Chapter 4
The Decisive Plague
Walter C. Dornez, the Hellsing family butler, stood outside in the courtyard to briefly watch Ceras and Maeve practice their battle exercises, the misty gray-blue eyes gave the agents undivided attention. The well-mannered Englishman dressed in his jacketless tuxedo and monocle could not help but smile as he observed the developing friendship between the two women. They remind me of the bond Alucard and I made so many years ago. One, a dangerous vampire and the other a dangerous human. In this instance, they are women instead of men. he thought while placing folded hands behind his back and long raven hair flowing gently in the breeze.
Ceras had difficulty learning the "double-crosser" technique that Maeve taught her. The crossed arms which had captured the flung fist to her face was executed flawlessly. The second half of the technique was poorly done since Ceras was slow to turn to Maeve's side and elbow her in the throat. "You almost had it, Ceras. Try it again. If you practice it enough, you will master the technique." Maeve said, encouraging her friend. Ceras nodded with a determined expression on her face and entered her fighting stance.
Maeve covered her mouth suddenly while coughing harshly and displaying a pale complexion. "Are you alright, Maeve?" Ceras asked, being concerned. She removed the hand from her lips, attempting to hide her weakness, nodding and replied, "I'm fine. Let's continue." She flung the fist once more to Ceras' face and smiled to have her perform each of the moves perfectly to successfully complete the technique. "You did it…" she said softly while smiling despite the mild pain. Before Ceras could revel her in accomplishment, her eyes widened in shock to see Maeve fall to the moist green grass. "Oh no…I hope I didn't hit you too hard…" Ceras said in dismay, her concern increased while kneeling down to her level, gently flipping the unconscious Maeve onto her back and brushing away the blades of grass from her face with a gloved hand.
Walter approached them quietly, barely making a sound upon the ground, and looked to her sprawled form briefly. "She seems to suffer from an illness rather than the aftermath of your strike, Miss Ceras." he said in an assuring tone. Ceras' crimson eyes met his gaze and said, "Still, I can not help but feel responsible." Walter imparted his sagely advice with the reply, "Yes, I would feel the same way in your position. Nevertheless, this will not help your friend recover by dwelling in your guilty feelings." Ceras' down-cast eyes looked to her for a moment and agreed, "You are right, Walter. She needs help." Ceras lifted Maeve into her arms and had her ride upon her back while leaning slightly forward so not to have her fall backwards from her grasp. "Miss Ceras, I should be the one carrying her." said Walter in an considerate and humble manner. Ceras shook her head and said firmly, "No, you said that she is ill and there is a possibility that it is viral. It does not matter to me since I am a vampire and I can not catch what she has." Walter blinked his eyes in surprise and replied, "That is a convincing argument and I have to agree with you. In this case, would you follow me to send her to bed?" "Yes." she answered while dutifully following Walter as they exited the courtyard and re-entered the mansion.
As Ceras carried her in the dimly lit hall, Maeve released a few soft groans and said in a weak voice, "What happened?" "Try not to talk, Maeve, you are very ill." Ceras said while gripping her legs tighter. "I don't remember anything, one minute I am training and the next minute I'm on your back." Maeve said in dismay. "You fell on the grass unconscious. You gave us quite a fright, Miss Maeve." Walter said while chuckling. "Oh…I'm sorry. I don't want you guys to worry about me." Maeve replied and covered her mouth to cough once more. "It is too late for that." Ceras replied and smiled.
They arrived at her bedroom room door, Walter opened the door with a simple twist of his white gloved hand to allow Ceras to carry Maeve towards the dark bedroom. Walter's finger flicked the switch upon the wall to his right and the blue lamp instantly illuminated the room in a brilliant white. "There we are." Walter said pleasantly while pulling back the blue sheep skin blanket and watched Ceras gently settle Maeve upon the bed and covered her shivering body.
"I shall send for Doctor Fairbanks from our infirmary to examine and possibly treat you, shortly." said Walter calmly. Maeve nodded her head slowly with the eyelids half-shut and watched them leave room, she managed to utter the sentence, "Th-Thank you…I'll try to fight this thing inside of me the best I can." Walter paused in his tracks, turned to face her, smiled, and said, "We know you will fight and pray that you will win."
They left the room quietly and Walter had shut the door with barely a sound from behind them.
Ceras stared at the door with a troubled expression on her face, frowning with the golden tresses concealing mist-filled eyes. Walter placed a hand upon Ceras' shoulder from behind her and said, "She would not want you to be sad." "I know it's just that…when I became truly familiar with her, I could not protect her from this just as she had protected me." Ceras said softly. "From what I have observed, if Miss Maeve would have heard you, she would say, 'Now it is your turn to return the favor.' " Ceras looked to him in a quizzical manner as he chuckled, and asked, "Return the favor? What does that mean?" "I believe it is a term that Americans use to describe repaying a debt in any form. She once used that term to explain why she became a Hellsing member. Like you, Alucard had rescued her from a vampiric peril. She believes that by doing so that will return the favor to what those vampires had done to her friends and as well as herself." Walter replied. "Yes," Ceras nodded while grinning slightly, "It is a fair and just motto to live by and this time it is my turn to return the favor to Maeve and see that she recovers."
Doctor William Fairbanks had arrived to examine Maeve and took a blood sample by pricking her middle index finger upon the left hand. The finger did not flinch after the needle punctured her skin lightly. Once the procedure was performed; the brown haired portly man dressed in a white lab coat, black slacks, and black loafer shoes left the bedroom and traveled to his laboratory hastily. What nearly seemed to be an eternity, the analysis of the blood was concluded. The doctor expressed his relief and sense of accomplishment while sighing heavily.
A silent yet patient Integra had awaited for the doctor to enter her office with a lit cigar between her teeth, resting the chin upon the white gloved hands as the elbows were on the desk. As the doctor stepped through the door, the cigar was removed from her lips and held with her fingers. "What is your analysis, Dr. Fairbanks?" Integra asked in a professional manner. "I believe it is a puzzling discovery, Sir Hellsing." the doctor replied, barely keeping a steady eye contact with his hazel gaze. A blond brow was arched in a quizzical manner and she asked, "A puzzling discovery? How so, doctor?" "It is seems to be a disease that causes the body to deteriorate from the inside out. Her white blood cells seem to resist against the virus, yet it multiplies at an alarming rate. What makes it truly puzzling is that it seems to target only her blood stream since it does not attack other individual blood samples." the doctor answered. Integra's eyes widened in surprise and said, "Are you implying that the firestarter was purposely infected with this disease?" "Yes, since there is no other logical explanation for the cause of infection." he replied. "Very well, Dr. Fairbanks. I trust that you will use the best of your abilities to create a cure for her disease. May God and Her Majesty be with you." Integra said, maintaining her professional tone. "Amen." the doctor said in return and exited the office.
"Hellfly is sick?" Alucard's voice asked as he walked through a wall to enter the room. Integra nodded her head briefly and replied, "As it would seem. It is evident that someone has purposely contaminated her. The investigation is going to be difficult in discovering the one responsible for this crime." "What cowardice. I am going to make this person pay a thousand fold for this act! Instead of facing us in an honorable confrontation, a decisive plague was used. This is an enemy who hides behind bio war-fare instead of engaging in real battle!" Alucard said in the midst of being enraged, "Hellfly will have her vengeance and I will be her servant until it is done!"