Thank you so much for reading and reviewing the first chapter! Also thank you to those who have already followed this story and added it to their favourites. I'm glad that you're enjoying this story so far. Without further ado, here's the second chapter.

Partners

It's a long way to Tipperary

It's a long way to go

It's a long way to Tipperary

To the sweetest girl I know

Goodbye Piccadilly

Farewell Leicester Square

It's a long long way to Tipperary

But my heart's right there

Seras kept softly singing to herself with her eyes closed, pushing the terrifying shadows as far away from her mind as possible. It helped fill her with pleasant memories. No longer trapped, she curled herself into her daddy's arms, singing along with him and his friends as they gulped down their pints of beer. The warmth of the pub made her cheeks all rosy, and the smoke from people's cigarettes made her occasionally cough, but she didn't care.

Her father had been so giddy that he had even let Seras have a sip of his pint. But Seras didn't like it. She had no idea how grown-ups could drink that stuff all the time. Instead, she was content with her orange juice and nibbling on the pork scratchings she had stolen off one of her daddy's friends. No doubt mummy wouldn't be happy about all of this. But hanging around her and the other mums was boring. All they did was chat about boring stuff. At least with daddy and his friends, she could have some fun.

Seras clapped as they all kept singing.

Paddy wrote a letter

To his Irish Molly O'

Saying, "Should you not receive it,

Write and let me know!

If I make mistakes in spelling

Molly dear," said he

"Remember it's the pen, that's bad

Don't lay the blame on me".

But she could not maintain the memories for long. Eventually they were filled with nothing but screams and gunshots. It forced her eyes to snap back open, seeing nothing in front of her but pitch blackness. Long gone was the warm glow of the pub. She missed going there. She missed the music, the dancing, the singing… her friends. She hadn't been back since everything that had happened. There was no way that the sisters would ever take her back there. She was trapped here forever.

Seras continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes finally beginning to make out the outlines of shapes and shadows. But wait… that couldn't be right. There should have been nothing but a locked door in front of her. Instead, it appeared as though a figure was standing over her, and Seras shrieked, pushing herself backwards in surprise. Her back collided painfully with the wall and her head bounced off the hard surface, causing her to groan in pain.

"What were you singing?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Seras opened her eyes again in shock, expecting her sudden guest to be Sour Face, but instead, another girl was looking down at her. The young blonde squinted her eyes as best as she could, fighting against the darkness to try and figure out who had decided to pay her a visit. However, her eyes widened once again when she saw it was none other than the girl she had seen in the dining hall. Her red eyes seemed to glow, providing the only other colour in the room. One gloved hand was leaning against the now open door as she stared down at Seras with amused curiosity.

Opening and closing her mouth multiple times, Seras didn't know what to say. How had this girl gotten down here? It had to have been the middle of the night by now and Seras was pretty sure that Sour Face had locked the door. So what gives?

The girl then frowned at her. "I asked you a question; now you must answer."

"Oh… ummm…" Seras cringed back under the girl's intense gaze. "I dunno… I used to sing it with my dad, and he said that his dad used to sing it too."

"It sounds vaguely familiar." The strange girl's red eyes seemed to focus on something far away.

Seras couldn't help but find herself completely transfixed by the girl's eyes. They were such a beautiful and deep shade of red. Seras had never seen someone with red eyes before. They must be really rare. It just further solidified Seras' theory that this girl was a magical princess from a faraway land. But what was somebody like that doing in a place like this?

"You have really pretty eyes," Seras said before she could stop herself.

The girl blinked and looked back down at her. "What?"

"Your eyes," Seras repeated, "they're really pretty."

The girl smirked. "They don't scare you?"

"No? Why would they?"

"They say red is the colour of Satan." The girl lowered her voice and smiled evilly.

"Why? I like red. Red's my favourite colour."

The strange girl's face turned thoughtful. "I can see why they call you devil child," she muttered, and Seras frowned in response.

"I'm not the devil!" she snapped.

"You're right," the other girl laughed out. "You couldn't possibly be."

"And why's that?"

"Because he's standing right in front of you," the girl replied darkly.

Seras gulped and peered around the other girl's torso, seeing nothing but a dark cellar behind her.

"I don't see him," Seras replied, confused.

The strange girl stared down at her blankly which only made Seras even more uncomfortable. This girl sure was strange, and although her presence and behaviour sent a shiver down Seras' spine, she couldn't help but feel drawn to her. She liked her. She was different. She seemed to be a lonely outcast, just like Seras was. All of the other children were scared of them. Though why they were scared of the new girl, Seras had no idea. Admittedly, Seras stabbed people with forks, but she hadn't seen this girl do anything. During everything that had happened in the dining hall, the strange girl had merely stood there, watching as the scene unfolded.

"How did you get down here?" Seras asked, voicing her earlier question.

The girl's smirk returned. "It's a secret."

Seras' eyes widened in wonder. "I can keep a secret!"

"Sssssh," the girl shushed her as she sat down on the ground in front of her, her head tilting to one side as she appeared to be trying to listen for any sound of movement upstairs.

Seras clamped a hand over her mouth to prove to her new friend that she could be quiet.

The girl then turned her attention back to Seras, her red eyes sparkling playfully. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Seras nodded, still keeping her hand over her mouth.

"Do you swear on pain of impalement?"

"What's that?" Seras whispered after removing her hand.

The girl giggled, grinning sadistically. "It's where you take a sharp stick and shove it up their arse until it comes back up through their mouth."

"Whoa." Seras shivered before shaking her head. "I definitely don't want that. I promise I won't tell anyone."

The girl regarded her for a moment before her smirk grew impossibly wide and she leaned in slightly. "Magic," she whispered.

"No way," Seras gasped. "You're having me on!"

"I don't tell lies," the girl boasted proudly.

"Can you show me?" Seras practically begged.

The girl thought for a moment before waving her hand in front of her. A small glass of water appeared in the palm of her hand, seemingly being produced from a puff of black smoke. The girl then held it in front of Seras, who didn't even question it as she quickly grabbed hold of it and gulped it down. She hadn't realised just how painfully dry her throat had become after screaming and crying for hours on end. She licked the remaining droplets from her lips before handing the glass back to her new friend who promptly made it vanish again before Seras' amazed eyes.

"What's your name?" Seras then asked, leaning forward eagerly.

The other girl raised an eyebrow before answering. "Alucard."

"Alucard?" Seras sounded the name out. "I've never heard of that name before. Where are you from?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" The girl wagged a finger in front of her. "It's my turn to ask a question. That's usually how two-way conversations work. You're not the only one who's curious."

Seras huffed but did as she was told.

"What's your name?" Alucard asked.

"Seras," she replied.

Alucard blinked. "And you thought my name was unusual. Seras… Seras… The Roman goddess."

Seras titled her head in confusion.

"Your name," Alucard responded to her silent questioning, "it sounds like Ceres, the Roman goddess of fertility and agriculture."

"Cool," Seras gasped, "I never knew that! Now can I ask where you're from?"

Alucard chuckled. "Go ahead."

"Where're you from?"

"A long long way from here," was her disappointingly vague response. "From a place that no longer exists and is no longer familiar to me."

"Oh." Seras furrowed her eyebrows, not really knowing what to say. But there was something about her words that had struck a chord. It sounded so familiar. So relatable. Perhaps not for the same reasons, but Seras also felt like she came from a place that was long forgotten: a happy family. "Me too."

Alucard narrowed her eyes before clasping her hands together. Her face was now almost completely covered by the shadow of her long dark hair. "How can that possibly be the case?"

"I don't belong anywhere anymore. My home is not my home anymore. My home was destroyed by bad people. Now I'm stuck here and they force me to stay. I lost everything, so there's nothing to go back to, no matter how much I want it." Seras wasn't sure why she was telling Alucard this. They had only just met, and Seras never liked to share her private business with anybody. But the girl, while terrifying, was also comforting. Seras felt a strange connection to the girl that she couldn't explain. She felt like this girl was probably the only person in the entire world who understood how she felt.

"How old are you, Seras?" Alucard appeared to be studying her carefully.

"I'm nine and a half," Seras responded.

"How can you know and understand these things?"

Seras shrank back as she could practically feel Alucard glaring at her. What had she said? Had she upset her? Great, just as Seras thought she was about to finally gain a new friend, she had gone and blown it.

"I-I-I…" was all the young blonde could stutter out in response.

Alucard's expression seemed to relax slightly, turning more neutral. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. I can see for myself."

"Huh?"

Alucard waved her off. "It doesn't matter."

They both stared at each other for a few moments, both trying to figure the other one out. Seras felt so small and inadequate compared to her. She was tall, beautiful and everything that Seras wished she could be. It really made her wonder why this new girl was showing such an interest in her.

"Why did you come down here?" Seras asked. "You could get yourself into huge trouble."

Alucard rolled her eyes. "They'd never be able to catch me."

"But why?"

"I told you, because I'm magic." Alucard laughed, clutching at her stomach as her hysterics continued.

"No, I meant why did you come down here?"

Alucard stopped laughing and frowned. "Good question."

Seras waited, watching Alucard through the darkness, unsure of what to say.

But finally, Alucard spoke again. "I suppose I was curious."

"Curious?"

Alucard nodded. "You're probably one of the most entertaining humans I have ever come across."

Seras scrunched up her nose, not knowing what the strange girl was talking about, but it almost sounded like an insult. Entertaining? That meant he was laughing at her, right? Maybe Seras had been too quick to get her hopes up about finally making a friend. What if this girl was just like all the others? Laughing at her and bullying her all the time. Was that why she had come down to see her? To make fun of her?

"I would not stoop down to childish bullying," Alucard said, interrupting her thoughts.

Huh? Had she said that out loud?

"You are insignificant and not worth my time," the girl opposite her continued.

"Yet here you are," Seras responded sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest as she sulked.

Alucard's eyes widened for a split second before she burst out laughing again. Seras huffed and waited for the girl to finish her laughing fit. Her laughter didn't sound like normal laughter. There was a crazy edge to it, and it made Seras' body tingle in fear. It wasn't a happy laugh. It creeped her out. But Seras remained seated, determined not to let her fear show. Even though this girl was older and bigger than her, Seras still had a chance at taking her down. After all, grown-ups had a hard time keeping hold of her.

Alucard's laughing immediately came to a halt. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Do what?" Seras asked innocently.

Alucard let out another chuckle. "Try to fight me."

Seras frowned, perplexed. "I… I never said I would…?"

"No." Alucard smirked smugly. "But you were thinking it."

Seras gasped, finally understanding. She clutched her head as she stared at Alucard with wide eyes. "You can read my mind?!"

"Sssssh!"

Seras clamped her hands over her mouth again, her heart racing at the thought of being caught down here like this by one of the sisters. The last thing she needed was another night locked in this cupboard. Now that they had figured out a wonderfully torturous punishment for her, Seras was going to make sure to try and keep her head down from now on. The only reason she wasn't freaking out right now was because she had company. Though Alucard blocked her escape and kept her pinned in place in the cupboard, at least she was no longer alone in the dark.

"So, you're afraid of tight spaces?" Alucard inquired after a few moments of silently listening for any signs of movement upstairs.

Seras nodded, trying to force back tears.

"Why?"

"Because I am," Seras whispered as she uncovered her mouth. She turned away from the girl in front of her, suddenly wishing that she was alone again. She really didn't want to talk about this. The sound of gunshots echoed in her mind once again, and Seras squeezed her eyes tightly shut in the futile hope that she could block it all out. Screams pierced her heart like the bullet had pierced her abdomen, and her hand instinctively placed itself over her scar as worms once again wriggled under her skin there.

"All those things you saw and yet you're scared of a cupboard." Alucard sounded almost disgusted. "Where's the brave girl I saw earlier?"

Seras opened her eyes again to see Alucard watching her intensely. She shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. She didn't know why she was scared. She just… was. Ever since that night she had become scared of tight spaces. It reminded her of that night and she hated being back there. She wanted to escape. To break free not just of this cupboard, but this whole place, and this whole situation. She wanted to be back home with her mummy and daddy.

But they were never coming back…

They were angels in heaven now. Meanwhile Seras was stuck down here on her own. She wanted to be with them. She wanted to feel their arms around her, rocking her and singing softly to her just like they used to do whenever she was sad or scared. Now she had no one. She was all alone.

"Maybe you're not as strong and interesting as I thought you were," Alucard sighed out, sounding like she was talking more to herself than she was to Seras.

This snapped Seras out of her internal sorrow.

"I am strong!" she protested.

Alucard smirked. "Prove it."

Seras growled to herself before forcing herself up onto her feet. She pushed past Alucard and made her way into the cellar, looking around in the darkness, not entirely thinking properly about what she was doing. All she knew is that she didn't want to sit in that cupboard anymore like a scared little girl. She was a big girl now. She had stabbed a man who had a gun and lived. Sour Face couldn't keep her down here. Seras Victoria would not back down. This isn't what a police woman would do. A police woman would escape and fight against the bad guys.

"You want to be a police woman?" Alucard had moved silently to stand behind her. Seras now felt even smaller compared to the much taller girl. She only came up to the other girl's chest. Everything about the other girl was incredibly intimidating. Standing beside each other, it was almost as if they were exact opposites in every way. Alucard was tall, pristine, well kept, had long dark hair and skin devoid of all life and colour. Meanwhile Seras was short, unkempt, had short blonde hair and dirtied skin that was flushed with marks and bruises from various beatings. They looked worlds apart from each other.

Seras nodded. "Just like my daddy!" she proudly proclaimed.

"Interesting."

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Seras asked.

Alucard chuckled. "I already am something."

"Huh?" Alucard sure could say some weird things sometimes.

"I am a king."

"Okay, now I know you're pulling my leg," Seras replied, trying to contain her laughter. "How can you be a king when you're a girl? Don't you mean queen?"

Alucard smiled and shook her head. "I can be whatever I want to be."

"But… that's not how things work?" Seras questioned, feeling incredibly confused.

"Says who?" Alucard raised an eyebrow.

Seras thought for a moment. "I don't know?"

"Seras, we have already established that I'm magical, so it shouldn't be so hard for you to use your brain on this one." She sounded like she was growing impatient.

"Sorry," Seras mumbled, still not entirely sure how all of this worked. Alucard was a king? Yet she was a girl? She came from a faraway land? None of this made any sense, but she found herself happy to go along with it. However, there was still one puzzle that she wanted to question. "But if you're a king, then what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a special secret mission," Alucard explained.

Seras gasped in excitement. "Can I help?"

Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. If you do everything I say."

"I promise!"

"I certainly could use some inside help," Alucard mused.

Seras began bouncing in anticipation. Her first secret mission! All of a sudden her time in this dreadful place seemed a lot more exciting and fun! She just knew that there was something special and amazing about this girl. Maybe she was drawn to her because they were supposed to be partners? Seras could just imagine them fighting bad guys together and saving innocent people. Together they would be unstoppable!

"Okay, little police girl," Alucard began and Seras was practically buzzing from the nickname. "Can you tell me anything about the missing children in this place?"

Seras immediately stopped bouncing and bit her lip as she tried to remember anything. "I'm not sure?" she finally responded. "I didn't know any of them."

"You don't have to have known them, just tell me everything that you do know about what's been happening."

"Hmmm," Seras kept thinking. "They're never seen again. We all don't like to talk about it, but we're all scared that we're going to be next. Some say it's a kidnapper, others say it's monsters and some say that the kids were just moved to other homes or adopted. That last one is what the grown-ups keep telling us anyway."

"And what do you think, Seras?" Alucard inquired.

She shrugged in response. "I try not to think about it. It's almost as creepy as that new priest."

"What?"

"I said it's creepy," Seras repeated.

"No, what was that about a new priest?" Alucard urged, grabbing Seras by the shoulders in an attempt to make the younger girl focus.

"Father White? Nobody likes him. He's mean."

Alucard frowned in thought before smirking. "I should like to meet this Father White."

"Why?" Seras questioned.

"Let's just say he now has the right to remain silent," Alucard tittered before dashing up the stairs, and Seras gasped in fright when she appeared to walk right through the door like a ghost. Oh yeah, Alucard was magical. But that knowledge still didn't stop the strange things the girl did from startling her.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Seras cried out, running up the stairs to follow. This was her mission too!

The blonde girl pulled on the door and frowned when it wouldn't open. It was locked? But how? Alucard had managed to get in and out. She pressed her shoulder against the old wood in a feeble attempt to replicate Alucard's magic trick. But nothing happened. This wasn't fair! Seras wanted to help too! Alucard had promised!

She slammed her shoulder against the door again before yelping as it suddenly gave way, sending her tumbling down to the dirty tiled floor. She groaned as she pulled her head up to look around, her blue eyes meeting the amused red ones of her new friend. Seras huffed as she pushed herself up off the ground and dusted herself off, her cheeks turning red as she refused to look back at Alucard who clearly found her hilarious.

"Don't dawdle, Police Girl," Alucard then said before dashing off again.

Seras blew a stray blonde hair away from her face as she followed the direction Alucard had disappeared in, ready to question their new suspect.

Once again, thank you for reading! Please feel free to let me know your thoughts in a review as it helps inspire me to keep writing. Take care out there!