It was morning and rest had done wonders for relieving Abraham's stress. He sat up, a smile about to form on his features when he saw Alucard sitting in the reading chair, his eyes darkened with brooding thoughts.

"Slave…what…?" he began, his morning's mood ruined by the vampire. "What are you doing?"

"I didn't need to sleep last night. That would be expected, right? I spent most of the day sleeping." His eyes slowly moved to Abraham's. "I took the liberty of doing some research on vampires, Master."

"What?" Abraham realized just what kind of information he had left available to his slave.

"I found out a few things, like how a vampire drinks human blood but depending on whether the human is a virgin or not, the bitten human becomes a vampire or a ghoul, and how vampires sleep during the day and burn under the sun." his eyes flashed, making Hellsing's narrow. "I found that vampires can die from decapitation, a stake through the heart, fire, sunlight, starvation, that a crucifix burns or steals a vampire's strength, and…" he paused, looking more intently at Abraham."…silver burns a vampire's flesh and prevents or slows regeneration."

Abraham gasped and he turned to the open doors of the closet. The discovery of a vampire's weakness against silver…he had been the one to uncover the convenient fact. "You went in there!" Abraham threw back the covers and stalked over to Alucard, seething with his outrage. The vampire was expressionless.

"I also learned what hunt vampires. And, Master…" he looked up at Abraham who towered over him now. "…I believe you are one of them. You hunt and kill vampires…correct? Why don't you kill me? I'm…."

"You know nothing of what you are and what I am as a hunter!" Abraham yelled, making Alucard wince. "You are a monster! I am your master who chooses when you'll die or what purpose you shall serve until I kill you!"

"So what will you have me do, Master?"

Alucard's eyes were cold, though they still lacked their predatory qualities, and Abraham glared at him. "Whatever I want, Slave."

"Fine, Master. So I'll remain as your slave as you kill my kind. That is perfectly understandable, is it not?" Alucard started to stand up. "Most of those instruments didn't appear to be very effective for killing in any humane way." His face was below Abraham's, but close enough to enforce an intimidating, uncomfortable feeling. "Master, do you torture vampires? Do you like pain? Are you…a monster, Master? Those instruments sent shivers up my spine, and you call me the monster? Then what name would be left for you? Or are men something darker than monsters?" Abraham's eyes flashed and he snapped. He struck Alucard across the face, tearing the skin on his knuckles with the force, sending the vampire into the chair. When Alucard lifted his face, blood ran from his left eye and the skin on his cheek was ripped. But his eyes frightened Abraham for a breathless moment. They burned with thirst and hatred. Some of the old Dracula was resurfacing.

Abraham automatically ran to the closet, but Alucard grabbed him and threw him to the ground. His blood dripped onto Abraham as his face hung above the man's. "You are a cruel, vile man, Master." He whispered, sending a shiver down Abraham's spine. "I don't understand many things right now, but I know what pain is. Giving it to others in the manner that can be imagined by the design of those…" his faced lent closer to Abraham's neck. "Maybe…you just need to taste what it's like to be at the mercy of your enemy…"

"NO!" Abraham yelled, ripping into their connection. Alucard fell away from him, and didn't get up. "Slave, you will learn to never…." He looked at the vampire again, finding something was off. Suddenly Alucard gasped and started breathing again. Wide eyes looked up at Abraham.

"You…destroyed it." He whispered, coughing up blood into his palm.

"What did I do to you?" Abraham stood over his slave with interest.

"You…destroyed my heart." Alucard coughed. "That's an understatement. It was obliterated." His body shivered and twitched, life returning to his limbs.

A cruel smile stretched across Abraham's face. He grasped the long locks of the vampire's hair and crushed his face against the floor. "Never question me again, Slave!" he barked, pressing Alucard's face into the floor with more force. "I am a man and you are a vampire! Men kill vampires because they are monsters whose existences are blasphemous and damned. You yourself are a monster, Slave. You have killed hundreds of thousands of humans! You are right that I should kill you, and I may." Abraham wrenched the vampire's face back so that the wide eyes stared into his own. "I could even do so now, but I won't because I choose not to. You have no power or possession over your life, Slave. You exist due to my whim!" Dropping the vampire, Abraham stood up, pleased when Alucard remained lying on the floor. "Vampires are monsters. I have seen them rip children in half. They have forgotten that they were ever one of them."

"A child?" a quiet voice drifted from the floor. "They kill children and were children?"

"Yes…" Abraham said slowly, going over what he had said to the vampire. "What exactly do you know about the behavior or existence of vampires."

"I was…more interested in the topic concerning hunters…Master." Alucard muttered.

Alucard's silence quieted Hellsing's rage. "Maybe I should educate you on what you are, Slave."

"I would like that."

After a moment, Abraham sighed and sat in the chair, pausing when he noticed the vampire remained positioned on the floor. "Sit up." Once Alucard had done so, he continued. "A vampire is a man who has died but remains to walk the night and to prey upon the living. They supposedly burn under the sun, but you have experienced the sun and were unharmed…."

"Why is that?"

Abraham glared at him in annoyance. "Don't interrupt. You are not the same as other vampires." He stopped to organize his thoughts. "Vampires drain bodies of blood, generally leaving behind ghouls or mangled corpses. Only virgins can become vampires."

"Master, are you a…"

"Don't even ask the question, vampire." Abraham massaged his temples and groaned at the similar characteristics shared between his slave and a child. "Vampires, to my knowledge, cannot reproduce, but they can make other vampires out of humans, and a connection exists between them until the created vampire drinks its creator's blood."

"So vampires were all alive at one point in time?"

"Yes. I made that clear, now stop interrupting or I'll stop."

"I'll stop." Alucard said quickly, displaying another child-like characteristic.

"There isn't much more to say." Abraham sighed. "That's why I'm trying to continue my research. I'm sure you read some of my journals and that's how you found out the details on silver's effect on vampires." He looked at Alucard as an obvious question weighed on his mind. He ignored him and got up, stretching his arms over his head.

"That's it?"

"Yes." He glanced at Alucard out of the corner of his eye.

Alucard was staring at the floor, ashamed for his brash behavior and annoyed at how little he had learned. "I'm sorry, Master."

Abraham stared at Alucard for a moment, and then closed the doors of the closet. After getting dressed, he walked downstairs. Alucard followed him, rousing an inquiring look from over the man's shoulder, but his presence was ignored. Abraham ate his breakfast, trying to forget Alucard by occupying his thoughts with a pile of documents. Soon the topic demanded his attention and he left for the library, reading as he walked. Hours passed as he engrossed himself in work and he only remembered Alucard when he was searching through the titles in his library and a sudden change in direction made him run into the vampire. He started and backed away from him, amazed at how he had not noticed that Alucard had been with him the entire day.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Well…" Abraham huffed, annoyed at the vampire's persistence. "Occupy yourself…read or something. Just stop following me around." He left the library and smiled with relief when Alucard stayed behind. Abraham received his lunch outside, enjoying the last few, somewhat, warm days before winter arrived. He went back to the library and frowned when he found the vampire in his favorite seat. Hellsing was about to demand that he move, but Abraham stopped. Alucard was asleep with a book on his lap, his head resting in his hand, propped on the armrest. Abraham knocked the vampire's arm from under his head and the vampire's face almost collided with the arm of the chair before he woke up and caught himself.

"Move. That's my seat."

Alucard got up, somewhat disoriented. "What about me?"

"Sit on the floor for all I care." He raised his eyebrows when Alucard sat up against the side of the chair and closed his eyes. The next time Abraham looked at the vampire, he was asleep. "Wake up."

"I'm tired." Alucard murmured and he shifted his position and rested his head on Abraham's leg, making the man growl and push him away with his leg.

"I don't want you wandering about my house when I'm asleep."

"Then sleep during the day."

"I'm human."

"I'm a vampire."

Hellsing glared at the red eyes that watched him, alert now.

"I'm your master."

Alucard was silent, then he sighed. "You won." He got up and sat on the armrest and peered at the papers in Abraham's hands. "What are you doing?"

"Work."

"What kind of work?" Hellsing looked up at Alucard with a tired expression.

"Why do you have to ask so many questions?"

"I want to know, therefore I ask."

Abraham caught himself just about to laugh. "That doesn't mean you'll get an answer."

"Would you like me to do more than ask?"

Abraham had an amused smile. "And what would that be?" The vampire took the papers from him. When Abraham noticed he growled and reached out for them, but Alucard retreated to the other side of the room, beginning to read the papers.

"The Queen? Of England?" Alucard looked at Abraham. "Are we in England? It would make sense since we are both speaking English."

"Yes, yes, and yes." He sighed and extended his hand. "Return my papers."

Alucard pretended that he didn't hear, but a mischievous smile gave him away.

"Now!'

Alucard started and handed them to Abraham immediately.

"Good." Abraham grumbled and realigned the edges of the papers.

"When are you going to see the Queen?"

"You read that far?" Abraham didn't look up, he was intent on finding the paragraph stating the invitation. He knew it was there, he just hadn't read it yet.

"It was a complaint that you turned down the last invitation a month ago."

"And whose fault do you think that is?" the dark voice confused Alucard.

"Um…could it possibly have been mine, Master?"

Abraham realized his mistake. "Never mind. I was just preoccupied."

Alucard was silent and Abraham cursed his stupidity. "Do something else, other than bother me when I'm trying to work." He ordered, crossing his legs and focusing on the letter and papers piled underneath it.

The squeaking of wheels made his look up and he watched Alucard climb up the ladder after pushing it along the rail attaching it to the bookcase. Shaking his head, Abraham tried to focus on what had been so interesting to him earlier, but he found himself watching for Alucard's humanlike characteristics. He didn't seem at all like a vampire, Abraham realized, and then his face darkened with the memory of that morning. No, Alucard was definitely a vampire.

He saw Alucard's face brighten when he found whatever he was looking for, and he jumped off the ladder, landing without making a sound. His eyes met Abraham's. "Can I use this?"

"Use?" Abraham blinked, taking a closer look at the leather bound book.

"It's blank."

Abraham recognized it as one of his journals. "Why?"

"To write in it."

"I know that." He frowned, somewhat irritated. "What for?"

"To take notes. I want to write down anything I find out about vampires from your journals or from myself."

The man stiffened in his chair. "Are you remembering things?"

"No. I'm a vampire, so I should be able to write more detailed observations about them than you could have."

"You're not normal, so you aren't the prime specimen for learning about vampires." He relaxed and then tensed again. "Where are you going?"

Alucard was already at the door. "The journals I'm interested in are in your room."

"Oh." Abraham continued, eager to get rid of the vampire. "Go ahead."