Chapter #13: Acknowledgement

"Bring her back alive no matter what indeed" That had been his master's order and there was no way around it. Alucard had gritted his teeth when he had felt the dimming glow of the seals disappear completely. He had had not intended for this night to end like this nor for this girl to be so much trouble.

Gloved fingers clenched at the thought of what he had been forced to do and red eyes narrowed at the still lingering taste of his own blood in his mouth, a mock of disgust marring it. The glass he had been holding for some time now cracked under the pressure.

The vampire's mind had kept going into circles about what had happened, making him angrier and frustrated. This hadn´t lasted long though because it had been in that moment when he had heard a soft moan of pain. Blinking, as if he had just been woken from a dream (he found himself doing that quite often these days), he had quickly looked down to find the passed out girl in his arms. Apparently the blood had taken effect if she could produce sound again.

Alucard emptied the contents of the broken glass and carefully put it back on the round table. He run a hand through his messy short hair, letting out a big puff of air as his back hit the wood of his throne like chair. He didn't want to deal with this kind of thing now. It's not as if he really cared for her at all, he was just bored and her blood was too good and he had found some entertainment. True, it would be a shame she died so quickly, but her life was not something he valued at this point. Red eyes closing, he just hoped his blood wouldn't change her at all and that his master found that girl's family so he could be left alone again.

The Midian had taken advantage of the moment to truly look at the young woman for the first time, while she was still unconscious and she couldn't run or scream or cry. Sigh. His little human was a little wreck. Her blood caked part of the exposed skin and most of her clothes and its smell was pungent in the air, her hair plastered to the face and shoulders due to a heavy coat of sweat and dried black crusts of blood tangled themselves between the oily strands. None of these things seemed to bother the vampire for he wasn't paying attention to the wounds nor the sweet, tempting liquid that he fought so hard not to notice, Alucard was looking at her face, as if trying to decipher who this somehow mysterious girl was. If he was paying attention, he would have probably seen the bandages and the obvious scent of the priest in her.

"Inés" His mind had just provided. Her name was Inés. He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling with this new revelation. Why did his brain decide to give him that information now? He uncrossed his legs and intertwined his fingers, changing positions so he was leaning forward now.

She was so young and although he didn't know her exact age, he could guess she couldn't be older that twenty, he even doubted she was near that age. Alucard was aware that in the current time this age was considered young but coming form a time in which children were not considered as such from the age of fourteen or even before that, he couldn't help but see her as a woman. A woman who had gone through a lot in a very short time (he readjusted her so she was fully facing him now), a woman who had back talked him and taunted him (his eyes became softer, although it was almost unnoticeable), a woman he knew was mature for her supposed age (his fingers brushed away the hair that covered her pale face), a woman who was awake and looking at him with wide eyes.

"Good evening" he vampire had said with a smug grin.

A woman who had just screamed like a banshee in his ear and had proceeded to punch him in the face.

He knew he should not have given her his blood, that punch hurt more than it should have. Alucard had clutched his nose out of surprise as he glared accusingly at her. Meanwhile, the teen had woken completely and was looking frenetically around the room. When her eyes had landed on him again, a spark of recognition had made itself present in them and with a small yelp; she had risen to her feet. Swaying a bit due to the tiredness that still lingered, she had taken a hold of the window to help her shaking legs.

"I'm…I'm sorry?" she had carefully said. "I…I thought you were another person" her voice had come stronger this time. "What are you doing here?" WHAT!? She had had the nerve to sound offended when she asked that question.

"Fulfilling orders! Because some GIRL decided to be an idiot" he had said between gritted fangs, rising to his full height and looming over her as if she had been his next victim. His patience had been running thin.

"If you hadn't abandoned me in a vampire infested place, you shouldn't be fulfilling orders! So who is the idiot?!" Before the last word was said, the woman had been pinned to the same window frame she had been holding for support, a familiar hand around her neck. She had gasped for air and for once, she had been afraid. Good, she should know her place.

"Watch your tongue, girl" or you may lose it, he had added in his mind. Screaming, begging, he had expected those, but what she had said afterwards had taken him by surprise.

"Inés, m-my name is I-Inés" Her eyes were half closed and she was struggling to breathe yet she had chosen her last words to be her name.

The Vampire King laughed at the situation and he kept on laughing, a sinister echo following him. He wasn`t expecting such fire after almost dying, but then again his blood was extremely powerful on humans. He must admit that, although he was furious, deep down he felt some amusement for the defiance. He let her live. Of course, it was a direct order from his master, but… He wondered if it had been just that. Alucard dreaded to admit it, had started to like the gir- No, Inés.

Brown eyes opened slowly when a source of light hit their closed lids, making them itch. They blinked a couple of times before they got adjusted to the new environment and lighting of the room she was in now. She didn't remember how she had gotten there but the teen had some slight idea of who had brought her to the mansion again. How did she know she was in the Hellsing Headquarters again? Easy, Inés was laid in the same large bed she once had awoken in and before her, a blonde petit woman, also known as Seras, was standing straight and unmoving as a tree in front of her.

Inés stared, Seras stared back. This went on for a whole minute until the draculina shyly decided it was time to break the silence.

"Ejem.." She awkwardly cleared her throat. "Emm… hello?" She stuttered at first, but she quickly changed her mood, as if she suddenly had remembered she was a soldier and the one supposed to 'take care' of her. "My name is Seras Victoria and I'm a soldier of Hellsing and I've been assigned to look after you for the time being" Her serious tone didn't go along her appearance but it worked well with the intensity of her glare. It wasn't a particularly angry glare so Inés was calm, for now.

"Ah…Ok. Mmmm….I'm Inés Conde" She started as if she had somehow forgot how to speak English for a minute. She didn't know how to behave nor proceed from this point if things were going to be different as from they were in the manga. "I'm a high school student and I've been kidnapped by you" The Spanish finished a bit unsure.

"Oh, dear, no! You haven't been kidnapped, you are here for your protection" Seras said happily. There, that's the character she knew,

"So, I can leave?" Fat chance. She already knew the answer to that question. She thought while lifting herself off the bed and walking to stand near her new 'captor'. "Weird, I don't feel tired nor hurt and I'm sure I was dying just a minute ago?"

"Well, no" The fledgling answered sheepishly. "B-but that doesn't mean you can't walk around or talk to people, the Wild Geese are a funny bunch and Walter is kind and nice and… I believe that is all. But, believe me, it's not that bad in here" She was rambling now; talking to herself mostly for Inés was not paying attention to anything she was saying. She was more preoccupied with looking at every dark spot of the room because, you know, one could never be cautious enough when dealing with Dracula. When she made sure they were alone, she focused on her body. There were some bandages but they were relatively clean and she couldn't feel any cuts or bruises.

"And that's why I'll make sure you won't be alone nor lonely. I would know about that" Apparently Seras had finished her little monologue and she hadn't noticed she wasn't being heard. She looked quite sad and apologetic now and that's when it clicked. If she had fallen in this world right after the Valentine's attack, Seras was newly turned and thus still an undeveloped character. She haven't gained the trust of Integra nor the approval of Alucard and she probably didn't drink blood yet so she was pretty much still a girl in a place she didn't know. A wave of empathy flowed through her. Inés took both her hands and without thinking about what she was about to say, she smiled at Seras, a genuine smile.

"I'm sure you'll become a great person AND vampire one day. Your father would be proud"

Blue eyes widening madly and mouth hanging open in a silent question, Seras felt the sting of tears threating to fall. She didn't know how the girl in front of her knew about her father, had she told her that in her rant? However, it didn't matter to her right now. She was pretty sure she had just made a friend.

Inés hissed when she felt a bit of pain in the odd tattoo and her hand instinctively rose to the spot. She stopped halfway to its destination when she realized the pain was gone in a matter of seconds. That wasn't supposed to happen, each time it hurt more and more so why didn't it now? That thought brought her back to her body condition as she started to remember swallowing blood and Alucard oddly cradling her. Her eyes met those of the draculina, searching for confirmation of her suspicions. When the other girl slowly nodded, Inés world came crushing down, her head hurt. She took heavy breaths to calm herself, she closed her eyes, she needed to calm down before…

"THAT FUCKING JERK! GOD!" She could be dead right now; she could be back to her country, her city, her WORLD. But NO, that…that IDIOT had to spoil everything. HOW could she ever had a crush on him was beyond her. He was unbearable, egocentric and psychopathic. Seras, at this point, had stepped aside and was looking at her with a mix of sympathy and worry. Inés, for her part, had turned so her back was facing the vampire and the door. "I hate him" She almost whispered. Sighing, she turned around to tell Seras she was going to need some paper and pen, after all, she now knew why and when the change in her tattoo happened and she needed to write down some things. Her face came into contact with the wall. Damn, she hadn't been looking where she was going and had stepped to close to the end of the room…Although she didn't remember walking so much around. She pushed the wall with one of her hands while the other run through her hair; she needed a long and intense shower. The appendage that was currently pressed against the stone felt inexplicably warm so, clearly, the teen looked for the source of this heat.

Stare.

She hissed through clenched teeth with closed eyes and an expression of pure contained anger. A single brow rose as her head titled slightly to the side. Without looking up, she spoke.

"Alucard…"

"Good morning, my little human. Now that you are awake, my master would like to have a word with you" The smugness of his voice made her angrier. Just a few hours ago he looked like he wanted to kill her and now he acted as if she was his best pal. "How strange" The older vampire thought. Just a moment ago she was swooning over me and now she hates me. And that hand…Oh, that hand was too close to a certain spot, but she seemed unaffected by it as well. "Strange indeed" Had he fell out of her favor? He threw away those thought as soon as they appeared. He'd been alone for far too long if he was upset about a wimpy human not liking him. Yet again, he didn't like to lose and maybe it was just that, he was losing a fight. Well, she had won the battle but the war was still raging. A huge grin appeared on his face and his blood boiled with the promise of winning and more important, entertainment.

Väl Apple here!

Next chapter is up and new developements happen. Inés had lost interest and Alucard now has interest. Also, has anyone guessed how does the tattoo curse work? ;)

Until next chapter! I'm waiting for your lovely reviews and opinions.

(Just a quick note: last chapter my author note was filled with errors. Sorry about that. I published it without spell checking it. I could change it on Wattpad, but I need to delete the chapter in Fanfiction in order to submit the corrections so I left it the way it is)