Third chapter! I don't own Hellsing, all original elements belong to me!

"What happens now?" Seras asked, her feet trudging down the hall with a little less vigor than usual. "I mean, with me?"

Walter, her companion on her walk, glanced sideways at her.

"As far as I know, Mr. Porter and his associates will be taking residence here for the time being. That includes you, of course."

"I figured it would." Seras sighed.

At that moment, Integra and Malcolm were busy going over all the legal matters concerning the new Porter-Hellsing alliance. All Seras knew was that it meant Malcolm's employees would be teaming up with Hellsing's to stand a better chance against Purity's Blood.

Purity's Blood was still the enigma it had always been; a shadow group that harbored both artificial and natural vampires from every category. They used FREAK chips to make vampires and ghouls and let them attack at random, until recently. Now, for the first time in history, well-planned vampire assaults were beginning to emerge. The Valentine Brothers' attempt was proof enough to worry any party involved. They knew what they did because an anonymous informant had contacted them six months ago, telling them the sites of future attacks. Who this informant was, they had no idea. But he didn't seem to know much about Purity's Blood's origins or even their leader, or else he wasn't telling.

Now Seras and Walter descended the basement steps, heading down to Seras's room. Luckily, Malcolm was kind enough to bring Seras's personal belongings with him, so now she had clothes to wear. It made her wonder if he had planned her capture all along, just so he'd have a chance to talk to Integra with the Queen on his side.

The basement walls were slightly wet, cobbled with stone bricks and lit with only by electric lamps. The walls seemed to have lost their former charm, as such old mansions are prone to do. When she was human this might have bothered her, but now the dark, earthy atmosphere was comforting beyond belief. She supposed it must have something to do with being dead, for to the dead grave-like places would be home sweet home. The only thing that unnerved her was that, deeper into the bowels of Hellsing manor, Alucard also took refuge in the darkness.

"Um, Walter?" Seras asked as they passed the hallway where her room was. "Where are we going?"

"Alucard requested that you be moved into one of the lower chambers. Probably to keep an eye on you, I would think." Walter answered. Seras rubbed her arms, becoming even more uncomfortable.

They continued their trek far lower than Seras would have liked, so far that the walls seemed to age as they went along and the lights were spaced farther apart. Not that light was a problem, of course. One of the things Seras had grown to like about being a vampire was that there was no way to blind a vampire, whether it be darkness or solid objects.

Finally, Walter opened an old, wooden door and led Seras inside. The room was furnished much better than her old one had been, with several pieces of mahogany furniture and a bookshelf, laden with texts and books she had never heard of. A small TV sat in a corner, but it did not interest her. Instead Seras turned to examine the large coffin taking up a fair portion of her new room. It was darker in colour than others she had seen, not black but rather a very dark burgundy. It wasn't decorated at all, and did not open using a mechanism as her old room's coffin had. She didn't mind, though; she was more than strong enough to open a coffin, anyway. It did feel… odd, though.

"One of Alucard's spare coffins." Walter explained, and Seras jerked her head up to look at him with surprise. "I don't think he's ever used it, as far as I know. It was a present from one of the previous generation's Knights. Seeing as Alucard destroyed yours-"

"Somehow, I can't see him doing this out of generosity. How mad was he when Integra told him to lend it to me?"

Seras's words seemed to startle him, and then he started to laugh.

"You know us well, Miss Victoria." he chuckled, and Seras smiled at his amused face. It looked like things between them had improved, if only a little. "Let's just say things were… uncomfortable, for an hour or two."

"Oh, that reminds me." Seras said, turning to face Walter fully. She scratched her head nervously before asking, "Um, well, when I left…"

"Yes?"

"Did Ma- I mean, Alucard, how did he react? Was he mad, or…?"

Walter eyed her for a moment, adjusting his monocle with one hand. Seras gazed up at him with very curious but slightly sorrowful eyes, and he realized that she was truly sorry for leaving.

"I don't think I'm really the one you should be talking to about this, Miss Victoria." Walter said finally, and Seras's eyes found the floor. "You still haven't told us the reason for your departure, for one. Secondly, Alucard has told us that he-"

"Made me his fledgling again, right?" Seras finished for him, her hand gently rubbing the sore spot on her neck. It didn't look any different, but inside it felt to her like her heart had been ripped out and laid bare for all to see. "Don't worry- it's just temporary. By this time tomorrow I'll be well on my way to being my own vampire again."

"Is that so?" a familiar voice rang out, startling her and Walter. Immediately after the interruption Alucard suddenly appeared, melting through the wall as if it were thin air. As per usual, he wore his red trench coat and fedora hat, yellow-orange sunglasses perched on his nose and hiding his ruby eyes. His arms were crossed and he glared down at his fledgling. "How, pray tell, would you manage that?"

Seras backed up a few steps, finding it difficult to stand her ground. Her neck started to hurt, as if someone were prying open the wound with a dull knife.

"You see, I've been curious about how you managed to elude and escape me this past year. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you'd drunk my blood halfway through your escapade, and freed yourself from me. However, we both know the blood you took from me at the Tower didn't take effect, and you never had another chance."

Seras stared up at him, and Walter shuffled worriedly.

"I found another way." Seras replied, not offering any more.

"Last time I checked, there wasn't another way." Alucard snapped, his fangs glinting. "So I'll ask again; how did you free yourself?"

Seras lowered her eyes, wringing her hands. "Malcolm helped me. He's the CEO of a drug company, so he-"

"Drugs?!" Alucard snarled, and Seras jumped. "You mean you took filthy human substances just to rid yourself of me?!"

Seras hesitated, and then nodded. She was screwed now, anyway, so there wasn't any use providing excuses.

Alucard straightened to his full height, and Seras's senses could tell his body was on the verge of exploding into some god-forsaken monster. She didn't know why the use of drugs brought such a change upon him, unless it was simply because it insulted his integrity to know she had sought help from humans to escape him. That seemed like the most logical reason, but still…

Alucard unfolded his arms and held one hand out to her face. His gloved finger pressed against her forehead, and excruciating pain suddenly cascaded throughout Seras's body. She wanted to cry out, but she couldn't control her body's actions.

"I'm going to make myself perfectly clear to you, Police girl." He hissed, pressing harder. "From now on, you will be unable to go anywhere or do anything without my consent. Your training will be supervised by myself, and no other.

"It became clear to me that leaving your education to humans muddled your tiny mind, and so I'm partly to blame for your insolence. So, as of last night, I'm taking away all your little privileges and freedoms so that I can properly teach you to be a true vampire."

He let go and Seras crumpled, sliding against the wall to the hard floor. Walter made a move as to help her up, but Alucard shot him a heated glare that stopped him in his tracks. Seras tried to stand, but it was as if her strength had seeped out from her body at his touch. And it only served to further fuel her defiance towards him.

"What do you say to that, Police girl?" he inquired, his face serious but domineering.

Seras forced her head upwards to meet his gaze and scowled.

"Go to hell."

Apparently, that was exactly what he wanted to hear, because he broke out into that insane laughter he was famous for.

"Good, good! My little servant has a backbone!" he roared vigorously, his face lighting up malicious exhilaration.

Seras tried once more to lift herself, but failed in the attempt. She utterly despised his victorious tone, as if he had somehow won a game. A game with a girl hundreds of years his junior, and whose powers couldn't match up to his. It made her sick to her stomach.

"Shut up!" she screeched feebly, feeling degraded by his mocking laughter.

Walter watched them, his heart going out to Seras. Perhaps it wasn't such a mystery as to why she left, after all.

Alucard quieted down eventually and gave her an almost amiable smirk, regarding her frustration as yet another victory to his name. Humiliation had turned her pale face as red as her eyes, and her mortification at her inability to stand seemed to have humbled her. Yes, the situation was undeniably in his favor.

He stepped backwards, his red trench coat waving, and melted back into the shadows.

"I look forward to seeing you more often, Police girl." His final words echoed, and then he vanished.

Walter and Seras stayed still for a moment, taking in all that happened, before Seras suddenly let out a distressed cry,

"Rrrgh!"

Walter knelt beside her and queried,

"Miss Victoria, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She responded, leaning on him so she could stand up. She slowly felt her strength returning, little bits at a time. "I'm just so… rrgh! I can't stand him!"

Walter helped her up and she sat on the casket, breathing heavily.

"Why are you breathing?"

"Huh?" Seras asked, and then realized what she was doing. "Oh, sorry. Force of habit."

She wanted so badly to take a nap, but she would have to wait until daybreak. If she tried to sleep now, it would screw up her metabolism and she'd suffer headaches for three days. Not something she wanted to try again.

But what she wanted even more was to take a screwdriver to Alucard's head. How could he be so despicable? She sometimes thought his one goal in life was to make her miserable. Not once had she heard him praise her, or offer her guidance when she was upset. He didn't have the right to be her master, no matter how many times he bit her neck.

Walter waited a few seconds, thinking, before saying,

"Actually, I think I'll answer your question."

"What question?" Seras asked, before realizing what he was saying, "Oh, you mean about how Master felt about me running away."

Walter nodded.

"Alucard was understandably upset when you left, Miss Victoria, and I'm sure you'll know why if you think about it."

Seras searched her mind, but found nothing and instead shook her head. Walter sighed.

"Very well. You must remember, Seras, that the only people that Alucard ever associates with are you, me and Sir Integra. That makes us the equivalent of his 'family', if you will.

"Now, Alucard has made many human friends during his servitude, though he would never call them such. And each and every one of them has been killed, either by battle, sickness or old age. Integra and I, too, will pass away one day, and in all probability you will outlive us. Alucard will survive us, of that I'm sure."

"But what does that have to do with me, or what Alucard thinks of me?" Seras asked, not understanding what Walter was getting at. She just wanted to know if Alucard had been exceptionally mad. Why did they need to delve into the topic of death?

Of course, Walter continued, this time with a clearer statement.

"I believe that, to Alucard, you may be his only true companion."

Seras stared wide-eyed at Walter, startled at the statement.

"You have the capacity to live where others will not. That means that a friendship can build between you, and he does not need to worry it will be destroyed by your death. That would make you very valuable to him, Seras. Precious, even."

Seras snorted incredulously. Was Walter off his rocker? Her, precious to Alucard? That was probably the craziest thing she had ever heard.

"So you're saying I'm special to him because I'm a vampire like he is? After what he just did?"

"Heavens, no. Your personality has a great deal to do with it, too; he'd never have offered you immortality if he wasn't sure he could live with you for the rest of his… unlife." Walter said.

"So what are you saying?!" Seras demanded angrily, surprising him. "That he was mad? Relieved? What?"

She buried her head in her hands, irritated and upset. Why couldn't he just get to the point?

Walter stood still and watched her glower in her ill-contentedness.

"I'm saying, Seras," Walter said quietly, and Seras raised her head, "that, although he was certainly angry with you, I've never seen Alucard as lonely and hurt as he was after you left."

Silence.

Seras stared. It was all she could do. She couldn't even hear what Walter said anymore.

"He spent night after night looking for you, and when he couldn't find you-"

Lonely?

"-he started interrogating vampires before he killed them, demanding if they had seen you-"

Hurt?

"-but no one did, and after a while Integra called off the search. Alucard almost refused, but-"

About me?

She abruptly decided she didn't want to hear any more. There was no way it could possibly be true, no matter how logical it sounded. Alucard did not have emotions like sadness or pain. He was a monster, and nothing anyone said could convince her otherwise. He killed without remorse, hurt without hurting in return. In the eyes of a monster, she was sure all her actions could have earned her was rage.

So Seras cut him off with a gesture of her hand, then she stood up off the coffin, struggling to keep her face as still and expressionless as she could.

"I'll see you later, Walter."

Before Walter could protest, she quickly ripped open the door and fled down the hallway, without any idea as to why she was running or why her heart had started beating.

She could never allow herself to think of Alucard having feelings. If she did, then she'd have to accept that she and Alucard weren't so different. That it was possible for her to one day become exactly like him, unable to show mercy or regret, existing only to extinguish the lives of others.

She would never allow that to happen.

Blam.

With one, clean shot the target's head had been reduced to wooden splinters.

Blam.

Another shot blew away the target's torso, leaving only disembodied limbs.

There is no way in hell I'm a "special companion" to Alucard. Not in any way, shape or form. She thought furiously, taking out her irritation on the next target. Servant, maybe. Source of entertainment, definitely. But I'm not some kind of pet!

Seras plugged nine more wooden targets with her favourite rifle, the semi-automatic Baphomet. It was slightly long, but not unwieldy, and carried enough firepower to fairly rival her old Halconnen, using silver rounds she carried in the pouch of her belt. It was a birthday gift from Malcolm, the first she'd received in two years. She treasured it.

What she loved best about it, though, was that it was easy to carry. She'd had horrible experiences with the Halconnen when trying to walk through doorways. With the Baphomet, she could strap it on her back and that'd be it.

She fired another few rounds, trying to ignore the stares she received from the Hellsing soldiers. She didn't recognize a lot of them, and those she could were few and carrying scars of battle. But that was to be expected; the average lifespan of a Hellsing soldier was not long at all.

Apparently, the fact she was a woman did not go unnoticed. They tittered amongst themselves, and she heard quite well the sexist remarks they offered at her expense.

"Hey, I didn't know they let chicks in Hellsing. She a secretary, or something?"

"Maybe we should take her for a couple beers. She looks like an easy girl-"

One of them, a soldier who was once in her platoon, hissed to the others,

"Are you guys nuts? That there's Seras Victoria, the runaway vampire I was tellin' you about!"

THAT, thankfully, brought most of the jokes to an end.

Hmm. Looks like I've got a reputation that doesn't involve bad shooting.

"Hello, gentlemen." She said, smiling cheerfully. She rested the Baphomet on her shoulder and turned to face them. "I don't think I've met all of you yet, have I?"

The men shifted about hesitantly.

"That's all right. I'm Seras Victoria. I'm here with Mr. Porter, of CBANW. And, yes, I'm a vampire."

One man broke from the group and stepped in front. He was a bit shorter than the rest, and looked younger, with blue eyes and reddish-brown hair. He couldn't have been more than twenty.

"I'm Alex. Alex Flannel." He said, holding out his hand. Seras shook it, smiling at him.

"Nice to meet you, Alex." Seras said, letting go. At least one of them seemed civilized. "How long have you been here?"

Alex laughed nervously, flashing her a giddy smile.

"I've been here about two weeks. Truth be told, you're the first to speak to me."

"Is that so?" Seras eyed the others, who began whistling innocently. "Well, don't be too put out; most of them are so spineless that they're only good for cannon fodder. Not-so-friendly fire, if you know what mean."

The soldiers decided to take that moment to go and take a run around the mansion, scurrying out the practice grounds' doors and disappearing. She was certainly glad to see them go, but if they were intimidated by her they wouldn't last two seconds on the battleground. And as much as she disliked them, she didn't want to see them end up vampire chow.

I'd feel sorry for the vampire chomping down on their necks. She thought wryly, before turning her attention back to Alex. He'd started some obscure conversation while she was thinking, and now she had no idea what he was talking about.

"-so I told him I'd work really hard-"

"Pardon?" Seras interrupted, gazing at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I missed the first bit of what you were talking about."

Alex blinked, before answering,

"I was saying how my uncle used to work here. Did you know him? His name was Lawrence Ferguson." He replied.

Seras gaped at him. This young man was Commander Ferguson's nephew? She hadn't even known Ferguson had any relatives at all. It made her feel sick inside, knowing Ferguson had been the first she'd fed from. He was dead at the time, but it still felt like she had done something… inhuman.

And now, here stood his nephew.

"Uh, yeah, I knew him." Seras said. "He was my commander. He died a very brave man. I'm sure he'd be proud of you for joining up with Hellsing."

"Thanks." He said sheepishly. Then he checked his wristwatch and gasped.

"Gah! Sorry, I've gotta go. Commander Burnfield's gonna have my hide for a handbag!" he apologized, grabbing his pack and hurrying towards the door. Before he left, he turned and said,

"Uh, thanks, Miss Victoria. See you around?"

Seras smiled and waved him goodbye as he burst through the doors.

Well, things weren't so bad. She'd made a friend, even if he was a little air-headed. Maybe being back wouldn't be as horrible as she'd thought it'd be. Now, if only she could find a way to keep Alucard out of her hair…

The doors of the room flung open again, and for a moment Seras thought it was Alex again, but instead she saw a more familiar figure striding towards her.

"Malcolm?" Seras asked.

"Yep, it's me. How've you been, kiddo?" he beamed down at her, taking his hand and ruffling her hair. "I'm really sorry I got you mixed up in all this stupid political stuff, but you know how it is. It's one thing or another, these days."

"That's okay." She grinned up at him. But then she asked, "How long do we have to stay here? I want to go home."

"I don't know." He replied, running his fingers through his slicked-back hair. "We need to stop Purity's Blood, but they're unfortunately residing in England, which is under Hellsing's jurisdiction. Sending you here was the only way I could think of to get in contact with them while getting on the Queen's good side."

Seras stepped away from Malcolm angrily.

"I knew it. You wanted me to get captured on purpose!"

"I honestly didn't think they'd capture you. I underestimated Alucard's abilities, and you have every right to be angry with me." He said, sighing dejectedly.

"Yeah, I definitely do." Seras grumbled, pointing to her neck. "He bit me! He thinks I'm his fledgling again!"

"Yes, I know." He said. He looked uncomfortable about something.

Seras studied him suspiciously.

"What is it, Master?"

"Well…" Malcolm began, unsure of how to phrase his words, "…one of Integra's conditions for joining with us was that I wasn't to help you break Alucard's control on you. Alucard is in charge of you, for now at least."

She stared at him incredulously.

This couldn't be happening.

"You're… you're abandoning me?!" she cried, furious blood-red tears appearing in her eyes. How could he? He didn't know what it was like, being chained to a monster!

"No!" he exclaimed in protest, grabbing her shoulders. "I'd never do that, Seras! Once this whole thing blows over, I'll take you home and get you fixed up. But I need you to be strong, okay?"

She nodded, angrily blinking back her watery eyes. What was she, a child?

"No matter what happens, I'll protect you, I promise." Malcolm soothed her with his words, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "Until then, just try to get along with Alucard, okay? I'll make sure Integra keeps him from hurting you, and you do what he says. Within reason, of course."

Malcolm sighed again, and Seras noticed wrinkles in his face she'd never seen before.

He really is worrying about me. She thought, and felt a bit better. After all, this wasn't his fault. And everyone needed to make sacrifices to make this arrangement work. Dealing with Alucard would be hers.

"To be honest, I'm not too worried about your welfare." Malcolm said. "I think he'll take care of you just fine, as long as you do your best to make compromises. It's not like he hates you, Seras." He assured her.

"Y'know, it's fairly obvious he cares about you. In his own weird little way."

"Funny," Seras grumbled, "Someone told me the same thing today."

Malcolm looked as if he were about to ask who when his bodyguard appeared, with a man beside him. He was young, about twenty-five, with messy blond hair and brown eyes. The man wore pretty casual clothes, and had a pair of thick glasses adorning his otherwise good-looking face. He wore a large, black bag around his shoulder.

"Joshua!" Seras cried, happily, running to hug him.

"Whoa, whoa! Watch it! Vampire hugs are lethal, y'know!" he protested as she threw her arms around his neck. "Just don't bite me, okay, babe?"

"I missed you!" Seras said, letting go and smiling at him. "How was Australia?"

"Crikey, I got bit by one o' dem nasty gaters." He joked, badly faking an Australian accent. Seras giggled.

"By the way, how's your coffin-bike?"

Seras's happy face immediately fell into a guilty frown. She shuffled her feet nervously.

"Um, well… Alucard, he kind of…"

She looked up at him with guilty eyes.

"He blew it up."

"Hey, Joshua?" Seras asked. "How's it coming?"

"I'm not talking to you." He replied, his face hidden by the remains of the bike.

Seras would never have been here, in Joshua's new workshop, if it hadn't been for Malcolm's going off to the mansion again. Something about more paperwork.

Integra had lent Joshua one of the spare garages, and Hellsing had brought the battered frame of Seras's bike to be repaired. Joshua had gone mental, mourning for his masterpiece.

Seras's motorcycle wasn't just a motorcycle. It was a mobile home, so to speak. The reason it was called a coffin-bike was because, when not in active mode, it transformed into a coffin. That's right; with the flip of a switch, the frame disassembled itself and made a cozy little haven for a vampire away from home. It didn't even need an engine, because it fed on Seras's innate vampiric powers. It was certainly useful, but Seras had heard more than her fair share of Transformers jokes about the subject.

"I can't even get it to turn back into a coffin anymore. It'll take at least a week to fix up." Joshua groaned. "The tires are shot, half the frame is melted off. What were you guys doing, fighting in a volcano?!"

Seras sighed, threw up her hands and gave up. There was no talking to Joshua when he got like this.

Joshua was her Linkmaster. All individual units had one; someone who patched communications and told them coordinates while they were hunting. He also gave her messages while she was out, so she wouldn't need a cell phone. They were the perfect team, brains and brawn. He also served as her personal mechanic, making gadgets and cleaning up her weapons. Alternatively, Seras served a tester for whatever he came up with and provided him with environmental data on her trips out.

He was also her good friend. They had been through a lot together, considering their line of work. She'd once considered him boyfriend material, but now he was more like a kid brother, despite the fact he was older and definitely smarter than she was.

"So, what's this I hear about that Alucard guy? You guys talked yet?"

"You could say that." Seras replied wryly.

"Well, we'll be here a while yet, so I hope you guys get everything worked out. I mean, do you really want someone like him to have a grudge against you?"

That was a good point. Even if she could elude his wrath for a while, eventually he'll be free of the Hellsings. They couldn't keep appointing heirs forever, and one day he'll be a free vampire. That was not something she looked forward to.

"Well, I told Malcolm I'd try to make some compromises with him." Seras said, sitting in a chair at a workbench. "I mean, it's not like he tries to kill me or anything, but his morals are a little warped, you know what I mean?"

"Nope."

"Well, just today he basically told me I'm not allowed to do anything without his permission."

"What'd you say?" Joshua asked, sticking his head out from behind the motorcycle.

"I told him to go to hell. Not the best move, I'll admit, but he seemed pretty damn happy I said it."

Joshua nodded, turning his head back to his work.

"I'm scared of him, though."

Joshua jerked his head back up to survey her. Her back was hunched, and she looked lost in contemplation.

"Whenever he's around, I feel nervous and self-conscious. No matter what I did or said, I could never please him. I always screwed up in one way or another, and I'd feel like I had disappointed him. I just wanted him to be proud of me.

"But I couldn't do it. And I didn't want to live my life feeling like a failure, which was one of the major reasons I left. But no matter what I did, even after I went through with the de-bonding procedure, I still wanted to please him."

Seras looked at him and asked pleadingly,

"Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

Joshua thought for a moment, then answered,

"No, I don't think so. You're an upright, spunky girl, and if that bonehead's got one brain cell he'd be proud of you for who you are, rather than how many zombies you kill or how well you fire a gun. Heck, if he hasn't noticed it already he probably isn't worth it."

Seras smiled gratefully at him, feeling a little better. She didn't think she was all that spunky, but the thought was nice.

"Thanks, Joshua."

"And if there is anything wrong with you," Joshua added, "Just ask Dr. Crane or Miranda to help you out. Ask them for some acid, you'll do just fine."

Seras pulled a disgusted face. She had sworn on her father's grave she'd never take drugs, wanting to be a cop and all. No one she knew did them, either, of that she was glad.

She saw the sun rising in the distance, and stood up to leave. But suddenly Walter appeared in the garage doorway, panting and looking a little distressed.

"What is it, Walter?" Seras asked, concern echoing in her voice. Why did he look so worried?

"Come quickly! Someone-" he wheezed, "S-someone broke into the mansion and attacked Mr. Porter!"

Somewhere in England, in a place of shadows and dirt and death, two entities were speaking. Their bodies were hidden; the only light a tiny light bulb hovering over a table. They sat at the table, on it resting an elaborate chess board, one of the figures fingering the pieces lovingly with pale hands.

"I trust all is going well?" a voice whispered in the dark. The other answered,

"But of course. The pieces are falling into place just as you said they would, Supreme One."

"Did you doubt me? I know each and every move they'll make, merely from experience. So simple a strategy as this takes no more than an ounce of intelligence to weave. Are my pawns in place?"

"Ready for your orders, as always."

"Good. My rooks?"

"Heavily armed and waiting, Supreme One."

"I need not ask for my bishops, they are well within my control. But what of my precious knight?"

The second voice paused, hesitating. The other tapped their hand impatiently on the marble chess board.

"Ready, Supreme One."

"Good." The first voice crooned in pleasure. "Worry not, my pet, you'll have your desire soon enough."

The first figure's hand held one of the opposite side's knights in the palm of their hand, toying with it affectionately.

"The first check draws near, dear one, and with it shall fall their precious Queen's Knight. And after that-"

The bodiless hand shattered the piece into fragments, the pieces raining down on the board.

"-all of England, in one glorious checkmate!"

And so the nefarious plot begins to emerge. Reviews liked, flames not so much. Critique gets a gold star!