A fine night for a feast
At first I believed I would be cleared of any wrong doing. My queen would pardon me. After all, my actions as Hellsing's head were by orders of the crown and had been for centuries.
But the pardon never came.
My queen never came.
I'd thought my sentence would have at least included visiting hours, but even that was denied me. Those formerly under my charge were barred from my cell; even Seras and Walter, though it was truly Walter whose presence I sorely missed. Alucard proved my only visitor. They couldn't keep him away if they tried. He came everyday; sometimes for hours, sometimes a few moments. Usually, he'd fill me in on the progress, or complete lack, of the military's and special forces' "investigations" into the freak vampires and their origin. Sometimes he'd tell me what Seras and Walter were doing in the aftermath of Hellsings' dismantling.
Seras was having the hardest time between the two, struggling to exist as a vampire without a clear purpose. She bounced from one menial job to another since none of the armed forces, nor police force, would have her; her name having been blacklisted for her involvement with my "terrorist organization". I knew Alucard helped her as he could.
Walter had been snatched up by British Intelligence, no doubt to keep him from spilling his guts to whatever foreign power wanted to know all our intimate secrets. Had they known Walter like I did, they'd know he was not the kind of man who'd even entertain such thoughts. All his secrets, of Britain and Hellsing, would die with him.
Three months into my stay, Alucard asked me. I refused vehemently.
Four months later, he asked again. My refusal held less venom.
At my one-year anniversary, I paused before refusing.
After 18 months, I didn't respond, fearing I say yes.
Strangely, he doesn't come on the day that marks my two-year anniversary in this hole. A paralyzing fear creeps into me when he doesn't show up for several more days. Has he decided to stop coming? After all, I'm not his master anymore. He owes me no allegiance. Maybe he's tired of seeing me shackled and powerless. Another week passes before I see him again. He arrives from the shadows as always, no explanation of his absence given.
But the look in his eyes; need, desire, hunger….
I knew what he wanted before he spoke.
"Yes," I whisper, head bowed.
"No," he replies.
Slowly, I lift my eyes to his, trying to understand his refusal. He's wanted this for years, and still does. I can see it in his steady gaze. Then why…….?
"I don't want you like this," he explains. "I want my master."
My eyes widen in surprise. He still thinks of me as his master! After all this time? After I'd been stripped of my title, my mission, my freedom, I was still his master. Casually, he seats himself at the nearby table where I take my meals and begins relating the goings-on outside my prison.
"I want my master."
Those words provoke me.
As the days pass, realizations come. Though painfully obvious that Her Majesty has left me to rot, I know in my heart that I am not a traitor. The title stripped from me is insignificant as it only mattered to the queen and those of the round table.
I am still Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.
I still have the most powerful weapon in the empire at my disposal.
Decisions must be made because I have a mission to complete.
For the first time in months, I demand fresh cigars from the guard. The taste and aroma help focus my energies and I begin planning.
When Alucard comes to me later that night, I notice the change in his approach; reverent, subservient. I haven't seen that aspect from him in months. Casually lighting a cigar, I take a slow drag and balance its slim form between my fingers as I exhale. Alucard watches me expectantly. I take another drag and exhale before I speak, full authority in my tone.
"Well?"
He kneels, bowing his head.
"What is your will, my master?"
I smile. I still need to continue my mission to remove the freak vampires from the world. And I can't bloody well do that from a cell. Today is the day he will change me.
It was……..strange; a sharp pain, but then a pleasant drowning. I closed my eyes as if in sleep and awoke as his servant; a situation I corrected immediately by drinking his blood.
Though we probably could have used their help, I elected to leave Walter and Seras to their current lives; at least for the moment. Learning to live as a vampire was difficult. No longer did a staff supply us with medical blood, we had to acquire our own. Usually, I just sent Alucard to get it. He'd regularly get extras and leave them in Seras refrigerator. The taste took some getting used to, but it wasn't exactly unpleasant, and it was necessary for me to stay strong.
We hunt mostly freak vampires, but also take care of the ghouls invariably left in their wake. Alucard managed to liberate an appropriate firearm for me from SAS headquarters after complaining for the hundredth time that neither of his guns suited me and that I should forget using them.
With a contented smile, I pat the familiar bulge of my pistol under my coat as I enjoy the night breeze. It's a beautiful night. The full moon hangs almost red in the autumn sky.
We've been tracking a particularly foul creature who feeds upon the blood of children. There have been 15 victims so far; all under the age of nine. Locating him has proven problematic because his victims are scattered all over. Two in Surry, three in London, two in Manchester, one in Cheddar, four in Chelmsford, one in Northampton and the last two in Bristol. The only time he'd struck one city more than twice in a row had been in Chelmsford; we almost had him there. I'm not sure how Alucard figured out his next move, but we are in Reading when he shows up.
"As I expected," he smirks while we watch him walking down the street, casually chatting with a human male in his mid-thirties. Our plan is to wait until he retires for the night then take him. Oddly, I feel like I've seen his companion before. After a few more minutes, I recognize him.
"Isn't that the vicar from Surry?" I frown. "What is he doing here with…….."
A gasp escapes me as I finally figure out how Alucard knew to be here, he followed this human. He must have seen him at some of the other crime scenes.
"He's supplying him, isn't he," I force.
Alucard snorts in disgust.
Rage stands me up from our seated vantage point in a nearby park.
"Integra?"
My fangs have entered the "vicar's" neck before Alucard is able to stop me. I don't care if anyone sees me or not. This man must die. Man's law is not fit punishment for him. He should be damned for all eternity. His blood runs down my face; my immaculate suit. As the last of his life drains away, I finally realize what I've done; this is my first kill. Now I am a true creature of the night.
Dropping the corpse in shock, I stumble back onto the ground, dimly aware of Alucard dispatching our prey and disposing of the body I left. Moments later, he transports us back to the townhouse that has become our base. Thrusting myself away from him, I collapse on the floor, my hand trembling over my blood-stained mouth.
I can't believe what I've done.
And I can't wait to do it again.
"H-how," I manage. "How do you keep from ravaging anything human that comes near you?"
"Practice," Alucard replies casually. I look up and he's smiling against the parlor doorway; or at least his lips are smiling. His eyes carry a different emotion, one I've never seen directed at me before; lust. His smile fades and his face takes on the same smoldering as his eyes. Almost involuntarily I rise from the floor, my gaze never leaving his. One of his hands lands on my waist, the other slides down my neck, carefully undoing the buttons of my shirt. Slowly he licks the leftover blood from my lips and face before kissing me, his tongue pressing into my mouth insistently. I give in to his advances and my matching desire, reveling in the caress of his fingers on my skin. My shirt hits the floor with a soft flop, my bra following soon after. Feeling cheated that he's still dressed; I use both hands to tear open his shirt, vaguely aware of buttons flying off in every direction. Breaking our kiss, I gaze at his smooth chest, sliding my fingers delicately over well-defined muscles before snatching his shirt off completely and tossing it away. A low moan accompanies a squeeze by his hands at my waist as I lightly lick a nipple. It delights me that he enjoys it since I don't really know what I'm doing, having never been with a man before. That thought brings me pause. Lifting my head to him, his face reveals how much he wants me before he engulfs me with another kiss. I pull away.
"A-Alucard," I stutter, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.
"Yes?"
"You know that I'm...that I've never…."
"Yes."
"So I don't know….."
He kisses me softly, starling me.
"I'll guide you. Master"
With that, he transports us to his room.