This wasn't the type of hunting Alucard was accustomed to, it was the reason why Atticus was severely lost on the entirety of the situation. His master had started hunting for his own food nearly a decade ago to cure his boredom, instead of having the servants bring him nice candidates to the dining hall. It was something the staff was quite grateful for considering it saved them for not only dooming some innocent person to death, but it made the King leave for hours on end. Atticus personally liked when his King hunted for himself; the vampire's overall personality improved by leaps and bounds after each successful hunt. It made Alucard be more pleasant to be around when he wasn't brooding like Atticus' grandson did when he didn't get his way.
But what was wrong with his King after his weekly hunt? Something must have happened, and nothing good, as Alucard looked ready to rip into the nearest living being without a second thought. The rest of the staff in the manor had holed themselves up in the upper floor in a closed off room in a false form of safety, while Atticus stayed on the ground floor with his King attempting to figure out what made the Vampires mood so sour.
"Sir, may I inquire what has caused your current enraged state?"
Alucard wasn't the type to openly show the depth of his anger, only just enough to know that you should leave the immediate area if you wanted to continue living for the next few hours. Atticus guessed after so many years of working so closely to the supernatural man, it wasn't that hard to stick by the man's side as an advisor, butler, and companion. Alucard was more human than he let on, more than he probably ever realised; so he had his various ups and downs when it came to everyday life just like everyone else.
"Not one single damned clue, Atticus! Not one! How the hell is she doing this?"
Atticus frowned as he watched the man pace across the floor before pausing momentarily to give a hard stare out of one of the many windows the far side of the room offered. The butler had been watching his King for the past half an hour in the attempt to offer some kind of aid, but he still didn't fully grasp what the Vampires issue was. Was he trying to pursue a particular woman to satisfy his more… personal needs? If he remembered correctly, Alucard had only ever taken one woman to his private chambers… well, that's what Atticus thought at least, because the female was found decapitated in the opposite side of the manor by some poor maid merely ten minutes later. According to Alucard, she was 'a whore not worth drinking, let alone touching'; turns out, the only reason she had been led off to the back of the manor by the vampire was because he didn't want her blood to stain the rugs in the lounge. Atticus felt a brief feeling of relief that day when he realized his lord had standards, unlike the rest of the wealthy men the butler had seen. He still didn't understand why the vampire had to kill her, though. Kicking her off the estate would have been just as fine.
"My apologies, my lord, but I fear I do not follow."
Alucard bared his teeth as he forcefully slammed down into his throne causing a few cracks to appear in the floor. Atticus didn't know what the chair was made out of, but it was pretty damn sturdy as it had lived through all of his Masters displays of inhuman strength; now, if he could only reinforce the floor with whatever the thrones material was.
"A robbery occurred while I was in town last month, the cowardly thief being the same man who had attempted to hold me at gunpoint the previous night. This woman seemingly came from the shadows before she was knocking out the coward with a unbridled strength that looked beyond her physical facade." The urge to touch the area just above his brow bone had him clenching his hands, "She was undoubtedly human, but her appearance and abilities spoke otherwise."
Atticus listened and watched carefully as his king went on to explain the woman's 'peculiarities' in detail. Alucard had this gleam of curiosity and amazement within his eyes that he hadn't seen in many years as he spoke. He knew of the Vampires basic indestructibility, but he was starting to question how invincible his lord was when he found out the immortal had indeed hit his head hard enough to draw blood and then his odd recount of the woman having strange 'pink' hair, and green glowing hands of 'gold' (Atticus didn't even want to know what that meant); It's possible that his undead king gained a concussion and his hallucinations provided a woman. After all, a woman possessing pink hair was impossible, let alone green glowing hands. But Atticus was willing to give the benefit of the doubt for his lord because this was the most active, emotionally and physically, he had ever seen the Vampire be since he first started working under the man.
"So, I take it the locals in town have provided no answers or clues in your search for this woman. She did mention a orphanage, if I am correct, yes? I doubt the robber managed to make it far from the orphanage he robbed, if he ran on foot. It might be a start of you finding some clues as to who this young lady might be."
Alucard rested his head on his palm as he listened to the man's advice. He hadn't visited the orphanages yet, not that he had forgotten that it had been mentioned by the mysterious lady, but merely because he didn't like being around children. Young ones tended to cry in his presence even when he tried to assist them; although he hadn't tried to do that in nearly a century. Alucard presumed that children were able to recognise a monster when they saw one, disguised or not. The crying was obnoxious and only served to put his mind in a darker pit than the previous; his self-loathing grew to incalculable heights every time. Considering the fact he drowned himself everyday in an unhealthy amount of self-loathing, he didn't need anymore added to his mentality.
"I could ask a few of your servants to help search down the young woman, if you would like. However, have you given it thought that this girl just may not reside within Bristol?"
That.. Alucard hadn't given any amount of thought to. For some reason, he was willing to bet everything he owned on the fact that she was here in Bristol.
"The servants shall not be necessary." He stood up from his throne as he adjusted his white button up shirt, the collar upturned due to him hastily removing his tie earlier. He was annoyed at the fact it was taking so long to find the peculiar woman, especially since her oddly colored hair should make her the easiest target to track in history. This 'challenge' wouldn't last long, Alucard wanted to make sure of that. He had too many questions arising each minute that passed and the faster he received his answers, he felt the better everything would turn out. The first orphanage he could name off the top of his head was directly in the middle of town, not far from where he had first ran into the cowardly thief.
Alucard shifted out of his memories when the helicopter gave a slight jolt making him subconsciously tighten his grip around his wife. He didn't waste time as he gathered his woman within his arms before brusquely leaving the confinements of the aircraft. He was the first off the helicopter out off the little group because Integra and the rest was still getting unbuckled or grabbing their belongings. He wanted to get inside the manor immediately, the way his lover was curling up even further into his embrace with each flicker of wind made it goal to reach the warm interior of the Hellsing estate. He wasn't positive if it was warmer inside, (he remembered Integra sometimes slept with the air conditioner turned on when she was younger) but at least he could get her out of the wind. His boots didn't get to touch the polished white floors for more than a few seconds before she was shifting around in his arms in a failed attempt to get down.
"Mă poți da jos, Ally. Nu trebuie să mă purtați."
Alucard tightened his grip on her as Walter and Integra walked in behind him.
"Știu, dragostea mea. Cu toate acestea, permiteți-mi acest lucru doar pentru câteva momente." He mumbled into the fabric of his hat as he walked down the hallway, leading to his basement. He knew for a fact that the basement had to be colder than upstairs, but going down there wasn't avoidable. A change of clothes was going to be the first thing that needed to happen because he remembered how his queen had a habit of sleeping in thin floor length gowns… well, they were suppose to be floor length, but she hated the 'restriction' of long gowns so she usually cut the gown to reach her knees. It was considered scandalous and very improper when she first started doing it, the labels she gained for her clothing preferences followed her everywhere she went back in Bristol. Of course, Alucard never had an issue with it since she never wore her gowns outside of their bedroom but after her brief explanation on why she tore her clothing, he could partially understand where she was coming from.
As expected, he felt her shudder in his arms as he descended down the stairs. He supposed it would be in everyone's best interest to have a heating unit placed down here or request a room upstairs that already had it installed. He would have to talk the details of it over with Integra and Walter when they would, no doubt, call him to the office within the next ten minutes for him to explain why he has a wife… seemed like it would be obvious why he was married, but he would break it down a little more for their mortal brains to comprehend if it came down to it.
He walked over to his coffin, that had been shoved against the wall behind the single throne placed in the middle of the room, after placing her down on the cold stone. He didn't have a wide variety of clothing at his disposal considering he only needed three changes of clothes maximum; that was only because he kept getting bullet holes and blood stains on missions that forced Walter to order him new shirts and pants. He opened the coffins lid where he normally kept his shirts, ties, vests, and dress pants neatly folded. He barely ever slept seeing as his subconsciousness loved to haunt him with better forgotten memories; the occasions he did give into napping, he used the throne. He didn't see a point in hopping in and out of his casket every few hours trying to decide if he wanted to test the waters of what his mind had prepared for him.
"Here, my regina." He dropped the clean spare of his clothes across the armrest of the throne before walking back over to his casket to give her a chance to change. It would probably be best to move to a room upstairs considering a bathroom wasn't accessible from down here and her habit of taking frequent baths was nearly every other day; to be fair though, she was always doing some physical workout. He never faulted her for her habits, probably because she always had a legitimate reason to why or how she did something. Alucard made a mental note to also have Walter tailor his Queen a few clothes that suited her tastes; as much as he liked her wearing his clothes, he loved her style of dress as well. That, and he was certain she would like her own outfits.
"You know, a belt would be useful, Ally." Her voice took on a playful tone. The vampire grinned as he scooped up the leather belt from the lid of the casket, carelessly tossing it over his shoulder.
"Really now?" He decided to muse as he waited. The subtle rustle of fabric was the only sound that filled the expanse of the room. Alucard took the moment to straighten up his tie and smooth out the wrinkles in his white button up shirt and dark vest. It felt strange to be without his coat, his hat was ok, but his coat rarely left his being. He supposed it would be more practical to just wear his suit instead of always wearing his signature red jacket becau..-
"Because it makes you seem like an attention whore, love."
He chuckled as he turned around, "Your subtleness is outstanding, dear." It had been a long time since he had last seen her in his clothing. The pants he had given her was a little too long as well as the sleeves of the white dress shirt that covered her fingertips. "You look beautiful, my Regina." He wasn't going to tell her how his clothes made her look even tinier than normal or how hard it was to not just stay locked up down in the basement with her like he wanted to. Perhaps her presence would make working at the manor more … bearable than it was now; or better yet, make the people more manageable.
"Lead the way."
Alucard raised an eyebrow from behind his orange and yellow tinted glasses. Where was he suppose to be leading the way to?
"Integra's office. We shouldn't be rude enough to keep them waiting any longer than necessary, right?" It was a rhetorical question and Alucard knew that, but he still nodded his head as he went to pick her up once more; but he didn't quite get the chance as she wrapped her fingers around his forearm.
"I can walk. For me to have perfectly good legs, you have been carrying me a lot."
He frowned, using his supernatural speed to swoop her up into his arms. "Does it bother you that much that I want to be close to my wife, who I haven't seen in seventy years?" He made his way slowly towards the stairs. In no form or fashion, was he looking forward to the conversation that was going to be held with his master; she would probably try to draw this out into several hours.
"Touche. However, you can be just as 'close' to me by letting me walk. I'm sure holding your hand would not be considered too long of a distance for the King of the Undead…?" His only reply to her response was a subtle tenacious tightening of his fingers before they loosened again; too busy trying to think of a way to end the meeting quickly.
"Who would have ever thought that the King of Vampires is clingy?" She jabbed, giggling quietly under her breath as she rolled up the sleeves of her husband's shirt so it rested at her elbows. Alucard felt his eye twitch at the taunting remark. He wasn't clingy; he just didn't fully trust her safety now that she was awake and out of her coffin. It wouldn't be long until she was wanting to go on her 'exploring' adventures around the towns; so any enemies he bared would find out about her return quickly. He wasn't going to trap her within the Hellsing manor, she thrived on freedom. As long as she came back to him, he didn't mind that she went out.
He scowled as he took notice of the dark cherry wood door of Integra's office. Damn, the walk to her office from his room was faster than he remembered. Using the shadows, he stepped through the sheetrock with ease, not liking the sight that greeted him.
"Omg! She's so beautiful, Master!" Seras gushed as she wiggled in her spot in front of Integra's desk. Pip smirked as he watched the former police officer rant excitedly under her breath about 'slumber parties' and 'blackmail for Alucard'. She hadn't stop talking about the vampire Queen since the helicopter; she acted like a child on Christmas. He turned to look at the woman who was only going to make working at the Hellsing manor more hellish. The smirk on his lips dropped causing him to blink in surprise. He wasn't certain what he expected, but the petite woman in Alucard's arms was the last thing he envisioned as the 'Queen of the Undead'; a demon fit for a monster.
Instead of Alucard's bulky red coat and abnormally huge hat, the woman had been dressed in a white button up shirt paired with nice black slacks; it was obvious she was borrowing her husband's clothing. She looked more along the lines of a expensive collector's doll with her tiny stature, pale flawless complexion, and gorgeously wide bright emerald green eyes. Instead of dark brown, or even black hair, ringlets of pastel pink fell around her shoulder and face. A small purple diamond sat in the center of her forehead, with no visible aid to hold it within its place.
"...Wow…" Pip felt his cheeks burn as he silently agreed with Seras; Alucard's wife was adorable. How the hell did a psychotic asshole like Alucard able to land such a beautiful woman?
Alucard snarled as he tightened his grip around his wife, seeing and hearing Pip's reaction. If he kept up his gawking, Alucard would carve his remaining eye from his skull before feeding it to him. It was his wife that he was so b-...
"Which is exactly why you should calm down. I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you walking like a turtle here has already made us rather late." He blinked as his arms were suddenly empty and his lover was standing with her back against his chest. He didn't stop himself from glaring as he wrapped his arms around her waistline possessively.
"Yes, I would like to start getting some answers on why no one was informed on… your wife's existence?" Integra leaned back in her chair behind the desk, her blue eyes sharp as she stared down Alucard as if she could kill him with that alone.
"I didn't see how it would matter to you. Not like you ever asked me of my marital status either."
Integra scowled as she started to stand up from her desk,"It's my business when you are allowing the 'queen' of vampires to go unsupervised when we have a war supposedly rising up with an unknown opponent!"
Alucard scowled as he took a step forward, going around his wife. "It's the Nazis!"
Pip watched as the pink haired woman slammed her hand over Alucard's chest with enough force to make him stumble back to her side. He didn't give the same reaction as everyone else did as the Queen gave an irritated sigh.
"Regele meu, you would think you would have formed better patience over all these years." She patted down the wrinkles she caused in his vest before turned her bright green eyes towards the lady who seemed to be in charge. "I realize your cause of concern, Ma'am. However, it seems my husband has left you uninformed and I believe there is a misunderstanding arising from all of this.
"
Integra furrowed her eyebrows as she pushed her glasses up, settling back down in her chair. "Then do please tell us what we are misunderstanding?" She didn't believe she was misinterpreting anything.
"It seems that since I am married to a slightly unhinged vampiric King, I am expected to be from the vampire species myself; but I can most definitely assure you I am not, much to my husbands dismay."
The rooms occupants went still at that revelation. Alucard blinked as he observed how Integra's face twisted from confusion to relief before returning back to confusion. Did they all really think that his dragă was a vampire? He couldn't hold back the chuckle that slowly turned into full out laughter making Pip want to take a few steps back in caution; Alucard's laugh was unsettling to hear. "You all believed my dragă to be an actual vampire?! And this is supposed to be the top dog of investigating the supernatural side of things. You're so wet behind your ears, despite how long I have worked under you; You can't even identify a vampire, Master." The mocking tone wasn't lost on anyone in the room.
Integra sighed as she rubbed her temples to ease away the headache she had gained from stressing out over the entire situation. Walter silently handed her a aspirin and bottle of water before turning to the pink haired girl with a small smile, "Ah, forgive me. My name is Walter C. Dornez. I do apologize on the behalf of everyone for assuming you are a vampire." He gave a short brisk bow, feeling a little guilty at not introducing himself immediately like he normally would.
She blinked as she stared at Walter's face, her eyebrows shooting up. She glanced over at her husband before looking back at Walter, her lips tilting downward. By kami, did Walter have a unknown brother? Or even a child? The only difference she could tell was that Walter had a little bit of a larger nose than Alucard's and he was older (physically). She gave a short bow of her own once she realized she was staring a little too long. "Nice to meet you, Walter. I'm Sakura Haruno."