Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Hellsing-series. Sal is mine, though! Keep yer mittens of o' my Sal! *growls menacingly at trespassers*
Chapter three: waking up again
Sal yawned and stretched a bit, then looked around. She was in a room, in a very comfortable bed, wearing some old-fashioned T-shirt that was at least two sizes to big for her…
'AAAAAAAAAARGH! WHAT IN THE NAME OF @%$#& HAPPENED TO MY PEEJAY'S!' Sal screamed, jumping out of the bed. A few seconds later, the door to her room opened. An elderly man, dressed (from Sal's point of view) very much like a butler, looked at her with concern from the door opening.
'Is madam all right?' he enquired.
Sal sat down on a nearby chair, and sighed.
'I'm fine, thank you. Hey, wait a minute! Where are the clothes I came here in?' She asked.
'They're fine, madam. Undergoing some serious cleaning. They looked like they had seen there fair share of battle.' The man answered in a dry tone of voice, clearly suggesting that he had, in fact, seen war and this wasn't even close.
'Thank you, mister…?'
'You may call me Walter, miss…?'
'Sal, just Sal.'
Since then, Walter came and went, bringing her food, clothes (her pyjamas, to begin with, but other pieces of clothing had soon followed) and occasionally keeping her company for a while. Since her arrival at Hellsing Mansion, she hadn't been out of her room. She had no need to go out, they figured, considering she had her own bathroom. Sal began to feel awkward. Wouldn't her parents notice she was gone, and go look for her? She would be missed at school at least. Her friends would be worried. Or so she thought. They would notice, wouldn't they?
Walter wouldn't tell her anything, except for things that were really not important at all. Yet, she began to like this old geezer, who seemed to be full of surprises. She had once seen him shooting clay-pigeons out in the yard through her window, yet could not discover a gun. Then again, he was pretty far away. She had once asked him about it, but all the old man would do was smile at her, and remain silent. Or to bring up a completely different subject. He sometimes told her something about the house, or the family that owned it. Or the time when he fought the Nazi's. Sal had always loved history, and to get such a first-rate account of it was a real treat for her. Sometimes she kept Walter with her for hours, just to listen to his stories. And Walter loved to tell them to this eager young woman, who's appetite for history seemed insatiable. Sometimes he regretted having to leave her, to attend his other duties. One night, Sal finally caught him off-guard.
'…so, who is Alucard, exactly? Does he work for Hellsing?' Sal asked, politely. She returned to her place by the fire, and looked the old servant straight in the eye.
'He does, Sal. He's our strongest ally in our constant battle against ghouls and such.' Walter answered, returning her gaze with confidence.
'Isn't that a bit odd? You do also destroy vampires, don't you?'
'Yes, we do. But Alucard doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he's always searching for a worthy opponent but has difficulty finding one, it seems.' The butler chuckled. He knew that finding said opponent would prove to be very difficult. That Alucard was probably one of the strongest creatures to inhabit this earth.
Sal leaned a bit closer to her friend.
'Do you think you could beat him? I know you have some sort of weapon that nobody else has.' The look on her face became focussed. This time he would not be able to avoid it. She had to know.
Walter looked at her. Had she been wanting to know this for a long time, or just now? No, no, this had been boiling inside of her. Waiting for the opportune moment, and then to strike. Well, she had cornered him nicely, he would give her what she wanted. A sly smile escaped his lips.
'Wires, Sal. That is my weapon. Wires.'
Whatever kind of answer Sal had expected, this was definitely not it. She stared, blankly, for a while. Then she turned her look back to Walter.
'You've got to be kidding me! Wires? The Angel of Death is sitting right in front of me, and eliminates his enemies with killer dental floss?'
It was inevitable, like the weather. Sal burst out laughing. She, honest-to-God, could not help herself. She was rolling on the floor, gasping for breath. When the blurriness lifted a bit, she found she was not the only one on the floor. Walter, after years of hearing this prank from Alucard, and not finding it funny in the least, had finally reached the boiling point. Instead of yelling, he had found that all he could do was laugh. Laugh until his guts would fall out and his brains would implode. If anyone would have walked in at that time, it would certainly have been a funny sight. As the both of them sat up, they looked at each other.
As we all know, it is at one of these moments that characters develop some strange hunger for romance and fall in love. Not this time though. I'm trying very hard to keep romance out of it. At least for now. Maybe later. This is just the beginning, after all.
Walter looked down at the figure that had suddenly hugged him, and he hugged her right back.
'Promise me you will demonstrate your dental floss before I leave?'
'Of course, dear.'
Of course.
