Disclaimer: I dont own Hellsing Characters, But I DO own Anata and my characters
"Empty No More" –Chapter Six: Knights in the Night
Humming softly to herself, Anata carefully brought the knife down against the brightly colored carrot as she began making dinner for herself and whoever else chose to have some. Though Walter had insisted that he could do it, she ahd insisted right back that she wanted to do something in return for how he'd handled the situation and told him if he wanted to be useful, he could start digging out gardening tools for her use later.
Turning from the knife and vegetables, she whispered an ancient word of command and by its self, the knife moved along the veggies, lined up in a row as she went to the island counter in the middle of the kitchen to start working on the meat. Snatching the mallet from a basket of cooking utensils, she lifted it over her shoulder and brought it down as hard as she could, flinching as a loud smacking sound echoed off the walls as it missed the slab of steak all together.
Staring wide eyed at the crack in the counter before lowering her head in defeat, she sighed and dropped the mallet, raising a hand to rub her temples. "Need any help," A voice asked from beside her and she raised her head to see the blonde haired Selas Victoria. Smiling, she moved aside, giving her a look of gratitude as she began on the meat.
"You know, that's some ability there, to be able to make the knife cut on its own," Selas said from behind her as she began filling a pot with water at the sink. Laughing nervously, Anata glanced over at her once before heaving the now heavy pot onto the stove. "You saw that, huh?" Turning back to the knife, she whispered a word of command to make it stop and watched as it fell, lifeless, onto the counter. "Mhm," Selas replied, also seeing this act of magic, "But don't worry, I don't mind in the least."
They grew silent after that, each doing their own task as they readied the ingredients that would soon become a stew. "This is a lot of food for just two people," Selas commented after they had dropped the veggies and the meat inside the steadily boiling water. Shrugging, Anata wiped her hands off on her apron as she turned to see Selas licking the bloody juices from the meat off her fingers. Keeping herself from gagging, Anata turned away and answered back, "Well, I figured even though vampires don't have any reason to eat a mortals food, they still might miss the taste of it sometimes." A oft laugh came from behind her then and caustiously she turned back to see Selas looking at her thoughtfully. "You know, you're right! Maybe I might try some when it's done."
Smiling, Anata nodded and watched as Selas turned and left, giving a rueful stare at the broken window just outside the kitchen, squinting as the few remaining rays of sunlight found their way into her eyes. "You know," She said, looking back at her, "I can fix that later for you." Anata's smile widened as she replied, "That would be wonderful!" At that, Selas laughed again before turned once more and walking out of sight.
When dinner was finished cooking and Anata had served herself, taking her meal into the dining room, lit only by the softly shining lamps on the wall, she felt a little lonely as she sat down at the long table to eat. Sighing, she picked up her spoon and dipped it into the steaming bowl, wondering where Walter had disappeared to during all this time.
Just as she was about to deliver the spoon full of soup to her awaiting mouth, something smooth brushed against her neck, causing her yelp and drop the utensil in surprise, spilling the hot contents in her lap and splashing more over the side of the bowl onto the table as the spoon fell inside.
Turning her head to see what it was that had surprised her so, she gasped, her lips forming in the shape of an "O" as she came face to face with the slightly smirking Alucard. Clearing her throat, she found her voice and asked in a raspy, cracking tone, "What are you doing here." Standing, Alucard shrugged as his smirk widened and he made his way down the length of the table to sit at the chair across from her. There, he crossed his arms and lifted his legs to set them on the table, crossing them as well at the ankles as he leaned abck to stare at her.
Scowling at his feet, Anata then lifted her gaze to his face as he began speaking, "A lady should dine alone, now should they?" Running a hand through her pulled back hair, Anata sighed and leaned back in her chair as well. "No, I suppose not, so why are you here then?" This remark caused Alucard to throw his head back and laugh aloud, sending a shiver down her back as the noise echoed off the walls around her.
Seeming to sense her distress, Alucard quieted down and with a grin, asked, "Do I make you uneasy?" "Which do you like better, the truth or a lie," Anata countered. "Well, they say the truth will always set one free," Alucard answered, pulling his legs off the table as he leaned forward, placing his hands on the table as he lifted himself up and turned away, his back facing her. "You know the-..." His sentence was cut off, for at that moment the door bell rang throughout the house, causing them both to turn in the direction of the door.
Wrinkling her brow, Anata turned back towards Alucard to watch as he disappeared into the shadows. But before he did, he sent her worried form a reassuring smirk, as if to say "No worries, I'll bite their heads off..." So standing, she left the dining room to cross the hall to the front door. Pulling it open, she took a step back in surprise to the lagre group of people who stood standing there, Walter at the head of them.
"W-Walter, what's going on," Anata asked when their hushed voices ceased to make sound as she took a step outside. "These," He replied, lifting a hand to gesture toward the group, "Are the former knights of the Hellsing Institution." Watching her gulp in surprise, Walter continued with a grin of satisfaction, "They have returned under the service of Her Majesty, The Queen of England, to fight against the supernatural forces."
As he finished his sentence, a man stepped forward, one with shaggy brown hair and a mustache to match. "Ma'am, Walter tells us you are unexperienced in this kind of thing, but if you allow me, Gad Farlem, to lead the troops as I once did, we will help you to understand the way of things."
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, for everything was happening so fast she didn't know what to think, Anata answered back, "I-I thought the problems with these kind of things was solved long ago when the summonor of the Seto was killed by Alucard..." Grinning, Gad replied, "That may be true, but you never know when some other i Freak /i is going to show up with the idea of taking of the world set in mind."
Just then, as Anata was about to open her mouth to speak, Selas appeared at her side and did it for her. "Former Lutenint Gad Farlem, you are reassigned to your position of authority. Now lead your troops to the west wing barracks and have them up and training by dawn....I trust you know where everything is..."
At this, the man's eyes widened in gratitude as she finished. Then, before leaving, him, as well as the men behind him, stood straight, hands raised to their brow in a salute. Turning towards Anata, they stood there, staring expectantly.
Blinking in surprise, Anata turned to look at Selas questionly before Selas smiled and gave her a deep look. Then, something popped into her head and she smiled and laughed softly, taking on a more serious look as she turned back to the troops and said, "May God and the Queen's blessing be with you," As she finished the last part, the troops opened their mouths to join her in usion, "Amen!"
Sorry again for the shortness, its just that this seemed the perfect time to end this chapter, with the knights coming back and the blessing sighs all happy and gushy like its so happy sniffles anyway, sorry again. Review Please =)