Darling Daughter

by Oxford Not Brogues

Alice is a very shy and pacifistic child. Her mother is her entire world, and she was given immunity by the Hellsing Organization. Her life was seemingly perfect. She had no worries or fears, except for one. Alice could never shake off the fear she felt whenever Alucard and Sebastian were near. She could see them perfectly for what they were: monsters. And she hates monsters.

1. Chapter 1

Good Evening,

I know I said that I won't upload this, but I have my reasons for doing so.

1. Weak for Her chapter eighteen still isn't done. I'm roughly 5,000 words in and I'm trying to wrap the story up in this last chapter. So, it's nowhere near done yet. Hopefully, it'll be done by next Friday or Saturday.

2. I'm kind of tired of posting "Sneak Peeks". I don't think it's very fair for you guys, especially the next three sneak peeks are extremely short (between 900 and 2000 words).

3. Why not just post this as a sneak peek? You may be asking. And my simple answer: no. I have enough chapters (roughly five) to post whenever I can't post "Weak For Her". So instead of posting sneak peeks, I'll just post a chapter for this (Darling Daughter).

I really, really hope I have the final chapter of "Weak for Her" out next week. I'll then start working on "Little Mistake" and get that one finished up. Once I get all of the requested stories out of the way, I'll be able to focus on my other stories like: Mine, Conflicted Feelings, and Showoffs. Darling Daughter will just be a time killer when I'm unable to post anything else.

Anyway, I've been excited to share this story for a while. I've been working on it like crazy. I hope you guys enjoy.

Oxford Not Brogues

Darling Daughter

Chapter One

2002

A young girl stood out in the corridor of the Hellsing Organization, staring up a very old oil painting that had caught her attention with its bright and lively colors. She had recently turned three and stood shy of ninety-four centimeters. The little girl's skin was as white as a fresh blanket of snow. Her hair flowed down her back, almost reaching her hips. It was black as ink and beyond silky and soft. Her dark red eyes, while looking demonic at first, were full of such warmth, innocence, and curiosity. The girl was the epitome of perfect and breathtaking. Most people's jaws dropped whenever they laid eyes on her, but the girl was too absorbed in her own little world to notice. The tiny child currently wore one of her most favorite dresses, a sleeveless dark maroon dress that ended just above the knee. The three year old held tightly to her chest a stuffed animal of a fox that she had received for her birthday. It was unknown to her who exactly gifted this toy to her of her favorite animal, but it was beloved deeply. Wherever she went, the fox went. She carried him around with her everywhere, never letting him out of her sight or arms. She swayed her body from side to side as she proceeded admiring the painting over her head, deep in a trance like state.

"Alice," She heard her name. For the first time in minutes, the girl blinked. Automatically, her dark eyes flickered to the side and she shifted her head to look at the person who was calling her. Further down the hall was her mother. Seras, a woman of a body of a nineteen year old and a fledgling to one of the scariest men alive, walked towards her with a warm smile on her face. Alice stared at her curiously before glancing back up at the painting that had interested her. It was nothing special really. It was just people riding horses with bloodhounds at their sides. In the distance, Alice could spot a fox. She knew it was sport to chase and hunt foxes, but she couldn't help but feel bad for the poor creature. What did he ever do to deserve that?

"Mummy, look." Alice spoke, her voice was so soft and melodious, but Seras could hear the pain behind her words. The tiny girl pointed up towards the painting just as her mother finally neared her. The Draculina knelt beside her daughter, placing her hand on the child's back, before she glanced up at the painting to look at it. "The poor fox." Alice pouted as she finally let her hand fall back to her side.

"I know, honey." Seras attempted to soothe her daughter. She instinctively rubbed over her back as they both continued to stare at the painting. "But look how far the fox is from them. I'm sure he'll get away." Warm tears pricked at the little girl's eyes.

"Horses and dogs are fast." Alice said simply. "He won't make it, Mummy." Seras finally looked back at her daughter to see the tears welling up.

"Don't think that way, darling." The small blonde whispered as she brushed her daughter's hair back behind her ear. "I bet you that the fox will get to his foxhole long before the dogs get him."

"The hunters will smoke him out." Her daughter retorted. Seras paused when hearing this. She knew her little girl was intelligent, but how did she know so much about this sport?

"Where did you hear that?" The Draculina questioned her. Alice shifted her head to glance at her mother.

"Sir Integra," The child answered softly. She then looked back up at the painting. "She read me a book yesterday about foxes. I didn't like the story, Mummy." Seras stared at her for a moment or two before climbing to her feet.

"It'll be alright." The small blonde muttered and she held out her hand to her daughter. The child looked up at her curiously before slipping her hand into her mother's. "Come on, let's go. I'll probably have to go on a mission so you'll be spending time with Sir Integra again, alright?" When her daughter's hand was secure in her own, the mother led her daughter away down the hall.

"She's not going to read me another story, is she?" Alice asked with a worried expression on her face. Seras snickered and she lightly shook her head.

"No," The small blonde promised her.

"Can Walter read to me?" The child asked. "He reads me nice stories with pictures." The girl then scrunched up her face and shook her head. "I don't like the pictures in Integra's stories."

"I can ask him, but he might be a little busy today, Alice. Don't bother him about it, alright?" Seras asked. The dark haired girl lowered her head in disappointment but nodded obediently.

"Yes, Mummy." Alice whispered.

"Hey," The small blonde purred as she lightly tugged on her daughter's hand. The tiny girl glanced back up at her mother to see such a warm smile on her face and in her eyes. The girl couldn't help but smile in return. "When I get back from my mission, I promise I will read to you."

"A nice story with lots of pictures?" Alice asked, looking so hopeful and her smile widened a little.

"Yes," Seras laughed at her sweet girl.

"You promise?" Her daughter questioned.

"You bet that I do." Her mother answered.

"When do you think you'll be back?" Alice asked, now eager to be read to. With her toy fox tucked away under her arm, she latched onto her mother with both hands. The little girl's smile became so wide that her fangs started to show.

"I don't know." Seras answered truthfully. "It could be a while, Alice, but I'll try to get back as soon as possible."

"Okay, but don't be long." The dark haired girl responded. "I hate it when you're gone forever."

"I hate leaving, but it's my job. I have to do it." The small blonde reminded her. Alice frowned before looking away to stare at the floor glumly.

"I know," She sighed. "But you always have missions and have to train with the soldiers and with the creepy men."

"Creepy men?" Seras questioned and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Your master." Alice reminded her.

"Oh, you mean Alucard and Sebastian. Why do you call them the creepy men?" The Draculina asked with a look of amusement on her face.

"Because they're creepy." Her daughter stated. She then glanced up at her mother. "They scare me, Mum."

"Why, darling?" Seras whispered while a new look of confusion crossed over her face. "They've done nothing wrong, Alice. They wouldn't hurt you."

"They scare me," Alice repeated in a whisper. As normal, when they reached the Hellsing's office the tiny girl went deadly quiet. Alice had always been a very shy child. Whenever other people were around she would clam up and refuse to talk. Even if she liked the people, like Walter and Integra, she would barely speak to them. If they were lucky, they could get a few words out of her but she was always so soft spoken. The girl didn't mean to be rude, she just got overwhelmingly embarrassed around others and had a tough time speaking around them. As Seras pushed open the door to the office, her daughter's hand slipped from hers so Alice could hide behind her legs. Naturally, after lots of practice, the mother walked with the three year old practically latched to her leg.

Alice peeked around her mother's leg, expecting to see Sir Integra and maybe Walter standing beside her. But what she found was much worse. Sir Integra indeed sat behind her desk, smoking a fresh cigar. And even Walter was there pouring her a cup of hot tea. But standing in front of her desk were the two creepy men: Alucard and Sebastian. Instantly, Alice's heart began to race hard in her chest as her face paled even further. The girl latched tighter onto her mother's leg, nearly tripping her in the process.

"Alice," Seras sighed in frustration, but her daughter ignored her. The men were so tall compared to the little girl. They towered over her mother easily, and to Alice they were nothing but very large monsters, almost as tall as skyscrapers, and they could gobble her up so easily. How could she not find them scary? Their eyes were a blood red, their hair as dark as the night, and they always looked so…serious, so evil, so…monstrous, especially when Alucard showed off all of his teeth with a large grin. Much to Alice's displeasure, her mother stopped to stand beside those frightening monsters. The tiny girl stared intently at them as the monsters stared on at their human master, Integra. The adults were already talking, but the child was too focused on her real life nightmares that stood beside her. Her eyes flickered up and down their tall forms, waiting for them to move. But they stayed ever so still and just listened intently to the human talk. Alice wrapped her arms around her mother's leg, holding onto her as tightly as she could.

"Alice," Seras interrupted the flow of the conversation. Her mother's hands swept down try and pry the girl's fingers loose. Seras' disruption seemed to have caught the monsters' attention. Alucard and Sebastian naturally looked her way to see what the problem was. Not long, their eyes flickered down to meet with the child's dark gaze. Alice froze up per usual. Her heart skipped a beat when she found herself staring into the faces of pure evil. They stared at her, unblinking and holding nothing but seriousness, maybe even annoyance since they knew she was the cause of the interruption.

Even though Police Girl made an effort to show that she was paying attention, Alucard and Sebastian did not. They stared openly at the child who stared right back at them. It was evident to them that the child was, for some reason, afraid. She hid behind her mother and didn't dare take her eyes off of them, almost as if she was afraid that they were going to attack. Feeling defensive, the little girl's eyes darkened and she opened her mouth to reveal her sharp fangs. She gave a low, audible hiss in their direction before she moved to stand on her mother's other side.

Alice couldn't figure why they wouldn't look away from her. Were they challenging her? Were they purposely trying to scare the life out of her? But the look in their eyes told her differently. Alucard and Sebastian almost looked…sad when staring at her. Deep in the depths of those almost horrendous eyes of theirs, she could see misery and possible pain. But her fear blinded her so she ignored that pain. All she could think about was evil when staring into their eyes. She kept her deadly eyes on them, though she hid like a coward behind her mother. When they refused to look away, Alice tried to be more intimidating. She was determined to make them submit in fear of her. Her teeth and nails lengthened to show her ferocity. As another warning to them not to mess with her, the little girl gave another sharp hiss before doing a clawing motion in the air.

However, Alucard and Sebastian reacted in a way that shocked her. Instead of being mad or even feeling intimidated, the monsters smirked in amusement. Alice's jaw dropped; bewildered that she hadn't been able to frighten the men before her. It was clear that they didn't take her seriously and that really ruffled her feathers. Annoyed and frustrated, the tiny vampire pouted her lip and glowered at the men. She watched them snicker at her, making her face flush in embarrassment while the look in her eyes darkened to an almost black looking color. Once the elder monsters settled from snickering at the adorable creature, Alucard looked back at her with an insane look glinting in his eyes. Playfully, Alucard opened his mouth to bare his teeth at the girl before giving off a breathy hiss. The sound startled the child so badly that Alice stumbled backwards to land on her ass. This seemed to further amuse Alucard and Sebastian considering they both barked with laughter.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Sir Integra questioned her servants in a sarcastic tone. She glanced between the laughing males and the terrified looking child. Poor Allison looked like she was in tears. She stared up at Alucard and Sebastian, looking purely horrified while her chest heaved up and down out of fright.

"Master," Seras clicked her tongue in frustration when seeing the state her daughter was in. The mother knelt down to try to soothe the child. She stroked over the girl's hair, but Alice was too preoccupied watching the monsters carefully. The men proceeded to grin at her, looking so very cocky and all the more amused.

"Why do I bother trying to debrief the three of you? None of you ever listen." The Hellsing grumbled as she gave up completely. The elder blonde leaned back in her chair and rubbed the bridge of her nose. From that motion alone, Alice knew that the human was getting a headache. She noticed that the human often rubbed the bridge of her nose whenever the three elder monsters annoyed her.

"We heard you." Alucard acknowledged her as he continued to grin down at the child. "We were just playing with the girl." He then turned towards the door before waving back at his fledgling, a signal for her to follow. "Let's go, Police Girl. You can coddle her later." However, neither Seras nor Sebastian was so quick to leave. The demon approached the two girls and politely held out a hand to the younger vampire. He gave the young girl a warm smile, hoping to ease her some.

"I'm sorry if he startled you. He meant nothing by it." Sebastian spoke coolly as he waited patiently for the girl to slip her hand into his. But Alice just sat there on the floor, looking between his face and his hand. He could see the lack of trust in her eyes and he could practically taste her fear. Hell, he could hear her little heart racing so hard in her chest that he was actually concerned it would give out. The smile on his face slipped a little. What did he ever do to bring about so much fear in her? His eyes flickered to Seras, wondering if she approved or not of his action. Perhaps she'll be cross with him for speaking to her child. But, by the look in her eyes, he was able to decipher that she wasn't upset or even disappointed. Like him, she waited for Alice to accept the demon's hand, but the child refused. Taking that as a hint that she didn't want to be touched by the likes of him, Sebastian stood up straighter with a look of disapproval.

"I beg your pardon." The demon muttered before he walked off to leave the two girls alone.

"Hurry up, Police Girl." Alucard demanded a second time as he stood waiting in the doorway of the office.

"Allison," Seras said the girl's name firmly. She cupped her daughter's face into her hands and gently forced her to look away from Alucard and Sebastian. Instantly, those scared red eyes flickered up to meet her mother's gaze. "I'll be right back." The Draculina promised her with a warm smile. "Behave yourself," It took the little girl a moment or two to let her fear fade and to answer her mother. Still breathing heavily from her scare, Alice nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay," The tiny vampire whispered. Picking the toy fox up off the floor, Seras handed it back to her daughter before climbing to her feet.

"Sir Integra," The Draculina spoke, sounding ever so serious as that warm smile slipped from her face. She glanced over at the elder blonde who stared at her with those icy blue eyes. "Please don't read any more books on hunting to my daughter, especially ones on foxes." The Hellsing merely smirked before placing a cigar between her lips. "You know that she likes foxes. Why would you be so mean?"

"Allison wanted to know more about the little creatures." Sir Integra said simply as she gestured her cigar at the tiny vampire. Allison was back at gawking at Alucard and Sebastian while she held her stuffed animal close to her chest. "I was educating your daughter. There is nothing wrong with that." Seras frowned at her boss, looking slightly aggravated that the Hellsing purposely upset her daughter. But why? Allison was such a good kid, she didn't cause any trouble. Why would Sir Integra purposely upset her? Seeing the look of disapproval on the Draculina's face, the smirk faltered from the Hellsing's face. The elder blonde clicked her tongue in annoyance. "She came to me asking why the oil painting out in the corridor were of men chasing after a fox. I explained to her what it was and to help further educate her, I brought out a book that discussed the sport. If she was so bothered by it, then she should have said something."

"All I ask is that you read something a bit lighter." Seras reiterated.

"Don't you have a mission, Officer Victoria?" Sir Integra replied coldly as she gave the vampire a warning look.

"Yes," Alucard answered for her. The elder vampire was leaning back against the doorjamb, waiting impatiently for his fledgling to finish up. It was clear he was annoyed seeing as how he didn't have his usual trademark grin. "I'll not repeat myself again, Draculina." He raised his voice.

"Be good," Seras said sternly to her child as she turned on her heel.

"Be safe!" Alice exclaimed from her spot on the floor. She watched her mother carefully as she left the room. There was that dreadful feeling in her chest when her mother went out of sight; that feeling that something bad will happen to her on one of her missions. It became hard to breathe at the thought that her mother could die one of these days. What if her mother isn't careful? Tears burned at the young one's eyes and her bottom lip trembled. But it wasn't long before she briefly forgot about the pain in her chest. A hand landed on the top of her head and someone gingerly ruffled her hair. Pulling her head back she found the Hellsing's butler, Walter, smiling down warmly at her.

"How about we go down into the kitchen and get a packet of blood?" He suggested to her. The little vampire glanced back at the door her mother left from. She stared at that door a long few seconds, almost as if she was waiting for her mother to return from her mission any second. But when nothing or no one came through that door, Alice looked back up at the nice butler and she nodded her head.

Seras slowly followed after her mentors down the long corridor. She couldn't help but be concerned that Sir Integra will defy her wishes as a mother and read her child another gruesome book that will eventually give Alice nightmares. Frustrated, the little vampire blew air out of her mouth and let her shoulders slump in exhaustion. What was she going to do if Alice gets nightmares?

"Was it wrong of me to speak to her?" Sebastian broke Seras from her thoughts. The small blonde pulled back her head to glance over at the demon. Michaelis stared at her from over his shoulder. There was a look of disappointment in his dark red eyes and a frown there on his lips.

"What?" Seras muttered and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Are you upset with me that I spoke to her? Should I have not?" The demon rephrased his question to help her further understand.

"Sebastian, why would I be mad if you spoke to Alice?" She questioned. "You both can speak to her if you want…but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get an answer."

"Yes," Sebastian immediately responded as he faced forward. "I've noticed how timid she is."

"I still don't understand why you think I would be mad at either of you for speaking to her." Seras snickered.

"Perhaps it's because you made it clear that you don't want us to be involved in her life." Alucard retorted, wiping that smile right off the Draculina's face. She didn't need to see him to know that he was expressing anger at the moment. She could hear it in the tone of his voice.

"It was a mutual decision." Seras reminded them as she gave him a dark look behind his back. "You two made it pretty clear that you weren't happy about the pregnancy. We all decided that it was best to go back to 'normal'. That it was just a one-time thing and that I would raise her solo. It was mutual." The Draculina repeated slowly, emphasizing every single word. "You both agreed to that decision." She was simmering, angry that after three years they were bringing this up now. Not only that, but they were blaming her for keeping Allison away from them. "I don't care if you guys regret that night. I don't care if you both regret that she was born. I know she was unexpected and I wasn't too thrilled about becoming a mum so young, but I don't regret having her. I love Allison." She couldn't find the will power to stop. She was just so furious with them both. "I never kept her from either of you. She was there all along. Either of you could have come to see her or speak to her. You don't have to be a father to do that." Silence fell over them. The Draculina was fuming behind them, they could sense all that rage, it was practically pounding against their skulls like fists. In an attempt to defuse that raging bomb, Alucard spoke.

"It was a poor choice of words." The elder vampire muttered, barely speaking above a whisper. He could feel his Draculina's hateful eyes burning into his back, but he didn't bother looking back at her. "We're not blaming you. The decision that was made was completely mutual, all three of us agreed to it. Still…" He trailed off to gather his thoughts. After a long minute of him not finishing that particular thought, Seras spoke.

"What?" She questioned him with a quirked brow.

"I wonder the outcome if that decision hadn't been agreed upon." Alucard finally finished. But this only confused his Draculina further. She gave him a confused look, her face scrunching up to show that she didn't quite understand.

"What do you mean, Master?" Seras asked. What other decision was there? What else could they have done? Nothing else seemed likely, just Seras raising Alice. The small blonde quickened her pace to step past her mentors. Reaching their destination, she entered the armory and instantly walked over to the locker that contained rifles. She pulled it open and started arming herself as she waited for her Sire to answer her.

"What if we had become lovers?" Her master placed that little thought into her head.

"Lovers?" Seras couldn't help but snicker. The word sounded so unusual to her. It was definitely a word she wouldn't have used. What did her Sire mean? What if they had been her boyfriends? Or was he talking more about friends with benefits? Just casual sex? She grabbed a rifle and a magazine from the dark green locker. Turning to face her mentors, she clicked the magazine into place before looking up at them with a curious look in her eyes. "Honestly, I can't imagine it." She responded with a shrug. The males didn't seem bothered by her response. They remained nonchalant as if this was a completely normal conversation. "We're just…too different. I don't think…it would've worked."

"Opposites tend to attract each other." Sebastian retorted, gaining a peculiar look from the little vampire. Police Girl drew her head back as her brows furrowed. To her it sounded as if Alucard and Sebastian may be regretful that nothing more happened after that certain night.

"Are you guys disappointed that…nothing more happened between us?" Seras questioned them. A blush then spread across her cheeks as she asked another embarrassing question. "Did…you guys…wanted me…to become your…lover?" She used the word awkwardly, the word rolling off her tongue in an unnatural way. She cringed the second she said it.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Police Girl." Alucard scoffed. "It's just something I wonder about from time to time. What could have happened if things were different?" Seras didn't question them further on the matter, especially if all of this was just hypothetical. She turned back towards the locker and grabbed a few more magazines, knowing fully well that she'll need them on the mission. Afterwards, she grabbed a couple of magazines for Alucard's gun. "Just so you're aware, we don't regret that Alice was born." His fledgling turned to face him once more.

"I'm glad to hear that." She whispered as she subconsciously handed him the magazines to his gun.

"If we were to…start interacting with the little one, would you take offense?" Alucard asked her. Seras lightly shook her head.

"As long as you two don't disappoint her, I don't see anything wrong with it." She told them carefully, giving them an almost deadly warning look.

"What do you mean disappoint her?" Sebastian asked with an arched brow. The Draculina sighed before lowering her gaze to frown at the floor.

"Don't try and start co-parenting with me or try to act like her fathers if neither of you are going to live up to the job. Don't disappoint her. I don't want her thinking that you're both going to be there for her only for her to feel betrayed or lonely because you both changed your minds." Seras elaborated. "I may not have the power to kill either of you. But, I swear, if either of you ever hurt my daughter, I will destroy anything you hold dear in your lives." Her eyes flickered back up towards their faces. Suddenly those once blue orbs were now a glowing, dark blood red. Those eyes drilled into their very beings, going deep to cut into their very souls. They knew how deadly serious she was, but they couldn't help but be amused by her warning. She was just too adorable to them to be taken seriously.

"We won't disappoint her." The demon clarified with a smirk. "Even if we don't take on the roles as her fathers, we still intend to be a part of her life. If anything ever hurts that little girl, we will be there to disembowel them, don't you worry."

"Good," Seras said simply before she brushed past them. "But there is one thing you should both know."

"And that is?" Sebastian asked.

"She's terrified of you both." The small blonde told them truthfully. The grins slipped from the males' faces and all amusement left their eyes.

Alice had been waiting somewhat patiently for her mother to arrive home for almost three hours. Though, she was pretty well distracted as she kept the butler company in his bedroom. Walter sat at his desk, drawing up some new weapon for one of the three monsters. He worked silently as Alice sat on the floor near him drawing in a coloring book. She wasn't exactly very good at drawing within the lines, but she was definitely better than the average three year old. She didn't scribble or wreck her crayons by pressing down hard and breaking them. She colored sensibly, choosing her colors carefully and trying her best to color within the lines.

Alice was currently trying to color a penguin purple and give him a blue beak with green feet. She knew perfectly well that penguins weren't purple, but she had her fun drawing him just the way she liked. She wanted to make him look as silly as possible, hoping to get a good laugh out of her mum. Her mother seemed to really like her drawings. Seras would always praise her, pat her on the head, and hang up her drawings in the rather dull looking room they shared in the basement. Alice couldn't really show the Hellsing her drawings because Integra was always quick to critique them. For example, if she was to show Integra this particular drawing, the Hellsing would spend the next ten minutes explaining to Alice that penguins aren't purple and that it was silly of her to even think so. The Hellsing had no imagination whatsoever.

Walter, on the other hand, didn't critique her drawings. He allowed her to color anyway she liked. If she were to show him this drawing, he would probably smile, tell her well done, and request that she do another. Alice liked Walter a great deal. He was always so nice and warm, just incredibly easy to get along with. She liked hanging out with him when her mother was away on missions. Speaking of her mother, Alice glanced up anxiously to look at the clock. While she did know how to count, she was still unable to tell the time. The clock was utter gibberish to her, she had no idea what the hands even meant. How long has her mother been away for? When will she return? Was she okay? Will Alucard and Sebastian protect her mummy? The thought of them protecting her mum didn't really sit right with Alice. She had a feeling that those two wouldn't protect her mother at all. They were evil after all. They only cared about themselves. The tiny vampire frowned in disappointment before she glanced up at the busy human.

The little girl grabbed her fox from the floor and hugged him to her chest. Carefully, she got up from the floor and took several steps towards Walter. Standing on her tip toes and peeking over his arm, she looked at what he had been working on. But the design went over the little girl's head. She was unable to tell exactly what it was, only that it was a big gun shown from different angles. Her curious eyes flickered to his face, seeing how focused the human was on his project. Should she bother him? She felt wrong doing so, but she was worried about her mother. Alice lightly tugged on Walter's shirt, trying to get his attention. The butler paused, stared at his drawing for a moment or two, and then glanced down at the little girl.

"What time is it?" The tiny vampire asked him softly. His dark eyes flickered to the clock that ticked away on his desk. After reading it, he looked back at the dark haired girl.

"Three fifteen," He answered. The butler then set down his pencil and leaned back in his chair. "The sun will be rising in about an hour or two. What time does your mother normally put you to bed?" Alice merely shrugged her shoulders before looking down at her feet.

"She promised that she would read to me." The little Draculina muttered. "What time will she be back?"

"I can't say for sure." Walter answered truthfully. "If there weren't any problems during their mission, then she should be back any minute." Allison remained silent however. The butler looked her up and down, seeing how disappointed the girl was. "Are you feeling tired at all? Would you like to go to bed now?" Her eyes flickered back up to look at him. Afterwards, she lightly shook her head. He watched as her hair gently swayed with her from that head motion.

"I want to color until Mummy gets home." Alice replied.

"Very well," Walter agreed. "But if she's not back by four, I'm going to put you to bed." The little girl nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, Sir." She whispered before she lowered herself back onto the floor. She carefully set her stuffed toy down next to her and returned quietly to her coloring. The butler stared at her for a long few minutes, just watching her color. He was a little tired, but was quite used to staying up this late. After all, they were an organization that dealt with creatures of the night. Walter turned back towards his drawing of his latest weapon. He planned on finishing the blueprints tonight before bed. As he picked up his pencil there was a light knock on the bedroom door. Curiously, he glanced towards the door but figured who was on the other side. Allison was sure to be thrilled, and he couldn't help but smile at that thought.

"Come in," Walter granted them entrance. The door pushed open, revealing Seras. She looked a little tired from her long mission, but there wasn't a mark on her. She smiled sheepishly at the butler, but wasn't able to get a word out.

"Mummy!" Alice cried out as she bolted from her spot on the floor to tackle her mother. She wrapped her arms around the woman the best she could and hugged her so tightly. Her mother naturally wrapped her arms around her head, hugging her to her body.

"Hey, there." Seras giggled at the pleasant greeting. The small blonde looked back at the butler, greeting him with a simple smile. "Was she alright?"

"Yes," Walter nodded his head. "She sat quietly and colored for most of the time you were gone."

"I was good, like you asked of me!" Allison giggled as she beamed up at her mother, hoping to have gained her approval.

"Very good, darling. Why don't you pick up your crayons and coloring book, alright?" Seras instructed her softly. The tiny girl gave a sharp nod of her head before she sprinted back over to the spot she had possessed on the floor. The Draculina's tired blue eyes flickered back to the human male. "Sorry," She muttered with a light shrug. "If…watching her ever becomes a bother…please…tell me." But the butler was quick to shake a hand at her.

"Not at all, Miss. Victoria." He responded with a kind glint in his eyes. "Allison keeps to herself most of the time. She rarely speaks and never acts up." Honestly, it was an utter surprise how good the child was considering who her father was. Everyone at the Organization, especially Sir Integra, had feared that the little child of a monster would have been the spitting image of Alucard. True, the girl looked a lot like her father. But, much to their relief, Allison took after her mother. She was shy and sweet; the complete opposite of her father.

"Well, thank you for watching her." Seras responded with a slight nod as Alice came sprinting back to her. She hugged her coloring book and fox to her chest while with her other hand she carried her box of crayons. Seeing that it was a little too much for the three year old to carry, the mother took the large box of crayons from her small grasp. "Say goodnight to Walter." Alice glanced over her shoulder to give the man a small, bashful smile. With her free hand, she lightly waved goodbye to him.

"Goodnight," The little vampire whispered to the human.

"Goodnight, Miss. Allison." Walter responded politely with a single nod of his head. Both girls then left his bedroom, leaving him to finish his blueprints.

The mother led her daughter down the quiet corridors of the Hellsing manor. Allison could tell how tired her mother was since Seras was only ever this quiet when she was exhausted from a long mission. The tiny girl was unsure of what all her mother did on missions. She was aware that her mother was sent out to kill vampires and ghouls, but was there more to it than just that? And why was her mother killing people like them? What did these vampires do? Seras had tried explaining to her before that these vampires were bad people, but Alice couldn't really wrap her head around it. Were all vampires bad? Was she and Seras considered bad? Or was it very much like the humans? Some humans were good and nice while others were evil and did horrible things?

Allison had noted that vampires and humans were not the same; they were both drastically different creatures, both from different worlds practically. But…she supposed in some way, they were alike. Such as, they both can do horrible things that made them bad people. Growing up in this Organization, all she ever heard was how vile vampires are. This Organization was here to destroy her kind, vampires. But yet, her mother always told her that she didn't need to fear this Organization because it was a safe haven for them, whatever that meant. Alice just really couldn't understand any of this. What world did she belong to? Was she a horrible monster like the rest of her kind? Or was she human in some strange way? Why were they, vampires, living in an organization that killed vampires? It didn't make any bleeding sense. She would have asked her mother, but her mother intended to confuse her more whenever they discussed the subject.

Alice, however, soon forgot all about those confusing thoughts when they came to the stairs. Peeking between the balusters of the stairs, she found Alucard and Sebastian standing in the foyer. Those monster's horrific red eyes stared intently at her and her mother as they descended the stairs. The little girl could see clearly how displeased both men looked, maybe even angry. Or perhaps hurt was the more accurate term. Their eyes drilled into her being causing the child's heart to race in fear. Why did it always feel like they were challenging her? Like they were always ready to fight her or something? The little girl wasn't able to hold their gazes. Timidly, she looked at the floor as she carefully took one step at a time, fearful of falling down the stairs like she did the other day. Her mother kept a firm hold of her hand, helping her along the way so she wouldn't trip.

"Master," Seras acknowledged his presence when her and her daughter reached the bottom without any problems from the toddler. Instantly, Alucard's hard gaze flickered away from the child to look at his approaching fledgling. His Draculina gave him a weak looking smile. He could see the exhaustion in her eyes, but they both knew the night was nowhere near over for them. No, there was still so much to do before either of them could retire to their coffins. "Is it alright if we hold off training for an hour?" She requested, piquing his interest. Normally, Seras never put off her training. She was always very punctual and determined to make him proud by enduring his sometimes painful training sessions. "I promised Allison that I would read to her before she goes to bed." Alucard glanced back at the tiny dark haired girl, but the child fought to avoid his gaze by staring intently at her feet. He frowned at the little creature before giving his attention back to his Draculina.

"Very well," He muttered. "Take all the time you need, but just be ready when you're finished reading to her." Alucard turned away from the two girls, heading towards the basement. "I advise you to drink a blood bag or two before our session, Police Girl. We're not going to go easy on you just because you're tired."

"Yes, Master." Seras muttered as her smile faltered slightly. Her eyes then flickered to the demon. Sebastian stood there for a moment or two, frowning at the child who refused to look at either him or Alucard. When he still couldn't get her attention, the demon turned with a sigh of aggravation, and followed after Alucard to the basement. "Hmn," The Draculina hummed before she glanced down at her child. Alice's eyes flickered upward to watch the monsters walk away. When they were out of sight, the curious girl glanced up at her mother.

"Why do you have to train with them?" Her daughter asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"I just have to." Seras simply answered before she started leading the tiny girl towards the entrance to the basement.

"But why?" Alice questioned.

"Because I refuse to drink Alucard's blood. Since I won't become a full-fledged vampire, Alucard and Sebastian both feel incline to make me stronger by training me at least three times a week. They just want to make sure that another vampire won't be able to hurt me on one of our missions." The Draculina explained to her, but her daughter only seemed to be more confused after hearing this. The child furrowed her brows and she drew her head back.

"I don't understand, Mummy. Why would you need to drink his blood?" The girl asked. The mother sighed as she tried to find the right words to better explain this to her daughter.

"Alucard is my master and I'm his fledgling." Seras stated, earning a nod of understanding from the tiny vampire. "When a fledgling is ready to become their own vampire, they will drink the blood of their master. If I were to drink his blood, he would no longer be my master." The girl gave another nod of understanding.

"Right!" She exclaimed as they started making their way down the basement stairs.

"But…I'm not ready to drink his blood. I don't want to lose him as my master." The Draculina admitted to the girl with a frown. She already knew that her daughter was too young to fully understand it or understand Seras' feelings.

"Why?" Alice asked right on cue.

"You'll understand one day." Seras promised her in a whisper.

"Will I, Mummy? Because it all seems pretty confusing." The child sighed. The small blonde glanced at her with a small smile.

"One day you will have a fledgling, I don't doubt it. And, hopefully, you'll love your fledgling like family and he'll love you in return. Then you will understand." Her mother told her. Seras pushed open the door to their bedroom, but Alice was too preoccupied gazing up at her mother.

"You love Alucard?" The little girl muttered, sounding and looking bewildered that anyone could ever love that monster. The Draculina lightly chuckled at her daughter's question.

"Of course," Seras purred. "I adore my master. He's my family."

"Does he love you?" Alice asked as she proceeded to give her mother a bizarre look. She didn't seem to quite understand the type of love her mother felt towards Alucard. Did her mother love love Alucard, like she wanted to marry him? Or did she love him in a friendly manner, like how Alice loves Walter and Integra? But still, just the thought that her mother was capable of loving that man made no sense to the little girl. Who could ever love Alucard? He was scary and evil! A shiver shot down the child's spine at the mere thought of him.

"I think he does." The Draculina answered as she walked about their bedroom, putting things away and organizing a bit. "Otherwise, he wouldn't bother with me." She pulled a children's book from the short bookshelf. "Now, enough questions. It's story time, baby girl." The child hugged her toy fox tightly to her chest as she smiled so brightly in excitement. Eagerly, the little girl ran over to her mother as Seras sat down on her bed. The vampire child climbed up into the bed and crawled her way onto her mother's lap. Seras wrapped a single arm around her daughter's stomach as they both set their gazes on the storybook in front of them. The cover photo was of four happy looking foxes. Two of the foxes had reached maturity while the other two were mere pups.

It was Allison's favorite story and the reason why she loved foxes so much. Seras read her this story at least five times a week. It amazed the Draculina how many times her daughter would sit through it, listening intently each time as if she's never heard the story before. When will she tire of it? But the mother didn't complain. She greatly enjoyed reading to her daughter and she didn't even mind that it was the same story over and over again. The small blonde flipped opens the book and began to read. At this point, she could probably recite the entire book by memory alone.

The story book was cute and childish. The two pups, being new to this world, didn't know what it was that they were supposed to eat. The brother and sister try different types of foods while they're exploring and playing. They first encounter a squirrel carrying his acorns and nuts. Hungry, they steal from the squirrel but only to find that they didn't care at all for acorns and nuts. Next, they find bats eating fruit from a tree. There's a comedic moment of the siblings trying to climb a tree to get to some apples. But when trying an apple they find that they hate the taste. They then spot a deer and her fawn grazing. The two pups take a chance and start munching on leaves and grass, but end up having to spit it all out. Finally, the brother and sister come upon a smell that makes their mouths water.

Following the scent, they find a farm where a farmer's wife is cooking a delicious looking, golden brown chicken. Hungry for that juicy meat, the pups return to their parents and tell them all about the chicken. The parents, after a moment or two of thinking, come up with a plan to steal the roasted chicken from the farmer. As a distraction, the father startles the cattle, grabbing the farmers' attention. The mother, while the farmers are distracted settling their livestock, sneaks into the kitchen and swipes the chicken. The book ends with all four foxes enjoying their delicious meal. As Seras was finishing up reading the last page, Alice interrupted. Her daughter pointed at one of the foxes, her finger directed at the mature male fox.

"Do I have a daddy?" The little girl asked.

"What?" Seras asked, taken by surprise by the sudden question. She never really thought that her daughter would ask about having a father or not. But now thinking about it, why wouldn't Alice ask about it?

"The pups have a mummy and a daddy." She muttered as she pointed at the mummy fox before pointing at the daddy fox again. "You had a daddy." Alice reminded her as she pulled back her head to look up at her mother curiously. "And Sir Integra had a daddy. Why don't I have a daddy? Where is he?" The Draculina was speechless. All she could do was just gawk at her daughter, unsure of how to answer. Did she tell Allison that she didn't have a father? Did she tell her the truth of who her father was? But that could only lead to disappointment. What if she expects too much from Alucard and Sebastian? Neither of them seemed to want to be a dad. Seras had no idea what to tell her daughter. And hearing how upset Alice was tore at her heart. "Mummy?" The little girl mumbled when her mother wouldn't answer her question.

End of Chapter One

I hope you guys enjoyed.

As I said before, this fic will be more of a time killer. I'll only post chapters when I'm unable to update any of my other fics. I have plenty of chapters to post (currently working on the fifth chapter).

Oxford Not Brogues