I put a picture of Cat in her dress on her myspace. The link is in her bio.
I was going to make this all one chapter but when I hit page four I realized it was going to take too long and I couldn't go to bed without posting something.
Enjoy and review like there is no tomorrow
for you never know.

The Ball

"Would you hurry it up we're going to be late!" Cat paced back and forth in front of the bathroom door waiting for Integra to finish her hair.

Integra opened the door and gave her an exasperated look, "Would you calm down? We have plenty of time to get there and it wouldn't matter if I was late anyway. I'm the guest of honor remember?"

"That is exactly why you can not be late! Plus, you have to get there early for your entrance and I want to get a good spot to watch," she shook out the bottom of Integra's dress and stepped back to look at her, "You look absolutely splendid."

"Oh hush, you look very nice yourself," Integra blushed. She had thought she looked a bit ridiculous in the puffy blue dress.

"Now that I look at the clock I suppose we do have plenty of time. Do you want to go wait downstairs? I can't think of anything else to do before we leave," Cat shifted her weight from one leg to the other and back again. She was nervous and excited about going to the Queen's ball and she wanted time to go slower and faster at once.

"Yes, that will be fine," Integra made for the door then turned around, "Why don't you go check on Alucard. I worry he will purposefully forget about things and go to sleep. He's done it before," she pulled the door opened and followed Cat through.

Cat walked to the end of the hall and took the back stairs that led to the bottom floor. She turned down the short hall that led to Alucard's room and stopped at his double doors. They always looked so ominous and cold. She considered knocking, but decided that since Alucard never knocked on her door he did not deserve the gesture. She pulled one of the doors opened and looked inside. Like always, the door quickly shut once it was let go of. She was never sure if it was the air rushing up from underground or if Alucard had fashioned them to do this.

Now it was pitch black and she had neglected to bring a flashlight. Turning back to get one would be pointless so she hiked up the bottom of her dress so she would not trip and began taking small steps down the stairs. She counted twenty six steps to the bottom then slid her foot out to be sure she was right. Once before she had counted the twenty six steps and, without checking, took a large step forward assuming she was on the ground. She had toppled over three more steps that Alucard had added for just such an occasion. After she had picked herself up whimpering from skinned knees he had lectured her on not expecting what was usually expected.

Tonight there were no extra steps and she walked slowly forward looking for his chair and coffin. After she had taken the usual fifteen steps it took to get there she reached out and found that they were missing. She sighed and looked around out of habit though it was too dark to see at all. It felt as though the blackness was pushing down on her eyes.

"Alucard?" she called out and hoped that he was down here and her efforts had not been wasted.

"Ten more paces forward and three to your right," his voice cut through the dark like a loud drum.

Cat walked three steps to the right and took ten more extra large steps forward. After the seventh one she knocked into something solid, "You said ten."

"I meant ten paces for you, not me. You must not always think to compensate for your shortness," he snapped his fingers and a glowing orb popped on above their heads.

Cat looked up and saw he was just finishing the knot in his tie. Tonight it was a regular tie and not the funny bow like usual. He wore a black suit with tiny red pinstripes and a red silk shirt. His tie was black silk and his shoes were square toed and very shiny. His hair was longer than usual, but he had slicked it back into a low ponytail, which Cat always liked to make fun of. All in all he still looked exactly like Alucard except for no coat and funny hat.

"You look dashing," she smirked as he pushed the knot of the tie up around his neck.

"You look like Integra did in that dress, but shorter and with muddier hair," he flicked her in the forehead and walked towards the stairs. The ball of light followed him and Cat had to trot close to him so she could still see the floor.

"Have you been to many balls?" she hiked up her dress once again and stomped up the stairs one at a time. She was quickly left in the dark by Alucard who took them by threes.

"Yes, many," he snapped his fingers and the orb of light disappeared, leaving Cat in complete dark.

"Do you enjoy them," she decided to continue at the pace she was going and if she fell it would be too bad.

"Hardly," he swung opened the doors and some light fell onto the stairs so Cat could make it up the last few steps easily.

"Then why do you go to so many of them?" she stepped up the last stair and huffed.

"Because it is what my Master requires of me and what ever she requires I am inclined to do," he turned and walked down the hall that led to the foyer.

"Right, of course," Cat jogged after him and slipped her arm around his just as they rounded the corner. She smiled just in time as Walter popped seemingly out of no where and snapped a picture with a very old looking camera and flash bulb. She blinked a few times to get rid of the little purple lights dancing in front of her eyes then looked at Alucard. He was scowling worse than she had ever seen before so she dropped his arm and skipped off to sit with Integra who was waiting by the door.

"He does look very nice doesn't he?" Integra surveyed her undead servant and nodded in approval.

"Yes, but perhaps if he smiled just a bit it would make a world of difference. If he keeps that face on the entire time the ball will surely end early," she tucked her dress underneath her and sat on the floor.

"I don't think that would be so terrible," Integra chuckled and stood up.

"I think it would be dreadful! This is my first ball I don't want it to end early," Cat struggled to get up and reached her hand up for assistance. A hand that was much too large and strong to be Integra's pulled her swiftly into the air and dropped her back on her feet.

"Once you are there you will quickly change your mind and wish that a series of unfortunate events will end the tedious dancing and false smiles to people you do not know," Alucard made a face of disgust as he remembered balls from the past.

"You all are so pessimistic, I bet things are going to be wonderful," Cat smiled as Walter took another picture of them just standing around.

"Group together now, I want a picture of the three of you," Walter held up the camera and waited for them to situate themselves comfortably.

Cat pressed herself between the majority of what was now her family and looped her small arms around their waists. She looked at Integra to be sure she was smiling and figured that it would be useless to ask Alucard to smile because he never would. She looked up at him anyway to see what he would look like and nearly choked at the horrible face he was making.

"Can't you just look normal!" she turned back towards the camera in time to smile as Walter clicked the picture.

"You wanted me to smile, did you not?" he smiled at her again, but much less menacingly as he had in the picture.

"I wanted you to look nice, not like you were anticipating bloody carnage and an early night supper," she rolled her eyes and pulled opened the front door.

"Perhaps that is what I am anticipating," he patted his side where he normally kept his guns then frowned.

"Ahh, that's right! You aren't allowed to take your precious guns to the palace. How sad for you," she danced out of the way as he made a swing at her head.

"Now you two settle down. I don't want to introduce a heap of clothes that used to be Katherine to the Queen. She would not approve," Walter opened the car door and Integra ducked inside.

"The Queen?!" Cat hit her head on the top of the car as she was getting in.

"Yes you dolt, we're going to her ball, did you think she was going to be away?" Alucard slid in next to her and pulled the door shut.

"I knew she was going to be there, but I didn't know I was going to be meeting her! What am I going to say! Does she know who I am already? Does she know what you people make me do!?" Cat began to twist the hem of her dress in her fingers.

Integra slapped her hands away from the dress and sighed, "Honestly Katherine, you people? We don't make you do anything and the Queen already knows the situation. You are to be introduced as an apprentice student learning to rule a generic corporation. Very few people know what Hellsing actually is so the introduction is for their sake and not the Queen's. If you don't calm down I'm going to throw you from this car."

Cat had her thumb in her mouth and was chewing at it vigorously. It was a habit she had formed after she was told her parents would not be coming back.

"You act like meeting the Queen is more nerve racking than facing a hungry vampire," Alucard scoffed at her.

"I would rather face a vampire any day. They don't care what I look like or how my manners are and I don't ever have to see them again. If they make me feel uncomfortable I can put a bullet through their heads, but this is the Queen! She's going to judge me!" she dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

The car pulled out of the drive way and turned down the street that would lead almost directly to the palace. Cat had hoped the ride would be much longer, but it only turned out to be twenty minutes. She managed to calm herself considerably and told herself that if she was the Queen she would want people to act very normal around her and not as if she was special. She would still be polite, but she would not worry about making any sort of impression. The Queen would probably not even be there the entire time. She was getting old and old people did not like to stay up until midnight.

Cat looked out the window as the trees flew past and the sky grew darker. It was nearing 7:30 and Integra's entrance was supposed to be at eight on the dot. She hoped they would make it in time to be settled in the ball room so they could properly watch her. Integra's blue dress reminded her of Cinderella and she fancied the idea of her running away at midnight. Unfortunately the only prince like image she could put into her mind was that of Alucard. She did not know what Sir Alexander looked like so Alucard was the only other option for a princely image.

Alucard laughed audibly and she threw him a dirty look.

"What is so funny?" Integra looked away from her window. She looked confident, but nervous at the same time.

"Nothing, Alucard is just stupid," Cat had taken to calling him names and making fun of him since she knew he would not do anything about it. She suspected that one day she would grow tired of just name calling and would start to shoot him. It was not as though it would hurt him very much.

At this thought Alucard laughed even louder, but it was more a laugh of approval than that of malicious humor.

After a torturous twenty minutes of smooth car ride the palace came into view. It was beautifully decorated with round white, yellow, orange, and red lights on strings. It was the picture of fall herself.

Cat bounced up and down in her seat as the car pulled into the driveway. She tried to peer into the castle windows, but they looked like frosted glass and only let out the warm glow of the lights. Rather than stop at the front doors the car continued on down the driveway to the side of the castle. It stopped in front of a set of doors and two women came out and quickly opened the door.

"Move aside move aside!" they waved Alucard and Cat to the other side of the car and pulled Integra out, "You're late Miss we don't have much time!"

Integra managed a short wave before she was whisked through the doors by the over bearing women.

The driver did not bother trying to turn the car around and backed it up down the driveway. He expertly turned the wheel and backed it right in front of the doors. Cat waited a second to see if anyone would come out and open the doors for them, but no one came so she swung it opened herself and stepped outside.

A brisk wind greeted her and she shivered, "It's freezing out!"

Alucard closed the car door and stepped up beside Cat, "I think it's nice."

"Ha-Ha. Shall we go in then?" she rubbed her arms and hopped up and down.

"As you wish," Alucard offered her his arm and she took it tenderly.

They walked in through the doors and slowly down the hallway that led to the Queen's ballroom at the back of the house. Cat could hear all of the other party guests chattering and laughing. She heard the clinking of champagne glasses and the soft sound of strings playing in the back ground. She looked up at Alucard as they walked and blushed when she realized how well they matched. He looked down and met her gaze, but did not smirk or say something snide like he usually did. A memory flashed through her mind and she looked at his face harder, trying to make out all the details and match it to her memory.

"Alucard, you knew my parents for quite some time?" she looked back ahead at the oncoming ball room.

"Yes, I knew them before you were born," he continued to look down at her and try to pick out what she was getting at. Her mind was locked on something else as he had found it to be so much more often now.

"And when I was born, for that five year when they were still alive, did you ever see me? Did we ever meet, even for a moment?" her forehead wrinkled as she strained her mind to go far back into the past.

"Yes, I saw you, on more than one occasion," he faced forward again as she looked up at him.

"And you never thought to tell me this? When you came to retrieve me or any time after, you never thought to mention how you knew them and that I had met you before?" she bit her bottom lip and tried to recall a time when she had met a strange man in a park.

"No, I did not," he stopped a few feet before the entrance of the great room.

"But why?" Cat faced the sea of people and closed her eyes. The memory was so feint and it was slipping away quickly.

"I was waiting for you to ask," he took her hand and led her into the mass of glittering ball gowns and smooth black tuxedos and towards the middle of the room in front of the stairs that Integra would shortly ascend.

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