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"Do you really think this was a good idea? Isn't it just destiny if a woman finds the one their heart beats for? Maybe we should wait."
"It was your idea Sir. The guests are already on their way over here. Miss Seres is also working on the ornament. She wouldn't be pleased if you suddenly change your mind. And your new dress will be a waste of effort and money if you won't use it. You also need to find your coming husband before it's too late."
"Very well Walter you're right. Where is the dress anyway?" she asked.
"Im on my way down to bring it to you. By the way, you found a fitting punishment for master Alucard?"
"Yes, he will not be allowed to drink blood, to go hunt, sleep in his coffin and his guns will be confiscated in a month. Then I can always find something later if I want and if it's needed I could also always make it two months. Do you think it will be enough for him Walter?" she asked and looked at her jewelry. A long simple necklace, a pair of long gold earrings, some bracelets in different style, and a few rings.
"I think so Sir. He will barely survive without his coffin and not to mention his reaction if his beloved firearms gets confiscated. Hehe, yes I am quite sure that it will be enough to keep him away from the ball. Now I will take my leave Sir. I will go get your dress immediately." he said and smiled. He rushed out. Integra knew he was busy. There were yet a lot of things to do.
She was about to find her shoes when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." she said and looked up from her drawer.
Walter came in. He was holding a hanger with a long plastic bag hanging on it. She could see it was long, but the plastic bag covered the dress perfectly.
"Here is your dress for the ball Sir Integra. Hope you will like It." he said and laid the dress on her bed.
"Im pretty sure I will Walter. Thank you." she said and nodded a little to show her gratitude.
"You're welcome Sir. But I will inform you about that you don't have very long time to get ready so remember to make good use of the time you've got." he said and quickly turned around and went out.
Integra was alone in her room.
She looked at the plastic bag in front of her.
"Now let us see what Walter had found for me." she said and picked the dress up. She carefully removed the plastic. Out of the plastic came a beautiful dress. At was white and so long that it reached the feet. It was strapless and open on the back. It was simple and elegant. And that was exactly Integras taste.
"Thank you Walter." she thought and held the dress out from her body to see if it was too long. It wasn't. She quickly put it on. She enjoyed the pleasant feeling of smooth soft cloth on her skin. A feeling she was not used to. Then she put on her jewelry and when she was done there was a knock on the door again.
"What? Who's there?" she said. She was not sure of who it could be and started out wary.
"It is me Sir. Walter. I just came to tell you that the first guests have arrived. I will bring them to the ballroom. Don't worry Sir; the first bachelors have yet to arrive. There will come other guests than suitors. No need to worry Sir Integra. Now you must excuse me, but I will have to go again. I have so many things to do and so less time." he said and Integra heard his footsteps walking down the stairs.
She began to fix her hair. She made a simple hairdo with long blonde strands of hair falling down on her shoulders. She had bought contact lenses and struggled to make them sit where they should.
She was done with her makeup and took on her shoes. They were just as elegant as all the other clothes she was wearing. That was how she had wanted to be. Elegant. That was what a ball was about. To be elegant.
When she got outside she saw a little box standing just outside her door. She picked it up and looked at it. Even the box looked nice. It was white with gold glitter on the edges on it. She went inside and closed the door. There was a lot of noise in the mansion. All the guests had arrived and were all waiting for her to show up. Exited to see Integra Hellsing in a dress. A sight no one has ever seen except Walter and her vampire.
She sat down on her bed and placed the box on her lap. She opened the box and inside there was a small mask. It was white as all her clothes were and there were small golden rocks on the around it. On the right side of the mask there was a long golden stick.
"Oh of course, how could I forget? It is a masquerade! What a beautiful mask. Well that must be the last thing I needed. Now im ready." she said and grabbed the golden stick and walked out of her room.
She got to the big door. On the other side everyone was waiting for her. She could hear the people behind the door talk, and the music which came from the orchestra. She moved the mask up to her face and covered it with the little white mask. She took a deep breath and grabbed the handle on the door.
"Allright here we go!" she said to herself and hardened her grip at the handle. She opened the door and looked out on the people underneath her. She was standing on the top of a long white staircase which ended in the crowd. Everyone looked at her. Someone gasped.
"May I say you look lovely tonight, Sir Integra." she heard a voice next to her. She followed the voice with her head and saw Walter standing next to the open door. He was there to introduce the guests that came. Integra was the last one who appeared. Walter smiled at her.
"Thank you Walter. But I feel naked in this dress." she said nervously.
"Oh don't worry Sir Integra; you just aren't used to this kind of clothes. Now excuse me, but I will introduce you now." he said and looked out at the people who was staring at Integra.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had arrived." he said loudly. All people started to talk silently.
"Dear friends, I am pleased to see so many people here tonight. Feel free to dance and have fun. Welcome to every one of my honored guests." Integra said to all her guests. Some of them nodded with a smile and turned around to dance with their partner.
Integra slowly walked down from the stairs and felt that everyone was looking at her. They also did. She went down and everyone moved away to make space for her. There was silence.
"Well what are you looking at? I am not the center of the whole party." she said and then the music started and everyone went back to their partners and started to dance. Some went to the buffet.
Integra stood for a long time and looked at the ball. She didn't know what she wanted to do. A lot of men seemed to stand and gain courage to ask her for the first dance. Integra had gotten some dance lessons, but she wasn't sure if it would be enough. She went to the buffet and poured some punch for herself. Then she went out to greet some of the people from the convention of 12.
"Good evening Sir Irons." she said and nodded to him.
"Good evening Sir Hellsing. May I say you look amazing today. After all these years when you have hidden your feminism you suddenly show up as a grown up woman. Your father would be very proud of you." he said and smiled.
"Thank you Sir Irons. Now you must excuse me, I have to go greet the other guests." she said and left Sir Irons. She found Sir Pentwood. He was standing near the buffet.
"Good evening Sir Pentwood." she said and nodded as before.
"Why good evening Sir Hellsing or should I say Miss Hellsing. You look fabulous if I may be so bold." he said and bowed a little. He was friendlier than Sir Irons, but his compliments were more meaningful than Sir Pentwoods.
"Thank you Sir Pentwood, have you seen anyone from the convention? I can't spot them from here."
"Certainly Sir there's Sir Irons over there and many over there. I can't really see who it is from here." he said and pointed as he mentioned the members.
"Thank you Sir then I will go talk with them. Excuse me." she said and nodded again. She saw him turn around. It looked rather clumsy. She looked around. Almost everyone looked a bit clumsy.
"Am I the only one here who is elegant? I thought it was the meaning to elegant. How a ball should be. Ah, there's another member. No I don't want to talk with anymore of these types. Where's Seres?" she thought and looked around.
Then she spotted her. She was together with Pip. Seres looked beautiful. She were wearing a blood red dress and long matching gloves. She was also wearing elegant jewelry and a scarlet red mask which she held in a black stick with shining red ribbons twisted around. A little red feather was stacking out from the left side of the mask. Seres didn't have the ability of hiding her vampirism and therefore she still had long fangs and shiny red eyes. Her hair was normal. Considering her uncontrollable hair it was understandable.
Pip instead was wearing a white suit. It looked a bit like when he was on the mission in Brazil. He looked good in that suit and it was properly the same reason for him to wear it. His braid was looking rather good and it could seem that Seres had done the work. A thing Pip enjoyed a lot. Seres seemed to like it too. She didn't have long hair and her master wasn't the right person to ask such a thing, even though it might suit him, Seres had said. Poor her. The black haired vampire had been listening to her when she said it and he was not pleased with the thought.
"Oh hi Sir Integra you really look gorgeous!" Seres said loudly and put a hand on her cheek. It looked ridiculous and childish but she always did that when she was shocked and giving a compliment at the same time.
"Thank you Officer Victoria, you too. You're enjoying the party?" she said and smiled at Seres and her escort.
"Thank you Sir we are. It seems that everyone has arrived. You haven't danced yet?" she asked and slipped her arm under Pip's.
"No, but I feel rather good with it. I don't feel like im in the mood of dancing right now. But I will be off and let you dance then. Have fun." she said with a wink. When she turned around she frowned a little and looked a bit sad.
"I don't know what's wrong. I would say yes to anyone who asks for a dance, but I still don't feel ready for a dance yet. Or maybe it's the thought of that it is today I shall chose the one I shall get married to. The one I enjoy the most. The one I dance best with. The one I maybe fall in love with. But yet no one has caught my attention. Maybe this is just not my evening tonight."she thought and looked down. A man came to her and asked her for a dance. She declined. But then she changed her mind and she accepted the offer from the next man. But she didn't enjoy herself. She felt that the man was so much better than her.
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Time passed and she felt worse than even before she entered.
But then suddenly the door opened. Many people looked startled and surprised up at the top of the stairs. Even Walter looked surprised. It was dark outside the ballroom and the only thing visible was a slim silhouette of man. He stepped forward and revealed himself. A young handsome man was standing on top of the staircase. He looked down at the people. He was wearing black clothes which looked a bit old fashioned, but he, indeed, looked elegant. His hair was black as coal and shoulder long. It was set into a short, loose ponytail and it was made with a thin, small and black ribbon. The hairdo made a few black strands of hair to hang down, and some reached his shoulder. Behind the black mask was a pair of deep brown eyes. He was also wearing a wide smile as he moved his gaze to Integra.
All the ladies who didn't have an escort moved a little forward and a lot of mumbling was heard.
The new coming looked at Walter and smiled.
"Ah pardon me Sir." he said to the brown eyed man. He raised his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sir Jonathan Hartwood Brenner has arrived. He excuses his late arrival, but the traffic has been a nightmare."
Integra heard a louder mumbling among the female guests. She did only catch a few words of what there was said.
Jonathan began to walk down the stairs. His elegance was exquisite.
"Now that's what I call elegant. OH, HE'S LOOKING AT ME!" she thought and blushed a little, even though she kept her composure.
And as she thought he only looked at her. Many started to look angry and backed away from him to give him space, wherever he would go.
He stepped away from the last step and walked towards Integra. She didn't know if she would back away or walk towards him. But she did neither. Instead she stood and awaited him to see what he would do. He did as she expected.
He stopped when he was close to her and bowed a little. He reached a gloved hand out for her and she let him grab the tips of her fingers. He carefully kissed the top of her hand, looked up and smiled at her.
"May I have this dance, Sir Hellsing?" he said and stood up again. He was a bit more than head higher than her.
"Certainly!" she said and let him guide her to the dance floor with her hand him his. She heard dissatisfied sighs behind her. She couldn't help herself smiling.
"Haha I got the one You want." she thought and grinned until they were on the dance floor. He stopped. And she widened her eyes.
"I can't dance!" she said as he turned to face her.
"In a dance like this you don't need to. The other men you have been dancing with were not comfortable to dance with. You know why?" he asked and she shoke her head. "Because it was their fault that it went so bad. It was them who should guide you. You need no lessons in dancing if the one who stands in front of you knows how to make it easy for you. The ones you have been dancing with were just dancing like they feel is right. They don't think about what is easiest for you. Now let show how to do It." he said and laid his hand around her waist. For the first time in the whole evening it felt comfortable. It felt like he knew what he was doing.
"Since you know so much about this, you must have gotten many dance lessons." she said and narrowed her eyes.
"No, I haven't. I haven't been to a single lesson. I have traveled a lot and seen many other people dance. Besides it's just a ball, not a contest. It is about to enjoy this evening, not to struggle with the dance steps. Now we only need some music." he said and smiled at her. She looked normally at him again.
"Maybe he can make me enjoy this evening." she thought as they started to dance. She got surprised when it was a lot easier as it seemed. She simply followed his feet. It was also a rather slow dance which made it easier to comprehend. The hand which lied on his shoulder tightened its grip when she saw that everyone was looking at her. She started to breathe faster. She saw that Jonathan saw it too.
"Have I mentioned that you look stunning tonight, Sir Integra?" he said as if he wanted to make her think of something else.
"No, but thank you. You don't look too bad either." she answered.
He smiled. "And your dancing goes quite well, too. Ignore the ones who can't find themselves an escort." he said. It seemed that he would rather talk about Integra than himself.
Another song was played.
The other Integra had been dancing with were so stiff and clumsy to dance with. Jonathan was different. His movements were soft and he was somehow floating with her. She was spellbound to him. His skills on a dance floor, his taunting behavior, his good looking appearance and his exquisite elegance. A man taken out of her dreams. The one she had been waiting for the whole evening. Finally he was there. To save her night.
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Time passed and they stayed together the whole evening. They had talked and danced with very few breaks. Integra didn't want the night to end. She looked at the man in front of her. He didn't seem to get tired. A slow song was played. Integra laid her head on is shoulder and laid her arms around him under his arms. He kindly wrapped his arms around her waist.
"When this song is over, we will never see each other again." she said with a sad voice. She tightened her grip around him.
"You will see me again when the time comes." he said and closed his eyes.
"But what if I choose you?" she said and looked at him.
"You won't. You can't. Even though you choose me we can never be together." he said, with more emotion in his voice. He didn't frown but she could feel that he did it inside himself.
"But I don't understand."
"You don't have to. All you need to know is that whatever you do, we will never be together in that way." he answered and smiled. He wiped a little tear away from the corner of her eye.
"But… I can't accept that. There must be…" she said and stopped. She looked him in his eyes. Then she took his mask with both of her hands and removed it. She smiled a little and moved closer. He did the same. Their heads were only a few centimeters away from each other. They closed their eyes. Their lips touched and Integra let her hands reach higher up on his back. But suddenly she smelled his scent. A familiar scent. It smelled like ginger, gunpowder and… blood! She quickly moved away from him and he did the same. He didn't look as confused as she thought he would be. She glared at him.
"Jonathan Hartwood Brenner. J.H Brenner, your cover name. How come I didn't realize it sooner? You knew the consequences, why did you do it?" she asked as she moved a little closer to him.
"Yes I knew the consequences and know I will be punished. But still I find no reason for coming." he said.
"You cheated me Alucard! You stole the night for me. I could have met another man, but instead you came and ruined it!" she said and stopped her glaring, but she still narrowed her eyes.
"I would rather say that I saved it. Don't say you didn't enjoy It." he said and smiled.
"I did, but that was before I knew it was you. I actually fell in love with you. But it was not you. You changed yourself and instead I fell in love with a not existing man who called himself Jonathan. That was who I fell in love with!" she said loudly.
"That's where you're wrong. The only thing I changed was my appearance. Nothing else. The one you fell in love with, was me. My natural behavior. I just acted how I would do if you were not my master." he said and looked down, and then up at her again. His smile faded when he saw that her face was still as hard as before. "I will go now. I can see that what I said didn't change very much. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the night just as much as I did." he said and closed his eyes and turned around. Integras face loosened up. She sighed.
"Hmm he's right. I knew there was something familiar about him. And it was that I fell in love with. It was his true behavior I fell in love with. WAIT A MIN... I fell… in love with… HIM!? YES I did!" she thought and quickly she grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. He looked a bit surprised when he looked in her eyes.
"You were right Alucard. It was you I fell in love with in the beginning. And a really enjoyed the night, so what do you say about ending it in a nice way?" she said and grabbed his head with both of her hands and pushed their lips together. When he regained his composure he closed his eyes, as she did, and laid his one hand on her temple and the other on her hip. This was a different kiss. More emotional, more passionate and more tender.
All other stopped and looked at them. In Pips arms, Seres gasped a little and stared at Integra and the disguised Alucard. Pip didn't gasp, but he certainly looked as surprised as Seres. On the top of the stairs Walter looked as surprised as Pip and Seres. Not to mention all the other guests. Especially some of the male ones. But they also looked disappointed and overseen. But Integra didn't notice any of the staring eyes.
"Look Pip, Sir Integra has fallen for the mystical stranger. Wish you would be as romantic as he is." Seres said and pointed at Integra and Alucard with he thumb.
"Aah don't say that Mignonette, im ze most romantic guy ze world." Pip answered and made an elegant movement with Seres in his arms.
"Ok im convinced." she said and smiled at him.
Integra and Alucard stood for a long time, kissing each other.
"Now when I know it's you why don't you show the one I am really kissing right now?" she mentally spoke to him.
"What about the guests?" he asked.
"Who cares? They can think what they want."
He didn't answer at what she said. Instead he obeyed and the ribbon in his hair vanished and let his hair fall down on his shoulders. On top of his hands his sigil started to form and it was glowing. The people who saw it gasped and pointed at his hands. From his shoulders I looked like if he had been soaked by blood red water and the liquid flowed down from his shoulders and formed his coat. The last of his clothes changed to. It looked like small bat wings which quickly lifted up from his body, turned around and replaced the old fashioned clothes with Integras servant's normal clothes. His face became paler. And then Integra felt his long fangs grow inside his mouth. She looked in his eyes and saw that his eyes were starting to turn crimson. She felt he was stronger.
"Now that's better." she said and they continued.
"True." he said to her in her mind.
All the people gasped. Seres, Pip and Walter did as well.
"IT WAS MASTER! It was him the whole time! Why didn't I sense it?" Seres said loudly.
"He should take that other form a bit more often. Zen he doesn't look so creepy." Pip said and tried to hide his wide smile.
"You're afraid of Master?!" Seres said with an a bit mocking voice.
"And you're not?" he said and narrowed his eyes in and humoristic way.
"Umm noo… Im not..." she said while they both stood and stared at Seres' master and his master.
"You're a better kisser in this form than in the other form." she said and sighed a little. "The way you looked tonight, Alucard. It looked like something taken out from a dream of mine. How could you know that it was how I always wanted you to look?"
"I have been on a little trip in your dreams lately. For that reason. When I saw it, I just copied the look and with a blink of an eye I had the look you were dreaming about. Form means nothing to me. Only you." he said. "But if you will excuse me will change my shape again. I've been catching very much attention."
"You're right. But only the clothes. The people already know it so there's no use hiding it. And now I think about it I like this shape more than the other one. So go on. Turn back to that Jonathan again." she said and stepped a little back. It tickled when he did it the last time. She would prevent it to happen again.
And so he did. The second after almost the same elegant man who saved her evening and which she fell in love with, were standing in front of her as the vampire she had known in ten years. He did only change his clothes, and he still looked like that servant who was called Alucard.
The dance was about to end.
"Tonight… Tonight was the best night in my life. But soon it will end. We can't keep this relationship…" she said.
"I know."
"Tomorrow you are my servant again…" she continued.
"I know."
"And you will obey my orders as always." she said and finished her sentence.
"I know." he said again.
"But I wish this night would never end. I wish that we could… When will we ever be able to be together like this again?" she asked and lied her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"When another ball is being held, Jonathan will come to company you again. Then you can have a night like this again." he said and smiled. She smiled too and laid her head on his shoulder. He did the same. They kept standing like that.
"I will look forward to that. But before we can do that I think we an explanation for Walter, Seres and Pip. They seem to be a bit freaked out." she said and looked at Pip and Seres. They were in each others arms, but they kept an eye on Alucard and Integra the whole time. And they still looked surprised. Freaked out as Integra mentioned.
"Aaah they're just envious." he said and laughed.
"They sure are." Integra said and looked in her vampires eyes. "They sure are."
The end!
Hope u like it ;)