whew that took a bit of work

read and review please tell me how you like it...or how you don't like it

The Mansion

It was nearing ten o'clock when the car pulled through an elegant set of gates and drove slowly up a long drive way. Katherine stifled a yawn and took off her seat belt. She was quite ready to meet this Sir Hellsing and then get off to bed.

The driver stopped the car and quickly got out and held Katherine's door for her.

"Thank you," she smiled. She reached for her bags, but a man who seemed to appear out of no where stopped her.

"That's alright Miss I'll get them for you," he was quite tall for an older gentleman and wore his hair perfectly slicked back and tied at the base of his neck.

"Oh are you sure? They're a bit heavy I could carry one of them if you like," she always felt bad when people helped her, even when it was there job.

"Don't worry, Walter is quite capable of carrying your bags," Alucard looked at the butler fondly

Katherine followed the two of them up the steps and through two great double doors. They stepped into a dimly lit foyer, and Katherine awed at the size of it.

Walter began walking off down a hall with Katherine's bags and soon disappeared from site.

"Wait, where is he going," she was starting to feel slightly trapped.

"He's taking your bags to the room you will be staying in," Alucard started walking towards an ornate stair case.

Katherine stayed where she was, "What do you mean. I haven't even decided to stay here yet why would I need a room." She eyed him warily.

"Whether you decide to stay or not you will still need a place to sleep for the night. I don't suspect the orphanage will be very happy if you show up in the middle of the night and wake everyone up," he did not bother stopping to tell her this, and took two steps at a time up the stairs.

"Oh, I guess you're right," she reluctantly followed him feeling more and more like she would not be leaving here any time soon. Alucard had said she could not be left to run away knowing the things he had told her. If that was true then why would a trip here change that?

She followed Alucard down another hall way and then up two more flights of stairs. She was beginning to grow weary of all this walking when he abruptly stopped in front of another set of double doors. She had been watching her feet and wondering where they were taking her so she ran into his side. He gave her a very familiar look. "Don't be so careless/immature/stupid" it said. She always got this look from adults who thought they knew better, mostly teachers and the social workers who used to come and check on her.

"You will address Sir Hellsing as Sir. Mind your manners and answer any questions honestly. We will know if you are lying. When she is finished you may ask her any questions you might have," he nodded at her as if to welcome any questions she had now.

Katherine relaxed. So Sir Hellsing was a woman, this would not be as scary as she had begun to think. She brushed off her shirt and quickly ran her fingers through her hair hoping she did not look too frumpy.

"I know how to carry a polite conversation on with someone, maybe you should take your own advice," Katherine was sure she would never be able to get along with this man. He was older than her by hundreds of years, yet he got on her nerves as bad as the boys in high school. He did not even act outerly immature, but there was just something about him that got under her skin. Maybe it was the fact that he could literally get under her skin, but she did not think so. She felt like even though he was composed on the outside, he was immature, pompous, and too proud of himself on the inside. It was all the elements that were needed to make the perfect pig of a man.

Alucard knocked on the huge doors and then disappeared. Katherine jumped and frantically looked around. Sure she could not stand him, but she did not want to go in and meet this woman on her own. At least she knew who Alucard was and had met him three times. She did not have much time to panic for someone answered to the knock on the door.

"Enter," the voice sounded a bit tired and annoyed. Katherine put on her most cheerful face and walked into the large office.

The room was very large, but did not contain much. On the far side of the room across form the doors stood a simple wooden desk with a window behind it. The curtains were drawn and a fireplace was burning to the right. The flames flickered high and threw long shadows across the floor. They twisted and turned and Katherine thought they almost looked alive. A large painting of a man hung above the fireplace.

Integra motioned for Katherine to sit down in the chair in front of her desk. She continued looking through files and paper work for a bit before she looked up and surveyed the girl. She looked remarkably like her mother in the face and with her dark brown hair, but her eyes were a beautiful shade of green like her fathers. The two stared at each other for a moment taking in all the visual information as they could.

Katherine thought Integra looked nice enough. Her glasses were too big for her face, but if she took them off and wore something more feminine she would be very pretty. She supposed dressing like that helped her maintain power in her organization. When women did not flaunt themselves men were likely to treat them more equally.

Integra finally spoke, "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, I guess," Katherine did not feel rude about saying this. This woman was the reason her life was completely changed in a matter of hours. Why should it be nice to meet her at all?

Integra raised her eyebrows, but chose not to make any comments, "Do you have any questions about what Alucard told you?"

"No. What else is there? He told it pretty straight forward didn't he?" Katherine looked down at her feet and shuffled them around. It was so dark in the room she could not imagine how Integra could see. Maybe that was why she needed to wear glasses. The room felt spooky too, like it was not just the two of them in it.

"Yes I suppose he did tell it straight," Integra tried to feel pity for the girl but could not. A lot of worse things could happen in someone's life; at least she was being offered a place to stay.

"He also told me I could leave tomorrow if I didn't want to stay, but I'm beginning to think he lied," Katherine did not bother looking up. She knew what the answer would be.

There was a short silence in which Integra lit a cigar and breathed it in deeply.

"Those will kill you ya know," Katherine offered her a sarcastic smile. She hoped she had at least some sense of humor.

Integra was humored by the girl's boldness, "Yes, Alucard was lying and unfortunately you must stay here, but you may continue on with your schooling if you wish."

Katherine sighed, which she had been doing a lot of lately. "So that's it? I'm just freeloading here?" she had never been a lazy child and she did not like the sound of living in someone else house without paying for it or helping them out in some way.

"We could give you a job if you like," Integra had an idea of what job Katherine might ask for.

"What exactly did my parents do again?" she tried to look serious.

"They destroyed vampires," Integra waited for her response.

"How about I do that," Katherine knew what the answer would be, but she still stared at Integra very sincerely.

"Hm, why don't we start you off with something a bit easier," she couldn't think of anything off the top of her head but she was sure Walter could use some help cleaning things and maybe cooking.

"Like what?" Katherine knew she was in for something incredibly boring, but maybe if she was going to be here for a long time she could gain their trust and ask for something cooler to do later on.

Integra smiled, "We'll talk about it in the morning. You've had a long two days, get some rest." She picked up the phone and spoke, "We're finished Walter."

Walter came through the double doors barely a minute later.

"Please take Miss Deschain to her new room," Integra snuffed out her cigar as she spoke.

Katherine let out a morose sigh. 'New room' sounded so official and permanent.

Integra looked at Katherine, "We'll work everything out tomorrow, Katherine."

Katherine nodded to her, "Okay. Goodnight then."

"Follow me Miss."

Katherine got up form the chair and followed Walter through the doors. They closed by themselves and she wondered if they were automatic. They went back the direction Alucard had brought her from but kept walking straight instead of going back down the stairs. The hallways were lined with doors and Katherine wondered if each room was full or perhaps they were just spare rooms. She would have to try them one day when she had time to explore. They took another left and about twenty yards later a right. She tried to remember which way he was taking her, but it became difficult when they made another right just ten yards after the last one. She felt like she was being led in a circle. The ceiling of each hallway was lit with glass orbs which were placed far enough apart so that the ceiling and walls in between them became darker in the center. Katherine hope none of them ever went out or it would be incredibly creepy to have to walk down a half dark hall.

At last they arrived at a pretty wooden door on the left side of the hall.

"Here you are Miss Deschain," Walter opened the door for her and bowed. "Your bags are already inside."

"You can just call me Cat," being called by her last name always made her feel like a stranger. If you couldn't call someone you were living with by their first name how could you ever feel at home?

Walter stood back up and held his hand out to her, "it is a please to meet you Cat. My name is Walter and I am Sir Integra butler."

Katherine took his hand and gave it a hearty shake. She remembered her father telling her how important a hand shake was when she was little.

Walter continued, "If you need anything please do not hesitate to ask."

Katherine felt a bit relieved at Walters's kindness, "Alright I won't."

"Goodnight Miss Cat," Walter bowed again.

Katherine giggled under her breath, "Goodnight Walter."

Walter turned and walked back down the hallway and Katherine waited for him to turn the corner. She peered down the other end of the hallway and shuddered as a chill went up her spine. The lights gave the hall a horrible ominous glow. She felt like she was cut off from society. She shrugged off the chill and turned to enter her new room.

Car let out a squeal of delight. The room was absolutely beautiful. The walls were a rich cream color and right in the center was a massive four poster bed complete with a red canopy and red linens to match. On either side of the bed were beautiful mahogany night stands and little bed side lamps with shades to match the bed. At the foot of the bed sat an ancient looking trunk bound in dark brown leather. To the left of the bed was a window with deep crimson curtains drawn and to the left of the door against the wall was an exquisite wardrobe made of rich mahogany like the nightstands. On the other side of the door against the wall was a stunning book shelf packed full of books both old and new. The last thing that caught Cat's attention was an old wooden roll top desk sitting against the wall opposite the window. It did not match the elegant mahogany that the other furniture was made of, but it was beautiful none the less. It looked as though it had been owned many times before. Cat fantasized about all the famous scholars that had owned the desk and now it was hers to sit at and create works of genius. She giggled furious and closed to door behind her. She searched the rooms for her bags and put on a pair of pajamas. Exploring could wait until tomorrow. She pulled back the thick goose down covers on the bed and climbed in. It was so incredibly soft and warm she fell asleep almost instantly.

Across the mansion Integra sat in her office thinking. Alucard drifted back and forth in front of her desk, floating a few inches from the ground.

"What troubles you my Master?" he smirked knowing exactly what the reason was.

"Do not tease me vampire, I am not in the mood," she slipped a hand under her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Do you really think keeping this girl here will work out for our gain?"

"It all depends on the girl Master, if she is willing to work towards what her parents could do," he leaned back and floated on an invisible chair. "She certainly has the potential and of course the arrogance of her father."

"Yes I've noticed. She seems to have the wits of her mother as well," Integra thought for a moment, "but none of those things will matter if she doesn't have an eye for the gun."

"This is very true Master, but we will see soon enough. Perhaps giving her a job cooking and cleaning in the soldier's barracks will help her along. They'll taunt her, and if she is strong enough it will encourage her to prove she is not just a house maid. If she is not strong enough, well then it will prove to us that she is only a house maid," Alucard yawned from boredom. Chasing after a young girl had not been his idea of action. He hoped that tomorrow night there would be something more challenging, but things had been slow recently and he did not think he would be so lucky.

"You are dismissed Alucard," she leaned back in her chair and opened her desk drawer to get another cigar.

"You know Master, that girl is right," he began to fade away slowly.

"Right about what?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

He continued to disappear until only a toothy grinned remained.

"Those things will kill you."

She rolled her eyes and the grin vanished with a pop.

Integra took a quick puff of the cigar and then put it out. She got out of her chair for the first time all day and slowly walked out of her office and closed the door behind her.