Title: Bonds That Break (1/?)
Author: Jaycee
Rating: PG (for now, if it goes up I'll change the rating accordingly)
Pairing: Integral/OC(male), Seras/OC(female), future Integral/Seras
Summary: Integral is getting married, Seras is heartbroken and leaves, how will the two live their lives away from each other? Can Seras really break the bonds around her heart?
Disclaimer: You all know the drill. I don't own Hellsing, Kohta Hirano does. I make no money off of this. I do, however, own the characters of William Hertford Gentry (later on to be known as William Hertford Gentry-Hellsing). Any other original characters to show up (can't name them now, spoilers) are also mine and will be stated as such beforehand. Please do not use without permission (not that you would, I'm not that good of an author).
A/N: This is the first Hellsing fic I've written in ages. I hope it doesn't suck too badly. My apologies if it does.
Feedback: I'd appreciate it, but don't feel obligated. I can live without it. But I'd much rather have it.
Etc.: Looking for a beta! Anyone interested, please contact me at wayfaringpanda at hotmail dot com
The first thing Seras heard when she woke up that night was the cheers.
She hit the button to raise the lid of her coffin and sat up, frowning slightly at the noise even a human could hear drifting through the stonework. What was going on? She thought back, trying to think if there had been any mention of a national holiday or something today.
She quickly shed the overlarge t-shirt she wore, her now-common bed attire. She pulled a fresh uniform from her closet and put it on. Running her fingers quickly through her hair, she pulled her door open and headed towards the main floor of the mansion.
There she found a fairly large portion of the troops milling around, quite obviously drunk or well on the way there and having a great time. She spotted her commander, a young man named Deitrich transferred from D11 to replace Fergesson.
"Excuse me," she said, stopping in front of him.
"Ah, Victoria," the man said, beaming down at her. "Come to join the festivities?" He raised his glass, which sparkled with what looked like champagne.
"Festivities for what?" she asked, but another soldier had already come over and started talking, rather drunkenly, to the commander. She heaved a sigh and left in search of someone able to talk to her.
"I wonder whether Sir Hellsing knows about this?" she mused as she elbowed her way through the crowd towards the stairs. The stern woman must - she wouldn't have allowed such chaos to continue if she didn't approve of it. Maybe she was in her office?
Seras had just reached the first few steps when she heard Commander Deitrich's voice rise up.
"Oi! Quiet down, you lot!" he hollered. After a few moments, everyone was silent, staring at him with expectation. Once he felt he had their attention, he turned to look at the far corner.
Seras followed his gaze, and was surprised to see Sir Hellsing standing there, a glass of champagne in her hand and talking with a gentleman Seras recognized as Sir William Gentry. He was a lesser-known noble who was apparently one of Sir Hellsing's few childhood friends. She'd seen him once or twice around the manor in her two years span of time here. She wondered what he was doing here.
"On behalf of all of the Hellsing troops, we wish to congratulate Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing and Sir William Hertford Gentry on their engagement! Bloody good show, you two!"
The cheers from the crowd would have covered any exclamation Seras could make, had she been able to do anything other than sit down suddenly on the stairs with a thud.
Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing sat in her office, smoking a cigarillo and staring at the engagement ring on her finger.
She hadn't been expecting William to propose. Sure, she knew that he fancied her, if only a bit, and he had asked her out plenty of times. She'd even gone on a couple of dates with him. But she'd never shown him any real interest. He just... wasn't her type. She loved him as much as a friend could, but she knew she couldn't give him what he really wanted - her heart.
But apparently that hadn't mattered. When they'd gone out to dinner two nights beforehand, he'd taken her on a walk through the better parts of London. When they reached London Bridge, he had gotten down on one knee and proposed.
"I know that your heart belongs to your work," he had said. "And I know that you can never really love me the way that I love you. But I want to marry you anyway. I have loved you for a long time, and I know that I can make this marriage work. Please, Integra, won't you have me?"
She knew that she had been silent for a long time after that. But in the end, she had agreed. After all, she knew the chances of her finding another nobleman she could stand to spend the rest of her life with was at best close to nothing. She knew William would understand about her work, as well, and that any child they had would be loved by him and cared for. The queen had sent her approval the very next day - apparently he had approached her with the idea first.
All in all, she felt she had made the right choice.
She looked up from her contemplation at the sound of a knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened to reveal Seras. "Victoria," Integral greeted her with a slight nod. Since the whole incident with Incognito, she'd been a little more respectful of Seras' obvious devotion to herself and to Hellsing. She sometimes felt that the young vampire was more loyal than Alucard. Especially since Seras was no longer bound to Alucard, and therefore to herself. The girl had finally partaken of Alucard's blood two months previously, and the increase in her strength was already apparent. She'd even gotten Alucard to say that for a fledgling, she wasn't half bad.
"What can I do for you?" Integral asked as she reached for another cigarillo. It was a bad habit she knew she would have to end soon - William despised them, and were she to get pregnant than he would force her to quit. Not that she didn't agree with him on that matter, but it would be tough.
Seras looked at the floor, obviously nervous. She took a deep breath, then stepped to attention, her blood-red eyes catching and holding Integral's. "I, Senior Officer Seras Victoria, am tendering my resignation."
Integral choked on the smoke. "Wh-what?"
"I have already left my weapons and badge with Commander Deitrich," Seras said, her voice wavering slightly but her gaze steady. "As I have no personal effects in the Manor, I don't need any time to clear out my room."
"What makes you think you can just resign, Victoria?" Integral asked, rising in anger. Her hands gripped the edge of the desk tightly, her knuckles white from the effort.
Seras flinched slightly, but held firm. "I am not bound to you, Sir Hellsing. I am not forced to remain as my former master is. I am resigning just as any other member of your force can resign."
"You are not any other member of my force!" Integral shouted, her ice-blue eyes flashing. "In case you've forgotten, girl, you are a vampire!"
"I know that!" Seras said, her own temper rising, surprising Sir Hellsing. She'd never been on the receiving end of the young vampire's anger before. "I am quite aware of what I am, you all in this place have made sure I can never forget it, not even for a moment. You all have forced me to accept what I am, and I have. And now I want out."
"We'll be forced to hunt you down," the commanding figure said, her rage held tightly in check. She wanted nothing more than to go over there and shake Seras' senses back into her.
"I don't care," Seras replied. "I'm not sticking around London anyway. Bugger that." She saluted Integral, every bit military, spun around on her heel and headed towards the door.
"Oh, and congratulations on your engagement," Seras said, her voice containing just a bit of bitterness. She closed the door behind her firmly.
Integral stood there for a moment, her mind whirling with the effort to process just exactly what had happened. With a snarl, she picked up her ashtray and whirled around, hurling it at the wall with such force that it shattered.
"ALUCARD!"
He knew the instant his Master called his name that she was furious. No, blind with rage was a more accurate term. He left his prowling in the basement and quickly materialized in her office. A quick scan of his Master's mind told him what had just happened. He raised his eyebrows in astonishment, then started to laugh.
"What in the name of all that is holy is so funny?" Sir Integra snarled at him, her entire body taught with her anger. "Did you know about this? Did you tell her to do this?"
"No, my Master, I did not," he said, still chuckling slightly. "Although I am not very surprised."
"Oh? And why is that?" she asked tightly.
Alucard smirked. "Any woman in her situation would."
Sir Integra slammed her hand onto her desk in frustration. "What in blazes are you going on about?"
"The heart is such a fragile and senseless thing," he simply replied with a toothy grin. "Orders, my Master."
"Find her," Sir Integra said. "Bring her back or destroy her."
"I cannot," he said. "I am bound by rules far more ancient than my seals in this matter. I cannot take my childe's unlife anymore than she can take mine."
Sir Integra twitched. "And what, pray tell, would happen if you did?" she asked, her voice deceptively calm.
"I would lose the portion of my power that is connected to her, and would incur the retribution of all ancient vampires in England. It is an ancient code, Sir Integra, one that many would take great offense to my breaking." Alucard reveled in this disobedience of his Master. It so rarely happened that the seals were super-ceded, but the magic that held his body to the Hellsing family recognized the older bond.
Sir Integra seethed for a moment. "You might have mentioned that earlier. What if she had gone berserk and none of the troops could stop her?"
"There are, of course, exceptions to rules. This, however, is not one of them. Until she loses control of herself, I can't do anything."
"Then bring her back, I don't care how."
Alucard sent a searching thread of thought out, trying to locate his childe. Ever since she had taken his blood, his ability to sense her had started to fade, but the connection had yet to completely evaporate. He found her a surprising distance away. He was practically rocked from the force with which she cut him off, leaving him with a vehement request to leave her the bloody hell alone.
"She's already leaving England, Sir Integra," he responded. "I believe she's on a ship as we speak, although it hasn't left the dock yet."
Sir Integra looked as if she wanted to throw something. From the looks of her ashtray on the floor, she already had. "How is that POSSIBLE?" she cried out in frustration. "You lot can't cross running water without prior arrangements."
Alucard laughed. "Seras has made friends with many of the benign vampires in the area as of late. I imagine she simply contacted someone who could set this up as quickly as possible. I can still go after her, although I can't guarantee I'll get to the ship in time." He knew that his Master was thinking of the type of trouble she would get into if she sent him across the English-Protestant border.
"Get out," she said finally, turning her back to him.
The vampire bowed to her and stepped back, into the shadows, blending in with them. He watched her for a moment.
Sir Integra fished for another cigarillo, her hands shaking slightly. Suddenly, without warning, she started throwing everything in sight, cursing loudly as things shattered and tore.
He'd better go find Walter to tell him that housekeeping was going to have quite a lot of work ahead of them.
end chapter one