"Just what the hell has gotten into you?"
Silence.
"Do you think I pay for your education so you can throw it all away because you don't 'feel like it matters'?" Integra kept her eyes focused on the still figure sitting in the chair. So far, the girl hadn't been phased at all by what she had said; she hadn't blinked, sighed, rolled her eyes - nothing! Had Susan's eyes attempted to look alive, the mother might have allowed it all to slide, but the fact that her child was ignoring her made her blood boil. "Do you?" she snapped.
"No." The reply was slow and dragged out. She was no fool. Susan could cut the tension in the air with a knife, but that didn't mean she'd let her mother get a rise out of her. She had learned long ago that the quickest way to escape her bitching was to be as close to dead as possible. Sadly, this seemed to be turning into one of the few times the strategy wouldn't work.
"Then why do you do this, Susan?"
"I guess I'm just a horrible creature."
"Susan, if I were in your position, I would refrain from cracking jokes," replied Walter. "She's being patient with you, do not push your luck."
The girl stared wide eyed at the man, as if she couldn't believe he would ever say such a thing. She got over her surprise quickly after realizing that things were much more serious than a routine three-week punishment. Susan shifted in her seat to sit up straight before turning her attention to her mother. "I don't see a point in it," she said simply as she calmly crossed her legs.
Integra looked as if she had choked on air. "You.. Don't see a point?"
Susan shrugged. "I don't see a point in any further education," her voice was firmer than the last time. "Maybe more time in English and communication, but everything else is a waste of time. I don't need to know what a 'hypotenuse' is or what happens during photosynthesis. I need to focus on how to control the troops and how to plan against my enemies."
"Is that so?" Sir Hellsing leaned back in her chair and placed the cigar back into her mouth. There was a long silence as she took a drag and let the smoke out slowly. Susan began to think she was going to be dismissed, but the elder woman suddenly became alive again. She flicked the cigar off to a far corner of the room, slammed her palm on the desk and jerked from her seat with the most feral growl the girl had ever heard. "Just what in the fuck do you think you'll be inheriting, Susan, a goddamned circus?! You get your shit together by the end of this week, or God so help me, I'll make your life so miserable so quick that it will make your head spin 3240 degrees - and because I know you've been too bloody busy with being a lazy imbecile, I'll let you know that that's nine times around!"
"Just because I haven't been keeping up with school doesn't make me an imbecile!"
"Shut your damned mouth," she spat. "Your brother has shown far better progress than you ever have; I can easily substitute him as the next heir if you don't get into shape."
"B-Bu.." Susan sputtered; she had never been threatened with her future title being stripped from her. She knew her mother would be angry at the low marks, but never had she thought that she would be this angry. "You're being completely unfair!"
A heavy sigh came from Walter then, but his subtle warning was dismissed as if it didn't happen.
"Just what do you know about fair," growled the woman. "Where in the hell did you get this idea that education is something you can just throw out the window? This is not some whorehouse you'll be running, it's the only thing stopping millions of people from being slaughtered by ghouls, ghosts, terrorists, and whatever the bloody hell decides to rear it's ugly head. Don't you know this?"
The girl's gaze darkened. "Of course I know this!" she snapped. "Ever since I was a child you've done nothing but drill this life into my head - I haven't even had a real life of my own since I was born!"
Integra's face reddened as her chest swelled with anger. "What life could you possibly have? You're fifteen years old!"
"Just because you see me as a child doesn't mean my entire existence revolves around a crib, Integra!"
The woman slammed her fists on the desk again, this time much harder than before. "Goddamnit, Susan, I am your mother; do not call me by my name!"
Susan's eyes brimmed with tears in that instant, her hand raising to point an accusing finger at the woman. "You have not been a mother to me my entire life," she screeched, her hand shifting to the butler standing beside her mother's desk. "That man has been more of a mother to me than you ever have! You're nothing but a- but a bitter bitch bent on molding me into some sick puppet!"
In a flash, the older blond was in front of the girl, her hand reared back. Walter finally registered exactly what was going on and moved to stop the mess that was to unfold. He rushed after the mother, reaching for her wrist.
"Sir Hellsing-stop!"
Smack!
But he had come a second too late. The butler stood right behind the woman, his mouth gaping open and his eyes wide. "Sir Hellsing," he breathed a moment later, his voice drunk with disbelief.
Integra's body shook with anger, her eyes cold and void of any emotion but rage. "Get out of my sight," she hissed to the child.
Susan stood still, her head jerked to the side from the blow her mother had administered. The burning sensation made the water gathered at her eyes finally fall, and only then did she snap out of her trance. "You hit me," she said slowly. She turned to her mother, not even caring how freely the tears fell. "Integra, you hit me."
"Call me by that name and I'll hit you again."
Susan's features darkened, her lip curling back in a snarl. "I hate you."
Integra let out a growl and lunged at her again, but this time Walter was there to pin her arms behind her back. "You spoiled little brat," she yelled. "Get out!"
The girl jumped back from her mother and caught herself before she tripped over her own feet. She said nothing more to Integra, she was afraid it would come out as her blubbering, and did as she was told right before slamming the heavy door shut.
Thank you for reading, as well as the support. I really appreciate it, guys. (:
Sorry that this one is so short, by the way.