Author's Notes: I'm sorry the Count's character has been a little flat. Most of Dracula and Alucard's characterization is being the king of vampires, which has to be absent here for obvious reasons. It's a huge blank to fill. If you've seen the 13 episode Hellsing anime though, I'm actually channeling that version of Alucard. Kind of a charming, gentlemanly, aristocratic type that's sweet on Seras while having his eye on Integra, and can also be kind of an indifferent jerk regarding everything that does not interest him personally. I figured that was better than the blood-thirsty psychopath that LIVES to terrorize, dismember, torture, devour, and slaughter as many living beings as Integra will let him get his hands on.

Disclaimer: I have no legal claim or gain to Kouta Hirano's Hellsing, Hans Christian Andersen's or Disney's The Little Mermaid, or Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (which I shall use as inspiration as Seras explores the human world).


Despite his unkind words, the Count called for a doctor when she didn't get better after the first night. After a thorough examination, the Doctor gave more or less the same advice. He prescribed a draught that did little and said there was nothing to do but have her sleep it off. He also recommended some fever remedies, which really did more hurt than help.

Only as Seras lay sweating and boiling in bed did she remember the water, river, and ocean. She wanted the cool water to quench and heal her. She rose from bed and tried to walk out the door, thinking of how wonderful it would feel to float weightlessly as water cold as ice flowed against her body; only for the servants to stop her on her way out and usher her back to bed. Seras tried to protest, but no words came out. She was weak, tired, and feverish, and mute besides. She couldn't duck around them or push them away because of her condition, and she couldn't tell them why she wanted to go any more than they wanted to listen.

It was the first time she ever noticed an obstacle to her muteness. The Count, Walter and Carlotta took such good care of her and provided everything she wanted (to be near the Count) and needed (food, drink, and so on) that she never needed to speak before.

As she lay in bed, she dreamed she was one of those poor fish Chef Louis roasted, or a fish stuck on land boiling in the in the hot sun, on the burning sand, with the castle servants standing nearby but not looking at her. She tried to scream for help, but no one could hear her. No one would turn their heads or help her because they couldn't hear her.

She also dreamed she sat before the Count as herself and he saw her for what she really was, and his gaze caused her smoldering agony. She dreamed that her insides were boiling like the Sea Witch's peat marshes, or the lava that emerged from the sea floor. Sometimes she dreamed she was in the peat marches, getting sucked in by those horrible whirlpools. She dreamed that her veins turned thick and red, and her blood was turning to hot thick sludge like that "blood pudding" Walter served at dinner.

It all depended on how her symptoms felt at the time. When she was parched, it was the sun. When she was drenched in sweat, it was the peat marshes. When she felt her insides were boiling over, it was the blood and the Count's agonizing gaze.

His eyes were, perhaps, the worst of all.

Eventually her fever passed, along with any desire to go into the water again. Even now, she did not miss the water enough to want to go in. Part of her did, such as the part that enjoyed floating weightless compared to land. Most of her didn't. When she looked out into the ocean, she still only saw the dark depths concealing hungry monsters, the cruel nobility of the Sea King's palace, and the fearsome marshes, whirlpools and polyps of the Sea Witch's realm.

Still, her brief desire for water got her vaguely wondering about Schrödinger and Rip Van Winkle though. She hadn't seen them since she came on land. They said they would watch and help from the shadows, but she had not seen head nor tail of them.

Then again, Schrödinger would probably laugh at her for being stupid enough to get her head clonked and to get sick. Seras bristled angrily on just the thought of hearing him say it. While she missed him dreadfully, she could wait to see him again.

The doctor was called back in and pronounced that she seemed to be making a full recovery… but she should stay in bed for a few days just to be on the safe side.

Seras made a wry face. She felt fine! She wanted to get up and move! Why did people always treat her like she was so delicate? They always insisted on doing the smallest things for her, and caution her against the mildest exertions.

"Don't run too fast, dear! You'll strain yourself!"

"It's looking a bit nippy, dear; you should put on a scarf lest you catch cold."

"Oh, my word! Don't stand on that, dear! You can fall and hurt yourself! Ask if you want someone to reach something for you!" (It was a low-sitting chair.)

"You were out walking for over an hour, dear! I know the Count likes having you with him on the grounds, but it's so inconsiderate of your health! You should let him know you wish to return to the castle when you're tired, dear. I know how you adore him, but you must not strain yourself for his benefit."

As if Seras stayed out there just to impress him! While she loved being with him more than she could say, she also liked walking and exploring herself, thank you very much!

Seras was VERY happy to get out of bed once the staff let her, and was once again skipping and frolicking in the halls. She didn't care that it wasn't allowed. She would have run through the fields and explored the forests all day if she could, but she was just as happy to be returned to the Count's side.

He looked as gloriously handsome as she remembered, with his silken, wavy black hair, his pale skin, and his impeccable suit. He looked so tall and regal; he just took her breath away as he approached her.

"Ah, my little foundling," he said in a voice that made her heart swell.

"Glad to see you're all right," said another.

Seras looked over to see Captain Bernadotte.

'Oh, you're right here,' she blinked.

"Listen, I'm sorry to let you get so injured like that," he said.

Walter and the maids must have put him up to it. That had berated him so much for her injury.

Seras smiled and waved her hand to let him know it was fine, then grinned knocked on her head like a door as though to say her skull was too thick to hurt.

However, Seras knocked on a tender spot, so she winced and rubbed her head.

The Count chuckled.

The captain was not reassured.

"Be careful, my little foundling," the Count said fondly, "You don't want to reopen the fractures in your skull."

Seras was touched by his concern, and placed a hand on her cheek to try to hide her blush.

"Perhaps we should be a little more delicate about that in the future," Walter said. He walked over to Seras, placed her hand back down at her side, and ushered her over to the next room. "Now that you're up and walking about, shall I prepare some tea? We have some Ceylon leaves of the highest quality.

Seras sighed. Oh great, more tea. Because Seras had not been drinking enough of that as she lay in bed.

It's not that Seras didn't like tea; she just didn't understand why humans were so crazy about it. Particularly Walter, whose answer to everything seemed to be tea. Feeling stressed? Have some tea. Feeling tired? Have some tea. Look unhappy? Have some tea. Feeling ill? Have some tea. Feeling bored? Have some tea. Just finished your meal? Have some tea. Just finished your tea? Have some more tea!

If Seras never saw more tea again!

She didn't mind sitting down to tea though, because she liked the little cakes and sandwiches that went with it. She also didn't mind drinking it as long as it had lots of cream and sugar, which Walter was very kind about presenting her with. He used to let her prepare it herself, and encouraged her to try different ways of flavoring it (milk, sugar, honey, etc). Once she started figuring out what she liked best, Walter would pour her tea and then offer to pour the cream and hold up the bowl of sugar cubes before she could even reach for them. Now, she was barely seated before he prepared and offered her tea exactly as she liked it.

Seras felt her heart swell with gratitude. She knew it was his job, but no one had ever done anything like this for her. Down on the sea floor, she always had to work so hard for the smallest things for herself. Here, something as simple as Walter preparing her tea the way she liked drinking it and handing it to her so she wouldn't have to, just touched her.

She always made sure to mouth the words 'Thank you.'

Walter smiled warmly—more warmly than she had ever seen him smile at anyone—and move onto his next task.

Her master wasn't quite so touched. He seemed to take such service as his due. He often leaned back in his chair, would allow Walter to pour his wine (he almost never drank tea, which Seras envied until she tasted his wine, then decided tea was just fine, thank you) with barely any acknowledgement, then focused on the matter at hand.

Seras could never hold it against him for long though, because he was always looked so devilishly handsome and smiled at her so roguishly that she had to forgive him, and sometimes share in his mirth.

In fact, one of the main reasons she loved tea was because it let her sit so near her master. While they ate meals together, the dinner table was so long with so many chairs throughout, and she had to sit near the center of it while her master sat at the head of it. They were always so far away. Seras wondered why he had such a huge table when there was only two of them sitting there?

Her question was more or less answered when Walter started discussing the coming "season" with him (whatever that was*) and started mentioning various lords, sirs, and barons who wished for the Count to attend their estate, or of whom Walter advised him to invite over.

There are too many tedious details to mention, but the long and short of it was Seras gathered that during the winter great rich people like her master were to go to the city where they often invited each other over to balls, dinner parties, charity events, stays at their "town homes," and so on, and she gathered that huge tables and rooms like the ones here were to seat them all.

It was the only explanation she could think of, since none of the staff ever came to eat at the same table at the same time as her and her master. Why was that?

Hmm… Seras mulled this over as she sipped her tea.

"In only a few short months the gentry of England will leave their country estates to gather in their town homes, and it is advisable you do the same once the time comes. In that time, it is advisable to curry favor now, so that you may receive as many invitations to events as you need to gain acceptance into the 'London elite' once the social season comes."

"When the time comes, I will deal with it then," the Count said.

"Normally I would drop the matter, but since you hired me as a retainer and adviser on all social graces befitting this country, I must insist you heed my heed my advice regarding the preparation of the Season."

"Very well," the Count sighed, "What is to be the of our agenda?"

Seras listened with interest as Walter listed off different lords it would be a good idea to curry favor with by visiting at their estates, or it would be a good idea to invite over for some event or other. Usually stays in the country estates for fishing and fox hunting.

"And Lord Sussex would be an excellent ally in this endeavor."

"He is a boor," the Count said in a bored manner. "I'll not waste my time listening to his pompous stories, nor subject my little foundling to his lecherous advances.

"Good Heavens! Surely you don't intend to bring the girl into society with you?"

"And why should I not?" the Count said. "She is a far greater pleasure to be around than any of them. I dare say she alone will make the Season worth tolerating."

Seras was duly and immensely flattered by such praise.

Walter looked like he wanted to say something, but bit his tongue.

"At any rate..." Walter continued instead, "I know you're very fond of the girl, but she wouldn't exactly... mingle well with high society. While she is a very sweet and charming creature - in all my long years of service, I have never met her equal - she would simply protrude too conspicuously."

"She has no need to mingle," the Count said indifferently. "She is my companion; my ward. What do I care if she knows which fork to eat her salad with or how to play the piano-forte?"

Seras was pleased and flattered. While the servants chastised her regularly over all the simple little things she did wrong, the Count never cared at all. She dared think he was the only one with any sense on the human world, since he also did not care about foolish little rules on how and when to do the littlest things, from walking to horseback riding.

"You might not, my lord, but I daresay your guests will care."

"Then teach her what you think she needs to know," the Count snapped. "I'll have no more of it."

"Very good, sir."

Seras tensed, but the Count smiled at her and was so gracious over the rest of the day that she was brought back quite at ease.

By the time they were seated to dinner, Seras had recovered her old appetite. She loved human food so much. Every night, they served something different and she loved all of it. Down in the ocean, they ate whatever scaled fish, shellfish or sea plants were available. Food was just necessary to live. Up here? It was a pleasure to eat.

The Count had rather simple tastes, and had more or less the same types of meal each day. Every morning they sat down to bacon, eggs, cheese, ham, sausages, buttered toast and jam, etc. Every luncheon and dinner included thick heavy meats, vegetables, and sweets. The Count LOVED his meats, especially a thick, greasy, fatty kind which he called "mutton," and the meats were always the main part of every dinner. (Whether as a roast, a stew, a pie, etc.) No one was much interested in vegetables, least of all Seras. She thought they tasted bitter, though she grew to like them in soups, stews, and slathered in butter and salt. Puddings (sweet or savory) were usually thick, filling, and easy to eat, and Seras gulped them down by the bowl.

Fish and other sea animals often made their way onto the table, since they lived so close to the sea and the Count boasted of having so many fishermen to catch for them. '

I noticed,' Seras thought, for she had long watched the former Wild Geese crew harvest fish by the schools into their huge nets. She even got caught in one of their nets once, and had to cut her way out as they reeled it in. (She had found their sad and confused faces when they held up the net to see a slash bigger than them hilarious.)

Seras loved the fish anyway because sea animals were familiar food for her, and she was amazed at how humans prepared it. For the life of her, Seras wondered how Chef Louis made such cold, slimy, clammy creatures taste so amazing! Something to do with 'boiling' and 'adding sauces' but Seras couldn't ask questions. It just tasted so good!

But what Seras loved best of all were the sweets. After every meal, Walter presented some dessert or other made of very sweet-tasting food. These, Seras could not get enough of. While every meal ended with some leftover food to be taken away, Seras rarely left a single sweet uneaten. Pies, cakes, custards, tarts, treacles, chocolates, sorbets, ice creams; it didn't matter. It all tasted delicious.

She probably would have grown too stout for her dresses if she didn't also skip, jump, run, etc. every chance she got.

While Seras ate, Walter told the Count of a lot of important business, deadlines, meetings, etc. that he was late on. He told him of some person who wanted to see him in town, or some lord such-and-such whose call he was to answer.

Around dessert Seras wasn't really paying attention because she was too busy helping herself to some jam to slather on her custard tarts. It seemed like the last was gone until she spotted one more on the central plate. Manners dictated that she signal Walter to pass it over to her, or go without it. Since Walter was busy talking and Seras was ruled by her stomach, she obeyed its command to reach over.

Still, she had been reprimanded enough that she listened in case she got caught.

"Very well, but I'm taking the girl with me."

"Good Heaves, Sir! You can't expect to drag the poor girl about after all she's been through!"

"I can, and I will."

Seras realized she couldn't simply lean forward, so she stood up and streeetched her arm to try to reach that one elusive tart.

"It was a fever brought on by a concussion. Her head has healed and her fever is gone. There's nothing more to fear."

"Be that as it may, she was severely weakened by her state."

"Which she is recovering from now," the Count said, gesturing around the grand spread of the table.

Seras flinched, but when no one looked directly at or reprimanded her, she tried again.

"Yes, but the recovery process is not quite complete. I hardly think it safe to push her while she is still mending."

"Very well, I shall ask her what she can endure in her present state."

"She's hardly the best judge on these matters!"

Seras finally snatched it just as the Count started to turn his head. Quick as a blink, Seras snapped back and placed her hand on her chin, pretending she didn't just defy table etiquette.

"What do you think, my little foundling?" he purred, "Can you endure a simple carriage ride into town tomorrow?"

Seras nodded excitedly.

"Very well," Walter sighed, "But at the very least, it is highly advisable for you to bring her an escort."

"Captain Bernadotte can take care of it," the Count said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "I'm not bringing another servant along because you believe my ward is so delicate that sitting in a carriage will overexert her."

"It's not a matter of physical exertion, sir," Walter said. "To go through so much excitement after everything she's been through…"

Seras nibbled on her tart as she listened to the two men talk. This was the first time she had ever seen Walter argue or backtalk the Count over anything.

Walter eventually relented, but on the condition that she go to bed early to save up her strength for the morrow.

Seras felt bored and restless. She didn't feel sleepy and didn't want to go back to bed after how long she had been in it. She wished she could be with the Count reading in the parlor, or drinking wine while moon-gazing on the balcony. Well, he read and drank wine, she just enjoyed his company.

Presently she looked out her balcony window, where she saw Captain Bernadotte playing with the hunting hounds down in the courtyard. He was giving them the exercise they needed so as not to feel too restless till their next hunt.

Seras smiled fondly. It was an endearing sight, as well as an envious one. She wished she could be down there running and playing too, rather than cooped up here with nothing to do but lie down and stare at the ceiling. (She had not yet learned to read, and no one had thought to ask or teach her.)

Pip Bernadotte was good with animals. He wasn't gentle by any stretch, but he had a good nature about him that they loved. While he petted and handled them very coarsely, he had a type of rough kindness that the animals responded to very well.

After a while he noticed her staring, looked up, and smirked.

"O la la!" he called. "You like what you see, ma cher?"

Seras started, huffed indignantly, then went in and slammed the window doors.

She didn't see, but he smiled fondly as she retreated.

Seras, for her part, was huffing at the indignity of it all. He could be so kind man when around the animals, and a very serious and straightforward instructor when giving her riding lessons, but the rest of the time he liked to mock and tease her. She didn't always understand what he was talking about, but he would say things with a suggestive grin or wiggle of his brows, and he would make fun of her one way or another, and he would always laugh at her reaction. It irritated her so much.

"The nerve of that young man!" one of the maids said, as she fixed up Seras' bed.

'Tell me about it,' Seras thought.

"He should really learn to watch his tongue and speak properly to a young lady."

Seras agreed!

"Not that you're much of a lady, mind," the woman said.

Seras glared.

"But then, you live under the protection of the Count," she grinned. "And that's about as good as being a viscountess, if it's not too bold to say."

Not bold at all, Seras thought dreamily. Her thoughts then wandered to the Count, and she was much happier for it. She didn't know what a viscountess really was, but to her it sounded similar to "count" the way woman sounds similar to man and mermaid to maid. If she had known that "countess" is actually the female equivalent of count, she might not have started dreaming about officially wearing the title.

Thinking of her station in human society being "as good as a viscountess" made Seras daydream about when she could officially wear the title.

This was not helped by the maid continuing, "The Count really is quite taken with you, you know. It's quite remarkable. You've noticed we don't have many guests and… he doesn't have many calls to go into high society events. Not that it's the season for it, mind, but that master of ours is quite reclusive. He came to this country quite by himself, you know. To pursue something that interested only him. He was taken aback when he was nearly drowned in that storm—I'm sure you've already heard of it…"

This was the first Seras had ever heard of this from a human, but the maid wasn't looking.

"… And he's been rebuilding ever since. Nearly lost everything, he did, and now he's been regaining his fortune with the displaced crew of the ship, that now take up most of his male staff. They would have had to start anew after their ship went down too, but since he was looking to rebuild himself and needed as many hands as he could, so he made a bargain with the ship's captain—Mr. Vernadead—and it's been like that here ever since."

'So that's how it came about,' Seras thought.

The maid's face fell. "He came here to build his reputation in Greater Britain, but he only gives the bare minimum amount of effort to stay welcome in our society, and perfunctorily given at that. He finds absolutely no pleasure in the company of others. For months, all he would do is read in the parlor, look at the moon from the patio, and go riding and hunting by the hour."

The maid then smiled, "Then you come along, and he has not tired of your presence even a little. In fact, he seems much happier for it. I dare say you are the only person he enjoys being around, for he cannot stand to be parted with you for a second. Oh! You should have seen how he looked while you were ill. He was in agonies of agitations for you to get well so he could have you beside him again."

The maid's words laced the threads of hope in Seras. The Count was quite charming to her, and Seras was always delighted by how he wished to have her with him at all times and often smiled or chuckled quite fondly at everything she did. It made Seras swell with pride, thinking that she was the one he liked best and hopefully she would be the one he would want to spend the rest of his life with.

She fell asleep and dreamed of the day when the already unparalleled fondness he felt for her grew into the deep love that would bring their hands together by a priest and join their souls together, for this life and the next.

The next morning, they set out just as the sun rose. Seras was eager to get going, and wasn't disappointed when Captain Bernadotte and a few footman pulled up a large carriage pulled by a team of horses.

Seras looked at the dark inside with a mixture of thrill and excitement. She looked back at the Count, who motioned forward and said, "Ladies first."

She grinned and stepped forward… only to feel her hand lifted off the carriage door and cupped around something that felt like coarse leather. She looked over to find her hand in Captain Bernadotte's, and he helped her into the carriage.

'I can do it myself,' Seras thought, though blankly.

The Count soon got in and signaled the coachman to drive.

Seras tensed and looked around with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as the large box (sorry, "carriage") rattled forward. It was so dark inside, with plush seats facing in both directions, and a single window on each side. Seras sat across from the Count, and felt herself blush under his gaze.

"Best to make yourself comfortable, my foundling," he said, "We shall be riding a while."

Seras nodded, but without conversation she quickly grew restless. She eventually looked out the window and marveled at the sights. Beautiful emerald green fields as far as the eye can see, with beautiful trees, creeks, and farmlands along the way.

When they arrived in town, Seras was absolutely beside herself. She had never seen so many wonderful sights in all her life! and this was just from within the carriage window! After Captain Berndaotte helped her out of the carriage (why they insisted on holding her hand while she got in and out was a mystery to her), her eyes were bright and her face alive with wonder and excitement.

The ground was paved with cobblestone streets and surrounded by buildings of all shapes and sizes, with red tile roofs and flags flying high. The windows and streets were filled with human beings going about their day, all of them carrying or tending some goods or animals.

Seras looked on with excitement as one human pushed a wagon stacked with crates, each filled with clucking chickens. Another was using a hooked stick and a dog to move a small herd of sheep around. She marveled at their fluffy woolly bodies, and the way they seemed to flow around like a school of fish. Another human was tending a flock of large geese, which were big fat birds with long necks that honked loudly. Many women stuck their heads out high windows to air out their dresses or hang their laundry, and many women on the ground walked about with large baskets on their heads or hips.

Since the Count's carriage had stopped near the town center, they were near the market where shops were stocks and market vendors were plenty.

Over the course of their visit in town, Seras watched as many shops were stocked and flocks were fed. She watched as drunken midnight men wander out of pubs to drift home into bed. She heard school bells chime and church bells ring. To Seras, there was no ethereally beautiful sound as that on land (except for Walter's piano playing. That could make stones leak tears, Seras thought), and she listened in rapture to their melodies. Nearby, she saw little human beings laugh and run as they weaved through the streets. She jumped up and down in excitement and pointed them out to the first escort she saw, Captain Bernadotte, because she'd never seen little humans up close before. He smiled in bemusement.

"You'd think she'd never seen a town before," he said to the Count.

"Hm."

It wasn't over yet. As the Count went about his business in town, Seras grinned as she watched children laugh and run through the streets, kicking balls and chasing dogs. She looked on in rapture as she heard the peddlers sing their wares. She saw as people brought their geese, their finest fleece, and goods to please the eye. She wove through the crowd blissfully unaware that people hoped and prayed there was something she wanted to buy.

She also saw the less savory parts of town, like women dumping waste from buckets into the drains of streets, and smelly men in stained aprons slopping pigs in pens and gutting fish to sell. The whole town more or less smelled like dirt, waste, fish, farm animals, and body odor, depending on where one stood, since this was before modern sewage and hygiene. But it was a small matter to Seras, who was so thrilled and excited to see so many humans for the first time that nothing could take her joy away. And not all of it smelled bad, like the bakery that sold fresh bread.

It was all Captain Bernadotte could do to keep up as she wove through the crowd. There was so much to see, so much for sale. Stands filled with apples, cabbages, onion, leeks, carrots and peas. She thought the Old Grey would love the handful of carrots she was offered and accepted, blissfully unaware that she left poor Captain Bernadotte to pick up the tab while she moved onto the next thing. More appetizing stands were filled with loaves of bread, blocks of cheese, cakes and pies.

The Count did not have such difficulty. Seras adored him so much that all he had to do was say, "Come along, my little foundling" or "Let's go, don't dawdle," and she immediately stopped what she was doing to trail behind him like a baby duck.

Captain Bernadotte could not believe the injustice.

Because Seras was dressed completely out of fashion and ran around like an excited child instead of walking like the prim, proper, reserved young woman she was supposed to be, people paused to stare.

"My word!" one of the women said.

"She must be wild!" said another.

"She's just a child!"

Because the Count could not wait for her but did not want to disrupt her fun either, he simply told Captain Bernadotte to keep an eye on her while he attended business in town. Seras was visibly distressed and went to ask to go with him, but he leaned down and ran the back of his finger along her jawline.

"Fear not, my little foundling," he purred, "We shall see each other again soon."

And with that, he took his leave.

Seras was absolutely miserable watching him go, but something interesting soon drew her eye. Eventually all the new sights and sounds drew her attention and her old cheer.

She was drawn by the sparkle of jewelry shops, the oddity of hat shops (so many colors, patterns, decorations and feathers!), colors and creative of toy shops, and the amazement of clocks and watches. Clocks especially fascinated Seras because they moved on their own, without being alive. They were also very decorative, at certain times little doors opened and little brightly colored people or animals came out to move.

Seras could barely contain her excitement as she jumped up and down and clapped in amazement.

She tugged at Captain Bernaodotte's sleeve and pointed out the clocks excitedly. 'Do you see? Do you see?'

"Oui, those are clocks," he said.

Realizing it was probably mundane for humans, since no one else reacted with amazement, Seras tried to contain her enthusiasm. She hunkered over and clutched her arms with her hands.

Pip chuckled. "You know, there are several clocks back at the castle."

Seras gasped and looked at him. 'No!'

He laughed. "Oui, it's true!" he said. "What? You never noticed before? There's at least one in every inhabited room."

Seras widened her eyes and looked like she might faint. How had she never noticed before?

"Oui, once we're back at the castle, I'll show you."

Seras grew giddy with excitement and bounded out of the shop behind him.

For many wild moments Pip was afraid Seras would want to keep some of the expensive trinkets she admired, because he couldn't afford them, but she always put them down and ran over to the next thing that drew her eye. She wanted to see and touch, but once things were inspected she lost interest or felt content to move onto the next one.

While Pip was worn out trying to keep up with her, Seras was on cloud nine. Her heart was pounding like a drum, she couldn't believe her eyes. As she went around she saw between the buildings so tall that human beings in between came in many shapes and sizes. So many men and women, tall and short, fat and thin, smartly shaved and carelessly grizzled, in all different kinds of clothes. So many streets, she wondered how they found their way? So many people talking all at once, she couldn't even hear what they had to say! Seras smiled in rapture as she moved out of the glorious crowd to follow the captain into this quiet, dark, boring shop she had no interest in, that smelled terrible. Like spices, but in a bad way.

Even inside, Seras took the first opportunity to look out the window and wonder what people were doing.

While she had enjoyed her time in the Count's castle, it was so large and empty, with only him and his servants. On some level Seras wanted to see a "town" or city where humans gathered, to see how they lived the way she knew how merpeople lived.

After the captain made his purchase, he stepped out. "All right, we can go."

Seras shot out like a race horse out of the gate, once again thrilled to be out and about where the people were.

The human world was everything Seras had heard and more. With this town so away from the sea, Seras thought this human world was nothing like she'd seen before. No bodies of water like rivers or oceans. Just streets and buildings, with fields far away. Animals walking on legs, not paddling with fins: from geese to sheep to pigs to horses that neighed.

As they took back to the streets Seras was again completely taken with this place that seemed so amazing.

The town was as busy as a coral reef. Crowded and loud, but so exciting too, with sights, sounds and smells she never even knew!

By a shop window, Seras stopped to admire an elaborate red silk dress laced with jewels and feathered hats. She paused by the window and spread her arms so it seemed her reflection was wearing the gown, with her arms sticking out of the puffy sleeves.

She heard snickering beside her, and turned to see Captain Bernadotte smirking at her.

"Would you like to try on a new dress, ma cher?"

Seras retched.

He laughed.

She turned away and walked toward all the things she actually wanted to see. She had enough dresses, thank you very much!

Eventually they were rejoined by the Count near the fountain, and Seras' earlier excitement was paltry compared to how thrilled she was to have him back with her again.

"Have you missed me, my little foundling?" he said fondly, swiping a bang out of her eyes.

Seras beamed up at him, completely starstruck.

"Oui, she missed you," Pip sighed, carrying all the little odds and ends Seras had gotten; carrots and apples for the Old Grey, white flowers for the Count, loaves of bread for herself.

Seras pulled one of the flowers from the bouquet and handed it to the Count. (She'd only wanted one, but the salesman insisted she take the whole thing.)

He smiled, "Is that for me, my little foundling?"

She nodded emphatically, then wrung her hands, hoping he liked it.

He smiled and humored her, smelled it and then tucked it into his front pocket to make a boutonniere. Seras was thrilled!

"Go put those things in the carriage, we won't be here much longer," he said to Captain Bernadotte.

"Aye aye, sir," was the sarcastic reply.

Not much longer? Well! Seras made good use of that time!

Seeing a tiny little stage with tiny little curtains, Seras clapped her hands and bounced to see tiny little people in colorful clothes hitting each other with sticks. In her excitement, she went to pick one up… only to see it had no legs and went limp. She gasped with horror, thinking she'd killed it, until she noticed the human hand behind it that she had lifted it out of, and gathered that it was some kind of glove.

A vendor offered her to try one of his little cakes as she passed by, and she stopped to try. She loved it so much she started stuffing them in her mouth, one after the other, each time swallowing to make room for a new one. When Captain Bernadotte came over to protest, she stuffed a cake into his mouth and took off, and he was once again left to pay.

She saw a place where the cobblestones were set in circular patterns and men played musical instruments, and young couples people were dancing. Seras gasped and jumped up and down. A place to dance! Seras had always wanted to dance!

Seras eagerly grabbed the Count's hand without even thinking and dragged him over. He smirked with amusement as she dragged him over to the dance area like a child dragging her parent over to the sweet shop. He humored her for about thirty seconds and danced with her, bringing her more rapture than a hundred afternoon teas together.

Seras had never been formally trained in dancing before, and so she was clumsy and awkward on her feet. The Count took care of this easily by twirling and dipping her with ease.

"Do you like dancing, my little foundling?" he asked as he dipped her.

She nodded.

"Then we shall have Walter teach you," and with that he lifted her in the air.

Seras would have squealed, she was so happy.

At the end of the thirty seconds the Count grew bored and drew away though.

"Come, we've wasted enough time," he said, and took off again.

This sobered Seras considerably. She didn't consider it a waste of time. He sat and stared at pages or the moon by the hour, but she gladly endured it because she cared about him. How come, for the first time she wanted to do something, it was a waste of time? At least she was doing something!

For the rest of the trip she was a little more subdued. While Captain Bernadotte was happy on one level because it meant he didn't have to constantly chase after her, he felt bad for her because she wasn't as happy as before.

In a way, the Count's own unfriendly, unsocial disposition wore away at her happiness like waves on a cliff. He was so tall, dark, formidable, and serious. He always dressed in black suits with dark clothes and cravats, with his long black hair draped elegantly before his eyes. He always had a presence of class and sophistication, but also of casual self-possession and indifference. He did not care about the goings of common people any more than he did the swaying of branches in the trees.

For that was how he regarded people: as part of the scenery. He wove around people as he walked through town not unlike the way he rode passed trees as he rode through the forest. Actually, he did not have to weave in town at all, because had such a dark and formidable presence that people subconsciously walked away from or around him, whether they noticed he was part of the gentry or not. In town, people parted for him like the Sea of Israel, and he accepted it as his due.

On some level Seras knew it. On some level her joy was dampened by his seriousness; her light dimmed by his dark presence. Like going to your favorite amusement park with someone you love whom you want to share your joy with, but who does not care for it, Seras found that her dream of seeing and enjoying all of this with the Count was dampened.

At the start of the day she had been so bright, sunny, chipper, fun and full of life. Her enthusiasm slowly waned over the course of the day, dropped considerably after the Count turned away from her and even made sarcastic comments about things she liked that he thought useless, then she looked quite down and disheartened by the end.

She also wasn't ready to leave by the time the sun hung low over the town, but the Count had had enough and wanted to return.

Seras was considerably less sunny on the ride back.


* During the Victorian Era, the "social season," or time that nobles regularly got together for debutante balls, dinner parties, charity events, etc. was from the winter to early summer. Most of the English elite lived in large rural estates, but gathered to big cities (in their "town homes") during the cold season to see and be seen. Before public health and sanitation, most cities were filled with pollution and bad smells, which were tolerable in the winter months but nigh unbearable during the hot summer and early autumn. Those with enough money to flee took to their country estates during the summer and autumn, then went back to the city for "the Season" of socializing during the winter.