Eighteen
She was 18 years old. Stress and schoolwork came hand in hand, and didn't bother to give her a warning. She'd finally had enough of it. She could barely think anymore, not with school coming to and end, and vampires being spotted twice as much. It had to stop, or at least, lessen.
Her answer came in a small tin with the brand "Hendi Winzermans." She'd never considered smoking as an option before, though many friends did smoke. "It really helps with the stress, Integra." The girl had reached the end of her ropes and decided one little cigarette couldn't hurt.
She didn't like the taste. The smoke was terrible and made her eyes water. After that, she was certain she'd never tough another cigarette again. But that was not to be. "May I try another?" She found herself asking for another cigarette on a different day. The drag she took was soothing—not at all choking, like the first time. The taste however, still bothered her.
She didn't ask for another for quite a while, though at times found herself wanting one. One day boredom and stress had finally gotten to her, and she headed to the training grounds in search of the Hellsing soldiers. Many of them smoked, and it wasn't hard to find a bunch milling around.
She wasn't expecting the smell of honey tobacco. She'd never experienced it. "What is that you're smoking, soldier?"
"Ah, Sir Integra." They gave a salute, which she copied, "Just a cigar. Trying to get rid of the lot."
"It smells a lot better than a cigarette." She admitted
"Ayuh." The soldier nodded, "Bit more expensive though."
"You wouldn't happen to have an extra would you?" The soldier was not expecting the question. None of them were. They attempted to talk her out of it, claiming it was a bad habit. A dirty habit. Very unladylike, and it wouldn't suit her. What would her father say if he saw his daughter lighting up? She remained unconvinced. "I hardly know a person in my life who does not smoke. How would anyone expect me to not pick it up eventually?"
She found the taste of the cigar much more pleasing, but the size was a bother. "Perhaps thin ones would suit you better, Sir." And so, her first order of Hendi Winzermans was placed.
"I see we've found a new habit." The butler commented upon the delivery. "What started all of this?"
"Necessity." The butler smiled and shrugged. Who was he to comment when he himself started so young?
She enjoyed the taste, the smell, the feeling of all the stress leaving her body with every exhale. The thin cigars suited her perfectly. It was only a matter of time before the vampire spoke up. "I see master has developed an interest in smoking." He didn't sound bothered or impressed, but merely stated it as if it were the most obvious thing that could have happened.
"Yes." She breathed, smoke leaving her lungs in a steady white stream. She braced herself for the inevitable joking. He always joked. He always found a way to make her uncomfortable.
When the laughter never came, when the unrelenting sarcastic chide never happened, she thought perhaps she was in a dream. A very realistic dream with boring paperwork and an unfinished essay.
"Why do you linger, vampire?" She asked her idle servant.
"Forgive me, master." He gave a short bow, "I was merely lost in thought."
"Well don't let it happen again." She flicked some ash into the tray, "There is nothing worse than a vampire who can think."
"My master has jokes." He chuckled, giving himself to the shadows, "Adieu, Master."
Sometimes she really couldn't understand that vampire.
/
She seemed different somehow. Less angry, calmer, steady and sure. Alucard decided that perhaps she had become the master he always knew she could be.
Ah, there she was, stamping her foot like a child because she missed the mark at target practice. Well, perhaps there was still some time to go. There was all the time in the world. For the vampire, at least. He knew this, and accepted it. Accepted that perhaps some day his end would come after he atoned for his sins. But, no matter. Everything ended eventually.
"Master needs to clean her glasses." The vampire laughed. Integra glared. He was taken aback by her lack of shouting, her lack of bossing him around. These cigars were, truly, magic.
She brushed the hair out of her eyes and left him to contemplate his master's newfound patience. "Interesting." He couldn't help but mutter to himself, a smirk gracing his lips. He wondered how long this stillness would last before the inevitable bang.
/
Graduation was a big celebration for many families. The girl did not want to celebrate, nor did she accept any invitations to graduation parties. "I want to segregate myself from these people." She told Walter when he inquired as to why, "They were there for company when I needed it. They gave me some amusement, but were all around idiots. I am glad to be rid of the lot of them."
And so she graduated without any fanfare in the top percentage of her class. The vampire watched from the shadows. She had no smile as she accepted the document, nor did she smile for any pictures taken of her. She was solemn the entire rest of the day. Though he was asked not to, Walter had ordered a cake. Integra grudgingly accepted it, as it was her favorite kind. The vampire could tell she was harboring something other than her usual festering emotions. Something more.
"What is bothering my master today?"
"Go away Alucard." She absentmindedly twirled a cigar as she watched the news, "I don't need this tonight."
"I was merely noting your sudden distance from everyone." The vampire moved closer, taking a seat near her, "Could it be that my master will miss her friends?"
There was a moment in which she might have snapped her cigar in two. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she went to speak, "I will never miss those ingrates."
"My, my." He breathed, "What did they ever do to you, my master?"
She didn't speak. She refused to play the vampire's game. She knew him too well. He'd extract an answer, somehow, but this time she wouldn't give in. She wouldn't answer.
He considered her for a moment, wondering If perhaps making her crawl out of her protective shell would be counter productive, when she spoke, "Why do you even pretend to care?" he felt something close to shock. Of course he cared, she was his master. It was his sworn duty to protect and watch over and care for her.
"I am not pretending." the vampire spoke, "I merely find it difficult to believe that a woman as smart as you could still harbor the childish notions you displayed when you were a teenager."
The girl shrugged, never taking her eyes from the television. "I still am."
The vampire's haughty grin faltered, "Does my master mean to tell me that after all those years with her friends, she won't miss any of them?"
The girl said nothing.
"My master won't be lonely with no girls her age to confide in?"
Silence.
"Perhaps resentment that everyone around her is going to university to continue a normal life and master is stuck in an old dusty mansion with a bunch of men and a vampire?"
Her fingers quivered, but still she stayed silent
"Perhaps regret...?"
"Enough, Alucard." she spoke quietly but firmly, never once alluding to the storm that brewed inside her. "My future was decided a long time ago. Everything that happened in the past few years...it was all a minor detour." she twirled the cigar a little, "They will forget me. I will forget them. I will do my duty to protect England and her majesty the Queen from the likes of the undead." her voice quivered once as she finished, but the vampire made no move to bring that fact to light. Her fidgeting, her mannerisms spoke volumes more than her words ever could.
He pitied her briefly, knowing the woman before him was anything but a common girl. Someone who could have done anything with her life, and instead chose the noble path. The dutiful path. Pity became respect. He would let her cloud the minds of others with her false pretenses of calmness, normality. Her inner battles would stay as such. He knew that she had the power, the authority, to battle them and win.
He knew this, but...
"If master ever needs to talk," here he couldn't help but smirk. Being kind was not something he thought himself as being, "her faithful servant will always lend an ear."
Her eyes rolled and she sighed heavily, "Thank you Alucard, now will you please leave me alone?"
"As you wish, master." his cackle vibrated off the walls as he disappeared. She was left with only the television and her depressed, conflicting thoughts.
/
She found that loneliness didn't suit her as much as she had once thought. At school she often found the gossip boring and unpalatable. But now she only had the short conversation with Walter, or perhaps a word or two with another employee. Alucard was giving her quite a lot of space, which was odd for him. She had enjoyed the silence. Until now.
This particular day it was quite bothersome. There was no one nagging her about her long hair. No one telling her about the latest celebrity marriage. No one arguing, shouting, yelling, or otherwise causing a racket, and she found that the silence was becoming rather distracting.
"Alucard," She spoke, recognizing the telltale billowy edges of the shadows, "Why are you skulking about in my office?"
"You seem restless, Master." The vampire stated as he materialized before her.
"I was unaware this gave you permission to hang around." The vampire grinned and took a seat away from the sunlight, as he often did.
"What is my master up to these days?" He inquired. She dropped her pen and removed her glasses,
"The usual, minus schoolwork." A short rub with a hankie and the smudges were clean, "As you well know." Her glasses were replaced and she gave him a cold stare, "There isn't really much to do these days."
"Perhaps…" The vampire trailed off, stroking his chin as he thought of creative alternatives.
She didn't like the tone of his voice. His ideas were often bad, mischievous. To think she once harbored love for this creature. A slight pink graced her cheeks when she recalled what he did to stop her advances. How she hated remembering.
"Perhaps you need a new helicopter."
"A…A what?" Integra faced him, unsure if he was toying with her. His cheshire cat grin never let on to what he really thought. In a way, it was his veil.
"Your helicopter is outdated. You should get a new one."
"We don't have the funds, Alucard, and we really don't need a new helicopter at the moment." She reached for an order form anyway and scanned the numerous lines she would have to fill out, "I don't think it would be worth it."
"There are other means."
"I've bothered Sir Penwood for something twice a month this year, a new helicopter would break the poor man." She paused and added quietly, "Lord knows the man is already broken." The vampire let out a throaty chuckle,
"Indeed."
She stretched and stood, "I suppose he wouldn't mind another visit." She knew full well the man might have a heart attack upon seeing the Hellsing family car, "I'll see you later then, Alucard." She didn't even notice he had already left.
Sir Penwood was, as expected, upset. "A new helicopter? Sir Integra, there is absolutely no need for such extravagant spending!"
"I require a new one, I cannot possibly run my company on dated machinery." She took a glance at her teacup, "And your tea is awful." The man might have shed a tear if the young Hellsing were not in front of him. All of his funds. All of his money. So easily spent.
"Very well, Sir Integra, but this is the absolute last favor I do for you before the new year!" He was shaking as he spoke. He feared her vampire, and could never tell when he was around. The last time he tried to grow a spine, the vampire nearly snapped it.
Integra nodded, "Very well, thank you Sir Penwood." She smiled graciously and finished her tea. She didn't hear the man mutter under his breath,
"How awful can the tea be if one drinks three cups?" Her quizzical look caused him to flinch, clear his throat and ask if she would stay for dinner.
"I'd be delighted." Her smile was genuine, boredom finally gone for the time being. Sir Penwood's dinners were nothing to turn down.
When she returned, the vampire greeted her. "Master." He nodded, his wispy hair covering his eyes.
"Alucard." She inclined her head.
"You were gone for quite a while."
"I was surprised you did not join us."
"Were you?" He inquired, curious. She gave no answer, merely gave her jacket to Walter who was at the ready. He followed her silently to her office, where she searched for a cigar and a lighter. "I trust Sir Penwood followed through."
"Not without some stern talking to." The young woman spoke through teeth clenching a cigar, "I daresay he enjoys our little chats though." The vampire's teeth flashed brilliantly in the dim light.
"At any rate, I'm glad Master found a cure, though momentary, for her boredom." She said nothing, merely exhaled slowly, letting the smoke gather in front of her. She didn't need to speak. Expressing gratitude was something she rarely did, and was not about to start. He knew her, that vampire, and perhaps enjoyed coming up with creative alternatives to a rather drab lifestyle.
Though she wondered, briefly, if perhaps she should have requested a less expensive item from poor Sir Penwood.
/
"Search and Destroy them." Were her orders. She did not know the infestation was so bad. She didn't know that the vampire was not a young, soft-minded fool. She needed to be the leader of the Hellsing organization more than ever.
She stayed back, as she always did, behind police barricades and in brightly lit tents. It was hardly a half hour passed when she heard the screams. The inhuman moans and shuffling of bodies. She was armed, of course. She never had needed to shoot a ghoul, and had only once seen one up close. She was fearful for a moment. What if these men could not fend them off? What if the oncoming horde was too many and they were lost?
It was a fleeting moment. She was the proud leader of Hellsing. She would not let it happen. She had not dressed for battle, and though she would have preferred the comfort of her sword at her hip, resolutely took a spot behind the wall of sandbags and wire. "Sir Integra, it would be safer if you were to stay behind—"
"I am exactly where I should be." She spoke loud and clear. The first of the oncoming mass of bodies lurched forward, and shots were fired. "Aim for the head or heart!" Her voice rang out above the piercing shots, "Else you're wasting bullets."
With each shot, each crumpled corpse, her confidence soared. To think she ever doubted herself. Her hours of practice, the cold, hard concentration she strived for, had finally paid off.
Her heart still beat fast within her ribcage.
The thrill of battle wasn't to last long. As sudden as it began, the rouge vampire was taken out. The reanimated bodies crumpled, and moved no more. A collective sigh of relief was had. The young woman knew her servant was on his way back. Cleanup crew began its work, tents were being disassembled. It always happened so fast at the end. It was a wonder anything ever got done before Alucard.
"Master." And there he was, the ever-grinning, bright-eyed vampire. "The target has been silenced." He bowed dramatically, as if to an audience. It was one of those nights for him. Too perfect to waste, and yet here he was, wasting it on riffraff.
"You let a very large group of ghouls through, Alucard."
"Oh did I?" She didn't think he could smile wider if he tried, "How careless of me."
"Yes." Her eyes narrowed, "How careless." He made to speak, to ask if she enjoyed the thrill of battle. If she enjoyed killing undead and using her gun for its purpose. She never let him start. "Give your full report, vampire. Waste no more of my time."
His master could be so cold.