware of the situation. She then turned to Karliah who quickly caught Seras' gaze and glared back, making Seras jump and return her gaze back to Integra.
"Let's go Police Girl" Alucard called as he turned to leave.
"Y...Yes master" she called quietly as she ran to catch up.
Seras' words made Karliah sick. She turned her head slightly to watch them leave, then almost rolled her eyes and took a deep breath as the door closed.
The room was silent for a moment until Integra finally spoke up.
"You're going to have to accept her sooner or later" she said nonchalantly as she lit up a cigar.
"I will never welcome her here" Karliah said biting her tongue. She hated Integra enough as it is, but having her stick up for that girl made it much worse.
"So long as you are employed with Hellsing you will not make her life here a living hell!" Integra yelled.
Karliah stood quietly with a smug look on her face; a look that made Integra that much angrier. "
You forget Miss Hellsing" Karliah said mockingly polite. "I am not bound to this house like Alucard or the girl is. We agreed to that when I first came here. The only reason I work for you when I want to is because of Alucard. If it wasn't for him I would have slaughtered your little family when I had the chance. So don't lecture me on my behavior" she said in a dark tone.
Integra took a moment to collect herself, sighing as she placed her chin on her interlaced fingers.
"You've been doing so well here" she said quietly.
Karliah sat down on the chair in front of Ingra's desk. She almost regret the words that came out of her mouth, but they were the truth. She hated the Hellsing family and all they stood for. It was Integra's father, Arthur, and those before him whom she hated the most. But she still hated Integra. She was filled with Hellsing blood after all. But she also could not forget the hospitality Integra gave to her when she allowed her to see Alucard again after his imprisonment.
"I can understand why this is so hard for you" Integra said sincerely.
Karliah slammed her hand down on the desk. "You couldn't possible imagine what it was like. You haven't been through what I have. Spare me the sympathy" she spat.
Integra leaned back in her chair. "Your right. I'm sorry. Alucard never did tell me about your past together. I only know what history has told me".
"Well history got it all wrong" Karliah said a little more calmly. "Are we done here?" she said, growing more annoyed by the conversation.
"Yes. But I expect your report in the morning"
Karliah got up to leave.
"But one more thing" Integra added. "It's good to have you with us. Whether you feel the same or not, you are still family here"
Integra's words hardly affected Karliah.
"The only family I have was destroyed more than 500 years ago"
