At first, she thought it was the loss of sleep.
That everywhere she went, in even the brightest of places, the shadow was perfectly normal. Even when there was nothing to cast it, even when it was physically impossible. It was always there, just at the corner of her eye, a gaping hole that swallowed all the light.
And every time she passed by it, a tremor would go up her back.
Later, she could swear the hole called to her, as if it were watching her. She could feel it's presence like piercing eyes. She started calling it anxiety, the way she felt it's want for her to get closer, to look into the darkness. Every second of every day.
At night it would get bolder, wider, eating at the walls and the floor, like a pitch black stain. Slowly moving towards her. Inch by inch.
She had decided early on to say nothing. The symptoms of the disease festering in her brain becoming more and more obvious. Her distress, the tremor in her hands, the bags under her eyes...Just for how long could she pretend before someone saw? How long until it grew enough to swallow her whole?
She lived in fear.
And that wasbefore it even spoke.
V--V
It had started as a hushed, nameless sickness, until it became a worldwide phenomenon. The rarest brain disease. Worse than schizophrenia, they said. No one knew much about it, other than the moment the symptoms showed, you were taken away.
It started with harmless hallucination, that soon developed a voice, a body, and a personality of its own. The sick believed the monsters were real, swearing they could touch them, talk to them, and make them do things.
It wasn't long before the violence began.
V--V
Seras awoke with a gasp, feeling her clothes stick to her clammy skin. Immediately her eyes flew to the opposite corner of the room, wishing with all she had that the darkness wouldn't be there, that it was all a dream. She was normal, she wasn't seeing things. She was normal, normal normal-
But it was there. A black mass of nothingness, only illuminated by two glowing red orbs that watched her, unmoving.
Her trembling fingers drew back the soaked covers, as she sat on the bed, breath heaving.
"Bad dreams?"The shadow chuckled, it's velvety, deep voice mocking. Were Seras not utterly afraid of it, she would have found it beautiful.
"Wouldn't you know? Aren't you in my head?" She ground out, frostily. Since it began speaking with her, she had decided to show it she was not afraid. The eyes merely narrowed.
"I have told you this many times before. I am real, my darling"He said, patience thin.
"Of course you are," she laughed bitterly" then explain to me why nobody else sees you." Seras seethed, drawing her knees against her chest and hugging herself tightly.
"Oh Seras...careful with what you wish for"the voice purred, it's eyes shining madly. Suddenly the shadow expanded, coming to her bedside, tall and terrifying. Seras yelped, eyes wide, as it bent in half, the hypnotising red orbs coming to her level" Soon, my bride. Now sleep"
Eyes heavy, she nodded vacantly, as her body slowly fell back.
V--V
Backpack in hand, Seras walked tiredly to school. She couldn't remember falling asleep the night before, but she could swear that the shadow had been so much closer than before… If she looked at the floor, she would see it, hiding in her own shadow, following her diligently.
It was her final month at school, and then she would be free. Since the sickness had started, Seras knew her only chance at surviving depended on not drawing attention to herself. If she could finish school without showing signs of the disease, then all she would have to do is find a secluded place, far away from people, and stay there.
No one would report her if they couldn't see her.
She had managed so far. Aside from being known as an insipid, timid and frightful girl, no one paid her any mind. Her teachers always lamented how much potential and smarts were wasted on such an empty personality.
Of course, that was the intention. Seras couldn't have friends, or she would risk someone noticing. There hadn't been a single case of Pharazophrenia in Britain in decades, as far as people knew, but that didn't mean people weren't looking.
And yet, for all the effort she put on being invisible, there were always people who would notice her.
"Hey rabbit!-Rabbit, where are you going to? I'm talking to you!" Seras' breath hitched, as she cursed inwardly. Of course she was the target for all the dim witted bullies at her school. Johnny and his two mean-spirited friends were walking behind her, whistling at her "Are you deaf or something? We just wanna talk!"
Seras looked around, seeing they were alone outside the building. Just why had she decided to catch up with her missing sleep that morning? She tried to ignore them and quickened her steps, nervously looking behind her. The girl jumped in fright as she heard a voice whisper in her ear.
"How many times have I warned you, my princess?"the deep baritone purred, and she cringed"Keep letting them mock you...and I will come out"
"Stop!" She hissed, walking faster, hands clammy. The monster merely chuckled low against her ear.
Johnny and his friends halted "-did you just jump? What the hell is wrong with you Rabbit?" He laughed, and went back to chasing her, grinning "You know, this last year you grew up just fine...if you weren't such a weirdo, I would have probably taken you out for a good time"
Seras was starting to feel nauseous.
"...I will bathe in their entrails, and rip their eyes out while they still live…"the monster breathed out, feral, gleeful.
"Don't!" She ground out, starting to panic, as he laughed in her mind. She looked back quickly, her fear rising as she saw the pitch black shadow had doubled its size, and the three boys were getting near.
"Of course, Rabbit, if you want to, we can still do that" Johnny leered, watching the scaredly girl bow her head and brace herself. She was almost sprinting towards the building's closed doors.
"...for they will never lay eyes on what's mine again"The monster's voice was no longer mocking as he snarled the worlds at Seras.
"SHUT UP!" She cried out desperately, and halted immediately, realizing what she had done.
"What did you just say Rabbit?" Johnny whispered, right behind her "Seems like you need to learn your place"
Hands lunged at her from behind, clamping on her mouth and her nose hard. Seras whimpered and clawed at them, only to be held back by another pair. She was being dragged between the three of them, away from the safety of her school and into the yard behind it. Seras knew the place was empty, just as she knew no one would get there until midday. In two hours.
"I warned you…"
She shook her head brokenly as she was forced on her knees, the pavement scratching her the skin hard. Her eyes were pricking with tears as the boys laughed at her muffled cries.
She saw Johnny in front of her, saw his hand lower to grip her breast painfully as the three of them mocked her, and behind him, she saw the shadow rise.
The monster had never been so real, so defined. She could see feral red eyes, an impossibly tall body, long hands, a smile full of sharp, shark like teeth opening wide-
And screams, blood curdling screams,the nauseating sound of bones crushing, the warm feeling of blood trickling down her face-
It was over in a second.
She opened her eyes and saw him, for the first time, her monster in all its glory. He, for it had taken the shape of a man, was bathed in blood, just as promised. His towering, lean body, clad in a ruined black suit. His terrifyingly beautiful face. His tousled, pitch black hair.
The demon approached her slowly as she lay kneeling on the floor, his smirk growing into a smile full of sharp teeth. He knelt in front of her, raising his gloved hands to cup her face. And Seras was so tired, so shocked by the three lumps of flesh twitching around them, that she let him.
"And now, my brave Seras, you will run from me no more"He breathed out, as he moved forward to lick the blood off her lips.
V--V
Arthur Hellsing waited for his loyal butler to open the door to his car, steeling himself for what was to come. The flash of the cameras greeted him, blinding him as he stepped in front of Cheddar's school. The building was surrounded by police officers, parents and villagers who were outraged with the massacre of three young kids.
They were all screaming at him "Is it the disease?"
Getting to the crime scene was a small feat as he was grabbed and pushed by anxious parents, the police trying and failing to contain them. As he finally escaped the crowd and neared the back of the yard, the familiar stench of a bloodbath reached him.
Arthur straightened himself and moved on, his butler right behind him, always ready. He spotted the trembling form of the young girl, surrounded by nervous officers all armed and ready to shoot. The blond man stopped in front of them and coughed, speaking confidently.
"My name is Sir Arthur Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, and come in the name of the Hellsing Mental Institution to take this young woman with me"
One of the officers shuffled forward, glancing back at the girl nervously. He shook Arthur's hand quickly and launched himself into a report.
"Of course Sir, I am the Sergeant. We were called by the headmaster after a few of the kids that came out to play at midday found the girl crying alone, surrounded by-well, the three bodies" the man was sweating profusely "She swore she didn't do it, kept repeating she was tired of running from it. She said...said it was a monster that killed them"
Arthur refrained from throwing the girl a pitiful glance and forced himself to look at her with disdain.
"This is what happens when we fail to recognize the symptoms before it is too late. It seems she thought she could keep it a secret and indeed...how long was she hiding it? All that violence welled up until she exploded" He grunted, turning to his butler "Walter, would you please escort the young lady to the truck?"
The Sergeant visibly paled at this, turning to take a closer look to the butler. Walter was a rather odd man: he ought to be no older than 25 years old, and was perfectly dressed in a service suit, all paired with a monocle, gloves and a high ponytail. The young man bowed swiftly and went to the girl.
"B-but sir, surely you won't get near her, specially after-"
Arthur held up a hand sternly, shutting him up in a second.
"A person affected by the disease is not dangerous after having an attack. Remember they believe a demon to be the killer, and they the victims. But rest assured we take the proper measures to prevent a new attack from them"
V--V
Areas was trembling on the ground, hugging her cold body as she peered at the policemen with unmasked terror. She flinched hard when a sharply dressed man with a monocle came between them, kneeling in front of her slowly. As soon as the man had his back to the officers, his firm features softened, eyes full of pity.
"Hello young lady, you must be Seras, correct?" He spoke gently to her. Seras was too scared to even nod.
"Listen to me carefully Seras. My Lord and I came to help you" he reached into his pocket, taking out a crisp white handkerchief and holding it out to her.
She took it with trembling fingers, poorly wiping the dried blood and tears from her face.
" I kn-know what will happen to me. Y-you will lock me up b-because you think I'm crazy" she stammered, turning away from him. Walter, ever conscious of the eyes watching them, moved closer, shielding them from their eyes.
"No no dear. I know it must be difficult for you to believe me, but if you come with us, we will explain everything to you...We will help you control the demon. He won't harm anyone else" The man promised seriously, offering his hand.
"Can you? Really?" Seras breathed, aware of the looming shadow around her, growing restless and feral again. She knew in that moment that there was no other choice, and for the sake of all the people around her, she took his hand.
V--V
After what seemed like hours of traveling blindfolded at the back of a truck, she was finally able to set foot on the ground. Seras was led through an astounding number of stairs and corridors, the sound of multiple people reaching her ears.
Finally she was pushed into a room and heard a heavy door close at her back. Then the soft cologne she had recognized as Walter's reached her as calloused hands lifted her blindfold.
Seras found herself standing in a vast and masculine office. Behind an impressively large desk sat a mature man with short platinum hair and icy blue eyes. After Walter handed her a glass of water ushered her into a seat, he went to stand silently behind the imposing man at the desk.
"Miss Seras, my name is Arthur Hellsing, and from now on I will be your legal guardian. As you probably already realized, you are in society's eyes afflicted with Pharazophrenia. Because of this you have officially been admitted into my Institute" the man took a break from looking at her, to cast his eyes some point behind her. Puzzled, she turned around, surprised to follow his gaze to the opposite corner of the room, where the imposing blackness of her demon brooded.
It seemed to much of a coincidence, and she whipped around to look at Arthur, eyes shimmering with hope that he could see it like she could.
At the look on her face, Arthur's eyes softened a fraction.
"You are correct in assuming that I can see it, Seras. Don't worry...we don't think you are actually sick, that is only a front we have built around the true nature of what ails people like you. We don't want people worrying about what happens here"
Seras frowned, her temper starting to flare at the idea that she was actually not crazy and yet she had been sent into an asylum.
"...then pray tell me, sir, what is it that ails me? And why was I subjected to the fear of losing my mind each day for the past year!" Her voice had risen slowly as she felt a dark chuckle breeze beside her ear.
"I just love that temper"
Arthur winced slightly, clearing his throat before resuming his speech.
"I'm going to be straightforward. What you see is real. That...thing is a vampire" seeing the confusion clear in the girl's eyes, he rushed forward before she could ask "a vampire is a being that feeds on blood, Seras. They are powerful and vindictive creatures that are born of violence and hatred"
"...and why is it following me? It-it has never tasted my blood" her voice trembled as she felt the ghost of it's tongue licking away the blood on her lips.
"Vampires are as complex as humans, Seras. Some are more civilized and less violent than others. What they all have in common though, is that they all are bound to their mate, once they find it" Arthur sighed "vampire's mates are, ironically, pure of heart humans, rarities born every once in a while. Once the vampire find it's mate, it can never leave them…"
Seras paled, her mind racing at the single possibility that would explain what she was going through. But it couldn't-she couldn't…
"I am sorry to say, Miss Seras, that the vampire in this room has claimed you as it's mate" Arthur sighed as he saw what little color the girl's face had was gone.
"N-no, it's wrong, surely…" Seras whispered, eyes darting to the black mass that grew and rumbled with pleasure behind her.
"There is no mistake in this, I'm sorry. Your vampire, Miss Seras, is a protective, coveting being that will want to claim you as soon as you become of age. I am sure it was waiting for the right moment to show himself properly to you...alas, today he was forced to come out of his disguise to protect you-"
"He butchered them! He didn't protect me, he slaughtered them!" She cried out "I don't know if they were only trying to scare me or do something worse, but still, he tore them to shreds!"
Arthur placed his hands on her shoulders gently, ignoring the piercing red eyes watching his every movement.
"That is why we are here, Seras. We cannot exterminate a vampire once it has found it's mate, as it will kill the human too. Both of you are bound in life and death from the moment you are born. We cannot free you, but we can help you control him"
A maniac laugh thundered after that, followed by strong steps. Seras and Arthur turned to see the impossibly tall vampire emerge from the pulsing shadows, rows of sharp teeth showing in a lazy grin, porcelain skin stretching over sharp cheekbones. Seras thought with disgust that he was both the most beautiful and horrible thing she had ever laid eyes upon.
The vampire's smirk stretched widely as his glowing red eyes slid down to meet hers.
"I am dying to see that"