Chapter One
This... is NOT a Rabbit's Hole
Somewhere hidden in a protected forest in the states, lay a manor most believed was haunted. For many years, people had argued over tearing it done, making way for something new and improved and yet every time anyone so much as neared it, something would always stop them. So as time passed it just remained as the local landmark that all the local children believed was haunted as it never seemed to fall apart and sometimes long shadows seemed to be cast onto close curtains by some unknown light source.
This is where our tale begins.
Alice Victoria Harker slowly opened the heavy oak study door as quietly as possible. She knew perfectly well that if her Sire caught her in his private study there would be hell to pay. Tip toeing in with the grace of a primadonna ballerina, she quickly went about searching the seemingly endless shelves for a book on advanced necromancer spells to toy with.
Why? Because she was bored.
Although Alice was sixteen, she was only a year or two old as a fledgling vampire. She was a pretty little thing, as most of the 'unholy' undead were but she had found a lot of the stories to be wrong. For example. No one actually bite people anymore unless it was to turn them. They drank medical blood, which in her opinion was like eating liver as it was often flavored by the plastic wrapper and wherever the donor had come from. And while blood was most important part of their diet, it seemed vampires were not above eating really food as well to survive. But the most important thing she had discovered in her twp years as a 'daughter of the night', was that a lot of the elder vampire were really old fashioned.
"Come on, come on!" Alice looked threw the aged book tittles as fast as she could while reading them. She knew the book was there somewhere, she had seen it once before during one of Aleks' overly long and drawn out lectures. Finally she saw it on the very top shelf. "Figures! Damn it! I wish I knew how to fly."
She knew swearing was a dangerous habit to have in her sire's house, but when she was alone she wasn't too scared. Grabbed an unsteady ladder, Alice climbed op and stretched for the book.
"Almost... there... nearly... Got it!" She barely managed to grasp the book when the ladder tipped over. "SHIT!"
As Alice tumbled towards the floor, the air suddenly shuddered as Aleksandr Marcus Rastline stepped through the bookcase and held a hand out, easily catching the little girl in one hand. The falling ladder was given a stern look, and ignoring gravity, righting itself as it pitched the girl off.
"What," Aleksandr asked, his voice always heavy with age and a rather private sense of humor, "do you think you are doing?"
Alice gulped in horror as she found herself in Aleksandr's arms. She knew sh had two choices, lie and get in deeper trouble then she was in, or tell the truth. She hose a mixed of both.
"Just... looking for a book," She answered meekly as he step her on her feet."That's all Sir."
She looked at her feet timidly, being only 5 foot 4, she was small compared to him. Her left hand was still holding the book close while her right hand fiddled with her black shirt. She mostly wore jeans and T's, despite they didn't really follow Aleksandr's taste of clothing. It was her way of rebelling.
She tugged the book closer to her side, hopping against hope that he wouldn't read the blood read letter 'Awakening the Dead vol 37' written on it.
In his grasp, Alice gulped in dismay and horror. She knew she had only two choices now; lie and get in deeper trouble then she was in, or tell the truth and still proverbially sign her own last will. As she avoided Aleksandr's forest green eyes, Alice wisely chose a mixed of both.
"Just... looking for a book," She answered meekly as he step her on her feet."That's all Sir."
"In my private study. Of course."
She looked at her feet timidly, being only 5 foot 4, she was small compared to him. Her left hand was still holding the book close while her right hand fiddled with her black shirt. She mostly wore jeans and T's, despite they didn't really follow Aleksandr's taste of clothing. It was her way of rebelling against his ideals of how a lady should dress without landing herself in a world of pain.
She tugged the book closer to her side, hoping against hope that he wouldn't once nor read the blood red letters 'Awakening the Dead vol 37' written on it. Not that she had a hope to start with. If Aleksandr could do one thing, it was being all seeing.
As an elder vampire, Aleksandr's sense of smell was incredibly powerful. Not only was he aware of Alice's fear - he knew she was lying even without looking or listening - he was also aware of what book she was holding, just from the amount of dust on it. It was a lovely and very useful talent one picked up after one's fourth or fifth century.
"Which book?" The vampire cracked his knuckles.
Alice might be acting dumb, but he was sure she knew she was already in trouble. After all, this wasn't the first time they had gone through this waltz. Nor would it be her last as they both knew. Alice flinched at the sound of his knuckles cracking, a grimace on her face. Aleks cracking his knuckles had never meant anything good in the past and she doubted it would have changed by now. Handing him the book, she replied in a small defeated voice.
"Awakening the Dead, Aleks," He made a continue sound with his throat. "Vol 37."
Aleksandr did not look happy at her.
"I was just going to read it," She stated backing a little away. The idea of running was pretty appealing to her at the moment but where would she run to? If anyone found her they'd just see the choker around her neck with the Rastline crest in a crimson gem. They just bring her right back and that was if he didn't use it to just freeze her in mid-flight. "I wasn't going to try any of the spells, honest. I was just curious."
Aleks rouse a well sculpted eyebrow at her filled with utter distrust.
"Somehow... I don't believe you." He said, flatly. "Are you lying?"
Aleksandr had always prided himself on knowing his girls well, having raised four other fledglings before Alice had entered into his care. And while Alice was certainly the 'worst' girl he had gotten, a true product of the modern day generation, there was nothing he couldn't handle.
Alice laughed nervously as she backed farther away from him and held up her hand as if to make a pledge.
"Scouts honor," Her smile was uneasily at him. She knew he wasn't going to believe her that easily.
The first year alone with him, everything she had ever said to him had been a lie. He said it was a normal thing for fledglings to go threw, a sort of childish need to see how far they can push their Sires and bend the rules. That first year, Alice was sure she hadn't sat more then three times without being in pain or the taste of soap in her mouth.
"I err.. think I err... left the um kettle on, yes that's it," Alice gestured toward the door. "I'd better go and get it. Until later, Sir."
She made a dash for the door. She nearly made it too, her fingers grazing the brass handle of the door. It even bent a little under the press of her finger tip right until Aleksandr's hand was resting on top of her head as he appeared standing between her and the door. With a single simple spell, Aleksandr had officially cut off Alice's only escape route.
"Little girl!" He said, firmly. "You are learning much slower than I expected you to. You are stealing. You are trespassing. You are fibbing, and you are lying. To me."
He gave her a withering look. "...so we'll see just how slow of a learner you are. Here's a question: What happens now, hm?"
Alice felt a chill run up her spine as she covered her bottom. she looked pitifully at her Sire and shock her head. He knew that she knew the answer.
A bright red bottom and a lot of meals and lessons standing.
"No, please don't." Alice whimpered and stepped away, tipping over a snag in the rug and landing in his office chair, a chair she was very familiar with in her first month as a new undead. The moment she landed in it, it threatened to tip over for a moment, but then quickly panted it's legs firmly on the floor. "I didn't... I wasn't... I'm too old for this treatment! I'm not A CHILD!"
She yelled the last part at him, a poor choice to make. Not that he jumped at her tantrum. As always Aleksandr didn't react until she quieted down. The fun thing about being undead was that you had plenty of time. In fact, you had all the time in the world.
"I have been alive for hundreds of years. I may have a skewed perception of age, but I promise you Alice, you are nowhere near too old for a spanking."
He gave her a cruel smile. No one said vampires were nice people 100% of the time, after all. And while Aleksandr was rarely cruel he had no problems proving his abilities of it.
"You have done many bad things tonight. Trespassed, fibbed, stolen, and lied. In addition to planning to directly disobey me by reading from that book, and disobeying me by looking for more advanced work without my say, and disobeying me by coming in here at all."
Aleksandr held up seven fingers. Seven fingers, seven crimes.
"You, Alice, have been a very naughty girl." He looked down at the seven digits he had extended. "Tell me, why do you think I'm holding my fingers up?"
Alice gulped, feeling more and more like a six year old child facing a boarding school headmaster then a sixteen year old who was trying to hold her ground in front of her Sire. She recalled when she was human having been sent to one quite a few times, none which had been any fun.
"I..." She shock her head, wishing she knew the vanishing trick that Aleksandr knew. "I'm not sure, Aleks."
He was still just teaching her the proper educate of the higher vampire ring, names, titles, manner, all that jazz and what not. She wasn't sure why, though she suspected that he was a past lord once and had never really updated his ways since.
He smiled. "You owe me not one, but seven punishments, Alice."
Alice shut her eyes and began to chant under her breath something she had been saying a lot since coming under his care.
"Please wake up Alice, please wake up," She opened her eyes and saw Aleksandr still looking at her with a great deal of humor on his face. 'Damn it, why does it work for Alice in Wonderland and not me.'
She pressed herself as deep into the chair as possible.
"I'm being merciful. I could give you all seven at once, but you probably wouldn't be able to walk for a few days." Aleksandr walked behind the chair, putting his hands on his young fledgling's shoulders. "I'm sure you'll prefer not being able to sit for a while instead, mm?"
"When you say it like that I suppose I'm in a lot of trouble aren't I?" Alice gave him a set of puppy eyes. "Can't I just get a slap over the wrist and be sent to bed early? Cod liver oil? Dress as and treated like a child..."
There was a small pause as he gave her a look which spoke volumes. Alice looked hopeful although she figured she should give Aleksandr any ideas. He might actually take her up on them.
"Well, more then usual?"
"Adorable. Really." Aleksandr rolled his eyes at Alice's puppy-dog face. "I don't plan on dressing you up like some clown, Alice. You're already improper-looking enough. I expect you to bear what's coming with some dignity."
The vampire picked the girl up by her shoulders, and easily hefted her out of the chair. He stepped around, still holding her up, and sat down himself. He lowered the girl so she was sitting on his knee, looking up at him.
'Dignity he says,' She couldn't help but think. 'And yet, he doesn't miss a chance in reminding me he's three times stronger then I am.'
"You are however, going to have some choice in this. There are seven misbehaviors you have to pay for: stealing, lying, fibbing, trespassing, disobeying - we'll count that one twice, instead of three times, just so you don't get bored of being punished for the same thing, mm? - and running away from me."
"Wow, how can I ever thank you?" She answered dryly. She did not like where this was going.
"We'll play a game. You'll pick one of the seven. Then you'll suggest an appropriate punishment. Whatever you think. In fact, let's make this fun. You have the next seven nights - in one week's time, I expect you to have made up for all seven of your transgressions. I will even let you suggest an appropriate time and place for some, if you decide you'd like to get one over with ahead of my schedule..."
The vampire smiled. "Doesn't this sound great? Let it never be said I let you grow bored under my tutelage, little Alice." He patted the girl on the head. "Now then, let's play the first round of your game, hm? What do you want to be punished for first?"
Alice gave him an ugly glare and tried to get off his lap. There were times, where she swore he treated her like some four year child just to annoy her. Like now. Fun? Picking a punishment was just as fun as getting a root canal without anesthetic! Oh how she was itching to flip him the bird just to make a point.
"You... have got to be kidding me," She growled baring her fangs without realizing it. "First of all that makes six, and second fibbing and lying are the same thing, and I didn't lie either. I just..." She looked away for a moment knowing he would say she was doing it again. "...just withholding information."
She fiddled with her fingers for a moment and then looked at him. "Besides you're the only person I know who would find this fun. You're being completely unfair about this! It's... it's fucking ridiculous that's what."
The vampire paused. He simply looked at her, a dark look clouding his expression.
"I take you under my wing. Care for you. Teach you our ways, keep you alive. ...and you..." His eyebrows lowered, eyes narrowed. "You would profane my home with your foul language?"
Alice froze for a second and slammed her hand into her face.
"Way to go Alice," She muttered in her hands to herself, a habit she had had since she was a toddler. "Go piss Aleks off and then swear at him. Why not dig yourself a grave while you're at it?"
Alice flinched and tried to get away from him. She knew that this was bad. The kind of blew-up-the-staff-bathroom-and-now-dad-has-to-pay-for-it bad.
"It slipped! Honest!" she winced as he tightened his grip. "Come on Al! You know it's a habit."
And that was true. During her childhood years, she had run with the wrong crowd. Still she knew that he didn't care and more importantly two years made the excuse unacceptable.
"Don't run away from me, child." Aleksandr warned, holding her tighter with one hand. His temper was finally beginning to spark. "...answer my question. What am I going to punish you for first? I am not going to speak to your excuses, because that is all they are. I listen to reason. I do not listen to excuses. Give me what I have asked you for. Now."
"I... err..." Alice could barely keep her heart from getting stuck in her throat. Funny how being in trouble reminded her that it was still beating, yet not as loudly as a humans would.
She still strained against his hold, not that it would help. Aleksandr was strong than her by default, both as her sire and by age. Still it was worth the shot.
"Lying... I guess?" She then grinned nervously. "Tongue washing sound good?"
She watched him glare at her. Clearly a trip over the knee was unavoidable.
"... and a sp..." She felt a brush across her face. It always seemed to happen when she had to say that word, "...spanking?"
The silence that fell between them as deafening. It seemed to roar in Alice's ears and she waited nervously to hear Aleks' seal of approval on her offer. She didn't want to think what she might have to suggest if he felt more was needed. She didn't want to be creative about these six punishments, not when she knew each of them would leave her in pain and tears.
"Better. That sounds ...fitting."
In all his years, Aleksandr had never experienced the punishment of soap in ones mouth, but the girl, somehow, in her youth, had faced it enough that it surfaced to the top of her thoughts whenever faced with discipline. Aleks had been more than happy to put it to the test.
"You may walk, if you wish."
Aleksandr led the girl to a washroom, where he pulled out a fresh cake of soap and a clean bowl, which he began to fill with water. Alice wanted nothing more then to run off somewhere and find a real version of Father Anderson from 'Hellsing' at that moment. She recalled her mother often doing this when she would lie or swear. It was the grossest feeling in the world.
"Way to go Alice," She mumbled to herself again, loud enough for Aleksandr to hear her if he cared. "Go on, give the vamp an idea from your childhood. Why not suggest a caning as well..." She froze and looked at him.
'Please don't let him have heard that. Please don't let him have heard that...' She groaned when she saw him grin. 'Fuck.'
She sometimes wasn't sure if he could read her thoughts or if it was her poor poker face that gave her away, but he suddenly didn't look too happy at her.
"What did I do?"
"Do you think I'm doing this simply out of cruelty, Alice? A caning. Really. In addition to the spanking you're going to be getting? Come now, really!"
He dipped the soap into the bowl of water, and began rolling it around, letting it soak for a moment.
"Yes, I can read your mind - but I won't use your thoughts against you, unless they are so vilely insulting that they would force me into action. A word like that belongs in your head, not in my house - I will not punish you for that."
"...only for what you deserve." He lifted the wet cake of soap. "Open."
Alice groaned and opened her mouth with dread. She nearly chocked when the taste of the soap entered her mouth, a bitter yet acidic taste which felt like it was burning her tongue, and forced her gag reflex to stay under control. And it have worked too, if she hadn't felt like some of the soapy water was suddenly running down her throat. In left then two minutes, Alice spat the bar out and coughed.
"Argh! It went down my throat, fucking gross!" She tried to spit the flavor out into the sleeve of her shirt while scratching her tongue to get the soap coating off, but it only made it worse. "Argh! I think I'm gonna be sick."
All the time she ignored he now seething vampire watching her.
"I ask you to have control, Alice. Nothing except control." He dipped the cake back in the water. "You will use your fangs. Bite down, or so help me, it'll be soap for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
Placing the cake back in the girls mouth, he bent the squirm-er over, and, lowering her jeans, and began to spank her with his hand. "I will, instead of punishing you a second time, increase this punishment. For your foul mouth and for lying, you will need to keep that cake in your mouth until your spanking is over. If you spit it out, we will pause, and I will resume the spanking once you put it back in your mouth. Understood?"
Not expecting an answer, the vampire's powerful hand began to strike the rather resilient vampire girl's bottom flesh.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Alice left out a set of muffled cries as he spanked her, her teeth sinking deeper and deeper into the bar of soap with each slap to her pantie clad rear. She wanted to gag as some of the water ran down her throat.
'Aleks please stop!' Alice cried in her head, hoping he would hear her. 'It hurts! I'm going to end up biting this thing in half!'
She tried to spit out out again, but by now the bar was stuck to her teeth and she hands were too busy keeping her balance to pull it out.
'Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick!'
"Stop panicking, Alice. Control your breathing, and you'll be fine - otherwise, you will be sick. You keep that bar in until I tell you so." Her panic was making this far worse - she had to trust him, and obey him or it would only be harder on her. "You don't want to know what will happen if you spit it out."
Hauling her up under one arm so she'd keep her balance, and could worry about the soap and the spanking, instead of falling, he continued.
The vampire continued his lesson unhurriedly. Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Alice was doing everything but calming down. She felt humiliated being held under one arm by Aleks while she spanked her. It was like being four all over again. She wanted to pull the soap out but his warning made her keep her hands away. Instead she started clawing at his arm to put her down.
'OW! Stop it Aleks!' She thought as tears began to fall down her cheeks, the only real sound she made were muffled cried of pain and her bottom began to take on a light shade of pink. 'It OUCH hurts!'
"Lying hurts too. I'll tell you what. I'll make this easier on you." Aleksandr walked to a closet, still spanking the girl, and, nodding at it, watched as the door swung open. "If I didn't do this, I'd have to keep spanking you for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. I'm sure you'll prefer this." He lowered her to the ground. "Give me the soap. No spitting, no talking."
Reaching past the towels, the robes, and the rest, the vampire produced a long-handled bath brush and a washcloth. He quickly lathered both in the basin, and looked down at Alice.
"I'm going to scrub that tongue clean. Then you're going to bite down on this-" he dangled the green cloth, which was dripping with white suds, "-
and then we're going to speed this spanking up a little bit."
The vampire had stopped smiling long ago. He was all business now - this wasn't a threat, or an order, it was an explanation. If anything, he was kind enough to tell her what he expected. "Now open."
Alice covered her mouth, stopping herself from dry heaving from the taste. She looked pleadingly at him and eyed the cloth with new tears in her eyes. She wanted to run more then anything. Still she squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth.
'You are just evil, you know that?' She thought, although she held no malice or rudeness in her tone of thought. It was nothing short of a slightly hurt child, upset at her parent for punishing her. 'Get it over with then!'
The vampire did so as efficiently as he could - the brush was more there to force her to open her mouth completely, as it couldn't even begin to fit in her mouth. Once she lowered her tongue, having gotten past the gag reflex, he fit the cloth into her mouth, and made sure to cover every surface he could before pressing her cheeks together to encourage her to bite down.
That distasteful thing done, he waited until she'd composed herself, then hefted her, and began swinging with the bath brush.
The long-handled piece of brown wood did its job nicely, as the vampire methodically covered Alice's shapely bottom.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! WHACK! CRACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Alice almost swallowed when the brush hit her. It wasn't the first time he had used it but it didn't make it any less painful. She gripped into his arm, her legs kicking involuntarily with every strike.
'OW OW OW OW OW!' She wailed in her thoughts. 'STOOOP! Please, I'm sorry! No more!'
"There are a couple-" WHACK! "-of things I want, Alice-" WHACK! "-things I want you to-" WHACK! "-promise me." WHACK! "I want you to work on that filthy mouth of yours." WHACK! "We're going to have a new rule." WHACK! "It has been two years since I took you in-" WHACK! "-so I think we're well past anything but a bad habit-" WHACK! "-don't you?" WHACK! "Every time you say a dirty word, you'll get a mark." WHACK! "If you get enough marks, you'll have to choose between-" WHACK! "-having your mouth washed out again-" WHACK! "-or a spanking before bed."
Aleksandr really was trying to encourage a bit of responsibility in the girl, hence all the choice-making he was giving her. As a vampire, she had a lot of choices she'd have to make herself, once he left her care. The experience would do her more good than she knew.
WHACK!WHACK!WHACK!WHACK!WHACK!
Alice went limp in his arm, only jerking when the brush hit her as she sobbed around the rag which amazingly remained locked in her mouth.
'I promise I promise!' Her thoughts were getting slightly chaotic, a few flashes of past punishments surfacing, some for him, some of her parents. 'Just no more! No more! Pleasse! I promise, I'll stop swearing just stop!'
"Good, Alice. Very good." He carried her so that her face was over the bowl. "Spit it out." When she'd done so, he hefted the brush again. "Almost done, Alice. Let it out."
Smacking WHACK! WHACK! SMACK! CRACK! WHACK-WHACK-WHACK!
With a red bottom and a red face, Alice was one well-spanked little vampire girl.
Putting the brush down, Aleksandr hefted the girl up so she could lean over his shoulder, and rubbed her back until she started to quiet down.
"You took your punishment very well, Alice. I know you won't be lying or swearing any time soon."
Alice clung to him as she cried out. When Aleks' swung a brush he swung it hard. Alice was sure f she had been human, he would have broken her spin, but luckily vampires were made of tougher stuff.
"I-I-I'm sor-sorry!" She wailed. The pain in her bottom was nearly unbearable, but she didn't dare rub it. "I'll be good, I promise!"
Once she had calmed down from his petting, she gently bite into her thumb, hoping to redirect the pain as she nodded her compliance to her Sire.
"I won't," She sniffed pitifully. If he looked at her, it almost liked like she was sucking her thumb like some small child, except her lips weren't wrapped around her thumb. "I won't lie, I promise..."
Aleksandr quickly lowered Alice once he was sure she could stand on her own two feet.
"There. Take your thumb out of your mouth - rinse, spit, and get yourself together. I have something I want to show you when you're done. I'll be in my study."
Leaving her to her own devices, the man returned to his chambers, where a very different sort of lesson would await the girl.
Alice waited until the door shut before she started to rubbed her bottom like crazy and then rinsing her mouth free of the taste. It took three rinses and brushing her teeth before the taste left her mouth.
"Urgh!" She groaned as she rubbed her throat. There was nothing she could do about the irritation in the back of her throat and she didn't want to gurgle mouthwash. "Nasty... absolutely nasty..."
She splashed some water in her face, cleaning away the tear strains on her face so only her puffy eyes gave her away before gently pulling her pants back up. It was days like she she hated wearing skin tight jeans instead of the skirts that Aleksandr wanted her too. Then she walked slowly down to his study worried about what was going to happen now before knocking on the door and waiting for Aleks to say she could enter. She sort of felt like she was back in school again, waiting for the principal to call her in.
Aleksandr's study door swung open with an easy wave of his hand. The vampire sat at his desk with a familiar-looking book, black with red letters, open before him.
He'd moved one of the other stools - one of the only seats in the room high enough to look on his desk with, unless one was actually sitting at it - next to him, a small white pillow atop it.
"Come in, dear. Take a seat. I wanted to show you something."
*-*-*-* Author's Notes *-*-*-*
References:
Hellsing – A vampire animation produced in Japan. Alice is thinking of the Church's best vampire hunter, a Father Anderson,who uses bayonets made of blessed silver to kill vampires and freaks with.
