~ Legacy ~
The next morning, when Integra and Alucard entered the dining room at Breakfast Time For Humans™, they were promptly greeted with a cry of "Good morning, Mother!" as Integra's daughter detached herself from Seras (who she'd been clinging to) and ran over to throw her arms around Integra's waist.
"Good morning, Vespera," Integra replied. She awkwardly reached out and patted her daughter on the head. "Now go sit down at the table and eat your breakfast."
Vespera pouted and reluctantly pulled away from her mother. She was about to turn and head for the table when Alucard, who'd been trailing a few paces behind Integra, dropped to his knees and opened out his arms.
The vampire tilted his head slightly to one side and quirked an eyebrow, silently but clearly inquiring whether he was to be included in the child's morning greetings.
Vespera smiled and threw herself into his arms.
"Good morning, Dad!"
Integra nearly laughed at the shocked expression on her vampire's face when the child actually hugged him. What had he expected? To be rejected? Well, he would soon learn that her daughter was much more of a child than she herself had been at that age...
His shock wore off after a moment and Alucard gently closed his arms around the child.
"Good morning, Viscera," he said, smirking.
The child pulled away from him. Scowling, she said, "Don't be gross."
"Gross?" he repeated in a questioning tone.
Vespera's scowl deepened.
"That word means 'guts', you know. 'Internal organs, especially those of the stomach cavity.' Guts. So don't call me that anymore."
"Aww, did you look that up in the dictionary?" he cooed, and reached out to ruffle the child's hair.
"Alucard, stop," Integra snapped.
Still conditioned to follow her orders even after all the years they'd spent apart, the vampire immediately retracted his hand.
I meant stop teasing her, Integra added telepathically.
Alucard gave no indication that he'd heard, instead refocusing his attention on the child... who, despite her apparent anger, seemed to be on the verge of crying.
He was quickly coming to realize that no matter how much she might look like her mother had at the same age, he couldn't interact with this child in the same manner he had done with the young Integra. It seemed she hadn't inherited her mother's emotional fortitude.
At length, he conceded, "I'm sorry. I won't call you that again, Vespera."
The child was immediately all smiles again.
"It's alright, I forgive you," she said, and hugged him once more.
After that, breakfast was a rather uneventful affair. The two vampires sat at the table and sipped cold blood from coffee mugs while the humans ate.
Upon noticing that her daughter's plate was empty, Integra told her, "Go get ready for school."
"Can't I stay home today?" the child pleaded.
"No. Go get dressed."
"I don't want to."
"I'm not going to tell you a third time."
Alucard observed the argument unfolding with interest. It seemed almost scripted, as thought it were something which was repeated every day with little variation.
The child pouted and remained stubbornly seated. Integra just glared at her daughter for a long moment, then returned her attention to finishing her own breakfast.
Taking that as his cue to do something about the situation, Alucard stood up, then swept Vespera up into his arms and proceeded to carry the child to her bedroom and shut her inside.
"Get dressed," he commanded from outside the door.
After a few minutes, and a lot more noise than he thought a child changing her clothes should reasonably make, the door opened and Vespera came out into the hallway, dressed in her school uniform.
The two of them went back downstairs, where Seras was waiting for them.
"Are you ready?" Seras asked with a bright smile, holding out a hand to the child.
As Vespera latched onto Seras's hand and the two of them started to make their way toward the front door, Alucard frowned. Something seemed off about this scenario.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your mother before you leave?" he called out.
"No," the child replied, turning to look back over her shoulder at the vampire.
"Why not?" he asked.
"She doesn't like it."
Alucard would have questioned her further, but Seras interrupted with, "I'm sorry, but we really have to leave now or she'll be late." As Seras shepherded the child out the door, she added telepathically, She always does this, and she's in enough trouble with the school already for getting there late in the morning. Sir Integra doesn't want to give her any more excuses to start an argument.
The more he got to know about her, the more it seemed that Integra's daughter was a spoiled little brat. And, while he very well understood how she might have turned out that way, he did not like this revelation.
When Alucard returned to the dining room, Integra was no longer there. He found her in her office, where she was doing battle with her dreaded foe - paperwork.
As he entered the room, Integra said without preamble, "You can't just carry her off like that every time."
To which Alucard replied, "Why not? It worked."
~oOo~
