The first update in 2011!
Thanks for those who reviewed my last chapter: 0whiteassnow0, Tsuki no Rekuen, Noitar Arat, Hartanna, Irena, JIN-HayTeR and Kars.
Please read the stuff at the end of the page.
Disclaimers: see previous chapters.
CHAPTER 32: NEW MANAGEMENT
Hellsing manor, 1931
"I am... Dracula".
"Oh, it's really good to see you. I don't know what happened to the driver and my luggage and...
Well, and with all this, I thought I was in the wrong place".
"I bid you welcome".
Arthur Hellsing, age 22, was sitting on a couch in a darkened room in the Hellsing manor. The projector was humming at the back of the room, projecting a black and white image to the screen in front of him. It was a copy of an American movie Dracula, that had been sent to him. It had been a big hit across the ocean and made its leading man, Bela Lugosi, one of the most coveted actors of Hollywood.
Arthur had a glass of whisky in his hand and he was dressed in all black. He had buried his own father earlier that day.
Abraham Van Helsing had died at the age of 79 for something as mundane as snapped blood vessel in his brain. It had happened in his sleep, which was a miracle really since he didn't sleep much. While he had not been in his physical peak anymore, Van Helsing had still been the strong leader Hellsing had come to rely on.
Now that responsibility was on Arthur's shoulders. And while Arthur had been prepared for this day practically his entire life, it still felt like it had come a bit too fast.
As Arthur downed his drink he felt a sudden, but familiar, presence appear next to him. Alucard had slipped in the room and materialized on the couch. Neither of them turned to look each others, instead they both watched the movie.
"This is very old wine. I hope you will like it" Bela Lugosi said to Dwight Frye with a heavy Hungarian accent.
"Aren't you drinking?"
"I never drink… wine".
"Was your accent that thick when you first came to England?" Arthur asked and poured himself another drink.
"Hopefully not. I had been practicing the language for months before Harker even came to castle. I've heard he" Alucard said and pointed Lugosi on screen "didn't know a word of English before arriving to America".
Arthur didn't say anything.
"Your first day in front of the Round Table Council is tomorrow, right? Nervous?" Alucard asked.
Arthur gave a very ungentlemanly snort. "The old ones are of course going to look down on me, but I don't think anyone of them is going to be fool enough to try to take my place. After all my profession isn't made for everyone. Still, there will be some power struggle. I can't wait for Sir Island's son Hugh to join the Council. Shouldn't take long considering his father has been dying for five years already. He at least is someone I can come along with".
"What about Richard?"
"I fear I won't be having much time to be a proper big brother for him. England must come first" Arthur said sarcastically. "I'll be sending him to a good boarding school in a month".
"Are you ever going to tell him what the Hellsing is all about?"
"Father didn't want him to know, for some reason. Maybe I'll tell him in a few years. He's only nine now".
On screen Bela Lugosi walked enigmatically in the London fog, dressed in a cape and tuxedo.
"So that is how the world sees vampires now" Alucard said. It was not a question.
"Yes, as mysterious and appealing gentlemen of the underworld. I suppose it is more pleasant image to hold than red eyes, big fangs and smelling breath. Dear lord, someday they'll probably start writing romance stories of vampires" Arthur sighed.
"To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious!" said Dracula on screen.
Only now did Arthur turn to really look at Alucard. And he didn't see the wide grin and blazing
eyes he had always seen. He didn't see the eternally young and carefree features. Instead he saw tired face with long hair and unshaven chin. It was the face he wore the last day of his human life. Alucard had put the façade away and wore his true face in honor of the man that had bested him. If given a chance Alucard would not have hesitated to kill Van Helsing, but he still respected and probably even admired the man.
For someone like you being really dead must be a glorious thing, Arthur thought. And while he still feared, and always would, the incredible power this monster had, he felt almost sorry for him as well.
They watched the movie for a while until Arthur, having emptied the bottle, rose up and left, either to rest or find a dame.
On screen Bela Lugosi turned to Edward Van Sloan.
"For one who has not lived even a single life time, you're a wise man, Van Helsing".
"That you were, Professor".
###
Hellsing manor, 1939
Alucard walked across the Hellsing courtyard, falling one step behind Arthur, now Sir Arthur Hellsing, who looked like he hadn't sleep enough but had drink way too much. This actually wasn't the case, but Arthur had learned to not care so much how he appeared, and liked to appear as party-first-duty-later buffoon.
Alucard had been quite pleased when Arthur came up with this attitude. It had made the old men of Roundtable Council sneer at him, but it had also delivered the clear message that he didn't give a rat's ass what they thought of him. After all, he was the only one for this line of job.
Alucard himself was in his typical appearance: a man in his thirties with moustache and dressed all in black but simple clothes. Walking behind Arthur made it look like he was a servant. Which he in fact was. A part he had learned to live with surprisingly easy.
It was a nice early summer night and while he needed no light to see in dark, Arthur needed the light provided by lamps on the yard. They neared the soldier's training area, where the current commander of Hellsing troops, a man named Fargason, was waiting for them with a folder in his hand.
"Well, Commander, I have loads of paperwork and a beautiful blonde waiting for me in my office and I intend to get them both done tonight, so let's get down to business. I really hope you did not call me here to just tell we've been wasting money on this Angel of Death project" Arthur said.
Alucard was absolutely sure Arthur had no intention of doing paperwork, he usually directed that to other people. Of the blonde, he wasn't so sure.
Still the same horn dog as ever...
Fargason cleared his throat. "No, sir, in fact I have good news. I believe, with your approval, we are finally ready to take the project to its second phase".
Fargason handed the folder to Arthur who opened it and started reading it in the lamp light.
"Dornez, Walter Christopher. Age nine. Parents unknown. Raised in a workhouse in London. Shows high intelligence and quick learning. Chose the name Dornez for himself at the age of six. Unpredictable behaviour has led to many fights with other children".
"After going through over hundred different children in over dozen different workhouses, he and he alone met all the requirements" Fargason said.
Arthur nodded. "Very well, let's see the boy then".
Alucard was interested as well. The Angel of Death project was something Van Helsing had already been planning in his time, but which Arthur had put to use after taking over. The idea of the project was to train a perfect vampire hunter; someone who would posses skills and reflexes surpassing those of normal soldiers. The catch was that training for such skills would have to be started in a very early age. This also required finding a child with a suitable mind and resistance to both physical and mental pressure.
The trio entered the training area where Hellsing soldiers had gathered. In the middle of them all stood a nine year old boy, with messy black hair, plain dirty clothes and blue eyes. The boy stood in the midst of all the grownups, not showing shyness or fear.
"Good evening, Walter. My name is Arthur Hellsing and I'm the leader of this little group. Has anyone told you what it is we want you to do?"
Walter looked Arthur straight in the eyes. "To hunt monsters, sir".
"Exactly, to hunt monsters. It's a very dangerous line of work. Chances that you'll die young are very high. How does that make you feel?"
"If it'll get me out of workhouse I'll hunt any monster you want, sir" Walter replied.
Arthur walked to one of the soldiers and burrowed his knife. He then gave it to Walter and pointed Alucard.
"If you plunge this knife to that man's heart then you'll never have to go to workhouse again" he said.
Walter didn't even hesitate. He took the knife and ran towards Alucard, who was both surprised and amused of the boy's straightforwardness. Needles to say Walter didn't get close enough as Alucard simply swung his hand and tossed the boy to ground.
"Really, Master, is this nec-"Alucard started to say but stopped when Walter instantly jumped back up and attacked him again. This time Alucard grabbed the boy from his head and held him far away that he couldn't reach his chest. There was no hate in the boy's eyes, just determination. Then Walter did something that something that the soldiers of Hellsing would remember for a long time. He bit Alucard's hand.
Alucard then let go of the boy, not out of pain for he could barely even feel it, but out of pure surprise and shock. Despite having witnessed how men and women, soldiers and civilians, can do desperate things when pushed in the corner, he had not expected that. The moment Alucard let go of the boy, Walter jumped forward and hit the knife right into Alucard's chest. It didn't go deep, he lacked enough strength for it, but it was there.
There was utter silence in the room as everyone stared dumbly what had happened. Alucard slowly pulled the knife out of his chest. If he was still the vampire he had been few decades ago, this wound would have seriously injured him.
"It is always humans who kill the monsters" he muttered to himself and then burst out laughing. "What a wonderful child! Truly you humans never cease to amaze me!"
This seemed to shake everyone else out of their shock as well as Arthur started clapping his hands.
"Everyone! Meet Walter C. Dornez, the new butler in training for Hellsing household" he said.
Walter turned around and looked the man in awe. "Butler, sir?"
"Certainly, if you're going to be the next best thing after Alucard I want you close by. Fargason will show you your room, your training starts tomorrow" Arthur said and turned to exit the training area.
Walter turned back to Alucard, whose wound in the chest had now disappeared completely. "Will I then be able to kill you?" he asked.
Alucard grinned. "Grow stronger, little Angel of Death, and maybe you will be".
There was something in Walter's eyes that seemed to say I'm looking forward to it.
To be continued...
Okay, few things I have to address here:
Firstly, how many have seen the 1931 movie Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi? If you haven't, watch it, it's classic that every true vampire fan must see at least once.
Secondly, I'm not sure where the scene with Alucard and Arthur watching it came from, it just seemed proper to me.
The 1930's is a time I didn't know what to do with. The only thing it gave me was a chance to introduce Walter, aside of that I had nothing else to do. That's why I ran through the whole decade in this one chapter. Call me lazy but hey, nothing else to do with it.
The commander named Fargason here is obviously taken from Commander Fargason who appears in original Hellsing anime series, but is in fact not a manga character.
Walter's middle name is never revealed so I decided to call him Christopher, after Christopher Lee, my favourite Dracula on screen.
Okay, this was a short chapter but I had to give you people something. Next time, we'll go and kill some Nazis.
Till then, bye!