Where am I? What happened?
Seras Victoria slowly opened her eyes, a blinding light forcing her to shut them quickly. A low groan sounded through the room as she attempted to sit up, her sore limbs and swirling head dropping her back to the bed.
A bed? Seras thought with some confusion, feeling the soft sheets and comfortable pillow beneath her. She bit her lip to distract herself from the panic rising in her mind, trying to keep a firm grip on the reality she now found herself to be in. To remain calm would help her to figure out how she came about in this unknown place. And concentrating on what had happened to place her in such a situation.
Seras’ eyes shot open and she lifted herself from the bed as the memories flooded her mind, not caring about the bright lights in her struggle to comprehend what had happened. Her fellow comrades had died, called to some twisted version of hell with insane vampires and false priests. She had been the only person left alive, everyone else rising from their mortal wounds and obeying the demented Father with the red eyes. She had broken from harm and fought for her life, only to be captured by the filthy fake.
Then her ‘savior’ had come, blood red hat and coat standing out starkly from the gloom of the darkness. The priest had used her as a shield, spitting cowardice words and begging for his own pathetic existence. The red clad stranger had ignored him, his full attention on her. He’d spoken, giving her a choice; die or come.
Seras held her head in her hands as she thought over her decision carefully, for the first time without the distraction of time and impending death. Her ‘hero’ had obviously been a vampire himself and, judging by his actions, he was as unstable as the one she had been fighting against. The truth was completely bare to her and her eyes widened in horror. A maniacal vampire had given her the choice of death or damnation, and she had chosen the latter.
My god, what have I done?
“I see you are awake” a voice suddenly commented from beside her.
Jumping at the sudden intrusion into her deep thoughts, Seras quickly turned her head only to breath a sigh of relief. Before her stood a harmless enough old gentleman, his prim suit and monocle a healthy reminder she was still in the land of the living. A small smile lay on his lips as he slowly walked over to her, and she noticed a pail in one hand containing a strange colored bag.
“My name is Walter” he said, introducing himself with a short bow. “I thought you might be hungry, Miss.....?”
“Seras Victoria” she said, greeting him with a smile. “And yes, I am a little hungry” she added, eying the parcel in his hand.
Setting the pail beside her bed, Walter pulled out the small bag and Seras noticed the article contained a red liquid. Tearing off a small cap attached to a long straw, he held out the object within her reach.
“What is it?” Seras questioned, grasping the bag in her hand. She held the strange liquid up to the bright lights, her discomfort forgotten as she attempted to deduce the contents. Nothing aroused her suspicion, though from a small stickiness on one side a label had obviously been removed.
“Merely some nourishment” Walter said, encouraging her on with a gentle nod.
Seras gave the ‘nourishment’ one last glance before shrugging her shoulders and placing the tube in her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she took a tentative sip. Her eyes widened as the liquid touched upon her tongue, a strangely delicious taste reaching her sense. She eagerly drank the remaining contents, though a nagging thought arose in her mind as she pulled the straw from her mouth.
“Sir Integra has ordered me to take you to her” Walter spoke, taking the bag from her hands. “She is the head of the organization.”
“Organization?” Seras asked, raising a brow in some confusion.
“The Hellsing Organization” he explained. “If you are feeling well enough, do you care for me to escort you?”
Suddenly a figure appeared to float through the floor, the familiar red coat and black hair showing him to be the person Seras had met in the woods. The tall man stood between herself and the one called Walter, his back turned toward her as a low chuckle echoed along the walls.
“Alucard” the elderly gentleman spoke, obviously addressing the new arrival. “A good evening to you. I was about to bring Miss Victoria to Sir Integra” Walter said, attempting to move around the elder vampire.
“She is coming with me” Alucard stated, acting as if the retainer’s idea was ludicrous.
“I apologize Lord Alucard, but Sir Integra has expressly asked for the young woman to see her” Walter argued, narrowing his eyes toward the nosferatu. He was about to push past the tall figure when a loud growl broke from the elder vampire’s throat. The retainer immediately stopped and looked at Alucard with a face of shock, his mouth slightly agape. In all his years of knowing the vampire, he had never seen the psychotic midian become so protective of an individual.
“Master vampires, after they have sired a child, have the instinct to protect the new fledgling for an indefinite period of time” the vampire reluctantly explained, giving the retainer a wary glance of distrust.
Walter’s face showed an indecisive emotion, struggling on whether to frown upon the comment or laugh at the elder vampire’s expense. He had been given a direct order from the Hellsing leader and did not wish to allow the vampire to interrupt the assignment, while the unknown time would certainly be bothersome for knowing exactly when Alucard would release the girl. However, the mentioned instinct reminded the elderly retainer of the action of a mother hen to her newborn chicks.
Seras impatiently listened to the conversation before her, her face turning between the red-clad nosferatu and the kindly retainer. Hearing what the insane vampire had planned and realizing she would be alone with him for an undefined amount of time, she vehemently shook her head at the proposition.
“She appears not to want to go with you, Alucard” Walter commented, noticing her movement behind the master vampire. He took a tentative step toward the midian with the hope of reasoning with him. “Perhaps she will be better left in my-.”
“She has no choice” Alucard growled, turning his blazing eyes on his new ‘apprentice.’
Seras cringed from the disapproving glare of the scarlet gaze, moving back on the bed until she was stopped by a gloved hand suddenly wrapping around her ankle. A pained cry escaped her lips as she heard a faint but indistinguishable crack from her bones, showing his hold had broken a part of her leg.
“Now, now, my pet” Alucard hissed, tightening his grip on her leg. “We mustn’t move until I am finished.”
Seras winced at his tone of voice but held still, both to obey his command and lessen the pain shooting up her leg. Unfortunately, try as she might a slight tremor continuously ran through her body and a slight whimper was heard from her. Alucard sneered at her obvious show of discomfort but did lighten his hold on her now swelling appendage, turning his attention back to Walter.
“Miss Hellsing will learn patience when dealing with my servant” Alucard said, his eyes flashing for a moment in vexation. “She is mine to control and do as I please.”
Seras liked less and less where the insane vampire called Alucard was leading his statement. The idea of being a psychotic midian’s personal slave was less than appealing, especially considering how he had treated her so far in their encounter; first shooting her in the chest and now breaking her ankle beyond repair were large marks against him.
“Quiet, Police Girl.”
Seras looked frantically around herself as the voice spoke, realizing she had understood the words but had not heard the voice speaking aloud. A sudden pressure on her ankle, apparently a reprimand, brought a grimace to her face and an understanding to her mind. Looking toward her new ‘master’ she noticed him peering at her out of the corner of his eye, an annoyed expression within its depths.
He had spoken to her using telepathy.
“You may deliver her meals to my room until she is released” Alucard continued, apparently unfazed by the self-interruption of telepathic speech. Having given the order to the retainer, he swiftly released Seras’ leg and wrapped his arm around her waist. Ignoring the surprised squeak from the young vampire, he pulled her off the bed and leaned her weight against his side.
Walter was once more about to object to the treatment when a dark portal appeared below the two vampires, forcing him to step back from them. Both disappeared within a matter of moments from his view, leaving only an empty space where they had stood.
“Oh, bother.”