A/N: This chapter is more of a filler, but the length is the longest yet. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!
In the search for answers,
More questions are found.
Alucard and Seras had thoroughly looked through the passport. Unfortunately the book yielded little, only showing them his name and where he'd traveled. Strangely, his flights had taken him in a straight line from London to Romania. There was no explanation of why he had come to Romania or where he'd gotten the means to travel the great distance between the two countries.
However, searching through his clothes, Seras did manage to find something of value. A single scrap of paper had been placed in one of his pockets, with one word written in old penmanship. Hellsing.
"Interesting, Police Girl" Alucard said as he took the paper from her hand and carefully examined the script. "I have heard the name, and I wonder how they are involved."
"What will we do now Master?" Seras was still confused as to why they were searching the stranger's remains. Alucard had yet to tell her what had been unusual about the boy vampire and what was troubling him.
Alucard gave Seras a sidelong glance. He seemed to be pondering an important decision. "I've hidden too long in my castle, Police Girl. I believe we'll take a trip to London. There the answers to my questions may be answered." Turning from her, he began to walk back toward the castle, muttering to himself. "The boy was a pathetic fake, worse than the priest."
A pathetic fake? Seras thought. What did Alucard mean by calling the stranger a fake? He had seemed real enough to her during her battle with him. Though Seras did wonder about the color of his eyes, she still did not know much about vampires so she dismissed her thoughts as ignorance on her part.
The next night Seras was checking her luggage to see she hadn't forgotten any of her possessions. She was still excited to hear she would be returning to England. Her face was all aglow with joy and her step was lighter.
The prospect of visiting England sooner than she expected had also produced a better effect on her mood. She even drank her evening blood offered to her by Alucard without any qualms.
Maybe Alucard would even forget about her training while they were there. After all, the last challenge had nearly killed her. She shuddered every time she thought of the cold blade being pressed into her chest.
"Your training will continue, Police Girl." The voice of her master behind her startled Seras. She hadn't heard him enter the tomb, nor had she sensed him enter the castle grounds. He had somehow managed to pass through her barriers undetected. Though she hated to admit her conclusions, she was in obvious need of practice with her vampiric skills.
"Yes, you still have far to go before you're worthy of the blood in your veins. You also need more training with your mind blocking skills." Though Alucard did enjoy reading her mind and answering her unspoken questions, if only to startle Seras.
Seras had jumped when he'd answered her thoughts, but had gone back to her packing. Suddenly she remembered Alucard telling her he would be gone on another errand.
"Where have you been?"
"Prying into your Master's business is not something fledglings should do, Police Girl. Punishment can come with such curiosity, and insolence. But if you must know, I have been making the accommodations for our journey. Because the nearby villagers are inhospitable toward our kind, we will be forced to travel to the next village. The villagers residing there are less familiar with vampires. There we'll be able to board the train and ride to Budapest. There we'll buy ourselves a coffin and be transported the rest of the way to London. The arrangements have all been made so you needn't worry."
"You must be joking." They were going to buy a coffin and be shipped like freight to England! Also, if they were to walk to the next village, would she be forced to leave her luggage behind?
"Yes Police Girl, you will be forced to leave your possessions here. As a vampire you must learn to travel light and let go of personal items. They will only weigh you down with memories and foolish human emotions."
"Yes sir." Seras was very disappointed, but she knew there would be no arguing with Alucard. Besides, the large trunk would be too heavy to carry the distance they were soon to travel.
Suddenly she remembered the other half of her thought. "Um, Master, what about the coffin? Don't you think someone will become suspicious when a pair of strangers comes into town wanting a coffin large enough for two?"
"As I have said before, I have no extra coffins lying around, so we must acquire one for our use." A mischievous grin appeared on Alucard's face as a sudden thought struck him. "Besides, the coffin will not be made for two. I plan on buying one suitable only for one person."
Seras' mouth dropped open as she heard those last words. She was well aware of the size of a normal coffin, and knew how cramped two people would be. She could well imagine how close the contact would be with their bodies.
Alucard spoke on as if he hadn't noticed her stunned reaction. "Also, I suggest you hide your eyes. Red is a very rare color, even among vampires, and our eyes may attract unwanted attention. A pair of shades similar to mine will do nicely." Here he pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses, the likes of which Seras had never seen. The frames not only held the lenses, but stretched along the sides as well, completely covering his eyes. The two halves of the glasses were held together by both a nose bridge and a small bar of metal situated above the bridge. Alucard placed them over his eyes and the reflection off the torches produced a color similar to blood.
"A small souvenir, one which I've found useful when dealing with humans. Now, we'll begin our journey tonight. Since you have an aversion to drinking from others, Police Girl, I suggest you feed well before we leave. Though you may be forced to take blood from others once we reach England."
Turning, Alucard walked through the walls, leaving Seras to stare at the spot where he had disappeared. She still wasn't accustomed to seeing him walk through solid objects.
Sighing, Sera stood and stretched her stiff limbs. She'd sat there longer than she thought. Heading toward the door, she glanced one last time at the trunk. Then she began walking to the kitchen, thinking of Alucard's last comment to her. He knew as well as she the strength of her hunger. After a few days of starvation, she may not be able to control herself. The only comfort she could give herself was there were several blood banks in London.
Drinking her fill of blood from the stock, Seras headed outside. Outside the castle walls was Alucard, apparently waiting for her. She approached him
"How far is the distance to the next village, Master? Will the walk take long?"
Alucard turned to Seras, his trademark grin on his face. "I never said we would be walking. Your next stage of training will be to transform into bats and travel the distance to the next village."
Seras' heart would have stopped then, had the organ still been beating.
"What? I can't fly! There's no way!"
"Police Girl, we've no time for arguments. I will teach you how and the rest will be up to you to learn." So saying, Alucard grabbed her arm and led her toward the meadow.
When they reached the clearing, Alucard stood in front of her. For a long while he did not speak, apparently deep in thought. Since she was his first child, he was forced to recall how his master had taught him.
Seras began to snicker, imagining the sight they made standing like statues in the middle of the field. However, her mirth was cut short by a disapproving look from Alucard. Fortunately, he had remembered his lessons before her outburst could distract him, and was now ready to start.
"If you're finished, we'll begin. Concentrate on my voice and nothing else. Imagine the feel of the wind beneath your wings, the feeling of floating endlessly in the sky."
Seras closed her eyes and tried to imagine what the feeling of flying would be like. She could feel something inside her shifting and the urge to open her eyes was great.
"Concentrate!" Alucard commanded. He was surprised at how fast she was changing, especially considering this was her first time. As he stood thinking, she completed her transformation.
Seras felt the shifting within her body and opened her eyes, screeching in terror at what she saw. Her vision like a kaleidoscope of grass, trees and sky. She was seeing through dozens of different eyes, which without control were all looking in all directions.
"Police Girl, focus your vision on one spot!"
The vibrations from Alucard's voice only led to more confusion. Her new bat instincts were telling her to fly away, but Seras had enough control to keep from fleeing. Unfortunately, she couldn't control the movements of the bats who made up her body, meaning she was spread across the entire meadow.
Alucard sighed. He would need to help her or they would be out here all night.
Seras was beginning to think she'd never pull herself together when she sensed several creatures flying between her stretched body. They were bats, slightly larger than hers and apparently trying to help her. The wings of the other bats were guiding hers to the center of the field, attempting to herd Seras into a group.
"Police Girl, stop talking to yourself and concentrate! By rights I should leave you here to fend for yourself, but we don't have time for your foolishness."
Seras would have jumped had she a body capable of such an action. The bats helping her were Alucard! Well, her master had given her an order, so she should at least try to help.
Using all of her concentration, Seras could feel her bats slowly congregate to the center of the clearing. When she was confident all her bats were now in the group, she carefully attempted to flex some of her wings. The bats obeyed her command immediately, slowly flapping their wings faster.
Alucard merely floated nearby, watching her explore her new form. When he was sure she had complete control, he started flying in the direction of the village. Seras followed close behind, careful not to lose sight of him or her control over her bats.
Glancing down, Seras saw only a few houses nestled around the countryside, probably farms. Coming upon the village where they were headed, she was reminded of an old English town. Several houses had stone walls supporting their roofs, while others were of a simple wooden build. A few new buildings were nestled amongst the old, leading Seras to the conclusion that the industry around the area was thriving. They landed on the outskirts of the village to remain unnoticed.
Fortunately, Seras did not have any trouble changing back to her original form.
After assuming his old form, Alucard looked up at the sky, noting the moon above the mountains. "The night is too far gone to do any more traveling. I suggest we find ourselves a hotel room and rest there for the day."
Because the village dealt with many sightseers, new hotels had been built in the town. Meaning there was a variety from which to choose their room. In one of the smaller hotels, they found an accommodating room with few windows. Unfortunately, there was only one bedroom, so Seras opted to take the couch in the main room rather than sleep in the same room with her master. There was also a problem with the proprietor.
The owner was a man of the suspicious type, and the two people about to rent a room in his establishment were of a breed he didn't trust one bit. So, to ensure he received his money, he required payment before the room was given.
Alucard had read the old man's mind, and was tempted to teach the insolent fool some manners. Unfortunately, they could not risk creating a scene, so Alucard grudgingly payed the man. However, he decided to give the owner a little shock.
Reaching into his coat, Alucard pulled forth a small bag and dumped the contents on the front desk. Small, strange disks rolled unevenly on the surface. To Seras they appeared to be golden coins of a very old sort, being covered in dust and sloppily engraved. The proprietor immediately recognized the coins as priceless Romanian coins, hundreds of years old.
"My lord, I apologize for my rude behavior. You needn't pay right now if you so choose." He gave the pair a low bow and began to ramble on about how comfortable they would be in his rooms.
Holding up a hand to silence the old man, Alucard silently handed him a single coin and pushed the rest back into the small purse. Placing the bag back into his coat, he grabbed the keys from the owner and strode out of the hotel. Seras walked behind, giving a glance at the still stunned owner.
Staring once more at the sky, Alucard decided to forgo sleep for a while yet. "Police Girl, I believe there's time enough left to enjoy ourselves."
Walking a short distance, Alucard led Seras into a nearby bar. Finding an empty table in a dark corner, they sat down. When the waitress came to their table, Alucard ordered for both of them, asking only for a bottle of red wine and two glasses.
"We're able to drink liquid other than blood?" Seras asked. She'd resigned herself to the simple, if delicious, diet of blood.
"Have you forgotten the drinking contest so quickly, Police Girl? Vampires can ingest any liquid, though solid food is beyond our consumption. Our bodies will expel the food immediately, making for a very messy scene."
After finishing their drinks and paying once more with the old coins, the pair returned to the hotel.
Settling down, both slept peacefully until the following evening.