HELLSING WITCH HUNTER:1616
SAPPHIREWYREN
Ch.31: In the Beginning...
As the group rode down King's Highway toward the king's summer residence known as Greymoore Castle, Seras took the time to look at each person in the party. She was feeling pretty down, she had thought that after hearing Anderson's advice, she could confront Integra and end up giving her a piece of her mind. But that went south real quick. Every now and then Kitten would look back at her with a concerned look on her face - well as much concern that a horse could look. Next to her on a chestnut gelding, rode Walter. He seldom rode a horse, having never had any proper training. But the gelding was gentle and seemed to know this, not making unnecessary steps that would frighten his rider. The butler had a worried look on his face, thinking about what had occurred between Sam and Integra. Seras could tell that even he was surprised by the power the heiress had displayed. Sam rode at the back, her smile and laughter sucked away, probably with Byakko into the small statue that Sam clutched tightly, tone. The assassin's head held low and she slumped in the saddle. The look on her face was one of shock and helplessness. Seras could only feel sorry for Sam; there were just no words of comfort, and nothing she said would make it better. Even the horse Makube's head was low as he plodded along as if he felt his rider's emotions. In the front, leading them was Integra, riding one of Baskerville's many children; this one was a daughter a four years old named Moonchild by Schrodinger. Like her father, Moonchild was completely black, large, and highly spirited. Schrodinger, Hans, Trench, and Integra were training Baskerville's children to take his place as a warhorse when he grows old. At the moment Baskerville was at home because he was injured in the last hunt, mostly like in one with the Hellraisers. Seras didn't know how because she and Sam had not been on a hunt with Integra for weeks. The two had been on their witch hunts instead. Schrodinger had begged his mother to go along, but Integra had told him when they had the meeting with the king, he couldn't be in the room. That was fine with the sixteen-year-old, who wanted to the kitchens to see one of the cooks, Thelma who loved giving him treats. The blond boy rode on a bay colored mare and was chatting animatedly with Integra, probably about what just happened, Seras did hear him say, "I knew you'd win!" But that was because she wasn't paying attention to the woman who just crushed her friend's spirit. She didn't miss the way Integra smiled at the teen and at whatever his next remark was; she gave him a friendly tweak on the ear. Walter saw the same thing Seras did because he shook his head and said softly, "Sam should have never threatened Schrodinger". Seras silently agreed, she had seen what Integra was like when she had to protect her son. He may be a teen but he had the physical appearance and mentality of a 10-year-old, due to his species maturing rather late. He was still just a kid.
Greymoore Castle
Albrecht sat in one of the conference room, once he had received word that the Hunters had arrived. On the table wire several letters written to him by the sultan of Turkey and several reports on what they learned from the assassin - which was not much at all. Several maids were setting up food and drink on a separate table, talking about sensitive issues could make anyone hungry. The king looked forward to hearing the Hunters' news about the troubling news that had just landed in his lap. A page opened the door and said, "Your Majesty they have arrived."
"Let them in." The king did not miss the look on the young man's face, something was wrong. The group entered the room and it looked more like a ragtag team bandits than the King's Hunters. Integra and Walter, along with Schrodinger were clean. Schrodinger said cheerfully, "Hi Uncle Al, I'm off to the kitchen! I'm getting some treats!" The young cat-boy bolted before his mother could scold him for not greeting the king properly. Seras looked like she had been crying and had a glum look on her face. And Sam looked like she came out of a dirt pit. Her clothes dirty and torn, but noticeably her good humor and sword were missing. Albrecht looked over to Integra who just shrugged nonchalantly as she settled into one of the chairs.
"I received a letter for days ago from the Sultan of Turkey saying that he is going to declare war on England because of the murder of innocent civilians that were merely on holiday" the king started without preamble. Sera gasped, while Integra scoffed, "Is the buffoon calling a bunch of uncivilized assassins innocent civilians?"
"But they tried to kill you and the queen!" exclaimed Seras.
"That's not how they see it."
"The one I interrogated revealed complete ignorance of who hired him."
"You didn't interrogate him, Integra, you tortured him." Albrecht raised an eyebrow at Seras' lack of use of Integra's title.
"Interrogate, torture, extraction of a couple of teeth, it's all the same," the Huntress said with an impatient wave of her hand.
"There's more," said the King interrupting what could have been a full-blown argument, "another letter came today stating that the Sultan would not declare war if he could meet with the three Hunters." Everyone in the room was silent until Integra said: "Let him have his damn war."
"I don't wish for war. It would not help the country" said Albrecht
"Well sending us would be stupid, what's to stop him from declaring war in the first place?"
"Maybe we can bargain with him," said Sam, this got an eye roll from Integra, Sam ignored it. "We could send one or two to Turkey to convince him or whatever."
"What does the Sultan want with the Hunters?" Walter asked.
"The Sultan did say, only that he was intrigued and wanted to talk with them" Albrecht replied. "Well that meant those bastards have been here observing us and decided to attack at the gala," said Sam. The king and Walter nodded, the Sultan couldn't have known about the Hunters otherwise. Other countries had thought the Hunters as a legend that England had made up to make themselves look stronger. Turkey wanted to see if the myths were true. However, no one thought that was a good idea. "If we send any one of us, we are playing into his hand" stated Integra
"He most likely wants us there, so we won't be here to protect the kingdom," said Sam, though she did not like the idea of agreeing with Integra. Albrecht stroked his beard, "Going to war would mean gathering men and women to fight needlessly. Our economy would suffer and who knows what else catastrophes could happen, I would prefer if my reign to be a peaceful one."
"The Sultan already believes that we have killed innocent civilians, anything he asks for is a trap, one we could not afford to fall into," said Walter.
"What if we invite the Sultan here?" asked Seras "He would still be able to meet us but on our grounds."
"That wouldn't stop him from attacking, but at least we would be more prepared," said Integra. "I agree with Seras, though I have my doubts that the Sultan would agree." Seras gave Integra a surprised glance; she had expected that she would say that it was foolish. Albrecht stood up and said, "I will write to the Sultan and see if I can convince him to come to England, I will set out patrols on the borders to look out for any suspicious activity." Hopefully, the Sultan would accept the invitation. "Perhaps it is best to find out what the Royal Guard and police found out so that we can correct the Sultan. It may not have been he, who sent the assassins but someone had access to both countries" said Sam.
"If you started this efficient when we first met, I might have had more respect for you, Sam" chuckled Integra.
"And if you started less bitchy, then…"
"You would have still tried to seduce me and call me disgusting pet names."
"Shut your mouth."
"I could tell you the same because if something stupid isn't coming out, some slags dirty cunt is going in."
"Sir Hellsing!" exclaimed Walter. Sam looked ready to lunge at Integra, and the latter merely smirked and said, "Stop me when I'm lying." Albrecht cleared his throat loudly, "It would be nice if we stayed on topic. I would like you three to join in this discussion when I bring it up t with my advisors."
"I hope we don't have to go to war," said Seras "hunting witches is enough violence for me."
"We will wait to see how the Sultan replies. But right now as Hunter Sam just said, finding out what the police and the royal know is very important" said the king. At that moment the page entered again and said, "A message came for Hunter Hellsing." The young man handled the letter to Integra and after bowing to the king, he left. After reading the letter, Integra arose from the chair and said, "If you will excuse me, Your Majesty, it would seem that I have a pressing matter to attend to." "Where are you going?" asked Seras.
"If I wanted you to know, I would have told you."
"You can't just leave," said Sam.
"You are free to watch me do so."
"We will talk later, Sir Integra," said Albrecht, and with that Integra left, with Sam glaring at her back, "First she destroys my sword and then leaves us in the dark - as usual." Albrecht said in a stunned voice, "She destroyed your sword? How in the world? Where is the demon Byakko? She didn't seal her into herself, did she?" Sam looked forlorn as she held out the silver stand figure of a tiger. Albrecht leaned forward to get a closer look "I didn't know she could do that, Walter did
you know about this?"
"This the first time I have seen anything like it" replied the butler.
Schrodinger poked his head into the room, can I come in now? I just saw mom leave." Albrecht nodded, "Of course Schrodinger."
"Yay! Ooh, sandwiches! Meow!"
Sam turned to Walter and said: "What the hell on Integra?"
"She's a Hellsing."
"And what does that mean? The bitch said you would fill in the blanks."
"I will, but I must ask that you do not refer to Sir Hellsing as a bitch despite how much you don't like her," said Walter in a cool tone. Albrecht's voice was just as cold as Walter's when he said, "I agree. We will call each other by their given names in my presence or not at all."
"Fine, just tell us about Sir Hellsing," said Sam. Walter started.
The tale of how the four Abysmal demons from the four corners of the earth were captured in swords is often told, incompletely. It was not by chance that your families were chosen to fight these demons. Each family was chosen for their unique abilities The Whitehalls had some political power, of course, you know that after the failure of sealing the fourth demon Charybdis, the king hoped to placate then by giving them more political influence and it worked until George Whitehall, who wanted more. The McClaren family was part of the Tiger assassin Clan, which comprised a multitude of families. But it was the McClaren that was chosen to wield the sword Byakko. They were used for their superior assassin skills which served monarchs well for centuries. They were assassins, thieves, spies, and even prostitutes, and they would gather information about anyone or anything. They were also skilled in interrogation and torture.
The Victoria family was enforcers of the law. They have a robust sense of duty and loyal Many having a higher moral code out of the families. They were police officers, soldiers, guards, and some were even bounty hunters and mercenaries. They kept the people safe and made sure that everyone was treated fairly. Some were also lawyers who represented their clients with a strong passion.
The Hellsings did not start as a family of nobility; they were a family from Belgium under the name Van Helsing. An unnamed ancestor moved the family to England and changed their name to Hellsing. This family grew in nobility through successful business ventures, in which they made many connections. This family was known to be experts in magic and the occult. The Hellsings are well versed in magic, creating seals and sigils. They are also known for their expertise in the arcane.
"Wait, wait" interrupted Sam, "So Integra is a witch?" Walter looked at Sam with annoyance and said, "No, Integra is not a witch. Anyone can learn to wield magic and make seals."
"So she could turn us into frogs?" asked Seras. Schrodinger giggled, "Sam would look as better as a frog."
"Quiet Schrödinger," Walter said. "The Hellsings can create seals as you experienced, Sam. But no, Sir Integra cannot turn anyone into frogs. If she could, you two would have been tree stumps in the Western Pasture a long time ago."
"And Sir Integra knows this?" asked Sam.
"Of course" replied Walter with a 'what-did-you-expect' look on his face.
"No wonder she's so uptight," said Seras. Albrecht chuckled "I think that's just her personality, but don't tell her I said that." Albrecht just laughed at the expressions on Sam's and Seras' face. "Wait Integra doesn't look Belgium," said Sam. "Does that come from her mother's side?"
"I'll let her tell you that," said Walter, who now looked uncomfortable.
"She won't tell us anything," protested Seras. "Please tell us."
"That is her story to tell, not mine," said Walter, not budging. Sam turned to Schrödinger, "I bet you know, I'll give you a gold coin if you tell us."
"No! I'm not saying anything!"
"So you know, don't you?"
"Sam, stop pestering the boy, you know what happened the last time you bothered him."
"I just offered to teach him some sword lessons."
"I believe we should be going now," said the butler rising from his chair.
"I have to talk the Queen," said Seras and she rushed out of the room.
"I wonder what she has to talk to the Queen about," said Sam
"I am sure she will tell you when she returns."
"I will let you know the Sultan's reply and we will decide the next course of action," said Albrecht. "When you come again the Royal Guard will give us their report." The three bowed and left to wait for Seras at the front gate. When the blonde huntress appeared she had a smile on her face. "What did you talk to Queen about?" asked Sam "Did you two make out?"
"No! It's a surprise, but we need to go to Hellsing Estate."
"That's nothing to smile about," said Sam, who decided to stay at the Hunter's Lodge
"Don't worry; it will be good."
Chapter End
Author's Note: Now we know that the sword Casull can destroy the Abysmal Demons. The question is will Integra use it to destroy the other Demons? Will there be more statues for everyone? And what will the Sultan of Turkey say to the invite to London? Will Integra turn Sam and Seras into free stumps? That and more will be revealed in futurechapters. And now for really great news, I can scan my writings from handwritten using Google Docs, this will make it easier to write more and upload faster. Of course, I will have to still edit and type a bit, but not nearly so much. I can now write that 95-page story and not feel dread about typing it.