Disclaimer: Hellsing belong to Kouta Hirano, Geneon, and some others. This is a work of fiction whose only characters belonging to me are the well recognizable Ocs.
(Re) Building An Empire
Fifteen Years From Then
She was turning old, and it wasn't just her impression. Every time she looked herself at the mirror there was a new wrinkle, a new spot, a silver hair menacing to end with her youth. Integra had always though vain subjects as beauty would never be important to her –but of course those ideas were from when she was young! Alucard would have said that appearances weren't important and that she was as beautiful as ever, but he was a shape shifter monster anyway.
But oldness didn't come only with the appearance, her body was changing also. Certainly, Gregory with all his vigor was still unpaired to her abilities in fencing, but it was turning harder to hide how worn out she finished after the lessons. She had changed graduation from her lenses more times of what she would have wanted in the fifteen years she had been one eyed. Doctors have put an enormous pressure to make her quit smoking before developing lung cancer. And the most annoying of it all, people was starting to say she needed an heir, or at least a husband.
The first time she noticed this was during an interview she had agreed for a young girl's magazine. It was Duke's fault to convince her with the idea of being a strong feminine role model in now day politics. Of course she had been presented as chief of anti terrorism, at the place of what actually she worked as. A very modest presentation but enough for attiring the press towards the announcement of her desire to become Mayor of London.
Everything was going fine that day. The young woman in charge of the interview had come to her office first hour in the morning. She asked if the conversation could be recorded in order to get the most of it, Integra was pleased to answer to the mobile. Every question was designed to make Sir Hellsing look cooler of what actually she thought she was. And her quirk well planned answers soon spiced the conversation up until it took a more casual tone. She even joked about the fact one of her eyes was missing!
And suddenly a single expression dropped like a bomb over the room. The interviewer, feeling confident enough to ask, demanded about certain subject that –she clarified, thought Integra might have some advice. She wanted to know what Sir Hellsing could say to those girls who are starting to think they'd been left on the shelf.
If it wasn't because that day Integra had decided to wear a mask of niceness in which she wasn't completely at ease, she could have kicked out the woman in the very instant she had implied her interviewee was turning older without ever having a boyfriend. Instead she swallowed her indignation and encouraged the girls to follow their dreams before following a man. A quite cliché phrase but it gave her several young fans in the months that followed up the publication of her interview. At the same time, the heavy burden of feeling deceived of her decisions accompanied them in secret.
What about her was turning off any suitor? Did she want to get married to begin with? Maybe it was something about her appearance, as the reporter mentioned when her recorder was out of reach. She should look more feminine, more appealing to audiences –or maybe she was taking way too seriously a nosy young woman.
"Delayed, again!" Seras huffed, bringing Integra back to reality. Her eye traveled to the plane's schedule right to the one they were supposed to take towards London. Not even the wide brim of her straw hat could hide the Draculina's frown of being awaken at those hours. Her coffin was probably already on its way to London! They had been strained in the San Francisco airport for about two hours. They have thought that if they traveled by day it could be easier for Seras to cope the crossing of international waters while sleeping. "I'm going to send Duke a message. Do you want me to contact Arstan too?"
"…Yes, thank you." Integra wasn't on the mood to go back to the platinum membership's lounge. She looked around wondering if buying souvenirs could be a better way to let time pass by in the place of reviewing the files she had already sort out due to the first delay. Something caught her attention, it might not be a very usual idea but she wanted to try at least once. "Say, Seras. What would you say about a massage?" Integra pointed at a stand called QuickSpa. She didn't know how rightfully happy her subordinate's face could turn.
It was twenty three hours pass five. The mansion was as silent as a ghost town, and the only living soul seemed the butler Arstan, checking the roast chicken in the oven that probably Integra wouldn't eat anyways, but he always liked to go the extra mile for looking like a victim whenever Integra wasn't in the mood to feel guilty.
The man was the description of composure. With a solid expression of duty, not even flustered with the sudden bell ring at those late hours, he removed the white apron that protected his black suit, and before answering the intercom he took the time to put his gloves on.
"What is it, Richard?" He waited the muffled answer from the gate guard with aggressive patience.
"Mister Penwood and Aeritech are here, sir. They'll be at the door in a couple of minutes."
"And five minutes late they are." Arstan scoffed with a half smile, at the exact instant the doorbell rang.
Gregory hasn't changed a bit. Even as a kid, he was the type of person that carries an adult face the entire life. Integra had proposed him to stay a couple of weeks in the mansion while the affair of Lory with the prostitutes came out of public eye. It was a shame the father was turning his reputation in shambles, especially with Sir Hellsing's announcement as candidate coming soon.
Behind Gregory, his ever confident guardian had outgrown him by about a foot. Airitech didn't mind carrying his best friend's luggage as if the burden wasn't heavy at all. The werewolf lad wasn't the most talkative person in the world, but Seras was quite fond of him and they usually shared more time together than with Gregory. It was probably more in the terms that both were able to play at their monstrous standard of the word.
"Good night, mister Penwood. Good night, mister Airitech. I'm afraid Sir Hellsing has not yet arrived from the airport. She was supposed to be here in the late afternoon, but her flight was delayed a couple of hours." Arstan greeted as soon as he opened the door, hypocrite smile plastered all around his face.
"Hello… miser Keskin, isn't it?" Gregory hasn't lost his shyness.
"Oh please, call me Arstan. Like everyone else here." So he turned away and started walking. Expecting to be followed. "I personally prepared your usual chambers. I hope everything is in order, sir."
Airitech trailed with the luggage as he was trained. Gregory went straight to Integra's studio, this mansion was almost his second house after all.
A couple of minutes installed on the couch, with a glass of the dried chilled sherry that he was allowed before turning 18, Gregory looked around at the sober bookshelf surrounding the thirty inches wide screen, the one that probably only Seras turned on. Arstan and Airitech entered the room. The wolf boy was already munching some peanut butter biscuits. Once both guest were served and relaxed, the butler stood near the door in deep, ceremonious, silence.
"Arstan, why Integra and Seras are taking an airline flight? What happened to the private jet my father bought them five months ago?"
No response. But judging for the polite smile the butler was giving him, it wasn't an answer Gregory –or Lory for the case, would want to hear.
"Well, Astan?" He insisted sly. That butler always gave a passive aggressive vibe that kept Gregory from being rude towards a subordinate.
"… let's say our lawyers are doing their best in order to make the insurance company to pay the most of the expenses."
A sigh escaped from Gregory's lungs. His dad told him the day that jet bill sorted off, that he would give the vehicle three months tops before Integra had it destroyed.
"Anyway, is Duke home?"
"Yes, he might have just woken up." As on cue, Arstan's mobile began to ring. He excused the disturbance with a "and speaking of the Devil" upon seeing Duke's name in the upcoming call.
"Can I talk to him?" Gregory stretched the hand wanting to get the phone. Arstan lent it while suppressing a good laugh.
"Aaaarssstaaaann, I'm hungryyyy" Duke whined through the line.
"Does Arstan give you food whenever you ask that way?" Gregory was so accustomed to the odd vampire antics that they normally have a good time teasing each other. A sudden gasp came out the moment Duke realized who he was talking to, the other side of the line. "You know, you could take your breakfast with us. You are supposed to be a good host as Integra is not here yet."
"I don't want to see Airitech." With a firmer voice, he dead-pan excused his former moaning, and hung up. Said werewolf whimpered upon overhearing the conversation. Duke always despised the poor pup, and things weren't getting better with the passing of years.
"One day, Tech." Handing back the mobile to his owner, Gregory gave some reassurance to his best friend and body guard. As the wolfish side ruled most of his actions, Airitech didn't have a reason at all for hating the vampire. Even if he was half human, Airitech's life had been cornered to private education in the Penwood mansion. He didn't have a lot of people to rely on, and from those few, Duke was someone who he oddly liked. And any other super natural being was welcomed, nice or not.
Arstan was getting tired of standing up. He grabbed a glass to help himself some bourbon from the shelf. He fell on the couch next to Airitech, who profited the companionship to cuddle on his lap. The butler rearranged his glasses and rest one hand in the armchair, while with the other he caressed the fingers alongside the werewolf's straw colored mane. In that position, he looked more like his former self.
"Say… Arstan? Why are you working as a butler?" What surprised Gregory the most the first time he had seen this bald man in the mansion, was the fact that Integra had let someone like him enter in her life at all. The butler finished the bourbon in one gulp and landed heavily the glass on the side table.
"Naturally you know the answer mister Penwood, it's all due to Sir Hellsing's kindness that I'm here. As in extent, we are all aware that if I take a step out of this mansion I'm a dead man." He said nonchalantly.
"They are here!" Airitech stood up abruptly, and not needing a second opinion, he ran straight towards the entrance. His hearing sense was far better than any other person in the mansion –Duke included. And whenever the limo parked by the door, the wolf boy was already beaming through the nearest window. Arstan and Gregory caught up before the wereboy's excitement could cause Integra any trouble. The butler opened the door with synchronized punctuality, just when Seras was about to ring the bell.
"Welcome home, Sir." He greeted while bowing, all the calmness he professed completely messed up with Gregory pulling Airitech by the collar, in an attempt to keep his friend from glomping at the newcomers. Arstan got Integra's coat with professionalism, still the guest were quite a picture behind him. Specially since Seras couldn't keep herself from jumping to Airitech, and spinning around with a man in arms that was clearly a head taller than her.
"I guess Duke is not dinning with us." Integra half asked, half answered, while looking around at the entourage.
"No, Sir. He's indisposed."
"Make sure he eats something."
"Yes, Sir."
In a moment of distraction, Airitech slid away from his friend and master and ran towards Integra expecting to play. But before the catastrophe happened, the wolf boy stopped in his tracks.
"You… have something different." He frowned at Integra with confusion unlikely to his character. "You smell different."
Integra didn't have the time to answer when Seras chipped in to pull a hand, showing off her perfect French nails, and then adding that Integra had had a complete body oil massage in the airport spa. She was beaming while divulging their adventure, and even Gregory seemed surprised that the iron lady had decided to take care of her appearance by doing something feminine for once. The more Integra heard the amazed comments of her friends; a heavy blush tinted her cheeks. They were mocking her for a fimble decision for passing the time faster. So she yelled at everyone and promised her protégée the most exhausting fencing sessions of his life starting tomorrow. Maybe she was going soft by pampering too much Seras whenever she wanted to give the draculina some quality time.
But whatever the oils the therapist used in that body massage, their scent didn't seem to go off with a shower. Or at least it gave this impression to Integra, as Airitech shot her weird looks from time to time. The wolfboy had never been a huge fan of spending time with the Head of Hellsing, but it wasn't that unsettled whenever Seras wanted to stay close to her Master and to her pet at the same time. During the weeks he lived in the mansion, Airitech refused to watch a movie at the office and refused to cheer Gregory during the fencing practices. Most of days the two young men stayed in Hellsing grounds, the werewolf played with Seras outside or went hunting unsupervised –anything to get far from Integra. And whenever Gregory questioned his bizarre attitude, Airitech just said that he felt restless and it couldn't be helped.
So when both went back to their house, Integra could be more relieved of going back to her normal life schedule. Duke had had spent the entire week in the basement with nothing but access to the internet, so the lack of social life put him to work at a level of twice his usual efficacy. Arstan, on the other hand, had profited to slack off in most of the house chores. For Integra, it was kind of refreshing having her accountant and manager around more than her butler.
"Integra, I finished the report for the Ministry of defense. Do you want to check it out before I print it?"
"Have you done major changes from the last version we revised?"
"Not so many, just a little update from the last two missions."
"It's fine then."
"Are you using a new perfume?" Looking abruptly at her, the odd vampire grimaced. "You should have consulted me about it before buying anything."
"I don't recall caring for your opinion in my personal matters. But if it's so important for you to know: No I'm not using anything new."
This time, it was Duke who took her aback. He stood up with all seriousness, and walked from his desk towards her until his palms were holding his weight so he could lean closer to his Master. Integra hadn't had this breach of her personal space in years; the only one who usually drove her crazy with this kind of intrusions was Alucard. The resemblance of the odd vampire expression with her former servant kept her for reacting negatively. Red, focused eyes, gleamed over the black bags Duke normaly wore.
"My gosh, you smell ill!" His expression frizzled with a mixture of concern and fear. "Please, go see a doctor."
Integra remembered that time Alucard predicted Walter was going to catch a cold. Her old butler was not someone to get sick very often, but the vampire mentioned simply that it was better for his Master if she stayed away from the old man for the next couple of days. Maybe Duke was less powerful and therefore less able to understand the health of his Master. But everything made more sense if she considered also Airitech weird acting. Integra knew too well her vampire to know that he was no joker.
Note from the author: Originally I wanted to make this one a stand alone chapter, but it turned longer than the expected and I really wanted to update something already. I was intending to introduce Arstan several years later, but I realized a big mansion will need domestic staff sooner or later.
Thanks so much for the favorites and followers, I'm so glad you are liking the story :D