sorry guys, I really did try to get this out on time, but I got a literal ton of essays and assignments over this past week. But now im ending my school term so I should be able to update more frequently. heres a long chapter to make up for it.
The car ride to the estate never seemed to be any shorter, however this time she managed to stay awake and able to watch the snowy countryside roll by. During the car ride she could feel her stomach became uneasy, most likely a combination side effect along with the headache. When they finally arrived at the estate and Walter helped her out, she could feel the pounding in her head return. Walter pulled her bags out of the tiny trunk and when he turned to hand them to her he noticed Victoria's glassy eyes and unsteady stance. "Are you alright?" His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped forward in her direction. Victoria nodded and waved her hand lazily, she clamped her mouth shut afraid if she opened it the butlers white undershirt, wouldn't be so white anymore. He nodded slowly and folded out the handle of her suitcase and began pulling it behind him, he then motioned for her to follow him and she was lead to the same tall oak doors as on her first visit. The armed guards were absent and Walter instead pushed the doors open alone. Leading the woman inside out of the cold, she was met with a flush of warm air, and the stiffness in her joints and muscles melted immediately and she felt slightly more at ease. Victoria followed the Hellsing butler to the same room as she came to be familiar with, a large roaring fire both illuminated and warmed the room. "I'll take your bags to your room, Sir Integra wishes to speak to you before the job begins" Walter remarked, he then bowed in typical butler fashion and left the room. She slowly sat down on the sofa careful not to cause to much movement. Her stomach had began to settle slightly, but she opted not to eat any of the cakes, biscuits and pasties ever present on the table.
XxX
It was not long after Victoria made herself comfortable that she heard someone yelling, it was very faint and far away but she was sure of it. Turning off the music playing through her headphones, she heard a woman's voice, Sir Integra's. 'hopefully she isn't angry at me' Victoria thought frowning. The voice sounded closer and louder now and she could hear heavy footsteps pounding on the wooden floor as they walked down the corridor, they they stopped just outside the door. Sir Integra lowered her voice but it was still very audible, "I don't care how you feel about it, you will stay away from her, DO YOU HEAR ME" she growled, her tone quickly escalating. Another voice could be heard, this one was male and much quieter, she couldn't make out what it said. Seconds later the door was ripped open and the artist almost dropped her phone in surprise, she looked up and saw Integra standing in the doorway. The knights' cheeks were mildly flushed and her face framed by her long blonde hair held anger and annoyance. "Follow me" her tone had evened out but she still looked tense. Jumping up quickly, Victoria shoved her phone in her pocket and followed Integra, the artist had to quietly jog to meet up with her fast pace. Walking down the same wooden corridor, she saw another blonde women pacing the room ahead, "Seras!" Integra barked. Seras whipped around and after seeing the angry knight striding in her direction, she quickly snapped her legs together and raised her gloved hand to her forehead in a salute.
"Yes sir" she called timidly, "wait who is she?" The blonde released her salute and moved her head to look behind the Integra, seeing Victoria walking nervously behind her.
"Never mind her" Integra snapped, Victoria wasn't sure to be insulted or not, but she guessed the knight was still in a bad mood. "I need you to tell Alucard that you have a mission soon and should prepare posthaste" her tone had evened but held an annoyed tone.
"Y-yes sir" Seras' stuttered taking she took on a much more nervous demeanor after hearing this news. She saluted again and quickly walked out of the room and down the corridor. Victoria whipped around and watched her walk down the long corridor, she noticed how short her skirt was and thought about the freezing winter winds outside, 'poor girl' she mused.
When she turned back around Integra was in the middle of the room and was staring up at a wall, the artist quickly rushed to her side and looked up at the same wall. A very old but well maintained portrait hung on the wall, a young looking man with similar features as Integra. Looking at the plaque beneath the painting, she wasn't instantly able to make out what was written, taking a few strides forward she saw on the little golden plaque written in cursive it read 'Arthur Hellsing'. She assumed the portrait was painted when the man was young, as most people chose to have their portrait done in their youngest days. She turned around and saw Integra in a sort of trance, her gaze was transfixed at he man. Victoria decided to break the silence "who was he?" She asked.
"He was my father, the previous leader of Hellsing" the knight said in a morose tone
"I'm sorry for your loss" the artist said awkwardly, looking away from Integra's neutral face. She had guessed that she'd touched on a sensitive topic.
"The portrait" she began, I want it on that wall". Integra gestured to the wall behind her, adjacent to her fathers picture.
Victoria looked up at the empty wall "yeah. I think that'll work".
"Walter will take you to your room, make yourself comfortable then we'll begin, sound fair?" She turned around to ensure Victoria heard. She noticed the butler standing in the corner, and couldn't recall him entering the room, she found his stealthiness unsettling.
"Erm yes sir" she hesitated and was unsure if she should salute,
"I'll see you in an hour" the Hellsing leader called as the artist was led out the room.
XxX
Walter silently paced infront of Victoria and after awhile she had zoned out completely, a million other thoughts on her mind. she only snapped out of her trance when she was taken by surprise, Walter had suddenly stopped walking, causing her to bump into his tall thin frame. she let out a startled apology, the butler inclined his head a small smile pulling at his lips. 'he must think I'm a scatterbrain or something' she thought dimly. Walter opened the door that she was led to, ushering the woman inside the room, she saw a massive king sized bed covered in the finest linen, large windows letting in light and an attached bathroom and dressing room. The room however smelt dusty and presumably hadn't been used for awhile. Having to contain the excitement the king bed had elicited, she calmly thanked Walter and he yet again bowed and left the room. As soon as the butler closed the door, she tore off her boots and squealing she flung herself into the bed. Her single cheap mattress at home frequently caused back problems, but this one melted to her form and was unbelievably comfortable. Suddenly it occurred to her that she had no idea where her bags were, her head popped out of the blankets and she surveyed the room, "in the closet maybe" she murmured, rolling out of bed she wrapped herself in a large fur blanket. Victoria approached the walk-in closet and when she pulled open the dark ceder doors, she saw a shadowy figure standing in the small space, shrieking loudly she jumped backwards and scrambled away from the room. After she was a sufficient amount of space away, Victoria looked at where the figure was, noticing it was missing she crept forward and flicked on the light, and there in the mirror stood a disgruntled looking figure with a fur blanket wrapped around it, it was her she saw, "I was afraid of my own reflection, of course I was scared of something so stupid" she huffed, looking around the now lit room she saw her two suitcases sitting against the wall, pulling them out of the small room she threw them onto the messy bed.
XxX
Victoria put away all her clothes in the wardrobe and began pulling out all the paints and brushes. Out of the smaller bags came a total of 29 oil paint tubes, 23 brushes and 4 wooden palettes. Checking everything was there, she threw everything back into the suitcase to be wheeled to the painting site, no way she was carrying this all by hand. The artist estimated that her time was almost up, deciding to make herself presentable again, she retreated to the bathroom. looking in the mirror her dark hair had fallen out of it's braid, she pulled the ties and pins free letting her wavy hair fall around her shoulders and back. She moved onto examining her eyes, they seemed dull and tired, she thought of the bed and couldn't wait until she could crawl in into it's warm covers and sleep for hours. She again had lost focus and only came to when a knock echoed around the large room, she stuck her head out of the bathroom and saw no one had entered "er, come in?" She asked uncertainly.
Walter elegantly strided into the room "sorry to disturb you m'am, Sir Integra will see you now",
"Ah yes", she walked over to the paint bag and hoisted it over her shoulder, "alright I'm ready",
"Unfortunately you cannot take the blanket with you" he remarked condescendingly.
"Huh? What do you mea-" Victoria stopped mid sentence, realising that she still had the beds blanket wrapped around her like a cloak. The woman's face reddened and she silently walked over to the bed where she dumped the blanket. Walking quietly she followed Walter out the door, blushing profusely out of embarrassment.
XxX
Luckily by the time they had reached the drawing room, the heat and redness in her face had subsided. Walking through the door she saw Integra sitting awkwardly on the sofa, almost like she was unused to it. The butler bowed then left the room, leaving both women alone. The artist saw the large canvas leaning against the far wall, she calmly placed her bag on the floor before quickly pacing over to see it. The canvas was rectangular and much taller than her, not to mention wider, placing her hand on the surface she ran her fingertips lightly over the material, the canvas was insanely soft and smooth, it was unlike anything she had painted on before. The size and quality of this canvas was remarkable, "if I might ask Sir, where did you find such a canvas?" Victoria asked in awe, still feeling the material.
"It was imported from Italy" the knight remarked "I will have only the best for my portrait" she added.
Victoria wondered if she was talking about her aswell, "probably not, after the canvas she would have had a tight budget" she thought grimly.
"I will also provide a variety of paint if you require" Integra mentioned absently,
The artist turned around to face Integra, "Well since everything's here how about we get started?"
Integra inclined her head "of course".
XxX
Integra sat in an old wooden chair, her platinum blonde hair framing her olive skinned face, and complimenting her regal features. The knight sat next to a lit fire, illuminating her features, adding dramatic lighting. Victoria set herself up adjacent to the women, a little ways away, since the canvas was so big she opted to prop it off the ground and she would paint standing, this would certainly be a challenge as later on a step ladder would be required to reach the top of the canvas. Victoria had a large table beside her with all her brushes and paint laid out, along with the extra paint and paint tools that were bought for her to use.
Lifting the brush to the canvas she laid down a stroke, but that's as far as she got as a loud knock echoed throughout the smaller fire lit room. She grumbled something inaudible, there was nothing she hated more than being interrupted while painting. "I'll get it sir" she called to Integra who made a motion implying she was going to stand up, there was no way the pose would be the same again if she moved. Victoria stuck the paintbrush in her bun like a hairstick and walked over to the closed door, pulling it open she expected to be met with Walter or someone of normal height, but instead she only saw a black waistcoat and the endings of a red cravet. She stood in an awkward silence for several seconds before taking a step back to see the full figure infront of her, a very tall man adored in Victorianesque clothing except for the strange glasses and outrageously red coat and hat. His pale skin contrasted greatly to the inky black hair spilling from underneath his wide brimmed hat and he wore a smug grin, he looked down at the women infront of him. From his point of view he could see a average sized women looking up at him, she had an annoyed expression on her face and was blowing hair out of her face furiously.
The man in the red coat spoke first, "I need to speak to my master"
Victoria's expression changed to confusion "master?" She questioned. The women had never heard anyone in reality call their superior that title.
"Yes, my master, step aside" his deep voice commanded
The artist growled and moved to the side, she hated being commanded, especially by someone bigger than her. 'Christ, no human needs to be that tall' she thought bitterly. Victoria stepped to the side and allowed the man in red to pass, he took long strides before bowing before Integra. The artist had walked back to the canvas and began slowly mixing colours. The two were talking very quietly but she could hear something about a priest, this peaked her interest and she was trying hard to make out what they were saying while pretending to paint. Victoria picked up the words "Seras, Anderson, catholic and ghoul", she had no idea what an Anderson or ghoul was but she recognized the name of the blonde women and remembered something about her going on a mission. The Hellsing leader and strange man didn't talk for much longer, and she was surprised when her name was called.
"Victoria, come here" Integra called
Her patience was wearing thin, she didn't want to end up behind schedule. She huffed loudly and walked out from behind the canvas, seeing Integra she was pleased to discover that she hadn't moved an inch since the conversation started. Approaching the pair she noticed the man watching her walk across the room, his head following her movements and although she couldn't see his eyes, the fire reflected off his already tinted glasses almost making them glow unnaturally. Victoria stood stiffly infront of Integra "yes sir" she responded obediently, glancing sideways at the man in the red duster still watching her intently.
"This is Alucard, he's a..." she paused briefly "employee of mine" the knight finished. She turned her head to address the man called Alucard, "Victoria is an artist I have hired to paint my portrait she will stay here until it's finished, you are to leave her alone while she is painting" she emphasized the last part quite noticeably.
"Yes master" Alucard lowered his head and placed a gloved hand on his chest. He then straightened and turned to face Victoria, "your rather young to be a painter aren't you?" He asked "and a women nonetheless" he remarked in a surprised tone.
Victoria gritted her teeth together and dug her nails into her palm, "Alucard" Integra said warningly seeing Victoria's face redden in anger. Alucard had started out with good intentions trying to start a conversation, but sensing her rising anger he decided to have fun with it.
"In my day, artists were highly respected and revered" the man said smugly "they were only the most talented of men", his lips were pulled into a smirk and he eagerly awaited Victorias reaction, expecting her to flip out and throw a fit such as he saw her do to at the party.
Victoria had realised he was messing with her, but she wasn't going to ignore it, "Well..." she began slowly, "in my day, artists don't actually give a shit about what you think" she said in a sing song voice, "And im guessing an old man like you, doesn't have much talent either" she added. Alucard's smug aura and expression had dropped immediately. He was extremely irritated that she responded differently than he thought, and it showed when his smirk faltered and his jaw became tense. Knowing there was nothing he could do while his master was present, Alucard growled and strided out of the room, shutting the door loudly behind him.
"Sorry about the language sir, but he was pissing me off" Victoria growled
The knight smirked, "he's rather moody this time of day, he saw it coming. Now let's continue"
Victoria nodded and walked over to the canvas, she pulled the brush from her bun, realising she had a lot of work ahead of her.