There was no door to Alucard's room. In this way, only Alucard could reach it, and thus avoid the possibility of someone discovering his coffin as he slept. He had few fears, and none that he would ever admit. But in his coffin, he was vulnerable.

It was a tiny room, much smaller then Seres's room, without any light source and with no furniture except his coffin. The coffin itself was actually inside an elevated stone vault, which contained the necessary soil from his homeland.

This was his home. No one could ever disturb him here, not his enemies and not even his master. It wasn't exactly a secret place, however. He had brought Integra here once, against her will. She was still very small then and she hadn't been his master for very long. He couldn't exactly remember the circumstances, but he had needed to hide her somewhere during battle, and he needed to put her where she couldn't run into trouble. And he trusted she would look for trouble, proud master that she was.

He smiled a bit, caressing the bag. She was furious when he left her.

The most rewarding part, though, was going back for her after the fighting was done and seeing how frazzled she was. She thought he would leave her in the stone prison with no way out, as her father had left him imprisoned. The mix of emotions on her face when he returned—relief mostly, but also a little fear at realizing she was still trapped with him, and then happiness because she at least wasn't alone anymore—he still carried that image in his mind.

She'd fumbled around in the pitch black for a while as he watched and enjoyed his own ability to see and her ability to trip and fall down and look appropriately embarrassed. "Can you see me?" she asked sheepishly.

"Yes," he replied, leaning against the wall and making no move to make his exact position known.

She heaved a frustrated sigh, holding her hands out and taking little swipes at the air until her fingers touched cold rock. She pressed her body against the wall, facing him without knowing, and closed her useless eyes. "If you're here, I suppose it's all over up there."

"I had enough. There wasn't anything left that amused me. So, how do you like my little home?"

"Get me out of here already, Alucard." Integra spun around, aiming her voice in every direction. She flopped back against the stone wall, titled her chin up and looked despairingly at the ceiling and waited impatiently for Alucard to reply. He didn't, to spite her. She stomped her foot. "Alucard! What is it?!"

Alucard's head cocked slightly, like a curious dog. Oh, now she sounded like she was on the verge of breaking down. Should be fun. Just to see how she'd react, he hesitated.

She snapped. "ALUCARD!? What in the fuck are you waiting for? I need to get out of here! I need to be out there! I need to fix this mess!"

As usual, Alucard didn't have to do anything to cause his master's tantrum, but of course in her mind he was cause of the whole catastrophe. Hmph, some catastrophe. A dozen or less dead guards. That was nothing. If only Alucard could begin to give his new master an idea of the armies of undead he'd mowed down for sport, the countless humans and ghouls crushed under his boot. Alucard smiled affectionately at the little girl running in circles before him. Over a couple humans. He couldn't suppress his laughter.

The laughter finally gave away his position some and Integra whirled to face the direction of his voice. "What the hell is so funny?!"

"You're just…" Alucard pinched his sinuses to keep the ghost-tears at bay. "You're so damn cute."

"You bastard!" Integra was frazzled. "How dare you patronize me at a time like this?"

"Again!" Alucard wiped away an escaping, bloody tear. "You'll see in time this is nothing. Just a fraction of a night's work." He sighed, recomposing himself. "You'll get used to it."

Apparently, Integra decided to give up on controlling Alucard for a moment. "Did anyone die?" she asked, surrendering.

"A lot of people," he told her proudly. So many of those deaths had been due to his masterful touch.

"Our men?"

"Well, they did start attacking before I knew they were here."

"I see." Poor thing sounded so tired. She stepped away from the wall, her arms wrapped around her body. Alucard paid close attention to how her hair spilled over her shoulders and hid her shamed face. As Integra crossed the room, she met the vault at the other side. She placed her hands on the lid. "I was wondering what this was before. It's you're coffin, isn't it?"

Alucard stood up straight. His mood plummeted, his smile vanished. "It's inside." He didn't like anyone poking around inside his coffin.

"Can I see?" she asked, curiously lifting the vault lid to expose the coffin inside.

"Well, you can't see much of anything, can you?" He went to her and put his hands around her wrists. The sudden and unexpected contact made Integra jump. Alucard lifted her hands off the vault. "I don't like anyone touching it."

She had found his glowing red eyes and stared at them. "What's wrong?"

"It's mine!" he shouted at her, causing her to recoil. He arched over her, glaring down at his little master. "Don't touch it! Don't ever touch it!" His hands were curled into claws, and his teeth were clamped tightly together and it was he could do to keep himself from snarling. He turned around and placed his gloved hands protectively against the polished wooden lid of his coffin, smoothing his finger tips against the smooth surface to remove Integra's dirty finger prints.

A whole minute passed without either of them moving or saying anything.

Then Integra stepped forward and slammed her fist down on the coffin lid with a resounding "crack!"

Alucard jumped.

Then he looked at his master's face.

Integra was staring defiantly at the coffin, and the hairline crack that had formed on the surface.

"I want to hit you," she said in a low, boiling voice, "but I thought you deserved this more." Her eyes met his. "You can spin me in circles all you want. You can make fun of me for having compassion for the fallen soldiers who looked to me for direction when I wasn't there." There were tears in her eyes, but they were frozen in her icy glare and would not fall. "But I'll get you back for everything. Don't ever yell at me like that again."

Another minute passed and neither vampire nor little girl moved or glanced in another direction.

Alucard's blood was on fire, his skin was crawling with hellhounds eager to rip a certain child's throat. But then…this was good. Standing before him was the true master he served; angry, dominating, without a trace of fear. This was the master he served, not that sniveling child she had been a moment ago. And by her expression, and by the smug smile growing on her face, she knew exactly what she had done.

From that day forward, there was no question who was the stronger person between them. Alucard grudgingly accepted his place, and although he frequently tested his bindings, Integra was always quick to shorten the leash. It was the first time Alucard had ever felt enslaved. He had served Hellsing for two generations before her, but no master until Integra made him feel so trapped.

That had been so long ago. Had Alucard been wiser, and he secretly admitted to himself he was not half as clever or self-disciplined as humans gave him credit for, he might have seized the opportunity at that moment to make his fiery little master his servant and concubine. It was only later Alucard realized how stupidly he had acted in the basement, to have tormented her rather then seduce her. He could have kept her there a little while. She was still a little frightened enough and a little too excited to see him…he could have convinced her to drink his blood then. But he had been oblivious to the opportunity and it slipped by. Better that it did, or she wouldn't have grown up. She would make a much better vampire now, anyways. However, after all the years, she had grown cold and bitter. She'd never allow herself to be so vulnerable around him again, not like the way she did when she was a child.

Now the closest he might ever be to that sweet taste again was a warm, not even hot, medical bag full of Integra's blood.

Alucard pressed the little blood bag against his chest. He had relaxed into nostalgia, remembering how cute and foolish his master had once been. It shamelessly excited him.

Touching the bag, he could feel the heat sapping, but it was still warm. Heat leeched through his clothing, making the rest of the room that much colder. He dipped his face and pressed his mouth against the plastic. He couldn't smell the blood through the plastic the way he could smell blood through flesh, but he could pretend.

Here, and only here, in his doorless resting chamber, he could pretend he had a live victim subdued in his embrace, and with no one watching, who would know?