Chapter Two
Emily set down the last box with a sigh of relief. Despite the fact that she did not own a great deal of stuff, moving everything had taken her a good portion of the night. Her books had been the worst of it. But luckily Integra had seen fit to enlist Walter to assist her.
"Ah, is that everything Miss Ellis?" The butler asked, setting down the laptop case he had been carrying. Emily looked up and smiled at the aging man.
"Yes, thank you very much for the help. There's no way I would have gotten it all done tonight without your help." She said and Walter returned the smile.
"It was my pleasure Miss Ellis. However, I must re-iterate that I cannot believe that you managed without a car or at least a bicycle up until now." The butler replied, handing her the key to her room.
"Seeing as how tonight I would probably have been in real trouble without the help of one, I guess you must be right." Emily said, giving a sheepish smile as she took the key. She checked her watch, finding it to be almost 3am. 'I have no idea how I am going to get used to being nocturnal.' She thought absently, and then recalled that her night was not over just yet.
"Oh, Walter? Do you know where I am to meet with this Alucard? Integra did not mention it."
"Yes I do know. Better yet, I believe I have time to show you myself. The manor is rather large. It can be quite difficult to get lost." The butler said, exiting the room and waiting for Emily to lock the door before leading her down the hallway.
Around ten minutes later found Emily in a rather nice, office-like room, settled into a roller-chair behind the desk. A pen and pad of standard 8x11 paper lay on the desk in front of her. Emily sat for a minute or two, wondering exactly when she was to begin. After a while of boredom, she picked up the pen and wrote down the date.
"Might as well do what I can until that Alucard man gets here." She said, thinking aloud. She wrote out a few slots for the location of the raid, number of casualties and such.
Alucard watched with relative amusement from a shadow tucked neatly into the corner above and behind the human girl. She looked about 24. Her dark brown, nearly black hair was put up into a neat bun at the upper-back of her head. A pair of black-rimmed glasses rested near the tip of her nose. 'How quaint.' He thought absently. 'A secretary down to the last detail.' With a slight roll of his eyes, he stepped from the shadow, moving to stand just behind the woman.
"Good evening." He said, smirking inwardly as she jumped visibly and whirled around to face him. 'Well, that did not take long. How uninteresting. It is no fun if the mask goes off so easily.'
Emily stared at him, completely forgetting that it was probably not the most polite thing to do. He was hardly what she expected. Sir Integra had told her that Alucard was a vampire. But she expected slightly more morose clothing, more black. She looked him over, starting with his boots and working her way up. She noted in passing that his cravat was rather askew and that he was wearing sunglasses indoors. 'How odd. Nice hat though.' Suddenly, she recalled that she was most likely being rude and got to her feet.
"Please excuse me." She said, bowing slightly. "You rather startled me." Alucard raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. 'That mask is back again.' He thought, then gave a mental shrug. No matter. Doubtless he would have it off once more within the night.
"Not at all. You did not jump nearly as high as the last secretary." He said with a smirk, walking around the desk to the chair in front. He sat down languidly, his legs stretched out and one foot resting on the other, making himself quite at home. Emily's temper was irked by his indolent attitude and she repressed a slight urge to glare at him. Exhaling slowly, she sat down in her chair and turned to face him.
"Now then, Mr. Alucard, shall we move on to business?" She asked politely, picking up her pen. Alucard took of his glasses and hat, setting them on the armrest of his chair. He brought his gaze up to the girls, watching her gray-green eyes as they flitted about the paper pad.
"Just Alucard is fine. And yes, indeed we shall." He said, causing her to look up at him. "It was a beautiful night…" Alucard began, letting his voice trail off as he ensnared her eyes with his own. 'I have you now.' He thought. 'What's behind that mask of yours, girl? Show me.' He thought, reaching into her mind. He delved into her mind, never loosing eye contact as his "fingers" brushed the surface of her thoughts.
A feral roar split though his mind and his mental vision was suddenly filled with a raging feline, fiery green eyes blazing into his. With a snarl, the creature lashed out and struck at his "hand," leaving smarting slashes across the backs. Quickly, Alucard withdrew his mind, watching the beast settle back down into the human girl's conscious.
'What on earth was that?' Alucard thought, a brow rising in interest. 'It seems that this will be much more enjoyable than I thought.' He smirked and blinked, thus severing his hold on her. Emily started slightly, as though waking from a daydream.
"Ah, I'm sorry." She apologized, adjusting her hold on the pen. "I am afraid I dozed off. I am not yet used to this whole nocturnalism thing. What were you saying?" Alucard sighed, as though exasperated, and steepled his gloved fingertips.
"Do try to pay attention Miss. I do not enjoy repeating myself." He said, giving her a rather annoyed look.
"My name is Emily Ellis. Please use it." Emily said, her voice carrying a defensive and rather defiant tone. Alucard smirked. Yes, this would indeed be quite amusing.
Review Responses;
Raven: Thankyou. Please feel free to come back and read the rest. -
KerriRane: Thankyou muchly. I am afraid I am having a little trouble finding the story on your page. My you have quite a lot of them. O.oll