Do not own! Not my story! (Again, we all know this, but I gotta put it in for every chapter)
Flora's POV:
I slammed the door shut, leaning against it and panting. I had run as fast as I could away from Maxwell and his bodyguard, silently blessing Walter the whole way. "What on earth are you doing here at this time of day?" Alucard's voice growled, and I shushed him. "SHHH! I'm hiding from that creep Maxwell." I said frantically, putting a finger to my lips. He sighed, and I saw his dim shape in the darkness, walking towards me. I felt something slide an arm under my legs and back and lift me up suddenly, and squeaked. "Hey!" I said, squirming as he walked to his throne and sat down, placing me on his lap. "You seem upset." He said teasingly, locking his arms around me to stop me from wiggling free. "You know, I didn't actually mean it when I told him you were creepy, but now I really do." I told him, trying to squirm away.
I didn't get anywhere. His vampire super-strength could be really annoying at times. "Seriously, let go!" I pleaded with him, and I was immediately spilled on the cold stone floor. I yelped, yanking my skirt down and sitting up. "As you command, master." He said, eyes glowing redly in the dark. He seemed sad. "I don't like being touched very much." I said in embarrassment, trying to apologize for my overreaction. He shook his head. "I understand." He said dully, standing up and walking towards his coffin. "Hey, wait up!" I said, scrambling to my feet and yanking on his sleeve. He spun, eyes flashing furiously like they had been when I first saw him "Leave me be woman!" he snarled at me, raising a hand like he was going to hit me with it. I jerked away, feeling hurt, eyes watering slightly. He growled, turning back around and slinking into his coffin.
I backed away, crushed. I opened and closed the door, leaning against it and letting the tears flow down my face. I didn't make friends easily, and Alucard had started feeling like one, at least a little, and having him so angry at me both shocked and scared me. I hadn't lost any of my friends that I made all at once like I just did, but it still made me sad as we drifted apart. But now I was feeling all of that gradual sadness all at once, which was much worse. Nobody was looking for me, so this was the safest place to cry my heart out, choking back my sobs and swallowing my tears.
Alucard's POV:
I sighed in frustration, still hearing her outside my door. I had no idea why I had picked her up and put her in my lap, she had just looked so much like a frightened child as she huddled by the door, eyes huge as she tried to pierce the darkness with her weak human eyes. At first she seemed to laugh it away, but soon her fear spiked and she actually ordered me to let her go. The seals would have forced me anyway, and she had fallen to the floor with a thump. I felt sad, knowing she was just as fearful as the other humans would be that close to me, and turned away from her. She actually attempted to stop me, tugging on my sleeve and digging her heels in.
I felt rage at letting a weak little human talk to me in such a way and spun, wanting to hit her away from me, but paused as I saw her thunderstruck expression, like me threatening her was worse than an actual blow. I phased into my coffin, and she stumbled out, but just leaned against my closed door, sobbing quietly to herself for the next hour or so. I wanted to go out and apologize for almost striking her, but each time I thought I was going to do it she sobbed louder, like she could somehow sense my incoming presence. I finally snapped and went out, resting a hand on her shoulder. She squeaked and scuttled away from me, not even looking at me as she fled, wiping her eyes and sobbing louder. I opened my mouth to call after her, feeling hurt, but didn't try as she rounded the corner.
Flora's POV:
I felt his hand touch my shoulder and jerked away, heart thudding. He would be so angry at me. I didn't want to upset him even more, so I just ran, wiping my streaming eyes and accidentally letting more sobs choke their way out of my throat. I streaked all the way upstairs, collapsing on my bed and sniffling, finally falling asleep and dreaming of nothing. I woke up as the sun was beginning to set, and swallowed. I had been looking forward to talking with Alucard tonight, but because of what he had done earlier, I somehow doubted I was welcome. I thought hard, wondering what I should do to make it up to him. I quickly washed my face, then walked out, looking for Walter. "Thanks again for saving me." I told him, and he bowed. "I simply did what I thought was best." I nodded. "Well, thanks anyway. What else do you do all day?" I tried to lure him into the conversation as imperceptibly as possible, waiting for my chance.
"So wait, Seras has a favorite blood type?" I said as he explained the part of his day when he took blood packs down to the vampires, and how he usually tried to get Seras's favorite. "Yes, much like master Alucard, who prefers type AB negative, I believe." He said, and I sighed inwardly. I ended the conversation as slowly as I could while aching to get out of there, and finally exited as Walter went down to clean up our dinner. I sped to the kitchen, searching through the part of the fridge where blood packs were stored. AB negative wasn't in the front, and I had to look all the way in the back before I found one, pulling it out and shivering as I pressed it against my skin, trying to warm it up as I ran through the halls, stopping just above the basement steps. I was shaking, already freezing from thawing out the blood pack with my own body, and was going to enter the cold stony confines of the basement.
I touched it with my nose, the only part of my body I hadn't pressed it against, shivering hard as the cold plastic touched my nose. Still not warm enough. My teeth chattered as I pressed the blood pack to my skin again, trying to get it at least lukewarm before giving it to Alucard. I darted down the stairs, sprinting across the dark hall and setting it down, along with my note of apology, before his door before sprinting away again, eager to get back where it was warm.
Alucard's POV:
I sighed, opening my door and hoping faintly that she might be persuaded to stay and talk with me again, but only just caught the tail end of her clothes disappearing around the corner. I looked down at my feet, seeing a blood pack with a sticky note attached to it. I picked it up, reading the note. Flora's untidy yet somehow elegant scrawl spelled out
"Really sorry for yelling at you, please forgive me."
I blinked. She thought I was angry at her? She wasn't afraid of me? I sniffed, smelling the tempting aroma of my favorite blood type. How did she know? I wondered, staring at the wall blankly. I shrugged and took the straw in my mouth, sucking slowly at the blood. I wanted to make this present last.
Flora's POV:
The morning after I gave Alucard his blood pack, I woke up with a nasty cold. Walter took one look and ordered me right back in bed, promising to bring tissues and some nice tea to help me get better, and I would have thanked him if I had the energy. The rest of my day was spent sniffling and drinking nasty herb teas, which sucked. I couldn't even listen to my music or read, because I couldn't even sit up without starting to cough and sneeze. I spent the time not drinking tea or blowing my nose napping.
The next day was the same, only worse. This was because I woke up with a fever as well. Walter looked worried, and called in a doctor, who spent a lot of time smiling and nodding and saying fancy things that made my head hurt even more, before finally prescribing lots of rest and liquids, explaining I had just gotten a chill, which my body had to take care of itself. So I was stuck with more herb teas, feverish tossing and turning, as well as exhaustion from not getting enough sleep that night, because I couldn't breathe through my nose. The next few days sort of blended together, and I woke up to feel someone rubbing my hand gently, and peeked through my closed eyelids to see Alucard. "S-sorry…" I whimpered, my teeth chattering. He smiled sadly, looking at me in concern. His eyes slid towards my untouched cup Walter had poured out, and frowned.
"Did you drink your tea?" he asked, and I shook my head slightly. His hand slid under my head, lifting it up, and he brought the cup to my lips. "Drink." He said sternly, tipping it up slightly so the nasty stuff trickled into my mouth. I swallowed weakly, unable to summon the energy to resist. He waited patiently as I managed to gulp down the whole brew, before letting my head fall back down on the pillow. "Why did you do it?" He said sadly, looking at me. "Wha…" I moaned, too tired to remember what he was talking about. "The blood pack." He said, and I sighed. "I didn't want you to be mad at me…" I whispered, rolling over so my back was to him. He reached out and gently touched my hand. "I forgive you. Now get some rest." I didn't need any more prompting and fell into a dreamless slumber.
Alucard's POV:
I sighed, phasing out and back to my basement room. She had looked so frail and sickly. I wanted to see more of the lively and intelligent young girl; despite the fact she was going to be my next master. She was so weak, letting me order her around and just lying there, looking so defeated, it was making me actually WORRY for her. After that, I visited her once every day, occasionally playing her some of her Vocaloid music, which made her smile slightly, making her drink or take her medicine, or just holding her hand as she slept. Once, she even nuzzled my hand as she dreamed, sounding so pitiful as she whimpered, that I actually held her in my arms, rocking her slightly. Like it or not, a bond seemed to be forming between me and the human child.
Flora's POV:
I woke up, hearing someone call my name. Integra was standing in front of me, a tetchy look on her face. "Wha..." I whispered, coughing. "How did you catch this...chill?" she asked, and I winced. "Too much time in the basement..." I moaned, my head hurting too much to lie, or make up something, but not too tired to bend the truth just a little. "The...basement. What on earth were you DOING down there?" she snapped. "Talking to Alucard..." I whimpered, trying vainly to come up with an excuse. "WHAT!?" I didn't repeat myself, she had heard me exactly. "How long have you been doing that?" She growled, and I squinted, tying to think. "Almost since the first day I got here." I whispered, my head aching. She sighed and shook her head. I heard her walk back out and let my head fall back down on the pillow, exhausted.
Integra's POV:
I shuffled some of her registration papers, sighing. "Alucard." I said firmly, and he phased through the wall. "Yes master?" he said, grinning. "Why didn't you scare her off or something? All the nights talking to her, you must have gotten very tired after a while." I said slyly, not looking up. I didn't see his face, but he seemed to be frowning. "She told me, just now." I continued, and he sighed. "I suppose she couldn't do much against your will, sick as she is..." he muttered to himself. I smirked. "You seem worried." I said curiously, hiding a smile. "She's quite an interesting little child." he said musingly, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Have you heard some of the stuff she listens to? Very dark, and she has some interesting imagery, especially when gore is concerned." He said this casually, confirming my fears. I gritted my teeth. "I do NOT want you influencing her any more than you already have." I spat, and he frowned deeper. "How can I have influenced her, as you say, in less than a month?" he said sweetly, and I glared at him. "Don't play around. Stay away from her, unless she is in danger, of course." I ordered him, putting all the force of the Hellsing seals behind it. He gritted his teeth, but nodded. "Yes, my master." he muttered, turning away and phasing through the wall.