Sanctuary to the Lost and Damned
Chapter 12: Walter Dornez
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AN: I should say that I will be moving quickly through time as the story progresses. Mostly forward, but some character will have flashbacks.
And..I fear that I may loss some readers with this chapter as it will be slightly deviating from the normal Hellsing plot, but for me that just makes things much more interesting.
Oh and Please Review...it helps. It really does.
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1939
Nine Years Later...
A middle-aged man and a dark haired boy stood at a gate.
The boy turned to the man. "Father is this place really the Hellsing mansion."
"Yes, Walter it is." The boy's piercing blue eyes lit up and a Cheshire smile appeared.
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Arthur heard a knock at the door."Come in."
Alfred Parker, the old butler appeared. "Sorry to disturb you sir, but father Dornez is here to see you."
Arthur put aside his work and put on a smile.
Next a middle-aged man appeared dressed in black robes.
Arthur smiled. "It is good to see you father,"
"Same to you Mr. Hellsing. How are you? We have not spoken since your father's funeral."
"I never thought that I would miss the old man so much." Arthur laughed "God rest his soul" Arthur added solemnly.
"Once again I give my condolences." The priest said solemnly.
"Thank you, father; He was a great man."
"He has great sons too. How is Richard by the way?"
"Richard is still only a boy; I doubt that he will remember Abraham very much, but hopefully I can run the organization in his place just as well." a dark haired boy appeared at the priest's side. Arthur had seen the boy before. "Oh and who is this?"
"This is Walter Dornez." the dressed-up boy now stood very straight at the priest's side.
"Dornez? Your son?" he questioned. Arthur had seen the boy around the priest throughout the years, but he had always assumed him to be an altar boy.
The priest's face became neutral for a moment then replied, "All children of God are my children Mr. Hellsing."
"What is it you wanted to discuss? Your letter did not specify the reason for this meeting."
"Oh yes, well, as you know I am very aware of what the brave men of the Hellsing organization do."
"Confessions are private." Arthur stressed.
"Yes, of course. But one day Walter overheard some of one of your soldier's confessions and he has asked me to make a request on his behalf."
"What would this request be, father?"
"He wants to work for you Mr. Hellsing."
Arthur Hellsing laughed. "Doing what? This is not a playground, father."
The priest turned to face the boy. "Why don't you show him Walter." The boy nodded. All that Arthur saw was a quick flash and then his candle and flower arrangement on his desk were sliced from their bases.
Arthur stood up; his mouth a gape like one would expect a fish. His eyes moved from the severed flowers to the halved candle and then falling upon the boy with a confident smile and a gleam in his eye.
The boy opened his mouth. "I would like to work for you in your household until I am old enough to train with your soldiers." The boy bowed. Arthur was amazed at how well the boy spoke and how much like a gentleman he acted.
"I suppose Alfred will be retiring soon..." Arthur mumbled loudly as his hand felt the smooth cut of the flower stems. "Yes," He continued, "Alfred could use someone to teach for a while..."
Arthur looked at the boy who was still standing still waiting for his definite reply.
"Alfred." He called to the old man.
"Yes, sir."
"Why don't you take young Walter here and show him around my home. He will be training under you from now on." The elderly man nodded and beckoned the boy to follow him.
Arthur waited until Walter was well out of earshot. "What can you tell me about the boy?"
"He is a hard working boy. He is well suited to this job as he is frequently taking care of the other children at the orphanage." The Priest was referring to an orphanage across the street where the town had him lend a hand with the nuns there.
"Is he really your son?"
"No, Mr. Hellsing." The priest understood the reasons for Hellsing's questions. The priest had once told Arthur about a time in which the priest had lost his faith and started an affair with a married woman who attended his church. He confided in Arthur because the man had confessed to having a reputation of womanizing.
"I told you once about my crisis of faith."
Arthur nodded.
"I named him Walter, after Saint Walter, who fought against corruption in the church. Walter appeared to me on an altar one Sunday morning after months of playing for a sign of God's forgiveness of me. I think that God knew that I was lonely and that it was leading me astray, so he sent me Walter, to help me fight the doubts in my mind." he laughed. "I suppose the child, as all those who are found, should have joined the children at the orphanage across the street. But I really did, and still do think that he was a gift from God. He is very special. Even you must admit that. He has shown you a bit of his heavenly blessings. He wants to use those blessings to fight the forces of evil. I hope that he helps you with that mission."
"Heavenly blessings..." Arthur mumbled as he considered Walter's extreme speed and agility. Arthur had barely seen the boy move. It seemed, or at least, bordered on the supernatural, that much was clear to the leader.
"The adoption of him is...not quite legal, so...I cannot bring him with me. I'm being reassigned to a small church in Blackpool. He has been asking bout joining the Hellsing organization for months. I apologize for the quick notice, but," The priest looked very sad. "He has always been like my son, could I ask you to take care of him. I am all that he has, and very soon I will be leaving." he priest looked like he would cry.
"Do you know anything about the boy's background? Did the mother leave a note...? Am I going to train this boy only to have him claimed by some long-lost relative?"
"The boy's mother did leave a note behind. It didn't say much, I'm afraid expect that because of factors beyond her control she could not keep him."
"Could he have been the child of a prostitute?" Arthur questioned out loud.
"I don't think so Mr. Hellsing." Arthur's brow arched. "Well," the priest continued, "When I lived at the monastery I met many who had come from high breeding. The writing in the letter seems to be have been written by someone of a proper education. The grammar, the spelling, the style it was written, seems to indicate that the boy's mother came from a wealthy background. She probably went to a finishing school."
"Is there anything that I should know about him? His personality?"
"Walter is a very good boy, but he...he is very stubborn; once he sets his mind to something only the most strict of commands can shake him. Last year, he came to the conclusion that his mother was somewhere in Essex. He went there looking for her."
"How old is he?"
"He will be turning nine in April."
"You understand that if I send him out to fight the enemies of God before he is 18, I will receive ridicule from many. I can't say that the idea goes very well with me either."
"I don't expect you to, Mr. Hellsing; I do think that the boy can train until then. I had hoped that he would serve God from inside church walls; however his heavenly gifts can be nothing less than God's will for the boy for work for you. I have no doubt."
Arthur knew that he had already said yes to the boy working for him, though he wondered if it was a good idea now. The boy was only a child and the things that they fought could never fall under the category of child's play. He was now worried that the training alone would prove traumatic for the boy.
"He is strong Mr. Hellsing." the priest stressed
"But is strong enough for what we do?"
"You saw what he did. What do you think?"
The priest left promising to return the following week to bid Walter goodbye before doing the same to Arthur.
Once the priest left the leader of Hellsing sat and thought about his decision. He was still amazed by the way he had seen Walter move. He knew that none of his men could top it. It also disturbed him how similar Walter's movements were to the descriptions his father had given about the movements that vampires make. Given that Arthur might have been tempted to believe that boy was in fact a vampire, but the priest had told him the boy had been with him since he was a baby; he knew that vampires did not grow or age.
Despite his doubts, something in the new leader told him that he had made the right decision.
There was something about the boy that made Arthur like him with each passing moment. He had a comforting presence; One that he had not felt in many years.
Arthur also considered that the boy was serving another one of God's wills by coming to him after the death of his father; as if to signal the dawn of a new age in the Hellsing organization.
Most of all what stuck with him what the priest had said in other words: Walter was a human who could combat monsters.
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END of Ch 12
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AN: The title, Sir is given after the succession ceremony. The priest still refers to Arthur as Mr. because of habit.
In the Hellsing cannon, Walter Dornez is 69 in 1999, meaning that he must have been born 1930.
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Preview of the next chapter: Father's Lament
He had always wanted to spent time with his father. He would go to his father's lab only to be told by Alfred or some maid that his father was not to be interrupted.
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