"All journeys have a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware."
"Behold the city of Amiens France." A clear soprano voice rang out into the hours of darkness from a cliff top, disrupting the no longer empty silence there. The moon was waning as the crescent part of the lunar cycle drew nearer and the pitch blackness around the two women was undisturbed with the inky black clouds around them. Seras was pointing to a mass of twinkling white and yellow lights a mile away that sprawled out across the landscape and flatlands for miles around in every direction. They were on a massive rocky precipice that overlooked the town and Rochelle was uncertain about their safety on standing so close to the edge on a cliff thousands of feet up. It was a ridiculous unfounded fear as they were immortal and of the undead but she still had it. The cold night air didn't bother her being one of the undead but the wet did as it would ruin her clothing. Black ominous clouds looking like harbingers of doom were coming in and it looked like Amiens was in for one hell of a rainstorm.
It had been three weeks since they left the sleepy town of Baron in the mountainside valley far behind them in favor of the far north. They had stopped at several towns and cities thinking up new ways to have fun or just hunting. They had already amused themselves greatly terrorizing several tourists by using their vampire powers in creative ways. At a known haunted location that was a great tourist trap they made several humans hallucinate of transparent people running around looking ghoulish and then the two vampires laughed when the humans panicked and started screaming about seeing ghosts which made all the other humans panic and run towards the exit. At another town her master had trained her on the use of familiars which Rochelle is still trying to do. Her master had said that she wasn't disappointed because familiars are terribly advanced and that it had taken her a full year when she was twelve year old vampire to make the change.
The gale blew unceasingly around them rippling their clothing around them like it had a life of its own. Seras was wearing thin black leather high heel boots that fit snugly to her slender legs like a second skin and went all the way to her knees, they also made her look tall enough to be Rochelle's regular height of 5'5. The black fishnet stockings she wore that had a sexy spider webbed pattern were barley visible under the high thigh leather black miniskirt she wore. An exotically dark amethyst tank top with a low cut was hidden from view by a vintage leather vest with no sleeves that took on a decidedly more feminine shape with slender Seras wearing it. She had on Black leather fingerless gloves that extended to her forearm that helped complete the look.
Seras was also wearing black glass bar earrings that made tinkling noises like miniature bells every time the wind blew. She had on a purple choker that was worn high on her neck and it had a black spider webbed design perfectly matching the fishnet stockings. The black bangle bracelets on each wrist completed the look perfectly. Seras's hair had been grown out to her lower waist and it was left down to freely blow around her petite pale face towards the town with the wind. Its usual yellow orange hair color whisked up and down wildly with the unfading winds making it look like a beautiful mass of hells fire attached to her skull. Seras hadn't yet disguised her eyes yet so they were still a bloody scarlet color.
Rochelle sighed wistfully. He master had made her wear an outfit from masters closet, having finally grown tired last year of the 'horrendous fashions', as she so kindly put it, from the modern days and had proceeded to shred every ounce of Rochelle's modern clothing. Rochelle was at least glad her master had taught her how to use her powers to reform clothing so that they would fit perfectly otherwise the clothing would never fit on her. The shirts chest area would be baggy. Her master did have a ridiculously large chest line that would make any woman cry with shame.
If Rochelle hadn't seen that photo album of master when she was human that one time in the forbidden room, and seen that the chest line is that same now as it was then, she would have thought her master had used her vampiric powers to give herself a bigger chest. Thankfully master had allowed her to choose an outfit of her own out of the outdated 'hunting clothes' as Rochelle called them. She called them that because that's exactly what they were designed to do, attract men for the two of them to feed on. One perk of being undead it that vampires don't sweat, get dirty or have a scent in the sense that a living being had. Vampires have scents but those scents were never in the usual sense that they let clothing become smelly. It was more that vampires always smelled the same. So they never had to wash clothing, or bedding.
Another advantage to being dead was that you were basically taken out of the system. You technically didn't exist anymore. You didn't need money anymore because you didn't eat what humans ate and anything else you wanted you could easily steal. There were no taxes, no mortgages to pay, no phone calls about library books being returned. You were dead to the world and far above any part of its system. You could go where you wanted when you wanted. Master said that they were supposed to be the 'nomadic race' of beings. It explained why Seras couldn't seem to stay still in one place for long. Master seemed to rebel at the stagnation the human race seemed comfortable living in. but then again, Seras wasn't human and neither was Rochelle so why should they act like one?
Rochelle had opted for a blood red outfit that highlighted her pale skin, with bright claret-colored leather low rider pants that went all the way to the ankles and crimson high heels. A Red baby doll top which went down to her lower thighs showed off her shoulders and bare arms beautifully. It was a nice stretchy fabric, soft and comfortable. Rochelle cast a slightly envious glance her master's way, who was still admiring the night with her now long hair flying around her. Her master had a beauty and confidence to her that Rochelle wasn't sure she could obtain. Master had said that Rochelle would come into her own with time leaving Rochelle to be resigned to being just merely pretty. Sure Rochelle was beautiful enough but the devil may care attitude her master had at times in the face of danger Rochelle envied. Yet at the same time her master was so kind at times. She was like a kind sister. Both of these personalities to he master were at odds and yet still fit. It made her radiate confidence and power, passion, crazy and beautiful.
"Thank you." A quiet voice said. Rochelle started and looked over at her master bashfully, embarrassed that her thoughts had been read again at the worst time possible. But Seras appreciated the compliment. It may have just been a byproduct of the usual fledgling fascination they hold for their masters but it was still nice to Seras to know that she hadn't worked so hard all these years for nothing. All fledglings become obsessed with knowing everything of their masters growing up. They cannot help their fixations on their masters as it is part of their very nature and instincts. They may genuinely love their master behind the fledgling obsessions with masters but the lines eventually got blurred where that obsession and genuine love met leaving errant thoughts about said master to be hard to discern between the two. On the other hand the fledgling may loath and despise their master but they cannot help but love them at the same time because of the fledgling obsessions.
Hunger crazes, excitable blood lust, obsessions with their sires, half hearted human characteristics they had yet to dispose off such as breathing, pity for prey, instantly killed in sunlight, uncontrollable sleeping patterns and dreaming. All these signs of a newborn vampire or fledgling were things that Seras had outgrown. Among maturing fully into the vampire mindset Seras prided herself in her abilities as a vampire. They were a mark of how changed she was since her hated and love fledgling days. She loved them for the memories. She hated them because they were happy ones that led to her being released forcibly. Whenever Seras remembered, the memories would leave her feeling tired and sad and cold and empty. Now she ignored them because she hated HIM.
Seras looked over at her very abashed fledgling with a genuine smile on her face. "Is that how you view me Noires Moutons; Beautiful and crazy?"
Rochelle looked below to the city lights twinkling a mile away below as she hesitated to answer. Rochelle was relieved to see her master smiling and calling her by her nickname. It meant that master wasn't angry at Rochelle for the flippant thoughts. How should Rochelle answer? The youngling knows her master wasn't angry but she doesn't know how to explain herself. Struggling to find a way to express herself the minutes dragged on and Rochelle felt uncomfortable under the curious scrutiny of her master.
Suddenly she didn't need to speak and she was knocked breathless forward by a flat palm to the back. As one minute her feet had been planted on solid rock and the next she is now plummeting towards the ground thousands of feet below her. Fear caught her chest and Rochelle was about to shriek. Rochelle held in her frightened scream when she felt her hand being held. Looking to her right she saw her master smiling with fierce joy at the breathtaking plunge being made, holding her hand as they fell together. Hair whipping wildly around them, clothes flapping and a shrieking howl of gales as they cut through the air around them they fell. Seras was spread eagle enjoying the plummet and soon Rochelle relaxed enough from her surprise to enjoy the drop.
Rochelle let out a fierce yell of primal joy before screaming at her master over the whistling noise of the air around them that the free falling bodies made. "Yes master! You're both beautiful and crazy! Who the hell else but an insane person, would do something like pushing me off a cliff and jumping right after?" Her master just laughed in elation and laughed in bliss before doing a free fall summersault forcing Rochelle to do one as well because Seras was holding her hand. Rochelle could understand her laughter and screamed exultantly in her own euphoria. This was free will at its best.
They fell past the cragged rock face of the cliffs down, down, down. They fell past sparse vegetation that dotted the walls, moss and lichen alike, downward, downward, and downward. Rochelle felt like she was plummeting to the center of the earth itself and she didn't care at all about anything except the need to fall farther. It got even better. Still holding her masters hand they simultaneously faced downward with their heads pointed downward and their feet pointed up into the air to go faster and the wind screamed louder around them till the shrill gale force hurt their ears and still they didn't care. Rochelle felt free as she fell, the wind falling around her; more liberated than she had ever felt in her stifling human life of the light and rules. Rochelle felt like master of the sky and companion of her master, Rochelle reveled in the drop and in blatant vivification of gravity. She defied them all, death, life, fear, hate, restrictions, gravity, gods, devils, angels, demons, rules, laws, limitations. All were beneath her in the indescribable freedom she was experiencing. She disobeyed them all and reveled in every moment of her unashamed defiance.
To sum everything she felt up, Rochelle in that instant felt infinite
As the hard ground rushed up to meet them they suddenly stopped midair with a violent jerk, almost as is they had been marionettes on a string that had reached the end of their rope. Seras's eyes had taken on a burning red glow that looked like twin fires glowing in the black night around her as she used her levitating abilities to stop the dangerous freefall. Seras would have been able to have landed safely on her own but Rochelle wasn't able to. Slowly they drifted the last fifteen feet to the ground with a soft thump of Rochelle's feet and a noiseless landing of Seras's own feet. Rochelle, who still hadn't kicked the habit of breathing, was gasping for air wholly breathless at the aftermath of the exhilarating drop. She was still smiling in excitement and her face was as flushed as a vampire face could be.
They were now on a pebble strew pasture with little vegetation around them. An old oak tree was blackened from the night but everything was clearly visible to the two vampires. In the far distance towards the north they could see the ever constant steady glow of the streetlights of Amiens France, off in the distance. Except for the two women there were no other people there. A few animals could be heard running away from them, as they always did when they smelled a vampire. Only domesticated dogs or housecats, who had lost their basic instincts, could be comfortable around Rochelle and Seras anymore without fleeing. It was quiet with the exception of Rochelle's panting. The edge of the forest could be seen off to their left.
Despite the free fall only Rochelle's cobalt black hair was frizzled and wind whipped. Another peculiarity of being a vampire, Rochelle supposed, was that they were never to be windswept or dirty. Their bodies would get dirt on it and it would just shuffle off like burnt skin. Although the hair was something they had to consciously work on to keep right. Seras being a skilled nosferatu had no trouble keeping her hair right. Rochelle on the other hand was going to need help.
Seras walked forward and with a quick thought helped Rochelle's hair settle, but not before laughing at the Albert Einstein hair style Rochelle had been sporting. Rochelle's hair had literally been straight up in the air, looking like a Warner bros cartoon of someone who had just gotten frightened. Soon Rochelle had calmed down enough to talk and her breathing had evened out. Rochelle had been so happy with their free fall she forgot to be upset that her master, had just a minute earlier, pushed her unceremoniously off of the very top of a cliff without any warning.
"Master that was amazing, may we go again? Please?" Rochelle eagerly begged. Rochelle craved that fierce rush of joy she had felt from the freedom and that excitement. Seras smiled at her fledgling warmly and was about to say 'yes' before she noticed something that concerned her. It was Rochelle's eyes.
Seras sighed regretfully. 'No Noires Moutons, we cannot go again. We both need to feed tonight." Rochelle's eyes automatically flickered up to her masters own eyes and sure enough noticed the darker than usual scarlet hue there, a clear sign of hunger. Then Rochelle became aware of her own hunger, a piercing feeling in her stomach and a dry achy pain in her throat and realized the truth of her master's words. Sighing wistfully Rochelle cast one last look at the top of the precipice that she couldn't see before they turned away from the cliff side and leisurely started walking towards town.
Their eyes were a dark black red like jet covered in blood, and sinister intent was clear. Footsteps were lighter and noiseless as they passed by the halfway point to the unsuspecting town filled with humans. Neither of them spoke. They could smell the humans far ahead of them, smell the blood. It made both of the young vampires fangs lengthen. Seras may have been older and with better restraint but she really was fairly young. Despite their eagerness to get there and feed they continued the slow pace. Both vampires eagerly mused about the coming hunt and could feel their bloodlusts rising, the call for death and the call for blood coming from within them. Who were they to stop this need?
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
One hour later a clock struck two o'clock in Amiens France and every living being had finally admitted that it was time to sleep. Drunks were stumbling home from the bars, leaning on each other and singing crude songs tunelessly. With the street lamps every twenty feet there were sharp contrasting darkness's that were impossible to see in if you were standing in the lamplight. Lights everywhere of even the most dedicated night owls house were flickering off as they admitted defeat and succumbed to the need to sleep. The old cobblestones streets of Amiens were cold and rough, blacker than even the blackest shade of jet in the night. It may have been summer but they were in a far north part of France and a storm is coming.
They are in the older part of town where two dead drained bodies dropped to the ground with an unceremonious 'thump'. Seras ignored them as she no longer cared now that she was full. They were dead insignificant lumps of flesh anyways. Seras had seen into their worthless minds and the men had nothing but rape and murder in them anyways. Rochelle stared in morbid fascination at them because she still cared. They were a pair of men wasting away in an alleyway, surrounded by bottles of booze. Rochelle knew the name of the man she had drained and every intimate detail and thought he had ever had because she had absorbed his soul. His name was Simon and he-
'Stop it Rochelle." Her master's voice sternly spoke, not unkind but firm. "You must let go of your love for humans. To feel guilty for every soul we have fed from and taken will eventually drive us mad. I do not feel guilty and you need to learn to let go of your guilt. I am not saying that you should have no empathy but neither should you continue to think like a human. You have already begun to enjoy the hunt, as you should, but still feel guilty afterwards. The souls you have absorbed shouldn't be of interest to you unless there is something you need to know, like how to speak a language or find a location. We do not make friends with the humans. They are our chosen pray. We are not human. Remember that well."
"Yes master." Rochelle spoke quietly, looking down at her feet despondently. She really was trying. She can't understand why it isn't getting any easier considering she has been trying so hard for so long now.
Seras felt the unhappiness of her fledgling through the mental link they shared and sighed in discontent herself. Rochelle was very young and didn't realize that Seras only wanted what was best for her. Seras didn't want Rochelle to experience what she had during her days as a fledgling. Seras cursed her idiocy for remembering and shook her head clear of the thoughts. Stepping forward Seras walked up to Rochelle who was still looking down at her feet and unaware that Seras had moved. Leaning in close to Rochelle's ear, made easier by the black boots that increased her height, Seras whispered into her fledgling's ear and startled Rochelle.
"You must let go Rochelle. You must. It does not do to dwell on hopeless fools dreams and forget how to live; or at least as alive as we undead can be. You must understand that while I respect that you love your humanity you must let go of it or the guilt will consume you and before long mad you will be. Far more mad than some of the most virulent of our kind. Even if you try to keep it with you your humanity will disappear inevitably. It is far better to get rid of it now while you are young and you have very little to be guilty for." Rochelle listened silently, completely memorized by her master's quiet words. This was one of those rare moments in which her master was not only being patient and kind on the subject of Rochelle's shame concerning drinking blood.
Seras continued. "Forget them Rochelle. Forget them all. The people you once called friends, mother, father, sister, brother. The ones called uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather. Forget your family. Forget the humans. You are dead and they are mortal. You will live on while they will die old and weak. Disregard them. Remember that you are no longer human and embrace what you are. I have patiently waited three long years and allowed you far more time to adjust than others would think wise out of respect for you."
Rochelle realized the truth of her master's words. Her master had been very tolerant for three years with Rochelle. She had had several conversations before trying to help Rochelle stop feeling so guilty. It eventually brought Rochelle out of her guilt but eventually Rochelle would start feeling guilty again on a later hunting trip and once more they would have the conversations. Rochelle had complained about the hunting at first but now she is used to it. She doesn't complain anymore but she still can't help the guilt she feels for each and every one of her victims. Rochelle wanders that if the day she gets used to killing without remorse is the day she should be concerned. She just can't think that it is not so easy to kill without feeling. Rochelle almost wants the damn day she kills without feeling to come so she can stop feeling guilty.
Catching more of Rochelle's thoughts Seras whispered more desperately, trying to be soothing and make Rochelle understand. Seras needed Rochelle to understand if only to spare her from the seven hellish years she had spend at Hellsing and the five more painful years after being released, both spent battling her vampire nature. It had been twelve nightmarish years of self torment, denial, and mad moon dreams of nourishing herself but not killing humans. Twelve years Seras never wanted Rochelle to suffer.
"No, no you misunderstand Noires Moutons. You cannot kill without feeling and nor should you. Surely you have felt it? The amusement as you feel the preys fear and they cower before you? The thrill of the hunt as they turn tail like the cowards they are and try to run for their right to live, to exist? The triumph when you finally pin them down by the throat and they struggle uselessly beneath you? Then the delicious delights as you bite down into their soft supple necks and suck out their warm blood?"
"I am trying master. I really am." Rochelle said even quieter trying to ignore the enticing imagery that almost makes her hungry again despite having just eaten.
Seras pulled back and looked intently for a minute, a passive expression on her face, thoughtfully studying her confused and distressed child. The shame there on her fledglings face Seras recognized very well having experienced the same shame herself for years after being released. Until one day she found she no longer cared. Inwardly Seras felt angry. Not at Rochelle but at herself. This was almost a repeat of her fledgling years. How could she make Rochelle understand? How could she make Rochelle avoid the same mistakes of guilt and shame over normal needs? Seras felt as if she was failing Rochelle at her inability to make Rochelle understand to, to stop feeling ashamed and guilty at the deaths of the mortals they fed on. Seras didn't like feeling as if she was failing. Vampires as old as Seras are not supposed to feel guilty or ashamed, or as if they had failed.
"I recognize your efforts Rochelle but my patience is waning fast. Do not try. Do. Feel the night and darkness within you an embrace it. It is a core piece of your very being. You must welcome and make peace with your vampiric side or it will swallow you whole and consume you and the person you are now will be lost forever." And I will be sad to see you go. Seras didn't say the last part out loud. To say it would be an admittance of needing her fledgling, something that she can't afford to do as it shows weakness. If Rochelle knew Seras had weakness it would leave her free to leave. Movement behind them alerted Seras to the ghouls that had just risen from the now drained corpses. Sighing Seras effortlessly destroyed them with a fist through the heart and they promptly turned into twin piles of ash. Her earlier good mood was disappearing under the lackluster black depression attitude of her fledgling.
Rochelle looks up about to speak but finds her master swiftly walking towards the center of town and she ran forward to catch up. "Master how does-"
"You know, it is a very pleasant night. Very little moonlight and it seems as if a large storm is coming. I have always loved the air and the moon when the calm interlude before the rainstorm is happening." Rochelle realized her master had changed the subject and that the topic was closed for discussion. Resigning herself to thinking about this later Rochelle tried to cheer up and participate.
"Master what are we going to do tonight?" her master always had some idea of how to have fun. Last time they had sat at the top of the Eiffel tower and drank blood wine. Before that they had had fun terrorizing tourists by making them see gory hellish images that the tourists would run in terror from. Before that they had laid spread eagle and stared at the stars talking. Even before that they had had hunting contests. Before that her master had trained her to change her appearance.
Seras stopped, turned around and gave a smile. Seras just had an idea of how to cheer Rochelle up.
"I had thought we could sing and dance tonight. I have not had a decent singing in a good while. What say you?" It was an eager slow smile that spread across Rochelle's face. Masters was a good singer and she loved to hear her sing. Master is also a good dancer. Both women silently looked at each other frozen for a couple of minutes without words before simultaneously running off faster towards the center of town, giggling uncontrollably like a couple of school girls talking about boys.
This was another aspect of her master's friendly side that Rochelle liked. Playfulness. Her master was not only mischievous but playful as well. She loved to sing and dance, to hunt, to run and Rochelle loved her for that. Once they had played a vampire version of tag and her master had happily laughed the whole time, not the cackle of bitter mocking insanity that she used on other people but a genuine smile of happiness and a sweet natured laugh that was like the musical tinkle of harmonious bells.
They got to the center of town and passed through the main street towards the floating gardens of Amiens or as they were more commonly known here as 'Les Jardins de Flottement d'Amiens'. Rochelle could see them somewhat but her master just past by them disinterestedly. Several war memorials dotted the cobbled streets, all reminders of how the gardens were nearly destroyed during World War II. Surprisingly enough the massive ancient thirteenth centenary cathedral right in the middle of the gardens had been completely untouched throughout the war despite the multiple wild fires and bombs that had battered burned the verdant grounds. The French gothic style cathedral had several turrets and spires that shot straight into the air by forty-five meters, aged cobblestones and brick that were weatherworn and gray, surrounded by white Lilly flowers and green sweet grass proudly stands the renowned cathedral: The Notre Dame. This particular church is celebrated regularly as the largest gothic style monument in all of France by the world heritage center.
The rivers threaded its way through the gardens and had lotus flowers and shrubs in it. It also weaved past a famous statue called the 'L'ange Pleurant' or the 'Weeping Angel'. It was a massive marble statue seven feet high of an angel with its hands held against her face with a fountain that burbled forth tears. The statue was supposed to be in dedication to the hopes that humanity will one day be redeemed in the eyes of god. In the meantime the angel would shed tears for the lost innocence of the human race.
Throughout the massive rolling gardens are a wide running river and several canals which Rochelle eyed warily as they walked carefully across the cobble stoned bridge. One good fall into any running body of water was enough to kill any vampire as young as she was. Any landlocked water that didn't have a stream or river connecting through it a vampire could enter but running water was not to be entered by a vampire, especially a newborn. When they reached the other side of the bridge they were faced with a wrought iron fence with chain link covering it. Clearly no one was allowed in after dark. The elder nosferatu ignored the fence and jumped it with ease, her golden red hair fanning out behind her as she gracefully arced over the fence. Rochelle followed suit and was proud that she had managed to land without stumbling.
Her master said that with everyday that she let go of her humanity was everyday that her powers would flower and manifest. Rochelle in the begging like every vampire have astounding physical strength and speed but the problem came with controlling it and it got easier with age like everything else did for vampires. You could jump a hundred feet in one leap in two seconds flat but the landing it something your body has to learn and instincts were the key. But instincts were hindered by youngling's human emotions and human instincts.
Reaching a grassy knoll with weeping willows surrounding them they stopped. The grass was lush and green soft downy beneath their feet. The weeping willows formed natural curtains around everything and made a large ring around the curtain. Running water could be heard off in the distance Rochelle could see the bugs that were there in the clearing with them sense the two vampire's presence and they quickly buzzed away. Without preamble her master stepped to the center of the glade and titled her head back. Her lips parted and she began by singing in a wailing, haunting tune a foreign language Rochelle recognized. Her master loved the language of the gypsies and their music. The gypsies or as they were actually known as were called Roma, meaning 'human', lived in Slavic countries near places like Italy, Transylvania and Romania.
Turning slowly this way and that her master sang in a transfixing song, spinning slowly her hair swaying in the air around her. This was a slow song where every syllable was accentuated and elongated. Slowly falling from her mouth the foreign words were beautiful and powerful. Rochelle knew this language and could understand what her master was singing. It was beautiful; beauty in its basest form. The song was about love and how fleeting it was.
"me djinaua jeg rat gai wam".
(I remember one night where we met)
"Me djinaua jeg rat gai wam".
(I remember one night where we met)
"Gai wam"
(Where we met)
"Gai wam"
(Where we met)
"Gai wam"
(Where we met)
"Gai wam"
(Where we met)
"Gai wam"
(Where we met)
Here her master paused her singing, she began to spin faster and faster in dizzying circles raising her arms above her head in an oval shape fingertips meeting high above her head. Darting this way and that her body wiggled in fantastic shapes and she was clearly enjoying herself. Her eyes were closed and a smile on her face. Rochelle joined in the dance stomping her feet and spinning around, she lost herself in the dance ad was once again happy. Here her master sped up the tempo of the song and the beautiful words floated off of her tongue in a popping fashion. Rochelle could almost hear the tambourines, drums, flutes and guitars that would have accompanied the song. It was music that made her feel as if she were in Brazil. It was heady fast paced music that made a person spin until they were giddy. Her master opened her mouth and continued to sing.
"Me djinau jeg rat gai kelam."
(I remember one night where we were dancing)
Rochelle jumped up and down clapping along to the tune and she jumped back and forth spinning this way and that. The world spun and she laughed in delight, all cares and worries disappearing. All she could hear was her master singing beautifully, in that old wailing tongue which syllables twisted around the mouth before being shot out, that and laughing, all she could feel was her body dancing to the music and pure joy, the feel of her pale bare feet as she stamped down onto the cool sweet acid green grass below her that felt like a downy pillow, all she could smell as the summers night around them and the flowers and roses that covered the gardens, all she could see as she moved back and forth were brief flashes of the moon her master and the willow trees around them. The song went even faster when the chorus was reached.
"La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la la"
"Me djinau jeg rat gai kelam."
(I remember one night where we were dancing)
"La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la la"
"tsawo djine du"
(Boy, do you remember)
"diri bacht an goi rat"
(How happy you have been in that night)
"miri bacht an goi rat"
(How happy I have been in that night)
Still singing the song her master grabbed her hand and they began to spin faster ad faster together like they had when they were children with their friends. Faster and faster still they tamped down the earth spinning and Rochelle felt exhilarated! They spun and spun and spun until they were no longer spinning but the world spun in wild circles around them and they could not care in the slightest! Twirling again and again they laughed all their cares away. There were certainly things Rochelle had used to wonder would have been better if she ha died as a human but she doesn't regret her decision. Not when she had her master by her side. Not when she had someone she could call and older sister. And Seras was like an older sister in Rochelle's mind, in the way that Rochelle always envied her looks, her wise beyond years mind frame and the strength that radiated off her in waves. Not just strength of body and abilities but strength of mind and character. Or at least the kind of character that vampires valued. Seras was her friend and sister on sorts and Rochelle wouldn't want it any other way. They always had fun and Rochelle never wanted to be at anyone's side but her masters. The song continued again speeding up a little more as the tempo rose and fell.
"Me djinau jeg rat gai kelam."
(I remember one night where we were dancing)
"La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la la"
Finally letting go both women fell to the ground laughing not caring in the slightest above grass stains or anything for that matter. Laughing themselves for a few minutes they fell silent and stared at the stars, what little of the sky that could be seen from behind the inky colored clouds that were steadily massing in the sky above them to begin their stormy assault of the elements. They just laid there lost in their thoughts. No words needed to be said because at that moment they were happy and at peace, content to share their companionship with each other. From where they were laying there wasn't even any wind to disturb them. it was the calm before the storm. Rochelle breathed in deeply and enjoyed the French freesias and ivy vines, the bitter flower bells and many other aromas tat flooded the garden. Being a vampire she will always be able to smell a wide range of things and her mind will catalogue the smells unconsciously. Her night vision made everything look as clear as day, she could see every blade of grass distinctly and in sharp clear focus.
A slow wind blew towards them coming from the north. Rochelle could hear it coming before it reached them. She looked forward to the new smells it would bring her. Breathing out she waited until the quiet breeze gently blew over them before breathing in deeply- and the quiet of the night was disturbed like a rocket in a graveyard! The air was full of hissing angrily. Both vampires were no longer on the ground peacefully lying down but tense in ready to fight positions. Their stances hostile as they felt threatened; a vampire was coming. Male by the scent and extremely old, quite powerful and maliciousness and evil was unmistakable in the scent.
Seras realized what was happening and snapped back into herself she took several long whiffs of the air around her. It was a pungent scent, familiar somehow… hearing another threatening hiss Seras looked over at Rochelle and saw her fledgling still taken by her vampiric instincts. Rochelle was in a well places fighter's crouch, perfect stance, and her eyes a burning red and she scented the air once again. Sighing she gave a true order to her fledgling which Rochelle had no choice but to obey.
Rochelle. Rochelle listen to me, listen and recognize your master.
Like an abrupt slap to the face Rochelle's eyes widened as she snapped back to her self, her stance relaxed but the tense and fear was still there. Her instincts screamed danger, they shrieked for blood and they shrieked for self preservation. Two warring emotions and urges within her that thrilled her very core and shook her soul. Rochelle opened her mouth to speak but her master just raised a hand to silence her. She needed concentration at this moment. Seras thought there was something familiar about this scent. Like a half forgotten dream, or of a dream within a dream. Opening her mind to the world around her Seras cast her senses out far and wide sniffing all the while. The wind seemed to have brought it far ahead of its owner and it had been greatly diluted and thinned out.
Seras opened her mouth and breathed in deep through her nose, scenting what the wind had brought with it. Yes, it was definitely someone she had smelled before but who could it be. It must have been a while ago if she could not remember it. A second wind, a hard gust blew in and buffeted them carrying a stronger sample of the wind. Smelling the air Seras abruptly stiffened as her mind stopped. Every part of her was rigid with shock and pain but that was all forgotten as the hundreds of souls she had consumed over the last thirty year were howling, every single one of them screaming advice at her. Every single one screamed words arguing back and forth about what she should do, to run or stay and Seras didn't know what to do. Eventually the din lowered some and some still screamed some spoke in normal tones while others whispered.
RUN! He will kill you if he sees you.A man cried out.
No stay! See what he wants. See why he is so far from where he belongs.An elderly woman's voice shouted over the others, trying to counsel.
Leave now, he will hurt you again. He tore out your heart that day and is coming to do it again.A male convict warned sounding convinced.
Stay, you know you love him. Work things out. You love him, always have. Admit it.A young woman said softly.
She doesn't love him, she hates him. He treated her like dirt. Like a worthless person unworthy of his time or energy.A man's voiced snarled angrily, insulted at the idea.
Yes she does. She knows she loves him. A soft whispery voice said that sounded like an old man.
And it went on like this. Voices of every age, race, gender, all the souls she had ever fed from battling it out to have their say on what Seras should do. The discordant voices reigning havoc in her head. Her mind too rigid with shock too deeply in pain to move just listened to them speak, scream, shout, whisper, hearing every word there in her head. Her chest hurt, her eyes burned, her throat was tight and constricted. How was he had such an effect on after all these years? She could feel the soft love for him in her heart and she hated herself thoroughly for it.
He will hurt you. He will tear out your heart again, and step on what's left of it.
He won't hurt you.
Fight him; get revenge on the one who has caused you so much pain. He left you like all the rest, tossed you aside.
She can't fight she is no match for him yet.
Stay. Find out why he is here of all places.
Go. Run to save yourself. Run to save your fledgling. He has already hurt you emotionally and physically. He is not here to love you. He does not care what happens to you. He will hurt you and laugh.
Run. Leave. Save yourself.
Hate, fight and kill. You hate him. Rip him to pieces and make him beg for forgiveness you won't give. He has reduced you to taking out your anger onto humans, on the world, hunting them to make them all feel pain as you felt pain.
Love, forgive and understand. You love him. It might not be too late. It might be that he could grow to love you.
You love him.
You hate him.
You love and hate him. Love him as a man and hate him for using you for his amusement. For playing with you and throwing you away like all the others. He was just another in a long series of abandonment's. You thought he would care and he tossed you away when he was done.
Save yourself. Go home.
Remember Rochelle. We all love and need Rochelle to survive, to stay sane and joyful. He will kill Rochelle. He will kill her if he finds out she is your child and we will be alone once again. Save Rochelle. I won't be alone anymore. Save her. He will kill her. Leave now!
All of the sudden all the voices were silent a moment before the cacophony raised to deafening levels as a thousand trapped souls within the vampires screaming in fear and rage. Seras could hear every single one and this time understood what they were saying. All of them agreed on one single course of action. Seras felt fear for the first time in four years. It clutched at her heart paralyzing her. She couldn't be alone again. She wouldn't be alone again. She loved Rochelle like a sister and she needed her.
Run! We will not be left to the loneliness again! No more solitary wanderings! We will not be left to the emptiness.
Flee! Run from him! He is your master no more. He isn't important anyways!
I won't go back to the days of empty existence.
Without Rochelle we have no purpose! We would be surviving and living for no one! If life has no purpose your dead already!
RUN! Protect Rochelle. We need her. Protect Rochelle!
The souls stopped screaming different things at the last voice and they all started after him, chanting the same thing in unison, again and again and again. Steadily raising in volume their voices raising form howls to screams, all screaming the same message with an urgency that mesmerized Seras. All the same screams once more.
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Protect Rochelle!
Finally when their screaming had risen so magnificently to volumes Seras could no longer tolerate she shut out their voices and they guttered out like a cup over a flame. Coming back to herself Seras realized four things immediately about her surroundings. One was that she was on the ground thought she had no remembrance of doing anything to lower her body. Two was that her arms were wrapped around herself hugging her form and it was if she were holding herself together. Three was that she was sobbing uncontrollably and crimson tears were pouring down her small pale white face from her burgundy eyes in bloody rivets, her grief and pain from the memories too much to handle. Four and last was that Rochelle was crouched in front of her looking concerned at she was lightly shaking Seras's shoulder with both hands.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Rochelle had been standing next to her master silently ever since she had held up a hand to silence her. She felt uneasy, naked and defenseless in the face of this new elder vampire. Her master never had reacted that way. This new nosferatu was powerful, even more powerful that her master. Rochelle knew it. Her master knew it. They both knew it and the male vampire is headed directly this way, in their direction. Rochelle dint think it was a coincidence that the vampire was heading their way. She felt threatened and the nagging vampiric mind in the background screamed for her to flee, screamed for her to take her master and go, and yet they also ordered her to stay with her master and fight. It was confusing and Rochelle didn't know whether to stay or go. She nervously eyed the clearing around them.
Rochelle realized something and cursed her stupidity. The dream. The dream had warned of a powerful vampire coming and she had allowed herself to be whisked off on a journey rather than wait safely in the cave back in baron. Rochelle had thought that the mystery vampire was coming to baron and when he found them gone and not there that he would loose interest. She never imagined that her dream would come true if she actually went on the trip her master offered.
Most of their race was solitary wanderers, it was just the few vampires who decide to make a coven and live together and even then the covens were never any more than eight. Rochelle had learned, thanks to her masters lessons on vampires, that in recorded history the largest vampire gathering was the grand total of a massive 108 elder vampires and it was only during the days of the holy wars that raged on in the eighteenth century. They had gathered together to defeat and kill the vampire hunters from the Vatican that threatened the existence of their kind. After that the vampires all left and went their separate ways and the Vatican was completely decimated. The humans had explained it away as a terrible fire.
Who was this mystery elder that was coming after them? Why would he do such a thing? Rochelle knew that several vampires in the past had come after her master whether to settle a grudge or to claim her as a mate. Many of these male vampires Rochelle had seen herself; all hoping to defeat her master and claim her as their own. Who could this elder vampire be and what did he want?
Rochelle looked over at her master and gasped at what she saw. Her master was gripping herself tightly, shaking horribly. She was sitting in the cold grass with bloody tear trails running down her cheeks as she was sobbing. The look in her eyes was in contrast to the obvious grief because her eyes… they looked empty. A blank glazed look to them made her look like a sad doll. Rochelle ran forward to her master and began asking what was wrong. When her master didn't respond Rochelle grabbed her shoulders and began to lightly shake her masters shoulders. Again her master just kept shaking from her own convulsions from her crying and Rochelle shakes her. So Rochelle shook her harder.
It seemed to work because the blank look disappeared and her masters crimson eyes snapped up to look into Rochelle's own crimson orbs. Her master suddenly pulled out of her grasp with an empty expression on it.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Gaining control of her emotions once again Seras pulled out of her fledglings grasp, wiped away her useless tears and promptly scolded her self for giving into such emotion and losing control like that. Seras realized Rochelle was asking her a question. She ignored it and grabbed Rochelle's wrist. Puling Rochelle along Seras ran southward, away from the north where the scent had flown in from. Seras began to go faster and faster until she was full out running, pulling Rochelle along with her. Occasionally Rochelle would yell out a question but Seras either didn't hear her or ignored her. Soon they were out of the gardens and were reaching the outskirts of the city. They ran past the outskirts of the town and were leaving it behind the. On they ran through the forest to the south neither vampire stopping to rest or take in the scenery. Seras knew that Rochelle wouldn't feel tired because of a vampire's strength. They ran for hours.
In the country dust was kicked up behind them in billowing clouds. They had left the town of Amiens far behind them. As they ran in heedlessly dangerous speeds Rochelle let herself be pulled along and her mind wandered. Rochelle was confused as to why her master was running and behaving this way. For one her master never ran from a battle. She always stood straight backed waiting for the enemy and then she would laugh in deaths face before screaming her delight at the prospect of battle. Secondly why had her master been crying? Rochelle had seen her masters face and they had not bee tears of panic or fear, but of pain loss and sorrow. Had her master smelled that scent before? Who had that person been to her master?
Rochelle hadn't seen her master act so emotionally out of control since the day she had entered the forbidden room and she found the portrait of her masters suspected master- … that was it wasn't it? Rochelle realized right then that the only times her master got emotionally out of control was when her master's sire was involved somehow. With a jolt Rochelle realized that her master's master might have been so very close to them and that her master was running to avoid seeing him. At least that's what she suspected. She still wasn't sure if the man in red from the painting was her master's creator. And Rochelle didn't dare ask about her theory because her master hated to talk about her master's master.
Now Rochelle really didn't understand what was going on. She felt as if she had a tangled web of mystery and questions where the more she found out the more she had left to find out. Her master painted the man and kept him as a part of her past immortalized in a room in her home yet she hated to talk about him and ran from him. What was going on? Rochelle's eyes flickered over to her master who was running at full tilt and realized her master wasn't being herself. She had a slightly crazed look to her eyes; it wasn't the usually insane glee when she was fighting. It was one of desperation and anger.
Rochelle experimentally tugged at her master's grip and found that it was an unbreakable grasp upon her person. Her master didn't even seem to notice the attempt to pull from her grasp.
They ran for another hour until they reached a town. Dawn was lightening up the sky. They would have to stop now. Rochelle estimated that they had made about a good fifty miles distance from Amiens. While that might have shocked regular humans that they had ran so fast and so far without stopping it hardly shocked Rochelle. Vampires could run for so long and so fast without getting tired it was almost depressing.
It was a small hamlet which Rochelle observed as they came in surprisingly enough had a train station. Rochelle would have looked on further but her master abruptly slowed down and Rochelle stumbled forwards, staggering at the sudden change in speeds.
Seras stood there looking everywhere for a morgue, a sewer, a shed, a closed down store, a church; any building or thing that would be undisturbed for an entire day and where no light would get to and she didn't see anything. Cursing their luck Seras dragged her fledgling with her roving her eyes over the streets, the sky still dark enough for there to be no sunlight but light enough a human could see in. fortune was with them when Seras spotted a condemned house down the street. It was old and rotting, it smelled of dust and decay. A condemned house sign out front that Seras's keen vampiric eyes could make out the due date for demolition fine print from so far away read that it wasn't until another four more days before it was to be torn down.
Making a straight beeline towards the dilapidated house Seras phased through the front door dragging Rochelle with her. Seras couldn't even seem to hear Rochelle's questions, so far gone in her focus of protecting the one thing left in her life that kept her going, kept her from doing things like she had done in her 27th year of vampiric unlife. Seras spotted a basement and she smiled manically, not at all worried that the house could come down on them. Walking over she wrenched the rotting blackened oak door open and walked down the crackling old steps covered in dirt and filth forcing Rochelle to follow after, the vice-like grip tight and inescapable.
Finally reaching the basement Seras finally let go of Rochelle's wrist and she immediately looked over the basement, looking for a window or any signs of light getting in. it was pitch black and not a single ray of light was in sight. Even better were several pieces of furniture that clearly meant to go down with the house. Seras turned to Rochelle and finally spoke. She decided that her behavior had already been odd enough to her child and that she would simply just have to pretend as if the situation was not serious.
"Moutons Noires, we shall sleep here for the night before we take the train tomorrow back to Baron. Get some sleep because tomorrow we will hunt, procure some coffins and then catch a midnight train." With that said Seras went over to a couch that was the least moldy of all of them and laid down causing a cloud of dust to billow up. She ignored Rochelle's stammered questions and sneezes and fell asleep nearly immediately. The nonstop running and all the blood she had lost from crying had drained her quite a bit.
Rochelle stood in the darkened silence and watched her master fall asleep. Rochelle could feel herself getting angry. She may be a fledging but didn't she have the right to at least a few questions being answered? What was going on? Her master hadn't listened to a single question she asked and if she had heard them wasn't going to answer any of them or even acknowledge them. Standing there for a few more minutes Rochelle sighed as she could feel herself getting sleepy. There wasn't anything for it. She couldn't help the sun rising. She sluggishly walked over to a arm chair that looked big enough and curled up into it. She fell asleep with her vampiric mind sending her prophetic dreams of crimson dragons that were really vampires and vampires that were really dragons.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Hello people: I've got quite the response page for you. The number of reviews and responses I get makes me feel happy about my work. I seem to be getting more which usually ends up with me getting these massive response parts. Worry not I never count anything but the actual story numbers so you will always be guaranteed to have 9 thousand word or more chapters and anything after the 0o0 doesn't get counted. I've decided due to the massive response part that I would be taking today's response page and moving it over to the myth page which will be added shortly. For those of you who don't know the song Seras sung is real. It is called "Kelas" (Lets Dance) and can be found on youtube. Its part of the FMA movie soundtrack 'The Conquer of Shamballa". It's beautiful and I love it. I'm working on this and I'm listening to it right now.
Some of you are wondering why I research. Well I figure that when I stop learning I'm pretty much dead. So to avoid the grisly fate of becoming an unintelligent zombie, just another part of the faceless masses; that I would learn about the world around me and France seemed perfect. It has culture and plenty of aspiring painters that Seras might feed off of to get her interested in painting. I had considered having Seras live in Brazil or Japan when I first sat down to write this but then I thought of Europe and I immediately got the mental image of Seras sitting on the Eiffel tower. After that there were no second thoughts. Of course France, where the hell else? A bonus of using France is its close enough to Brittan for the plot to be plausible anyways.
Author: I've had writers block for days now which would explain why I haven't been updating as fast as I usually do and-
Alucard: No your not, you just wanted to watch that NCIS marathon that you recorded while you were at school.
Author: Shut it Alucard. I really did have writers block which is rare for me but it happens.
Alucard: I'm angry. I didn't get to do that one scene we planned where I get help from Rochelle on getting back Se-
Author: That's enough. Go away.
Alucard: But what about that character you planned to kill off. I mean the person you are planning to kill is-
Author: I swear to god if you're doing a spoiler that I will make you a sparkly vampire, the death of any dignified vampire legend out there. No one will respect you.
Alucard looks scared: … Of- Of course not! Don't be ridiculous! There is no need to go to such terrifying measures.
Author: Why the hell couldn't Stephanie Myer think of something else? Of all the things she could have done with twilight she went for sparkly vampires? She could have said the sunlight weakens them, or the sunlight makes them invisible, that it makes them uncontrollably bloodthirsty, or the sunlight makes them look hideous. Why the f%$& is it sparkly vampires? That is so stupid.
Alucard nervously edges away until he's off screen. In the world of fanfiction the true master was always the author and this author was getting pissed starting to rant about the death of literature and idiotic moves in writing. Suddenly stopping her rant when she noticed Alucard gone the author sweat dropped and blushed at her complaining.
Author: … Wait… why am I writing this again? Oh wait, that's right, my original announcement. I wrote a one shot which is a Hellsing multi-chapter fanfic story, called "Run Little One, Run, I Will Still Catch You", I had wanted to do after I finished writing "Submit To Me". Don't get me wrong, I'm not eager to stop writing the story and I have plans to make it thirty chapters or longer. But this was a story line idea I had and I couldn't let it go to waste. So go look at it and tell me if you think I should continue it after "Submit To Me" is done. I got a review on that which was rather obscure. it didn't tell me. it sounded more like a song lyric about flames and gasoline. please be specific when you review.
Mysterious person speaks: Hey! How come I haven't gotten any screen time yet? I'm supposed to be raising hell, kicking ass and taking names and Seras will become-
Author: shoo! Shoo! You're not due yet for at least another eight more chapters! We have had enough spoilers as it is. I know I said I don't like spoilers but I'm feeling evil and will be revealing just enough information but not enough that you will know what's going to happen. *Evil cackle* Till next time everyone!
-He will knock four times