Hello there! Chapter 15 is up! Sorry if it may seem a little short... I may go back and re-furbish it before I write up the next chapter. Enjoy, people!
The smoldering cigarette between his lips trembled in so slight a way that it was barely noticable to the human eye. That was the only sign of worry or fear Alucard displayed as he leaned against the shut doorframe outside of Integra's room. He didn't usually wasn't wont to smoke such things… but in a high stress situation such as this, it was good to have something to concentrate on… something to at least partially absorb your thoughts. And the cigarette was it. Besides... it wasn't as if it would do him any harm. He was, after all, dead. He puffed in silence, his red eyes cast down to the floor.
Alucard, Seras and Walter all stood in a line outside of Integra's doorway, waiting in silent anticipation. Seras bounced up and down on her heels in a nervous, frantic manner, muttering things to herself, and fooling with her unruly strawberry blonde hair. Walter stood in that quiet may of his, seemingly very calm, but the sweat brimming on his wrinkled brow would be incongruous to his placid display. Alucard stood stoically as he smoked, his lips trembling and his red eyes glinting with disquiet.
A loud scream was emitted from the room by which they stood, the whine terrible and pained. Seras openly prickled at the noise, bearing her fangs as she winced. The corners of Walter's mouth twitched, obviously disturbed. Alucard blew a smoke ring, his eyes smoldering with depth like the tip of the cigarette he smoked..
Moans. Screams. Inhuman noises of agony and pain. All three of them stood, waiting, hoping, and praying as the air was filled with loud screeches. It was almost like a wordless, wailing aria of pain, one voice ringing loud and clear in the depths of night.
Until suddenly….
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Another cry was heard, though much smaller, but still loud and clear. Seras jumped for joy, grinning like a madwoman. Walter emitted an audible sigh of relief, his tense figure becoming much less taut. The cigarette held between Alucard's pale, pearly fangs stopped trembling.
The child was born.
Integra had gone into labor nearly five hours ago. She had opted to have a midwife and doctor come to her house, so she could birth her child in the comfort and privacy of her own manor. This made things easier for her… but a lot harder on her staff. Her most faithful men... and woman had waited outside her door through the whole ordeal… listening to her moaning and wailing through it all as she was goaded on by the doctor and the midwife to push.
Finally, hours of her labor paid off. But it wasn't a half an hour after they had first heard the child crying until the three waiting staff members were let in. The first to exit Integra's chamber was a husky midwife, her bulky arms full of bloodied rags and sheets. Alucard couldn't help put muse at how delicious the scent was as she passed through the hallway, taking the linens to be washed. The doctor took his leave second and tipped his hat at the three of them as he walked from the room, curtly informing them that the baby was a beautiful, healthy girl.
Integra lay in her bed, leaning back on the pillows, sweat still trickling down her brow. Oh god… it had been terrible. Her whole lower region ached, her stomach, her abdomen, but epsecially the area between her thighs. She felt stretched, bruised, and above all, tired. But it had been a wonderful pain… one she had bore willingly for the little child that now lay asleep, cradled in her lap. It was a bittersweet thought… that such pain could bring forth such happiness. Integra's bespectacled blue eyes glittered with an unmatched joy… she didn't think she had been more happy… more proud in all her years. This was her heir… and what a weight would fall on her daughter's shoulders. But she would think no more on the darkening future of her and her daughter... right now was a time for only joy.
A squealing Seras very nearly bounced her way into the room, followed by a calm, warmly smiling Walter. Alucard loomed about the doorway for a while, waiting for a moment alone with Integra after the first congratulations were said. Seras cooed over the little sleeping baby stroking the new little girl's cheeks, and smoothing her mop of new, fine hair, and Walter grinned proudly and hugged Integra, kissing the little child on the forehead, and her mother on the cheek. Alucard stayed back, hanging near the edge of the room, as if wary of the new life within it.
They stayed for a while, but when all that there had to be said was spoken, Walter and Seras left, leaving Alucard, Integra, and the baby alone. They merely stared at each other for a moment, in understanding silence.
"Alucard… Come see your daughter." Integra directed in a calm, tired voice, a gentle smile on her lips.
Obediently, the vampire crossed the room, looking down at the little thing that slept so placidly in Integra's lap. The baby was as beautiful as the doctor had leaded her on to be... no... even moreso. She was asleep, and snugly bundled in a little one-sie and a powder blue blanket. A wispy, soft mop of blonde hair was nestled atop her head, framing her tiny, flushed face. Her skin was pale, very much like her father's, soft and supple, as the hide of a baby is wont to be. Already, some features that she had inherited from her parents could be discerned. The child had a pointy nose, like both her father and mother, and slightly wide mouth, something she would have gotten from her daddy. The baby stirred, moving her little head, and kicking her little feet before she opened her eyes. Yes… she had her mother's eyes. Brilliant, icy blue, like the sky refracting off freshly fallen snow. She indeed was a beautiful baby.
"May I hold my daughter?" Alucard asked, almost timidly, holding out his hands in a way that showed he was ready to receive his awakening baby. His voice was dulled to a quiet, low whisper, as if he were afraid that if he spoke too loud, the magic of the delicate situation would be dispelled. Indeed, meeting your new child for the first time was a monumentous occasion.
Integra smiled knowingly, lifting the child from her lap and depositing her in her father's strong, capable hands. Alucard gently brought the baby to his chest, holding her there for a while. The child stared curiously up at him, but did not whine or moan to go back to the comfort of her mother. It was almost as if she knew exactly who this new person was. Her father.
"What's her name, Integra?" He asked, rocking the child back and forth in a soothing way. The little girl merely stared up at her daddy, babbling in a serene, happy way.
Integra smirked in a mocking way. "Why don't you read my mind, Alucard?" She asked in a low, exhausted voice.
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
Integra shook her head, smiling. Alucard... she couldn't always understand him, but she figured that it was only natural. He was an enigma, a puzzle without a solution."You vampires are incomprehensible."
"The feelings are mutual, Master."
Integra cleared her throat. "Her name is Isolde. Isolde Rosalind Wilhelmina Hellsing."
Alucard's red eyes darted up to Integra, flashing with curiosity and… was it shock?
"Wilhelmina?" He asked, his attention suddenly directed away from the baby in his arms, to the mother who sat smugly in her bed.
Integra chuckled in a deep, tired way. "I knew that would be a name that you would not soon forget, Count. I couldn't name her Ricarda. Too much like Richard… and you know all the bad connotations that go along with that name. But I dwelled on what you said… she disserves a piece of her father in her… and what better way to honor her lineage than to honor her sire's past?"
"Those are days I do not wish to think upon, Integra. Dark were they." Alucard turned his face away from Integra's, his eyes focusing on his baby in an ashamed manner, not wanting to meet her icy, probing gaze.
A slight frown appeared on Integra's lips "And dark those days still are. Do not think I will let you so easily forget the blood you spilt in those years… Vlad. This child will become a reminder of the past to you as well as me."
Alucard sighed in a defeated way. He should have known that Integra would not go down without a fight. Wilhelmina. It was only a minor part of her name… but still. The baby would be a reminder of bad times for the two of them... She would remind Integra of how ill used she had been, and she would remind Alucard of how ill he had used other people in his long lifetime, not just Integra. But the joy that the new child would bring would greatly outweigh the sorrow that would be remembered. He shrugged, not wanting to peruse this aspect of the subject anymore.
Alucard looked down at his child, who was beginning to doze off again. "Little Mina… Honestly, Integra. I hadn't expected a name so… acknowledging of her parentage. What will parliament say?"
"I can always pull the, 'Wilhelmina Murray was a wife of a friend of my ancestor, I want to honor her.' card. I can assuredly say that all but the queen will buy it. In her old age, her Majesty is still as sharp as a tack. I don't know if the lineage of Isolde will slip past her. But I don't think she would be the one to put up a fuss about who the father of my child is. The knights however…"
"As long as word doesn't get out, your child will be safe from the caprice and ridicule of the world."
"Our child, Alucard." Said Integra decidedly. It was settled. She had decided. To let her daughter grow up deprived of a father figure would be terrible. Even if Alucard would not make the best daddy in the world, she would still let him be a part of his daughter's life. Obstacles would need to be overcome... but they would tackle them in due course. Right now, they had to decide what was truly best for the child.
Alucard walked over to the edge of the roomy bed, and sat down next to her, still cradling his daughter, his little baby Isolde. With one hand, the one that was not occupied with holding his daughter protectively to his breast, he gently tucked some of Integra's moonbeam hair, drenched with sweat from her face.She sighed softly as she felt the cool of his hand trace her burning cheek... his iciness was a welcome relief from the heat of her exhertions from childbearing.
"I'm so proud, Integra. Of you, of my daughter… of everything. She will be a marvelous ruler. She is most definitely a Hellsing. I smell it in her blood. Now...Get some rest. You are probably so tired after all that. You are, after all, only human."
Integra smiled at the almost gentle way Alucard fawned over her. It was endearing, really. Not in a sickly sweet sort of way, but in an unannounced, but totally genuine manner. He didn't scream "I'm the happiest undead father ever!" but there was a genuine sense of joy, coming from both mother and father, human and vampire, woman and man, master and servant. There would be peace… at least for a short while.
"I think she likes you, Alucard." Integra said drowsily, nodding in the direction of her child. The baby was nestled against Alucard's chest, her tiny hands gripping the front of his black waistcoat. Alucard couldn't help but smile.
"Would you mind taking her to the nursery, Alucard? I'm so tired…" Integra's voice was barely a whisper as she trailed off into sleep, her blue eyes fluttering shut in extreme fatigue. She had a right to be tired… she had just borne a child. If ever there was a more exhausting task for a woman to undertake, Integra couldn't think of it.
Alucard leant over the sleeping form of his master, kissing her gently on her forehead that was still slightly damp with sweat. "It would be my pleasure, Integra." He said as he left, standing up and walking out of the room with his sleeping child in arm. This would be the mark of something new. A new era had dawned on both of their lives, as well as a new life itself. He walked his baby into her new nursery, the whole room furnished in a scheme of gentle, earthy green. It was a good room... a soothing room. As he lay his sleeping daughter gently in the wooden crib, Alucard came to terms with the fact that nothing would ever be the same. Hellsing would be turned upside down by all these new beginnings.
So there you have it. Isolde Rosalind Wilhelmina (Pronounced Willamina) Hellsing. Isolde ended up being the winning name... I got the best feedback on it. No matter how much I liked the name Ricarda... there was no way I could justify naming Integra's child with a title that close to the one of her murderous uncle Richard. So Isolde it was. Oh... I really played up the 'Alucard is Dracula' thing here... I gave Big nods toward Bram Stoker, and little nods towards the manga volume 8.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter... I guess it is a very definative part of the story. Read and Review, nice, shiny people!
As always,
Kimi-Taco
