A/N: On with the story! Yup yup! Sorry for making it rather short this time!
Disclaimer: …I don't own Hellsing! Yeesh! Ay yi yi…if only I did though…hehehe
CHAPTER 12:
Integra stood by the banister of the stairs, moving a cigar around in her mouth, the only thing set a light throughout the foyer. It was midnight, Alucard was wide awake, as well as Seras. Celia had fallen asleep, or so she heard from the elder vampire when he had arrived in her office, declaring boredom, hunger, and the love of teasing his master.
She now stared down at the double doors at the entrance of the manor, her icy, azure eyes glittering just slightly from the moon as it passed through the large windows above the doors. He was coming. The cigar hissed and sizzled quietly as she took a whiff of it, the blaze lighting up her eyes, making them look yellow from afar before returning to a cold blue. Anderson would arrive in mere moments—to greet both the vampires and the leader he would be working with for a month or more.
How could I do this? What was I thinking when I agreed to this "peace treaty" of Maxwell's…demanding that I allow his little priest to waltz around my manor like a tourist? Her teeth clamped against the cigar, one hand that rested against the stone banister clenching into a tight fist, the other resting within a coat pocket. If he causes any problems…damage, death, changes to my soldiers' or warriors' daily lives…I will make sure to shoot him thrice in the heart without hesitation, and then hunt Enrico down myself.
Turning her head, she heard a dark chuckle from the darkest corner of the second floor, an irritated groan escaping her throat. "Alucard. Excited, are you?"
"Was it so obvious, my Master?"
"It's rather amusing. I don't see why you would want the Paladin to come here," She returned her gaze to the entry doors, lifting her head just slightly towards the windows—her eyes raising to them as she heard a crash of thunder—the storm Walter had mentioned to her that morning had arrived at last.
"His presence is not in my favor, Sir Hellsing…I await his visit for the sake of dear little Celia. She seemed to…enjoy his company while you were at the museum." The king of the night laughed, his shoulders shaking slightly as he effortlessly slipped through the wall, taking his place by his master's side. "He is fond of children, or so I've heard."
"Anderson owns his own orphanage." She stated bluntly.
Alucard shrugged, smirking. "Celia mentioned something of the look on his face when he realized her fate…did you see it as well, my Master?"
"Yes, I did actually. That was one reason why I feared her joining me as well. If he had lost control of his fuming hatred, she may have not returned."
"That, I am aware of." The monster released yet another chuckle. "But with you…as well as Walter there, I was certain Celia would return with no scars."
"I'm surprised you'd put so much trust in a human," She raised an eyebrow, turning her head towards him.
"Not always. However, I do so love putting so much faith into my Master…" Alucard grinned maniacally, while Integra frowned, turning away as she heard four loud knocks on the door.
"…"
"…"
They both stood there silently, gazing down at the door.
Three knocks this time—harder than before, angrier. Alucard hid a laugh and Integra raised an eyebrow.
"Rather touchy, isn't he?" The nosferatu smirked, soon disappearing into the wall again. "I will summon the Police Girl and my Little Fledgling…"
Integra only nodded her acknowledgement of his instant schedule.
She stared down at the door, watching Walter calmly stride to the huge doors, which were hit by five knocks with a loud yell of passion for the death of the wood on the doors. The leader of Hellsing couldn't help but snort at the near inaudible comment.
Walter opened the door, looking up at Anderson's towering form—just as tall as Alucard. "Welcome, Sir Paladin, please come inside. Integra has been waiting. Alucard and his servants will join us in a moment."
"Aye." He nodded, harrumphing gruffly as he unceremoniously dropped his one baggage to the floor, sopping wet. With one hand, he brushed his fingers through his soaked hair, glancing around the manor in disgust. So this was Hellsing's fortress.
As he looked around listlessly, he lifted his head up towards Integra, watching her as she slowly descended down the stairs, her teeth clenching a half-finished cigar. His green eyes were squinted as he glared at her, questions running through his mind regarding the young child he had met before.
"I'm sure you are curious to know your proper chamber…" She started, glancing at Walter, who nodded about his room—without being questioned; he answered her inquiry about the preparation of Anderson's room.
"Ah just need to be pointed in the right direction," He grumbled, lifting his bag back into one hand. The Hellsing leader nodded in compliance and Walter pointed down a large hallway.
"…Thanks." His appreciation seemed to be forced out of his entire being, and he made his way through the corridor easily, finding his room because the door was open.
Also there, was the puny excuse for a monster.
Celia was peeking into the room curiously, clinging to the door, standing on the other side of it; so he could barely see her body, just her head and her fingers clutching the entrance. She looked so innocent…the only thing truly vampyric of her were her eyes—a piercing blood red, whether she wished to frighten someone or not, she would succeed either way.
Her cheeks were slightly red, her fangs protruding just slightly from her mouth. Anderson's worst fear for the child had come true.
A five-year-old was drinking blood. Even the thought of it gave him a nasty taste in his mouth—possibly bile or maybe some type of adrenal disgust. Her rosy cheeks proved that her stomach was full of the stuff.
Why? Why did she become a vampire—she had a severe eye wound that was all; why did that monster have to change her into…into a blood-lusting creature of the night!
When he snapped back to reality, he finally realized that Celia was staring at him with wide eyes; wide, red eyes.
"Ah—uh…mm…" She seemed to lose her ability to speak, so she waved happily, smiling up at him as if he had been living in the mansion all along.
He almost lifted his hand to return her gesture…he had almost released a smile to reply to hers.
However, the foul monster who turned her appeared on the other side of the corridor—his other fledgling running up. "Celia! Come over here, Celia!" She called out, kneeling down to lift her up as the child seemed to waddle up to her like a duckling, her arms raised, waiting to be picked up, an ecstatic grin upon her face. The priest could barely hear her soft whisper of "sister".
Seras couldn't help but release a smile, and stood up straight, looking at the Paladin with cautious eyes, taking a few steps back closer to her master.
Anderson snarled as he glared at Alucard down the hallway, his emerald eyes clashing with the beast's crimson. "…"
The nosferatu smirked, gliding up behind Seras. "We hope that you enjoy your stay here, Catholic…" He bowed, almost to insult him. "Our hospitality has not been tested yet; let us hope this experiment lasts."
Seras sighed a bit, hopelessly, while the child in her arms seemed lost yet aware of what was going on. Anderson could see it in the girl's eyes—she knew that they were enemies.
But…was she questioning such a state of instability—why they had to be enemies? At such an age, she probably couldn't even comprehend hatred or the meaning of enemies and opposite sides. It must've looked rather silly to her.
Alucard grinned, looking down at Celia, picking her up out of Seras' arms. "Hello, my Little Fledgling…" He purred softly, pulling off his hat and resting it on top of her head. She giggled and looked up at him with a bright, pure smile.
Seras blinked up at her master with bewilderment at his odd tone of voice. Celia only giggled as the hat fell over her eyes again, hiding almost her entire skull. "Master!" With both hands, she pushed it up, looking at the elder with her wide, sparkling eyes of ruby wine, her large-canine teeth glistening in the dark as she beamed.
The priest stood, watching with some amount of horror and a trace of compassion, staring at the child. "…" Snapping back to his stern, malicious personality, he tightened the grip around his baggage and swiftly moved into his chamber, slamming the heavy door shut as if it were made of a light wood.
Celia flinched at the loud sound, while Seras blinked and Alucard simply grinned. "Master, why does Anderson have to be here, anyway?"
Turning around, still carrying the child in one arm, the Nosferatu shrugged carelessly. "Who can say…only Sir Integra and Maxwell know—perhaps you can ask one of them."
With a sigh, Seras nodded, expecting as much, before walking after him. "What should we do? Having the Paladin here might cause a problem for us…"
"That's right,"
"So shouldn't we take some defensive measures? Maybe we could have everyone arm themselves with pistols and such,"
"It would be wise," The tallest of the three smirked, glancing towards the Police Girl. "But it wouldn't be any fun…"
"Masterrr…" Seras pouted slightly, annoyed already by his violent, playful attitude.
"Police Girl," He growled the "r" slightly with his tongue, which made Celia, silent yet confused, giggle.
"Celia might be in the greatest danger, wouldn't you think? I mean…Anderson really hates you, hates me…"
"And is still arguing with himself over Celia's fate," Alucard chuckled, patting Celia's back as she yawned, rubbing her healthy eye. "He does not hate her, nor does he love her—it's a neutral thing at this point. She is, in fact, in the least amount of danger out of the three of us,"
"…" The strawberry-blonde/red-haired (your choice) vampire fledgling looked up at him. "Neutrality isn't a good thing, Master…Like Elie Weisel said—'Neutrality helps the oppressor, not the victim.'"
"Ah—but who's the oppressor, and who is the victim?"
Seras frowned, her whole train of thought ruined by his constant questions after every statement. "I'm trying to make a point!"
The Little Fledgling pulled Alucard's hat off her head and looked up at Seras. "…Sister…is Mr. Anderson a bad person?" (…I suppose it's a pun now, shush…)
Alucard kept walking, as if he didn't wish to answer the question. His elder fledgling looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Well—he's…not part of Hellsing…he's killed many of our organization's soldiers; we call him an enemy."
"How come?" She cocked her head to one side, making it lean against Alucard's arm, her visible red eye wide with curiosity.
"…Well—I…well, I don't know," Seras admitted. "You'll have to ask someone else…"
They both considered asking the suddenly silent Alucard, but chose against it.
Alucard had a dark, menacing grin on his face for some reason.
Paladin Alexander growled in fury, clenching and unclenching his fists repetitively as he paced around his chamber.
It was a large room, filled with furniture, though it still had plenty of floor space. A bed was on the opposite wall of the door, next to a nightstand with a clock, an empty frame, a bible, and a statuette of the cross. Near the door, a fire place stood; the flames within it licking the brick and wood, "whooshing" and faintly crinkling against steel and block. Right by the other side of the door stood a tall mahogany dresser, where he had deposited his bag. A lamp and a row of books covered its counter, the books mainly concerning vampires, werewolves, and other night-creatures.
Why was he even here? He gritted his teeth together in frustration, soon giving up his tempered pacing and sitting on the bed. Before he departed for such a dank, unwanted manor, he had constantly hassled Maxwell of his presence there—what would it possibly do to permit them to finally destroy the Hellsing organization?
However, the leader of Iscariot's Section XIII bureau would only shake his head and smirk, stating that the sow's divine punishment would come in good, long time. For now, they had to form an alliance.
…Why?
Even Maxwell said he couldn't answer that.He and Integrahad formed a peace treaty almost psychically, as if they both sensed something horrible was to happen soon. If only they could tell him exactly what so he could take care of the situation immediately.
Shaking his head, Anderson tried to change the subject. He failed to make it a better one.
His thoughts returned to the small, newest vampire. Celia Pares, a child who lost her family at such a young age, was now the youngest vampire he had ever known—or cared to know, for that matter. Why had Alucard changed her? Had he given her the choice? Did he pity her like Anderson would have while she was still human? What kind of life would she possibly lead now, as a miniature blood-sucker? Would they force her to become a weapon of Hellsing's military?
No…he would not allow it; under any circumstances. She was already drinking blood; her position in an army would be disastrous. Even as a newborn vampire, she would still snap into a berserk personality and somehow manage to tear humans to shreds without a second thought or regret. Would her master be able to help her then? Perhaps he and the monster of a man could have some sort of "peace treaty" themselves, so Celia's innocence could be preserved rather than corrupted by Alucard's insanity and thousands-of-years experience.
What the? Great. Now he was starting to think of alliances, as well as saving the life of an enemy.
…An enemy. Did he really think that of her? He shut his emerald eyes with an angry growl; perturbed, disgusted, and worried. She was a child—no more than six—not a soldier he could kill without regret by the blessed silver of his bayonets.
What was he supposed to do here?
Perhaps come up with another way of strengthening the cursed coalition. Otherwise he could find Celia and somehow try to keep her purity intact while he was at hand.
With all of his beliefs, powers, and soul, he hoped that even Alucard's other fledgling would do the same—she seemed humanoid enough to hold onto it, why wouldn't she help another?
If only he could somehow accept her as a real child and return with her to the orphanage…
But that would cause weakness for her, and fear and hatred from the other orphans he took care of.
Christ, why did she become a vampire…?