Ciel burst through the doors of Integra's office despite being told not to come. His husband hadn't awakened yet, so he could not see him, and Ciel was forbidden from interrogating the blonde's assailant. It wasn't as though Integra expected him to obey this, however. When it came to Alois, the Watchdog was least tame, as it was Alois who held his true loyalty when it boiled down to it. When Alois was in peril, that was when Ciel was most alert. Now, the bluenette was here to demand news on his husband's status.
"Where is he?" Ciel growled, his face in a snarl.
"In the infirmary, where else?" Integra replied. "Please don't go down there making a fuss. He's still being tended to."
"How? What care does he need?"
"Powder was thrown into his face before he was struck, which formed salt-like crystals when it came in contact when wet. That has to be cleaned off, and samples are being taken." the woman informed, leaning back in her seat while lighting a cigar. "He also has to undergo a physical examination to make sure that there are no other injuries."
"He lost consciousness."
"Which is why he also needs to have a brain scan. As well as other tests. This is all routine."
"Where is the old woman?" Ciel demanded.
"In our custody." his relative answered. "We wanted Dafydd to finish the examination first so he can be there for the interview to understand the type of magic she used. In the mean time, you need to take Luka home and wait."
"Sebastian is dealing with Luka. I want to know more about this."
"Then take a seat." Integra said, gesturing to a chair in front of the desk. Reluctantly, her offer was taken. Crossing his arms, Ciel sat down and stared intensely at the woman. "Please restrain yourself. You're acting as though this is directly my fault."
"I'm… sorry..." the Watchdog sighed. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to calm down, but worry had already consumed him. "I know it's not your fault… I know all of these tests are necessary… It's just..."
"You're not as reserved as you used to be. You care deeply for Jim and he makes your emotions run wild, but there is still a procedure and there needs to be a certain degree of professionalism."
"I know..."
"Your knuckles are white." Integra observed, alerting the man that his fist was clenched. Ciel stretched his fingers, but it wasn't enough. His entire body was stiff.
"I'm terrified." Ciel stated. "I don't want to lose him again."
"We will do everything we can." the woman assured, noticing a red light on her phone come on. Pressing it, she answered the call.
"Yes?" she said, granting the person on the other end permission to speak.
"The Physical examination of D-003 is complete, ma'am." they informed. "No abnormalities to be reported. Blake is on his way to the interrogation room right now."
"Very good. Tell me if you find anything else."
"Yes, ma'am."
With that, Phantomhive and Hellsing sat and waited. Integra decided that it is best to not allow Ciel to wander about just yet. Thus, she asked him to stay with her in her office. Things were completely silent for the longest time. It was unbearable. Integra turned her attention to her computer while Ciel was left twiddling his thumbs. Eventually, the thought occurred to him to inquire about Wakefield, but he wasn't sure how to bring the subject up with grace. Thus, he simply threw it out in the open.
"I met a most curious vampire today." he said, while the other's gaze didn't stray from her screen.
"Oh? What was curious about him?" she asked.
"He is the chairman of one of Britain's most prestigious schools." Ciel informed. "He says he is of noble blood, but I have no way to confirm this. It was concerning, so I was wondering if you knew anything about that."
"What is the name?"
"Thaddeus Wakefield."
Quickly, Integra entered the name into the system and scanned the results. Leaning back to take a puff from her cigar, she shook her head. "The only thing we have for a 'Wakefield' is 'Leslie Wakefield.'"
"A fake name?"
"Perhaps." the woman said, going over the file. "Male. Blonde. No occupation listed. There is an address in Gehenna listed, however."
"Is it worth investigating?" the Phantomhive questioned.
"Perhaps." Integra replied. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
"It's a distraction, really." A heavy sigh escaped the bluenette. Pausing, he tried to think of something else to say, but couldn't.
"Just be sure not to neglect your duties. He is going to need your support when he wakes up."
"I know… I just hope that he'll be alright when that happens."
It was difficult. Ciel knew that he needed to have faith in Alois. The blonde was more resilient than most give him credit for, and it's been proven time and time again. Even though he knew this and knew it better than anyone, however, Ciel couldn't help but worry. It was his duty as the man's husband. He simply needed to find balance in it all. The Watchdog couldn't be overbearing, but he couldn't be apathetic. Unfortunately, Alois was the only thing in this world that could whip the bluenette's emotions up into a frenzy.
Ciel was anxious, despite doing everything he could to remain calm. He hoped it wasn't serious. He almost prayed to whatever powers that be. Alas, it sounded bad, between crystals forming around the eyes and the man losing consciousness. Demons do not pass out for no reason and magic is nothing to be trifled with. These are truths that the Watchdog couldn't ignore.
He wanted to see his husband. There was nothing more he desired at that moment than to get up and rush to the blonde's side. It wasn't to be, however. There was more that needed to be done. Even if he were simply permitted to peek inside the room to look at the menace for a brief moment, he would be somewhat satisfied, but he would have to wait, unfortunately.
The Phantomhive butler was ordered to look after Luka by the Watchdog. Oh, how the boy cried and cried… Luka cried until he wore himself out and even then, he didn't want to leave, either. He, too, wanted to know that his brother was alright. The boy fell asleep leaning against Sebastian while the two sat and waited outside the infirmary. They wouldn't be allowed in until the menace woke up, which could be hours, if not days, but still, they waited.
When it got late, they would leave to go home, while Ciel remained. The Phantomhive was offered a room at the Hellsing family residence in the meantime, but he wouldn't sleep until he knew Alois was fine.
In the meantime, the facility's magic expert, Dafydd Blake, made his way to one of the interrogation chambers, where the witch that attacked Alois was held. Her hands were cuffed and her magic ring had been confiscated; most likely to never be returned again because of what she had done. Still, the old woman protested.
She was positively identified as "Ruth Marchand" and was locally known to be rather eccentric. She had a granddaughter that looked after her, but was prone to wander off and get into trouble. Her file said that she didn't have the best health, but that was a while ago, as she refuses to see a doctor. Ruth was said to speak nonsensically at times without making sense and forget things, but the interrogators would have to try.
"How are we doing?" Dafydd asked the investigator seated across from her, but the man just sighed.
"I don't understand what she's talking about." answered the interrogator. "She keeps talking about a 'beast', but I don't know how to interpret that. When I ask, she says that 'humans don't know'."
Looking up at the woman seated quietly across from them, Dafydd decided to give things a try. "What's this about a beast, Missus Marchand?" The woman seemed cross at the question.
"The beast that trapped the lion!" she declared. "I freed him from his clutches! This human cannot understand. No human ever can! They are far too feeble-minded."
"Who is the beast?" asked the man. "How did you free him?"
"Where have you been, boy? It is the Watchdog, the worst beast of them all." Ruth replied. She tried to fold her arms, but her restraints limited her to putting her hands on the table. "The Lion no longer has to associate with him."
"The Watchdog is pretty scary..." Dafydd said, trying to maintain trust. "Why doesn't the Lion have to, though?"
"He no longer recalls."
Dafydd had no idea what the witch meant by this. He folded his hands on the table and thought, but the action was hindered by his many rings. That said, the magic jewelry caught the attention of the other.
"You wear many magic rings." she observed. "Why is this?"
"Well, since boys usually have weaker magic, I have to try and make up for it." he answered. "Without them, I can't do much. Now I can do pretty advanced spells, but I'm always learning."
"That is as it should be." the woman nodded. "Full mastery of magic does not exist. I am impressed by your devotion."
"Thank you."
"The spell I used on the lion was difficult. It was all worth it, however. Now he will be plagued by the Watchdog no longer."
"You said he 'won't recall'. What does that mean?" the man questioned.
"It means as I said, boy." Ruth stated. "He will not recall that which plagues him."
A/N: Whelp. That's unfortunate.
More on this old lady next time.
Things are terrible.
Very terrible.
Also, a few things: I'm sorry if I don't answer messages on here. I very rarely check it, to the point where I should probably disable it, really. I'm sorry! I almost always answer messages on my tumblr, however. Dunno why I do things this way. I just do.
On a similar note, I have gotten several messages asking me if the sender can translate DLTD into other languages. I'm sorry I haven't replied to this, but that's something that needs to be thought about. While I would love for the series to reach a much wider audience, I'm hesitant because this makes it really easy for my content to be stolen. Of course, this might not happen, and if someone was going to repost without credit, they're gonna do it anyway, but still. I feel like if I were going to allow someone to handle translation or adaption, I would have to be friends with them and have some level of trust with them.
I'm sure you're all lovely and I'm very impressed that you would want to take on such a big task, though! How on earth would one tackle a series that's 7982375293875 chapters long? Madness! In all seriousness, however, it's just It's just that I want to make sure I keep some degree of control of my fic, is the issue.
What else... I feel like there was something else I needed to talk about but I can't remember what it is...
Hmmm...
Oh, well. If it's important, I'll remember eventually.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
