A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I was unable to Log into Fanfiction. To Angela Himura, I have seen Interview With A Vampire and I thought the movie was great. Thanks as always to my readers and reviewers!
Reminders of the past
Can destroy the future.
After Seras had done some serious thinking and had attempted to drink the blood a half dozen times, she had come to a conclusion. She could drink from the blood bottles to survive, since she couldn't waste the, albeit unwilling, sacrifice people had made to fill them. But drinking from the living, well, she would deal with that problem when the time came.
Having made her decision, she went in search of Alucard to tell him her choice. By the time Seras found him on the second floor, the night had waned and the time for sleep was drawing near. Walking down the hall, she noticed something strange. When she approached Alucard, he didn't acknowledge her presence, or even appear to notice she was there.
He seemed to be staring at something very intently. Looking past him, Seras was startled to see he was examining the portrait of the woman. The green eyes watched her as before, though now she could examine the expression. The depths of the orbs showed pity, mixed with regret. She had never seen a picture hold such an arrangement of emotion and wondered why the artist had created the depressing portrait. Her mind's eye could very well imagine the woman smiling, rather than the somber appearance she now wore. But her own thoughts aside, why was Alucard so interested in her? Yet another question to ask her master.
After standing behind him for several minutes, Seras finally grew tired of waiting. She reached up to tap him on the shoulder.
"You can't startle me, Police Girl, especially with the noise you make. Come, the sun will be rising soon." Turning around to face her, she was startled to see a look resembling sadness cross his face. But the emotion disappeared so quickly she could have been mistaken.
On the trek to the catacombs Seras suddenly remembered about her belongings. She had left them in a large trunk at her hotel in the village. With all her clothing lost, she would be forced to wear what she had on for an indefinite period of time. She would have to ask Alucard if she could retrieve them soon, because the idea of walking around in rags was not what she considered an option.
At sunset the next night, Seras once again awoke in the arms of her master. Cheeks burning a bright red, she slowly slid away from him. With a sigh of relief, she felt his arms give way but froze when she realized he was awake.
Alucard had once more been forced to use his body heat to stop her from shaking. Obviously her lack of warm, fresh blood caused her body temperature to stay below what a vampire could handle. Unfortunately, by reading her thoughts last night, he found she was still unwillingly to drink from a living human. Well, he could enjoy her refusal while it lasted.
When they reached the stairs leading to the ground level floors, Alucard disappeared, saying he had an errand to attend to, so Seras was left to her own devices. Deciding to explore the inside of the castle, she began her expedition in the entrance hall
Staring at the bottom of the grand staircase, she was reminded of the first time she'd entered the castle. She'd nearly collided with one of the bannisters and then had run down the hall to the left. The memories felt like they had taken place years ago, but in reality the time had been less than two weeks. Shaking herself free from her reminiscing, she turned her attention to the corridor to her right. The hall seemed as good a place as any to start, so she began to walk down the long corridor.
This hall was different from the one which lead to the catacombs. There was only a pair of doors situated in the middle of the corridor. Seras headed toward the two doors, wondering what lay behind them.
Standing before them, she placed her hands upon both doors and slowly pushed them open. The sight that lay before her was astounding. The room was a library, stretching from one end of the hall to the other. What really shocked Seras was the vast amount of books lining the walls. From floor to ceiling, books encompassed everything. The bookcases appeared to sag under the enormous weights they held. A winding stair to her right led to a second story balcony, where larger volumes appeared to be stored. In the center sat a large desk, also burdened with dozens of books. Behind the desk was a large window which looked out onto the inner courtyard.
Seras did notice one unfortunate flaw in her surroundings. Every inch of the room was covered in several layers of dust, giving a ghostly appearance with the moon shining through the window. Walking over to one of the large bookcases, she inspected the books. From what she could see, they all appeared to be quite old, most possibly dating back several centuries. Removing a book from the shelf, she was rewarded with a face full of dust. More dirt came spilling onto her as she attempted to place the book back, causing a coughing fit which lasted several minutes. Not wanting to repeat the experience, Seras decided to inspect the desk.
Proceeding to the center of the room, Seras noticed something strange about the arrangements of books. There were two piles on the desk, one on each side, while a solitary volume lay between them. Peering at the cover, she found she could not read any of the words, being in a language foreign to her. Since she could not read the book, she flipped absently through the pages. Suddenly she came to a halt in the center of the book. Once again she found herself staring at the woman from the window, the same woman whose portrait Alucard had been so interested in, though there was a difference in the picture before her. The woman was now smiling, and the expression better suited her face than the look she held in the portrait.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Startled, Seras turned around to explain her actions, only to stop dead in her movements. She had never seen Alucard so infuriated as he was now. His eyes were burning coals in the semi-darkness and she sensed an immense rage building within him.
"I-I'm sorry. I...I didn't know I wasn't supposed to come in here."
Striding across the library, he reached the desk and slammed the book shut.
"She looks like me. Is she the reason why you were so interested in me when I came to the castle? Do I remind you of her?" The questions seemed to explode from her mouth, her curiosity for the strange woman overcoming her common sense.
"I'll admit you do resemble her, Police Girl, but you are nothing like she was." An undertone of anger coated every word, as if Seras had insulted the memory of the woman. Had she been someone important to him?
Remembering her earlier interest in the large sarcophagus, a thought struck her. "Master, is she the reason why the coffin made for two people" Seras asked cautiously, for fear of angering Alucard further.
At first he did not answer, appearing to think whether he should tell her or ignore the question. Alucard fixed his gaze on the young woman before him, searching her eyes for her intentions. He wanted to know why she was so interested in knowing his past, whether idle curiosity or genuine concern fueled her questions. What he found surprised him, for by learning his past Seras hoped to understand him. Understanding, a human emotion he would have to teach her to forget, but for now he would humor her.
"She was my wife, in the human sense. I had the sarcophagus made specifically for us" he answered quietly. Memories of her final moments began to haunt his mind, bringing unwanted emotions with them.
"How did she die?" The question popped out of Seras' mouth before she had time to think of what she was asking. But she wanted Alucard to trust her, since she was going to be spending so much time with him.
"She was killed, murdered by a vampire hunter." He clearly remembered his anguish as he heard her scream echo along the streets.
"She was a vampire!"
"Yes, though not of my blood. We'd met at a masked ball in Paris decades earlier. She was the perfect vampire, ruthless and cunning, characteristics I admired. But those times are past, and I have her portrait to remind myself of that."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your past." She'd noticed the sadness creep into his face.
"There's nothing to forgive" he answered, putting on an impassive face. "The past is the past. But remember Seras, bringing up old memories will only drive a vampire to insanity. The feelings clinging to those echoes will cause enough pain to make a No-Life King destroy himself."
Seras' head shot up at the use of her name. Alucard had rarely spoken her name and then only during the few serious moments of his he showed her. He didn't seem to notice her starring at him, he only started walking toward the door.
"The night is too far gone to train. I suggest we get some sleep, Police Girl."
Well, she could enjoy the brief moment when he did acknowledge her name. So thinking, she followed him quietly to the catacombs. But a surprise awaited her when she reached their 'bedroom'.
Entering the tomb, Seras saw an object out of the corner of her eye. Looking to the left corner, she saw her trunk leaning against the wall. She rushed over to the luggage and unclasped the locks, opening the case's lid. There was everything; her clothes, her shoes, and even her hairbrush. She turned to look at Alucard.
"You read my mind again." She would have been angry, but was too overjoyed at retrieving her possessions to care.
"Yes, Police Girl. You may be able to fend off my mind control, but your thoughts are practically echoing throughout the entire castle."
'I'll have to work on that."
Outside the Castle
Standing among the trees surrounding the castle, two piercing red eyes stared at the complex.
"I've finally found the bloody place. Time to prove my worth."