Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hellsing Ideas or characters!

Love In The Dark

Ch. 10

Cassandra's hair was spread out on her pillows like a web. She tossed and turned, and sweat was dripping from her face. Her hands grabbed onto her quilt for dear life. The moon seemed to be peeking in through the window on the opposite side of the room, and it was causing an eerie white glow throughout the room.

Cassandra's face softened, and her eyes cracked open a bit. She looked around her before slowly rising to a sitting position. "Alucard…" She stated into the darkness.

Alucard was in the library reading a book, when he heard a soft whisper. He looked up to see if anyone had entered the room without him knowing, but there was no one. He didn't feel comfortable in his new clothes, but he didn't disobey his master this time.

Sad to say, he actually liked the clothes, it was just going to take a while to get used to the. His shirt was a black long sleeved turtleneck. He was also wearing black denim jeans, but they were a bit to loose for his liking.

"Alucard…" The whisper came again. This time Alucard recognized the voice the minute he heard it. He set the book down and made his way to Cassandra's room. He ran through the door, only to find her on the cold tile floor on her hands and knees. He walked up to her, so that he could help her up.

"Cassandra…" He began, but was caught by surprise when he saw her face. Her eyes were violet, and there were tears streaming down her face. His mouth hung open slightly as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words to say it. He put his hands on her waist so that he could steady her as she attempted to stand.

Once she was standing Alucard helped her to her bed. She stood in front of him, with her back to him. She was shaking, and sobbing quietly. Alucard put a hand on her shoulder, and she immediately turned around to bury her face into his chest.

Alucard was about to object, but thought it best to tolerate her for the time being. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders to give her comfort, but her shaking continued. "Why do they haunt me?" came her voice, it was almost too frail to hear.

"Who's haunting you?" he whispered to her softly. He began to stroke her hair, trying to think of something that would comfort her. She shifted her weight a bit, and mumbled something into his chest. Alucard closed his eyes feeling guilty, because he was enjoying their closeness.

She clutched onto the fabric of his shirt as if to keep him from leaving her. He made quiet shushing sounds and sat down on the bed. She sat in his lap while he softly rocked her and cried herself to sleep.

She was already deep in sleep, but Alucard still held her. He stayed with her till the sun began to rise. "Even if it's only for tonight…" He cooed her as he finally tucked her in. Her facial expression cringed a little bit, and she made one last useless attempt to hold him there. Her fingers slipped off of the cloth of his shirt, and he backed out into the darkness.

He disappeared as the first rays of sun snuck into the room.

Cassandra ate her lunch in silence, while her aunt eyed her suspiciously. Cassandra hadn't had a chance to wash her face yet, but she didn't think the tearstains were that noticeable. Integra sighed and Cassandra finally looked up at her.

"I finally have a mission for you… and Alucard, of course." She stated in a rather bored tone.

Cassandra's eyes widened a bit at the mention of his name. Images from the previous night flashed through her mind causing her to blush slightly. "Um…really?"

Integra eyed her confused, but continued. "Yes, there's been a sighting. It's strange, this vampire was followed by a trail of dead pigeon and rat corpses." Cassandra just listened in silence. "You and Alucard will go out, and eliminate the target as soon as he wakes up."

"Right…" Cassandra said allowing her voice to trail off. She hoped it wouldn't be awkward seeing him tonight. She remembered how he held her, and how his hands felt cradling her. Cassandra felt like for the first time that she was somewhere she belonged. He had comforted her…twice now…

Cassandra excused herself from the table to go soak in a hot bath. The heat relaxed her muscles as she slipped into the warm water. Now she could just lye there and not think. She closed her eyes, as she scrubbed soap in her hair.

Once she was done with her bath she went down to the library. All of the books were put on the shelves… except one. There was a stray book on the desk in the center of the room. It was a book of… Cassandra stared at the title 'Dark Poetry.'

She found a chair, and plopped down in it to read.

Alucard woke up slowly allowing him time to stretch. He lifted the lid to his coffin and eased himself out. He looked down at himself realizing he was still in his black outfit. He sighed, and dug through the bag of clothes he'd gotten yesterday. He found a black leather jacket and a white t-shirt he liked, along with a pair of dark blue jeans.

As he dressed he thought of Cassandra…

"Why do they haunt me?"

"Who's haunting you?"

She mumbled into his chest. "My parents…"

He grabbed his guns, and slipped them into his inside pockets. He made his way to the upper levels. He entered his master's office to, once again, find her doing paperwork. Walter entered soon after he did to give Integra her evening tea.

"Master?"

Integra looked up at him a bit surprised, she frowned in confusion. "Alucard, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I would've thought that you and Cassandra would've already left for your mission."

"Well, I haven't seen Cassandra yet this evening." He sighed remembering last night, even the almighty Alucard knew that seeing her was going to be uncomfortable.

"Last I saw she was in the library." Said Walter as he set the tea tray in front of Integra.

Alucard left at that to find himself in front of Cassandra. She was sitting in the same chair that he was last night, reading the same book. Her eyes were narrow as she read. He stood there watching her for about five minutes. She closed the book and placed it back on the table, and then began to walk out of the library, but her eyes suddenly locked with Alucard's.

Immediately they both turned away. "Um… We have a mission." Cassandra chocked out.

"Yah, I know."

Alucard waited while Cassandra ran up to her room to get her gun. Her hair shining in the moonlight as they walked out the door. She was wearing a pair of cream color pants with a baggy green t-shirt. She turned to smile at him, and he just looked at her.

"I think we should do it your way this time." Alucard smiled at this, and both figures faded out into the darkness.