Wow, people really like this fic; I thought it would flop like a dead fish. Still, keeping up with the first chapter's success is no easy task.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing or a Selkie pelt.
Seras opened her eyes, and found herself lying alone on an endless white beach with no ocean.
'Um… where am I?' she thought as she looked around.
Then suddenly the ground caved under her belly, creating a small river and a lot of dust. Out of the ground sprang dozens of dirty ugly fishermen, armed with spears and clubs, all looking at her.
"Look at that!" they slurred.
"It's a fish!"
"A fish?"
"Uh… a seal!"
"Get it!"
Seras panicked and flopped like a mad seal into the stream. But the river was too shallow for her to dive, and the humans could run so easily on the sand beside the water. If she were in the ocean she could loose them, but here she had nowhere to hide, and all she could do was try to out swim them.
'Oh no!' Seras thought with terror as they chased her. 'I'll be clubbed! I'll be speared! I'll be skinned! I'll be made into a lovely lady's purse, whatever that is!'
Suddenly she bumped her nose into something hard yet soft, and all thoughts of her pursuers vanished as she looked upon the face of her rescuer. He looked so dark and mysterious against the light setting. Her eyes widened in recognition.
"Seal Girl," he said, "How does it feel to be alive?"
What a funny question!
"Still," he said, a smirk forming on his lips. "The choice was all yours…"
He looked at her in a hungry way. She looked down at herself in confusion, and realized with horror that she became a woman before his eyes. She looked back at him fearfully.
His coat fluttered in the wind. "…To walk the land as a human being." He concluded, circling her and so they were both engulfed in that red coat.
His actions made her very nervous; he reminded her of a hungry orca circling an injured seal, waiting for the right moment to strike. She could scarcely breathe as he moved in for the kill, leaning down so that his mouth was near her neck, parting his lips to reveal the sharp pointed teeth beneath. He was! He was an orca about to devour her!
Seras found her human voice and screamed.
Seras bolted awake, panting heavily. She looked around. She was alone in a small hole, there was no one around, there was nothing to be afraid of. Suddenly she thought of her body, and slowly, suspiciously looked down. Seeing only fur she sighed with relief.
And then she noticed the orca leering at her.
He was sitting right next to her. They stared at each other a long time. Then she let out a little cry of fright. He only smirked and moved to the rock across from her.
"Little Selkie," he said, "How does it feel now that you're a woman?"
The cold weight of dread pressed down on her heart. "Uh… Wha…?" She made questioning sounds in the back of her throat.
He gestured toward her pelt, "See for yourself."
Alarmed, she inspected her figure once more. The pelt fell away, revealing a body she did not recognize. She saw bare white skin, two huge mounds on the chest, and four long gangly limbs; the body of a human.
Seras flew back, screaming in fright.
Suddenly there was a voice from outside the hole. "Excuse me," it said, "Is everything all right?"
Seras jerked her head to see where the voice came from, but her captor said calmly "It's nothing, drive on." And then the hole began to rattle harder. Seras hadn't noticed the shaking before, but now that she thought about it, it was the whole time.
Seeing her puzzled expression, her captor chuckled. "Carriages are a convenient way to get around..." He looked at her as a predator looks at its prey, "Especially when carrying such precious cargo."
Seals do not wear clothes, their pelts being more than sufficient, and so Seras had never developed a sense of modesty over her nude body. However, the hungry look in his eyes made her very suspicious of his intentions. She sank further back into her pelts, glared into his eyes and growled warningly.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you Seal Girl," her captor said, a little sternly. He then smirked, "Besides, you needn't worry. We have already reached our destination."
Seras watched through the small opening as the world slowly came to a stop, and a great mountain came into view. Outside there was the sound of footsteps against small rocks, which she strained her ears to make out (her senses weren't as sharp as they used to be) and then the cave wall suddenly burst open. She yelped and fell back.
Her captor chuckled again, and then lifted her into his arms, pelts and all, as easily as if she were a sac of feathers. "Why so nervous Seal Girl?" he cooed mockingly, nipping her ear. She growled lightly, but otherwise let him do as he pleased.
He carried her toward the small mountain, which she now noticed had humans standing under it. Most of them were donned the same, but there were two who caught her eye. One was an elderly male with dark hair and light skin, and the other was a strange genderless with an odd combination of dark skin and light hair. Seras had never seen a human like that before, and she found herself staring. Her captor approached them.
"Welcome home Alucard," the genderless said.
"I have returned, My Master," her captor replied.
The genderless nodded approvingly, and then looked at Seras with cold eyes. They were beautiful; hard like stone, yet blue as the sea after a storm. "Who is she?"
Seras could feel her captor's smirk. "She is my wife."
There was a long silence. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Seras shifted uncomfortably. Her captor only continued to smirk amusedly.
Finally the genderless spoke, "Walter."
"Yes Ma'am," said the elderly beside her.
"I want you to escort the new girl to the servant's quarters," the genderless said, with a voice that was like ice. "Have her washed and dressed, I don't care how. When she is presentable I expect to see you both in my office. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly, Sir Integra," the elderly, "Walter" said with a small bow.
Seras could now see that all the humans obeyed the dark one. And though Seras still could not for the life of her guess the gender, she knew that "Sir Integra" was in charge, not one to be questioned or disobeyed. In many ways this human was more frightening than her captor.
Seras whimpered slightly as she was lowered to her feet. She was still not used to using her human legs, and nearly fell outright, clutching the orca's coat to steady herself. Her captor chuckled, but the other humans did not react so happily. Sir Integra's eyes were like spears piercing her skin.
The elderly approached. "Shall we, Miss?"
He held out his arm. Seras only stared at it dumbly.
The orca put his hands on her shoulders and said in her ear, "Go with Walter and do as you're told Seal Girl, we'll see each other again."
Seras did not know that he was smirking amusedly as he talked, inspecting Integra's face for any kind of reaction. She only knew that she could not disobey him; she was compelled by a force greater than herself. She whispered "As you wish, My Master." She put her hand on Walter's arm and walked with him on clumsy legs. She allowed herself to be led into the mountain, which she now realized was some sort of giant cave.
"Alucard!" Integra yelled as soon as they were all out of earshot. "In my office, NOW!"
"YOU IDIOT!!!" Integra screeched when Alucard finished telling her what happened. "YOU BLUNDERING, BLOCK-HEADED, BUNGLING, BLOOMING, BONE-HEADED IDIOT!! YOU INGRATE! YOU INCOMEPENT, INCONSIDERATE, INCORRIGIBLE INGRATE!"
"Someone's been friendly with the Thesaurus," Alucard smirked.
"SHUT UP!" Integra yelled, chucking a thesaurus at his head. "I'm in no mood for your antics today Alucard. Dear God..." She lit a cigar furiously, puffing indignantly. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you've just caused, Servant? I send you out on one bloody errand and you still manage to come back with some bitch."
"The Seal Girl made the choice for herself," Alucard said carelessly.
"Don't tell me about the bloody Seal Girl!" Integra snapped, throwing a dictionary at him. "I don't care about the Seal Girl! She's just another hungry mouth to feed, dress and civilize. She'll be more trouble than she's worth…" She simmered over her anger for a while, and finally said, in a moderately restrained tone, "What have you done with the pelt?" She held up her hand, "Never mind; don't tell me. I don't want to know. I don't even want to see it. Stash it, hide it, burn it for all I care, just keep it away from me."
This was exactly what Alucard wanted to hear. He bowed low, "As you wish, My Master."
Suddenly there was a loud splash and a thump from upstairs, followed by feminine screams and multiple women's chastising. It is the sound one hears from a child throwing a tantrum in the bath.
"So it begins," Integra said dryly, then stood up. She turned to Alucard. "Come, it's time to tame that wild Selkie of yours."
Meanwhile, back at the bath, Seras was behaving in a bad sort. She let them take her to the "bathing room," where she watched them fill a small boat with steaming water. She said good bye to Walter, who said he was getting her "clothes," and let the many women take her pelts off. Seras didn't mind being naked, still having no sense of modesty, but she did mind when they told her to get in. It was filled with bubbles, which both fascinated and frightened her, but the water was piping hot and burned to the touch. They told her it would get cold soon, but forced her into the water anyway.
Seras tried to get out but they pushed her back in, and then insisted on "scrubbing her down." Their many hands reaching for her and the strange instruments they held scared her. Convinced that they wanted to skin her, Seras began to struggle. She growled and slapped the water with her hands, but they only handled her more roughly, which only frightened her more. She tried to duck underwater but they pulled her out, causing her to choke and cough on the bubbles. She kicked and screamed and splashed but they only yelled and slapped her, and began to attack her again. Terrified, realizing that she could not win, Seras began to scream some more.
"You're too loud Seal Girl," said the genderless, and all struggles ceased. "I don't care if you are a Selkie. You're still human, have some manners."
"But...!" Seras rasped. "They...!"
"They work for me," Integra said firmly. "If you cause any more problems I'll have you thrown out, is that quite understood?"
Seras sighed heavily and sank in defeat. Then, raising her head, she said, "I understand... I'm sorry, but where am I?"
"What a clever question. You are at the Hellsing Estate; given your condition this will be your new state of residence from now on. You can forget your old life in the ocean."
Seras stood up in the water, staring bewilderedly. "So you're telling me... You're saying I'm--?"
"I do not let anyone reside under my roof for free," Integra went on. "Though you may be Alucard's 'wife,' he is still my servant and that makes you an even lesser servant; you will obey orders as they are given and carry out tasks as they are handed to you. You will learn how to behave like a proper human being and you will work to earn your keep, come Hell or High Water. Do I make myself clear?"
As Integra spoke, Walter approached Seras, offering her a set of folded clothes. Seras scarcely noticed the lecherous glances Walter and Alucard sent over her unclad body. She let the maids drape a towel over her without a fuss; didn't pay attention as they clucked like mother hens. All she knew was that she was trapped in this wretched body; that this was her life and there was nothing she could do to change it.
She accepted the offered clothes.
