Title: Bonds That Break (3/?)
Author: Jaycee
A/N: Just so everyone who's reading this knows, this is based off of the anime, not the manga. Also, I won't be updating for a while, I'm going to be out of town for a couple of months. Sorry.
See Part 1 for disclaimers
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The room was lit only by one candle, flickering in the center of a table in the middle of the room. The walls glistened ever so slightly with moisture, and the dirt floor was hard packed from centuries of feet traveling over it's expanse.
On either side of the candle were two women. Both were pale-skinned and dressed in dark blue robes. Their red eyes glittered in the candlelight. The blonde was nervous, licking her dry lips as she concentrated on what was at hand, while the redhead confidently split her attention between the two.
"Stop trying so hard, Seras," the redhead said with a small smile, flashing a fang for a moment. "You don't need to succeed right away. Take your time, feel the energies flow through you."
Seras simply nodded. She held her hands out over the flame and started to chant.
Slowly, the flame grew stronger. Without breaking her concentration or her chanting, the young vampire took a step back. The flame left the candle and followed her hands, flickering slightly but burning brightly. She stopped, and started to cup her hands around, to hold the fire in her hands instead of in front of her.
Without warning, the light went out.
Seras let out a string of curses as Sheilah re-lit the candle. "Why does it always happen that way? What the bloody hell is wrong with me?"
"Nothing," Sheilah said with a soothing smile as she set the candle back on the table. "Elemental majics are hard to learn. You're doing quite well for how old you are. You have an affinity for it."
Seras leaned against the table and sighed. "You always tell me that, but I always fail. How can I be good at something I'm always failing?"
"Because you have yet to accept two things," the older vampire said. "One, that you can ever be good at anything. Your self-confidence has been shattered for several years, ma chère. It is hard to do something right if you feel you can't do anything right at all."
The blonde blushed as well as a vampire can, but didn't bother to deny it. Whether it had been Hellsing or D11, she'd always felt as if she was never up to snuff. "And the other thing?" she asked somewhat sullenly.
"The other is purely technical. You don't seem to understand that fire majic isn't just about fire - you have to deal with water, earth and wind as well. In truth, there is no fire majic, only elemental. They are all intertwined, and to have one follow your will requires the others to compensate. When you wish to cup the flame in your hands, you are not just moving fire, but displacing wind and water as well."
Seras frowned. "I'm not sure I understand. It's not as if I'm carrying water in my hands when I'm doing this."
The redhead placed her hand on top of Seras'. "It doesn't matter, ma chère. You will understand eventually, and when you do you will master the elements."
"How come I never saw Alucard perform any elemental majics, Sheilah?" Seras asked as she leaned into the older vampire, resting against the sturdy frame.
Sheilah gave a small smile. "Your former master was never very much interested in anything that didn't have to do with immediate power. He is one of the strongest No Life Kings in our world, but he has had to sacrifice the finer details to get there. His command of elemental and blood majics are weak, and as such they are his weakness. Not that the use of such would kill him, but he would be hard-put to adapt."
The redhead pulled the other girl into her arms. "I know you are struggling, sang de mon coeur, but do believe me when I tell you that you are truly skilled in this area. It will take time, but I feel it in my blood that you will grow to master the finer arts of our kinds. I expect nothing less from Alucard's childe."
"How long?" Seras asked, not really expecting an answer.
"It could take you centuries, or it could take you a week. It is never known when a vampire will break the dam in their minds and allow the information that is instinct to flow through them." Sheilah tightened her hold on her student for a moment before letting go. "Now, come. I know you want to conquer this before dawn. I believe you can do it."
The young woman smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, already going over the chants in her mind.
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Alucard materialized in the shadows of his Master's office, watching her as he had been wont to do as of late. As usual, she was studying the rose. Ever since her wedding two months ago, she had taken to playing with it in her hands when she had a spare moment or two.
"Tell me, Alucard," she said suddenly, and he grinned at her perception. "It's been two months. Why hasn't it faded?"
He blinked at the question. Leave it to the woman to notice something as pointless as that.
"It has been majicked to stay fresh, I would assume," he responded as he stepped into view, striding towards her desk. He held his hand out for the object.
After a moment's hesitation, Sir Integra handed it to him with care. He prodded the flower with his will as he'd been taught so many centuries ago. It flared in his mind. He held it out to her.
"I was correct," Alucard said, his tone unusually apathetic. "So long as certain conditions are met, it will be as fresh as the day it was spelled."
"Conditions?" Sir Integra asked, frowning slightly, and looked at the rose as if it might bite her all of a sudden.
The vampire chuckled. "No worries, I sensed no dark intent for your life, my Master. It is something along the lines of as long as you keep it. Quite handy, actually - wouldn't want a garbage-man to find a rose that never dies, now would we?"
"Mmm," Sir Integra hummed her agreement, looking mildly satisfied. "But why would she send it to me? We didn't exactly part on the best of terms. And I'm sure you let her know about the silencing order I had placed for a while." She glared at him. "As it's quite obvious you haven't broken ties."
He smiled that grin that he knew annoyed her no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. "We've kept in touch. No, I know she harbors no... ill will against you." He could feel his face practically splitting in two, so hard was it to keep from howling in laughter at how blind his Master was. "Far from it, I'm sure." He levitated the rose to his hand and sniffed it's faint fragrance. "Keep it," he said, letting it drop onto the desk in front of Sir Integra. "Maybe pondering it's mysteries and that of the police-girl's will keep your mind from other... things."
Sir Integra winced faintly as he leered at her and then faded. She knew he was referring to her infantile marriage. Things had not gone as smoothly as she'd hoped. Their wedding night had been an unmitigated disaster, which had left her in her new husband's arms as he tried to soothe her tightly-wound body. She hadn't cried - she had too much dignity and too much understanding of how William would feel to do that. But she had felt violated, and was ashamed to feel that way.
Things had gotten better lately, and she had begun to respond slightly to William's attempts to please her. But the nights where she was too busy working to be in bed left her feeling better the next day than if she had gotten some sleep.
She heaved a sigh and suddenly wished she had a glass of whiskey. She moved the rose off to the side, shuffling the paperwork underneath. She resolutely buried her nose in her work, pushing everything else out of her mind.
end chapter three