A/N: A little OOC for Alucard, but I have to keep the story interesting (grinning). And one major announcement. I'm changing the rating of the story from PG-13 to R. If anyone has any objections, I'll gladly hear them. And to Kiyuu-Chan, I know very little about the Millennium organization, so I doubt I could portray any of their members accurately. Enjoy everyone!
Learning about others
Opens a window to their soul.
Seras had stood for a long while, gazing at the spot Alucard had vanished with confusion. Deciding she had no reason to stay there any longer, the fledgling flew back to the apartment. She would have used a black vortex, but didn't want to trust to her ability right now. She could have ended up anywhere in England with how confused her thoughts were.
Arriving at the apartment, Seras looked around for evidence of her master's presence. Not finding any, she supposed he was in his bedroom. With a heavy sigh, she retreated into her bedroom. Laying herself on her bed, she pondered her master's final words for the rest of the night. As the sun finally rose, sleep took her.
Awaking to her vampiric senses rising, Seras stretched her tired limbs. Lazily swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she drifted out to the main living area. To her surprise, Alucard was not standing at his customary window. Calling out his name, Seras peered around the rest of the main rooms. Finding that he was nowhere to be seen in the central portion of the apartment, she turned her attention to the one last place he could be. She had yet to check his bedroom, and the fledgling wasn't sure if she should.
Standing before the door, she argued with herself on whether or not to enter his room, but decided now was not the time to be bashful. After all, her master was nowhere to be found and she was genuinely worried about him. Besides, if she saw something personal, it would be his fault for scaring her like this.
Peeking her head into his room, she saw that his bed lay untouched. Seras realized that Alucard hadn't returned the night before.
Fear began to settle in, as her mind frantically tried to make sense of the situation. Taking deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down, and tried to think of a rational explanation for why her master hadn't returned. His actions the night before had been very unpredictable and inexcusable, but she wondered why he'd done such. Alucard's final, almost chilling, sentence had shaken her nerves.
Seras wandered back into her bedroom, her head down while she still pondering the situation. But when she looked up, she was surprised to see a beautiful red dress draped across her bed, and Alucard in his customary chair. She quickly did a double take at her master, suddenly registering what he was wearing.
Instead of the usual black suit with matching formal shoes, her master had on an outfit quite different. Alucard was wearing a tight fitting white body shirt, showing off his finely toned arms. A dark vest was draped over the white cloth, both slightly stretched under the strain of his pects. In place of his loose pants, he now showed a pair of tight fitting black jeans, showing off his leans hips and thin waist. A pair of dark boots completed the ensemble. His ebony colored hair was long, reaching past his shoulders, and his gloveless hands were smooth and pale. The sight of him was stunning, and Seras could only gape at the elder vampire for several seconds, before her master's amused gaze brought her back to attention.
"Staring at something you like?" Alucard asked mischievously, rising from the chair. He walked over to the bed and picked up the dress, which Seras realized was made of silk. Her master approached her and stood in front of his child, the garment out for her to take.
Seras slowly reached out and took the offered dress, carefully holding the silk cloth in front of her to examine the gift. The gown reached just below knee length, with a single slit running along the right side, stopping at just below her upper thigh. Thin straps helped to keep the dress in place, while the neck line dipped exceedingly low. Seras noticed with some embarrassment that the top would show much of her cleavage, while the fabric would be tight fitting around the rest of her body. But overall, the dress was the most beautiful piece of clothing she'd ever seen, much less worn.
Staring at the wonderful piece of clothing, the fledgling suddenly wondered what the occasion was. Maybe to make up for his strange behavior the night before? Seras snorted at her silent thoughts. He probably just wanted to see her in as revealing an outfit as possible.
Alucard raised an eyebrow at her sudden noise and smirked slightly. Probably amused by my thoughts she guessed. Damn him.
Her master suddenly moved a little closer to her, bending down so their eyes were level. "Aren't you going to try it on?" he asked, giving her an innocent smile. Not an easy feat for Alucard.
With a scowl, Seras carefully set the dress down on the bed and walked behind Alucard. Placing her hands on her master's back, she proceeded to unceremoniously shove him out of the room.
Alucard didn't protest her bold treatment of him, merely grinning at her obvious embarrassment and anger. Though he could tell she liked the dress.
Shoving him into the living room and nearly slamming the door in her master's face, Seras proceeded to slip into the dress. Surprisingly, the clothing fit perfectly and after admiring herself in the mirror, she noticed a shoe box on the bed. Walking over and lifting the lid, she gasped at what lay before her.
Laying among the soft wrapping was a pair of dazzling high heels. They were the color of her dress, with several small diamonds imbedded on the toes, sparkling softly in the light. Trying them on, the heels also fit perfectly.
Seras blushed when she realized one important fact. In order for her master to have gotten the correct measurements for both the shoes and dress, he would have had to look over her body. All over. Blushing, the young vampire decided she really needed to find out why Alucard was giving her these wonderful gifts. Before she started believing that he might actually like her.
Coming out of her room, Seras nearly bumped into Alcuard's chest. He'd been standing at her door the entire time, obviously waiting impatiently for her to show herself. Grabbing her shoulders to keep his fledgling from falling to the floor, he inspected the blushing blonde's attire with a penetrating gaze. Apparently liking what he saw, Alucard righted Seras and stepped back.
Remembering she didn't need to breathe, Seras stopped the unconsciously quickened breaths and stood uneasily in front of her master. He made a low bow to her and gestured his hands toward the door.
"Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm to her in an unusual display of manners.
Seras took the offered arm and walking to the front entrance of their suite, allowing Alucard to open the door for her. The fledgling vampire couldn't help but blush as they made their way through the lobby of the hotel, so many people were staring at the gorgeous couple.
Once outside, Alucard hailed a taxi and, escorting Seras into the seat before himself, instructed the driver on where to go. The young vampire beside him said nothing as they traveled to their destination, merely enjoying the time with her master. Though the elder vampire's actions were still making her nervous and suspicious as to his intentions.
Coming to a stop in front of a large and popular dancing establishment, Seras gaped at the amount of people waiting in line to enter. Alucard helped her out of the vehicle, paying the driver with gold coins, and escorted her to the front entrance. A burly human suddenly blocked their path, and looked haughtily at the well-groomed couple.
"You can't come in unless your names are on the list" he said, pointing to a piece of paper on the clipboard he held.
"You will let us through" Alucard commanded, the attendant's eyes glazing over. Seras recognized the effect of mind control from before, when her master had used the technique on the female Freak.
"You may go through" the man said, a now dreamy quality to his voice.
Alucard grinned and pushed past the human, taking Seras with him. She followed the elder vampire through the crowds of young people, finally reaching the main room.
Music blasted from large speakers situated around the huge dance floor, echoing off the specially designed walls and nearly splitting Seras' head when the intensity hit her sensitive vampire ears. The party floor was lit with several flashing lights, all a different color. The swirling hues almost made Seras dizzy watching them, and she shifted her eyes to Alucard. With a start, she saw that he was staring directly at her with the most penetrating look he'd ever given her.
"Master?" Seras asked in her mind, knowing if she spoke aloud the music would drown out her words.
Alucard's mouth turned up in a grin, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to a corner table surrounded by shadows. A waitress came over to them, asking if they'd like to order anything to drink.
Alucard ordered the most expensive wine in their inventory, while Seras looked at the people surrounding them. The fledgling used her growing vampiric senses to feel the atmosphere, and was blasted by what she was receiving. With so many young bodies pressing together, dancing to quickened beats and even quicker breathing, the air was thick with lust.
The emotions began to affect her, as she turned to her master withdarkened eyes. The clothing he wore wasn't helping her self restraint, as she now leaned toward his own blazing eyes, his inviting lips.
Stop it! Seras yelled at herself, pulling back and blocking the surrounding hormonal thoughts from her mind. She hung her head in shame at her lack of control, wishing the night was over. I must have looked ridiculous, edging toward him like that she thought embarrassingly.
Wait, what was that look in Master's eyes? Seras suddenly wondered, snapping her head up. She slowly turned her eyes back toward her master's eyes and saw that they held the same amused look he always had. But on closer inspection, she noticed a hint of some deeper emotion within the ruby orbs.
Then the waitress returned with a large bottle of wine and two glasses, making Seras quickly look away from her master's eyes. The elder vampire payed for the drink and after the girl had left, took the bottle and poured some for Seras and himself. He slid a glass in front of his fledgling, while the other he took in his hand, swirling the contents absently.
Seras shot a leery look at the glass in front of her. She well remembered the drinking contest she'd had with Alucard, and the outcome. Vampires could get drunk, and the fledgling vampire really didn't want to look foolish in front of her master. Besides, what did she know about Alucard around women? Maybe he isn't the gentleman he's pretending to be she thought suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.
"Aren't you going to try some?" Alucard whispered in her mind, startling Seras from her thoughts.
A guilty look crossed her face as she reprimanded herself. Of course her master wouldn't try to get her drunk, and he definitely wouldn't take advantage of her if she did manage to become intoxicated.
She grabbed the glass and slowly lifted the rim to her lips, turning her eyes to look at Alucard. Her master was watching her carefully, his wine still untouched. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Seras took a sip of the drink. Surprisingly, she liked the taste, licking her lips in satisfaction.
Alucard followed suit, drinking from his glass and watching Seras' eyes look around the building curiously. Though his gaze never wandered away from his fledgling.
Seras felt the elder vampire's crimson orbs upon her form, and shuddered slightly under the attention. Why is he staring at me like that? she asked herself, her mind racing with nervousness.
Suddenly a brawl broke out on the dance floor, apparently between two men fighting over the same girl. One of the combatants pulled out a knife, which he deftly swiped at his opponent. Seras could smell fresh blood spill, though a large crowd was now blocking her view, and knew the man had hit his mark. She could feel her fangs grow with the delicious scent, and failed to stem off the rising hunger in her stomach.
"Listen, Seras. Listen to their calls for violence. Nothing more than animals, lower than us" Alucard whispered into her mind. The scene before them was indeed appalling, with the masses around the fight chanting for more bloodshed and carnage.
However, Seras shook her head at her master's words, not agreeing with him. Though she saw a large number of the patrons in the crowd of cheerers, she also noticed some of the people turn away from the primal spectacle.
"Do you smell the blood? Doesn't it call to you?" His voice dripped with ecstasy at the scent of shed blood, fresh from a human's body.
"Yes" she had to admit, feeling her body shake with the pleasure filling her master's words.
Realizing how she was acting, and disgusted with herself, Seras tried to focus her attention on her other senses. She continued to watch the club's clients who were not participating in the spectacle, could taste the wine on her tongue, and heard the approach of several police cars.