Integra rode silently in the back of her Rolls Royce, the rain beating relentlessly on the vehicle from all sides as if to impede her ride home. Though she couldn't even begin to imagine its intent, she was already soaked to the bone from standing out in the elements for a large portion of the day. She had forsaken her blue tie for one that was black and her coat and hat were black as well; not that either had done much against the bitingly cold wind which had also rendered her umbrella useless. The weather, her clothes and the morose mood of a nation all matched the occasion.
Their Queen had died.
The funeral had been long, as was fitting, with both sides of the roadways full to overflowing with mourners despite the weather. As her station and loyalty dictated, Integra had been present for the whole affair, following the procession to Her Majesty's final resting place at Westminster Abbey, where it would lie in state for another three days before the official funeral. She sighed as the vehicle came to a stop at the steps to her mansion before she ducked back out into the rain and darted quickly into the building. She let the maid standing in the entryway take her hat and coat, to the dry cleaning facilities no doubt; Integra winced as her sopping shoes made echoing squeaks on the tile floor as she went to her rooms to change. She was no doubt leaving a trail of puddles in her wake she realized with a grimace. She pulled off her gloves as she went, flexing the cold and wrinkled skin in an attempt to bring warmth back into them; as she passed her office however she stopped outside the doors when she heard what sounded like voices coming from inside. Leaning closer to the doors in suspect, Integra was sure she could make out Alucard's voicebut to whom was he talking? And why were they in her office? A frown pulled at the corners of her lips as she pushed open the door.
"Well, hello Integra." She almost dropped her gloves at the sound of the voice that greeted her. Integra swung around to face her desk where the voice came from. She blinked almost, as she would regret later, dumbfounded as she stared at the figure, no figures that stood by her desk.
"I don't believe I've ever seen her this shocked before." Alucard snickered to the other figure as he grinned at Integra in an attempt to bait her.
"Well, this is a rather unexpected surprise is it not?" The other person, a woman, told him as she rose from the seat behind the desk and made her way towards Integra. The knight seemed struck oddly mute, although she had completely regained her composure, as the woman approached. Her dark brown hair was cut in the same short manner it had always been in life, though her eyes now shone red. Integra's first instinct was to back away as the vampiresss came to a halt just within arms reach of her but she remained where she stood. The brunette tilted her head to the side as she studied Integra, a gentle smile bending her lips.
"You are wondering how this happened." She stated; death had not stolen the authority that rang in her voice.
"That is among the first of many, yes."
"A long time ago," Alucard spoke up from his perch on top of Integra's desk. "I met a young woman; a fiery, unyielding tomboy of a girl who was destined for far greater things. She would not, however, allow me to turn her. I did manage to convince her not long before she was married to exchange blood with me." Integra shot a glance toward the brunette before her gaze was drawn back to Alucard as he finished. "And as you know she died; but I was there with her when she rose again." He was grinning from ear to ear as he finished, his fangs gleaming in the low light.
"But did you not exchange blood with Mina Harker? How is it that one would rise but not the other?" Integra shoved her gloves in her pants pockets as she asked. Alucard's grin receded to a small smile that didn't seem at all cheerful as he answered.
"Mina had no desire to rise from the dead. While Harker had preceded her in death, it was not for his sake that she lacked the will to continue on in this world. The two children that they had had together had also preceded her; one died as a child, the other as a young adult. Without them she had no reason to linger."
"But you did?" Integra asked of the other woman, trying her best not to sound disrespectful as she did so.
"Obviously." The woman answered with a smile of her own. "There are many things that I have always wanted to do but was prohibited by the trappings of my station."
"Obviously." Integra murmured in return, pondering this new situation as she rubbed at the depressions on either side of the bridge of her nose from her glasses. "Do you two have any idea what kind of turmoil this is going to cause me? Only recently did the Knights stop accusing me of loosing my control over you," she looked pointedly at Alucard, "over the incident with Seras. Sir Islands will have an aneurysm if he finds out about this."
"They can hardly blame you for this," Alucard spoke up as he stood and started to walk over towards them. "This was done long before you were born."
"And that makes it all better?" Integra allowed herself a sigh before a thought occurred to her. "Wait a moment. You exchanged blood with both these women, essentially giving them the choice of what would become of them when they died correct?"
"Essentially." Alucard answered as he moved forward.
"Then why do you insist that you must be the one to change me?" Integra crossed her arms over her chest and leveled him a piercing gaze. "Why not allow me the choice you offered these others?" She continued to meet his gaze as he proceeded to move toward her to stop with only a scant few inches between them. With a grin that mildly worried her Alucard leaned down to her, pausing a breath away from her ear.
"Because you are mine like no other." He purred in her ear, the timbre of his voice sending pinpricks of sensation along her nerves. Cold radiated from his body like heat did a human's and it seeped through her already drenched clothing and straight into her bones. To fight the chill that tried to sweep through her body, Integra turned her head slightly to speak into his ear, a smirk twisting her lips.
"Oh I am, am I? And being so privileged negates my right to have a choice?" Alucard chuckled dryly, almost causing Integra to jerk when his lips brushed the shell of her ear.
"You know very well that I respect you too much for that." He pulled away to look her in the eye as his lips pulled back into a smirk. "I just know what your answer will be."
A rather loud cough interrupted them before Integra could respond. The brunette vampire was watching them with a sly smirk on her face.
"As entertaining as it is to watch this exchange, it appears that the weather is going to break." She gestured to the windows that filled the back wall and sure enough, it looked as if the clouds were about to disperse. "And despite my curiosity, I have no desire to see if I will spontaneously combust or burst into flames upon contact with sunlight."
"Yes," Alucard murmured, stepping away from Integra. "And you will be needing your rest as well." For Integra that statement brought up another question.
"Where will you be sleeping?" She had seen no papers come across her desk that bore the financial figures that could be contributed to the purchase of a third coffin. Alucard cast Integra a smile that instantly made her regret asking as he answered.
"With me of course, until we can retrieve her casket from Westminster." A look came over the vampiresss face that worried Integra far more than Alucard's had.
"Would you care to join us Sir Hellsing?" She asked as Alucard laughed outright at her question and Integra rubbed the bridge of her nose again.
"No, I had better not Your Majesty." She answered with a sigh and a gesture to her full In-Tray. "As you can see, there is much that needs my attention at the moment."
"As you say." The former Queen of England said with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "However there is no need to call me as such anymore. It would probably be easiest for all if you just called me Elizabeth."
"As you wish." Integra said as the two vampires disappeared, leaving her alone in the room. She stood for a moment, letting everything that just transpired soak in before a sneezing fit took her. Integra left her office to finally go and change before she caught her death of cold, firmly closing the door behind her. As she stripped off the dripping garments and hot water steadily filled the tub in the bathroom, Integra snickered to herself. She genuinely laughed out loud as she let herself sink into the steaming water, her thoughts full of questions as to whether Alucard's precious coffin could actually withstand a threesome.
AN: Ah, so I finally write something again. It's been a while hasn't it? Well, I hope you all enjoyed it, please let me know. And as always: I don't own Hellsing or any of the characters and I'm not making any money.
