Sanctuary
by stooone
Disclaimer : I don't own Hellsing, nor any of the characters. sob
the middle.
The sounds repetitive punching could be heard on the other side of the « mysterious » door.
Alucard was curious. This room was in an abandoned part of the Hellsing manor ; it used to be a kind of salon, but he had observed Walter removing all the furniture a few days ago, and now it seemed his young master was using the room as some kind of gym ?
Cautiously he went through the door, and indeed there she was : blond hair held in a tight ponytail, glasses forgotten somewhere, in nothing but some black cargo pants and a white tank top, Intergra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had never looked less like the head of the most secret organization in England and more like the fourteen year old tomboy she tried so hard to conceal from everyone -including herself.
Not even two years after the death of her father, she was still struggling to make everybody see her as the respectable and competent sir Hellsing. She dispensed orders with a cold efficiency, never giving anyone the time to question whether or not she knew what she was doing. Her lips never laughed and rarely smiled, and a few months ago had started being almost permanently adorned by one of those horrible cigars that Arthur Hellsing used to smoke. From the day she had released Alucard from his dark dungeon, he had never seen her in anything but men suits.
back to the start.
The No Life King had been impressed that day, by the strength and courage of this one tiny, fragile human girl ; he had been intrigued. He could still remember his delight, as after having witnessed her father's death, being chased and almost killed by the only remaining family she had, watching her uncle's men be literally devoured and torn to pieces by the monster her own blood had released, and shooting that bastard Richard herself, little Integra had taken three deep breaths, lowered her gun, and looked the vampire in the eye to say in a clear voice :
"That will be all, Servant."
And with that she calmly walked out of the cell, never turning back to see the giant grin splitting the monster's face. He hadn't been fooled, of course, as he could hear her heart thundering in her little chest while she struggled to keep her pace even and not flee at a dead run. But oh, had he been delighted.
From the time Walter came back the day after, she had read every piece of information she could find on her new vampire pet. She summoned both of them in her father's - now her – office, where she basically explained how things were going to run from then on. Alucard was to be Hellsing's trump card, a reinforcement of her troops for when they went against more than just a few ghouls.
Walter was to remain her butler, but now she also wanted the Angel of Death to teach her everything he knew that could be of use in the war against the undead. At that Walter's eyes went slightly round – but of course she would have found out about his earlier assignments for Hellsing in the files concerning Alucard. If she was surprised or angered to discover that her old butler had hidden his deadly talents from her, she never showed it.
She dismissed Alucard telling him that he was to remain in the manor unless ordered otherwise, and that she had arranged for packets of blood to be delivered to him so that he didn't need to go ... hunting. The vampire bowed low, his insane grin firmly in place, and phased through the floor seemingly to regain the basement. In truth he remained close enough to follow the rest of the conversation.
"Are you sure-" the butler began but was interrupted.
"Yes, I am, Walter." The fifty year old man sighed, and tried again.
"I am well aware that Alucard is a great asset against our enemies, Integra ; but he is dangerous, much more dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Your father thought he-" once again she didn't let him finish.
"He had the perfect opportunity to be rid of the Hellsing curse. My father dead, the only remaining Hellsings were my uncle and I, and we were trying to kill each other. I didn't order him to save me, Walter, he could have simply let Richard shoot me before leaving him to die of his wounds, and he would have been free. I can only assume that he had no choice but to protect me, the legitimate heir of the Hellsing Organisation. Besides," she pulled her glasses off and gave the butler a wry smile. "I am already enough at a disadvantage, in front of enemies and allies alike -I'm a twelve year old girl, for God's sake, do you really think the Knights will easily accept my authority as head of Hellsing ? Having the No Life King as a servant will at least give me a bit of much needed leverage."
The butler lowered his head in assent.
"I suppose you're right. Integra ..." his eyes shone with concern. "Are you alright ?" He asked in a soft voice.
"I ..." she set her jaw firmly. "I have no time to be anything but." The young girl put her glasses back on and began looking through the files she had assembled on her desk.
"I'll have to combine perfecting my education with running the organization. For that I have established a list of the basic skills I have to obtain, as a commander of Hellsing's troops and a political figure ; I trust you will help me both in acquiring them and adding anything you deem important to the list." She gave him the file and waited while he scanned it's content. At one point his eyebrows rose slightly.
"Fighting skills, my lady ?"
"Sir" she corrected him. "And yes, fighting skills. If I'm to be a general, I have to understand what it is to be a soldier. I would not have my men do something I won't. Besides, I never again want to depend on someone to defend my life."
Once again the butler acquiesced.
"From now on, I'll devote the morning to my studies, and the afternoon to running the organization. I'll expect you to assist me in whatever domain you can, and find me suitable teachers for the rest."
"Very well, Sir."
"Any questions or recommendations ?"
"No, Sir." Walter let a proud smile show. "If I may be so bold ... You're doing really good, Integra. Your father made no mistake in making you the head of Hellsing."
The new Sir Hellsing inclined her head graciously, and Walter bowed his way out of the room. The instant the door closed behind the butler, shadows rippled out of the shade, twirling and twisting to give in to the solid form of the Nosferatu.
"I can teach you." his voice was as deep as the darkness he had emerged from.
Integra didn't even raise her head from the papers she was studying. "From now on kindly refrain from eavesdropping, servant, unless you want me to confine you in your cell again. As for teaching me, I have no desire whatsoever to frightened my men into discipline by impaling any who disobey me."
His laugh boomed, seemingly coming from every corner of the study. She raised her head at that, and couldn't conceal a bit of surprise at his appearance.
When she had summoned him earlier, he had still been dressed in the leather outfit she had found him in ; now the Nosferatu appeared impeccably dressed in a black suit and white shirt, completely monochrome with his jet black hair and pale skin, the only hint of color being the red tie complimenting his glowing red eyes.
"You sure look better than when I found you." His grin showed too many teeth.
"I've had a good meal."
Integra made a noncommittal sound. "I suppose I won't have to have the bodies disposed of, then." Her eyes shone with determination not to let him deter her, while his glinted madly. It was like a duel, a clashing of wills sharper than steel, and Alucard felt an almost sensual thrill course his undead body.
"There may be a few bones left..." he rasped, coming closer. "Though, really, what I enjoyed the most was that pure virgin blood that brought me back to unlife " he practically purred.
Never letting go of his eyes, the young girl let her arms rest on her desk and actually leaned forward. She matched his tone and his smile as she answered :
"Lets hope that this memory can sustain you, Alucard, as you'll never have another taste of it." The vampire felt his heart swell with excitement. Could it be that he had found a spirit to match his own in this little human girl ? For the first time in a long, long time, he was genuinely interested, curious even, of what would come next.
"Master..." he lowered his eyes, and when he met hers again his insane grin had changed into a slight smirk in his otherwise respectful expression. Integra felt she had passed some kind of test and relaxed a bit, but kept her attention firmly on the creature in front of her.
He advanced toward her and managed to fall both graciously and unceremoniously in one of the two chairs facing hers. He matched her posture, leaning his arms on the desk right in front of her, looking more like a young lord than a five centuries old monster. When he next spoke his tone was very serious.
"Master. I've been a king, I've been a general, I've been a soldier, and I've been amongst humans for centuries. I'd been fighting ghouls and vampires for years before your family imprisoned me. You cannot deny that I have ... experience." He paused a moment there, and went on when she didn't comment.
"I can teach you to fight. I can teach you to command. I can teach history better than any book or teacher could, as I have been witness to it."
She narrowed her eyes. "What's in it for you, vampire?"
A flash of white fangs. "Some of your pure Hellsing blood, of course"
"Never." She leaned back on her chair. He barked a laugh "A true Hellsing indeed ! I think I would have been disappointed if you had accepted, Master. The truth, then."
He sat up straighter, smirking. "You fascinate me." He raised a hand to forestall her interruption. "This is no idle flattery, Master, as it would no doubt lead me nowhere if not back in the dungeon. In all my years of existence I have yet to meet a man whose spirit matches yours. I find it will be ... most exciting to shape you into the great leader you undoubtedly have the potential of being."
They looked at each other for a time then, neither moving, each trying to assess the other's thoughts.
"Alright." Integra finally said. "We'll start tomorrow morning." She began studying her father's files again. "You're dismissed" she waved a hand at him.
The Nosferatu bowed his head again and stood up to leave.
"And Alucard" she looked at him over her glasses "when I say 'you're dismissed', it means that you have to go away, somewhere you can't keep observing me. Is that clear ?"
He grinned and bowed again, without releasing her eyes. "Very, Master." And with that he disappeared.
That night Integra had terrible nightmares. She was running, running for her life in dark corridors, and she could feel darkness closing in around her as footsteps sounded closer and closer. Her heart pounded in her ears, and a maniacal laugh pounded in her mind, and she was running toward a closed door behind which laid salvation... but then she opened the door and instead of relief she was overwhelmed in a whirlwind of screams and growls and teeth and blood and pain sharper than the fear that gripped her and constricted her throat
With a gasp the twelve year old girl jerked awake. Squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her little fists, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing refused to turn on the light in her cold bedroom, refused to let her heart beat wildly in her chest, and refused to even acknowledge the tears that pooled behind her lids. She pretended to go back to sleep.
In his dark cave, the vampire was thoughtful. So his new master was a normal, scared little girl after all... At least in her dreams, where she didn't have an iron control on everything felt and expressed, she was. Humans hadn't changed that much in the few decades he'd been... put away. He remembered the time where women were fair ladies swooning at the sight of blood, and the strong ones were those who could take care of their house when their husband was away. Or could refrain from screaming at the sight of a vampire's fangs... Oh he'd met strong women in all the years he roamed the earth ; but one so young, combining such fierce courage and determination with this quiet air of authority? Never. What a formidable woman she'll become... Such a powerful instrument...
In the depth of his cold dungeon, the No Life King chuckled darkly, white teeth and malevolent red eyes glinting. For the first time in a long, long time, he was actually looking forward to what fate would present him with next.
alright, so I realise this start and middle thingy isn't reeeally clear, so we'll just say that the middle was an introduction and I'll come back to the mystery room later, shall we ? lets.
that's it for now, I hope you like it ! r&r please :)