-:- Time Will Never Be Kind -:-
.:A Hellsing Fan Fiction:.

Author: AoUsagi

Summary: There have only ever been three women that Alucard has ever cared for; young Integra Hellsing knows only of one –and the legendary Mina Harker. So upon her coronation as the new head of the Hellsing household, Integra makes the shocking discovery of who the other two women are…

BeforeNote:

This was inspired by the happenings of the gathering of the Iscariot organization, the Round Table members, and the Queen of England in episode 4 of the OVA series. Alucard and the Queen's interaction….sent shivers down me spine, I tells ya. Almost makes me want to reconsider Alucard and Integra as my OTP XD

But no. This…the pairing is a little strange, but ultimately it's Alucard and Integra. Young Integra, mind you, so there'll be no smuttiness in this one-shot, thank you very much. Just a little bit of a mature undercurrent.

But nonetheless. Here you are, another Hellsing one-shot whilst the next chapter of Subject 13's Butler is in the works. Also, I don't own Hellsing, all rights go to Kouta Hirano, yada yada yada yada…

- Mercy

…

I do way too much research for a simple fanfiction. Honestly, I do.

.:Time Will Never Be Kind:.

-:-

Buckingham Palace, 1989.

It had been exactly two months since Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had become the new head of the Hellsing Organization. She hadn't been planning on keeping count, but the days had turned to an endless whirl of paperwork and meetings and sudden responsibility that she had almost forgotten herself in the process. It was a lot for a twelve year old to handle in such a short space of time, even if Walter did congratulate her often on what a good job she was doing.

But Walter was no longer her only constant servant – now there was him. He was always there nowadays, lurking in the shadows, grinning from ear to ear so that his pointy canines would show. Walter didn't seem to mind him; if anything, Walter seemed to be relieved to see this…this monster again. Integra didn't know why – she didn't have the time to ask.

In the short span of two months, she had already deployed her monstrous new servant on several missions that were to be dictated by the Hellsing Organization. Vampire hunts; ghoul exterminations. She was getting sick of all this talk of death and killing and violence. She wished it wasn't a necessity to her line of work – sadly, however, none of her agents seemed to be against it. They were the best of the best; Arthur Hellsing, her late father, had left Integra well stocked with soldiers and guards that were extremely well trained in the line of slaughter. Especially him.

"We've arrived, ma'am," Walter's gentle voice came from the drivers seat of the limousine, and Integra was woken from her wandering thoughts to see the pristinely kept gardens of the Buckingham Palace; and beyond the hedgerows of neatly trimmed bushes and trees, lay the Palace itself, standing tall and proud against the clear periwinkle blue skyline. It was currently ten-thirty in the morning. According the schedule that Walter had recited to her that morning whilst she dressed, the coronation ceremony would begin at eleven sharp.

A soft groan came from the leather-upholstered seat next to her, and Integra glanced over from the corner of her eye to see the vampire slumped in his seat at her side. He was dressed in the finest of suits, looking well groomed and spruce in the dark burgundy suit she'd had Walter pick out for him, finished with a deep red cravat. The vampire's long, jet-black hair was combed neatly, the long fringes hanging down on either side of his face and the rest of it wrestled back into a neat ponytail. Integra didn't feel an ounce of pity for the monster's pain; he should be more accustomed to dressing properly to appear in front of royalty if he was the so-called legendary No-Life King that her predecessors had managed to tame years and years before. She didn't think that she'd ever seen him with his hair tied back before; she had almost not recognized the debonair gentleman that had followed Walter down the front steps of the Hellsing mansion earlier that morning. But the slump of his shoulders and the slouched way he walked, gloved hands shoved deep into his pockets, his eyes hidden by those same old glasses with the orange-lenses, had given him away.

And he'd spent the entire car trip moaning softly to himself. Integra couldn't blame him – vampires were nocturnal creatures, and he had been awake since early yesterday evening. He should be slumbering peacefully in his coffin at this point of day, however, as he had been called to appear at the coronation ceremony as well, he was not, and had made sure that everyone knew about it. But just because he was tired and in pain from being exposed to some measures of daylight didn't mean that Integra pitied him.

"Straighten yourself up," she said sternly, keeping her blue eyes cold as she glanced up and down his figure. He glared at her from behind his glasses, but nodded and sat up in his seat as Walter came around to Integra's door and held it open for her. She climbed out, and her monster followed her dutifully – but she ignored his hiss of objection as the sunlight hit his skin. She turned to Walter, and saw from the corner of her eye that her sullen servant was hiding his face as best he could beneath the fringes of his hair, which was morphing and writhing in an attempt to cover him. "And cut that out. You'll be inside soon, have some bloody dignity, Alucard."

"Dignity, schmignity," she heard him growl under his breath as Walter closed the door behind them and they began to head towards the Palace. There was already a large crowd awaiting them – most of them were members of shadow organizations similar to that of the Hellsing Organization. There were the members of the Round Table, an association dedicated to safeguarding the public from uncovering the true existence of the paranormal. Integra, even at her young age, was able to name every single one of them. They had been very close companions to her father, and so she had met them on many occasions before becoming the new head of the household.

Then there was the Queen of England's entourage of staff and bodyguards. It seemed that there had been a small battalion of guards gathered at the Palace today especially for the occasion, to ensure that everything went smoothly. There were a few other onlookers, but Integra was unable to identify them all as she and her two guardians swept past them.

"Sir," Walter's voice was soft in her ear. "Your coat-tails are dragging."

"Damn," Integra muttered, but she didn't stop moving. "We'll fix them once we're inside."

Her outfit for the day had been arranged and co-ordinated by Walter, with the help of two of the maids of the mansion. This was the very first time she had ever worn something so proper; and to be honest, she felt a little over-dressed. Having grown up in plain white shirts and long skirts and simple dress pants, today's ensemble was anything but ordinary. She wore her fathers long trenchcoat, which was adorned with the badges of her grandfather, who had served in the war – the coattails of the coat had to be taken up a little because of her lack of height, and the shoulders of the coat were too broad, but nonetheless, Integra wore it as a sign of representing her family.

Beneath it, she wore an ironed, long-sleeved white shirt beneath a cream military jacket, a sash tied from shoulder to hip, her late great-grandfathers sabre sheathed in a scabbard attached to the belt at her waist. She wore a pair of black dress pants, over the top of a pair of low-heeled boots. Her long platinum hair had refused to be tamed that morning, and so instead of being tied back like planned; it fell freely down her back. She knew that she was getting more than a few odd looks and whispers from the people as she passed.

They were greeted by a footman, who led them inside, taking Integra's fathers' jacket from her to store in a cloakroom elsewhere, also taking Alucards black-overcoat that he had insisted on wearing to protect himself from the sun. His hair had finally settled back down, too – however now it was a short, scruffy mess.

"Alucard!"

"Master?"

Integra snarled as she grabbed his cravat, yanking him down to her eye-level. "Your hair is a mess. Fix it." She knew jolly well that if she did not display the right amount of control of her servant beast, neither he nor anyone else would respect her. Tidy, presentable hair was the very least she could do.

He raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes holding exhaustion, but when she refused to let him go, he sighed deeply before running a white-gloved hand through his messy locks, and his black hair looked…slightly more presentable. Tching in frustration, Integra let him go, and the vampire straightened up again. She whirled on her heel and strode away, following the footman as he returned, and she could hear the footfall of her two servants hurrying to catch up.

-:-

"You know, Sir, if you'd been anyone else, you'd have lost your hand to him," Walter said quietly as he combed through Integra's long platinum locks of hair. She was sitting in front of him at a mirror, and looked up at his reflection. They were in a dressing room, awaiting the official start of the coronation ceremony; there was less than ten minutes left before they would be called to take up their positions.

"I don't care. He's a disgrace if he can't keep himself looking presentable for just a few hours," she replied bitterly, and Walter smiled, his eyes gentle.

"There are very few women in existence who have ever held such sway over our Alucard, ma'am," the butler said, reaching around to her front to comb her fringe back into a neat arrangement. Integra blinked, intrigued. She had only ever known of Alucard obeying the commands of her patriarchal predecessors.

"Oh?"

Walter nodded, gathering up a handful of her hair at the back of her head and combing through it, working out any knots that might have snuck in since he'd first brushed it for her this morning. "Yes. And you are one of them. There are two more."

"Are you referring to that woman from several hundred years ago? Mina Harker?"

Integra had heard stories about a woman whom Alucard had once had some sort of connection with – the woman who had survived Alucard's attempt to turn her into a vampire by drinking his blood, and therefore somehow returning to her human state.

"Yes; Mina Harker is now dead, of course, but she had Alucard completely wrapped around her little finger."

"I can't imagine that."

Walter chuckled as he nodded again. "Yes, it is odd to think that someone like him ever considered something other than his continuous blood lust. They say that Miss Harker was one of exquisite beauty, and Alucard was the only man able to even turn her head."

"She was probably homosexual."

At that, Walter let out another chuckle. "Maybe, but Alucard apparently grew quite fond of her in his time as the Count Dracula, before he was defeated by Hellsing. He pursued her tirelessly until she came to our organization for help, which was when we stepped in."

"What happened to her after that?"

"All that can be assumed from the records left is that Miss Harker lived out the rest of her life quite peacefully, uninterrupted by any more love-sick vampires or men of any sort. I think I heard somewhere that she retreated to an isolated location in the Romanian mountains."

Integra sighed. This was all history, history that she might look into once this coronation ceremony was over, and she had more free time than a few minutes to down a cup of tea. That would be nice; perhaps she'd disappear into the library with the Hellsing archives and have a read through them. There was suddenly a knock at the door to the dressing room, and Walter answered it. She could hear him murmuring something to the messenger, before they left and he turned back to her.

"It's time we were getting ready, Sir. Your coronation will begin shortly."

Integra nodded, and she stood. She knew she looked impressive, even if she did feel overly dressed for the occasion. But she knew that this, sadly, was necessary.

"Where is Alucard?"

"He's sulking in the shadows, ma'am, but he will be there for the ceremony, don't you worry." Walter reassured her, guiding her out of the door as she stepped up to him. Despite the fact that she loathed every part of Alucard's being, she knew that she was going to have to put up with him. And that meant learning everything she could about him. She shivered a little at the thought of Alucard fawning over her as he might have Mina Harker. That man? Caring? About anything other than himself? She hardly believed it. But, she knew, Walter had known Alucard for a long time – since before the second world war. And Walter did not lie.

Following her faithful old butler out into the hallway, Integra couldn't shake what he'd said to her out of her mind, her thoughts still on her enigmatic vampire servant.

You are one of them. There are two more.

So, if that was the case, and Mina Harker was one of them, then who was the last?

-:-

The coronation ceremony was a quiet affair, but the silence did not mean that there was a lack of people. In fact, there seemed to be so many more people crowded into the coronation chamber than Integra could remember seeing outside, and that in itself daunted her. The fact that she had to be knighted by Her Majesty the Queen of England, Elizabeth the Second, daunted her even more. And, she thought as she cast her eyes to the side of the stage where Walter and Alucard stood to attention as a footman announced her, the fact that he was watching her made it even worse. Perhaps if his eyes weren't on her, but somewhere else, she would have been more comfortable. She didn't have the time to dwell on it, however, as the monarch of England stepped forth from her throne to greet and knight Integra.

Her Royal Highness Elizabeth the Second offered her a small smile, the aging woman's eyes were gentle, sincere. But when she spoke, she spoke to the entire congregation.

"All gathered here, witness today the knighting of Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. New leader and head of the Hellsing Organization, sworn by the crown to serve and protect the people of England from Hell's worst on a mission from God. She stands here now, before you, to swear loyalty and to be knighted as one of God's chosen guardians."

With that, the Queen looked back to Integra, and the twelve year old drew the long sword from the scabbard at her waist before dropping down onto one knee, gripping the hilt nervously, her hand protected by the intricately carved gold basket hilt. She held the sword upright, and carefully leant her forehead against, murmured the words Walter had taught her the evening before, an oath to God to serve and protect his people, before offering the sword hilt-first to Her Majesty. Queen Elizabeth the Second took the weapon, and turned the blade on Integra, resting it first on one shoulder, and then the other.

"Amen."

"Amen," Integra echoed softly, and from behind her she could hear the murmur of the crowd repeating the phrase quietly, before another hush fell over them as the Queen lifted the sword, and reached down to lift Integra's head with one hand beneath her chin. Integra looked up into the eyes of the Queen, and shared the smile the matriarch offered her before accepting the sabre the woman offered back. Standing, she sheathed the blade, and the Queen placed her hands upon Integra's shoulders, turning her to face the congregation.

"I present to you, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing!" the Queen announced, and a round of applause went up through the crowd. Integra glanced around at the gathered sea of faces, both familiar and not – and she snuck a glance over to Walter and Alucard; her butler was applauding with a proud smile on his wizened old features, but she blinked in surprise to see that Alucard's eyes were not on her, but on the Queen. The Queen, however, did not pay any attention to the vampire lurking off to the side, clapping politely for his new master's new knighthood. Then, Alucard turned his gaze to Integra, and the smile that curved on his features made her stomach flip. It was that predatory smile again. She hated that smile.

-:-

If there was something she hated more than Alucard's predatory smile, however, it was the fact that she now had to stand around and make polite conversation with all the people who had been applauding her just minutes ago. The official ceremony had been declared over, and now refreshments and socialization were taking place in the large, spacious foyer of the Palace.

With Walter at her side, Integra managed to avoid having to answer some more of the difficult questions that the businessmen and other gathered people around her prodded her with, passing a lot off of them onto her butler to answer, who understood her awkwardness and graciously took over the task. Integra breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't know where she'd be without Walter.

Which brought to mind another thought – although Walter had been faithfully sticking with her like glue, she was lacking one other member of her personal entourage. Alucard, the bastard, had snuck off somewhere, probably to take a nap somewhere dark, hoping to not have his absence be noticed. Integra cast her eyes around for the Nosferatu, but she was unable to see very far; being tall for a twelve year old didn't mean that she was able to see over the top of the crowd – she was still a good two heads shorter than most. Silently cursing her lack of adequate height, she slipped away from Walter as he was making some sort of elaborate explanation to a group of men from one of the shadow societies.

Squeezing in between and around the many gathered people in the foyer, Integra ducked into one of the hallways that branched off the main area, glad for being able to finally find some space to move without brushing up against someone else. She had no clue where to start looking for her vampire servant – she tried reaching out to him with her mind, but there was no response; Alucard was completely silent. Yes, she sighed to herself. He was probably napping somewhere. But that was when she heard the voices drifting from a chamber down at the other end of the hallway – one voice of which was most distinctly and definitely Alucard's.

Integra glanced behind her to make sure that no one watched her leave, and then she slipped into the shadows, creeping down the hallway until she reached the slightly ajar door to the chamber. It was mainly dark, and, peeking through the door, she saw that all the curtains had been drawn and there was only a single lamp illuminating the room. And there was her vampire, kneeling before the Queen of England herself.

"…You've been gone a long time, my friend," Her Majesty was saying, and Integra heard Alucard chuckle softly.

"Indeed. I was punished for following my instincts. I've only recently been reawakened."

"What happened to you, vampire? You look dreadfully tired."

"My new master is quite adamant about keeping me up during the day when I should be fast asleep in my coffin. Though if I had not been summoned by you personally to attend this event, I doubt she would have forced me to come."

This time, it was Queen Elizabeth's turn to laugh softly. "Well, you are an unsightly monster at the best of times. And yet you never age, you never change, Alucard. And you could."

"I could, but there are things I wish not to leave behind."

"That's amusing to hear, since you told me when we first met that you cared not what you look like. You were parading around as a young girl for much of it, almost as if to mock me."

"Your throne and your title would be yours in a few years, you still had time to be young."

"I was eighteen, Alucard. It was time for me to grow up and ascend to the throne. It was time for both you and your young companion Mister Dornez to have your lives back after the war. You know that time would march forwards; you could not change that, and that means that things were most definitely left behind."

Integra watched as Alucard stood, offering his hand palm-up to the Queen. She placed her own hand on his, and he bent over, dipping his head to kiss it. Realization hit Integra like a rock, and she back away from the room, not wanting to hear or to see anymore. She nearly stumbled as she hurried back down the hallway, and almost ran straight into Walter.

"Sir Integra!" he cried, catching her and righting her. "Where did you go? Are you quite all right?"

Integra didn't dare answer; she was biting back the strange feeling welling up inside of her. She didn't know what it was, but it was making her head spin. She couldn't shake the image of Alucard and the Queen out of her head. But it didn't mean anything. How could it? Everyone was respectful of the Queen. Even Alucard had to be; he served Hellsing, which served the crown. He…he probably just had a more old-fashioned way of expressing respect. But that didn't make the feeling go away. If anything, it made it worse.

"I-I just…I want to go home." She whispered, and Walter nodded, gathering her up into the safety of his arms and guiding her towards the front entrance.

"We'll leave our regards to Her Majesty with a footman," he reassured her. "We'll say that something has come up. Where is Alucard?"

Integra didn't reply as Walter looked around for their third cohort – she didn't say a word as Walter collected her overcoat and draped it around her shoulders. She didn't even look at him as she slid into the limousine. And she ignored all of his worried glances into the rear view mirror at her as he began to drive. They both knew that Alucard would find his own way home, probably sooner than later, once he realized that they'd left without him.

What had she been thinking? Integra kept asking herself. Of course. How could she have been so blind? But of all people – the Queen of England? Alucard…and the Queen…it didn't make sense. It didn't add up. But the thing that made her feel like her stomach was doing back flips was the fact that it was her, of all people, who Alucard accepted commands from. She could understand Mina Harker. Supposedly of extreme beauty and untouchable – the perfect challenge for a vampire king. She…she guessed that she could understand the Queen of England. Powerful, young at the time Alucard had first met her – once again, a perfect challenge to gain the affections of. But…but her? Little Integra, little Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing? She wasn't powerful; she had inherited it from her father. She wasn't beautiful – she was a child. She wasn't even thirteen yet. She didn't look at herself in the mirror and see herself as desirable. And Walter had said that Alucard had been…well…

The more she thought about it, Integra realized that she wasn't concerned if Alucard held affections and respect for the Queen. It was the fact that she knew who the other two women in Alucard's life were. That they were so much more than she was, and she realized that she couldn't help but feel small and completely not like them in any way. She was nothing like them. So why was Alucard so accepting of her command and control over him? Was it because he was enslaved to her Organization? Because her father had drained him of blood and locked away beneath the mansion for twenty odd years? Was he just biding his time until he could be free once more?

The thoughts whirled around her head, leaving her mind in maelstrom of confusion and unanswered questions.

-:-

"You retired early without giving me any orders."

Integra stiffened as the soft words of the velvety voice drifted to her ears, stirring her from the light sleep she'd eventually managed to fall into. It was seven-thirty in the evening, and she had spent the rest of the day after the coronation in her room back at the mansion. She had shuffled all of her paperwork to one side for the next day, her mind in too much confusion to focus on anything properly. Walter, still unable to get her to tell him why she was suddenly so upset, had brought her a soothing cup of tea and then left her to her own devices; she was glad that he knew better than to pry.

But Alucard was not so kind. The moment he had returned to the Hellsing estate, he had made his presence known to her. He had haunted the hallways, shadowed her, everywhere she went, until she was so on edge that she had locked herself in her room with an explicit sign on her door to not be disturbed by anyone. She knew that would deter him, to a certain degree.

"Go away."

"Master, what's got you so troubled?" Suddenly, Alucard was there, draping himself over her form as she lay curled up in bed. Integra flinched from the sudden pressure of feeling him kneeling on the mattress behind her, leaning over her, planting his great big hand right in front of her face. There was definitely no avoiding him now. She rolled over to face that pale face, illuminated in the moonlight. However, unlike she expected, she didn't not see that predatory grin. If anything, Alucard looked concerned. That bugged her. His emotions were all fake; unless it was the joy of battle and tearing his enemies limb from limb.

"Why me?"

"What you what?"

"Get off me, you big oaf, and answer the damn question."

"You have such a course tongue lot for a child."

"Off!"

Finally, Alucard relented and rocked back so he was sitting upright, and Integra sat up in bed so that she could look him straight in the eye.

"I get Mina Harker. She must have been quite the catch for you. I…I don't understand the Queen, but I think I'm getting my head around it. What I really don't understand, is me." she said, and Alucard quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Walter's been filling your head with stories, hasn't he?"

"Answer the goddamn question!"

With a sigh, the vampire stretched his shoulders back, and Integra heard the sickening pops of his spine as they cracked. "I don't understand the question."

"Stop being difficult, vampire. The pattern is easy to see; you don't allow yourself to become ensnared by anyone unless you're forced into servitude. So why did you bend to the will of Mina Harker? Walter said you were lovesick but that's absurd. And what of her Majesty? She's powerful, a monarch. I see a distinct pattern there. But suddenly you're bending to my will, and I want to know why. Is it because you were forced to? Because my father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him tortured you into obedience?"

There was a long, drawn out moment of stillness, in which Alucard merely stared at her dumbly, his eyes wide, blinking in stunned silence. Integra didn't let up her glaring gaze at him, waiting for him to reply.

"It has nothing to do with obedience, Master." Alucard said finally. "I do not give myself wholly to anyone, unless I truly desire them. I could have slaughtered you along with your filthy-blooded uncle and his men down in that dungeon. You could have meant nothing to me. But you do. Do you know why?"

Integra lifted an eyebrow. "I almost shot you in the face?"

"Exactly," Alucard hissed. "You are strong. Your strength comes from your will to live. I did not slaughter and devour Mina Harker because she stopped me. I did not wish to turn her into a vampire – I pursued her for sport. She was but a prize. She holds no place in the pit where my soul should be. The Queen of England is spirited and beautiful woman, one whom I met after the end of the second World War. She resisted a full-scale assault on her father's palace and defended on the front line alongside her father's men. I could not resist but admire her for her tenacity."

Integra remained silent as the vampire paused, smiling to himself and gazing wistfully at the ceiling canopy above her bed, as if momentarily getting lost in the memory.

"And then there's you, little Integra. You have the same spirited fire within you. I don't know what kindles it, or what keeps it burning. Any other child would have died or allowed sorrow to consume them, should they be in your place. But you – you keep fighting. You take charge and you don't allow anything to hold you down. I'm most curious, as that is exactly what drew me to Her Majesty and to Miss Harker."

"That's it? You're wondering what made them strong?"

"It's your zest for life, Master. It enthrals me, it tantalizes me – it tortures me because I do not know it. I do not understand it. It draws me so close to you and yet it repels me but still I hunger for more, more than any amount of blood could sate."

The needy rasp in Alucards' voice made Integra shiver slightly, but she didn't let it show. He slowly lay himself down next to her, his head laying gently upon her lap, and he inhaled deeply before letting it out in a sigh.

"I envy you, Master. I have nothing to live for but your every desire."

Integra gazed down at this monstrous creature, so powerful and so frightening – and yet so meek and vulnerable, curled up next to her, gaze up at her with those dead, crimson eyes. They held weariness, and sadness.

"That's what this is all about?"

"Does it confuse you?"

Integra found her hands moving at their own accord; they played with the thick locks of his silky black hair, occasionally brushing over his cold skin. He closed his eyes and nuzzled her small hand, pushing his face against her palm.

"I still don't understand a lot of it," she admitted quietly to the silence of the room, and Alucard nodded into her hand, but his eyes remained closed. He almost looked like he were sleeping. "But I suppose that I still have a lot to learn."

A small smile broke over his face.

"Are you jealous of the respect and affection I have for Her Majesty?"

Integra blinked, and lifted her hand and slapped Alucard. There was no mark left over his pallid skin, but he chuckled softly. "Of course I'm not, you dolt. I'm twelve years old."

"You're also the newly knighted head of the Hellsing Organization."

"That has nothing to do with this."

"It does, though," he said softly. "You're so very young, my sweet, naive little Master. But you're so very powerful, with so much responsibility upon your shoulders. You will grow and change in time. You will come to understand."

Integra allowed herself to smirk. "Yet you won't change, will you?"

"I thought I felt your presence nearby in the chambers of the Palace," Alucard opened one eye to look up at her. "And so long as you are my Master, I will not change. My form may change, my voice might warp, but I will always be solely yours. It is the first time I have ever desired to serve in the company of such an exquisite woman like yourself, Master."

A blush coloured Integra's cheeks. People had called her many things, complimented her – but no one had called her exquisite. And the dumb little smile on her vampires face was sincere; it felt strange to see her ultimate weapon of destruction look so peaceful, so calm and relaxed. He looked up at her, and she coughed awkwardly before turning over and pulling the blankets up around her head, causing him to become unsettled into sitting back up.

"Go back to your coffin, Alucard." She mumbled into her pillow. "You have tonight off. Catch up on your sleep and take tomorrow as well. I want you up and around by eight tomorrow evening, sharp."

Alucard chuckled as he heaved himself up from her bed, before leaning over her and brushing his lips over her neck, travelling up to place a whisper of a kiss at her temple. Integra felt herself trembling, her cheeks hot as he drew back, still smirking to himself.

"As you wish, Master. And sweet dreams."

With that, he was gone, fading through the wall somewhere behind her, but Integra felt his presence there in her room with her for the rest of the night. Instead of being unsettled by, though, she felt oddly comforted, and she slid into sleeps grasp without any trouble whatsoever.

-:-

AfterNote:

Here endth the one-shot. I don't really know how it ended up the way it did (probably because I wrote from Integra's perspective). Originally I didn't know who I was going to have as the main; it was either Seras, or Walter, or young Integra. So I went with young Integra, coz I'm cool.

Stay safe –

- Mercy