Authors Note: A bit of foreshadowing, no big action. R&R
Disclaimer- Hellsing belongs to people who aren't me.
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It was late. Hellsing Resident and Captain Seras Victoria had just finished her bath and back was on her way to bed. Quickly the young vampire scurried out of the upstairs bathing room and walked down the marble halls, her long night gown rustling against the cold floor. She could not help but grumble with annoyance at having to bathe in the upper floors bathroom while living in the basement.
"Why did the pipes have to freeze in MY bathroom?" She sighed, lifting up the clothing to stop the rustling, which was starting to annoy her. "Of course! It's always Seras that gets her pipes frozen because she has to live under the bloody ground where everything's freezing"
She was on the second floor when suddenly a howl from outside the manor penetrated through the building's walls. Confused, Seras stopped and turned back to look outside a near by window. She squinted down at the ground and was surprised to see a large black dog, sitting among the flowers within the garden.
Seras leaned closer to the window suspiciously to get a better look. She couldn't see anyone tagging along with the dog, so she simply figured it was a stray that had somehow snuck past the security men. Already planning out a good lecture for the security men, she rested her arms on the space in front of the glass window and sighed. The dog kept howling over and over and over again, much like a broken record.
"Well you're a talkative one, aren't you? It's not good that you got in here. The men really ought to have a cut in ..." she started, then cut herself off with a yawn. She jolted when the dog suddenly opened it's eyes and turned it's head towards the window- eight red eyes glowing in the dark. Fearfully, she yelped jumped back.
"Some... Some sort of monster?"she spoke nervously. She looked around out of instinct for her gun, only to feel the old cloth of her nightgown.
"That he is."
"Sir Integra!" Seras' shouted. She turned to see the Hellsing Commander standing a bit off to the distance, clothed in black satin night ware. The Hellsing heir simply nodded and stepped closer to the vampiress with a silencing finger upon her lips.
"No need to be loud, there is nothing to worry about," Integra said gently. "He's not going to do anything. Or at least he better not," she said with a smile. She turned to look out the window at the dog. The moon shone off her glasses and hid her eyes. She looked some what like an enigma, though a strangely approachable. Seras opened her mouth to say something when the older woman started before her.
"I've known that dog for a long time now. You could even say he's a pet of mine." Looking at said-dog, Integral stood up straight, looking away from the window and into Seras' eyes.
"For a long time... I didn't know why it howled. Every night I heard it, and every night before I slept, I looked down out of my balcony where I would see the thing, howling yet again." She paused.
"As a child I used to have fun guessing what it howled at," she laughed lightly.
"However, as an adult, the howling just annoyed me. Every night I felt like throwing something down at the foolish thing to make it stop; but every time, something stopped me. " Integra sighed, looking back at the window. "I have known that dog for ten years now, and have only now started to figure it out."
"I... I don't understand, Sir Integra," Seras said, confused.
"You wouldn't," Integra said plainly. "You hear him howling, I hear it crying. Perhaps it is the only way it knows how to cry," she sighed. "I cannot explain something to you when you cannot hear it."
Seras nodded, somewhat understanding. Over the years Integra had began to hear the sadness within the howls, while Seras, never hearing the dog before, didn't hear much. Seras looked back at the strange creature nervously, still a bit frightened.
"You are afraid of him, aren't you?" Integra asked.
The sudden question surprised Seras. She looked towards Integra. "Of the dog, Sir?" she questioned.
The other woman nodded. "Yes."
Seras looked nervously down at her feet. For a moment she fidgeted around. She didn't want to be seen as weak and scared to her master's master. She finally mumbled,"yes Sir."
Integra did not seem surprised, but simply nodded. "You fear of that dog because it intimidates you and it scares you, but beyond that, the thing that makes you fear him at all is the fact that you don't understand what he is and what he is howling about."
Seras blinked a few minutes, then finally understood where Integra was going. "You're using the dog to speak about Master Alucard, aren't you?" The vampire laughed, knowing she was right.
"You caught on!" The older woman chucked.
Seras sighed, and leaned her back against the wall. "What is there to understand about him, Sir? He is my master, I am his fledgling; he gives me orders, I obey; it's all plain and simple."
Integra gave a knowing smile. "Ahh, but if it was as simple as that, you would be obeying all of his orders without thought. Tell me Seras, do you follow all of his orders then?"
"I... follow the majority of them, Sir." It was a nervous reply. Seras cursed herself for this.
"...Only the majority. Meaning you do not too thrilled about some of his orders. If that's the case, why?" Integral questioned. "Why follow any of his orders then?"
"Because he is my master. It's just the way things work."
"And...?"
Seras shrugged. She wasn't quite sure herself. She thought for a moment. After a bit she finally answered, "he will punish me, unless I do like wise."
"So... That makes you afraid of him and his punishments, correct?" Integra asked with a smile
Quickly Seras lifted a finger to retort, but found she had nothing she could say that would really prove or even convince Integra otherwise. "...Well... I suppose."
"Give me a straight answer, Seras." A stern look came along with Integra's words, though the words she spoke were playful.
"Yes Sir," Seras replied.
Integra smiled happily. "Good. Now, exactly what do you know about your master?"
The younger girl thought for a bit. " Well... Uh... Nothing much, Sir."
"Do you know his real name? His age?" Integra's tone was serious, and told Seras that Integra wanted her to know the answers to the questions. A silence filled the halls.
"Alucard isn't his real name Sir?" Seras finally responded.
"There is much you have to learn about your master, Police Girl." Integra began straightening up, as if getting ready to leave. "Maybe if you learned more about your master, you would have a better reason to listen to him. Over the years, I've learned why that lonely dog howls. Hopefully, you will learn much quicker than I did. He has little time left." She released her gaze from Seras. "I need to go to sleep. The sun will be rising in a few hours. Report to me as usual tomorrow evening. Good Night." With that, she nodded and left, leaving the dog to start howling once more, and for Seras to stand pondering by the window.