A/N: Hi again people!!!
…I'M SOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING ANYTHING FOR SO LOOONG!!!! ;0;
The freakin' wall of Writer's Block is so freakin' tall!!! –glares up at it—
Hehehe…I'm getting more excited about this story as I write it! Please keep reviewing; it gives me support…-nod nod-
Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!!!
Oh! By the way!!! I got a threat that Celia would hurt me! O.o My own character! Creepy!
Disclaimer: Seriously! Would the creator of an anime make fanfiction? Nooo…they'd put their ideas into the anime or manga…or make a side story!!! XD So yeah…Don't own Hellsing, Kouta Hirano does, so buzz off and read!
By the way, if anyone if out of character, please don't shoot me!! I haven't watched my DVDs for a while…so I'm not exactly sure if they'll be good or not…just let me know and tell me what I need to fix!
CHAPTER 10:
Celia couldn't believe her vampyric eyes. A museum! A huge house with a display of pictures! She stared up at the colossal building, seeing people walk in and out of the public structure. She wondered what she would get to see when they went inside. The five-year-old glanced over at Integra, her cute smile pasted on her face.
"What are we going to see—oh—um…Sir Integra?" The child asked, looking up at the leader of Hellsing thoughtfully.
Integra tensed before glancing at her, twisting the remains of her cigar in the ashtray. "This is the Imperial War Museum. Hundreds of paintings are displayed here for the public to see."
"Oh…" Celia elongated the word as she understood then turned back to look at the huge building again. Her eyes wide with curiosity, she pressed her forehead against the wall. It was just like the huge hallway at her old house—which was covered in portraits, drawings, and arts and crafts made by her siblings.
"Come along, Celia, or we'll be late."
"Uh—eh—Yes, sir!" She followed after Integra out of the car and the woman bent down, picking up the other end of the leash.
"Remember, Celia; you must behave yourself." She warned, glancing up at Walter as he climbed out of the car. "Let's go."
"Okay," The child mumbled.
Walter smiled slightly and followed them.
They walked up the huge steps towards the building. Integra and her butler walked up just fine, while Celia practically had to leap onto each step. Walter chuckled, while his mistress sighed in frustration and waited for her and the top step. The child's face turned a slight red with embarrassment and she tried to walk up normally, but nearly fell over. Finally she decided to simply climb each step on her hands and feet.
When she reached the final step, Integra immediately headed for the entrance, with Walter following after. Celia trotted after them quickly, wondering what pictures they would see. She had never visited a museum before—let alone seen a city. Her parents had talked about it, but said that she shouldn't bother, plus her age made her too young to see it anytime soon.
However, here she walked, following what she considered her new family, inside a museum! She couldn't stand the excitement; it felt so great to visit a town for the first time. Although the powerful odors of smoke and morning made her nose wrinkle, it certainly was an experience to remember. Celia giggled to herself quietly, and Walter glanced down at her with his warm smile. She returned his beam with her own, and concentrated on behaving well. So, in that train of thought, she stood straight and followed Integra—although she still kept up her happy trot, turning it into a perky march.
Integra sighed heavily. She couldn't believe that she actually decided to go through with this. Alucard had insisted—practically begged her to allow him to take her with him. It was rather amusing watching Alucard try to pull off a puppy-eyed look, but Integra stuck to her decision. His Master had closed the subject then. Alucard could not take such an innocent child to a massacre. If Celia had to join anyone, Integra would take her—she did not need to have any part in the army of Hellsing until Integra felt it the right time.
Now, she felt like she had just committed a crime, taking a child to a place that could end up dangerous. If Maxwell did bring Anderson along, Celia would end up in huge trouble. Then again, it also would depend on if they noticed her vampyric traits.
Her ice blue eyes turned up to see the same piece as before—"Wilander, Earl of Worchester, At The Battle of Mamon Plain". Painted by Kaster, it looked like a marvelous piece of work.
"I do so wonder how artists paint something like this in their lifetime." Walter asked himself aloud. Integra glanced at him, the same question entering her mind after he inquired it.
Celia stared up at the painting, sitting on the floor, her hands in front of her. "Wow…"
"Amazing, isn't it, Miss Pares?" Walter smiled, looking down at her.
"It's really big!" She pointed up at it. "Why are they carrying flags?"
"It shows which side you've chosen to fight for or support."
"Oh…" The child grew quiet, looking up at the picture.
Integra glanced at Walter, wondering what Maxwell could possibly have done to end up late to their meeting again. She looked down to the five-year-old. Celia had grown a bit bored simply sitting there, so she had turned around to face the other paintings nearby and down the hallways. If she were some type of animal, her ears would probably have gone haywire with interest at the other images.
"I suppose being late is a hobby of his now," Integra muttered, wishing she had a cigar with her.
"I must agree with you, as well as apologize for such a thing," Someone said calmly.
The leader of Hellsing turned her head before turning the rest of her body. "Enrico Maxwell. What do you want from me this time?"
The director of Iscariot's Section XII Bureau had finally arrived, along with his butler walking behind him. Integra frowned, making Maxwell's grin disappear.
"I'm very sorry, Sir Integra. If anything, I could make up for my tardy by trying to make this meeting…as short as possible."
"Alright then. Explain yourself. I want to know what you want."
"We have come here…to form a negotiations treaty, or at least try to." He bowed from his waist, knowing his manners quite well. "I realize that our last meeting was…unnecessary, what with my sending Anderson out once again to fight in your Hellsing 'territory,'"
"Get to the point, Maxwell." Integra growled lightly. "Ghouls don't wait forever now, do they?"
"Ah, but of course," He said smoothly, a light frown crossing his face. "You should not order a superior around, Integra. I know that you have much more time than you say. Don't waste it by telling me you're too busy." He glanced down towards her fists as they clenched slowly, one hand tightening around a black rope.
Maxwell blinked, pausing momentarily in his savoring of Integra's annoyance. What the—why would Integra carry a rope? His eyes followed the black item, and it started to resemble…a leash?
The other end of it led to a latch connected to a collar…
…around a child's neck.
What in God's name? A child was with Integra??
It seemed that Integra noticed his wide-eyed stare, because he saw her body move to turn towards the child as well.
Celia blinked, feeling four different pairs of eyes on her as she stared up at a picture on the opposite wall. She had concentrated so hard on the picture that she hadn't heard anything they spoke of. The small hairs on the back of her neck stood straight and she shivered. In order to find out what happened, she looked up towards Integra, and stopped as her visible eye clashed views with a man on the opposite side of the Hellsing leader.
"…nuh…" Her eyes grew larger as she stared at him. Wow…his hair is pretty…She thought to herself, noticing his long hair. With a cute smile, she bowed her head a little to Maxwell.
His emerald eyes only grew wider. What is such a child doing with Integra?! The leader of the Iscariot Organization glared up towards Integra, standing up straight from gaping at the small child.
"What is the meaning of this, Integra?!" He pointed slowly to the child. Celia jumped back a couple inches from her original seat on the floor from his sudden change in volume. "Why is there a child in your posses—?"
Before he dared to continue, he heard one of the doors into the hallway open, then close. Everyone's attention turned to the doors, except for Celia, who jumped up rapidly to hide behind Walter (Integra seeming too annoyed already to even dare try).
Integra held her breath. "What is he—?"
Paladin Alexander Anderson walked away from the doors, standing next to Maxwell's accomplice. His face looked—very surprisingly—calm, maybe even happy, if Integra ever thought of using the word to describe such an insane being.
"Ah—Anderson, it seems you could make it today," Maxwell said coolly, baring a suave smile, looking over at Integra to see her reaction. "Thank you for coming," His eyes darted down to the child as if she would jump and attack at first sight of a lowered guard.
Integra glanced towards Walter, who seemed rather shocked at Anderson's tranquil demeanor as well. Celia turned her head slightly at the voices, blinking at yet another visitor. She poked a bit of her head out from behind Walter—enough for one eye to see.
"Ah was just admirin' the afternoon for ae wee bit." He said, glancing over to Enrico with a calm smile. "Hope ah dinna waste any time for ye."
Maxwell shook his head. "No, no! No time wasted at all. Integra and I were just about to begin our meeting." He glanced towards her with a smirk. "And I believe she has brought her own guest along…"
"Whit?" Anderson frowned, growling lightly; expecting Hellsing's vampyric pet, Alucard.
However, his leader nodded down towards Integra's butler. He followed Enrico's eyes, and saw a child hiding behind Walter.
…A child…
She had burgundy-hued hair; it made him think of red wine. Her eyes (at least the one he could see) were wide with interest and fear. A patch covered the right, also surrounded by thick strands of her wine-colored hair. Adorned with the clothing of the Hellsing army, the colors bared a similar resemblance to Alucard's outfit. Her head was topped with a hat, decorated with chains, buckles, and straps. The only word he could think of to describe such a small child was…adorable—the eyes only made this fact more obvious.
However, he questioned why she was in Integra's presence. What would the Hellsing Organization want with a chil—?
Then it hit him—the red in her eye representing the very trait of a creature he despised.
"Ae vampire…" He seemed shocked at such a thing. "How--?"
"What?" Maxwell seemed just as shocked as his servant at the statement. "That child, she's—?!"
Now, it was Integra's turn to have an air of amusement. She watched them silently, glancing down at Celia as she hid herself behind Walter's leg again. With an eyebrow raised, she looked back to the leader of Iscariot and his companions.
The leader of Hellsing could tell that Anderson was trying unbelievably hard to retain his fury—his loathing of vampires—for the sake of a child's life. "How long?"
"Hmm?" Integra looked at the insane priest, amazed at his never-before-seen control. "What do you mean, Paladin?"
"Thon child…How long…How long has thon wee child been ae vampire?!"
Celia looked at him with fear, the tone of his voice not comforting her. Walter must have noticed her shivering hands, because he leaned over to pat her head for a moment to calm her.
"Barely even a week," Integra stated, craving a cigar more than ever now.
"This is an outrage!!" Maxwell hollered, stepping forward. "You're vampire collection has begun to fall out of your grasp, Integra!"
A slight smirk appeared on her face. "That's the only thing I can agree with, Enrico. I'm certain you have your own insanities crawling around, yourself?"
"You—How dare you—?!" He was cut off as Anderson approached the Hellsing trio. "Anderson!! What are you doing?"
"Let me see thon child." The priest demanded, staring down at Celia just before she disappeared behind the Hellsing butler.
"Why?" Integra asked, Walter moving a bit and enabling Celia to hide a bit better.
"…" He glared towards the Protestant woman, not bothering to give her a reason.
Her eyes narrowed in anger as his refusal to comply with an answer, but she agreed. "Fine." Looking down at Celia, she nodded towards the priest. "It's alright."
Celia—curiosity threatening to kill her (literally), cautiously sidled out from behind the Angel of Death, moving slowly up to the Iscariot Organization's trump card.
He stared at her for a moment, hatred visible, making her cower back a bit as he raised one hand. It rested on the top of her hat, relaxing as she opened her eyes and looked at the huge man before her. With a hidden smile, Anderson patted her head quickly, making her giggle as her hat fell out of place and hid her eyes from view. Her fangs showed as she smiled, bringing her hands up to readjust her hat.
Maxwell sighed heavily. "Your fondness for children is amazing, Anderson…" He looked at Integra with angry eyes. "But having a child in your possession…how could that have possibly happened?"
"The attack on the Pares family, just a week ago, was the cause. This young child is Celia Pares—the youngest of the family." She forced back a smirk, but it still showed. "Alucard had no choice. She refused to be left alone, but she didn't want to die just yet, either." Her face then grew solemn. "I had many disagreements with him, but his odd way of showing sympathy convinced me that this is how he saves a life."
"What happened to the wee lass' eye?" Anderson inquired, looking towards the Hellsing leader as if it and Iscariot had suddenly formed a peace treaty.
"The ghouls who massacred her family attacked her last—she had been hidden away within the guest house in the yard, and we arrived just as they were about to tear her apart."
Celia shrank back at the memory and stared at the floor, tears instantly rising up in her visible eye.
"The Pares family?" Maxwell contemplated her words for a moment, watching as the child rubbed her eye quickly and raised her head to meet Anderson's face with a bright smile; which made him a bit confused before he returned it with his own. (see pg. 148 of vol. 2, the fifth panel, for proof of Anderson having the ability to really SMILE!)
"Yes. Apparently the loss of her entire family and all that held value to her was also the loss of humanity."
"This—this is not acceptable, Integra. I want a complete explanation of this!"
"You'll receive it then, but it will be in a less popular area." She turned to Walter. "Please keep an eye on Celia."
"Of course, Sir Integra." He bowed as she left, Maxwell following her with furious eyes, glancing back at the child before they both disappeared around the corner to discuss the matter, as well as Celia Pares' story.
Walter and Maxwell's servant released equally exasperated sighs before watching Anderson and Celia. Though still containing a great deal of nervousness, Celia enjoyed the Paladin's company; and they had both begun to point out some paintings. She asked simplistic questions, while he answered them simply with a great deal of patience.
Celia wondered if they were supposed to be enemies—but she didn't feel unsafe or anything of the sort; Anderson made her smile just as much as her Master Alucard did.
Was it okay to get along with your enemy?