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Embracing Sin

Chapter 6 – Vlad's Sword

Hellsing Manor – September 12th, 7:30 p.m.

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Taking care of Hellsing business, Seras thought with a heavy sigh, was a serious anti-climatic understatement.

Gregory Penwood lived by his word.

He took care of all the political issues with the Twelve while Integra was away, assuring Seras that 'we do not require your involvement in any particular matter… just quite yet', or so he said. Seras was eager to fit the part as Hellsing's surrogate mistress. She even got herself a nice no-nonsense business suit just like Integra.

Although…

There were no important meetings to attend.

The administrative side of the operation was exceedingly boring, she concluded. Paper work indeed sucked the life out of one's soul. Then again, there were not many supernatural issues to deal with either. The freaks of the world were taking it easy. Just her luck. Only a few minor problems came in but they turned out to be nothing really.

One was even a false alarm.

Two days ago her and Pip had to check out an incident where a woman reported that her dog was possessed by mischievous demons or some kind of goblin, claiming the animal was speaking to her in cryptic riddles. Only when they got there, it turned out the dog had simply swallowed a voice-activated mechanism from inside a small child's toy belonging to a creepy looking doll that went by the name of Charles Riddles.

Sigh. It was a dead end.

What the draculina would not do for a nice ass-kicking, bone-breaking, blood-splattering kind of fight right about now? Something to blow off steam. Something to get her out of the house.

"My lovely belle femme!" It seemed as if the walls in the room spoke to her with a lively French accent.

"This is such a travesty, such iniquité! Here you are, cooped up inside this stuffy office looking bored out of your pretty, fair-haired skull while Alucard and Integra are out having the time of their lives. We must rectify this situation… let's do something fun too, qui?"

Spending the last ten minutes mindlessly spinning around in Integra's office chair Seras reached out, caught the front of the desk with her hand and ceased the movement. She faced the room frontwards with a smile.

Pip always had a way of cheering her up.

Pip Bernadotte, the ex-mercenary leader of the Wild Dogs phased out of the wall as if he was peeling himself away from it, becoming a single solid entity. Being Seras's familiar, him being a part of her existence after she drank his blood thirty-one years ago, they worked together to protect Hellsing manor from any unwanted threats.

He sauntered up to the desk looking as he always did, wearing his Australian slouch hat on top of a head of braided, russet hair. Around his neck, he wore his favourite dark orange scarf over a bulky beige-coloured flak jacket, along with a pair of cargo pants and clunky black combat boots.

Before Seras could say a word, a ginormous smile spread across Pip's face as he slapped his palms down on top of the desk loudly, bracing himself as he eyeballed his woman. "Will you look at this? Mon dieu! That outfit you're wearing—" He whistled loudly. "When did you change into that?"

Seras giggled as she glanced down at herself briefly. She was wearing a slim-fitting business suit with a pencil skirt that showed ample thigh. It was burgundy in colour. Underneath the tapered jacket with a sharp lapel, she wore a white-collared shirt that rest over the collar resting on top of the lapels. Even her spiky blonde hair was tamed at the front with a tidy hairpin creating a very modern-chic sort of look.

"I decided I wasn't going to let this outfit go to waste even if I'm not needed at any meetings." She told him with determination. "I was bored. So, I changed into this a little while ago."

Pip's one good green eye was as wide as a one-pound coin as he gawked at her. "Oh boy, what I wouldn't do to have use of both my eyes this very moment," he lamented gently touching the eye patch that covered his left eye.

Again, Seras giggled. "Have I shown you Integra's latest email? She sent me a couple of beautiful photos. There is even one of her and master dancing, seems like they were in a fancy restaurant or something in Bucharest. Come take a look," she urged. "Maybe after we can put on some music and—"

"—dance?" Pip finished for her, delighted with the idea. "Oui! I would love nothing better. The women used to flock to me just so I would dance with them. We would drink and smoke and dance." He reminisced as he came around the desk to peer at the laptop to see a photograph of Integra and Alucard dressed formally in a lovely gown and suit caught in a moment of slow dancing. Integra was looking up at Alucard and Alucard was peering down at her with bounds of pride.

"They must have gotten someone to take their picture. It's so wonderful Pip, I never would have imagined them to do such a thing. They must be having such a lovely time." Seras shared.

"Perhaps everything does happen for a reason," Pip offered as he began to frown. He leaned in a bit closer and pointed at the screen. "What happened to their feet? It looks like they are floating on the dance floor."

Seras studied the picture again. "Oh. You're right. How strange. Clearly, the photographer is standing far enough away to fit them in the picture. Hmm."

Pip shrugged. "C'est la vie… probably just a glitch." He turned away from the photo and smiled devilishly at his lovely Seras. "I have not kissed you once today. How about it?"

Seras leaned in and softly met his lips for a gentle kiss. It made her forget all about the mundanity of her day.

Unfortunately, a knock came to the door.

"Beg your pardon Lady Seras, Sir Bernadotte, but you have two Iscariots downstairs asking to see Integra. What should we do?" It was Judy, the housemaid.

Seras sat up straight and Pip backed off, he stood on the right side of her chair. "Let them in, I guess. I cannot imagine what they want though."

"Hrmph, it's just like them to just show up here without notice," Pip said. He extracted a cigarette from his inside pocket and stuck it between his teeth, then lit it with a lighter.

It didn't take long before Bishop Makube and his second in command Heinkel Wolfe waltzed into the office, their heavy silver crucifixes swaying across the front of their long priestly robes. Neither had changed that much over the past year. Makube still carried himself with that distinct arrogance and Wolfe still appeared mad with those facial bandages and that glinting glare.

Seras felt her guard spike. Her senses were on high alert. If they came here to fight, she was ready. "This is unusual," she told them. "What can I do for you—what brings you two back to London?"

"Tch!" Wolfe scoffed loud enough for everyone to hear.

Bishop Makube merely tilted his head to the side in question. "I see that the hospitality in this place has not improved, but at least you did not make us wait an eternity before awarding us an audience, Miss. Victoria." Makube ceased his baroque speech accented by a rich Italian enunciation as if to let that all sink in for a moment. "However, I was under the impression we would be speaking with Integra Hellsing."

"Vhy are YOU sitting bevind her desk?" Heinkel inquired with distaste, looking over Seras dressed in a suit as if she was the head of the Hellsing Organization or something. "Vhat the hell is this? Vhere is vat demon's wife?"

"How dare you…" Seras's brows stitched together with a frown. So, the Iscariots know about Integra's transformation. They all knew this day would come eventually.

Makube set lazy coral-coloured eyes on Heinkel and then set them back on Seras and Pip. "Now, now… let's not be hasty. Please excuse my associate's pitiable manner. Of course, we have come to understand that Integra has joined you and Alucard in your unholy ranks in the realm of the undead, but I find… I am not much surprised by this information. To fight with you three would only end badly for us—Hellsing has become a force that is beyond measure. It is quite understandable why she would not reveal her new nature to us so freely. Thus, aside from what you might believe… I venture that we fight the evil together with Hellsing. Now, where is Integra? Surely, she isn't hiding from us?"

Pip was quietly smoking his cigarette until now. "She is away on business for a few weeks. As you can see, Seras is standing in for her."

"And Alucard?" growled Wolfe.

"He is with Integra." Seras said. "Look. Whatever the issue is she left me in charge, you will have to speak to me about it. If not, you will have to wait for Integra."

This revelation was so staggering that the leader of Section XIII had to calm his breathing. Makube became dangerously silent for a moment. The Hellsing manor was free of Integra and Alucard? He thought. What a wonderful change of events! This was his chance.

The head priest smiled a greasy smile of reassurance and personal triumph. "Why of course she has left you in charge, the impressive and powerful nosferatu, Seras Victoria. You have been by her side for over thirty years—she must have taught you everything you need to know about the Hellsing Organization. We simply came by this evening to assure Integra that we do not wish to create conflict between our organizations and thought it best if we told her this face to face. Besides, my curiosity is getting the better of me. I am rather curious to see what she looks like now as a vampire."

Pip was quietly observing the two Iscariots, his one good eye shifting back and forth between them, wondering why he did not trust a single word they said. "This cannot be the only reason you've come to London," he muttered.

"Of course not," Makube answered politely. "We have other obligations to attend to in London, you see, but we thought we would extend our hand first in this matter. After all, actions speak louder than words, is that not what they say?" The tall dark-haired priest placed his hands behind his back. "Section XIII will continue to work with Hellsing in the future, however, I suppose I will have to wait for Integra's return to ensure I relay these words to her also. A misunderstanding would be most unfortunate."

Seras sat back and placed her hands on the armrest of the chair, having a stare down with Heinkel Wolfe as Makube spoke. "I'm sorry but it could be a while before you see Integra. She will be gone for a few weeks," the draculina explained.

Makube held up a hand. "Please do not worry. We will return another time. My apologies for disturbing your evening, Miss Victoria, until next time, farewell."

Bewildered, Seras and Pip watched Bishop Makube head for the door with Heinkel trailing behind, who turned to toss them a nasty scowl before disappearing down the hall.

Makube simply held his finger up to his lips to keep Heinkel silent until they were safe. Only once they were back in their car and far enough away from Hellsing Manor, did he allow Heinkel Wolfe to speak.

"I saw it! The tome was right there on Integra's desk!" Wolfe hissed.

"Yes, it was. And the king and queen are absent. We'll definitely get our hands on that spell book." Makube squeezed the top of the steering wheel with assurance. "We will get it no matter what."

"And vat will be vee end of those filthy vampires—vee end of vee Hellsing Organization by vheir own witchcraft!"


Târgoviște – September 12th, 11:11 p.m.

"This is the place you wanted to show me?" Integra shifted her crimson gaze towards Alucard situated on her right, "Chindiei Tower."

They stood amongst the ruins of the Old Princely Court in Târgoviște looking up at one building that stood the test of time. It remained intact and still standing. It was a watchtower-turned-museum dedicated to Romania's valiant leader, Vlad the Third, aka Dracula, aka Alucard. Currently, it housed many of Vlad's artifacts, weapons and surviving documents from the 15th century. The building itself was a cylindrical four-story tall building once used to store state treasure, perhaps a prisoner or two, but it also served as a lookout point for any incoming threats.

"Yes, this is the place," Alucard confirmed. "Holding the throne was a short-lived endeavor back then and war was always upon me. I fear I did not have much time to delegate the building of many structures, except this one. I see that the tower has been refurbished significantly, it was never this tall back then." The vampire stood staring up at it, his mind swimming with old memories and feelings he was not sure how to label. It was so long ago, these memories, but being here in this place, standing before this relic made it all seem like yesterday.

However, when he swung his head of tousled black hair around, turning slightly to look at the surrounding area, the harsh reality of the present returned. He was a freak, a monster, a miniscule thread of the past. All around them stood crumbling walls of brick and stone, the skeleton layout of a once superior palace. "It is a shame that the Court is completely destroyed, it was once a magnificent structure. I spent a lot of time here. That cathedral that stands before it did not even exist yet. Well… not when I was voivode, perhaps it came after. In those days, there was only a chapel."

Integra turned her back to the tower to see the cathedral Biserica Mare Domnească (The Great Princely Church) that Alucard now spoke of, a large brown building with three pointed turrets. From what she read, the inside of this church was chock-full of fantastic frescos, artworks depicting portraits of historical leaders.

Yet, her interest right now was with the Sunset Tower primarily.

She grabbed Alucard by the hand and marched towards the tall building that rather resembled a grain silo or a rook game piece from a chessboard. "It's not every day that you get to visit an emblematic monument built for someone who is currently standing right next to you."

The old vampire guffawed, "Well… when you put it that way."

They slipped through the locked door of the tower like phantoms and entered the foyer. The most notable presence upon entry was the dark spiraling staircase leading all the way to the top. Along the way, up on the walls, there were bits and pieces once belonging to Vlad Dracula, when he was human.

Integra made her way slowly up the stairs, silently taking it all in.

Alucard wore a devil-may-care sort of expression as he followed his beloved around while she inspected his past. A few times, he explained what he could remember, but five hundred years ago made most things a little bit foggy.

Being in this place was as surreal for him as it was for Integra.

Up on the third floor Integra stopped in front of an old broad sword. The blade, blackened by time, was still a deadly looking weapon with a long and heavy edge with a pewter-coloured cross guard, grip and pommel.

"Was this yours?" It looked so familiar to her but she could not place it. Integra turned to look at the red-clad vampire who was watching her patiently.

"Yes. It was mine," he said. "You might recognize it because it is the same weapon I summon when I take on my human form from time to time." When Alucard changed his shape into his Vlad form, he often appeared wearing medieval armour and a sword. "This sword, however, is the real deal."

"It's so tarnished and worn." Integra wondered how many people gave up their lives to the edge of this sword. It was a number she could not fathom. She knew Alucard was human once. He killed many people even before he became a vampire. She was no fool. But, seeing all of these factual pieces from his past, things that intimately belonged to him once, made it that more real.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" It seemed as if pain and time reflected in his eyes as he questioned her.

"I don't know, Alucard. It all seems so morose. Perhaps we should not have come here. Do you wish to leave? We can leave." Integra wondered for a moment if she was being selfish by even making Alucard come back to his home country at all.

Alucard sniffed. "Preposterous. I cannot erase the deeds of my past. Nothing can change that. This is what I was. However, seeing all of this five hundred years later, well… everything seems so dissimilar, so far removed. That world I once lived in seems more like a dream."

Integra tried to lighten the mood. "I wonder… did you bring women in here?"

His mistress could not help herself. Even though she had blurted it out she still held her head high and proud. Perhaps she was baiting him.

"Oh, I see the lioness bares her claws." Alucard took the bait delightfully. "You, my love, are the first and only woman that I have brought in here, Scout's honour."

Integra's expression seemed doubtful.

His footsteps soundless, Alucard moved in closer to her. "The only people I brought here were lowlifes and scum that deserved nothing but the torture and death they received. I did not invite them in… I dragged them in."

"Oh. Wonderful," Integra muttered sarcastically. "There used to be a tunnel to the dungeons from here then?"

"Of course, you know as well as I, that a fortress requires multiple escape routes," he said as he backed Integra up against the wall. "Now, the real question this evening is… why are you driving me so crazy?"

Integra's lips curved at the corners as her back pressed up against the wall, jangling the ancient sword that was now flat against her back. "It seems it has become a common thing for us to lay romantic claim all over Romania, especially upon long lost ruins connected to your mortal dwellings."

Maybe he just wanted to change the memories associated with these beacons of his past life, change them with pitiful grasps at happiness.

And, why not…?

Being a vampire is inexplicably, wrought with sin.

At least, that's what Integra Hellsing thought as she parted her lips, allowing her undead companion to embark on an errant journey starting with her mouth.

"Alucard" she whispered her companion's name softly over their kiss, "This is exactly what we needed and we have Seras to thank for it. Let's make sure we find her a nice keepsake."

The towering dark figure cloaked by his favourite red coat pawed eagerly beneath his lover's beige sweater with his cool bare hands, touching her velvet skin underneath that always felt warmer than his own did somehow.

Maybe it was all in his head, but he didn't care.

Holding her close to him, his lips still lingering upon hers, he said, "Then we shall find her something suitable, for indeed, this was a splendid idea. I am not wounded by being here, like I said: the past is the past."

It was not every day they went on a vacation.

He captured her mouth in another chaste kiss.

Integra's moan of pleasure carried in the cylindrical space around them. It was as if they stood in an empty stairwell in a high-rise building, its eerie sound almost ghostly, haunting as it filled the hollow space. She kissed him in return. Her vampire's lips were demanding yet supple, cool, but inviting.

They were as delicious as they were deadly.

Upon his dead flesh, she could taste the fairest hint of blood and wine. It made her thirsty. He always made her so thirsty. It stirred up the beast that thrived within her.

It drove their endless passion that ruled on this soon-to-be eventful night.

With greedy hands, Integra unbuttoned Alucard's dark suit jacket and slid her palms beneath it around his lean waist over the crisp white dress shirt that he wore. She smoothed her hands across his lower back and over the swell of his rear before gliding them up along his back again, clinging on to him fiercely.

Their fervent vampire strength gently quivered the entire building, which unsettled the dust that landed around them like grains of sand.

"Easy Alucard, we don't want to destroy the place," Integra warned him, her voice full of amusement and yet sincere caution. "What would the people of Târgoviște say if two lecherous vampires destroyed the historical landmark dedicated to their national hero?"

It was not a memory Integra felt eager to pursue.

That had Alucard chuckling darkly. He began to kiss and nibble up along her neck, whispering Romanian sweet nothings in her ear. Alucard had her enveloped in his long red duster as he loomed over her, keeping her pinned against the rigid stone wall, his groin strategically grinding against her hip bone.

"You're such a wretch." Integra understood a little of what he said in his romance language, the years spent with him had taught her many phrases and basic communication skills. Now that she shared his blood and was a vampire herself, he telepathically spoke Romanian to her once in awhile and she was able to absorb it more easily.

However, it did not make her fluent when saying it aloud.

"I may be a wretch, but you're the one the one that started this. You were thinking wayward thoughts about me… I simply acted upon them." Alucard claimed in a deep, low tenor while nosing along her throat.

His breath stirred the fine hairs on her neck, making her shiver.

Acted upon them, oh yes, Integra thought while she relished in the trouncing of Alucard's undead heart. Agreed, she was the one that envisioned him taking her up against the wall when she brought up him bringing women in here.

She was incredibly wet.

Integra's fingers brushed the front of his trousers, and then curled, gripping a handful of hard flesh over the fabric. "Mmm… I can't wait to have you in me," she purred. There was not an ounce of shame in her voice. Integra was a woman that knew what she wanted.

Alucard nearly lost it, right then and there. His breath shuddered across her ear, "I never get tired of hearing you say that.

She flashed her fangs at him.

A deep chuckle rumbled out of his throat when she hissed at him. "My heart. Mmm! I want to taste you. I want to taste all of you."

"Then stop messing around, vampire." Integra taunted him boldly in her domineering way. "What are you waiting for?"

If she wanted fast and furious, he was good at fast and furious.

Alucard snarled as he spun Integra around ready to plow into her from behind, but the sudden movement dislodged the old war sword Integra had been admiring earlier. It fell from the wall, but Integra instinctively grabbed at it with her left hand before it could hit the floor, gravity having no chance against her vampiric speed.

She caught it by the blade, which sliced into the palm of her hand.

Everything changed in that instant.

Alucard froze and Integra nearly fell forwards onto the ground but caught herself. The entire tower was gone and they were now outside in a large field in the middle of the day. The wind howled. It was cold and it felt like winter.

The tall vampire with his red duster flapping in the wind stood up straight and looked around himself completely astonished. "What the devil?"

"W-where in the hell are we?" Integra questioned.

After a small and somewhat heated discussion about Integra's latest mishaps involving her omnipresent power, in which a few times she accidently teleported herself to a different location during sex, they could not be sure what exactly happened, only… they didn't have much time to dwell on that. Suddenly, surrounding them on this colourless dreary field was two large armies galloping towards each other ready for a fight.

Unsure what in blazes was happening, they dodged an incoming blast that seemed to come from a cannonball as men clad in armour, riding on horseback, pounded towards them on either side.

Quicker than the human eye can see, Alucard and Integra escaped, and from a distance watched the scene before them unfold.

The soldiers coming from the east side, dressed in late medieval armour carrying swords and spears, some with gigantic metal shields, rode in on horses in a group of about one thousand or so. This group was but a mere shadow in numbers compared to the group on the west side. The west army easily numbered ten thousand men and were dressed in an entirely different fashion. This group mostly wore pointy, turban-styled helmets, carried sharp spears and curved swords. However, a large section of their group consisted of similar armoured militants like those of the east army.

Clearly, the east army was about to be slaughtered they were so outnumbered and more war-torn looking.

"Ottomans," Alucard finally muttered staring at the army coming from the west.

Confused, Integra blurted, "What? How is that possible? Why are we here, why are we seeing this? Is this some kind of memory?"

Slowly, the events unfolding before them became clearer for Alucard. This battle… it was so familiar. It was familiar in a gut-wrenching kind of way.

He did not even flinch as the two groups collided together with a crash of metal and horseflesh, wood knocking against wood, steel on steel, and guttural cries of those killed on impact.

"Alucard… look!" Integra gasped and pointed to a rider somewhere in the middle of the fray. "Is that…?"

Yes, it was. It was he… there on that dark horse. "It's me." Alucard whispered.

"Vlad..." Integra could not believe what she was seeing. "And look! He's got your old sword, the sword from the tower."

Indeed, it was the same sword—that was now gleaming and polished looking—that had just cut her hand a moment ago. She glanced at her left hand again in wonder, the wound there was gone.

"Did I…?"

Was she, somehow, responsible for this current situation?

It was unusual but Alucard was mildly stunned for a moment. To stand on the sidelines and be the observer of such an event from his past blew his blood-loving mind. His old self was so formidable, sitting tall on his horse laden with long black waves of hair, heavy with armour and barking out orders like a calculating murderer. So brawny and cold-blooded, even back then. He watched as Vlad fought with every fibre of his being, fighting as if…

He was fighting for his life.

"This is the last battle." It suddenly dawned on the nosferatu. He remembered now that cold, colourless day in January of 1477.

Blinking stupendously, Integra could not tear her eyes from the fiery battle. "You mean…" She said as she watched another cannonball blast into a pit of men, sending a dozen of them airborne.

"This is the battle where I get captured and taken prisoner… taken away to have my head chopped off. Taken away from humanity to become…"

"…a vampire."

Alucard did not need to answer that. "Basarab Laiotă joined forces with the Ottomans in order to put an end to my reign. He succeeded. I was outnumbered and my men surrendered."

"Of course," Integra replied. "I recall the details from many hours of reading. Are we stuck here? Can't we just leave?"

"I cannot see or feel a path out of here," Alucard answered and gazed at the prized sword that Vlad was currently using to slice an arm off an unfortunate young Turk. "Perhaps…"

Integra read his mind with her vampiric sense. "That's it. We need that sword. It could be the link back to the present."

Alucard grunted. "Like I said, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"Indeed not."

Men with cannons and spears were no match for the supernatural strength vampires possessed. Integra felt no fear as she launched herself into the medieval battle, aiming to get close to Vlad and his deadly sword.


A/N: Alas! I'm terribly late in updating this fic. Please forgive me. I will try harder to update quicker next time. Even though life is crazy busy, I am always daydreaming about this fic and tinkering with it as much as possible. So, this is where the story takes a turn into 1477. Finally! Yes. I know. The slow updates ruin the momentum and I'm terribly sorry if the introduction has seemed rather slow. Hopefully, things will move at a different pace now... what will Alucard and Integra do? What will Vlad do when he sees them?

*Chindiei Tower is also known as Sunset Tower to some.

**C'est la vie = such is life

I'm sure there are plenty of inaccuracies but this is not a history lesson. I research diligently so the story feels real, but I'm not aiming for historical perfection. Odd as it sounds, I'm aiming for a dark and fun adventure here.

***This chapter was getting too long, so the battle will continue in the next chapter. And hopefully Seras will be able to handle the Iscariots who have a crazy idea up their sleeves lol!

Palomixta - Aww, thanks hun! I'm really happy you enjoyed the fluff in the last chapter! It means so much! hehe.. that phone auto correct thing had me laughing. My phone does the same thing lol! It's so annoying XD!

Ultimolu - Wow! Thank you so much!

Guest - Honeymoon! I know, they totally deserve to have that moment. Oh, I'm so excited you enjoyed the trip around Romania in the story lol! That stuff was fun but it took so long to research and figure out what I wanted to include in the fic. Thanks so much!

Guest - I admit this tart review made me feel bad because I don't want to rush my story. But I assure you that it is 80% going to take place in 1477. So, yes, all my bells are ringing. Happy Xmas!

Kartos - The bottom of the lake? Ha! Maybe there is something neat down there.. I wonder. Thank you for reading the fic, hopefully the 'longish' feeling fades as the story moves into some action now. As I said to the above reviewer... 80% of the story will take place in 1477, there will be plenty of Vlad for all. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but it's hard with so much happening.

Selfara - Eeee! Thanks so much! I hope it continues to entertain. You comment made my day!