Author's Note:
Took an eternity, but here it is. And, my dearies, things are finally picking up. Thanks for the patience!
The stone-covered halls of Hellsing made Seras feel trapped. The exhausting days of training made her feel lost in an endless expanse of pain. Even hot baths couldn't sooth her weary muscles or relieve her stressed mind. However, she tried anyway.
The water was a welcoming warm embrace as she slipped into it. The bathroom light was, as a rule, turned down low. The bright fluorescent lamps made her head throb. The gentle sound of water sloshing around her was the only music to the end of a stressful night.
Pale lids closed over dull red orbs. Her usually vibrant crimson eyes had slowly faded to a pink color. It was like watching the life drain from her soul.
If she had a soul.
Seras wasn't even up to questioning the presence of a soul in vampires. She was too tired to be usual inquisitive self. Instead, she was a lifeless shell who thought of nothing. Well…nothing except blood, that is. She dreamed about it, thought about it, obsessed about it.
Seras sighed, deciding to put it out of her mind.
A good day's rest should do me good, she mused and opened her eyes. She didn't expect to look down and see that her bathtub was full of blood.
The thick red liquid was up to her collar bone. She let out a scream, scrambled to her feet, and fell onto the white-tiled bathroom floor. The blood clung to her skin like glue. The smell permeated her nostrils and made her thirst shoot through the roof. She scrambled for the light switch, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. A blood-soaked hand threw the switch and white light flooded the small bathroom.
Seras blinked once.
She blinked twice.
There was no blood. There was much water splashed onto the floor, but no blood. She felt dizzy, as if her mind were teetering on insanity. A black curtain fell over her vision, she heard a wet slap of flesh against the floor, and her consciousness departed.
Seras' mouth was dry. It was so dry; she feared opening it, lest her tongue crack in two. Her eyes were like sandpaper against the skin of her eyelids. She had the sense that she'd been unconscious for a long time. She forced her eyes open but saw only black.
"Hello?" she croaked into the confined space. Her careful hands reached out and pressed against the smooth surface that encased her. She pressed on it, successfully opening the coffin lid. She struggled to sit upright, but a wave of pain forced her prostrate once more, onto the soft silk material lining the coffin.
The gentle light from the room outside seeped through the darkness. Her eyes were allowed to adjust slowly.
Seras…
It was a soft hiss, barely audible in the chaos of her mind.
Relax, Seras, or you'll faint again.
"Alucard?" She cried aloud, struggling once more to sit upright. He materialized beside the coffin, eyes dark and swirling with life. For the first time ever, due to her enhanced senses, she could smell his nobility. It reeked from his blood and cried out to Seras.
"Rest, Police Girl. You'll survive this. Just rest."
As if controlled by his command, her eyelids drooped and she slipped into a deep sleep, although it felt more like she slipped into another dimension.
As soon as her eyes closed, she was transported into a dream. Alucard sat in a chair, at the end of a long dark room. Two glasses rested on a table beside where he sat. He watched Seras approach with keen red eyes.
"Seras, have a seat."
She sat in a chair that she didn't notice before. He poured a red liquid into a glass and sipped casually.
Seras watched the red liquid swirl in the glass, realizing that it was blood immediately. Her mouth watered.
"You've really done it this time, Seras."
"What do you mean?" She insisted.
"You're in a coma, Police Girl. If you wake, you'll fall into madness. I'm keeping you unconscious, to stop you from becoming a babbling lunatic… more of a babbling lunatic, that is. Until you agree to drink, I cannot allow you to wake."
A creeping thought bothered Seras. "If I'm unconscious, why don't you just force it on me?"
"Forcing it on you once won't fix the problem here, Seras. You'll reject your sustenance again and again until this is addressed. I want to solve this once and for all. Either you make the correct decision or you die, Seras."
She crossed her arms across her chest. "I'd rather stay unconscious for the rest of my life than drink, Master. That's exactly what I intend to do."
"If you wish… however, realize that the insanity will creep in even here, in this safe place of sorts. You don't have much time, Seras." He clasped his hands together, smiling. The mad glint in his eyes sent a thrill of fear up Seras' spine.
"And realize as well that, if you opt to remain here forever, I will be your only company."
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