War Comes
"Master." Alucard's quiet voice pulled Beatrice out of her worried funk. She had grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and a new war was breaking out. Victor was healthy, likely to be drafted. Her home...she remembered the bombing, short thought it was, of London during the Great War. She knew what was coming, and her stress and worry had awoken her own vampire.
Silent now that he had her attention, Alucard simply moved to his master, holding her, silently offering her his support and protection. So in tune to her, he knew, always, what she needed, and provided it. Briefly, Bea allowed herself to lean into him, then pulled away.
"Arthur. He was too young in the Great War to remember much of what we did." Lifting her face to Alucard's, she ordered quietly, "Have him come to me in my office shortly. Summon Walter as well." Even more quietly, "Things are going to change, quickly, and he needs to be briefed."
x x x x x
"England goes to war." Beatrice's hard gaze bore into Arthur's, emphasizing the seriousness of this. "The petty squabbles with Ireland and other actions in your lifetime are nothing compared to what is about to occur. Germany has been building towards this for years. And after their defeat the first time around, they have no love for England, no love at all."
"There will be no war, Churchill and His Majesty won't allow it." Arthur scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "Hitler just wants territory that Germany really has a right to, lands they lost previously. Once he has those lands and some respect again, he'll settle back down. He's not an idiot, there's no chance he'd risk Germany's recent recovery by starting problems back up again."
"Giving him what he wants will not work." The vampire's cool observation riled Arthur, but under Bea's watchful eyes, he did not retort. "Hitler is a leader much as I was when human. Britain has shown weakness, rolled over and shown him its belly. Why would he back down?" A toothy grin. "He's far too much like me, this is simply his invitation to take Europe. And now, he's been granted land and resources at no cost to himself to help fund his army. He's been shown that the weak-willed, appeasing European countries won't act before it's too late."
An enormous bright grin, eyes flaming with glee. "He's a warmonger, a kindred spirit I can feel even through the medium of a radio. Deny all you want, human, but we are heading back into war and slaughter again." Eyes dancing with joy, the vampire settled again, under the disapproving look Bea gave him. Arthur had no idea how she could stomach the bloodthirsty bastard.
"Arthur." He turned back to his aunt. "You were young the first war. If what you believe is correct and the war ends with no real war at all, then you may say "I told you so" to your heart's content. But as the leader of Hellsing, you need all the information we can provide you from the first war. I'll tell you what your grandfather chose to do, so that you are clearly prepared and informed when the Round Table convenes to discuss and debate this."
"Every soldier here went to war." Beatrice's cool announcement shocked Arthur, widening his eyes. Surely not every? "Every one of them, not vital to the security of the country, trained as a unit, well-armed, was used as special squads in the Great War. Many did not come back, but units that originated from Hellsing were highly sought after and far, far more effective than other units." A pause. "The Round Table will seek to draft every one of your men again. I suggest you allow it." A pause, as Beatrice took a sip of her tea, thinking how to handle this. "You're going to need all the strings you can pull after this war, while England is rebuilding, to get those troops back. Cooperate, make it clear you are doing them a favor by "giving" them your troops, and build up a position to make your demands later."
"Before, Abraham and Alucard alone were able to handle most of the outbreaks. There were increased civilian casualties, certainly. This time, you have the addition of Walter. Hunts will be less effective, yes. Ghouls will find more victims, and there will be far less assurance of privacy in a hunt as well. But Hellsing can function with only Alucard, and this war, you'll have two hunters; Walter is young, but capable of a great deal on his own."
In the corner, Walter, whose eyes had been slightly widened by the conversation he was hearing, brightened with pride, and his back straightened even more. Arthur did not miss that those eyes also brightened with...anticipation. Noticing this, Beatrice pushed a pad of paper and a pen into his hand, with the crisp instructions to "take notes."
Beatrice continued. "London was also bombed, but ineffectively, during the Great War. Aircraft have improved, and you can expect a great many city residents to flee to the country. Bring them here." Arthur began to argue, but Beatrice cut him off. "Our soldiers deserve to know that their families are safe. Use the barracks wing to house their wives and children, sisters and near family. We'll have the space and the facilities to do so, easily." A longer pause. "Our family is threatened, too. We have many relatives in London, and many others of high rank. We are targets. You and I have excellent protection." Her gaze pinned Arthur to his chair.
"Bring the other Hellsings here. The men, such as your brother Richard, will be drafted, given commissions and men to lead, or otherwise too busy running Britain to care for their families. Give them peace of mind. Bring all of them here." A small smile. "A future heir needs need to know the family history and meet the family monster, after all. The need to bond with a Hellsing does not go away simply because you do not like Alucard, and they have to meet him to know him."
"They'll be terrified." Arthur's flat pronouncement met with a nod from Beatrice.
"As to be expected. But some will be young children, who will not frighten, and Alucard is certainly capable of looking human while he sizes them up. You should remember the rough-and-tumble play with him when he was in wolf form and we were young. Every Hellsing of the first two generations has those memories! With the other unrelated non-combatants in the house, Alucard isn't going to be a vampire." She smiled slightly at Arthur's confusion.
"I was not in the first war." Arthur's head snapped back to the vampire, seeing him calm again, no longer bloodthirsty and grinning as the monster made his cool, calm observation. "Abraham and Mary wished me to look human or animal for the duration of our guests' stay. I will do the same during this war. Although if I do choose a candidate for a future master, that person will need to know otherwise."
"You're both insane. There will be no war, no need to move civilians into my home, and I will be telling you both "I told you so" for a very long time." Relenting slightly, he continued. "I do appreciate you sharing this information with me, but it was mostly a waste of time." Rudely, he pushed out of the room, leaving the three of them behind.
x x x x x x x
Walter looked eagerly to Beatrice and Alucard. "A war? Truly?" Beatrice looked at him somberly.
"War is watching those you care about injured, worrying for them, dealing with privation. War is innocents being scarred, slaughtered, families destroyed. War is not good, Walter."
Alucard's fierce grin belied that. "Beatrice, the only family we have is each other, and you. We aren't at risk. You should be well aware that I don't give a damn about any other human unless I'm allowed to eat them or hunt them, and after Walter's first family, I don't think he cares, either." His joy told her more than she ever needed to know about how much he loved such things, and Walter's excitement was building, too. "To us, war is merely a chance to kill more, to experience more, to test ourselves. To hunt without dragging along a set of human troops, to shred what we hunt and without having you angry that we are traumatizing the men.
When I was human, I would have worried about how fighting damaged my country, about crops and harvests and yields, about arming and training my troops, and about who to ally with and why. Master, all that is gone. I wish to protect my family, to meet the Hellsings, and to kill.
Grieve for the war, Master. You are human, it is right that you should. Show Walter how to be human. But I am not human, and this...this is wonderful news."
With a smirk, the vampire vanished, and Beatrice turned back to the young lad behind her, page half-full of forgotten notes, and his eyes shining. Her heart sank to see his enthusiasm and joy, as did the hearts of thousands more mothers across Britain as their children anticipated the glory of war, and failed to foresee the pain. "Walter...people I know and care for are going to die. I understand that you have no one to affect you like this yourself. But I know you care for me, and the war that makes you happy will cause me more grief than I ever want to know." She walked to the lad, seeing the joy in his eyes die and his thoughts become more somber. She clasped his cheeks between her cold hands, looking into his eyes. "Alucard is a monster, but you're not. Don't forget to grieve for the pain of others, even if it is not your pain."
A glisten of tears in his eyes as the full import of her words suddenly penetrated his adolescent mind, and she found him hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry for you, Aunt Bea, and I don't want anything to hurt you. Bring your family here, Alucard and I will keep them safe."
Hugging him back, Beatrice took a few moments to pull herself together.
War was coming. There was much to do.