Integra chewed the tip of her cigar in frustration as she found her mind wandering yet again to the events of a week ago. She had done her best to forget what had happened, and indeed thought that perhaps she had convinced Alucard that she had...but she wasn't convincing herself of it. The thought provoked an especially strong tightening of her jaw, causing Integra to spit out the now severed tip and throw it into the trash can beside her bed.

She was aware of the increased speed with which she was emptying her cigar tins. Walter had been raising his eyebrow like an idiot for the past few days as they had begun appearing religiously on the grocery list.

She ignored him in areas such as these just as she ignored everyone else. The man had no idea what she had done down in the dungeons with Alucard, and had no idea what the memory was doing to her.

It had become a nightmare to even think. Every feeling she had came tinged with a bit of fear that it might be somehow used against her. "Curse it, I should have been born a man!" Integra regretted the words as soon as they had left her mouth. It was not like her to feel that her sex made her weak. She had always had great fear of living in the shadows of men, and...Integra gave a small gasp. "Get out of my room," she hissed, feeling the atmosphere of the room swiftly changing.

"Surely you weren't referring to my shadows, dear Sir Integra?"

"What is it that brings you here, Alucard?" asked Integra in as steely a tone as she could muster after having been so caught off guard.

The vampire's upper lip curled, revealing a flash of white. "I distinctly thought I heard my master 'say' the word "sex" and decided to investigate further." He had now materialized and was leaning, arms folded, against one of the posters at the foot of Integra's bed. "Was I mistaken? I could have been mistaken, you know."

He was grinning madly, and she knew full well that he was not at all unsure of what he had heard. She stared up at him for a moment, trying to pierce through those red eyes of his and discover what he was up to.

"Alucard, this is my bedroom. It is the only place besides the library that I feel any sort of peace in. However, your presence cancels that out. I'm well aware that you could care less about threats to my health, but know this: Enter this room uninvited ever again, and I shall not hesitate to lock you up like so many years ago!"

Alucard's grin never faded, never wavered. When he saw that she was done, he took a step towards her, and sat down on the side of her bed. Integra could feel his weight depressing the mattress, and gave in to the urge to shift her leg just a little farther away from him.

"You have thought about that day quite often, master." To Integra's surprise, his glasses and hat suddenly erupted into thick shadow and curled themselves away into his dark hair. "But still not as often as I." His voice had become rough, and there was a hunger in it that caused an uneasy stirring deep within Integra's being.

"I suppose that this does need discussing, since you have brought it up." Integra began, forcefully pushing all emotions and misgivings to the darkest reaches of her mind. "You had better know that what happened last week was a fluke. It was an anomaly, an absurdity, and it will never happen again. I, for one, was still weak from my accident, and you," Integra paused to give Alucard an appraising once over accompanied by a sneer, "You were probably just horny."

Alucard's grin faded, and his eyes flashed with disapproval. "What a tongue you have, Integra." The grin returned soon after this statement, as it had clearly evoked a memory.

Integra felt her face growing hot with shame. "You've had your fun, little pet," she spat. "If you do not wish to leave with your tail between your legs, I suggest that you make an exit immediately."

Alucard chuckled as he felt the silver tip of a small pistol burn into the flesh of his forehead. "I'm beginning to think you rather enjoy hurting me, Master." He drew her title out like an insult, standing abruptly as he spoke. "Sweet dreams," he called mockingly as his form dissolved away, leaving Integra to her empty room.

As soon as he was gone, Integra tore her eyes from the place where he had last been and looked down at the pistol in her hands. It was shaking. Allowing a snort of disgust, she tossed the useless weapon onto the surface of the nightstand, watching it slide a little before stopping.

"I always did prefer silver over gold," she whispered derisively before turning out the light.