AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is an Alternative Universe story which contains:
Speculative fantasy world building, lore expansion, multiple original major characters, slow burn/slow build, alternate character history for Alucard, retconned character development for Seras, dark themes, interpersonal drama, and will be long as shit. It is also a work in progress and thus subject to editing until marked complete.
If any of these aren't really your cup of tea, I would kindly suggest a different story as I won't be changing them. If you have constructive criticism, I would prefer to hear it privately. My DMs are open. Please be polite and specific, with examples if possible.
Thanks to Ladyandromedakat on AO3 for beta reading and Reddit user u/VanillaLamp for cover art.
This fic has been edited from its original version to abide by FFN's posting guidelines. The full (E rated) version will be posted on AO3, under the same title and username.
UPDATE 3/7/22: I am in the process of editing/polishing the first part, so new readers might notice a drop in writing quality/change of style in the middle chapters. Please be patient while I polish things up. 😄
Two hundred years could be a long time, even for a vampire.
Unfortunately for Integra Hellsing, just one hundred years was a bit too much. On August 24th, at 8:42 AM, a resident physician declared the last Hellsing heir deceased from natural causes. At 91 years old, her death surprised no one, and with a lifetime of service to her Queen and country behind her, she was laid to rest in a small, private funeral service. Unbeknownst to the rest of England, her passing marked the end of an era.
Before the body had time to cool, a steady stream of interchangeable bureaucrats began to flow in and out of the manor. All day, these vultures conducted their audits and held their meetings, picking apart the corpse of the Hellsing organization with gluttonous zeal.
Mostly, these nameless faces left Seras and Alucard alone. Perhaps all the affairs to be settled had nothing to do with them, or no one had the courage to approach them. In all likelihood, they probably didn't know any vampires lived in the Hellsing manor, nevermind what to say to them.
That is, until one summoned them for a meeting with the Convention of Twelve. They wanted to discuss the vampires' arrangements now that Integra was no longer around to mind them.
Hours passed like eons in the conference waiting room. Parked on a dusty velvet settee, Seras alternated between trying to read a book and trying to get comfortable, but nothing could take her mind off their uncertain future. Eventually, she gave up all feeble attempts at distraction and just sat there, mindlessly fidgeting with her watch.
Across the room, Alucard had kicked his boots up on a desk, rocking his chair back and forth on its rear legs. He'd wiled away most of the wait browsing the room's sparse collection of old magazines and napping without a care in the world. Per usual, Seras may as well be a part of the wallpaper to him.
The door opened, and she jerked forward to see who it was. Her stomach sank when she saw it was only an assistant dropping off their daily blood rations.
"When are we going to talk to them?" Seras asked, flopping back onto the settee.
The assistant gave an apologetic smile. "Might not be tonight, I'm afraid. I don't think they know what to do with you. They assumed Integra had sorted it out before she passed, maybe left instructions somewhere, but…" She shrugged. "No one's found them yet."
"Good," Alucard said, rocking the chair so far back, it threatened to tip over.
Good? Living in limbo certainly didn't seem 'good'. Then again, maybe he knew in what ways it could be worse — not that he ever shared them with Seras. These days, Alucard hardly ever spoke to her at all — or anyone else, for that matter.
Finished with her day's work, the assistant wiped her hands on her skirt and folded them in front of her. "Well, if there's nothing else you'll be needing, I'll be on my way. I hope you get the answers you're looking for soon, Miss."
After the door closed behind her, an unnerving quiet filled the room. Seras stared at the back of her Master's head, hoping he might say something insightful or comforting, knowing the Thames would sooner run dry.
She drew her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. Sometimes it angered her, how little he said, how he left her to flounder in these uncertain moments. That anger never lasted, soon giving way to a persistent emptiness.
Truth be told, she didn't know what to say, either. There was nothing to say. It — whatever they had here at Hellsing — was simply over. The end. They hadn't been allowed to attend Integra's funeral. They never talked about what it meant now that she was gone. Or if it bothered him at all.
"Do you miss her?" She wasn't sure what gave her the nerve to ask such a thing. It hung in the air like a foul smell.
He cocked his head a few degrees in her direction, pausing long enough for her to regret saying anything. "No. What a ridiculous question. Are you that bored?"
"I guess so." She picked at her nails until the edges reddened, though they were already immaculate. No hard labor to dirty them lately. "She knew you for her entire life. The things we went through together — doesn't that count for anything?"
"A small fraction of my lifetime. She didn't know me at all. Or you. And neither of us knew her," he said with a lazy wave of his hand. "You are seeing things where they do not exist, Police Girl. An annoying symptom of your overwrought sentimentality."
"Well, excuse me. It seems I just can't treat everyone I know as all business, all the time."
He resumed rocking his chair, the rusty squeaks taking on a faster cadence than before. "Humans come and go. They are here for but a season. You are young. You will learn not to get attached to them."
"Yeah, but...she was your Master."
"Listen, Seras." He slammed the chair down on its legs and rose to his feet, wheeling around to face her. "Something I'd hoped you'd catch on to by now is that Integra was not my Master. I only let her think that."
She shrank back into the settee as far as the sagging cushions would let her. He could have a frightful temper, and it wasn't always clear what set him off.
Catching himself, Alucard turned away and paced to the window, leaning on the sill. "Does it make sense to you that a human could control a vampire? Not only me, but any vampire? Just think for one second."
Seras squeezed her knees harder against her chest, trying and failing to come up with a defense. No, embarrassingly enough, she hadn't really thought about that. When she was reborn, anything seemed possible in this world. In the last thirty years, a human reigning over a vampire wasn't the craziest thing she'd heard of.
"But there was occult magic," she said."The Freemason stuff...and there were those runes..."
Saying it aloud made her realize how flimsy it all sounded. Her shoulders slumped forward. "I mean, it was never the most coherent explanation, I guess, but I just figured…" She rubbed the back of her neck. "It really wasn't real?"
"No, Police Girl. It really wasn't," he said, all but mocking her. "Humans can't perform magic. They've barely begun to understand the natural world. Why would they be able to figure out anything beyond that?"
She lowered her gaze, heat stinging her cheeks and neck. He always talked to her like she was a child, or worse, an idiot. Ironic, in her opinion — if she didn't know better, it was because he hadn't taught her as much. "So why are you still here, then?"
At last, he granted her the privilege of direct eye contact, as though he hadn't expected her to ask. His mouth opened to say something, but then shut just as quickly. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."
"No," she said, growing a little braver. "No, I want to know. How does that work? I doubt it's because you really care so much about protecting England from monsters."
Alucard returned his gaze to the window, tapping a finger on the sill. As he stared off into the distance, a plaintive look dulled his prickly demeanor. "You have spent your entire unlife in Hellsing's shadow, ignorant to the wonders and the terrors this world holds. But there's more out there — much more, bigger than anything humans can build in their meager lifetimes. I had no choice in coming here, nor any choice to leave, but that is in no way due to Integra or her predecessors."
His words carried a hidden weight, but the more she thought about them, the more she smelled a dodge. "That...really didn't tell me anything."
He forced out a harsh sigh. "Yes, I suppose it doesn't." Turning away from the window, Alucard started toward the exit without giving her a second glance. "That meeting's probably over. I'm going to bed."
"Wait!" Seras scrambled to her feet before he could disappear once more. "Do you have any idea what's going to happen to us?"
His face drew tight as he contemplated his answer. "Somewhat. I know what the distinct possibilities are, but not which one will come to pass."
"More than I know, then." She dropped to a whisper, not wanting to hear the question herself. "We're...we're still going to be here, right?"
The tick of the wall clock seemed abnormally loud in the long pause which followed, punctuating each second he stood there wrestling with some unknown dilemma. "Don't worry about that now. Big changes will be here before you know it. Enjoy what you have now while it lasts."
Seras pursed her lips. Not satisfying at all, but she gave a curt nod, his cue to leave.
Her Master had always appeared and would always appear to the world as a young man. Yet, for the first time in a long time, she saw the weight of the years in the hollowness underneath his eyes, the burden of the future in the creases of his mouth. She had more questions, but for now, the merciful thing to do would be to let them go.
Yes, two hundred years could be a long time.