A/N- Special thanks goes out to those who Reviewed. I'm glad you've all liked it so far.
Dawn Faye- Yeah, I think Ericka is a little to b/a to become a Mary-Sue...although I would were I to see Alucard (haha)
Lynn8920- Thanks very much ^_^
HUNK694- Yeah, the dream is supposed to be a little creepy...it's ghouls ya know? And I never said she actuallY WAS raped...Ericka just thinks she was. Glad you enjoyed it anyways.
Disclaimer- I really wish I did own Hellsing...or ...Alucard at least (would be nice!) but I only own Ericka's character...*sigh* ANYWAYS...Enjoy ^-^
The sound of a child's blood curdling scream above her snapped Ericka from her gaze. "Abbey," the name passed her lips as a soft whisper. Snatching her knife from the floor, flashlight in hand, she made her way up the stairs. When she reached the top, she heard another cry and a chewing sound. No…Jesus Christ, no! Ericka found her mother crouched down over the six year old girl's body, hiding their faces from view….chewing.
"…Mom?"
The woman turned, eyes exactly how her father's had been, and blood was dripping from her mouth as she seemed to snarl.
Not your mother…that's not your mother… "AAGH," Both hands on the hilt, she slammed the blade into the woman's back. She watched as the monster tilted her head back with a howl before she became dust…like the other.
"S-sissy…"
"Abbey," Ericka looked to the girl and placed a fist to her mouth, swallowing back a gag. "Oh, dear god."
The girl had bite marks everywhere, her tigger night gown stained with her own blood. Dust from the corpse of their mother was near the large bite mark in her side, which seemed like a gaping hole. A small puddle of blood lay under her. "S-sis- ack!"
"Shhh…" Ericka sat down, scooping the girl partially into her arms and ignoring how blood made its way onto her white work shirt. "Shhh, don't talk sweetie. Sissy's gonna get help, okay?" She swallowed, "Everything's gonna be fine alright?"
"Love…you…sissy." Abbey slowly started to close her eyes.
"Abbey… Abbey no, stay with me!" Ericka's vision began to blur before she blinked back tears, gently shaking the girl. "Abbey, you need to stay awake!"
"N-night…"
END FLASHBACK
"Ericka… Ericka… Ms. HART!"
Walter's voice snapped Ericka from her dazed look out the far window in the kitchen. Green eyes turned to the old man, eyebrows raised. "Huh?"
The man sighed, "Ms. Hart, I realize that you don't want to stay here, but it's better than being on the run all of the time. Now please pay attention."
Ericka let out her own sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose with the thumb and index finger of her left hand. She then let the palm run over her face before stating, "Sorry, Walt. I just…didn't get much sleep."
Walter turned to her, concerned now. "Is everything alright?"
Ericka nodded her response, though it was a lie. Her mind had been on what Alucard had said last night. She didn't want to know why he'd asked whether she was a virgin or not, nor did she care. Her little sister's face was plastered into her brain now for the time being.
FLASHBACK
There were no loud wails that passed her lips, just shuddering sniffles as Ericka let out near silent tears. Her dead sister's body was in her arms while she rocked, cradling the girl as she'd done so many times before. "Abbey…"
The body moved in her arms, a low growl passing its lips.
Ericka slowly looked down. The child's black hair was matted with blood, her once hazel eyes seeming to be gone as if she had empty sockets…just like the others.
Ericka's bottom lip quivered. "Abbey…please, not you too."
"Grr…" The child's jaws snapped, trying to bite at the pale flesh that held her…
END
"Ms. HART!"
Ericka jumped and quickly caught the glass bowl filled with ice that she'd almost dropped.
Walter was giving her a stern look before he sighed, placing a blood pack in the bowl. "You can take this to Alucard's room. He's in the basement… Down the steps to the left is the door for the stairs." He raised a brow. "When you're done… you have my permission to go take a nap."
Ericka opened her mouth to argue but shut it instead and headed towards her destination. It didn't take long for her to find the basement door and head down the steps. By the time she reached the bottom however, her thoughts had already drifted into the darker edges of her mind.
START
"Abbey…" Ericka's lip was quivering as she firmly held the girl in place.
The child was drooling and kicking. Her head tossed and her jaws snapped as she tried to bite. Little growls left her mouth as her she seemed to stare continuously at her big sister.
Ericka closed her own eyes, a few tears falling as her free hand grabbed the knife she'd dropped. Her black hair fell around her shoulders as she trembled. "Don't worry… everything's okay, Abbey…" She raised the knife. "Sissy's here…"
The child snarled and attempted to scratch at Ericka's arms.
Her body jerked as a sob escaped before a breath was sucked in. "I'm so sorry Abbey…" Ericka's voice cracked as she gripped the knife tighter. "I love you…" Then, she brought the blade down hard, and both girls let out a cry of pain.
END
A chocked sob escaped her lips, causing Ericka to jump. She was in the basement, her hands on a small table next to a throne. The bowl she'd been carrying was sitting next to her right hand. Standing up straight, she saw what appeared to be water droplets on the table beneath her. Gently reaching up, she touched her face to find wet cheeks. Damn…she'd been crying.
Good thing Alucard wasn't here …he'd probably laugh his ass off. She quickly wiped her face at the mere thought.
A deep chuckle echoed through the air. "Tears… Tell me; is the job that dreadful to you?"
Ericka sighed, "Go to hell, Alucard. I've got other things to do."
The man appeared behind his throne, His coat, hat, and glasses gone. He wore his button up shirt and what she'd dubbed, the red lose bow around his neck. Hands were in his black pants pockets, head bowed a little. He smirked at her, "I've already seen hell before though, servant girl." He chuckled, "I'd rather not go back, though I've been told to for years now."
Ericka blinked at this, "So…how old are you, exactly?"
The vampire lifted his head, red eyes watching her. "How old do you think I am?"
Ericka stared, nibbling her lip in thought as her right hand made its way to rest on her hip. "I dunno, you look to be in your twenties, really; but I don't think you guys ever age…"
An ebony eyebrow rose as he gave her a questioning gaze. "You…guys?"
"Well…vampires don't age…right?" Her eyes lit up with interest. "Out of curiosity…what else can you do?"
Alucard chuckled, "I have no time to school you, foolish girl. I don't believe my master would appreciate you not doing your chores either…" he snagged the blood pack, "Servant girl."
Ericka caught the last two words the vampire had spoken and wrinkled her nose. "Whatever…" Ericka snarled lightly, turning to walk away before adding, "Keep in mind I'm feeding your undead ass."
There was silence from the vampire before he replied. "This blood does not smell like yours…" He grinned as he saw her back stiffen.
Ericka peered over her shoulder. "I didn't mean literally…" she turned, walking away, her white dress shirt ruffling and smoothing out as she moved. "Smart ass geezer…"
"Servant girl…" Alucard waited for her to stop before he continued. "You never answered my question…"
Ericka turned with a sight, she could just barely make out the visible details by now, but she could tell he was smirking. "What do you want, Alucard?"
He grinned, showing his fangs, every detail of the girl clear and visible to his enhanced eyes. "Are you a virgin?"
Ericka paused, slightly unsure of what to say. No doubt he'd keep asking if she didn't reply, or if she gave a smart ass remark like she'd planned for. It was possible she could lie…but which answer would get him to leave her alone? Might as well say the truth… Letting out a breath, Ericka squared her shoulders. "Yes…I am a virgin…" She headed for the stairs. "You however won't touch me…now that I've told you."
Alucard stared out from his seat on his throne. He'd been sipping his blood pack when she'd replied. At this last remark, however, he lifted his head as both eyebrows raised. "I won't?" he questioned aloud, even though the girl was out of earshot by now. A low grin hit his face. "And who would stop me, servant girl…you?" He laughed aloud at the image of her trying to beat him with her fists as he sank his fangs into her.
Of course, he knew Integra wouldn't allow it were she to discover his intentions. Then again… it was only if she knew… and the vampire didn't plan on telling his master a thing.
BANG! BANG! BANG! "Ms. HART!" The sound of Sir Integra's pounding and shouting at the door caused Ericka to lift her eyelids halfway. She had fallen asleep as soon as she'd reached her room, which was a surprise. Yawning, she scooted off the bed and went to open the door, rubbing a hand over her tired face.
A furious Integra was looking down at the teenager. Her arms were crossed and a cigar was sticking out of her mouth. "What exactly are you doing, Ms. Hart?"
"…" Ericka stared. "Walter said I could take a nap." She shifted her weight on one foot as Integra's eyes blazed. "I didn't get much sleep last night… I'm uh…a bit of an insomniac."
Integra glared at the girl before she processed this new information within her mind. "An insomniac…" she raised an eyebrow. "Are you normally awake at night then?"
Ericka rubbed the back of her neck. "Both day and night actually…I've been able to focus on about three hours of sleep sometimes. I've gotten it up to about four or five now though."
Integra nodded, blowing smoke. "I see…Walter will continue working with you, seeing as how you'll take his job... however," She turned to leave. "You'll also need to know combat…therefore, when you're not with Walter, or sleeping, you'll be training with Alucard."
Ericka stifled a laugh, placing a hand on her hip. "You're kidding right?"
Integra glanced over her shoulder. "You will find out quickly, Ms. Hart, that I don't 'kid'."
Ericka took on a puzzled expression as she took off after her boss. "What the hell do you do then? You have 'sir' as a title, and Walter wouldn't tell me why. I know Alucard was ordered to kill that vampire, because he'd said so…and now you have me learning combat when I'm taking over a butler's position!" She stopped as Integra turned to face her. "Now…I don't mind working here, I suppose, but if I'm staying here then I wanna know what the hell is going on? What is it some big secret? I'll cross my heart and spit on the floor?" She crossed her arms now, "What do I gotta do to get you to tell me?"
Integra smirked at this before turning and walking briskly. "Very well, I shall tell you, but only once so try to keep up." She glanced over to see the girl trying to keep up with her long strides. "I am Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing, a part of the Protestant Knights as well as leader of the Hellsing organization."
"Wait, so…you have your own organization…and you are a knight? I didn't think those existed-"
"Yes, now be quiet and pay attention." Integra was staring straight ahead. "The Hellsing organization's job is to search and destroy all monsters in order to protect England and her Majesty."
"So…you kill all vampires to protect the country?"
Integra nodded, "There are more than just vampires out there… but that's too much to teach you right now in this explanation."
Ericka thought about when she'd first saw Integra. "So…those soldiers…work for you?"
Another nod was the reply. "Now, Walter used to work as a soldier like them…but now is my butler as well as assistant with the tracking and finding of our targets. We've worked more than usual now; recently there have been bloodthirsty vampires that are not like the usual vampire…"
This got Ericka to look at Integra with a puzzled look. "How do you figure that? Isn't bloodthirsty what most vampires are like?"
"They're weaker…and instead of turning their innocent-" she glanced to Ericka. "You do know-"
"A vampire has to bite a virgin-"
"Of the opposite sex-"
"To make a vampire; yeah I got it. So what's the deal with these ones then? They don't turn to vampires?"
"Exactly…they become ghouls…which are the-"
"Zombified people…" Ericka nibbled her lip in thought. "So…what if a ghoul was…eating a human?"
Integra looked at the girl, now suspicious of her unsettled expression as well as the cautious way she'd asked her question. "They become ghouls as well…whether they are a virgin or not…" She raised a brow as it seemed the girl's shoulders relaxed a little. "How, exactly did your parents die?"
Eyes closed before they opened up to look at the older woman. "I killed them….my dad when he tried to eat me….and my mom when she was eating my baby sister…"
They were all in the kitchen that evening; Ericka sitting at one end with Integra at the other. Walter and Alucard were both standing on either side of their boss. I dunno which I'm reminded of more…a police interrogation or a mob boss. Ericka swallowed, her story having been told. Now she looked between the three of them, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Was it the vampire priest?" Integra finally questioned. "Is that why you attacked at him?"
Ericka shook her head, "I only did it so the police officer could have a chance to get away…"
"Did you ever see the vampire at all?" Walter asked gently.
Ericka frowned, trying to remember. She'd tried to block the whole entire memory from her mind and had succeeded for the most part. Now…trying to dig it back up from the shadowed corners…was a little harder. "Well…I don't remember much of the face…but …I remember the eyes."
"We won't get far on just the eyes though, Ericka." Integra lit a cigar at the comment. "Though you may not remember you did indeed see the face…so the image should still be in your mind…" She glanced to Alucard. "Do you think you could find it if you looked into her memories?"
The vampire looked to Ericka. "I could…" he smirked. "But I won't…"
Integra sighed at this remark, "and why not?"
"The servant girl says I'm not allowed to touch her…"
"Damn it, Alucard, this is not the time for it," Integra growled.
"Don't bother…" Ericka rose from her chair. "He saw me too… so there's a possibility he's followed me or something." She pulled her knife from her pants pockets. "And when he tries to get me…I'll kill him…simple as that."
"That…is a possibility…" Walter was quiet as he said this.
"Yes, but not all vampires try to attack an entire family." Integra stood as Ericka walked past them all. "Vampires are harder to kill than ghouls, you've never had any proper training yet and killing him won't bring back your sister back!"
Ericka stopped, hiding how her body trembled with slight annoyance and anger at Integra's words. Her hands were clenched into light fists as she stood there, head bowed and back facing them. "I'm not stupid…Sir Integra; I know Abbey can't come back… I watched her turn to dust in my arms…" Her eyes filled with water as she gritted out the words. "But I will kill him…I don't care…what you think." With this said, she walked out of the room, leaving a grumbling Sir Integra for Walter to calm down. The two never noticed that Alucard was melding within the shadows and neither of them saw the look of disapproval on his pale face.
Cold air felt good on her heated skin. Ericka walked out into the front yard, staring at the ground as she walked. Her chest was rising and falling as controlled as she could allow at this point. Every muscle in her body was tense as Integra's words went through her head. She doesn't understand…what he did…
Well…you know now he probably didn't rape her though…
"Doesn't matter…" Her arms went around her waist, hugging slightly as she answered her thoughts aloud. "The bastard needs to die…he just…has to die…I have to make sure he's dead." She allowed her body to finally shake now as the tears fell down her cheeks. "God…Abbey…" Her breathing hitched lightly. It was all my fault…I could've saved her…I could've-
"Servant girl…"
The voice snapped Ericka from thought. She turned to the vampire, head bowed. This time, she didn't care about her tears as she looked up into his eyes. When she did this though, she felt the back of his hand collide into the right side of her face.
The slap had so much force behind it she fell to the ground, letting out a low oomph as the air escaped her lungs. Okay…what the fuck was that? She lay there a few moments, puzzled before she let out a grunt as she was yanked up by the back of her blouse, the front of it now sporting grass and dirt stains.
Alucard glared, red eyes lidded and his lips a thin line. "You disappoint me, servant girl. I wouldn't have had my master keep you here if I knew you were a weak, sniveling little girl."
Eyes widened as her nostrils flared in anger. Ericka had been called a few choice words in her life, but weak and sniveling had not been one of those. "You… you're the reason I'm here?" A muscle in her jaw twitched as she jerked away from him. "I'm stuck here because of you?"
"You weren't afraid at all when attacking the target…" he advanced on her now. "And you refused to show your fear when you first saw me…"
"You bastard…" her words were quiet as she spoke them
"Yet you sniffle and whine like a bitch…over an insignificant life you couldn't save."
Insignificant, Ericka let out a roar at this before shoving her whole body into the man, attempting to knock him over. There was a chuckle before the whole body disappeared. Eyes opened in shock as Ericka stumbled, now trying to keep her balance. The vampire appeared behind her, foot coming out and shoving her onto the ground.
Ericka twisted her head in time to prevent her nose from possible breaking at the contact. The side of her head hit and skidded along the grass causing her to wince before she was lifted up again. The man held her at eye level with his height, her feet dangling in mid-air. There was dirt and grass stains smudged on the arms of her white shirt now as well as on the left temple of her head where she'd hit.
"You are to work under my master…and you will be trained by me." He shook her lightly before tossing her, the girl landing on her butt. "I will not tolerate weakness from you, servant girl. Starting tonight, if you show weakness or no control over yourself in front of my master, or anyone else when I'm around… you will be punished. Is this understood, servant girl?"
The bastard… Ericka got to her feet slowly, her cheek still stinging from being backhanded. She didn't cry though, her tears finally gone, and she did not reply either. Instead, much to the vampire's annoyance, she simply brushed the clumps of dirt that had stuck to the fabrics of her clothing as best as she could. Calm…stay calm…
Alucard growled at this, reaching forward to grab the front of her shirt again. However, as he did, Ericka smiled evilly, her hand grabbing her knife from her pocket and slashed the vampire's arm within seconds. Using his shock to buy her time, she moved out of his arm's way and stabbed the knife into his right shoulder, twisting it and earning a successful pop as bone was dislocated.
Despite the stinging pain, Alucard chuckled before glancing to the girl as she yanked the knife from his shoulder. "That's much better…" he felt his arm pop back into place as his wounds healed slowly. "Be prepared for me to fight back when training starts thought, servant girl."
Sheathing the blade, she placed it back into her pocket with a glare still on her face. "Yeah… See ya then." Her words were bitter as she turned and headed back to her new home. Alucard's laughter followed her all the way while she scowled. Oh…she could hardly wait to kick his undead ass.
A/N- Okie Dokie...there's the next tid bit for y'all ^_^ We'll see how quick I can get the next one dished out for ya.