Hellsing – Even (Integra + Alucard) - Chapter 2
Soundtrack: Evey Reborn (V for Vendetta OST) - Dario Marianelli
**AN: Insert standard disclaimer here – I own nada!
So, what do you think so far? Remember: reviews make me stronger!
"Father?"
Strong arms tightened around her protectively.
"Father, I had a terrible nightmare.
"I dreamed I was dead…"
Fingers brushed through her hair, soothing against her troubled brow.
Integra snuggled deeper into her father's embrace, resting her head on his chest and searching for the familiar scents of tobacco and leather.
She smelled gunpowder.
Gunpowder and blood.
No heartbeat…
Integra's eyes snapped open.
Red.
Everything was red, as if the world had been bathed in scarlet paint.
Confusion fogged her sluggish mind as she tried to piece together where she was.
Extending out her fingers, the crimson sky wrinkled. A blanket?
The broad chest under her cheek felt cool as marble and just as firm. A body?
I'm cuddling up to a body?
Integra sat up too quickly, throwing the blanket off of her in the process. Abruptly lightheaded, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly from sudden dizziness.
She felt strong hands clasp her shoulders.
"Slowly now."
"Alucard?"
"It's me."
That explains the all the red…
"What is going on? And why am I—why are you in my bed?"
Silence stretched and Integra became annoyed. She cracked her eyes open to glare at him but immediately regretted it.
Blinding sunlight was streaming through cracks in the heavy curtains, making spots dance in her vision.
Wonderful, a migraine is just what I need to top of everything else.
Can this day get any worse?
Integra grimaced. "Answer me, servant!"
His normally rich voice was subdued. "I wished to see if you were hungry."
Now that he mentioned it, she was starving. It felt like her stomach was trying to gnaw through her backbone. She would have to see if Walter had restocked the larder with more bacon.
Maybe steak…
Integra shook her head to clear her thoughts. She pulled away from Alucard's grip, sliding her long legs off of the bed to stand up. She frowned at how weak and shaky she felt.
Perhaps I am getting the flu?
The mansion was quiet; the slanting sunlight told her it was late afternoon. Why had they let her sleep all day?
Walter should have been banging on the door with a pile of reports. Soldiers should have been bustling through the hallways like ants.
Their absence was unnerving.
"Where is everyone?" she demanded.
"I sent them away."
"Away? Whatever for? They have jobs to perform—"
"For safety reasons."
Integra's irritation was ramping up. "Safety?
"Yes."
The vampire king's odd behavior was adding to her unease, making her temper kindle like dry grass. Integra turned to where he had moved to sit on the edge of the bed, ready to blister him with her tongue.
She paused as she got a good view of him for the first time.
Alucard looked terrible.
An eternally vain creature, the vampire king had never allowed himself to look so disheveled in her presence before. Dark blood stained his shirt, highlighting the white of his skin through rents torn in the silk. His hair hung in limp tangles over his shoulders, shading the majority of his face from her gaze. His hat and glasses were missing, but his trademark coat was in place. As she watched, the crimson fabric shrank to its normal size since it no longer needed to accommodate two people. Alucard's gloved hands hung loosely between his knees, a bone deep weariness clear in every line of his body.
He looked beaten.
"What happened to you?" she asked, her previous exasperation defused by concern.
"Nothing." His face was calm, but she could feel the maelstrom of unsaid things at the edges of his words.
"Alucard!" Integra stepped forward, arms crossed in annoyance. A shy knock at the door derailed the tirade brewing in her mouth.
"Sir?"
"Come in, Seras. Perhaps you can explain what the Hell is going on here."
Blanching paler than normal, Seras cast a quick glance at her master before shutting the door behind her.
"How are you feeling, Sir?" the young vampire asked.
"I'm perfectly fine! What I don't understand is what is going on with everyone else!" Fury wound tighter and tighter inside Integra, mixing with the hunger that seemed to grow more insistent by the moment. "Someone, better start talking now!"
The loud crack of splintering wood was like a gunshot in the sudden silence after her outburst. Integra looked down at the shattered side table with disbelief.
Slowly, she lifted her hand and watched the bloody scratches seal themselves, leaving her skin perfect again.
The vampires were stock still as Integra stared at each of them in turn, not daring to breathe.
Seras looked miserable, bloody tears sparkling in her eyes.
The vampire king's expression was locked down tight, giving no hints at all as to what he was feeling.
Turning toward the vanity mirror, Integra's hand crept up to the collar of her pajama top to pull the silk aside.
Twin puncture wounds marred the clean line of her throat.
Her reflection showed the dawning horror crawl across her face as she backed away.
"No…
"Please, Sir—" Seras started.
"NO!"
Integra's breath came fast, her thoughts scattered and useless.
The sunlight, the hunger, the way Alucard didn't seem freezing cold—
"Sir!"
More of the pieces clicked together, opening up memories from the night before that filled her mouth with bile.
"That was a dream!" Integra shouted, frantic to deny the truth.
She felt arms like bands of steel wrap around her as she started to claw at the damning bite mark.
"Sir! Please, Sir Integra!" Seras cried, trying to keep the raving woman from hurting herself further. "Please stop!"
Weak and newly made as she was, Integra's desperation gave her strength. The police girl was having trouble keeping her grip as elder woman struggled to reach for a weapon.
"Master!"
Integra screamed, a long ragged sound full of grief and rage that tore from the bottom of her soul.
Suddenly, Alucard filled her vision with ruby fire as he grasped her jaw firmly.
"Integra," his words were quiet, but she seized them like a lifeline. "Stop."
The vampire king stroked a thumb across her cheek as she slumped in Seras' arms, trembling. His voice was thick with regret: "I hope you can forgive me one day."
Integra's hoarse sobs echoed in Alucard's ears long after he fled the room.
AN: Oh, the feels, :(
One might think that this is a bit OOC for Integra, but this isn't like waking up to see you have a pimple on your nose or a few more grey hairs. It's traumatizing to realize you've suddenly become what you've spent every moment of your life hating.