A/N: Yaye!!! Soooo many reviews!!! I'm so happy!! Review more! Review more! It SERIOUSLY helps a whole lot when I know that others want to see what else happens, and it inspires me to write more!
Anyway, I now dedicate this story to everyone who reads it! Thanks so much! Review pleeease!
Also, if anyone wants to suggest ideas and some possible scenes occurring (like some people—you know who you are!), it's very much welcome! And if you feel that something's missing or wrong or messed up or something, just let me know! I've tried to make the characters as in-character as possible...but with the anime...and the manga...maaah...so complicated!
Disclaimer: -sniff- I don't –sniff- own Hellsing...-sniff sniff- if I did...-sniff- It would've been longer in the anime!!! The manga and entire idea of Hellsing is owned by Kouta Hirano! The absolute genius person person...
CHAPTER 9:
When Seras had returned Celia to her room, the five-year-old had explored her new chamber for almost two hours, wondering if such a large mansion would provide hidden tunnels or secret compartments around the room. The child, before, had giggled excitedly, trotting around the room, looking around on her new, huge bed; peeking over and under the table, and crawling on the floor to look for special secrets or maybe notes that left clues behind.
It ended up with no such luck.
"Aww..." She pouted a little, her cheeks puffing up slightly with her huff. "Poo..." She rested herself on the floor, wishing her recently remembered penguin stuffed animal could suddenly appear in her small arms. In an honest and slightly annoyed fashion, she sighed—proving that she had become bored in the couple of hours she explored her room.
Perhaps she could find her Master or Mr. Walter. Both of them seemed to know the huge building like the palm of their hands. With a resolute nod, she lifted herself up off the floor. Stumbling a little as her legs regained feeling in them (she was sitting on them funny), she walked up to her door. Pausing, she realized that she would simply get lost again if she dared to leave the room.
Celia glanced around frantically and suddenly smiled with accomplishment as she ran up to the table and picked up a spoon. "Hee!" She giggled and held it in front of her triumphantly before running back to the door. As she walked out of the room, she bent down to the floor and dropped the spoon between the heavy door and the wall. It forced the entrance to stay slightly open, making it different from the other doors.
"There...um—," She glanced around. "I hope no one picks it up..." The child backed up a bit, away from the door; and smiled to herself at her success. The door remained a bit open. With this in mind, she glanced around the dark hallway, seeing a couple of other doors. "eh..." She clutched her hat in her hands, then snapped her head down to look at it. "Oh!" Another smile spread across her face and she dropped the hat onto the ground right in front of the door. "Now I can find it again!"
With that, she turned and walked down the corridor, sure of the fact that she could find her way out of the huge maze of stone. She glanced around the dank area, hoping she could find someone this time without getting into some kind of trouble. After a few more minutes, she finally found the stairs leading to the first floor. Happy once again, she climbed up the steps and peeked out from behind the small partition again before trotting into the huge foyer.
Her vampyric red eye looked all around the large room, glancing towards the stairs. "I wonder if—eh...Sir Integra would let me come in..." She walked to the stairs, staring up at the huge incline, trying to come up with a decision. "..."
Clenching her small hands into fists, she walked up the stairs, occasionally slipping on the soft carpeted steps with a high-pitched squeak. She glanced around to make sure no one had started to watch her out of entertainment, then finished her trek up to the second floor.
Once she had rested her feet on a flat plain of carpet, she stared up at the large doors leading to Sir Integra's office. Or—had she entered her room before? Celia scrunched her face up as she tried to remember. Uh-oh...if she had gotten lost again, she'd never hear the end of it from her conscience.
However, the sound of a door opening made her snap her eyes open and look up at the double-doors with wide eyes.
Walter had opened the doors, rolling a serving table out of the room. The child had no idea what could possibly sit on top of such a moving table, but she had become too excited about seeing Walter again to care. "Ha—Mr. Walter!" She put on an adorable smile and waved when he looked down towards her.
"Oh! Good evening again, Miss Pares. I hope you've found everything here to your liking?" His warm smile answered her own and she nodded.
"Yeah! I like it here...but it's really big..."
"Ah, yes. It's hard for everyone when they first arrive. After a few days, though, I'm sure you'll be quite used to it."
"Okay!"
Right when Walter had started to speak again, the other door had burst open and Seras had stomped out, looking at Walter. "Can you believe the nerve of my Master?! Yes, let's just send out poor Celia into the field of battle so she can die of an impossible-to-get-at-this-age heart attack!"
"Miss Victoria, please relax." Walter raised both hands as a gesture to add to his suggestion, trying to calm her down. "I do not approve of his wishes either, but it all must depend on Sir Integra's choice, not Alucard's."
"B-But...But it's an outrage! Why would he want to send someone so innocent out to kill ghouls?!" Seras threw her arms out to either side of her in frustration and had turned to leave before stopping as she saw Celia. "oh—,"
The child—entirely lost at their conversation—simply smiled and gave her a small wave. "Hi, sister!"
"Eh—," Seras smiled nervously as Walter glanced at her with a questioning expression before giving her a knowing beam.
"Well, I should be off then." He pulled the rolling tray out of the doors and glanced down at the little five-year-old. "By the way, Miss Pares...Sir Integra needs to see you in just a few minutes. Right now, she's still speaking with Alucard." His monocle flashed as he stood up straight. "Wait for just a moment, and she'll call you in."
"Oh—um...Yes, Mr. Walter!" She nodded quickly, adding a salute that slapped her in the temple. Victoria glanced at the doors, hearing Integra yelling, with Alucard's occasional chuckle.
Seras giggled, looking down at the child. "I'll stay with Celia until Sir Integra calls her, Walter," She volunteered, waving Walter good-bye.
"Alright, Miss Victoria. Oh—and could you take her back to her room once she's finished speaking with Sir Integra?"
"Yes, sir!" The Police Girl nodded to confirm her words and glanced down at the girl with a smile.
When Walter left, Seras sat down besides Celia with a relaxed sigh. "Are you alright, Celia?"
"Mm-hmm!" She nodded with a bright smile. "I like this place...there's lots of hiding places."
So she does like hide-and-seek...Seras thought, stretching her arms. "You don't think it's too gloomy or dark?"
The child blinked and cocked her head to one side. "Gloomy?"
"Yeah...the Hellsing Manor wasn't exactly built to house little children..."
"Oh—but...I can be an adult!" She stood up straight, just like a soldier, remembering what Walter taught her. "See? I'll be a small adult!"
"Eheh..." Victoria grinned uncertainly. "Well..."
"And Master Alucard's gonna be here, right?" Celia smiled, showing her newly received fangs as she plopped herself back down on the floor. "If I ever get scared...he can scare everything else away!"
"Uh...I suppose," Seras frowned lightly. He would just enjoy her crying...Why does she put so much faith in him?
Just as she opened her mouth, the double doors opened slowly, Sir Integra standing between them, Alucard sitting within the office with his legs propped up on a table. "Celia Pares, please come in,"
The five-year-old jumped in alarm and nodded quickly. "Yes!" She scrambled up to her feet again, running after Integra.
Seras stepped towards the doors, but Integra turned her cold, ice blue eyes towards her. "Seras, prepare for our next mission."
"Oh—but..."
"I must meet with Maxwell today while you're gone. Celia..." Integra sighed, pulling off her large glasses while she massaged the bridge of her nose. "Will be joining me."
"...What?" Seras cried. "To see Maxwell?! What if Paladin Anderson's there?!"
"I have no choice in the matter. It's either she stays here by herself; joins you and sees death before she even recognizes it, or come with Walter and I."
"Ah—but—she..."
"We won't have any more discussion of this, Seras Victoria. Prepare for your mission."
Police Girl sighed and saluted quickly. "Yes, sir." And she turned, sprinting down the stairs for her room in the underground floors.
Integra turned to the office and walked inside, closing the door behind her.
"Celia Pares," She started, taking a seat in the large chair behind the desk. "You will be visiting a museum with Walter and me, today. We will be meeting with Enrico Maxwell to discuss a supposed treaty he promises me." The leader of Hellsing slowly picked up a cigar from near the ashtray and brought it to her lips. "In a way that Alucard puts it—you'll be..." The woman sighed, hating Alucard's grin with a passion as she struggled to say it aloud, "a pet for the day."
The child blinked and scratched the back of her head. "P-pet? You mean...like—like a puppy?"
Alucard sat up from his seat. "Come over here, Little Fledgling..."
She blinked and approached him, seemingly lost in yet another conversation.
"You're going to a place where they show a lot of pictures." He smirked as her eyes lit up—she must like art. "The Police Girl and I have to attend to something else, so you have to stay with Walter and my Master."
"O-okay..." She nodded lightly in obedience and glanced up at Sir Integra then back to her Master. "Um—could I bring some snacks?"
"Walter might bring some if Sir Integra allows it, okay?" He ruffled her hair quickly as she bobbed her head in agreement and he stood up, towering over her. "I suppose my preparation is required..." He glanced at Integra with his usual smirk. "I'll see you after the mission, Miss Hellsing,"
Integra growled warningly as he left through the wall then stood up slowly, approaching Celia. "You'll have to wear this, otherwise Maxwell will think you can run rampant." She slipped a thick leather collar around Celia's neck, hiding it behind her shirt collar. After that, she clipped it to a long, thin leash. "This isn't permanent, so bare with us, otherwise we cannot form some type of deal with Maxwell. Do you understand, Celia?"
"Um—y-yes!" She nodded quickly, tempted to make some type of obedient animal noise, like a bark or meow or something.
However, Integra's ice blue eyes gave her the warning not to mess around.
Somehow it reminded her of her mother—but she had bright green eyes.
Either way, Celia felt like she was home again. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of home. The woman looked down at the fledgling and raised an eyebrow at the smile before walking out of the room; allowing Celia to simply run around with the leash dragging on the floor behind her for now.
With a giggle, Celia jumped onto her feet and ran excitedly after her Master's Master.
As they walked towards the huge doors that Celia had seen before, Walter come up (out of nowhere by the way) and handed Celia some large sunglasses with dark blue, slightly rainbow-y lenses. "You'll need these, Miss Pares. I'm afraid becoming a vampire has many disadvantages that you have yet to learn of."
"Okay!" She took the sunglasses with a small hand and glanced up at Integra as she knelt down to take the other end of the leash.
I don't even know why I'm doing this...Integra thought furiously to herself. This is madness...Her appearance will be more of a disturbance than a strategy to form this so-called treaty! The leader of Hellsing stepped into the car, then lifted Celia up into it when she struggled to climb in on her own. Walter sat in the driver's seat, starting up the car.
The Master of a monster couldn't believe how excited Celia looked. It seemed like she had never seen shops or museums before—like she had never left her house. Now, the child had run up to the opposite window that Integra sat, staring out into the world, her sunglasses protecting her sensitive vampire eyes (or eye) from the sun.
What seemed so great about seeing the outside world? Had it become a childish curiosity or had Celia simply never gone outdoors? Whatever answer, Integra became too occupied concentrating on how to handle her meeting with Maxwell.
Hopefully no trouble arose from their conference. Sir Integra had no other choice but to drag the child along—she'd end up by herself in the manor if they left her behind. Alucard would try to get her to become some bloodthirsty psycho as soon as possible, and going along with Seras Victoria would simply scar the young child's mind with nightmares.
If she had made the right choice then hopefully proof would show up before Celia gained another injury, or Hellsing's only choice for an ally disappeared.
--- What will happen when Celia meets one of Hellsing's highest rated rivals and only choice for an ally? What insult will Maxwell come up with for Integra other than Protestant Sow? Will Alucard come to save the day if something goes horribly wrong? What mission were they sent on, and is Anderson going to make an appearance? Find out next time, on The Vampyric Toddler, Chapter 10! n.n