She stared at the handwritten letter for longer than she should have.
The paper was not ruled, all text written in straight, neat lines with no abnormalities whatsoever not to mention the elegant signature at the bottom left side. She would have to control her thoughts today, and all other days following to maintain the secrecy of her recent findings. Integra never felt as if she had any privacy, especially with the company she kept but overtime secrecy became unimportant to her. A job well done was preferred over privacy, but for once she feared the reaction of a certain party if she revealed her findings. Carefully, she folded the letter and slid it under a stack of books in one of the small cabinets of her desk.
She knew that it would be easier to just ask Alucard, he would have to answer honestly and would have no say over what actions she took in response. Yes, she did understand and utilize Alucard's servitude but tried to treat him more like an employee than a weapon. She spoke to him with respect and asked for his opinion and remained honest with him at all times. Usually, there would be a personal matter bothering her causing her mood to suffer and she would lash out only to apologize later and explain what happened. This didn't occur frequently and was only an issue when she was younger and less controlled, now she only felt the need to elaborate her true intentions regarding a mission.
She had to make this meeting quick while the sun was still up, she didn't like keeping this from Alucard but she had no choice given the request in the letter. She gave him an order too never read her mind unless the circumstances called for him to do so in order to save her live or the lives of others. Yet with this bothering her it would be difficult to hide from him or the others in the house and she didn't want to risk giving anything away. The moment she set foot out of her office she felt a chill crawl up her spine then quickly glanced over her shoulder. There was no one there, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched but continued about her business, and prepared herself for the conversation to come.
Alucard awoke to silence, his master was out of the house, her heart beat was faint due to distance rather than condition. As the sun neared the horizon the vampire could hear the beats increase, his master being the homebody she was her absence made him curious. Two hours passed before he sensed her person drawing near then finally back into the house, he would ask where she went but wouldn't get an answer. His master was now making her way to her bedroom, but her footsteps were hesitant as if she didn't want to draw attention. Traveling through the solid walls he stood behind her as she navigated through the darkness, she immediately froze a couple seconds after he had appeared.
"How long have you been standing there" she spoke, not bothering to look behind her.
"Not long, just seeking to greet my master who's had a long day" he wanted to bait her into revealing more information.
"That I have and as much as I would like to stay and chat but I'm tired, you know from my long day" she cocked an eyebrow, catching onto his prodding.
Now in front of her he tilted his head to the side, "What made it so long I wonder?" he had to choose his words carefully, if he offended her she would shut down and his curiosity would only grow.
"Come out with it, what are you getting at Alucard?" she on the other hand needed to present her monster with a plausible enough excuse what would bore him and thus dissuade him from further questioning.
"Well" he leaned over her shoulder, now behind her and nearly face to face. "When you're not traveling for business you typically remain home, you can imagine that your sudden departure was odd if not suspect"
"Unless you have a concrete question I'll be retiring and leaving you to your nonspecific speculation" this time she turned to face him on her left the moment he appeared there.
"Fair enough, where did you go?"
"None of your business" her tone suggested that she gave him an answer suitable for the question, even though she didn't.
He laughed, "How trite, if the information was sensitive you'd include a decent jibe along with dismissal" he didn't need to read her mind to get information out of her, he just needed words, small slips of the tongue to build up a suitable assumption.
She cut her eyes at him in the darkness, "I took a walk, I went to the store, I visited my uncle, I was at the gym, I was on a date, I went to a book club meeting" she turned to walk away from him. "Choose which ever one sounds believable to you" reaching her room she walked in and closed the door with a sigh.
Integra was already stressed, her meeting went fine but it raised so many questions and as much as she wanted to ask Alucard she needed more time to assess the situation. She did feel uneasy about keeping this information from him, so much of it involved his past and having his input would probably aid her decision. However, she had stumbled across something so noteworthy that it could cause Alucard to act out before she could neutralize the situation. Normally, the vampire maintained exceptional stability, being as old as he was he no longer relied on emotion only instinct and instruction. When told to do something he did it with little to no question, and from what she gathered from Abraham's journal, his emotions only made him more volatile and harder to control.
As for now she would have to quell these thoughts, even though Alucard could not read her mind by order he could not help it if her mind was literally screaming at him. When this rule was first established she was informed by her pet that if her own thoughts became too loud he would hear them regardless. Lazily she moved over to her bed and collapsed onto it and let out a well deserved groan, her conversation this afternoon was a lot to take in at once. Not to mention that she would have to leave the house for another 'secret meeting' and now with her servant's interest peaked she had no doubt that he'd pester her even more. If only she hadn't read that stupid letter, today would have been a normal one filled with paper work and simple obligation. For now a good nights rest would have to soothe her mind, she could only wait for what tomorrow might bring, what she may learn next.
Alucard stalked the halls and came to gaze at the closed door of his master's office, this room has served as the workplace of all of his masters. The same dark mahogany door and blessed silver door handle, it would not keep him out but other lesser creatures may find entering difficult. He passed through the walls and inspected the vacant space, with Seras patrolling the outer grounds Alucard was left with guarding the main asset. What kind of guard dog would he be if he ignored the most important room in the house aside from Integra's bedroom? Nearing her desk he frowned, the desk cabinet was ajar, she must have been in a hurry to attend that book club. Flicking his wrist the door opened revealing a disheveled collection of once organized documents and books. He spotted the corner of a particular item sticking out under a book, you don't slip paper under a book unless you don't want it found.
He plucked the sheet free from it's hiding place and instantly felt a surge of unease upon laying eyes on the writing. He needed to put this paper back immediately, his master obviously wanted to maintain a sense of privacy and his snooping wouldn't end well for him. This consideration slowly dissolved as he read the letter, his vision became more and more distorted with every word, every comma and serif. Alucard slid the letter back in it's place in fear that he may char the damn thing and take matters into his own hands. Did she think him completely incompetent, or perhaps assuming that his age obstructed his memory? It was difficult to place this feeling, was he actually angry with his master?
No not with her, she did not know any better in this case, but there was someone who'd be receiving the business end of his pistol very soon.