Chapter#15: Lust for knowledge

Inés smiled and lifted her upper lip with two fingers, looking at her reflection's fangs for the tenth time before deciding they were not going to change. The girl groaned and pulled away from the mirror. She had been in the bathroom for quite some time now, the only place where the vampire wouldn't follow her, and she had a bit of privacy and a moment to think. The teen's current line of thought was about her strange situation. Inés was in Hellsing, somehow linked now with Alucard due to her drinking his blood, and cursed. Her head fell into her open hands as she slumped over the sink in defeat. Every fangirl dream had become her personal nightmare. She dried her face and hair a couple of times more before throwing the towel over her shoulder and getting out.

He was there when she opened the door to 'her' bedroom. Of course he was there. His red-clad form towering over her and everything in the room.

How the hell is he so tall? He is from the middle ages, Inés thought while she awkwardly sidestepped him to reach her bed. She had showered and redressed in the Hellsing uniform, much to her annoyance. But it was the only thing she had, so she had to make do. Her hair was still a bit damp because, apparently, they didn't know of the power of a hair dryer in this house. She could feel his eyes following her every movement and, as she sat cross-legged on the surprisingly hard bed—guess not everything is as wonderful and magic as in fanfiction—he moved to sit on one of the chairs.

Inés' eyes scanned the space: nothing too grand but still big enough to fit in with the rest of the mansion. A medium-sized bed on the corner, a closet (empty, she figured) to the right next to a body mirror and a small desk with two chairs, one currently occupied by the jerk, to the left. Next to the bed, a door that led to a small bathroom: sink, toilet and a shower. Finally her eyes landed on the nightstand and the notebook and pen over it. She flipped it open to the first page and began writing.

Pros: being at Hellsing, meeting the characters and living an adventure.

Cons: I'm stuck here, death.

"How old are you?" The notebook would have almost flown from her hands if they weren't holding it in a white-knuckle grip, and a weird strangled and throaty noise came out of her. It had been so silent that for a moment she had completely forgotten about him.

"Em... seventeen?" The teen shrugged. What was the point of lying anyways? Inés carefully and slowly looked back at the notepad in her hands. She could hear, however, a quiet 'mmm' from the jerk.

Pros: being with Alucard, drinking his blood, probably becoming a vampire (is this even a pro?), seeing ghouls, Iscariot and magic.

Cons: being with Alucard, becoming a vampire, death.

"Where are you from?" This next question came with less of a fright but still surprised her. The smug bastard had made himself comfortable on the chair and was happily lounging in it, hands intertwined and legs crossed. That trademark smirk of his on his face.

What is this? Twenty questions? Inés thought warily. Is he doing this to get information? She looked up at him through her lashes, but her face remained focused on the paper. "I'm from Spain".

"Oh? And do you play the guitar?" He was mocking her. Her eye ticked for a second in restrained anger. She took a deep breath, chuckled mirthlessly and put the notebook and pen down. She looked straight at him.

"I don't know. Do you play the accordion? You know, since you are Romanian." True it was a low blow, topics and stereotypes weren't at all appealing to her, but he had started it. He was surprised. His mouth opened and closed a couple times, smirk gone. It was a bold move, fueled by her stress, anger, and maybe lack of proper sleep and food. Alucard stood up, slowly. He fixed his coat, cravat, and removed his hat and glasses, acting as if he hadn't heard her. And then, he looked straight at the girl, blood-red eyes boring holes into hers. It was in that moment she knew she fucked up.

Inés tried to move quickly and get the hell out from the room, but before she could even blink the vampire was towering over her and the room seemed to get darker, which only accentuated the brightness of his eyes, giving him an eerie look. Her breaths came out in short pants from the tension and she wasn't ashamed of admitting she was scared shitless right now. Alucard was huge in stature, broad-shouldered, and he was freaking Dracula. Hell, even if he was not a vampire he'd still intimidate her. Only a fool wouldn't be scared. He leaned down, noses almost touching.

"Fuck," Inés swallowed the lump in her throat and dared a peak at his eyes. Why did I do that?

"So," The vampire began in a deep, menacing voice. "I'm Romanian." He was so close she could perfectly see his fangs as he spoke, the little veins on his pale skin and the slight slit of his pupils. She was sure she'd be able to even count the hairs on his eyebrows if they weren't in such darkness.

"Tell me, little human from another world." She whimpered in fear. She could swear she saw something black and shadowy moving in the corners of her vision. "Tell me what you know." He stepped closer, forcing Inés to half-sit, half-lie on the bed as he caged her with his arms. She dared take another look at his face and what she saw there made her stop her shivering. The usual crazed tint in those vibrant red pools was gone. Instead there was something else, something different; there was determination, hurt and … hope? So she began with a little more confidence:

"V-vl-" She cleared her throat. "Vlad Dracula the III, son of Vlad the II founder of the order of the dragon, brother to Radu the Handsome. Prince of Wallachia" She spoke barely above a whisper, but the vampire heard her. The intensity of his stare grew a fraction.

"Very perceptive, little human. But anyone could gather that information from a history book." He finally retreated and once more sat on the chair. "Tell me something you shouldn't know." The darkness of the room seemed to disappear, and Inés drew a breath she didn't know she was holding. She clutched her chest over her beating heart, trying to calm herself down. She stood up and carefully walked over to the discarded notebook on the floor; it must have fallen during the vampire's stunt.

"I..." Whatever the young woman was going to say was forgotten when she turned to face him. He had that look on his face again—sorrow, she decided it was. He looked so...human. She felt a knot in her stomach and a rushing feeling of empathy for the undead creature in front of her. Behind all that creepiness and craziness of the monster, she could see the man even for a moment. The teen wasn't looking at Alucard, she was looking at Vlad. It dawned on her, then: it didn't matter this was a fictional story. They were real now, he was real now. A person with wants and needs, with feelings. Hurt, lonely, hopeless and with a past she didn't wish on anyone. Inés was on the verge of tears by this point from the weight that suddenly rested upon her shoulders and from the pain she saw in the man. "I'm sorry"

Confusion, realization, surprise and anger were the emotions that crossed his eyes at that moment. He stood up forcefully, knocking the chair to the floor and quietly but swiftly left the room and those tear filled eyes that, by some reason, affected him. He didn't like what he saw in those eyes...and yet...he felt relieved? That tiny human girl had spoken to him like she would another person, she had looked at him as if he was...human.

The vampire stopped in his tracks. He didn't know yet if he was comfortable with it. He resumed his walk towards his master's office while, she'd want to know the details. On his way there, he rubbed absentmindedly his chest; it felt...weird.

Inés waited for a minute before daring to move. She sighed, deciding he wasn't coming back and resumed her position on the bed.

Pros: none

Cons: death

Why couldn't I have liked Doraemon? Now I would be living harmless non life threatening adventures with a blue robotic cat and writing fanfics and ideas about it. That thought made her stop abruptly, open a new blank page and take the pen as quickly as she could. She started drawing a replica of the original cursed tattoo.

"Twelve points." Then she drew one similar to the actual mark on her chest. "Seven." An invisible lightbulb turned on above her head. "Maybe..." The girl made twelve points in which she wrote twelve sentences, crossing out five of them "I've been blind and I'm seeing for the first time…" There on the page a list glared back at her:

Things to do at Hellsing

- Meet Pip.

- Be a part of Hellsing.

- Punch Maxwell.

- Befriend Seras.

- Kiss Alucard.

- Go to Rio.

- Touch Alucard's coffin.

- Touch Vlad's hair.

- Insult Walter.

- Attend the queen meeting.

- Make Alucard cry.

- London war.

The first five were crossed. And she could feel the pain and then the fading of one of the arms of the black star each time she accomplished one of those things. The Spanish girl remembered writing this list on her phone, the night she appeared in London. Somehow, the witch had cursed her and now she was stuck in this world until she did all of this things. Why would she write such idiotic things?! Touch his coffin and make him cry? Why?! She didn't let it bring her down, though. She now had a purpose and an objective, she could do this. Standing up with a renewed motivation, she marched towards the door and swung it open only to almost fall on top of a petite blonde.

"Seras?" Inés was surprised to say the least.

"Hey. Um...would you like to have a tour of the mansion? Or maybe go for a walk?" The police girl was being so shy and sweet about asking her to hang out that Inés could only smile indulgently at her. Yup, she had indeed befriended Seras.

"Sure. You could show me the firing range. You do have one, don't you? Maybe you can even teach me to shoot!" She was definitely in a good mood now. Seras' eyes shone bright at that idea and quickly took her hand and led her through the house.

"So?" The smoke of an expensive cigar filled the office while the two current occupants seemed to not care about it.

"The girl, she's seventeen years of age and from Spain." A pregnant pause followed that statement. Sir Hellsing could almost hear the laughs of the Police Girl and the teen through the thick glass as she watched them fool around the fire range alone. At least she didn't seem like a threat just yet. Turning around to face her servant, she spoke again in a more serious tone.

"You know that's not what I asked, vampire."

Chuckling, he took of his glasses and answered her, his gaze vacant as in lost in thought and his fingers playing with the metal and glass.

"She knows." Integra's shoulders visibly tensed. "She knows about my past, about who I…was. That's what she told me, but I'm sure she knows more than just that." She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, but otherwise seemed to accept the information. "Why do I feel as if this new development didn't affect you at all?"

"Because it doesn't, in a way." She let herself fall into the leather chair and pondered for a minute before looking directly at Alucard. "I had my suspicions. The team was able to retrieve her phone and they had been working on it for some time now." The Midian raised an eyebrow at that. So that was what his master was hiding from him before. He felt curious about the girl, but not enough to directly ask Integra for answers. He had a hunch, however, that he wouldn't need to. "On the first place, the technology used in that small device was rather… advanced for a mobile phone and then they found text and pictures." She was getting anxious and her voice betrayed her for a moment before she steeled herself. Alucard was one of the few people with whom she let her guard down from time to time. "About us" She answered his unspoken question.

"So you believe her story. That she's from another world" He scoffed at the idea, although he couldn't forget certain details that supported the idea.

"At least from a future world, the date on that phone wasn't close to ours." The iron maiden leaned forward on her desk, crossing her hands in front of her mouth. "That leaves us with the question: is she a victim or the perpetrator?" Deep in thought, she missed how Alucard's head turned to the window when a particularly loud laugh reached his ears. "One way or the other, we cannot let her go yet. She has consumed your blood." Integra glared accusingly at the smirking vampire. "And thus she will be a target and a potential weapon in the right hands. Besides, if what she says is true, then she knows too much to be left alone. You, vampire, will keep an eye on her." She finished her order, pointing a finger at the fire range outside.

"Yes, my master." He mock bowed and disappeared into the shadows.

"And no funny business this time!" That statement was followed by manic-echoing laughing.

"See? You are not that bad of a shooter. You just need practice!" came the voice of the Police Girl from behind her.

"Yeah, yeah. I also have a great teacher." Inés smirked lightly. She already liked this charac—Seras, she liked Seras. God, it was difficult adjusting to the thought of them being sentient beings. "I'm not getting used to holding a gun yet, though, even if it is this small."

"And you will never will, probably. It's a miracle you haven't shot yourself by now with how trouble-prone you are." Alucard materialized through the wall of the mansion, scaring Inés and making her drop the gun. It fired itself and the bullet grazed one of the many windows.

"At least it wasn't my foot." She felt relieved and a bit downhearted, she really was a clumsy mess.

"Master! Don't scare Inés like that while she's holding a weapon, it's dangerous." Seras was ignored entirely by the older vampire, who had his eyes fixed on the teen in front of him. Feeling rejected, the blonde took the discarded gun and went back inside the building.

"You know you don't have to be a total jerk with her, Vlad. Give the poor girl some time to adjust and you will be surprised." She said teasingly. "About me, well, I think you are right. I'm hopeless and defenseless and I probably need some big, strong guy to help me." The girl bit her lip and smiled at him. Two things stood out to him in this weird scenario: Inés wasn't shouting or fighting with him and she had called him Vlad. Alucard was annoyed and disgusted by the bold act of flirting. "Or maybe I could just charm him with my devilish good looks." She ran a hand through her hair and her small pink tongue wet her lips. Her eyes were glued to his form.

"Woman, no one could find you charming. And drop that horrid act." He sneered at her showing his fangs and decided it was time to leave.

A hand flew to the neck of his coat, gripping a handful of the red fabric, and next thing he knew she had pushed him into a stone bench and was guiding one of his hands until it was holding her head. Then she looked into his deeply red eyes and leaned in. She made a move to pull him closer just to startle him when she sat on his lap instead. He looked confused for a minute, but he relaxed knowing somehow that it made sense. Before he could do anything, though, she started running her slender fingers through his messy hair and scalp, sending a wave of sudden pleasure down his spine that had him slightly arching his back. The pleasure was quickly replaced by a sting of pain when those fingers closed tightly around the locks and she began closing the space between them until her lips where ghosting above his. The girl's hand traveled down teasingly from his head to his chest, leaving a trace of warmth in his otherwise icy skin. His breath caught in his throat when the pale hand journeyed lower, taking hold of his belt, her eyes never leaving his. She lifted her hips so she could reach further and smiled at the dilated pupils of the Midian. He bit his lip, drawing blood when his sharp fang pierced through the skin and imagining it was hers. He couldn't touch her, Integra had forbidden it, yet if this continued, he… He felt something shift at his side and suddenly as fast as it had started, it finished. Her hand was once again up, and in between them with his gun in it.

"It was quite uncomfortable to sit on it," Inés said with a smirk.

Alucard let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, quite disappointed. However, he didn't have time to protest when her lips crashed on his.

He woke up with a start and if he was able to, a fine layer of sweat would be coating his skin. He looked around, still feeling the ghostly touch of warm hands. It was his chambers, he was sitting on his chair-like throne and he was completely alone.

A dream. It has been a dream. He had never gone to the firing range, instead he had choosen to go straight to the lower levels so he could think about everything that was going on and about her. He must have fallen asleep and then that had happened. Alucard run a hand through his hair out of habit but flinched and halted midway, remembering the feeling of her blunt nails not a moment ago. He growled in anger at his own mind and at the girl. Slowly ,he calmed down and closed his eyes to assess the situation.

Lust, he concluded. What he felt for the girl was lust and nothing more.

Väl Apple here! And with yet another chapter!

It's a bit longer than the other but things had to be explained so the plot could advance.

Enjoy and let me know if you liked it! ;D

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