Disclaimer: Hellsing and all his characters belong to Kouta Hirano, Geneon and any other who has paid for their rights. I didn't do it so thiss work of fiction is made for free.
(Re) Building An Empire
Fifteen years and more days from then
The place was carpeted in dust. It had been years since Integra asked Seras to stop cleaning that particular site in the basement. At first she wanted to disobey, but soon she understood that by doing so she was causing more damage to her new Master. Nonetheless tonight, it was the only place she felt like going to keep her sane.
Seras sat down on the floor, back leaning on the black coffin that had rested unmoved for about fifteen years. Grabbing her knees, she tried to bury her head wanting to disappear. The silence around her was a frightening picture compared to her inner turmoil, a debate of opinions and topics her familiars considered important to discuss around her. She voiced her desire to shut them up with a single line.
"I need to talk to my old Master… alone."
Seras hated herself for not noticing before Duke. She was having such fun with Airitech, she was enjoying Gregory's company, she was immersed in missions. Following orders was less important than caring for the security of her new Master, even though she was completely oblivious that Integra was ill. Cancer is a terrible word. As a servant she was a failure.
It remained her that Sir Hellsing, with all the power she holds for an international renowned organization leader, was a mere mortal. Human as she was, she was vulnerable to misfortunes that could never reach a monster like Seras. Such reasoning created the argument behind her reason for being there.
With sickness menacing her life, it was simply logical that Integra, still a virgin, would like to live eternally. Master would be as well bemused of her offering. A ghost pain was yet throbbing on the check where Integra had slapped her. It was totally selfish wanting her best friend by her side to face the horrible truth of centuries in the hereafter. But she always had simply brushed away the impending uncertainty of an everlasting future, with the optimistic thoughts that the Hellsing lineage will prevail to become a place she would call home. It was just a comforting lie.
The doctor has stated that if Integra wanted to live, she would have to give up the idea of conceiving an heir. And, stronger than ever expected, the Iron lady had agreed with the procedure. What was supposed to be the right reaction upon knowing this? Was Seras supposed to simply accept the decision without giving a second option? Duke mentioned that they could bond to someone else. No worries.
And that was the worst part. The fact that he didn't love Integra enough for caring for her lost, against the fact that he was totally right. Red tracks roamed about Seras' face.
She despised herself. If only she had let her mouth closed, if only she wasn't this afraid…
"I'm scared, Master." Over the sobbing of self pity, Seras could hear footsteps coming from the long alleyway that lead to the more lively side of the basement. She could recognize the owner of those footsteps, and even if she wanted to hide away her immaturity, her body rest glued to her Master's coffin in what gave her little comfort. At least, she controlled her moaning on time when the heavy metallic door shrieked, victim of the long abandonment of the place where it belonged.
She must have looked pathetic, since Integra shot her a mean look. Seras cringed in anticipation of hearing the rest of the reprimand from which she had ran away some hours ago. But as soon as Integra's blue gaze meet the symbol engraved on the floor tile laying on the top of the coffin, her factions softened.
Her new Master found a place next to sit as near as possible from Alucard's sole possession. Integra rummaged her pockets to produce a cigar, she placed to her lips and, before lighting it up she turned towards Seras, who winced from just meeting Sir Hellsing's straight face.
"It's the last one, I promise. Don't want to add lung cancer to my list of life threatening affections." She puffed smoke enjoying her last indulge of youth.
"Thank you." Seras felt obliged to say shyly, and warm silence embodied the room.
A few minutes later, Seras' inner rambling speech about different ways to say sorry was interrupted by Integra's coughing. She wasn't sure if the reaction had to do with her cancer, and her scarce knowledge of any actual symptoms was fretting.
"Go fetch some cleaning supplies." Integra stood up to discover her white gloves utterly ruined with a heavy coat of dust. "This place is a bloody mess, and not in the sense that its owner would liked it to mean."
The Draculina's features gleamed with enthusiasm. She stood up in one motion to salute, big signature smile with pointy teeth all over the place.
"Right away, Sir!" And off she went through the wall. Happy like if their quarrel had never happened.
Sir Hellsing was left behind without any consideration. Her subordinate might have been expecting that the cleaning could be made by the two of them. She sighed.
"Alucard, you are taking too much time to come back." At the chair forgotten on the farthest corner in that moldy room, Integra could almost see the old vampire smirking from his throne. "If you don't hurry to come back, you may find less and less humanity in me."
She walked out of the room by the door, reckoning how many remaining organs she will have the day that stupid vampire decides to show up again.
The door creacked flimsy as Seras gathered the courage to peek at the hospital room. She could have had easily manifest herself inside, but this wasn't the moment to take advantage of her unnatural powers. At the instant, Integra needed more a friend than a servant, and even if the Draculina was long ago decased, she kind of understood the loss her boss was enduring. Despite her everlasting stern expression, Seras knew how broken Integra was upon seeing her. Thirty seven years were still the bloom of youth in modern society. Speaking of blossoming, the room was packed with flowers and gifts from every nobleman in England who knew of her surgery. Some of them, Seras was sure, genuinely regretted what had happened. The Queen herself had sent the biggest of bouquets. As if the world was mourning the departure of a single organ. In some way, they were mourning the end of a century old dinasty. Integra was well aware of that, however her feelings towards that matter were alien to the undead girl.
Integra glanced at her from the hospital bed and pushed the button for lifting it up to a sitting position. The girl stood by the door frame ackwardly expecting the correct words to come into her mind before opening the mouth. She only managed to begin with a simple, customary question.
"Are you feeling better, Sir?"
Integra looked at an expression stained with fatigue. Judging from what the doctors had said, she was getting better phisicaly, the surgery had been a success and they had reacted in time, no further treatment was needed. Her boss was lucky to have a servant able to detect malign cancer at an early stage. The sort of habilities that no vampire brags about, in this case it had become quite useful.
"I may resume work in a couple of days." She shrugged, implying that soon they will discharge her.
"No need to push yourself Sir, Duke is quite doing a good job alongside with Arstan. The Round Table is having the next meeting until October and, unless it's significative, there's no mission we can't deal by ourselves."
Far from assuring, Seras' comment was followed for a long pause. Integra tried to sit up further than what the bed allowed her to and winced.
"Wiil I be replaced?" There was a sorrowful tone in her question. In fact, Seras understood that her boss was not asking her, it was just a voiced thought of which perhaps Integra was afraid of listening to the unspoken answer. Seras was good at several task, from finding up a troll's nest to hit a target from two kilometers of distance, however giving advices was something she had never been trained to do. So she reached to the wisest people she had ever known for borrowing some ideas. What could Walter have said? What would Master could have said?
It was out of question to try to imitate Alucard, that kind of mockery gave her a bullet a couple of months ago. Particulary because she usually did it to chaff Integra, and right now the least the Iron Lady needed was a reminder of a lost. Walter, the other side, was most likely a good memory by now, and probably the Draculina would have the astuce for quoting him without Integra noticing. She walked closer to take her Master's hands.
"You will never be remplaced, because Hellsing is you."
Author's Note: Short chapter, nothing much to say about such a grimm vignette of Integra's life. Which makes me wonder, is she still considered a virgin?
I didn't deep fact check this chapter. I just read some testimonies of patients who had had hysterectomy due to uterine cancer. If you happen to know someone in this situation and you find something wrong, I would be glad to correct it.
Thanks for the new and old readers. Kudos to King Alabast for the great review.