Skye: Hello to all of you and thank you for those who reviewed last chapter! My school work keeps me busy, but I shall persevere! Currently, I'm also doing a little pet project of mine; I plan to translate Hellsing into French, along with other languages, and post it on YouTube. I'll have to wait until I get a new computer to do that, but no worries.

I bet you all were wondering just what Pip meant when he called Aeryn little Zizou. Zizou is the nickname of the French footballer Zinedine Zidance, who is widely considered one of football's all time greats. His most famous moment was at the FIFA World Cup in 2006 when he headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi for calling his sister a whore, though Materazzi denies that he insulted him in that way. Nonetheless, the French have a great affection for Zizou and I could easily see Pip and the Geese tossing back a few beers and watching football on the telly.

There were a couple quotes from Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe in last chapter; kudos to you if you found them. As far as my information goes, I scrupulously research and try to be as accurate as possible when writing my stories. I don't know if a seven year old could really fit inside a J58 engine, but I strongly suggest you don't try it with your younger relatives. But on with the chapter!

French

Romanian

There was a navy tie lying on the nightstand. Aeryn regarded it suspiciously. For all she knew, it could be a snake in a rather clever disguise, just waiting for her to pick it up and then, it would lunge at her throat and poison her horribly. She grabbed a poker and prodded it. Nothing happened. Disappointed, the heiress set the fire hook back in its stand and laced up her boots.

It was currently six in the morning and whoever thought of it as too early for activity had never been in the Hellsing Organization. The mansion was bustling with activity, the staff preparing to shut down and sleep. Walter had forced Aeryn to go to bed at nine o'clock, so she went down the stairs and onto the banister with a lucid head.

After clearing the difficult landing, she wandered through the dining room and navigating the labyrinth of rooms and corridors, managed to find the kitchen.

"Only three minutes, miss. You're becoming accustomed quite nicely," said Walter, his back to her.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Our soldiers wear boots like yours but none of them slide down the stair railing and cheer when they land sufficiently." He poured a mixture of eggs and milk into the skillet on the stove and began stirring it with a fork. "How has your morning been so far?"

"Good. And yours?"

"Busy, ever busy, but it always is." He smiled. "Is your book bag ready?"

"Yes. Walter, why do you call me miss? You don't have to."

"It is the custom. I would not feel comfortable calling you anything else, miss."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. There are apples in the bottom left drawer of the ice box. Please take one and do not be alarmed at the sight of the blood packs on the shelf above it. Those are for your father and Miss Victoria. Don't poke at them, either, miss."

Drawing back reluctantly, Aeryn obeyed him and munched on the apple happily. When they were sufficiently scrambled, Walter removed the pan from the stove burner and deposited the eggs onto a plate. He placed it in front of her. "There you are."

"Thank you, Walter!" She ate eagerly, tossing the apple core into the rubbish bin. He took the empty plate and silverware. Aeryn felt a pang of defeat allowing Walter to clear her place. The previous night, there had been a miniature standoff between them.

Though it did not last long, it had amused Alucard to no end. He was the one who broke it, snapping his fingers between their faces, Aeryn nearly dropping the china at the sudden sound. Integra had seized the tableware from her niece and carried it to the kitchen sink, her gaze daring anyone to repossess it.

Walter had told her halfheartedly to take her bath and change into pyjamas. When Seras was brushing her wet hair, the two of them could hear the guffaws of the Geese from the poker room. The draculina had refused to tell her just what they were laughing about. "Where is everyone, Walter?"

"Outside at the shooting range. Go put your coat on and we'll join them." Conspicuously trying to control her excitement, Aeryn slipped into a white fleece hooded jacket that had belonged to Seras until yesterday. It hung to her knees. Walter gave it his seal of approval and out they went.

The cold morning greeted them. Aeryn sniffed the air, enjoying the smell of petrol and machine oil. "Walter, do we go to the left? I know that the airplane hangars are to the right."

"Yes, we—"A gunshot pierced the air, effectively cutting him off. Aeryn ran in the direction of the sound, red hair streaming out behind her. Momentarily wondering whether he was too old for this and why on earth would a person run towards a gunshot instead of away to a safer distance, the butler pursued her. She was waiting for him at the doors.

"I'll go and let us in." Determined, Aeryn leaned and pushed her entire body weight against them. After a few minutes, Walter realized that she was trying to phase through the wall, exactly like her father was so fond of doing. "Walter, it's not working right."

He cleared his throat. "Well, you see—" For the second time that morning, he was cut off as a long pair of red-sleeved arms snaked around Aeryn's midsection and granted her wish.

Someone had dunked a vat of ice water over Aeryn's head; she was sure that must have happened. It was the only way to explain the sensation in her body when yanked through the otherwise solid object. Both the wind and the scream knocked out of her, her disoriented senses tried to come to terms with where she now was. Her feet were on the floor, so whoever held her was kneeling and the arms around her waist were strong and secure. Her head was against someone's shoulder and the body was cold; that narrowed it down to two people.

Dimly, she heard Seras say in the background, "Master, that was a horrible trick to pull on someone first thing in the morning!"

"She wanted to come in, didn't she?" rumbled the deep voice of her father. Aeryn could feel the vibrations against and going through her chest. Well, that clearly left one choice for the mystery snatcher. "Tatal?"

"Da, iubire?"

"Can you do that again? It was fun."

Alucard laughed lightly, obviously pleased, and let go of her. "I told you the little Hellsing would be fine, police girl. If you scare that easily, you shorten your life span considerably."

Integra smacked the kneeling vampire lightly on the back of the head and tugged her niece away, supporting Aeryn's back with her other hand because she had stumbled a bit when she was set on the floor again. "Leave Seras alone; she meant well. And stop cornering the market. We need to check on the soldiers' times."

"Times? What do you mean, Matusa?"

"Come on; I'll show you." Walter had finally gotten in and Aeryn could hear him berating the elder vampire in the background as the younger watched the pair go. They climbed a flight of stairs and into a room with large glass windows that were opened wide. "Can you see them?"

Aeryn looked out and down. A large obstacle course lay before her in the open air, humming with activity. Some of the Wild Geese were running it. Another part was a shooting range and the remainders of them were putting that to good use. She exhaled. "That's bloody brilliant."

"Bon matin, ma fille!" bellowed Pip, hands cupped around his mouth and his cigarette sticking out from the phalanges of his right hand. He was supervising the Geese firing at the targets. "We've got an audience, men; pick up the pace. Have to set a good example for our fille, ouais?"

Aeryn waved at them and they reciprocated. A few minutes later, the men left and Pip came up the stairs to the platform. He ruffled Aeryn's hair, giving her a one-armed bear hug, and addressed Integra. "They did well last night. We didn't have any casualties and that was a tough head vampire. No discipline problems either, though there are a couple I'm keeping an eye on."

"Do you think that there has been an increase in activity, Captain?"

Pip's brow furrowed in concentration. "Not any more than usual. Why, boss?"

"Walter seemed to be troubled by something when he finally got inside here."

"What was keeping him?"

"The door was locked." They both focused on Aeryn, who had spoken. "I know because Tatal yanked me through it."

"Which he should not have done," stated Integra.

"It was fun, though," Aeryn said with a smile.

"Dead?" squeaked Seras. "Walter, you're not serious, are you?"

"Completely, Miss Victoria. This morning, I received a call from London's premier forensics lab. Shortly after we left, the two gunmen were treated for injuries and then were supposed to be transported for questioning." The retainer sighed. "They died on the way. When the autopsy was performed, they found that their stomachs were empty except for pure Prussic acid."

"Prussic acid?"

"Cyanide," translated Alucard, examining the file that contained the autopsy report. "Were they left alone at any time during this? Cyanide acts quickly, especially when someone does not eat. It takes ten minutes at most for the person to die."

"Not at any point. Sir Barrick himself guarded them on the way to the precinct."

"Hmm. Timed release capsules, commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry. Our enemy covers his trail without remorse." He handed it back to Walter.

"Master." Alucard inclined his head toward Seras. "Didn't you tell me that Aeryn referred to the men as dead when she saw them? Do you think she's psychic?"

"I very much doubt that. She assumed they were dead because they had been carted off and death was the fate of many who associated with her. Or me." He treated himself to a wry grin, and then grew serious again. Still, not a word of it to the little Hellsing. It is unnecessary stress she has no need of."

"Agreed," confirmed Walter. "Miss Victoria, may I have the report back?"

"Oh, right! Sorry, Walter; here you go." By the time that Integra, Pip, and Aeryn came down the stairs, the folder was safely tucked away. The knight frowned. "You're all awfully quiet."

"Though it may shock you, my master, your servants are capable of silence," deadpanned Alucard. "Just like your niece can travel out of her body, we have the extraordinary gift of shutting our mouths, which most adults rarely possess."

Aeryn, who had been gazing longingly at the steps to upstairs and not really listening, whipped around, eyes flashing with silent fear. "Calm yourself, cel putin. The ability to practice astral projection is not a sin but a blessing and the art itself has been on this earth far longer than any of us have. How far can you extend you range from your body?"

"I…I don't really know," she admitted, the trepidation progressively fading as the familiar fingers curled around her neck. "No one ever took it very well when I told them; I never experimented with it because I was afraid of what they would do to me when I was in that state."

"We will have you work on it. You would be helping us and yourself if you did," clarified Integra, looking contented. "However, you are not to test it when you are in school; that's a risk I am not willing to take."

"Speaking of school…" Walter glanced at his watch. 'Good Lord! Miss, you have to get dressed and wash up straight away if we want to be there on time to register."

"Stop worrying." Aeryn was neatly scooped up in one arm by Alucard. "We will return." Integra nodded permission. "Inchide ochii, micuta mea una," he cautioned. Shadows gathered at his feet and upon the sight of them, the girl hid her face in his coat without delay.

Another tub of ice water was plunged over her head in the window of time between the concealment of her eyes and the arrival in her upstairs bedroom. She had the impression of moving sideways shortly after the former. Her senses were not as disoriented this time but her mind was racing. Sure, going through solid objects was all very well; merely rearranging the atoms would certainly be sufficient and with much practice, not a significant problem, but was that what had just really happened?

"Sint aici." Her father set her down gently on the bed. "Ai mai deschide ochii acum." Following his suggestion, Aeryn opened her eyes. They were in her spartan upstairs bedroom. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but the tie on the nightstand seemed a bit eldritch to her. She glared at it charily and inched away.

"You travel through the shadows often." Her back was to Alucard, but her frenetic rummaging through the drawers betrayed her state of mind. "How do you do it?" She found the shirt and trousers that she sought and banged the still open ones shut.

"I'm afraid that I have no sufficient explanation for that particular method of mine." He sat on the queen-sized bed. "You must realize that some things simply cannot be understood, no matter the amount of time they spend under a microscope. At that point, logic is put aside. There is no need to justify why an event occurred. "

Aeryn gripped the bottom of her pyjama top in her hands and jerked it up and over her head. About to shed her lower layers, she turned around. "Sorry, but am I doing something wrong? Are there proper English upper-class manners for undressing?"

"So Walter's gotten to you, has he?" She nodded and slipped on her trousers. "You are fine as you are; there are few things I haven't seen." He handed her the clean shirt, critically noting that her ribs were not as prominent. She was gaining weight. "On the other hand, it has been a while since I've seen someone so young with that many battle scars."

Aeryn paused, self-consciously observing the prominent marks on her body. "I got most of these in the two years I spent on my own." She buttoned her shirt and gave the tie one last glower before reaching for it.

"Then let's not add to the collection, shall we? I have something for you."

Aeryn turned about, the evil tie promptly forgotten. "What?"

From a pocket inside his coat, Alucard withdrew what appeared to be a small handle. He pressed the button near the top of it and a blade shot out of it. "This is a flick knife, also known as a switchblade in the United States." He pushed it again and the blade retracted. "I trust you know how to use a knife?"

She nodded. "How will I hide it?"

"Roll up your left leg." She did so. From presumably the same pocket, he extracted a small sheath on a strap and stored the knife in it. Carefully, he wrapped the band around her boot-covered calf, fastened it so that the knife was on the inside, and then covered it again. It would make it easy for her to reach the weapon; she would feign tying her bootlaces. "Does Mathusa know?"

"Yes. She also knows that should any messy circumstances occur involving your possession of that weapon, it will belong to me once more and you will be punished severely." He saw the pained expression on Aeryn's face and continued with the smug knowledge of a veiled threat well made. "Walter is still not happy about you bearing arms, but it is my decision to make and not his. Don't prove Pip and I wrong for trusting you."

"I won't disappoint you, Tatal."

"Bun. Va las sa mergem."

In the backseat of the limousine, Integra blew out a plume of cigar smoke. Walter was at the wheel and lecturing Aeryn on how she was to behave at school. After he finished, she spoke. "That's funny. Tatal told me something similar, but he left out some stuff."

"Like what, miss?"

"Well, he didn't say if when he talked about fights."

"No?"

"No. He said when. And not to draw blood, cos it gets people excited." Integra suppressed a laugh as Walter's eye twitched slightly.

Aeryn leaned forward, concerned. "He said your eye would do that, too. Are you all right, Walter?"

The butler's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Perfectly fine, miss. Perfectly fine," he forced out through gritted teeth. That damn vampire was going to get it.

"Aeryn, we need to discuss some issues before we register you." The knight relit and waited for her niece's full attention. "Under no circumstances can they know about the nature of our organization, thus you must be discreet and scrupulously careful. You are to keep that and the nature of your father and Officer Victoria a secret. People will ask you about your family. You are to say that your father is a weapons dealer and that everyone else works for the family business."

"What about Lissa?"

"She's fine. I'm confident that she is receiving a correspondent lecture."

"Can I tell them I'm adopted, Matusa?"

"You may." Integra exhaled. "The closer you get to them, the easier it will be to find out if they are trustworthy. You will not tell them of your past life before us."

"Okay. Is that all?"

"No." Her face softened. "Shine. There is no reason for you to mask your intelligence; we know you are bright and diligent and we expect you to exhibit those traits outside of home. If not, your father and I will have to have a long discussion with you."

Aeryn exhaled. "More threats. Right. I can manage that." The car pulled into the driveway of the academy. "Looks like a school for toffs."

"From what my sources tell me, our threats will keep you from becoming a toff." Integra opened the car door. "Which is the last thing that Hellsing and I need. They tend to die too easily."

The secretary looked up when they entered. "Take a seat, loves; I'll be with you shortly." Her French-manicured nails expertly flicked through the dossier Walter placed on the desk. "Seems to be in order. Right then, Sir Hellsing. I'll just show her to the classroom and you can leave."

"Very well." Integra turned to Aeryn. "Walter will be waiting by the car for you when the school day ends. "

Aeryn nodded. They said their goodbyes. The secretary found it odd that the girl was allowed to have such close contact with the butler and odder still that the knight did not mind it, but did not remark upon it. Sir Hellsing gave the impression of a parent who would have no remorse causing the dismissal of an incompetent employee from their job.

"Wait here a moment while I fetch the other new student. Both of you will be in the same classroom." The secretary disappeared into another part of the office and returned with Lissa in tow. The friends grinned at each other.

"Well, you two seem to be chums." The two looked back at her quizzically.

"We're shark bait?" Aeryn queried, scrutinizing her hands.

Lissa lifted her arm and sniffed. "I don't smell especially fishy today. My mum said that she couldn't be having with me stinking on my first day here."

"Girls?"

"It's not like we even live near the seaside. I think there's a stream in the woods, but it's freshwater and I haven't been to see it. My family's been far too busy…"

"Ladies?" They looked at her. "Perhaps I should take you to your classroom."

"Right then, you do that," conceded Lissa. The police commissioner's daughter and the director of Hellsing's niece discussed that antiquated slang term as they went, totally ignoring their escort. The secretary sighed in relief. At least she was not being subjected to the piercing gaze that all children give adults when they feel that the façade of genial indulgence is verging on patronizing vacancy.

Whoever this man was, he was extremely fond of daffodils. Aeryn had forgotten the name of the poet when her teacher began to take apart his vision with inexpert tools. Part of her said this was wrong, but the other said that it was keeping the teacher's attention from her which was perfectly fine in her book. Disconsolately, Aeryn flicked through the pages of the textbook. It was not that she objected to anyone liking daffodils; she just felt that it should not take up more than half a page to say so.

A priest had told her once, "Nil desperadum; auspice Deo!" Immediately after, she had questioned what the number zero had to do with despairing and asked him to elaborate on his god's relationship with bananas and hospices. She had a sneaking suspicion that the poet worshipped the aforementioned god. It later proved to be right.

The school provided a lunch to the children called Bacon Surprise. Lissa thought this was so because it must have come as a shock to the poor pig. Aeryn agreed and was pleasantly surprised when she opened her backpack and found a brown bag with a neatly packed lunch inside.

The rest of the day was a hazy blur. For about forty five minutes, an aide watched them play outside and ushered them back into their classrooms when time was up. The teacher then talked about Our Proud Kingdom of Britannia and of the valor exhibited in medieval times. They were shown pictures of ladies with weird hats and low-cut dresses mooning over balconies and throwing handkerchiefs down to their knights, who waited below on horseback. This provoked a whole new set of questions. Didn't the ladies catch cold going around like that? How did the knights go so much as a single step with that much armor? And why on earth would any sensible individual put curtains on a horse?

Aeryn decided to ask her father to explain the matter when she got home. He had lived in that time period, after all. The young Hellsing had come to regard Alucard as something between a benevolent dictator, a god, and a force of nature. She did not question his existence, though she knew what he was. His nature was not by any means subtle. It hit you over the head with a warhammer and refused to stop until you acknowledged its existence. Aeryn figured that she would be told everything eventually; there was no need to rush or worry.

Her mental wanderings were eventually discovered by the vexed teacher but before any disciplinary measures could be executed, the school bell rang, signifying the end of the day. The throng of rapturous children charged out of the double doors and to their transportation home.

Aeryn saw Walter standing in the lot, watching the commotion and waiting by the limousine, just as Integra had said. Bidding goodbye to Lissa, she ran over to him. "Hallo, Walter!"

"Good afternoon, miss." They got into the car and he started the engine. "I hope you're hungry."

"I'm starved. Why?"

"You will be eating early." He drove out of the parking lot and pulled onto the main road. "Tonight, your training will start in earnest."

A little cliffhanger for you all, then. It's not too major. I could have gone on and on with cutesy instances in Aeryn's school day, but that's for another chapter. I needed to get this out of the way so the story can keep its momentum. I'll put in Iscariot and the Queen soon; you'll probably see the Queen before Iscariot, but I am undecided.

For fans of Iscariot, don't worry; they will definitely play a part in the story. Especially Father Anderson. And I've said too much. Please review! Confectionaries abound for those who do!