Hellsing:
Amen
by Notan Rappa
Chapter
10: Father/Daughter Chat (a.k.a. Family Values)
Integra's sleep would go undisturbed that night. Alucard
would make sure of that. 'Sleep well, master.'
Alucard got up and put his hand on the door. A quiet
flash, and a small symbol quickly appeared on the door and then
disappeared. 'No one will disturb Sir Integra's sleep
tonight.' He walked to the room in which Walter lay. He
crossed over to the bed. 'You are getting old, friend. But
you are still useful. Don't give up. Giving up is what kills
people. The moment you refuse to admit defeat, you have the
honor of transcending your humanity.' Alucard turned and
left the room and headed for Seras' room. He walked in, and was
delighted to see Seras sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for
him.
"What took you so long?" she asked,
having expected him to confront her several minutes earlier than
this.
"I was putting a seal on Integra's
door to prevent anyone from disturbing her rest." No one spoke for
a moment. Then Seras looked down at the floor, a world-weary
look crossed her face.
"I didn't mean to
kill them. I don't want to hurt any of the men, it's just
that I get so hungry, and something inside me sees them as nothing
more than cattle..."
"They are nothing
more than cattle to us, Seras. But more than that, we must be
careful not to kill them off. I meant to tell you this sooner.
Now that you are a true no-life queen, you have the power to make
ghouls...and vampires. You can only make a vampire by drinking
the blood of a virgin of the opposite sex. But you should always use
this power with reserve. If we create too many vampires, we
would kill them faster than they could reproduce. Then we have
nothing left to drink, and then we die. If we create too few,
the humans will hunt us and kill us off. It is a very fine
balance, Seras Victoria, and being a vampire yourself, it is your
responsibility to understand this. Part of that balance is that
you should never kill unless you are thirsty. Remember your
first kill in the Hellsing Organization?"
Seras thought back to the day she shot and killed a young girl
vampire, Jessica. Seras nodded.
Alucard
continued speaking. "They slaughtered entire families, drank what
they wanted, and then wasted the rest writing childish taunts on the
walls. It is vampires like that who deserve to be hunted down.
I am not like them. I understand that the balance must be
maintained. And so, I hope, will you. Do you understand, Seras
Victoria?" Seras nodded. Alucard smiled, and got up to
leave.
"Alucard..." said Seras quietly.
Alucard paused, and turned to face Seras. "Why, if humans are
nothing more than cattle to us, do you allow yourself to be ruled by
one? And don't give me that line you give to everyone else
about the control art. I've tasted your blood and I know how
strong you are and I know that you could break that control art if
you wanted to." Seras looked very distraught as the facts
were putting themselves in place. "You care for her, don't
you?" Alucard stood there for a moment, then turned for the
door. Seras stared following his movements.
'Come on, Seras!' thought Alucard as he left her room.
'Show some spine and ask me!'
"ALUCARD!" Seras nearly shouted just as Alucard turned the
corner. At first nothing happened, then Alucard walked back
into the room, saying nothing, waiting to hear the question.
"Uh...Alucard...I..." Her courage began to waver.
"Yes..." said Alucard, smiling, "...police
girl!" Seras set her face determinedly.
"Alucard, is it...odd for a vampire to fall in love?"
"HAHAHAHA!" Alucard laughed. 'So, she
finally asks it!'
"This isn't
funny, I'm serious!" Seras yelled at Alucard. Alucard
stopped laughing, but a joyful smile was still on his face.
"No, Seras. It isn't odd for a vampire to
fall in love, just a little rare nowadays. However, love for a
vampire is...slightly different than humans. It is difficult to
explain, it has to be experienced."
"Have
you ever loved anyone?" Seras asked.
'Now
there is a question I never expected!' Alucard's smile
was replaced by a pensive frown. He was quiet for a moment. "I
did...once...a long time ago."
And with
that, Alucard left the room. Seras lied down on her bed and
thought over the conversation that she had just had. Eventually,
she pushed the button that lowered the lid. As she began to
drift off to sleep she wondered how Walter was doing.
'Maybe...I'll
find out...tomorrow.'
End Chapter 10
