Let it Rain
Walter was out of town; it usually wasn't such a big deal. It meant little changes in Integra's schedule, but nothing the 14 year-old couldn't handle. Infact, she enjoyed the change of routine. He would be gone for a week, he said; he knew she would be okay. As for that 500 and something year-old vampire, well, he and the young--but sharp--Integra had come to an understanding at some point. Alucard adored her; it was so obvious. He spent every waking hour with her or watching her. She allowed it; she enjoyed it even. It was nice not to be so alone and he provided her with a walking library, capable of spitting out stories and tidbits of information she found amusing and interesting. He was still a monster and she was well aware of it. He stayed out of her room if she stayed away from his coffin. And she did. Though she was master, though she had every right, she didn't touch his precious coffin. She joked and called it his "girl-friend" around him, to which he would grin and play along, revelling in her laughter whenever he managed to pull some out of her. She never let it get out of hand though; she never allowed the monster to manipulate her. She was a 14 year-old but had to act like a twenty-something year old because of her position as a Knight. It was depressing sometimes; that was why little changes and new challenges piqued her interest.
Today was the first day that Walter was gone. Integra had had to wake up early, eat a quick breakfast, and ride her bike to private school which was just a little ways down the road. It had been a beautiful morning; the cool air and the breeze on her ride only enhanced her mood and she reached the private school right on time.
Coming home, however, was the complete opposite. It was pouring rain when the school bell rang and Integra had to wait until it slacked off some. Meanwhile, she was very hungry, missing her afternoon tea and a snack. She eventually had to leave; she knew she'd be there until sundown if she tried to wait for the rain to slow down. So she set off begrudgingly down the road, thankful that at least most of the way was somewhat downhill. The rain was cold and she was constantly having to wipe off her glasses. It was times like these, she hated her school for making her wear these uniforms. The school issued a white blouse and a navy and green plaid skirt that covered her down to about mid-thigh.With this she had to wear black shoes. She chose to wear boots; they were easier to run in than any kind of dressy shoe. Right now the shirt was getting soaked; everything was getting soaked. It was so degrading. To jerk her from her thoughts, a car drove past her coming from behind, drove way too close to her, and sent a spray of cold rain water up onto her whole body. She yelled out a few choice curse words, but continued on her way, staring hopefully into the distance at her mansion's dark roof top.
Integra parked her bike then had to run around to the front of the house, where she stood and fumbled with the keys, relieved when the door finally swung open and she stepped inside. She closed the door, mentally damning the dark clouds and the dreary, gray day. She stood in silence for a moment, just listening to the sound of the water droplets hitting the floor below her. She was soaked down to the skin, her hair sticking in blonde streaks to the side of her face. Her stomach growled. She growled in response. She took off her wet shoes and sopping socks and set them, just for now, by the umbrellas beneath the coat rack. Standing back up, her eys scanned across a certain dark coat. Her father's coat. It had been two years; why was it still hanging here. She touched it softly, noted the dust collecting on the fabric. Is that what all his stuff was now? Dust collectors? She imagined her father's face. He wasn't smiling, though. It was how she had seen him at the viewing. He was dead. And then an image of him again; this time, his features were covered by a thick layer of dust. Did dust collect inside coffins? She wondered. But it stung to think like that. NO, she thought suddenly, and then, in a fit, she lashed out with both wet hands and furiously wiped the dust off his coat. Dust. It settled on old things. Things forgotten. But her father wasn't forgotten. No, she would never forget him, she screamed inside her head.
Suddenly, a pair of white gloves reached out from behind her and quickly grabbed hold of her wrists, one tiny wrist in each huge hand. They stilled her frantic sweeping, bringing her hands down gently to her sides. She took a deep breath, mortified that he had caught her upset like this.
"Master, did it hurt you?"
She stiffened. Hurt? "Wha--?"
" Did the coat offend you? Should I kill it, Master?" she got it now. She couldn't help but grin. She looked up and into the gleaming, red eyes of her vampire, Alucard. He grinned back down at her and chuckled. "What is your bidding...Master?" Finally, she laughed. It was small. A chuckle, really, but the mood swing from before vanished and her face brightened. Alucard spun her around, still holding her wrists, only more gently now. He kneeled down to grin up at her from under his huge, red hat. "Bad day?"
She shook her head. " My day was fine for the most part. It was this awful weather that screwed it up. I'm cold. I'm wet. I'm hungry." She grinned. "Guess I just had to take it out on something." He nodded and looked her up and down. Integra looked down and could clearly see the top of her bra through her shirt. Oh damn!, she thought. She saw Alucard smirk. His grip tightened a bit around her wrists. No you don't! she thought, tearing her hands away and covering her chest while she whipped around and ran to the stairs. She felt his fingers brush her waist. It had begun, their little game of cat and mouse. The whole point was to avoid Alucard, who would always try to stop Integra from reaching her room. He was male, after all; not even the seals could prevent him from sneaking peeks at his soaked and semi-transparent master. "Go away!" she yelled.
A blur of shadow raced by her on the stairs and began to materialize infront of her, but he wasn't quick enough; she dodged to his right, just under an arm as it was beginning to form. She heard a chuckle as she rounded the corner and immediately she veered to the other side of the hall, away from a pair of arms that had shot through the wall, groping. "Damn vampire! You're so perverted!" She was close to her room now. A few more yards. The hallway was getting darker; Integra sped up and reached out her hand to grab the door knob when she got to it.
Suddenly, a shadowy extension wrapped around her waist and pulled her gently, but fordibly backwards. "So close," she groaned.
"Ah. But not close enough, I'm afraid," said his silky, deep voice. "My master, you're soaking. You could catch a cold."
"So let me go so I can change," she matched his sing song tone but underlying her own was a hint of aggravation.
"You said you were hungry?" He was hiding something; she could tell.
"I did."
"And cold?"
"Yah."
"If I let you go, will you join me in the library after you change? I'll bring those biscuits Walter always serves you."
"What if I feel like doing something else instead?"
He didn't say anything, just shrugged and started to walk off, his shadowy tentacle still wrapped around her, yanking her down the hall.
"Okay! Fine!" the tentacles released her and Alucard walked away through a wall. She sighed and jogged back to her room door.
Integra walked to the library dry except for her hair, which she combed and now lay damp down her back. She wasn't wearing her glasses; she didn't need them all the time. Not in her own house and especially not when she was just doing nothing. She rubbed at her face, trying to remove any sign that she had been crying. Unknown to everyone else, two years ago today, her father had died in a bloody, coughing fit. Integra could still see his spasming figure in her mind; it wouldn't leave her. Seeing the coat had triggered an emotional slide show of pictures. She tried to think of other things, but her mind kept wandering back to him.
"I thought I was going to have to come and get you." Alucard was sitting in one of two high-backed chairs by the fireplace.
"You wouldn't do that."
"No?"
"Nope. I'd shoot you."
"True. You would."
Integra smirked, mirroring his own, and plopped down in the open chair. Before her, on a small table, was a tray of biscuits. No tea, though. Oh well,she was hungry. She picked one up and sat back. Alucard watched her tear a piece off. Suddenly, the hearth just feet away from them, exploded in a burst of flames that licked the outer bricks. Integra jumped slightly and glared at Alucard who only chuckled and shrugged. "You were cold."
Integra tore off half of her snack and ate it quickly, watching Alucard watching her. "Well?" she asked.
Alucard removed his hat, his glasses, and set them on the table infront of them. He then leaned back more in his chair, getting more comfortable. "Your eyes shine. I can't tell if it's just because you're not wearing your glasses or...or if you've been crying."
"Maybe I just have shiny eyes."
"Are you sad about something?"
"You're not my psychiatrist, Alucard."
"Do you need one?" He smirked, a fang peeking out from under his lip.
"I'm talking to a vampire...I'm bound to have problems if I talk to vampires."
A low chuckle.
Integra popped the last piece of biscuit into her mouth. As she did so, a memory came to mind. One where she and her father were having tea together. It was a pleasant memory, but then, with no warning, her father's sick, contorted face flashed into her mind. Surprised, she bit down hard into her tongue. She shot up, swallowed the piece of biscuit in her mouth, and groaned loudly, pinching her eyes shut. "Oow!" Alucard was now sitting bolt upright, staring at her. She felt his ethereal fingers withdraw from her mind. That sneaky vampire; he was looking into her mind all along. Then he probably saw what startled her. She calmed down, eyeing him. She didn't taste any blood, but damn it sure did hurt. She leaned back again. "I bit my tongue. That didn't feel very good." She felt silly under his gaze; she looked down a little sheepishly.
"Master..."
"Hm?" She looked up. The look he had was different. She hadn't seen it before. Was it...concern? On Alucard? That looked strange.
"Master, I wanted to talk to you about your dreams lately. Actually, they're more like nightmares, arn't they?"
She didn't say anything. How did he know about those?
"You cried last night...and the night before. And today even. His memory...it haunts you doesn't it?"
"...I...I've been fine for all this time. I don't know why it's bothering me now..."She tried to sound normal, but even now his face appeared in her head. "Everytime I see something of his or think of a time with him, I always end up thinking about his death." She looked down, feeling her eyes brimming with tears. She didn't want him to see. He knew, but she didn't want him to see her cry.
"Maybe it's because you're finally starting to forget him and part of you thinks it's wrong." Silence. "It's not wrong, Master. It's perfectly normal."
"I can barely remember his face when he was well."
"That happens; it's okay."
Silence. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She didn't move to brush it away. She couldn't look up. Why was Alucard saying these things. He wasn't like this usually. He wanted her strong, unrelenting, he hated little pity parties.
"Master, you are only human. These feelings are natural. Losing a loved one is very hard." He had read her mind; she hated that. Suddenly mad, Integra glared up at Alucard with watery eyes and wet trails down her cheeks.
"Alucard, stay out of my head!"
He just ignored her. "You say I want you to be strong. A true knight. Well I have known real Knights, Master. Shining armor and all. And you know something?" In a second, he was next to her. She had curled up in the chair, sitting in it sideways so that she faced the fire and her legs dangled off the armrest. He was kneeling right behind her now, his face an inch from her own. They locked eyes, his bright red, hers icy blue and wide now. "Even knights cry when they lose someone they love." They stared at each other for a silent second before Integra pulled her eyes away to let a tear slide down her cheek. A soft finger hooked her chin and slowly pulled her face back to his. "You think I care about nothing except my own interests. That's true. I hate to see you cry. You're beautiful when you smile and your laughter is delicious." He grinned. His eyes flashed as he noticed the gleaming tear rolling down Integra's cheek. Quickly, before it sank any lower, he leaned forward and, much to the surprise of Integra, he licked her. Slowly and gently, he traced the moist trail the offending tear had made, and then leaned back an inch to look at Integra. Integra was shocked to say the least. Her monster was acting most strange; however, she didn't really mind it. It was nice as long as this was as far as it was going to get. He looked at her, and her and him. It was awkward; she wasn't crying anymore. She was speechless; the scene from a second ago played over in her head and she found it almost...funny. As she looked at him, she felt herself blushing and she grinned. Alucard could smell the blood rising to her cheeks and he grinned also. "mmm...she blushes," he taunted.
"Oh shush." She sank lower into her chair, feeling a little sleepy from the warmth of the fire. She closed her eyes just briefly. It was the sound of thunder that brought her back, and when she opened her eyes, Alucard was gone.
Leaving the library, Integra's eyes stopped on the coat rack by the front door. Before she went upstairs, she walked over and picked up her father's coat, draping it over one arm like he and Walter had always done. Not one horrible thought crossed her mind as she carried the coat up the stairs. Even as she entered her father's room and opened his closet. Even as she hung the coat up with all the other suits and pants, the only thoughts she had of her father were mild and pleasant ones. She had a good feeling that she would never get as sad about her father's death as she did this afternoon. She was still young, she told herself, and even though responsibility was heaping up on her from all sides it seemed, she knew that she couldn't waste these precious years being depressed and always serious. She still had a few more years before the hard work really started; so for now, she was going to enjoy herself, even if it meant teasing and playing chase with vampires...or a vampire.