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Embracing Sin

Chapter 9 – Bellum Romanum

Târgoviște, Wallachia – January 15th, 1477, 3:12 p.m.

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A pair of Wallachian royal guards decked out in armour approached them, and by the looks on their faces, they meant business.

"Hrmph! What did I tell you?" Alucard grumbled to his bride in private so nobody else could hear them. "I knew he would do this."

Across the way, on the other side of the gate, stood three brawny men, one of them being Vlad Dracula, who scowled at them with menace and suspect.

Yup. Alucard's old self was going to be a serious piece of work, Integra thought. "Well, at least we're getting inside the palace and hopefully we can persuade him as we discussed. We must try."

Alucard looked over. The guards were nearly upon them. "Here they come. Be sure to relax your body when they grab you, let them believe we are nothing more than feeble humans. Quick, we should mask our eye colour," he advised wisely.

The vampire king was a master of disguise, after all.

"You're right, it would be best if no one discovers that we are vampires." With little effort, she returned her eye colour to a brilliant blue shade, and when a guard grabbed her arm, nudging her to move forward with a sword pointed at her back, Integra did as her mate suggested. She let him handle her in the manner of a mortal, instead of remaining planted on the spot like a stone pillar.

The strength of a vampire was no match for that of a human.

These were definitely thoughts Integra had not considered much before, seeing as she spent most of her time around those where she did not have to hide the fact that she was an inhuman creature.

Alucard and Integra walked towards the Wallachian prince and his two able subordinates, passing under the gate and onto the castle grounds.

"Know that you are my prisoners until I deem otherwise." Vlad's dark threat came delivered with malevolence. "Guards, take them away. I will call for them shortly."

The two vampires watched as Vlad turned his back on them and walked away, while all around them civilians ogled and whispered into each other's ears.

Other than the fact that they smelled delicious, Integra paid them no heed. Instead, she was agog by the scenic view before her, The Royal Princely Court. The stone edifice stood unscathed, its ramparts proud and long halls leading to the keep at the back nicely fenestrated. It teemed with sublime glory as it did in the late medieval period, Romanesque architecture intact and functional, including the Chindiei Tower looming behind it.

Even though it was winter and the ground at their feet was frozen and barren, it was a sunny afternoon, which brought the center of Wallachian affairs to life.

"Will you look at that," Integra breathed out in amazement. "It's so grand. It definitely rivals many estates back home."

All of this was something else for Alucard, something he could not quite put words to. He gazed upon a piece of himself that he never fathomed he would ever see again.

"Wonderful..."

The old vampire did not sound very enthusiastic and Integra looked at him sharply as Vlad's royal guard shoved at their backs rudely. "What's the matter?"

"I fear you are enjoying this a little too much, Integra." He said.

She looked at him as if he was crazy. "Please, Alucard. This is a rare opportunity."

"Is that what you think?" Alucard scoffed. "You Hellsing's never cease to amaze me. Given the opportunity to seek knowledge and exploit, even at the expense of your own life, you all gladly walk into the flames like inquisitive little moths."

Inside Alucard's mind, Integra laughed wholeheartedly, temporarily forgetting about her ongoing thirst for blood or the fact that the sun was irritating the hell out of her today. With a small adjustment to the hood of her grey coat, making sure it blocked out as much sun as possible, she said. "Oh, stop being such a poor sport. We're stuck here, it seems, so we might as well make the best of it."

Alucard hated to admit it, but "Perhaps you have a point."

There were no other choices. If they changed history, it was up to them to set it back in place. And doing so started here in Târgoviște, with his former self, Vlad Dracula.

The guards led them around the side of the palace and down into a tunnel that led to the dungeon beneath the castle. Upon entry into the narrow, low-ceiling tunnels, they detected the horrid stench of urine, excrement and decay.

"Oh, magnificent, I'd nearly forgotten the smell of the fifteenth century," Alucard muttered with complete disgust and lowered his head so it would not bang off the low doorway frame that seemed built for midgets, he considered irritably. "This place needs an air freshener."

Integra was wriggling her nose and for some reason, the desolate state of the dungeons and the mention of air fresheners, briefly drummed up a memory of Walter, her former butler. "No wonder there were so many epidemics of typhoid, cholera and plague all over Europe back in the day."

There was no natural light coming into the dank, dark tunnels, only torch light, which one of the guards grabbed off a wall sconce behind them. They passed by a few cells and from within came the rambling moaning of prisoners in several states of distress.

"Our new neighbours," Alucard taunted. "Should we invite them over for dinner?"

Integra did not even bother to respond to that.

Finally, at the end of the passage, one of the guards stopped and put a key into a heavy lock and opened another squat door with a tiny, barred window made of thick metal.

"Get in." The guards told them.

Without objection, they stepped inside, pretending to be Vlad's obedient prisoners.

"You two are much too quiet for prisoners that could end up being stuck like a screamin' pig," one guard declared in his native Wallachian tongue. He chuckled at the notion.

The other guard added. "They haven't said a single word the whole time. Not a one. Might be your only chance," he told them. "Depending on what the voivode has in store for you two. From what I hear, you two have got him pretty riled up."

Integra mused to herself. "Is that so?"

When neither of them responded to their derision, the two guards locked them inside and wandered away talking among themselves.

The lack of sunlight felt very welcoming to Integra, being up during the day was truly draining. Especially since, she was dying of hunger. Running her fingertips across the cold, damp walls made of stone, she muttered, "The accommodations need a little work."

Alucard grunted. "That's an understatement."

January 15th, 1477, 8:08 p.m.

All that fuss and they only spent a few hours in the drafty dungeon before a different pair of guards came to fetch them.

Alucard reminded her before anyone saw them. "You best restore the gash to your hand, lest they discover you've miraculously healed since cutting it on Vlad's sword."

"Oh, that's right." Integra silently morphed a sharp claw from her thumbnail and tight-lipped, cut a fresh wound into her palm.

As they followed the guards, Integra was, once again, busy inspecting the details of the royal palace and all of its medieval charms. She took in the vaulted ceilings, the well-worn carpets and the beautifully crafted tapestries. Around her, on the walls, were paintings of noble men and women she did not know, and along the hallway massive gothic candelabras filled with burning candles, lighting the way.

At last, they reached a big room with doors thrown wide open, filled with officials and clergymen on both the right and left, leaving an aisle open in the middle. They all gathered, with great curiosity, to see what the Prince of Wallachia had in mind for the two trespassers.

The entire room was lit up by two enormous candle chandeliers winched up high overhead. Even then, the light was weak and gave the room a dusky atmosphere.

Alucard recognized this hall. This was where he had held numerous audiences with several rulers, passed down many judgements and sentenced a countless number of people to their deaths. Only now, he was on the opposite side of that power. Now, he was the subject of this assembly waiting to hear his fate.

Pft! How ironic. He stifled a snort of disbelief.

A part of him felt convinced that all of this was some kind of ridiculous hallucination. That he would wake up any minute now to find that they never even left London—never even went on the vacation, of which he could not deny, was actually starting to enjoy.

No. That would be too easy.

At the end of the hall, Vlad sat on his ornate throne with its tall back, raised up on a few steps, watching them sternly as they approached. The prince was still wearing the same dark blue coat adorned with silver buttons with a belt tied around his waist from earlier, with a pair of beige pants. His posture was brazenly arrogant with his fingers curled around the ends of the armrests, knees spread wide with one leg stretched out so that they could see the dusty sole of his tall, black leather boot.

Alucard decided right then, that they looked nothing alike centuries apart. Indeed, Vlad and he were the same height, had the same colour hair, but Vlad was brawny and had more colour on his face whereas Alucard was lanky and pale.

"I can't get over how much hair you had back then," Integra told him telepathically.

Indeed, he had. Vlad's long wavy hair was as dark as a raven's feather, even the sparse hair growing above his lip and at the base of his chin, which gave him a devilish, barbaric sort of look.

Integra could not help herself, finding all of this rather amusing. "I wonder what he'd think if he knew that I knew that he's furry all over. That—I know what he looks like naked." She knew, of course, from the countless times Alucard transformed into his Vlad form and seduced her. She knew, because she loved plastering her hands against that muscular, dark-haired chest moaning out Alucard's name while he fucked her.

Sometimes, his woman was more debased than he was, Alucard thought. He wasn't sure if he should be proud of that or not and chastised, "Integra… now, is not the time."

Her response was an impish chuckle that resonated in the recesses of Alucard's mind.

When they reached the throne, a court official ordered them. "Kneel before the Prince of Wallachia".

There was no room for debate.

They knelt.

There was a pregnant pause. A discommodious silence as they gazed up at Vlad and Vlad looked down at them. It was there, without words, a strange propinquity. Neither understood it, and no one questioned it. It simply existed by blood.

But shared blood or not there was nothing ordinary about this encounter and Vlad was very wary about these newcomers in his city.

"Remove your hat and spectacles." He ordered Alucard in medieval Romanian. "How insolent of you to come before me hiding your face, I have struck down many for much less."

With a knowing smirk—for he was once this man seated on this very throne—Alucard responded as well in medieval Romanian, "As you wish, my lord. I meant no disrespect."

For a moment, Vlad simply blinked at Alucard as he slid his orange-tinted sunglasses into the inside pocket of his long red duster and took off his wide-brimmed hat, holding it in front of his breast as if in deep regret.

The prince was very surprised by Alucard's use of his native tongue.

Vlad's thick brows stitched together and he took a hard look at the man cloaked in a red frock coat that pooled around him on the floor as he knelt. He noted his hazel-green eyes, sharp facial features and unruly unkempt black hair. "I… I see that you speak the language very well," he said with caution. "Where are you both from? What are your names?"

"I am Alucard and this is Integra, we are nothing more than travelling mercenaries from England. Currently, we are without a lord to serve." Alucard delivered his line as he and Integra decided before they got here.

"England?" Vlad shot a quick glance at the kneeling blonde-haired woman and then back to Alucard. "But you speak as if you were born here!"

There was a murmur among the crowd.

"Silence!" Vlad ordered them.

When all was quiet, Alucard continued. "My mother was of Wallachian decent, she taught me the language as a child," he lied, sort of.

Vlad was beyond curious now. "How did you end up in England?"

"Drifting from place to place… it is where I met my wife." The No Life King glanced over at his vampire bride with nothing less than sheer adoration in his eyes.

But, Vlad was not so sure about that. "If you are married then where are your bands proclaiming such a union? I see no such ornamentation on your person."

Integra could not take it anymore. "Yes. Married. We were robbed." Her Romanian was elementary at best. "Placed rings in our hats."

"Appalling..." Alucard sighed.

"Oh, shut it!" she roared.

For some reason Vlad's hard stoic look softened. Suddenly he was smirking as his attention shifted towards Integra once more.

"Did he teach you how to speak the language?" he asked Integra, while waving a hand in Alucard direction. Vlad noticed she wore the same clothing as she did on his battlefield, a long light grey coat over a beige sweater made of sheep's wool, along with a pair of dark trousers and dark slip on shoes. "I believe you meant to say 'boot' instead of 'hat' perhaps? Seems like an unwise place to hide something of such importance. And it was stolen from you either way. How could you let them take it?"

The prince wore a doubtful expression then. For he saw with his own two eyes how these two fought on his battlefield, skilled in combat unlike he has ever seen.

Alucard intervened. "Forgive her. She understands the language better than she can speak it."

"Ahh, I see. Then this is why she remains quiet and lets you do most of the talking," Vlad mused. "Tell me, Integra, how did a woman like you learn to use a sword like that?"

Alucard was about to answer again but the voivode stopped him.

"No," Vlad commanded. "I want her to answer. I find it rather… amusing."

Why you ill-mannered boob! Integra was grinding her teeth, and instead of waiting for Alucard to guide her in speech, she forged ahead stubbornly. "My father teach me. Since I was old enough to hold sword. He say… I stronger than goat." Then, she switched to English and muttered with annoyance, "I bet I could teach you a few things, voivode."

It was so quiet in the assembly hall you could hear a pin drop.

Vlad brought in his stretched-out leg, planting both feet on the floor and sat up straighter, knees still spread. Then, like a bolt of lightening, he slapped the arm of his chair, which startled many, and laughed. His deep bellows filled the great hall and carried throughout the entire castle.

The prince's henchmen, Grigore and Ion, who stood next to Vlad on opposite sides of his throne, laughed also.

Integra seemed confused and looked over at Alucard. "I don't get it, what did I say?"

Even the mighty vampire king appeared to be holding back a chuff of delight. "It seems that you told them that you are stronger than a goat… when you probably meant ox."

Many people in the hall were snickering also much to Integra's displeasure.

"What is that other language you speak?" Grigore questioned Integra above the din. "English? What did else did you just say to my lord?"

Before Integra could make things worse, Alucard answered Grigore himself. "She said that she uses her sword to slay the enemy."

Abruptly, Vlad's laughter came to a stop. His face filled with menace and his demeanor switched like day to night. "If that is so… then what possessed her to try and pilfer my sword on the battlefield?"He asked Alucard.

Not intimidated by Vlad's haughtiness, Integra held her chin high. On top of that, she was not about to let Alucard keep speaking for her! "Perhaps, I wished to see if the prince's sword was as sharp as his tongue!"

Everyone in the room gasped for she spoke perfect Romanian just then, but they also gasped when they realized what she said to their hotheaded ruler.

"Oh, now you've done it." Alucard jeered at his woman. "We'll be thrown in the dungeon and probably die here—never to return to the modern world. No. Better yet. We'll be impaled to death. Suppose I deserve it."

Integra scoffed. "I will not stand here on my knees like some kind of vagrant and be laughed at for another moment by these arrogant fools, Alucard!"

"Then what will you do, Integra, my ferocious queen?" The king of vampires purred playfully. "Slay them with your wit?"

Vlad's firm gaze lingered on Integra longer than was appropriate and it made Alucard very uncomfortable. To him it was not a look of a man outraged. Rather, it was a look of a man transfixed. Alucard knew because, it was how he gazed at Integra every single day, but it was not how other men were supposed to gaze at his most prized possession.

The vampire had not felt these kinds of emotions in some time and before he could stop himself, Alucard cleared his throat obnoxiously loud. "She was not trying to steal your sword, prince. She was trying to save your life," he growled.

Without moving his head, Vlad's eyes darted at Alucard, and then hardened. "There is something about you," he said. "But I cannot put my finger on it. Have we met before? Why were you on my battlefield? If neither of you were there to steal my sword, or to kill me, then why were you both there?" Vlad pounded the armrest with a clenched fist in anger. "Dammit! Hand over your weapons and speak, man. Speak quickly, so help you God."

You and your precious god, Alucard thought bitterly. He was reluctant, but the red-clad vampire dug out his two enormous handguns and placed them carefully on the step before him.

"No. We have never met." Alucard was not about to sugar coat it, because the fact that he just uttered such a line seemed perfectly preposterous. "However, we were on a journey and came across your outnumbered army in the midst of battle. Your struggle was evident—we decided to intervene, to assist. Being half Wallachian myself, I took pity on you and your cause." He tried very hard to keep a straight face. "Let it not be forgotten, we saved your life so that you could sit on this throne another day."

Vlad contemplated that for a moment.

"Now…" It was Alucard's turn to narrow his eyes and demand his former self, "Believe what you will, Vlad Dracula. Drag us before the guillotine and separate us from our heads or let us rot on a spike, or… let us fight for you."

Grigore broke the silence. He came over and picked up the two strange weapons that Alucard left on the step, holding them up by their stock. "They are so heavy!"

Distracted from the main discussion for a moment, they all inspected the strange metal hand weapons that Grigore held up on display.

"A man and woman mercenaries—and you just happened to stumble upon our fight?" Ion wondered, his tone full of distrust.

"It is true," Integra insisted. "We DID just stumble upon fight."

The men ignored her.

"Where did you get such weapons?" Vlad questioned Alucard. "They are… they are not of this world."

"Then your country is behind the times, I fear, for England has many of these inventions. Careful, if you pull the trigger it will fire a bullet. And if you fire recklessly, you could shoot yourself," the No Life King warned them. "It could end badly for you."

Alucard did not care what they thought. It was not as if they could simply call England and check his story out any time soon. Hopefully by the time they did figured it out, Integra and he would be back in their proper time.

Grigore felt it reasonable to place the two guns on a tray held out by a nearby servant boy after the warning. The tray lowered significantly in the young man's hands from the sheer weight of the guns, but he did not drop it.

Gelou, the pageboy, wandered off with the guns quickly.

Vlad merely grunted at Alucard's response about his country being 'behind the times'. "It still takes a real man to wield a sword than to rely on a weapon that runs out of fighting prowess," he retort and turned his attention towards the blonde-haired foreigner again. "Yet, before me… stands a woman that wields a sword like that of a man. I have never… in my forty-five years… seen anything quite like it. Trust, I have seen women fight with sword, but not like how you did on my battleground."

His piercing stare burned into her long enough to make Integra glower at him.

The prince merely smiled at her, for he too, was unthwarted by her fiery nature. "Tell me, do you always dress like that?" he asked her, his eyes roving over her clothes without reserve. "When was the last time you wore a gown more befitting of a woman?"

Alucard kept a stoic facade, but he was getting the distinct feeling that Vlad was flirting with his lady. What was worse was that he had the gall to do it right in front of him as if he was not even there! The vampire gnashed his deadly teeth together, flexing his jaw, resisting the urge to tear out dear old Vlad's pompous throat.

"It…it's been some time," Integra finally answered, not sure where Vlad was going with this.

The prince looked downtrodden. "What a shame, perhaps there will soon be a reason to wear one, but it is entirely up to you—not his," Vlad added tossing a scowl at Alucard. "I want you to decide yours and his fate, Integra."

Their fate…?

Integra glanced over her right shoulder at her distraught vampire mate, who was glaring at the prince as if he would like have him for breakfast. Then, she looked back at Vlad charily and asked confused, "Decide how, exactly?"

"It is simple. I am taking you up on that offer. Fight for me. Join my ranks. Do so, or you both die slow and agonizing deaths." The prince sounded so pleasant about it.

"Alright," she said.

"Alright…?" Vlad seemed uncertain by her swift response. "Alright, you wish to die…?"

Integra shook her head. "No. Alright, as in, we will fight for you."

"Argh! I cannot remember being this much of snivelling maggot punk, I—"

"Alucard, don't." Integra stopped him in mind. "We're in. We did it. He bought the story. Now all we have to do is get him back on the battlefield and captured by the enemy."

"Is that before or after he gets his fill of toying with you?" Alucard sneered.

"Are you jealous that he finds me attractive?" Integra countered with disbelief. "Don't be absurd, Alucard. He was once you. Perhaps… he cannot help it. Let him grovel. Maybe we can use it to our advantage. Do you not trust me? Do you think of me so weak?"

"Of course not," the nosferatu grumbled.

Integra assured her beloved in a soft whisper. "Never forget, Alucard, you are and always will be… my dear count."

"And you will always be my darling countess," Alucard replied affectionately. "But—just look at him, it's pathetic. He's gawking at you as if you are the ray of sunshine on his dark and dismal world."

Hmm, it was true. Vlad was beaming at her. It was an endearing look for the barbaric warlord. "Well, am I not?" Integra reasoned.

As a vampire or a misguided human king, Alucard could not deny it. Integra was his salvation.

"Yes. It would be an honour to fight for you, my lord," she emphasized.

He was her salvation, too.

"Splendid!" The prince praised. "Then you are now my honoured guests. You must replenish your strength and heal that hand, Integra. Eat and get strong and then… we will conquer this land together! Welcome to my home."

The people in the hall began to cheer.

Grigore and Ion glanced at each other carefully.

Vlad waved them all to silence. "Now, all that is left is to prepare suitable rooms for you." He held up a hand and ordered a nearby dark-haired servant girl dressed in a simple floor length, blue working dress with a white pinafore. "Integra can stay on the north side and Alucard in the servant's quarters." He explained to the girl. "Now, be off."

With a nod, the girl ran off to prepare the rooms for Vlad's new visitors.

"Wait—what?" Integra made a face. Did she just hear that correctly? "Surely you not untie me from my husband."

Vlad appeared completely unmoved by her question. He also figured she was trying to say 'separate' instead of 'untie' in her vain attempts to speak his language.

"I simply cannot trust either of you just yet—you must understand this. Your loyalties must be proven," Vlad reasoned. "Besides, you cannot attest that you two are wedded before the eyes of God and, until you do, you will both slumber in separate quarters."

Alucard was not buying any of that. "I'm telling you he's a lying worm, Integra! He's just making this awfully convenient for himself. How about we go to the chapel right now… let's get married!"

"Hush, Alucard." Integra urged her covetous mate and—at the same time—nodded towards the prince respectfully. "If that is your belief, my lord, then 'ok' it is fine."

The Wallachian warlord scoffed, amused by her use of English and Romanian in one sentence. "Bellum Romanum!" He roared in Latin. "Do you know what that stands for, warrior lady?"

At this Integra repaid Vlad's righteous scoff with one of her own and asked Alucard to translate exactly what she was about to say, so it did not sound like a child replying.

"Fine," Alucard agreed. "She says: Of course, every scholar knows the meaning of that phrase. It translates into 'Roman War' literally, but in general terms means: to fight as the Romans do. Yes?"

Again, Vlad clapped a hand to the armrest of his chair with incredulity. "Yes, indeed! My, you are a well-versed woman. Truly, with the addition of two such glorious fighters in my defences," he began to tell the court, "We will bring together a new army like no one has ever seen. We shall scorch the earth like Julius Caesar and drink our wine from the skulls of our enemies like that of the earliest tribes that once ruled this steppe. Nothing will stand in our way. We will crush those corrupt zealots like the bugs that they are!"

The assemblage praised and hailed more loudly than before, it was aberrant to see their leader in such high spirits. For them, it could only mean better things to come then the precarious life they lived now.

Ah, yes. The proclamation of new battles to fight and the addition of his two newest fighters gave Vlad an appetite. He even patted his belly with a groan. "I'm ravenous. Let us sup. You both must be very hungry, no?"

A querulous Alucard gave the prince a brusque nod. "Famished does not even begin to describe it," he murmured oh-so graciously. "Give me your bloodiest piece of meat."

"Oh ho!" Vlad liked such a hearty reply and rose from his seat, standing to his full lofty height. "Rare is always best. I must agree. Then, you shall have it, friend."

Alucard tried his best to look impressed but almost certainly failed. "I cannot wait."

While Vlad dismissed everyone from the court Integra spoke privately to Alucard.

"Does this mean I have to pretend to like human food?" She did not like the sounds of that.

"Stick to the meat and wine and it won't be so bad," Alucard told her. "If the meat is truly on the rare side, you might actually benefit."

Vlad did not wait until the hall emptied before heading off towards the dining hall. He spun around to see if his guests were following in his wake. "Do not just stand there," he lamented when he saw that they still rested on their knees before his throne. "Get up. Come. Follow me. We have many, many things to discuss. I will properly introduce you to my lieutenants, Grigore and Ion—they will teach you all that you need to know when it comes time for battle."

Grigore gave a well-mannered nod in their direction.

Ion merely scoffed.

"You heard the man," Integra said in English with a wry grin. "The prince awaits our company."

The nosferatu grunted.

A/N: Is anyone else having issues uploading on FF today? I found out a trick to overcome the problem... just paste over an old uploaded document and voila! That's if it's an ongoing story. Hopefully that works for you.

I could not wait to update this story for you seeing as we are getting to the fun stuff lol! This chapter was very challenging because of all the dialogue and inner dialogue between Integra and Alucard XD! I hope you get the lols! Alucard is jealous of himself teeee! I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy, I will try to update again soon!

*If you get a chance to read up about Julius Caesar's exploits you won't regret it. I cannot get enough of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts... they are AMAZING. They are very long podcasts but make great listening if you are commuting to work or school and enjoy history. If you search for Dan Carlin's Hardcore History The Celtic Holocaust on Youtube you can listen for free.

Reviewers:

Guest: Phew! I'm so glad to know that many are reading this lol! The best part about writing this story is sharing the fun with other Hellsing fans. Thanks so much for your support it inspires me!

speedfanatic05: As always, you have a extremely wonderful gift for feedback my friend! I cannot thank you enough how you point out all the little things that make it all worth it. Indeed, Alucard's snide remark to Vlad... of course he holds a grudge, you are right. And his uneasiness most certainly will grow as they go along. Digging into their mindsets during such a time is something I have always wanted to explore, even if the venture is a daunting one. I will continue to try my best to make the entire thing an entertaining one. Again, thank you very much!

Ultimolu: Ha! Thanks for the thoughts. No, changing history will destroy everything we know about Hellsing lol!

Sara882: Naw! Your excitement breathes such inspiration! I'm very grateful that you are reading my story and having such wonderful things to say. As much as Alucard and Integra, and even Seras, have grown in my story... I want them to always be Hellsing. I hope so, at least lol! Thanks so much wonderful reader! *squishes*

Eli: Weeee! Thank you so very much reader! You warm my heart! *grins*