Author's notes: Hello everyone. Again, I would like to apologize for how late that last chapter was. As I'm writing this one it still isn't out yet. The person I've put in charge of editing was busy, so he could only get it out as soon as possible. Enjoy.


******ATTENTION, TRIGGER WARNING FOR MENTIONS OF RAPE AND DEPICTIONS OF TORTURE.***

Chapter 7:

Cruelty

Walter C. Dornez's P.O.V.

August 12th 2006

"So, let me get this straight…" I hissed out as Miss Love and I were driving back to the estate. It was nearly five in the afternoon. She had somehow managed to scrunch herself into a ball in the seat, so that she looked like a pink mass with feet. Meanwhile I was gripping the steering wheel, ready to take someone's head off. "You attempted to cook something, and in the process, you blew up one of the ovens?"

"Yep," she answered in a deadpan voice that suggested she wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Why?!" I demanded, "You don't eat human food!"

"I like cooking. It's good stress relief," she explained.

"Yes, well, your stress relief is costing us over one thousand pounds," I seethed. This simple errand run had turned into a nightmare. I had forgotten that I look like I'm twenty years old, not seventy-five. I was now lying to every shop keeper that I'd ever known, some for over fifty years. It was only due to Miss Love's quick thinking that things didn't get messy. Apparently, Walter C. Dornez is now dead and I am his grandson with the same name, whom he had somehow neglected to mention… ever. For those who needed more convincing, I had Miss Love, who was becoming a familiar face, talk to them. I had never been so thankful for her brainwashing abilities. That being said, it had exhausted her completely. By the time we had reached our last stop, she was barely able to keep up with me.

"You're also forgetting that in your absence, I was required to cook for Sir Integra," she reminded me, "I went to turn on the oven and apparently there had been a gas leak, like I said in the report. It was not intentional and I already stated that you can take what little of a paycheck I have to repair it. I don't know how many more ways I can tell you that I'm sorry!" she poured forth. I sighed. I shouldn't be this angry with her when I considered how many times she had saved my ass today, but it was a difficult thing to just brush off. I took a deep breath. 'Stay calm. She apologized and we needed to update the kitchen anyways, so just relax.' I thought to myself.

"It's fine," I assured her, although my voice sounded strained.

The rest of the ride back was silent. We were both exhausted and irritated. Miss Love was still in rough shape from the fight this morning and I had started feeling sick a few hours ago. It was probably just the sunlight. I didn't burn up like true vampires, but I wasn't completely immune to it either. Upon arriving back at the estate, we unpacked the car and went inside.

To my surprise, we found Miss Victoria sitting at the bottom of the staircase. She sat with her arms crossed and head down.

"Miss Victoria, you're awake?" It wasn't typical for her to up and about this early in the evening. She looked up at us sleepily.

"Where have you two been? You were gone all day," she questioned. Miss Love put down the bag she was carrying and took off her jacket.

"Sorry it took so long. There were a lot of places to go and it took quite a while to conjure up a believable story for Master." She smiled. Any signs of distress or exhaustion were already hidden from view. Seras jumped to her feet and ran up to us.

"What on earth has happened to you Melody? Who did this to you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked in a shocked tone.

"Just look at you!" she exclaimed, "You look like you've been hit by a car!"

"Oh you mean the bruise?" Miss Love pointed to the bruise on her cheek. "Master and I were doing some sparring this morning and it got very heated. That's all. Nothing to worry about." She waved it off.

"Is this true, Walter?" Miss Victoria demanded, with a glare.

"Yes," I admitted, "Is there a problem, Miss Victoria?" I didn't have anything to be ashamed of. It was a fair fight and I didn't have the patience to put up with being accused of otherwise.

"No," she answered flatly and turned back to Miss Love, "Anyway, Melody, I'm up because I need to talk to you about that thing."

"Something happened?" Melody asked, one of her eyebrows arched questioningly. Seras nodded, and glanced up at me.

"Let's go." Seras grabbed her friend by the wrist and started tugging her along.

"I'm afraid you two will have to chat later, police girl," Alucard called down to her from the top of the stairs.

"Master?" Miss Victoria skidded to a halt and looked up at the cloaked figure nervously.

Alucard nodded. Seras looked back at us with wide eyes. He had obviously just told her something through telepathy.

"Our Master is demanding your presence in her office. Go now," he ordered. It was directed at Miss Love and I. Miss Victoria let go of her arm and took a step back.

"Good luck, Mel. I'll be waiting for you when you get back." She shot me a concerned look. I knew what it meant. We were getting an assignment. Seras took the bags from the two of us and strode off down the hallway.

We climbed the stairs to the third floor. Miss Love walked in front of me. I don't think she knew what she was walking into, but I could sense how nervous she was. The relationship between her and Sir Integra was rocky at best. I kept quiet. Calling attention to her anxiety would only make it worse.

We walked into Sir Integra's office to find her sitting at her desk, staring at her computer screen and smoking what was likely her seventh cigar of the day.

"What took you so long? You've been gone all day," she inquired, not bothering to look up.

"My deepest apologies, Ma'am." We bowed our heads. Miss Love remained silent.

"Melody?" she called. Miss Love raised her head.

"Y-yes, Sir?" she responded. I tried to pretend that I didn't hear her stutter.

"We have received word of a string of attacks in a town outside of Manchester. Due to the nature of these attacks, we determined it to be the work of vampires. You've had more than enough time to prepare yourself for this, so I expect you to eliminate them without any problems. Am I clear?"

"Of course, Sir," Melody responded curtly and attentively.

"Get yourselves armed and move out. You are dismissed." She waved us off.


Down in the armory, Miss Love and I were silently getting ourselves together. In the very back was a box that only I had the key to. I opened it and pulled out my old silver knife. I never actually used it, but it was something that I carried with me on all of my assignments. I suppose it was a bit of superstition that as long as I had it, I could get out of any situation, no matter how hopeless it was. I had left it behind on the assignment to South America, and I would be lying if I said I didn't think I would still be a human if I had taken the dagger with me.

I kept it in its scabbard and latched it to one of the belt loops on my right hip. I turned back to Miss Love, who was silently adjusting her black gloves. She would be fine. She was more than capable of handling a few vampires by herself. There was nothing to worry about, but it didn't alleviate how uneasy I felt about this mission. Observing her from the moment we received our orders to now, it was clear she was not at all mentally prepared for what we were about to see. Her mind was shutting down. I needed to do something to get her to relax a bit. I did have that one thing I made for her many weeks ago. Maybe that would brighten her spirits.

"Miss, will you follow me for a moment?" I requested. Miss Love nodded, walking with me up to the second floor and to my room. She stood outside the doorway. "You can come in." I motioned for her to step inside. She did so hesitantly. I had made it painfully clear that she was never to be in here without my permission after last time. I opened the bottom drawer in my desk and pulled out a box. I used a different key to unlock it and took out a pistol. I passed it to her. "I made this for you just after you became my apprentice. It's an anti-freak combat pistol. It's similar to Alucard's, but smaller and fires simpler rounds. They're silver bullets, so they'll still take out any target you need them to, but it's just a precaution. Use it only if you need to. I want you to take this assignment as an opportunity to practice with the wires. Understand?" Her reaction, or lack thereof, was concerning. She only made a simple nod in reply. I had never seen her so quiet.

"We should get going. It'll be dark soon and they'll strike again as soon as the sun has set."

"Yes sir."


It took us nearly four hours to reach our destination. That wasn't good news. If they were going to strike tonight, it may have already happened. The delay seemed to only provoke more anxiety out of Miss Love. When we finally arrived at the site where the police were stationed, we were lucky that they had already been informed of our arrival, thus skipping the usual, "Who the fuck are you and why are you here?!" spiel.

"Mr. Dornez and Ms. Love I presume?" an officer asked us as he approached.

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse us, sir, we have no time for lengthy introductions and explanations. We will take care of this situation. If you value your lives I would advise that you and your men stay out of our way." Miss Love bluntly stepped forward and told him. I was just as shocked as the officer. To hear her talk in such a way was even more unnerving than the silence.

"Of course, ma'am, but don't you need to know their location?" he reminded her.

"No. Let's go, Master." She offered no further explanation and began walking down the street. I caught up with her so we could walk abreast one another. As curious as her behavior was, I needed to push those thoughts aside. We had more pressing issues at the moment.

"Miss, how do you know where they are?" I questioned.

"Can't you smell it?" She glanced up at me. "Our kind has a very distinct scent."

"Really?" I asked as we continued to walk up the street. It made me wonder why she didn't recognize the fact that I had transformed the moment I stepped foot inside the estate.

"You're a newborn vampire. You still smell human to me," she explained, "After a few weeks of drinking blood, it will change. Have you tried any yet?"

'Damn…' I thought. I hadn't had any blood to drink since I turned, but that was only because I never felt hungry. I was artificial. I wasn't sure if I even needed it.

"No Miss, I have not," I admitted.

"I see…" She frowned as she murmured. Miss Love suddenly stopped me. "There." She pointed to a brick house coming up on our right. "Your orders, Master?" Normally I would have suggested that she take out the vampires and ignore any ghouls, since they would drop dead the moment their host was killed. However, this was her first assignment. I had no idea what would happen when we got inside that house. Would she be able to take out our targets easily or would she freeze up? The best case scenario would be if the bloodshed snapped her out of this daze and made her happy. She was a vampire, after all.

"I want you to take out any ghouls in your way first. Then you can go after the vampires," I instructed. She nodded.

"What about survivors?" she asked quietly.

"I will take care of any survivors we encounter. Eliminating the vampire so it can't strike again is always your top priority." I knew she wasn't going to like that answer.

"Yes, sir," she said monotonously. We walked up the driveway and onto the front steps. I stood back. This was her assignment. The only reason I was here was to make sure she didn't get herself killed. Miss Love remained completely statuesque for a moment before she flicked her hands forward and tore the door off of its hinges using her wires. She pushed it to the side and walked into the dark house. I followed quietly. In the hallway, one ghoul was waiting for her. With a short flex of her wrist, its head separated from its shoulders. Blood splattered across the nearby wall as the body crumpled to the floor with a thud. Miss Love whirled to the right and lifted her arm above her head, before pulling down sharply. I heard the thumping of two more bodies hitting the floor.

'Not bad. All of those endless hours spent training in the middle of the night are actually paying off,' I thought. She was doing well, much better than I had anticipated. I was actually quite proud of her. I knew something like this couldn't be easy, but she was getting it done. 'She just needs some more experience.'

She continued down the hall, checking all the rooms on the first floor. When we came to the last room, she stopped suddenly. The wires fell limp and retracted back into her hands. Perhaps I had spoken too soon. She took two steps forward. I stepped inside the room with her. In front of us stood a ghoul that was once a young girl. What little clothes she had on had been ripped and torn apart by an unknown assailant. Her rotting body was covered in blood. One of her arms was twisted and hung uselessly at her side. It certainly wasn't a pretty sight. This was the one thing I never wanted to see. I walked to Miss Love's side. She stared straight ahead with a horrified expression, as if I was completely invisible.

"What is it, Miss?" I asked, quietly. She didn't seem to hear me. The ghoul turned its attention to us at the sound of my voice. It staggered forward, reaching out with its one good arm and growling at us. Miss Love took another step towards it.

"Master… It's just a little girl…" It almost sounded like she was shocked.

"It was a little girl, Miss. Not anymore," I corrected, "There's no way to save her." As horrific as it was, she couldn't start thinking like that.

"No, I... I don't understand, Master. Why is this girl a ghoul?" she asked, shaking her head before looking back at me. I could start to see red tears forming in her eyes.

"She was bitten and drained of her blood. You know that," I reminded her.

"Just look at her! She can't be more than eight years old! You told me that…" she trailed off, "This girl should be a vampire."

The realization of what she was implying had finally hit me. I looked at the ghoul that was inching closer. Her grotesque features and shredded clothes. The thought was sickening, but what other explanation was there? Miss Love knelt down and reached out to the creature.

"Miss, what are you doing? She can still hurt you!" She ignored me and put her hand on the ghoul's head, stopping the weak, shambling corpse from moving any further.

"Oh, you poor thing. Look what those monsters have done to you." The ghoul let out a high pitched shrieking sound as it tried to reach for Miss Love, fighting against her hand. "Shh, it's okay. It's all over. They won't hurt you again." She reached for the gun at her waist. If she fired that gun, the vampires would know we were here, if they didn't already. "Relax, Master. I want them to know," she said without taking her eyes off the ghoul. She held the gun to its head. "It's time to go to sleep now, little one. I am so sorry. I should have been able to save you," she choked out and pulled the trigger. The click of the hammer was followed by an immediate, echoing bang that was partially muffled by the child's skull. The ghoul's body hit the floor with a light thud. Blood and brains leaked out of the large hole that had just been put in its head. It twitched once or twice before becoming motionless. Miss Love rose to her feet and holstered her gun, standing silently with shaking fists. Above us, I could hear the sound of footsteps hurrying across the floor. The gun had certainly been loud enough to alert our enemies. I looked again to Miss Love, who was no longer shaking. She stood perfectly still. At the sound of the two individuals racing down the stairs, she turned and silently walked past me. I followed her, but kept my distance. There was something unsettling about how emotional she was one second, and then cold and dead the next. The two vampires stepped into the doorway. They were both male, dressed in black shirts and trousers and were armed with submachine guns.

"Wot the fock? Where the fock did you come from, bitch?!" the first one demanded in a heavy accent, aiming his gun at her. They had yet to notice me. I was going to try to keep it that way.

"So, you're the two that have been going on this little murder spree are you? A couple of fourth-rate bloodsuckers who probably can't even defend themselves without a weapon," she hissed as she stepped forward.

"Oi, Freddie, look a' 'er eyes!" the second one pointed out, also bearing an accent not unlike his accomplice. The first vampire lowered his gun.

"Yer' one of us…" he observed.

"Hardly!" she growled at them, "I wouldn't even consider us the same species!" She took another step forward. They both raised their weapons. "Only worthless, piles of filth such as yourselves would murder women and children when you don't even need to drink. You're disgusting!" I saw her swish her hand and pull it backwards. The guns that the vampires were carrying clattered to the floor in pieces. They stared in shock at their destroyed weapons. The one in front took a step back.

"Wh-Wot kinda bloody bitch are you?!"

"Let's get outta here, mate!" The second one started to run. They didn't even reach a meter before Miss Love had tangled and strung them up in her wires, forcing their arms aside as if they were nailed to an invisible crucifix. I had a bad feeling about this.

"What spineless cowards," she sighed, "Only big and scary when you've got your guns, eh?"

"Wot the fock is this, you whore?!" The men struggled against their gossamer-like bindings.

I needed to step in now. If we didn't have cops waiting outside, I would have gladly let her do as she pleased, but we didn't have time for her to torture these poor fools.

"Miss, you've wasted enough time on these scum. Dispose of them," I ordered, hoping I could snap her out of it. She looked back at me with a soulless gaze that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. I wasn't sure I was even looking at the same person from a few moments ago.

"Master?" she called to me. Her tone of voice was chillingly innocent, "Could I borrow your knife, please?" She held out her hand.

"Miss, I explained to you earlier that you need to be practicing with the wires," I reminded her. She continued to stare at me blankly, as if she hadn't understood a word I had just said. I took a closer look at the two vampires. I had a feeling that even if I didn't hand her my knife she would find a way to torture these bastards. They deserved it, and I wasn't a stranger to using it myself, but did we really need to get into that? I could take their heads off in one, clean blow, but a nagging part of me wanted to see what she would do to them. It might also get her to loosen up a little. "Don't drag this out too long," I warned, 'Or I'll finish it for you'. I reluctantly reached for my knife and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Sir," she said and turned back to her victims. With incredible strength and speed, Miss Love tied them to chairs in the kitchen and began to walk around them as if she was investigating a known terrorist, twirling the knife through her fingers. I stood off to the side, leaned up against the wall.

"You focking cunt! I'll bloody kill you!" the first one spat at her.

"Oh, I highly doubt that," she chuckled darkly and, without warning, plunged the knife into the first one's left eye. She dug it out with the blade, surprisingly careful enough not to strike his brain with the blade tip. The vampire howled in pain as blood gushed from the empty socket. "Now then, boys, we're going to play a little game. I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer me truthfully. Lying, begging, and calling me things like a fucking cunt are going to result in you losing points, and trust me…" She held the blade under the second vampire's right eye threateningly. "You do not want to lose points. On the flip-side, if you give me a correct answer, I will end your miserable existence one cut faster! Sound fair?" She dragged the tip of the silver blade down his cheek, gently, the precious metal probably searing his skin.

"Oi, mate, you can't let this psycho bitch do this to us! C'mon, let us go!" The vampire who had lost his eye had now turned his head to me, pleading with his life. He would regret that. I reached into my back pocket for my cigarettes and lighter.

'Huh, only two left. Maybe I need to cut down a little…' I sighed internally, placing one of the two remaining fags in my mouth and lighting it. Miss Love grabbed the more rebellious of the two by his hair and, without a word, severed his left ear from his head. His bloodcurdling scream hurt my ears. She slid to the second vampire, who had yet to speak a word.

"Now, shall we get started?" She grabbed this one also by his hair and held the knife to his eye. "What did you do to that little girl I found in the back of the house?!" she snarled. The vampire she held on to stayed quiet, but the one that was now covered in his own blood began to laugh.

"Wot, was she a friend of yours, sweet'eart?" he cackled.

"What did you do to her?!" she screamed as she made her way back to the first one. All he did was keep laughing as he tried to speak.

"Wot do you think?! We focked the bitch, good and 'ard! She was even be'er than 'er Mum, squealing loike a little pig the 'ole time!" I dug my nails into the sides of my arms as he spoke. It was taking every ounce of self-control not to tear him apart myself. Miss Love took a step closer to him and wordlessly slashed open his throat with the knife. Blood came spurting out of his neck, covering her and his partner's faces. The vampire's face twisted in horror as he began to choke on his own blood, coughing and sputtering violently as she shook and struggled in his chair, his baser instincts telling him to grab and clutch the open wound on his throat, despite the fact that his wrists were tied to the back of the chair. The slashed veins and arteries were spilling a torrent of blood down his trachea and into his lungs and preventing him from breathing properly. Not even ten seconds had passed before he let out his last gurgle and stopped moving. I knew better than to say he was really dead, but he was close. Thankfully, Miss Love knew that as well and finished the job by removing his head completely.

The second vampire was not dispatched so quickly. It was a long, agonizing process of interrogation and torture before Miss Love finally decapitated him. She stood in the center of the room, drenched in the blood of her now headless victims. She turned back to me, her eyes glowing a solid red. I had hoped that she would be in a better mood, having finally taken out her rage on these fools, but that wasn't the case. I was certainly in a better mood. I had enjoyed watching her. How right Alucard had been. She was ruthless, and it brought back memories of my own assignments many years ago. She walked to the sink and rinsed my knife under the stream of water before handing it to me.

"Thank you for allowing me to use this, Master. I know it has some value to you. I can polish and sharpen it for you when we return to the estate, if you'd like?" she offered.

"That won't be necessary, Miss. I'll do it myself," I responded as accepted the blade by the hilt. She nodded.

"Did I take too long, Sir?" she asked.

"No, not at all. In fact, I was rather surprised you killed the first one so quickly."

"I see. In retrospect, I should have cut out his tongue instead." She gave a quick shrug. "Not that it mattered. I got plenty of information on the locations of every vampire in the city to make up for it."

"Ah, yes!" I grinned. We now knew of numerous possible threats within the city. "That was quite impressive, Miss. Sir Integra will be very pleased with you," I praised her.

"Thank you, Master," she said quietly, her eyes now locked on the floorboards at her feet, "Shall we be on our way then, Sir?" I nodded. As much as I had enjoyed seeing her waste those two monsters, I wanted her to return to her normal self. Seeing her so unhappy was concerning. We walked out of the house to be rushed by police and paramedics.

"What is the situation, sir?" the police chief demanded, clearly frustrated with how much time we took to take care of the threat. I could see members of the Wild Geese assembled at the side, waiting for orders. I was about to begin when Miss Love stepped ahead of me.

"All targets have been neutralized. No survivors," she said in a low growl, "You there, Geese, torch this fucking place!" she barked to the right. They hesitated, unsure of what to do. One of them looked to me. They had never taken orders from her. She had no authority to give that order, but pointing that out in front of them would do more bad than good.

"Have you gone daft, men? You heard her, burn the whole thing to the ground!" I shouted. After that they carried out the order without word. We walked away from the scene as the house went up in flames.


Three and a half hours later, we arrived back at the estate. The ride back had been completely silent. Neither of us made any attempts at conversation. I wouldn't have minded it, but Miss Love stared down at the floor with her arms crossed. She was still coated in drying blood.

"We will need to give a report to Sir Integra before we can call it a night," I informed her as I parked the car.

"Yes, Master." She appeared to be only half-listening. It wasn't any of my business to know what was going on in her head, but I was certainly curious. I had never seen a vampire react to violence like this. She seemed almost traumatized by what she had seen. I truthfully didn't understand.

"I was enjoying it, Master," she argued with my thoughts.

"I'd have to disagree, Miss."

"I'll try harder next time," she promised halfheartedly. She opened the door on her side and stepped out of the car.

'Just keep yourself together 'till after the report,' I thought to her.

"Yes, Sir," she responded, flashing one her fake smiles. Even Sir Integra would be able to see right through it. I could only hope that the ordeal would go by quickly and then we could both get some rest. We walked into her office that was brightly lit by the large chandelier that hung overhead. Our footsteps echoed across the floor as we walked. We stood in front of her and bowed our heads.

"We have returned, my lady," Miss Love announced.

"So you have," she acknowledged us without looking up, "It took you some time to eliminate the targets. Were they too challenging after all, Melody?" She was taunting her. It broke Miss Love's concentration. She began to stammer as she scrambled to regain her composure.

"Well you see, Sir, um, that was- um, the thing is-" Sir Integra cut off Melody's stuttering, holding up her hand to silence her.

"Don't make excuses, girl. It annoys me." She finally looked up at the both of us, making direct eye contact. "Walter, I thought you said you were going to control her." She raised an eyebrow. I bowed my head once again.

"My deepest apologies, my lady. I take full responsibility."

"No, Master." Miss Love held her hand out to the side. "I will take responsibility for my own actions, Sir. My Master is at fault for none of it!" Her eyes flashed angrily at Sir Integra.

"Then do explain, girl. Why did you take so long to carry out my orders?" She glared at Miss Love.

'Stay calm, Miss. You must stay calm,' I thought to her. She gritted her teeth and swallowed hard.

"I took my time killing the enemy, Sir."

"I let Alucard get away with torture from time to time, but I see no reason for you to be granted such liberties," Sir Integra pointed out.

"They deserved it," Miss Love insisted.

"I don't think it really matters if they deserved it or not. You-"

"NO, IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT!" Miss Love erupted, hollering at the top of her lungs. "WE WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THAT FAMILY, AND INSTEAD WE GET THERE TO FIND THEM ALL DEAD! A YOUNG GIRL, NO OLDER THAN EIGHT, WAS RAPED AND TORTURED BY THOSE MONSTERS! NOW YOU TELL ME THAT THEY DIDN'T DESERVE EVERY SINGLE BIT OF WHAT I GAVE THEM!" I stared at Miss Love and her outburst. My eyes were as wide and I was left absolutely speechless. Sir Integra, on the other hand, calmly pulled out her cigar case, removing one and lighting it. After taking a long drag and puff, she started to speak again.

"Your job-"

"My job, Sir Integra," Miss Love brazenly cut her off once again, "Is to save humans like you! Ever since you took me in, I have sworn up and down to protect you ungrateful, mortal sacks of flesh, and if I fail at that, what good am I here?!" she snarled. My hand snapped forward, grasping the back of Miss Love's skull and forcing her head down before she could continue on her tirade.

"My Lady, I am terribly sorry. I-"

"Stay out of this, Walter," Sir Integra ordered. She inhaled again on her cigar. I raised my own head and reluctantly let go of Miss Love, stepping back quietly. The damage was already done. This was what I had been afraid of all along. "The fact that Walter has left you so misinformed is rather insulting, Melody." Sir Integra smirked. "But by all means, continue with your philosophy. You're fascinating me." Miss Love appeared to be taken aback by her response, but pressed onward anyways.

"We should not be waiting so long to intervene in these incidents, Sir! We have the manpower and the authorization to step in far sooner! We should be on the scene of every gruesome crime there is! Alucard, Seras and myself can identify one of our own, long before you and your human men even suspect the work of vampires! We could have saved that family!" She was talking more calmly now. These were all good points. We were more than capable of accomplishing such a task, but I knew Sir Integra wouldn't listen to a word of it. She was toying with my apprentice.

"That's all well and good, Melody, but I'm afraid you're missing the point. In fact, you've got it all wrong. Your job is not to save humans."

"Excuse me?" Miss Love seemed genuinely confused. I knew where this was going. There was nothing I could do. She had done this to herself.

"You see, Melody, your job is to keep the public in a state of blissful ignorance. Your job is to stop vampirism from spreading. Because of this, do you really believe survivors are in our best interest? A survivor is someone who can talk about their experience. Yes, one or two will just sound crazy, but what if there were survivors from every vampire attack? We'd have a country-wide, perhaps even worldwide conspiracy on our hands. We have enough problems to see to and the last thing we need is ordinary people snooping around where they don't belong," she explained, "Take yourself for example, Melody. You are a very special case. You are the only person, aside from Walter, of course, to ever survive a direct confrontation with a vampire all by yourself in all of the United Kingdom!" she exclaimed in a voice that conveyed both praise and venomous contempt. Miss Love looked back at me, a growing look of concern and confusion on her face.

"M-Master...?" she called to me nervously. I didn't want to look at her.

"Ah, yes, Walter, your Master. He really is the only reason why you're here." Sir Integra pointed to me. "Let's be perfectly honest, Melody. If you had showed any signs of recovering the night you were attacked, Walter was under strict orders to kill you without a second thought. You only survived because Walter made his own judgments and decided to let you die on your own." She cackled darkly for a moment.

"But, my family-" Miss Love started, red tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she was interrupted.

"...Were all as good as dead the moment those two vampires broke into your house," Sir Integra confirmed, "Whether they killed them or not." Miss Love looked as though she might be sick. She was shaking and covering her mouth her hands.

"Then why?" she whimpered, "Why didn't you just kill me the moment I got here?!" she demanded.

"Believe me, I had planned on it. Then you turned out to be a vampire and I was fascinated that you had made it so far. When Walter asked what we were going to do with you, is it really any surprise that I decided to let you live?"

This was what I was dreading for the longest time. I thought I finally had Miss Love under control, I thought she was finally clear from Sir Integra's iron fist. Now it was almost a guarantee that I would lose her to Alucard, or worse. Much, much worse.

'You stupid girl… What have you done?' Looking at Miss Love, I wasn't sure if she was going to pass out or attack. If she made even the slightest movement towards Sir Integra, I would have no choice. It didn't matter how important she was to me, Sir Integra's safety would always be my top priority. I would kill Miss Love if I had to. Then, Sir Integra addressed me, glaring daggers at me while maintaining a scarily calm demeanor about her voice.

"I'm getting tired of this, Walter. I'll give you one more chance. If this happens again, I don't care what I said before. I will chain her up in the basement. Do you understand me, butler?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I answered, stepping forward as I was addressed and bowing, deeply grateful for this final offer. Simultaneously, my hand clasped the back of Miss Love's head again, forcing her down in the same manner so that she was bowing as well. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Get out of my sight," she hissed out. We stood up straight, turned and left the room.

We walked back down to the second floor. Miss Love kept ahead of me. All the while, the rage inside me was building. I could have lost her. I could have lost her to more than just Alucard. I clenched my jaw tightly. I would not allow it. I would never allow my apprentice to be shamed in such a way. I would much rather kill her first to spare her the suffering.

"Master, I-" She began to turn towards me. I snapped. Cutting off her statement, I raised my right hand and slapped her across the face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you damned, brainless girl?!"

"I-I just..." she started again, but I didn't want to hear a single word it. I grabbed her by her shirt collar and slammed her into the wall, pinning her there by the throat with my forearm.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" I fumed. She didn't respond this time. "Not only are you one smart word from wishing you were dead, but you continue to make a fool out of me! Does everything that's happened thus far mean nothing to you?! Everything you and I have worked for, are you really so hell-bent on throwing it all away?!" I demanded. I was letting how hurt I was come out more than I should have. Miss Love looked me in the eyes.

"I won't apologize for what I said, Master," she finally spoke up. That took me by surprise. In the past, whenever she did anything to upset me, her first reaction was to beg for my forgiveness, even if it wasn't necessary. I let go of her shirt and took a step back. "However, I never intended to make a fool of you, Sir. I am sincerely sorry for that." She lowered her head. "I'm begging you, Sir, please don't hand me over to Alucard. I would rather die than belong to someone else."

"As if I would allow such a thing. Now, get to bed," I ordered, scowling at her, "I don't want to see your face again until tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, Master." She bowed her head deeply before twisting the doorknob and disappearing inside her room, shutting the door behind her. I walked to my own door and stepped in. I wasn't sure of what to do with myself now. It was late. I needed to get some rest, but anger was still coursing through my veins at full speed. I paced back and forth for a while before the rage spilled out of me momentarily. Grabbing a book that was resting on my nightstand, I whirled around and whipped it at the wall by my door.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I yelled, but I regretted my outburst almost instantly. The dull headache I was trying to hold back almost all day returned with a sharp pulse and a burning feeling in my forehead. I put my hand to my right temple, wishing it would fade, but it only got worse. 'What the hell...?' I wondered as I sat down on the edge of my bed. Who knew vampires could get headaches? When the horrible throbbing finally turned back into the dull ache I had felt for most of the day, I began to undress, pulling off my tie and unbuttoning my vest. I just needed some sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and Miss Love and I could work on getting things back to normal, or whatever normal was at this point. I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and lied down on my bed, slipping into a state of sleep in a matter of minutes.


Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

The next few weeks were a cacophony of good events and bad events. Things between Miss Love and I took a day or two to patch, but now it almost seemed normal in some ways. I was, however, spending less time with her. She now trained on her own for the most part, or with assistance from the Captain or Alucard. When we were together, it was no longer uncomfortable or painfully formal. That was what I had been hoping for. Sir Integra was still watching her closely. That couldn't be helped and I knew it. Miss Love kept her distance and stayed out of trouble. It was still a load off of my shoulders. On the other hand, the headaches I had started getting were becoming more frequent and increasingly painful. In the last few days, I had begun suffering from random bouts of nausea. I didn't know why. Miss Love seemed worried occasionally, but I never brought it up with her or any other members of Hellsing. I was sure it would go away eventually.

I had just finished some paperwork in my office. It felt good to have everything up to date and completed. I noticed the clock at the edge of my desk. It was nearly 7:00PM.

'Perhaps I should go visit Miss Love down in the sub-basement,' I decided, putting my pen down and standing up, which incited yet another wave of vertigo to make the room spin for a moment. I groaned, but shook it off and began my walk down to the underground floors. I found her down there, alone, cutting apart dummies with the silver wires.

"Good evening, Miss," I greeted her. She turned to me with a big smile on her face.

"Good evening, Master!" she beamed, "How have you been today, sir?"

"Very well, thank you," I lied. I had felt like shit all day, which I'm sure she knew all too well. But she never brought it up. "Don't mind me for now, just continue," I encouraged. She nodded and turned back to her stuffed opponent. As I watched her movements, I was getting a bit irritated. "Lower your shoulders," I instructed. She did so immediately, but as she kept going began to raise them again, causing her strikes to come across very rigid and inaccurate. "Lower your shoulders!" I ordered her again, raising my voice this time. It was only minutes later that they were raised back into the same position. "Ugh!" I groaned and swiftly strode over to her. "God damn it, girl, I said lower your shoulders!" I placed my hands on her shoulders and forced them down. She flinched at my touch. "Why are you tense?" I demanded.

"S-Sorry, Sir," she apologized.

"Don't apologize," I said, keeping my hands in place, "But this bad habit of yours is going to take some time to beat."

"I'm..." She stopped herself. "Yes, Sir."

"Now, try the move sequence again," I instructed once more. With my right hand, I could feel the muscles on her right shoulder were in a large knot. 'Damn, you got a second head growing out of here?' I teased her through my thoughts, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"I hope not!" she giggled, chopping the dummy's left arm off. I pressed my thumb into the knot as she lowered her arm. She stiffened.

"You need to relax." She let out a deep breath as I spoke, as if she had been holding it in this whole time.

"I know."

"If you don't relax, your movements get too stiff and the wires won't move like you want them to. Remember, it doesn't matter how tight your muscles are. This technique is all about movement. The whole thing relies on the fluidity of your movements. Not just your arms, but your whole body must be flexible and smooth," I lectured her, but I was starting to feel another wave of nausea coming on. She nodded again and I let go of her. She performed the next set of movements perfectly, but I was having a hard time seeing her as my vision started to blur. This was a bad one. She looked back at me with a smile.

"How was that?"

"M-Much better, Miss..." I praised her, not realizing how weak my voice sounded. My vision was going in and out of focus. I stumbled backwards, putting my hand to my pounding forehead.

"Master? Master, what is it? What's wrong?" Miss Love came running up to me as she pulled the wires back into her sleeves. I couldn't see her clearly, but I could hear the concern in her voice.

"I'm fine... I think I just need to si-" I stumbled backwards again, struggling to force the words past my lips. "I j-just need to…" My vision started to go black.

"Master? MASTER!" Miss Love cried out. Everything went black and I felt my body thud against the floor. "WALTER!"


TBC

Author's notes: Hello, everyone. Thank you for reading chapter seven. It took me longer than I expected for me to write it. Mostly because of that torture scene. Things will continue to get more interesting from here. I'll start writing again soon, but I want to take a few days to work on some of my personal writing.