Hello again! Thank you for the reviews. Umm, sorry I cannot reply to you all for the time being. I'm super busy, and the least I can do is post up chapters as I go along and you can piece things together. I'm planning to do some kind of afterword at the end so nevah fear all will be clear :)


Passage of the Blood

...It's… hot…

What is…
What is that smell?

Fire…?

Mum?

Dad?

Where are you?

Wait.
There's someone…

No, that's…what is that?

It's got horns and…it's got wings…It's got fangs and it's skin is like…like leather, and it's black all over… it's so large and - I can hear screaming now…there's blood on the walls…

Mum? Dad!

The thing…the creature…monster, it turns round and –

Who is that?

He's standing in the middle of the room where the monster was…no, he IS the monster…!

I don't know him.
I've never seen him before. He's covered in blood…
He has…red eyes.

Why is he staring at me?

The fire is…the fire isn't hurting him?

He's coming closer…


Meanwhile.

The room is silent.

It's a bit lonely without Ermen around, he realises. He wonders what life will be like now without him. He still has Luther, but the albino has limited - no, none - verbal capabilities whatsoever. Maybe he should post up an internal job advertisement, for a new assistant, but none would be as loyal to him as Ermen was. His island is gone, but that fact does not upset him. Nothing lasts forever.

Caelum sits at his chair in his office, overlooking the financial district of the city of London. It's getting dark, and Oracle, the corporation he took over, offers a grand view of the majestic buildings down below. He holds a glass of blood in his hand, not that he needs to drink it because he can go without blood for more than fifty years or more, but he's never really tried. He contemplates about everything that has happened, everything he has done, and a dry smile appears on his face.

"Mary?"

He is not alone in his office. Mary stands behind his desk, gazing at him worriedly. "Yes, father?"

In response, he laughs. "You keep addressing me like that but do you not find it strange that I have never aged, yet you are aging considerably, day by day? I could be mistaken for your son."

"I know that."

"And?"

"…You're my dad."

He is still for a moment, before he says, "Mary, come here. Let me have a look at you."

She walks over to him as he requests, and he smiles at her.

"You've grown up so much; the years went by so quickly." He murmurs, as Mary kneels down in front of him, "…I respected your wish, not to turn you into something like me, but you're the only one that can bring joy to my life now."

Confused, Mary says, "But dad, you still have Luther."

"Yes, I know." He replies, with a smile, as he turns to the albino vampire expectantly. The vampire, upon mentioned, lowers himself to the ground on one knee, his head down. "But I've lived for a long time…and that is something you can't understand, Mary."

She shook her head fiercely. "That's not true. We still have time to leave. We can go away to live somewhere else; we don't have to stay here. You don't have to look after us."

"If no-one looks after you, then who will?"

"Father, please…"

However, the door to his office suddenly slams open and a woman comes storming in; immediately, Luther rises up from his spot and begins to apprehend the woman, holding her back. "Let go of me!" She screams venomously, "I need to talk to you!"

Caelum slowly turns round in his chair with Mary beside him. "Ah, Cassandra."

"You KILLED him!" The woman named Cassandra screams and roars at him, all the while attempting to free herself from Luther's iron hold. "You killed him! You let him die! You threw him to the wolves! After everything's he's done for you! After all those years serving by your side! You just watched him die! You bastard! You heartless bastard!"

"Yes, Cassandra, I'm truly sorry about what happened to Ermen."

"No you're not! You're a selfish, cruel monster! I hate you! I hate how you're so calm all the time! I hate how you keep sending them all to their deaths! NO-ONE CAN KILL ALUCARD AND CERTAINLY NOT YOU!"

With a sigh, the president gives Luther a quick nod. "Get her out of here. I'll speak with her later." Caelum says tiredly, and Luther, in return, also gives him a nod of acknowledgement before leading the distraught Cassandra out of the office.

Yet, she continues to scream and sob as she wriggles around in Luther's grip. "You just got lucky because Hellsing missed you fifty years ago! This time, I hope they kill you for – "

Luther suddenly lets go.

And the body crumples to the floor, the head is missing.

The white-haired vampire whips his head to Caelum in shock, blinking in muted silence as he stands drenched and surrounded in blood. It's not his own. Mary stares wide-eyed at the head rolling on the floor, before she shakily turns to her father, who is gazing intently at the body.

"F-Father?"

"…Yes, Mary."

"W-why…why did you…"

"She was too loud." says father, "…And she's with Ermen now. I'm sure that will satisfy her."


Later.

"I hope you have a good explanation for this."

Integra glanced from Ruby, to Alucard, who stood at the doorstep of the Hellsing manor. The Director had been asleep until she heard a helicopter whirring above the mansion…it was two in the morning…then the doorbell rang and she could not imagine who it may be, especially at this time of night. She was relatively surprised to find Alucard had bothered to use the door for a change but that was because he had returned from his twenty-four hour expedition with an extra individual he was carrying on his back.

Walter opened the door and there they stood; Integra checked her watch first, to find that Alucard had been away for more than twenty four hours as she specified, but perhaps a little timekeeping issue such as this could be overlooked…for now.

The girl was more of concern. Her blue eyes were dull and glazed, and Ruby herself was caked in dried blood. There was something different about Ruby compared to the other times the Director had seen her. She was terribly pale and she appeared weak and weary. Perhaps it was because Alucard had inexplicably turned her into a vampire. Turning to face the brown-haired draculina fully, the Director added, "It's good to see you again, Miss Ashcroft."

"…Good to see you too, Sir Integra." She mumbled; she was exhausted and drained. Before they left the cave to the helicopter, Alucard's insatiable libido meant he went after her at least three times, in less than two hours. Damn his libido, she thought, as her thighs ached. He'd even worried her when he purred in her ear that he was expecting her to come down to his basement sometime tonight alone.

"Master." Alucard began, temporarily breaking her out of her thoughts as he took out what appeared to be a small jar from the innards of his coat.

Integra gazed at it for a few moments, analyzing it intensely. Her expression was undecipherable, and she said not a word; her eyes narrowing behind her glasses, but then she nodded in acknowledgement. "…Come with me to my office; I'll wake Morris up. Miss Ashcroft, go with Walter for now; he will assist you."

The brunette nodded, and Walter gestured for her to follow him; they split ways, Alucard let her down and she gave him a warning look in which he responded with a playful smirk. Then she trailed after the butler, as he turned to follow Integra up the stairs.

She watched Walter's retreating back, wondering where he would be taking her. Previously, she had been a little more energetic when she woke up, but after going down the mountain and into the helicopter, she began to grow tired and weary. Alucard had commanded her to drink from him but she refused.

Now she was hungry.
Very hungry.

Her stomach wasn't rumbling, but she knew she was starving.

Walter led her to a spare guest room first where he gave her a clean Hellsing uniform, the same mustard-yellow jumpsuit she had to wear during her previous visit. When she was dressed, with her gloves and stockings and those heavy black boots, she stepped out of the room to find Walter waiting outside and he instructed her to follow him again.

This time, he led her downstairs to the kitchen, but he did not stop and prepare a meal for her as she expected; no, of course not… She knew vampires could no longer eat human food. She stared at the back of his neck the entire time, not that she could help herself. They took the elevator; it was an old-fashioned elevator with a lever and a sliding, metal rail for a door which the butler pulled out from its holding before securing it into the lock. He pushed down the lever to a floor with no label and Ruby waited nervously as the lift jittered into action, chugging down on the ancient cable down below.

She did not know there were so many secret, underground passageways in Hellsing as they passed an empty and dark, brick corridor. She also did not know that there were more than one basement level as the lift descended further, past a level with industrial-like metal fans that were churning loudly, and ventilation shafts that were puffing out thick, wispy fumes into the atmosphere.

Ruby swallowed down as the butler waited beside her patiently, his hand still on the lever. He seemed oblivious that she was staring at him relentlessly. "…Where are we going, Mr Dornez?" She croaked out, her throat still coarse and stinging with thirst.

"The Blood Room, Miss Ashcroft." He replied, without turning to her.

"B-Blood…room?"

"You must be famished."

"I-I am."

Walter's lips turned into a thin smile, and soon, the lift grinded to a complete stop. The butler unlocked the railing and slid it open, then stepped out, gesturing for Ruby to follow him again. They had stopped at another grimy-looking brick tunnel with cobwebs and dust that was dimly lit from lit torches affixed to the sides of the walls. She exited the lift and swallowed down, as Walter picked up an oil lantern from the side and lit it using a match.

With the lantern in hand, he strode through the passageway, and Ruby followed him once again. He eventually stopped at a massive stone door locked by a triple bolt system at the end of the corridor; in fact, the corridor had been a linear, straight path. The door did not have a handle or a keyhole. All it had a demon's face carved on it, the creature's mouth open and its eyes angry, glaring at anyone who approached it. She gulped, while Walter chuckled; he took out a keycard from his pocket and swiped it against the small keypad-machine on the left (which contrasted heavily with the door's archaic appearance), and the door creaked open. Ruby stared nervously as the butler entered inside swiftly, before beckoning her to follow him.

"This way, please."

The room was very cold. Ruby followed Walter anxiously only to realise he'd led her into a large freezer, filled with countless of sealed bloodpacks fitted neatly into shelves. Ruby gasped; so much blood…she almost couldn't believe her eyes and she groaned, stricken with hunger, wincing at the sight. She was thirsty. Very thirsty.

"Now…let's see here... Do you have a blood preference, Miss Ashcroft?"

"Huh?"

"Ahh, I apologise, I should have introduced you to the Blood Room beforehand." The old butler mused. "This is where we store the blood received from donation parties and their anonymous donors. The reason so is because Miss Seras, Mr Sloan and Master Alucard, and now you, require blood. Sir Hellsing will authorise you with an access pass, identical to mine, and you can come here whenever you like." Walter replied, "We have many blood types to choose from, from A, B…"

As Walter explained, Ruby couldn't help but compare this Blooding Room to the vampire bar. "…These are from donors?" She asked cautiously. "They were willing, right?"

"Of course."

"And what are those?" She pointed to the packs that were not filled in the adequately named sections such as A, B, AB and O. Instead, these bloodpacks appeared to be randomly scattered around on the shelves.

"Those packs contain blood from a variety of animals."

"…Er…animals?"

"Yes." Walter replied, "Now, Miss Ashcroft, what would you like? You are welcome to have as much as you want. All you have to do is take your pick."

Ruby glanced around herself, unsure.

What…would she like?

A…

B…

AB…

…O?

Or…maybe…animal blood…


Integra's Office.

"What is it?"

"It's a foetus." Morris replied, wheeling himself away from the table.

The hunter had been depressed that his knife was still missing but the foetus seemed to have distracted him, if not, for only temporary. Although Integra and the rest of the household were still dressed in daywear (since Hellsing never truly sleeps), he was in his pyjamas, which consisted of a white vest and black cotton pants. Since the tournament, the vampire hunter was recovering from his gut wound and had now a broken leg to put up with. Confined to his wheelchair, Morris could only provide limited, back-up support from now on. He was extremely intrigued by the pink, jelly bean in the jar, which sat on the surface, with the fleshy bean surrounded by a thick, goopy substance inside. "I'll conduct further experiments in the morning. Where did you get this again?"

"Anthony Rosenthal's younger brother; he was conducting research on vampires and ghouls. He has had this specimen for years." Alucard replied, watching Morris from his spot. He explained to Integra what had happened in Bal'allan. At first, she remained unfazed and listened intently to his retelling, but he omitted the part when they mated.

Surprisingly enough, Integra had not much to comment regarding Ruby's turning…

Now the foetus was the highlight of the conversation. "I'm surprised it's still in this form, even though it's dead." Morris added; he looked like a child on Christmas day about to open presents. "It did not erode away into blood as most vampires do, but it also hasn't decayed, as humans do after they die. It's like a hybrid of some sort."

"Hybrid?" Integra questioned as she sat rigidly behind her desk, "Between a human…and a vampire?"

"Exactly." Morris breathed, as he lifted the jar and held it into the light of the room, "I-I can't believe it…I didn't think it was possible…"

"There is your proof, Morris." Alucard replied, with a broadening grin.

"Now, about Ruby…" Integra said, turning to face Alucard properly, as Morris continued marvelling the jar with morbid curiosity. "She called herself Leanne Van der Linde?"

"Leanne Van der Linde…? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Morris murmured, rubbing at his chin with his hand. "What do you mean she called herself Leanne Van der Linde, Mr Alucard?"

"When I found her, Morris, she took on a new identity."

"…Actually, Leanne Van der Linde is the name of a missing girl, Alucard," Integra said, "It is a cold case. We came across her file when looking up Emilia Rosenthal's missing daughter. Did she mention anything about her parents, Alucard?"

"They died in a fire."

"Interesting." She murmured under her breath.

"What is?" said Morris.

"It is consistent." Integra remarked, "…However…her parents… Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft. At the moment, we still do not have information on their whereabouts. But if she claims her parents were killed in a fire, then those people who are looking after her now…who are they?"

"Whoa," Morris said, "Why are we saying this all of a sudden, Integra?"

Integra turned to him, "…Do you not find it strange that Ruby identified herself as Leanne Van der Linde, and accurately recited the fact that her parents died in a fire?"

"Well, yeah, that is strange. So you're saying her parents right now aren't her real parents?" Morris replied, and Integra nodded. "But what makes you assume her parents aren't her real parents? What if they did die in a fire, and Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft have just adopted her?"

Integra crossed her arms over her chest lightly. "I am just concerned, that's all. For now, we will detain her here." She said, and Alucard raised an eyebrow at the word 'detain'. "…Something's not right here, but we will find out."


Hungry…

That was all she could think about.

Hungry. I'm so hungry…

Ruby wandered down the corridor of Hellsing manor on her lonesome, wrapping her arms around herself.

I should have taken a blood pack…

But no, she had refused and asked Walter to take her back upstairs.

She didn't want to drink blood.
She just didn't want to.

But not drinking the blood when she needed it was starting to take a toll on her. Her vision began to deteriorate; Integra's elaborate paintings that were affixed proudly one after the other on the wall began to blur together into a mix of stunning colours. Her ears were assaulted with unfamiliar noises, from whispering to yelling and screaming and footsteps thundering around everywhere. What a racket. Moving her arms away from herself to clamp her hands over her ears, she sighed in relief when it alleviated the sounds, even if it was only slightly. On the other hand, she began to feel cold again and she couldn't stop shivering; she was breaking out into a cold sweat and her teeth began chattering against each other loudly, but then -

"Are you okay?"

The unrecognizable voice echoed around in the back of her mind before Ruby squinted her eyes. There was a man in the corridor. He was dressed in khaki camouflage with a bulletproof vest. A soldier. He strode up to her, his heavy boots going clunk clunk clunk with each step which only made Ruby groan and squeeze her eyes shut. Again, her gaze landed on his neck first when he stopped in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Either it was an echo or he had asked her again.

I don't know… Her chaotic mind was in shambles, I'm so hungry…so hungry…

"You're not allowed to wander the halls at this time, Miss."

"…C-Can't find my room…" She grunted out. Her stomach never grumbled but the Hunger was bad. Really bad. But she didn't want food.

"I'll escort you to your room – "

"No…I…I'm fine, I'll find it my-myself." She managed to stammer out as he moved forwards to help her. Tearing her eyes from his neck, she brushed past him and continued her journey back to the direction of the stairs. She was sure her room was upstairs somewhere.

Each step felt like it would be her last; her legs were heavy…weak…her knees… as though they would buckle under her… She was afraid of collapsing but it might seem inevitable. Her head was throbbing and the corridor spinning, Ruby eventually crumpled against the wall and stumbled to the ground.

"Whoa!" It was the soldier again; he went to help her up and his hand was on her arm, making her tense all over when the contact sent jolts down her spine; either her senses were extremely sensitive and attuned or she was definitely going through a weird, vampire-body-changing phase. He lifted her up off the ground, her legs still wobbling. "You really don't look good."

As he helped her to stand, he accidentally exposed his neck to her and Ruby felt her fangs elongate; she found herself beginning to reach for him…

No!

With a growl, she pushed herself away from the man and slammed a hand over her mouth to cover her fangs which didn't seem to be retreating. "I'm fine, honestly, thank you…" She blurted, her words muffled. Without another word, she dragged herself down the corridor. And as she turned left...

…she bumped into Seras.

"Ruby!" gasped the blonde as Ruby completely tumbled over the ground clumsily; when she didn't get up after a few seconds, Seras peeled her off the carpet and helped her onto her feet. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Seras…" Ruby croaked out, feeling at her teeth with her hand. Her fangs were gone, to her relief. "I'm…hungry…"

"Hungry?"

"Seras, when…when you turned…did this happen to y-you?"

"Um…I'm gonna have to say no."

The brunette frowned, feeling slightly angry that this was happening to her only. "I don't think I can control this…"

"What do you mean?"

"I was going to do something bad…I was going to attack that soldier."

"Maybe you just need some rest; I'll take you back to your room."

Ruby shook her head. "No, I need to talk to Alucard."

Seras tilted her head to the side awkwardly in response, "Talk to Master…? At this time of night?"

She nodded.

"Well…I doubt he sleeps, really. Here, this mirror should lead to his basement." Seras helped Ruby over to the mirror on the wall which she had been describing.

If her memory served her correctly, Ruby recognised this mirror the last time she was at Hellsing manor, although it had been quite some time ago. As soon as the two draculinas arrived in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror that cleverly concealed his alleged lair, Ruby pried it open from the hinges and gawped at the dark passageway.

"Alucard?" She called out breathlessly; she could see nothing but pitch-black space below. "…Alucard, are you there?"

There was no response.

"I don't think he's in, Ruby."

"I'm still going down." She declared, "I need to talk to him."

"Okay…"

"Don't wait for me. You should get some rest too, Seras."

Seras nodded; Ruby left the blonde at the top of the stairs, then made her way downstairs and eventually arrived at the basement. She wondered if he really was not here, and ventured in further to discover his throne. To her surprise, Alucard was there. He seemed amused by her dishevelled, ill-looking appearance as he sat leisurely in his chair with his legs crossed while balancing an empty wine glass in hand.

"You're here." She gasped, dragging in heavy, shallow breaths.

"I sensed you coming."

"…I'm…I'm so hungry…"

"Walter should have taken you to the Blood Room." He replied, and when she shook her head, he knew she had refused to drink. "Foolish bride. I drained you until you were almost empty; of course you are hungry."

"…Why?"

"Your blood is mine; I will take as much as I desire. And now, you need blood, or else."

"Hey, wait a minute…just because you turned me doesn't mean I belong to you."

"No, you are mistaken. It does mean you belong to me." Alucard replied sternly, "I am your sire. And I forbid you to drink from any other. Male or female. If you require blood, you come to me."

She pursed her lips at the thought, "I won't call you 'Master'."

"I did not imagine you would." He replied casually, his grin widening, "Even though you're a draculina, you're still feisty and disobedient. I like it."

Well… now that I've seen him naked I'm not really scared of him anymore, she thought to herself with a tired expression on her face. She inhaled a shaky breath, and groaned when the Hunger hit again. Blood…she needed blood right now…

"Do you yield?" He added, and she glanced up. Her fist clenching, all she could do was nod bitterly. This forced a wry smirk to appear on his face, "Then you know what you must do, my bride." Alucard patted his knee invitingly. "Come closer to me."

She stumbled forwards to him as he held his arms out to her. As she neared him, he grabbed her wrist and hauled her into his lap; she sat, feeling rather awkward and odd as he settled her on his knees comfortably before he yanked her tightly against him. Alucard proceeded to wrap his strong arms around her, resting them on the sides of her hips; although she blushed, she did not think much of this intimate contact…maybe because they'd already been intimate with each other as much as possible that she did not find herself protesting…she merely slumped against him for she could barely keep her eyes open, her eyelids fluttering to a close with fatigue.

He began petting her hair affectionately, making her more sleepy than before, "Ahh, Ruby…my darling Ruby, you knew this was unavoidable. I do not understand why you chose to prolong the inevitable." He purred in her ear as he retreated his hands from her hips to wander to the sides of her legs, only for her to flinch away from him, "Hm? No foreplay?"

Ruby withdrew from him with a frown, "I'm starving here."

"Then feast away. You have my consent. Don't mind me." And he pulled his head back so his neck was in full view. "Drink."

She swallowed down inwardly, as she stared at his neck. He really did enjoy dangling himself in front of her… Ruby glanced away uncomfortably, but then the Hunger came again and she knew she could not delay it anymore…She opened her mouth, rubbed at her teeth first with her finger nervously to find out they hadn't lengthened but were still little square, blunt shapes in her mouth. How did this work? Did she have to summon her fangs? If she had to, how did one do that? Or maybe they lengthened automatically as soon as it neared a neck? Could her teeth automatically detect necks? But how?

"I'm waiting..." Alucard purred again, as he caressed her, rubbing at her shoulders in lazy circles.

Ruby swallowed down another lump in her throat, then squeezed her eyes shut and abandoned all fears and thoughts away from the back of her mind, and without a moment's hesitation, she lunged down and bit into his neck with her teeth. He did not even flinch. There was a wet, squishing noise akin to something tearing…then fluid began bubbling into her…her…teeth?

When Alucard's blood entered her system, the taste of the thick, metallic fluid made her gag and she attempted to withdraw from him, but a hand clamped over the back of her head, disallowing her to retreat.

"You need to drink." He said sternly, and as his blood continued to flow into her, she shuddered as the coppery taste eventually subsided, and she began to feel rejuvenated and replenished in a matter of seconds. No longer did she feel lethargic or as if her knees would give way at any random moment.

She felt back to normal.

No…even better than normal.
She felt…great.

When Ruby finally came to her senses, she tore herself away from his neck with a gasp. She realised she was clutching him tightly, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Alucard's neck and white shirt was stained red. Blood. She slowly let go of him and glanced at her lap, which was also covered in blood. She lifted her hands to wipe at her mouth and chin. Again, more blood. She was mortified. How much had she taken from him?

"Satisfied?" His voice broke her out of her trance. Ruby blinked at him blankly, then nodded as Alucard began to suck the remaining blood back into his body. Her eyelids grew heavy and she closed her eyes with a sigh; when Alucard wrapped his arms around her once more, she decided to snuggle against him. "Hm."

"What is it?" She muttered.

"It is…" He began, but then he decided not to continue with his sentence, "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes."

"Did something happen?"

"No. Now, sleep, my bride." He murmured, "…Go to sleep."

She let her eyelids droop when she discovered that her current position was very comfortable, "…Alucard?" She mumbled out, pulling away from him slightly.

"…Yes?"

"I'm a vampire now."

"Yes…"

"I'm going to live forever."

"Yes, you are. You are going to live long and well, and I will be by your side." As he pulled her into his embrace again, she rest her chin on his shoulder, then closed her eyes. It felt good to be in Alucard's arms, to be held so tightly by him, so lovingly…

…but why did she still feel so uneasy about herself?


Oracle Corporation.

Mary woke up with a start when she felt an extra presence in her room. Sitting up in bed, she glanced around to notice her window was open, the curtain billowing gently against the cool night breeze. There was a figure in front of her, at the end of her bed, and she gasped, then turned to the right to flick on her nightlight.

"Luther!" She exclaimed, as the white-haired vampire moved to kneel in front of her on one knee, his head low. "…Luther, you're back so early. Did you find her?"

He nodded, then looked up.

"…Thank goodness." She murmured in response, "Come here; tell me what you have to report."

Luther nodded again, then moved closer to her. Removing his black glove, he put his pale hand over her bare arm.

A few minutes later, Mary looked up at him in shock. "…No…it can't be…" She replied.

The vampire closed his eyes, his hand still on her arm.

"Don't say that, it's not your fault you didn't win the auction." She added, and he let go of her arm. "…Thank you, for everything you've done. You've done a lot for us, Luther. Now all we have to do is…tell father, I guess."

He glanced to the side, before an uncomfortable expression blossomed on his young face. Mary blinked questioningly at him, but then –

"…Mas…tuh."

Mary gaped at him in shock upon hearing the noise. "…What was…What was that…?"

Luther tried again, with much difficulty, "Mas…"

She began squealing with laughter in moments and leapt out of bed, then began cheering, and he blinked at her blankly, "Y-You spoke!" Her shock exploded into bewilderment and amazement, a wide grin appearing on her face in seconds. "Luther, you spoke!"

"Mas…ter." He tried hard; he repeated himself to get the word right, although it seemed to pain him in doing so, seeing how his teeth grated against each other with an ear-splitting grind like nails on a chalkboard. "…Master."

Mary threw her arms around him, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Luther… You're so silly…it was okay when I was a kid, but you take this Master and Servant thing so seriously. You can just call me 'Mary'."

He shook his head, "…Mast…Master…w…wuh…we…"

She let go of him and peered at him encouragingly. "Yes?" She said, holding him by the sides of his arms. "Yes?"

"…We…sh…sh-shou…shood…leev."

Her grip on his arms loosened then. "…Huh?"

"…Du…Do…Doan…wun you…hu…hurt." He grunted out.

Mary blinked owlishly at him for a few seconds, before she smiled at him, and let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Luther. You know I can't leave; this has been my home, since…well,forever, and…Caelum is my father…he won't hurt me." She said, with a smile. "My father will never hurt me."