Walter pulled the covers on the bed taught before glancing around the room with an air satisfaction and triumph that he usually gained when organizing a whole room to his very high standards. The decor of the room was decidedly dated, to be sure, but it was neither gaudy or out of style with the rest of the house, and a room of such a large size seemed to welcome the dark, stately wooden bed-frames and contrasting cream, gold and aqua furnishings. The elderly retainer had to admit that he found the room rather refreshing in comparison to the rest of the Hellsing manor. The large floor to ceiling windows allowed for a glorious view of the gardens, and in return, beckoned in cascades of light from outside, banishing the shadows into the corners of the room. He had specifically chosen this room due to the large storage spaces, which he felt would be suited to their young guests needs, and the fact that the high levels of light would hopefully discourage the vampires from visiting too often, especially Alucard, whom could never be trusted around new people.
Sighing to himself he turned around, intent on preparing a meal for the soon to be arriving visitor, only to find the young Seras standing at the door and studying the inside of the room intently.
" Ah Miss Victoria, you startled me" he said in a slightly uneasy tone. He wondered how she had managed to sneak up on him; even Alucard had trouble doing such things him these days. He shook his head gently, his work was taking up too much of his attention, and he needed to be more aware of his surroundings. The vampire had yet to say a word, and she was, apparently, still captivated by the room. "Is there something I can help you with Miss?" he asked gently
"Oh sorry!" Seras replied, snapping back to attention with a lighthearted grin. "Yes, I was just wondering, ya'know, if you could tell me what is going on?' again her attention was taken around the room, which was immaculately presented and quite comfortable looking.
"I'm sorry Miss Victoria, you're going to have to be more specific"
"Right, sorry." It's just the soldiers are all acting strangely and seem nervous about something…" she focused her gaze back onto the elderly retainer "And then there is this room…" she did find it strange that Walter was in a usually abandoned pert of the house clearing a room she hadn't even knew existed
"Ah yes of course, I assumed you already new. We are to be expecting a rather unusual guest in about…" he pulled out a small pocket watch, that was attached to a chain, from his waistcoat and read the small ornate clock-face "oh my, she is coming in less than half an hour!" he looked up at the vampire, "I really am sorry Miss Victoria, but I must go fetch Sir Integra."The butler wove past Seras and briskly walked down the corridors of the mansion.
"Greet who? Why is this guest so special? You still haven't really answered my question!" she called after the man. Deciding that standing around wouldn't get her any answers, she decided to follow Walter until she had a clearer idea of what was going on. The retainer, seeing that she wouldn't be satisfied by such vague replies sighed and, with an air of boredom, said
"It has been brought to our attention that the Hellsing family may have another living heir, other than Sir Integra, her name is Bethany and she will be staying with us until such a time as we can confirm or deny such information"
"Another heir? What if this information is wrong?"
"Then she shall leave" He said manner-of-factly
"And if it's true?"
"Then she shall stay and you'll be meeting your new boss" Walter couldn't help it, he smiled a little. The vampire had paled even further than her usual ivory tone and her mouth had formed a little 'o' in surprise. She understood now why all of the guards were so nervous, they wanted to make a good impression on their, possibly, new employer. "Was the room for her, then?" She asked curiously
"Yes" Walter replied, he did have a soft spot for the most recent addition to the vampire proportion of the household, but he was beginning to wonder if she was taking this as seriously as she should be. A brief glance to behind him showed him a face that held more excitement than apprehension.
"What's she like, this Bethany?" Seras couldn't help it, a new person in the house! It wasn't everyday she met someone new that she didn't end up terminating on a mission
"She is said to be quite young, around 16 if our informer is correct. Apart from the fact that all her family is dead and that she has been under the employ of her majesties government for the past few years, we know very little of her personality…" Seras frowned, employed by the government? But she was so young, what would she have been doing? A girl that age focusing on anything but her school and social life was unimaginable to her! However the all-further questions that she wanted to ask the retainer were stifled as the large doors to Integras office loomed in the distance. She watched as Walter knocked three times and entered, she was about to turn on her heel and leave when, suddenly, she heard her masters voice ring inside of her head.
"Come in Police Girl, my master wants us all present" Smiling contently to herself Seras slipped into the office with all the grace her vampire powers granted her and closed the door behind her.
Alucard watched as his fledgling entered the room, the small girlish smile that played on hr lips made it clear that she had been informed of the visitor that they were to be expecting. A brief glance into her mind revealed that her mental walls were still in place and were as strong as ever, but some emotions still swam outside of her mental guards. The most obvious and tangible of these was excitement. He sniffed with contempt, Alucard hadn't been nearly so happy to hear that his master had found a possible replacement for when she passed. Another human, to tell him what to do, trapping him in slavery for another fifty years. He by no means disliked his current master, it was just that situations such as these made his illusions of freedom become ever more distant. Holding back a snarl of irritation, he instead focused on his fledglings mood, in hopes of lightening his own. He was still slightly confused as to why Seras found such pleasure in finding out she trapped here, even after Integra died. It was as if she didn't see how this human would only prolonged her captivity. Still, the pretty smile framed her face nicely and she seemed so happy with her existence. Somehow, in her smile, he found some comfort, though he was not sure why.
Turning his head back towards his master he listened as she explained the 'rules' that the two vampires were to follow if the young girl was going to stay. They were completely banned from feeding off of her or harming he in any way. They were also banned from entering the girls chambers unless they had permission from her before-hand. Apart from that they were pretty much to treat her as they saw fit, as long as they weren't disrespectful or purposefully intimidating. At that point a long meaningful stare was aimed at Alucard, who Seras was almost certain she saw pout a little at such a direct ban. She giggled to herself slightly at such a reaction from her master, he would have trouble getting over such a strong part of his own character. Suddenly she became acutely aware that everyone's eyes were now focused on her. Mentally she cursed herself for not taking the situation seriously enough.
The furious look she received from Integra, alone, would had been enough to freeze a waterfall, but fortunately the silence, and everyone's judging stares, were soon broken by Walter who had cleared his throat, drawing their attention over to him instead. Secretly Seras thanked the man in her mind, glad she wouldn't have do deal with the self-imposed embarrassment she so often brought upon herself.
"I do believe that young Bethany has arrived…" He informed the room. Silently, one by one they filtered out of the room, and made their way out into the main hallway where they waited for the young girl. Integra and Walter stood side by side in the centre of the room, facing the main doors, which were open in an attempt to make the house seem more welcoming. The large archway let the moons silver light fall into the room and silhouetted the figures that stood in the center of the room. Alucard and his fledgling stood in the shadows, to the left of the room, watching as a large black car pulled up into the driveway and stopped in front of the mansion. Seras took an unnecessary breath and clenched her fists as the car door opened and a young woman, a teenager, stepped out of the car and stared at the inhabitants of the house. The soldiers posted on either side of the door initially drew the young ladies gaze, but she dismissed them with the ease of someone who had regular contact with such people. Instead she now focused her attention on Sir Integra. Her long blond hair was a darker shade than that of the woman who owned the house, she was slightly taller also, and wore heels to accentuate this splint. Her clothes were simple in design dark-wash jeans a black flowing top, trimmed with gold detailing, and a long black coat. Her eyes, on the other hand, were really what captivated her audience. The colour matched perfectly that of the Hellsings heir, but, within them was a kindness and a softness that Seras had never seen in Sir Integras' eyes.
"Hello" Bethany said with a warm smile. Apparently she had been yet to notice the two vampires standing in the shadows, watching her every move. Instead she merely continued to smile at her host who, in return stared back at her, a look of disbelief etched onto her face. The room was engulfed in an uncertain silence.
"Impossible" A voice said from beside Seras. Surprisingly, it had been her master who had spoken first, his eyes were locked onto the girl, he was frozen to the spot with, was that fear? No, it was shock. Maybe? Seras had never seen her master act so strange. Bethany, for having not noticed Alucard and his fledgling, jumped at the sound of his voice and took an apprehensive step backwards.
"Is she of the Hellsing blood?" Integra asked flatly. Her gaze did not leave the girls face. There was no response. "Answer me god-dam-it!"
"Yes…" He said softly, before dissolving into the shadows disappearing from the room. Integra seemed too find this information far more pleasing than the ancient vampire had, and she stepped forward, welcoming Bethany into her home. The conversation continued fairly normally after that, with topics such as the young ladies journey and her shock of having found out she was not alone in the world. Being the only person around who could carry large loads with ease, other than the soldiers, Seras had been 'convinced' to carry all the suitcases from the car up to the room. It surprised her that Bethany neither seemed to mind or even be surprised to find that Seras was a vampire, she expected a little disbelief from the young woman but was merely granted a look that said "oh, I already knew'. Again she was left wondering what kind of person this girl was.
Bethany had settled into her room with comparative ease and, like all others in the house, found it quite acceptable to take rest in the day, especialy after her long journey. This finally allowed Seras to retreat to her own coffin in the basement. Despite having been only in the house for a matter of hours, Bethany had managed to rope the little draculina into perfuming a multitude of tasks for her, such as moving luggage and re-arranging the furniture in the bedroom. She had talked almost constantly to Seras throughout the whole process. This showed the girl to be rather energetic and lighthearted, if not slightly hyper at times. When she had finally been dismissed, Seras found out how extraordinarily tired she had become over the past few hours. By the time she got to her room she was so fatigued that se didn't even notice her master lounging in the corner, until he spoke.
"Having fun with our new master, Police Girl?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from his every word. Seras jumped at least a foot and a half in the air, swearing a blue streak as she went, causing her master to raise an eyebrow in surprise. Such a language was quite unusual in his fledgling.
"Hell, don't do that to me" she yelled at him.
"What?" he asks incredulously
"Sneak up on me!" She looked the vampire up and down, he had resumed his normal air of nonchalant confidence, and was currently leaning against a wall, arms crossed and hat low over his eyes He still wore his red trench coat but his glasses were removed so his scarlet irises could be seen under the brim if his headgear.
"How on earth did I sneak up on you?" Confusion began to mix into his body language. "I am standing here in a bright red trench coat and hat, I'm not even fading into the shadows. How is this sneaking?" Seras considered his point briefly but decided that she was too tired to complete such an exchange with her master.
"Sorry, I just didn't…my bad…" She yawned and stretched her arms out wide in an attempt to keep herself awake. "Was there something you needed?" she asked, it had finally dawned on her that there must have been a reason as to why the master vampire had entered her chambers so close to the morning. Alucard stood and took a step towards Seras before shaking his head. She was clearly exhausted and any answers she may have to his question would probably be entirely unhelpful anyways.
"Nothing that can't wait till tomorrow, good night Seras Victoria" He murmured before fading through the walls into his own room. Not even noticing the use of her real name, by her master, Seras flopped onto her bed, not even bothering to change out of her uniform. She was asleep in seconds.