Chapter seven is up! Hooray! I slacked off yesterday and didn't update... so yeah. Enjoy!
"Your Majesty… I have come to a decision."
Integra stood before the throne of the Queen, her body held straight and stern, her frame tall and willowy like a reed, but not anywhere nearly as easily swayed. The Queen sat in a stiff backed, upholstered throne that was raised on a small platform above the hall. Despite the kindly wrinkles that had accumulated around her eyes and the corners of her lips, the presence of Her Majesty was indeed a formidable one.
"I will not be married at the end of this month."
The decision Integra had so boldly stated came almost as a shock to the Queen. She had not expected that she would so rashly throw away her position as head of Hellsing. It would be hard to find a new leader… but when push came to shove, if Integra had no intention of producing an heir, the water must fall down on her head. The queen took a deep breath.
"Then you are aware of the consequences?"
A smile lingered upon Integra's lips, and glimmered in her pale blue eyes behind her bespectacled gaze.
"I wasn't finished, your Majesty. I said I have opted out of matrimony… But I have set up arrangements to bear a child. I will be artificially inseminated, and the sire of my child is a donor of my choosing. This way, both Parliament, You, and I are appeased. A child will be produced to thus one day be my predecessor, and I will not be forced reluctantly into a hastily created relationship."
The Queen was even more taken aback by this statement than the previous. The thought was highly unorthodox… but it did sufficiently satisfy the needs of both of them. She nodded in a comprehensive manner, her lips turning downward in a slight frown of contemplation.
"And may I inquire as to the identity of the donor?"
Integra smiled, the little smirk dancing across her lips in a fey manner.
"In order to carry out your orders, Your Majesty, I have had to swear to a few promises myself. The donor did not want his name specified in court, and I am obliged to carry out his wishes. I feel in order to do what must be done, I fear you cannot know all the scruples of this occurrence. However, let me assure you that the man of my choosing will be capable of producing and excellent heir. He is of an ancient noble bloodline, one well worth carrying on. Our child will be more than competent of leading Hellsing."
The queen wasn't really quite pleased with this explanation, and would be much more comforted with Integra's choice had she known who was to be the sire. However, the bargain made was a good one, and she wasn't about to tamper with already set plans. If this was what needed to be done, than so be it.
"Is there any hint you can give me as to his lineage, Integra?"
"I am afraid not… but I feel I am at liberty to say this; My child's sire will be… to put this delicately, a rather old count."
Integra's eyes fluttered groggily open as she adjusted to the light. Her pupils contracted, and slowly her vision became sharp. Where was she? The room around her was white, and the bed beneath her, unfamiliar.
"Sir Integra…"
A voice loomed over her.
"Sir Integra… the procedure was a success."
Suddenly, it all flooded back to her. About an hour ago, she had come to the clinic to be fertilized. She had been knocked out during the whole of the short procedure, and was just awaking now. She brought an ungloved hand to her eyes and rubbed them wearily, as the last of the anesthesia wore away.
"Excellent…"
She said in a sleepy tone, sitting up in the stiff bed, the white hospital gown she was wearing wrinkling about her form.
"If you will just come this way, you can get dressed, and then you will be able to go home."
She slung her feet around the side of the hospital bed, her bare toes making contact with the frosty feeling linoleum floor, which was polished to an absolutely spotless shine. The doctor who had been speaking to her lead her out of the room, and through another door, where all her clothes sat neatly folded on a little chair.
"Once you are done dressing, your chauffeur is in the waiting room, ready to pick you up."
Walter. Was he never late? A grin appeared on her features as she lifted her hands up to rub her eyes. As the door was shut, she peeled off the ill fitting hospital gown, and began to slip on her normal attire. Socks, pants, shirt, tie, jacket, gloves, glasses and shoes, all in that order. Adjusting her cravat in a proud, but slightly ruffled manner, she turned to walk down the hall, back to the clinic's waiting room.
As promised, Walter was there awaiting her arrival. He grinned at her in that kind, fatherly manner of his. For more than a decade now, he had been almost like a father to her.
"How did the procedure go, Integra?"
Had Alucard addressed her so informally, she would have given him a tongue lashing, Walter, on the other hand, was a different matter. With Alucard, no leeway could be given. Walter was allowed to address her as if they were old friends, which truthfully, they were.
"Well, as I am told. I am still a little tired. Let us go back to the manner… I have work to finish."
Walter's grin widened just a hair. Here, she had just undergone an hour knocked out, all for the sake of trying to get pregnant, and the first thing on her mind was 'I need to do paperwork.' It was so like Integra, it wasn't really surprising.
"Yes, ma'am"
Walking outside, the two got into the black limousine that was parked outside, Walter getting into the front seat, and driving her home in silence. There was really nothing else to be said. She had made her choice, and hopefully, in nine months, she would not be the only Hellsing in the manor.
Integra sat stooped over paperwork. Almost done… the large pile that had been accumulating for a few days was now decimated. She only had a few more documents to verify and sign.
Alucard sloped into the room through a portal of blackness. He drifted to the front of her desk, putting his hands down on the wooden top.
Integra was, however unfazed, and kept on working noiselessly, ignoring Alucard. Sometimes, she swore, he only hung around her quarters just for the attention.
Integra's theory was partly right… sure he wanted attention… Integra's attention. Everyone was second rate to her. She radiated the sort of power that those who appreciate true beauty are drawn to, and want to revel in.
"You're back."
He said, a smirk gleaming on his lips.
"Alucard, you have excellent powers of observation. I am glad to have you as one of the Hellsing Organization."
Her voice nipped with sarcasm as she signed a document with a flourish. Tucking all her finished papers away in a desk, she fiddled around for a cigar, until she found one, and stuck it between her lips. Grabbing a lighter, she was about to light the tip aflame, before Alucard snatched the lighter from her hand, and the cigar from her lips. Her blonde eyebrows furrowed over her pale eyes, a snarl forming irritably on her lips.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"Smoking is bad for pregnant women and their unborn children."
Her mouth went slightly ajar at this, though her expression was no where near unreasonably shocked. How would he know she was actually pregnant this early in the stages? Who knew if the fertilization was actually successful? Sure, the procedure had went well… but that was no promise that a new life had actually started growing inside of her.
"How would you know?"
"I can smell it. Your hormones are already changing, don't think I cannot pick it up. I have sharper observation skills than you merit me to have."
He placed the cigar and the lighter back on the table, and Integra, in turn, stashed them away in her drawer. Realization hit her. Nine months without cigars. Had she truly given thought to it, she would have savored the very last one she had had just yesterday.
"It is also not good for women with child to be up late."
He added in an impertinent way.
"You should get to bed. You overwork yourself."
Her eyes narrowed, and his pointed teeth glittered with a ghastly grin.
"Since when have you taken such a keen interest in my habits?"
"Since you became the one who is to bear MY child. I do not want my heir to be small and sickly just because you take such poor care of yourself. Get some sleep."
She searched for a retort, but found none, her lips hanging open for an awkward moment. She was about to dismiss him, but it was too late. He had already disappeared. She sighed. He was right… she needed sleep. She hated to admit it, but every once in a while, he did say something that proved useful. He was wise in his age to say the least, he just didn't always like to act like it. He was such an enigma to her. Sometimes she wished for the power of telepathy, just so she could get in his head… into his thoughts. Maybe age had dulled his emotions, he was so good at concealing his thoughts and feelings. Integra was almost jealous of the way he could mask himself behind that incorrigably deviant smirk of his.
Alucard, having left without a fight, walked around the halls. Walter passed by, and nodded.
"Good evening, Alucard."
"Likewise to you, Angel of Death."
Alucard was the only one who addressed him by his christened title. Angel of Death. He hardly seemd so now, but the echoes of his past glimmered in his dark eyes. He was still a servant of Hellsing, but in a more passive way as of late..
"Where are you coming from?"
"I just visited Master Integra… she is pregnant. I can smell it."
A smile appeared on Walter's aged face, lines at the corners of his mouth deepening with the motion.
"Integra has changed so much from her childhood. Now she is going to have her own child. I should have liked to have seen her married…"
Walter chuckled, his monocle glittering.
"…But she is too good for it."
He finished with a smirk.
"Yes. She has grown very much. From a mere child, to a formidable leader. Miss Hellsing has only become more excellent with age."
Alucard concurred, a strange expression stirring in his eyes. They seemed softer, pleasanter… more human. What emotion filled them so for a moment, Walter could not get his finger on, but it was deep to be sure. The expression was only ephemeral, however. Alucard's eyes immediately shifted back to their cold, bloody red gaze.
"Have a good evening, Walter."
"You as well, Alucard."
The two parted in silence, going their separate ways to enjoy the night with their different practices.
Finished!
I hope this installment wasn't too bad.
Not much to say here.
Cheers-
-Kimi-Taco
