A/N: Here's chapter seven… I had to do some 'creative title shuffling,' (Mad scramble to re-arrange names) but here it is. Thank you for the ideas… no resemblance intended, RenegadePineapple... I didn't EVAn know. Safrawr, I love your idea! Unfortunately, I'm trying to keep this one serious… mayhap I could beg you to let me steal the idea and use it to write another fic? Oh, yeah, oblivionknight7, dream on... ; )
Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, or any of its characters. Hellsing is (c) Kouta Hirano. (Sadly, RenegadePineapple doesn't belong to me either. Dang it.) However, this storyline, Eva and The Staircase are (c) me, MZM.
The door slammed shut behind her, and the noise of The Staircase was reduced to only a muffled bass and vibrations that occasionally ran through the floor. Seras was almost startled by the click of her guide's heels on the worn wood floor. She shook herself, and followed after her. I can't get jumpy now.
She was lead to a door, and the other woman knocked on it. "Someone to see you, Eva."
A faint voice, smooth as silk, called, "Let them in then."
She shrugged, and looked back at the vampire at her side. "Here you go, honey." She then turned and tapped down the hall, slipping back into the frantic atmosphere of the club. Seras stared at the door, almost paralyzed. Oh no... what if she's mad I haven't been to see her since... She rubbed her face. Since that one night... What if she turns me away? What if she hates me? What if-
The same voice sounded from in the room again, this time with a weary air. "Just come in. You're much more liable to bite me than I am to bite you." The vampire cringed, and pushed the door open.
Walter jerked his whole body back in shock, and his monocle fell from his nose. He replaced it, rushing to the pair on the office floor. Good God!
He rolled Sir Integra over, and a sharp intake of breath on his part quickly followed. She was almost gone, if not lost. He ripped off his vest, and wadded it to her neck. He pressed, trying to stop the bleeding, in vain. The very next thing he did was snatch her phone off the desk, and hit the emergency speed dial.
Once the operator had assured him help was on the way, he knelt by his fallen employer. He used one bloody hand to keep the pressure on the side of her throat, the other to dial the gate tower, and tell them to let the ambulance through without argument. That done, he dropped the phone and performed the proper procedures for field care when dealing with arterial bleeding. He kept pressure on the wound, and pressed his forearm on an arterial point between her neck and heart, pressing using all of his weight to stem the flow.
He was so intent on his task that he had completely forgotten all about Alucard, and was startled by the vampire's voice. "She's not going to last long enough. You humans are so frail!" His voice held mocking joy… with an edge of sadness? Regret? Walter couldn't tell.
"YES, she will." The butler said it firmly, loudly, as if saying and wanting it hard enough would make it happen. He put more of his weight onto his arm; still denying what he was sure Alucard felt was the inevitable.
The vampire just closed his eyes, and laughed quietly. He'd done what she asked. He wanted no more of it.
The main feature of the room was a red velvet couch, but it really didn't mean much to Seras. What meant much more to her was the ornate, mussy desk in the corner, and the woman next to it. A chair was on either side of the surface, one for Eva, one for guests. The 'guest' seat was tipped over on the floor, and a shattered bottle lay next to it. A dark stain had spread from it on the carpet, filling the room with noxious fumes. Eva's overpowering perfume hung in the air, roses mixing with the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Heavy drapes framed a window, and draped on the sill was Eva herself.
She'd flung the window open at some point, and was staring out at the midnight sky. A cigarette dangled from her long, graceful fingers, tipped with red nails. Her arm hung out into the sky, balanced on a knee planted in the frame. Her other leg was streached out on the sill, and was the only thing keeping the woman from falling out onto the streets below. She was leaned against the frame, her face turned from Seras. Her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, having escaped its tie.
She wore a long black nightdress, and the whole thing looked like a painting. Then again, Eva always looked like that.
She turned to look at her visitor, and then smiled, but it was cold, heartless. "Seras. It's been a while since that bar. What have you been up to?" She flicked the cigarette out of the window, but did not leave her position on the sill. A bored look settled on her artfully made up face, too-red lips in a neutral line, hiding other emotions. The small blonde shifted from foot to foot, then sighed. She opened her mouth to try and lie well enough to fool Eva, even though she knew she wouldn't manage it, when the question was answered for her. "Work. Ah, I see."
"Yeah… not anymore though… I… I need help." Seras wrung her hands, and then rushed to explain. "You-see-I-got…fired… and-now-I-have-nowhere-to-go-and-I'm-so-confused-and-I-"
She was effectively cut off when the other woman pulled herself back inside the office, and slid off the edge. The corners of Eva's mouth turned up, this time with feeling. "Sit down, honey." She gestured to the couch, and Seras complied. She curled up in a corner of the gigantic thing, and Eva made herself comfortable on the other end. "Now, tell me again, and please tell me the whole story."
Seras nodded, opened her mouth, and began the truth.