"Hidden in truths lie lies, hidden in lies hides the truth."

The cool evening breeze blew out and softly swept of the landscape. The full moon was shining and the stars were unusually bright. The tall dried yellowed grass on the large hill top swayed gently in the breezy ether. The soundless silence of the clearing was somewhat oppressive. The animals there were some deer and rabbit. The deer were beautiful with the moon gleaming of their smooth short coats of summer fur. Suddenly all deer and animals within the clearing looked up and stiffened as one when the breeze brought a new scent along. Without preamble all animals on the hilltop took of running for cover. The deer ran down and to the forest located there, the rabbits all jumped as fast as they could go to their holes, likewise even all bugs seemed to melt away and into hiding. The cicadas stopped buzzing, the crickets hopped away and the fireflies flew away. Soon there was no longer anything on the lonely hilltop but the moons radiance. Why had the animals gone?

As if to answer that question a young woman about the age of nineteen stepped onto the valley that led to the hill top. She carried no flashlight and did not seem to need it. She was a petite five feet on the dot and had pale skin like snowy white ivory. Her skin appeared flawless and oddly enough for someone of her age there was not a pimple or freckle anywhere. Her hair was a golden red color and was richly colored like a carrot; it was also short and hung down to her shoulders in a spiky fashion. Her eyes strangely enough were crimson red, their swimming scarlet depths like the river Nile running red with blood.

She wore a blindingly white, thin satin dress which went all the way down to her toe tips of her shoes. The sleeves of the dress went all the way down to her fingertips and concealed the long elegant, slender digits attached to her small hand. What little of her fingertips could be seen showed of her fingernails which were long, black and sharpened to the point like slender claws that were smooth but viscously razor-sharp at the point like cats claws. It had a V-neck that showed off her sizable chest that wasn't moving up and down showing breath that's wasn't moving in and out. She was not breathing but walking just fine. Her tiny waste was shown off by the hugging attributes of the dress. The dress left little to imagination. It was also a rather beautiful one; with no patterns or colors to it, almost as it had all colors sucked out of it bleached as white as the moon. The shoes she was wearing were high heels of a sinister black color as only the darkest coals could achieve and contrasted with the dress. She was wearing a pair of diamond teardrop earrings and a pearl necklace with a single solitary diamond in the shape of a teardrop dangling off the end.

The woman carried a folding chair, an easel, a canvas and a square wooden, rectangular box that almost looked like a suitcase. The box itself was one foot wide, one foot long and half a foot thick. The easel was rather large and was metal clearly meant for holding substantial weight and withstanding abuse. She made no noise as she walked. There was an elegant stealth about her in the way that even when she was not trying she managed to stay silent. Even when she walked over graveled rocks and already cracked shale her feet made no sounds. Her head was held high and back straight she walked on while her ruby red eyes observed the last animals left in the valley running in fright of her. She ignored this and continued walking.

Walking swiftly along the moonlit valley with the lone hill she reached the base and quickly started climbing it. Everything around her was bleached silver and colorless by the lunar light. Yellow and blue became pale white, black became gray, red and purple became black, pink and green became silver. The world was beautiful with the world looking washed anew and reborn like a phoenix out of the ashes. When the woman reached the apex of the hill the set down her easel and box, arranging the chair and easel she set herself up facing the forest and the rising moon that appeared unusually large. Sitting down the woman stared at the valley for a while with her arms limp at her sides barley concealed hands dangling. Eventually seconds stretched into minutes and minutes spanned into an hour. The way she just sat there staring at the valley you would think she had all the time in the world. It looked to be midnight but the woman did not seem tired at all.

Suddenly the woman bent over and picked up the paint tray and a bottle of clear liquid. The paint tray was already mottled with different colors and seemed to just need water which she had. Dipping her paint brush in the dater she dabbed at the paint tray and got some color off of it before turning her attention to the black canvas resting on the easel. She began to paint slowly. The unhurried way she painted the heavens and its lustrous round moon was slothful and attentive. The painstakingly leisure and precise way she worked to capture the trees and the black and sliver whiteness under the moon on canvas was even slower. She really did behave as if she did not have to beholden to time itself. She was doing things the slow way, the way the rest of the world had seemed to have forgotten.

So she continued to paint and paint and paint slowly and the image started to take shape. She painted way until the early hours of the night even though the moon was far behind her now. She had been awake and up all night yet she still did not seem the least bit tired or sleepy at all. She was wide awake and teeming with energy. Putting her brush down, the woman finished and smiled admiring her work. It was a beautiful replica with the moon shining bright over bleached sliver trees, the stars and midnight blues and blacks everywhere.

Yes she did things the slow way. Time answered to no one and continued for everyone. Except for her and the rest of her vampire race. After all, time meant very little to the vampire Seras Victoria these days. She was the age of nineteen today. She would be the age of nineteen in fifty years from now. She would be the age of nineteen in one hundred years from now. She had stopped aging that day in the small village of Cheddar and even being freed from her master Alucard did not age her. She looked the same as ever. Yet she was more different looking than ever. She used to be timid and scared. She use to be uncertain hesitant when she looked upon the world. Now she was fearless and bold. Now she was certain of her abilities and laughed in the faced of death before throwing herself into battle without hesitation or 'what ifs' on her mouth.

Her mood was soured by remembering her old master though. She could still remember the pain and the hurt she felt when he told her he didn't want her around anymore and that she was 'useless'. It wasn't her fault though. Alucard as her master had never paid much attention to her and when he did it was to criticize her. He never taught her any vampire skills even when she worked up the courage to ask to be taught. The only skill she had learned in her time with Hellsing was the third eye and that she had learned herself on her second mission for Hellsing. When Seras was free she spent ten years teaching herself everything that she knew vampires could do.

It had taken her ten years but she finally had self-taught everything she had seen her master do: re-generating clothing, summoning familiars, calling upon the darkness within, creating dark portals, walking through walls, reading minds, mind control, illusions, levitation, turning into mist, turning into any animal she wanted, the ability to change hair length and color and eye color at will, lifting objects with her mind and entering other peoples dreams. Most of those abilities needed control to perform: control over ones self and control over others. To move through walls and transform her appearance or into an animal she needed control over herself. To do things like create illusions and mind control she needed control over others.

If there was one thing her Alucard said that Seras completely agreed with it was that no matter how hard you try to grip onto your humanity it will fade with time. Seras completely agreed. She had been a vampire for forty-eight years now and couldn't remember what it felt like to be human all. She found that she didn't mind very much. She certainly enjoyed hunting humans now. Their blood was a drug to her that she could not get enough of. She hadn't known when it started but it was definitely sometime after she left Alucard that she stopped feeling guilty about hunting. She had simply stopped… caring. She hunted without remorse and ate whenever she wanted. She especially enjoyed it when she scared the living daylights out of the humans and listening to them plead for mercy as she stalked towards them. It always made the hunt that much better. The human's blood always tasted better when they were scared witless into tears or if they were hopped up on adrenalin and lust.

Sensing that the sun would be coming up soon Seras turning to the now dry canvas and put it in the plastic bag she had brought with her. She quickly packed up the folding chair and the easel after putting the paint tray and her brushes into the wooden box. Seras realized that she had sat there for far too long, she cursed profusely before picking all of her painting equipment up faster than before. She took off running far faster than any human could hope to keep up with towards the town at a reckless speak with far more grace than a ballerina. Quickly reaching the edge of town she abruptly turned left and ran four miles before entering a cave. She passed by a sign that said "Abandoned mine: danger. Keep out". The mines weren't really unstable. Seras had put that sign there herself. The people in the town knew better than to go near the mines now. She liked her privacy.

It was rather brilliant in Seras opinion. She had brainwashed the miners to dig an underground hideout. The village is based right up against a sheer cliff side and the mountain went on for miles and miles east, north and west. The miners spent several months digging smooth tunnels miles in before going home with altered memories to tell their wives that the dig wasn't going so well. Seras found it funny that after so much time they hadn't managed to start resisting her influence over them. It was a simple perception alteration. She steadily fed all four hundred and eight miners false memories of them harshly digging into rock for minerals leaving it jagged while they joked with their friends, when in reality they were building rooms with smooth perfect hallways connecting them. There were five total floors to her underground house. Each floor led to a 'balcony' so that she could observe the moon. The 'balcony' really was just an open hole in the wall with a slider door to block out the sun whenever she wanted.

Of course with all that space she had gotten lonely. This was soon remedied in the form of her fledgling. Three years ago Seras had created a fledgling.. Seras had been in Paris France nearly three years ago when she observed a human Rochelle being attacked and the loneliness of thirty-eight years she couldn't bear any longer. She had asked if Rochelle wanted to become one of them and Rochelle accepted. Rochelle reminded Seras of herself when she was a fledgling. But more than that Rochelle was like a little sibling sister she never had. Seras hadn't realized it but before she had gotten Rochelle as a friend she had been descending into an inescapable madness of despair, violence and hate. She had been killing to lash out at the world around her for her pain and heartbreak making her behavior little better than a crazed blood lusting newborn.

Now Seras wasn't alone anymore. Vampires can be solitary creatures but they are not meant to be. A female's ability to give birth underlines this aspect of vampire nature. They are supposed to find mates and create children. Loosing Alucard in such a way had damaged her heart and she couldn't consider taking a mate. Seras will never admit this but she needs Rochelle far more than Rochelle will ever need her and she fears the day that Rochelle will realize this and leaves her like all the rest had. They all leave eventually. Her parents, her police partners, her military team and then there was Alucard. Alucard's brutal and uncaring dismissal had hurt worst than any abandonment she had ever experienced.

Her cave home had been finished twelve years ago and she really was content with it. She had come to this town and found it ideal. Seras had grown tired of being a nomad never being able to keep any of her paintings and things, always selling them off. In her free time she painted. Along with the date she always signed her paintings on the back as "Trais Varicose", an anagram of her own name, in loopy scrawling cursive before selling them. She had sold hundred of her paintings before. Perhaps other vampires would scoff but Seras loved painting the night around her, loved the way the night blackened the lands on a night with no moon or bathed the world with pale white colors on a full moon. Or the way the silence of the world echoed over everything. It was a remote village called Baron North of Marseille, France. Seras never wanted to see England again. She never wanted to see London again either. She never wanted to see HIM again. If he didn't want her, then she didn't want him. At least that's what she kept telling herself desperately hoping she would start to believe it someday.

There were mountains thousands of feet tall and grassy rolling hills for miles and miles with rivers and streams from the ocean interloping its way across the land. The nature around her was almost as a good as the view of New Zealand at night. It's a pity that the Vatican caught wind of activity vampire there, with all the deaths she had caused from feeding, forcing her to leave. Baron was such an ideal location because there was a highway that ran just on the outside of town of tired truckers, people needing a quick night in a hotel before they continued their travels, and a steady stream of hikers wanting to try to climb the giant rock cliffs that dotted the country sides around the valley. They were sort of natural earth towers that were hundreds of feet into the air and Seras could to feed as often as she wanted and the humans would blame all the disappearances on mountain accidents.

Going down to the lower floors Seras dropped her painting in a bag, the easel and wooden suitcase. Seras sensed that Rochelle was asleep already in the floor below her. She turned to the large black marble coffin and stumbled over to it feeling very tired all of the sudden and Seras knew the sun must be rising now. Among vampires Seras was still considered extremely young in their standards which meant she would have to wait at least three more years before she would be able to stay up later. Rochelle would have to wait forty eight years to reach her fifty first years of unlife. Fledglings and newborns were susceptible to falling asleep almost immediately as soon as the sun rises because of the uncontrollable exhaustion that overcomes them. It wasn't until they became fifty-one that the need for so much sleep faded. Slipping into the plus insides of her coffin Seras dragged the marble lid wincing at how the already loud sound hurt her very sensitive ears. Yawning widely she closed her eyes and slept soundly waiting for when sunset would wake her again once more so she could feed and to train her fledgling. Till then she would sleep.

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"Target has been confirmed. Move in NOW. GO!" A deep male voice was heard his voice crackling in over a headset radio to the troops waiting. "At all costs do not destroy anything but the vampire. The vampire is young and weak so it should be easy to kill without destroying any art."

There were three hundred soldiers in black body armor resembling U.S SWAT team minus the shields waiting out in the darkened night for their orders and they had just gotten them. Their specialized guns were being held at the ready and they were all wearing a familiar symbol and insignia sewn into their clothing. It was the Hellsing soldiers and they were moving in on a rogue fledgling newly freed, weak, and out of control. Not a freak but a real vampire. The freaks had all been killed off along with millennium long ago but that didn't stop the upsurge of fledglings that freed themselves from their masters too soon and going on a killing spree. For some reason the fledgling was in the Tate international modern and contemporary Art museum near Westminster, London. There was an upcoming showing for a new anonymous artist who liked to paint landscapes as he had been constantly hearing from his human master. More than that there were some valuable sculptures in there and they were not allowed to destroy them.

Moving in the military grade boots pounded up the brown brick stairs to the entrance and burst in. Moving quietly two groups of fifty branched off to one side and the other took the left hallway down to the modern sculptures exhibit. The first group divided up into twenty five and moved downstairs while the second went upstairs. The same was happening at every exit with the other soldiers. All around the Tate museum Hellsing soldiers were pouring in looking for the rogue vampire that was causing so much trouble. The security systems had been disabled and the cameras were off.

Alucard observed this without interest or care. He was insulted though that those humans would call the pathetic weakling a vampire. The humans and their petty silver toys they called guns did not interest him. His master had ordered him to hunt down and kill an out of control fledgling and that's what he would do. The fledgling interested him more. A actual vampire, instead of the cheap imitations called freaks he used to deal with, as well as who would be so foolish as to make a fledgling and then just let it loose on the streets of London with Hellsing around interested Alucard. At the very least he would get some entertainment in killing the weak thing. Alucard sighed mentally though, because these days it was becoming all to common to be free a fledgling too early as a weakling with no abilities before going on a killing spree with no self-control thinking they owned the world.

The train of thought surprisingly made him think about his former fledgling police girl. Alucard smirked. She always hated that name and since her anger was beautiful it's why he used it so often around her. His smirk faded off his lips and turned into an ugly frown. He hadn't wanted to get rid of Seras. He had wanted to poke and prod her until she accepted her vampire nature and unlocked the wealth of potential he had sense radiating off her that night in Cheddar while she was still human. It was almost choking Alucard that night when he first saw her, a simple human at first glance but all you needed were vampire senses to look a little closer and it was astoundingly overwhelming.

Alucard had seen it but that pathetic scum excuse for a priest had not and was about to take away Seras's ability to become his. He had died painfully, of course, after Alucard took control of his mind to lift Seras up and use her as a human shield, giving Alucard the excuse to shoot the police girl and turn her. The potential, the purity, the power there was far to promising to allow her to live as a meek, frail human mortal to continue on and age before dying pointlessly. All it had taken that night was to… tweak the circumstances. Seras had been by far more promising than any of his previous fledglings and most of all she was loyal. She wanted to serve him. Alucard had wanted to keep her.

She was very easy on the eyes with the perfect hourglass figure, golden red hair that flowed out behind her like blood, and beautiful pale skin. Alucard imagined what it would be like to hold her wrists down on the bed as he took her. Alucard had never told her that he had intentions to take her as a mate and smirked at the mental image of what her face would look like when he made his intentions clear. It wouldn't be hard either, police girl still believed in love the last time he saw he saw her and her dreams were… interesting to say the least.

It had frustrated Alucard to no end when she had denied her vampire side at first, refusing to drink blood. It had made Alucard happy to see her slowly but surly come to terms with herself and started drinking blood at least from the medical bags. He had been even happier when she finally started hunting from humans on her own after the battle with millennium was done and gone. He was even prouder when she had managed to summon the darkness within and enjoy killing others.

Seras was becoming a true nosferatu which was why he was so angry when a year after the end of millennium he heard his master talking to Walter about how Seras was becoming too dangerous unbound to her bloodline and that she must be bound or killed. Fearing such an outcome Alucard had forced Seras to drink his blood so as to free her before telling her to 'leave and never come back'. He had intentions to track Seras down as soon as his master died and get her back. Oh sure Integra planned to lock him up before she died but Alucard had counter measures for that.

Seras had tearfully begged him to let her stay and asked what she had done. She pleaded with him and said that she had finally started hunting and learning her skills. She wanted another chance to prove she wasn't weak and that she could still serve and be of use to him. This made him even angrier at the situation and not at Seras but because of how loyal she was and being forced to get rid of such a loyal servant did not sit well with Alucard. Alucard finally had to resort to methods which would make it hard for him to claim her once more. He knew she would be hurt for this. Alucard wished he could have held back that night but he needed to make it convincing. He had hit her across the face and into the wall across the room, calling her a 'weak pathetic excuse for a vampire'. He continued to lie, saying that she was useless and that she was to never come near him anymore, that he didn't have a need for weaklings.

He also remembered that night as well as the one in Cheddar.

Crack. "Ahhhhhh!" A hand flew. A cry of pain. A body cracked into the wall with such force that the wall cracked; a crack that remains today. The crunch of bones. Pain and suffering, blood and broken bones, tears and anguish of the heart radiated through to Alucard from the slowly diminishing mental link. He had just forced her to drink his blood and master to her he was no more. His ability to know her thoughts without effort was fading fast.

Her blood streamed down her face from where her jaw had been broken. Her body was wracked with agony and pain. Blood spewed forth from the woman's back at an alarming speed and cracked bone was seen sticking out. Her legs and arms were stuck out at all the wrong angles. All of the sudden the bleeding stopped and like some sort of tape playing backwards the blood gathered together and ran upwards before gushing backwards into the woman's back. Bones realigned with sickening snaps and crunches, skin knitted back together looking flawless and without a scar, jaws bones mending and soon there was just a woman laying on floor gasping for air she didn't need waiting for the pain to stop, matted in the bit of black looking blood on the floor she had not re-absorbed. Her mouth had his blood on it that she hadn't wanted to drink. Rivets of scarlet liquid trailed down her cheek from her eyes; From crying. It drip dropped onto the floor. The smell of her virgin blood and potential was intoxicating for him. He ignored it. This was for Seras's own good

.

Alucard watched with no small amount of pride as she healed herself. The power and potential he normally sensed from her had increased to magnificently large portions from drinking his blood and being freed.

Dearly not wanting to do this he spoke anyways. "Leave police girl. I have no use for you anymore. You are weak, talent-less, a pain in the ass and of no interest to me anymore. Leave and never come back." He made his voice harsh and uncaring, as if he was speaking to one of the pathetic vampire replicas millennium had created. Just before their master/fledgling link died completely he felt her mental agony and distress increase ten fold.

Crawling up on her hands and knees Seras continued to weep and beg. "Please. What did I do wrong? I swear I wont do it again master, I-"

Alucard snarled. "Weren't you listening? I'm not your master any more, filth. Leave my sight or I'll kill you. You don't interest me anymore."

Seras quietly asked "if that was the case why did you turn me in the first place? Would have you rather I had said 'no' and been left bleeding on the cold floor of the chapel that night in Cheddar?"

No, no I wouldn't have. But I can't keep you for now Seras. Run for your very un-life. Save yourself Seras. Run, run, run, run and hide. It was what Alucard desperately wanted to say but Seras couldn't stay. His master wanted to kill the woman he wanted as a mate. Putting on an even colder glare and a look of distaste he decided to go for another lie. It seemed to be the only way to get rid of her.

"I turned you because I though you were interesting but now I see that your just a useless imitation, no better than those millennium freaks so easily killed with a silver bullet. You were beautiful and to me it was like having artwork in the entrance hall. I'm done with you. Hurry up and leave."

Seras stared at him the pain clear in her eyes for several silent minutes. Slowly she got up and wiped the layer of dust from his room's floor off of her and stood. She looked a little thoughtful before the pain faded from her face only to be replaced with anger. Anger and hatred in the most pure and unadulterated form. Oh how beautiful her anger was.

"Fine Alucard." She spits his name as if it were ashes in her mouth. "Fine. You've made your point. I'm not wanted. I don't even know why I stuck around in this hellhole with you as long as I did. Tell Integra and Walter 'thank you for everything'. I'll never darken your doorstep ever again. Good luck freeing yourself from being Integra's servant. I hope she locks you up before she dies and that you rot." She spat angrily. Turing around Seras marched to the door and walked through it without another backwards glance.

Alucard watched her go with regret. He watched her go to her room and grab and backpack and several jeans, shirts, bra, underwear and hoodies before angrily stuffing them into her backpack. Then she got the tiny trash can and dumped the contents on the floor before viscously ripping the satin lining on her coffin up to reveal a foot long thick layer of dusty dirt; dirt from her birth place. She scooped up the dirt into the trash can before shouldering the backpack. Going to the closet once more Seras changed out of her blood streak clothing and put on jeans, a halter top and tennis shoes. She left the room with her can of earth from her birthplace not even bothering to close the door. Seras even left her harkannon behind. She left the mansion and quickly started running south west until Alucard could no longer sense her.

True to police girls word he had not seen a hide or hair of her since for forty-one years. He hadn't even sensed her in England anymore after a few days later when she had left meaning that she had left the country of England. There was the problem of where to find her afterwards but Alucard wasn't too worried. Her sent was pungent and called to him like a drug, her aura had radiated with the power and potential she had yet to unlock. He had been able to sense her for hundreds of miles around when Seras was his slave and was sure he could do that now. It made Alucard wonder how she had changed and what powers she had unlocked.

Gun shots fired caused Alucard to stop musing and focused his senses. Ignoring the busts of people on pedestals around him he sniffed and smelled what he was looking for. His senses told him this was the right floor. Walking forward he came into a large room, perfectly round and twenty feet across. The gallery exhibit the humans were so excited about was here and his master Integra planned to go to it. The walls were lined with hundreds of paintings all by the same person. Looking upon the scene in amusement he watched as the male fledgling slashed the throats of several Hellsing soldiers and took them down before they killed him. The fledgling had brown hair and crimson eyes; Nothing very remarkable. Contrary to Alucard's belief that the fledgling would try to feed from the now dead Hellsing soldiers the fledgling just ignored the dead men and started walking around sniffing the air hungrily, seeming to be looking for something with an air of desperation.

He watched this with raised eyebrows, more than just a little curious. What could this pitiful young creature be looking for? It certainly didn't seem to have the usual fledgling hunger madness he encountered these days when masters did not take proper care for their fledglings, which meant it was in a sane state of mind. Deciding this would be informative and amusing he stepped forward and cleared his throat. The fledgling spun around and realized it wasn't a human but a full fledge vampire standing there instantly. Alucard relished the fear that flashed onto the males face before he hid it. Alucard noted that the fledgling narrowed its eyes, meaning it hadn't achieved night vision yet, before they widened to the size of dinner plate. Then the youngling did something much unexpected.

It dropped to its hands and knees and bowed with its face on the floor. Then it spoke pleadingly. "Please don't kill me sire. I meant no disrespect." The male youngling's voice clearly was usually deep but it had gone high pitched from nervousness and terror in the face of the seven hundred year old powerful vampire. Alucard's grin widened considerably. This one is at least more intelligent than the others, Alucard thought. Not only did it recognize a vampire from the old days when it saw one, but could recognize Alucard as the vampire king. What's more was that it knew to and how to respect the sovereign of vampires. Perhaps he would give it a painless death?

"What are you doing here young one? You are causing quite the problem. I have been given orders because of you." Alucard had very little company to entertain himself with. The least he could do is treat the youngling with a small bit of courteousness. Beside, very few younglings these days knew how to respect their elders and this one seemed to be an exception.

Its head raised and crimson eyes met ancient scarlet. "You mean you cannot smell it? You can't sense it. The air reeks of its beautiful scent. You out of all of us must be able to smell its compelling lures." At this he made a needy growl of hunger, almost as if he could not control himself any longer. "It calls to me. So potent sire… It's all around us... The smell is… making me… insane… I must have it!" It cried in a wailing shrieking tone, looking and sounding quite deranged towards the end. Then as if forgetting everything around him, even bowing to Alucard it stood up and started sniffing, breathing in deeply the air around him. The rational exterior it had had earlier gone completely having totally been replaced with the look of an uncontrollable deranged hunger.

Alucard stared for a bit if not with surprise then certainly with a thoughtful, calculating expression. No he had not smelled whatever this youngling had, because he had not bothered breathing in. No true vampire needed to. The reason fledglings smelled every single smell around them was that their bodies were still young and had not yet kicked the habit of breathing in and out. Theirs chests were still trying to use that muscle memory of breathing in and out of every second, of every minute, of every hour of every day. Eventually the body stops trying and the vampire just breaths in when she or he wants to smell something. Curious as to what smell was driving the young one mad Alucard breathed in through his noise and nearly choked on the smell.

No wonder the young male fledgling was going insane with desire from the smell. It was the exhilarating and powerful aroma of a powerful female nosferatu. Alucard thought he caught a virgin scent to it and grinned maddeningly. The scent was extremely appealing and the fact that it was a virgin vampiress scent only made it better. Alucard could smell the power and darkness coming from the perfume. It was tinged in rich smells; it was almost floral somehow like blackened roses, overflowing with dark black malevolent energy enough to match Alucard's own. Alucard could feel desire himself just from the smell. He had to meet this vampire woman for himself. Casting his senses out Alucard frowned. There was no one in the building but the Hellsing soldiers and this deranged fledgling filled with lust. So why was the smell here in the first place? It was what had drawn the youngling here in the first place. Speaking of which-

Whipping out his silver jackal Alucard shot two quick successive bullets to the head before it could get near any of the paintings and it exploded into ash. His master would be displeased if any of the paintings were damaged.

Turing his attention back to the smell here he inhaled deeply and continued to sniff. It got more pungent as he got closer to the walls. Getting closer Alucard opened his eyes and came face to face with… A painting? It was a dark scene of the sea at night with the full moon and darkened clouds. He sniffed the painting and the scent burned the inside of his nose. Alucard frowned. No doubt about it, the painting was heavily marked with a virgin female vampires scent. Looking over at the painting to the left he sniffed it and found that this too had an identical smell of the mystery female vampiress. Alucard looked at each and every on of the one hundred and fifty two paintings. The scent got fainter and fainter as Alucard got to the older paintings. The mystery female nosferatu seemed to have a painting hobby and had painted all of these images of the night. Clearly she was excellent because she had become famous with the humans. Deciding he wanted a name he read the little placard of information at the bottom:

"Trais Varicose's untitled number 54* discovered September 4, 2034".

"Trais Varicose is a recent artist whose real name and identity is unknown. Every single one of her paintings has been signed with the date painted and the suspected pen name 'Trais Varicose'. Her paintings were discovered by the director of the Tate museum fifteen years ago and have been steadily gaining popularity ever since. Many people have tried and failed to find out who she is and Varicose is quickly becoming the art worlds 'Silas Dogwood' while taking her place among the ranks of Vincent van Gogh and Picasso. Its theorized that Varicose had not meant to become famous but sold her paintings to make ends meet. Regardless of her anonymity most of her latest works have been traced back to being sold in various stores and antique shops in Paris, France. Every single one of Varicose's works are of domestic and landscapes at night; her emphasis on the different colors and the way the moonlight changes them has given the world over a hundred beautiful works of art. The only titled works she is know for is her 'Blood and Darkest Powers' series which is on display and is theorized to be incomplete. Rewards are being held for whoever can find more of Varicose's work."

Alucard absorbed this information with no small amount of interest. He was very interested to know about the vampire woman and who she was. Alucard looked around and spotted a row of paintings close together and separate from the rest. He assumed that these were the 'Blood and Darkest Powers' series. Alucard was about to go over to examine them closely when he scowled resentfully. His master was calling for him. Already he could feel the pull of her power over him forcing him to move. Giving one last sniff so as to memorize the smell Alucard pulled up a black portal and stepped through.

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If Alucard had looked at the paintings before him, if he had not been called by his master he would have found himself jumping in surprise. There, on the wall was a painting of the inside of a church in ruins, the stained glass casting a eerie scarlet glow over everything, the rubble of an alter left with the ruined cross in the background. The pews covered with filth and ivy overgrowing on every surface. The carpet on the steps had a deep brown stain that looked to be four feet in every direction, it creepily looked like blood. Below the painting was another placard.

"Trais Varicose's 'Blood and darkest powers' series number 1.

This is the first of the 'Blood and darkest powers' series. It is called this because on the back on the canvas is written the name of the author, the date, and the title for the painting along with an inscription. The name found was 'The beginning of blood and the darkest powers" along with the number one. Upon further examination a number two and three was found. It was soon realized that not only had Varicose finally titled one of her works but had created a series works. Numbers seven and eight are missing. The inscription found was "No matter how scared you get, follow me into the darkness as far as you can." While the origin of the words and the name of the painting series are a mystery they are appropriate as the series is as disturbing as the name, with dark images and what looks to be blood. A reward was given to an art enthusiast who came forward with the information that the first in the series is a painting of a church in cheddar, which is now in ruins and looks exactly like the painting. It's thought that varicose painted this in honor of the now dead residences of cheddar that were brutally killed in a chemical spill. "

If Alucard had seen this painting he would have assumed it was coincidence. But if he saw the second one he would have known who had painted them. There, directly next to the first painting was the painting of a man.

He wore a long vermillion red scarlet trench coat, black pants and a red fedora. His shirt was white with red frills down the middle. The man was propped in a chair with his legs up on an old brown table carelessly crossed his boots as black as his pants and hair. The chair almost looked like a throne. It was a painting of Alucard. His expression in the painting was a devil-may care grin mixed with amusement and the sunglasses propped on his leg showed off the unusual red tinted lenses. Picturesque Alucard had red eyes and pale skin, a crystal goblet in his hand colored by the liquid it was filled with, which was blood red. The raised goblet displays his white gloves and was contrasted by his raven black hair. The man in the painting looked mad, completely insane and with no cares about the world around him. The room itself was cast in darkened gloom with grayed stone covered in grime and age and decay.

It was a perfect painting of Alucard, in his dungeon room relaxing in his throne like chair as he had been witnessed doing so many times before. If Alucard had seen this he would have immediately had an answer to his question about who the female vampire that had incited his curiosity was.

Trais Varicose.

Seras Victoria.

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He entered his master's office that had looked the same since the day he had been freed all those years ago. The painting of his accursed first human master, Abraham van Hellsing who had imprisoned him in the first place, lay on the wall with a stern look glaring down on any of the room's occupants. The usual thick red velvet curtains on the seven foot high curtains. The same mahogany desk stacked with papers and pens; the identical mahogany beau in the corner looking quite aged. The only thing that had changed itself was Integra. He had met Integra when she was fourteen and desperate to be saved from her disgusting uncle. Then Seras six years later when she was resisting like mad with no fear of that freak that had wanted to rape her.

It had been fifty-three years since he had first met Integra and the years had mightily aged her. She was sixty-three now and despite the blackened lungs and the doctor's ire she was still smoking the damn cigars that had given her cancer in the first place. Her hair once thick and blond was wispy and white. The strong iron fists and arms had a slight shake to them. She now needed glasses and her once beautiful face was hidden under wrinkles. Despite her age her mind was as sharp as ever and she was still nicknamed "The Iron Maiden"; though her temper had evened out some. She was still wearing the customary Hellsing suit with the silver cross pinched through an ascot around her throat. She was smoking another cigar with a languid frown that was almost always on her face and a thick plume of blackened smoke was issuing forth.

Bowing low and mockingly Alucard grinned and said "You do remember what the doctor said? Master those will kill you." Integra's glared deepened as she heard the delight and implied pleasure Alucard would derive from Integra dying early and the seals breaking.

"Shut it Alucard before I lock you in the dungeon with no blood for a month. Report." She snarled the first sentence and barked the command at him.

Alucard merely grinned at his success in angering his master but felt a little disappointed. Integra's anger did not have the beauty or wildness that Seras's had held. Integra had certainly gone ballistic when she heard that he had freed Seras and that she had left, but it lacked the pure wrath and fiery spirit and courage Seras had when she got angry; it was a look that could make paint curl. Alucard had always loved to see that tiny, sweet, innocent, elegant face curl into one of anger, hatred and bloodlust. It was deliciously wonderful when she looked to be filled with hate. It reminded him of a feral wildcat. It reminded him of the angry ocean. Alucard had stolen her from the sun and she was his to keep. Every time he saw Seras's face curl into hatred and anger it reminded him of the wonderful corruption he was planning on doing to Seras and the victorious feeling that he got from the knowledge that he had stolen her from the daylight rays. There was the setback of getting Seras to come with him when Alucard got his freedom back because of the way he had been forced to convince her he didn't care. Alucard had a plan. He would just forcefully reclaim the blood that gave her freedom and she would be his fledgling once more, then she would have to listen to his side things.

Feeling impatience from his master Alucard grinned and spoke. "Where to begin…" Integra's eyes narrowed with dislike and anger from his delays, he grinned wider.

"Target has been silenced. There were a few Hellsing soldier casualties that occurred before I got there but the bodies are being taken care of by the cleaning crew by now."

Integra seemed unhappy about the deaths but relaxed in her chair non-the less. Curiosity overcame her though. "Did you find out the reason that the rogue fledgling decided to raid the Tate museum? I hardly think it would be a place for a vampire to go to eat as its always empty and closed by 5:30 pm." Integra couldn't fathom why the Tate museum had been broken into by a newborn vampire rather than a mindless slaughter in the subways filled with live people.

"It seems there was a scent that attracted the male vampire. It wasn't our usual senseless newborn on a blood lust craze. It was quite rational at first and only killed to protect itself. It even recognized who I was and called me 'sire'. It seems the scent was driving him mad with desire. I too would love to meet the owner of the scent. If we don't scrub the scent out of the place the Tate museum will be filled with male vampires desperate for a whiff."

Integra looked stunned. "Who would develop a scent that's irresistible to male vampires; for that matter, why the Tate museum?"

Deciding to irritate Integra a little more Alucard put on a decidedly innocent expression, which was quite the feat for Alucard. He also adapted a clueless tone of voice. "Perhaps the museum created it master because they wanted vampires for new exhibits." It worked. Alucard's mocking gave her a tick and she angrily mashed her forgotten cigar into the ash tray.

"Quite screwing around Alucard and tell me what you know about the scent" she snapped at him. Alucard smirked. Yes, his master still had quite the temper.

"A vampiresses scent, master." Alucard enjoy the look of confusion Integra had. "The scent is that of an extraordinarily powerful, unspoiled virgin female nosferatu and it is a very desirable, potent scent."

"What would a female vampire be doing spreading her scent at the museum, looking for a mate?" Integra asked having gotten over her surprise. The odd things vampires did and the insane reasons they did them had never ceased to amaze and confuse her.

Alucard knew his master was looking forward to the exhibit of one Trais Varicose and he was going to dearly enjoy ruining it for her by giving this bit of information. "No master, the vampiress did not mean to spread her scent all over the Tate museum but rather that she painted one hundred and fifty two paintings and didn't realize her paintings would become popular with humans." Integra's eyes widened as she recognized the number from the pamphlet she had on her desk. Alucard continued on as if he didn't notice. "There is an exhibit this weekend just for her works of art you humans enjoy so much. All those paintings covered with her scent amassed in one area made her scent very strong and thick in the air. Its no wonder the male newborn was looking around. I really would like to meet this vampiress."

"Are you trying to tell me that Trais Varicose is a vampire?" Integra asked with disbelief. She had been looking forward to this exhibit for a month. She was irritated to no end. She thought she could have at least escaped vampires while at an art museum and now she was discovering her new favorite artist was of the undead sort.

"Yes. She smells very good. I hear that most of her works are currently being sold in shops in Paris France. I really would like to meet this vampiress." Alucard stared intently at Integra waiting for her to catch his drift.

Integra noted that was the second time Alucard had expressed a desire to find the owner of the scent and realized Alucard was asking for permission. "You have taken an interest in her?"

Alucard just nodded eagerly, his usual grin turning into one of an insane face of glee.

Integra sighed. "The poor, poor woman… I weep for her fate that she was unfortunate enough to catch your interest." Alucard's grin widened maliciously at this. Then he just continued to smile eagerly for a few minutes while Integra thought about it. Finally Integra gave a tired sigh. It really was late.

"Alright, alright Alucard. Thanks to your efforts we have had a drop in numbers of fledglings going rogue. In all likeliness you'll end up killing her for amusement which is the same job you've been doing for the last fifty years. Go find her if you want. You have three weeks when you leave the manor. Not a second more. The moment two weeks is up you run back here directly or so help me god I will dunk your undead ass in liquid silver."

Alucard was extremely pleased. His master had been caving more and more as of late due to age. Walter wasn't around anymore to help. He had passed on last year at the age of seventy-five. Now they had a spineless human who trebled at the very sight of Alucard. While Alucard liked the fear it did get old after a while. He missed Walter. It wasn't often he missed a human. But he still stood there waiting for the other half of his permission. Alucard was still angry at what he had been forcibly reduced to, asking permission to do this and that. He was the dammed king of vampires, in more ways than one. When Integra didn't continue Alucard spoke up. "Master you still have not given me permission to feed on humans while I am away."

This caused a major headache for Integra and she rubbed her temples. She had half a mind to call the whole thing off. But she would never do that. Alucard got on her nerves more than the Vatican and millennium combined ever did. On one hand giving permission to Alucard would get rid of him for two whole blessed weeks, a free all expense paid vacation in the Bahamas in her opinion. On the other if she gave him permission to feed on humans he might decide to go on a killing spree just for the hell of it. There were quite a few flaws in her ancestors sealing of Alucard. One was that if you gave permission to kill only one person and you didn't specify a person Alucard was free to kill the heir that gave it. Another is that if you gave him permission to feed at will, or kill in other words, he had the freedom to hurt as many humans as he wanted before the permission was revoked. You had to be very careful and give very, very specific in instructions when handling the maverick no-life king.

Speaking carefully she granted her permission. "Done. Alucard you may feed on humans only when you are hungry. They cannot be pregnant women or anyone under the age of nineteen. You will NOT try to circumvent these orders in any way at all. You may not kill unless it is to eat or protect yourself. You may not provoke a fight with a human so as to be given an opportunity to kill. You may not use your mind powers so as to make a human seek a fight with you. You cannot try to harm any humans even the slightest bit for any other reason than to feed."

"Now get the hell out of my sight before I change my mind and shoot you instead."

Alucard was very disappointed that his master had remembered all of the loop holes and covered them. Bowing low and mockingly once again Alucard gave an insane grin. "Yes, my master." He quickly left through a dark portal to the dungeons below for some sleep before his master changed her mind. He grinned maddeningly, striding over to the blood packet left on the table he bit into it without complaint.

This was going to be glorious fun. He had smelled that although the vampiress was strong she was also fairly young, possibly not at her fifty-first year of life. An interesting combination in Alucard opinion. Not only did it mean the vampiress would become even stronger on her fifty-first year of life but it also meant that she would be easy to force into submission. Female vampiresses when young were not as strong as they were when they had been around as long as a hundred years. If they had not reached their fifty-first year of un-life they were usually easily beat in battle regardless of their sires blood and strength. His master's restrictions were targeted and limited to humans as the only category. This meant that he could easily beat the she nosferatu and do what he liked. Slipping into his coffin Alucard slept with the delightful prospect of three weeks of hunting. Hopefully his master died during those three weeks. He found it unlikely since she had been smoking well into her sixties and was still alive. Well, like most humans said, 'you couldn't have everything.

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How was it? My first Hellsing fic ever, I mean. I though it was good. About the whole Integra/art thing; it's completely plausible to me. In the anime of Hellsing Integra gets attacked while in an art museum by one of the Vatican and is saved by Alucard.

You guys weren't expecting me to make Seras have a fledgling of her own were you? Got you by surprise there. The reason I did this is that in my story I always have about three to four main characters in my story that I pick out and then narrate the story from there, switching back and forth. I decided to make an oc because I couldn't possibly think of any other way to make the story flow threw. Plus this gives me the freedom to have a pov the helps devolve Seras's personality and describe the story wonderfully. I've also always felt that the story could use one more character. It was always the same five different people over and over again. I also created this chapter because not only did I feel that Seras did not show a lot of emotion, or plot development in the last chapter but I really think its possible that Seras would create a fledgling of her own if freed from Alucard. It's also an ample opportunity to make a description of what happened in the gap between being freed from Alucard and the present.

Seras becoming a painter? Probably not very likely but it was an idea I had and I wanted some sort of thing for Seras going. Also I thought it was a neat way to start a story.

Should I continue? I confess that it took me several long days of writing, deleting, re-editing, synonym searching and anagram findings. I also have two other fanfictions I am doing so the write-ups for this one might be very slow. I love Hellsing though. I always have since the moment I was introduced to it by my brother. Because of that I later started watching Blood+ and black blood brothers. Both very excellent vampire animes.

Love ya all-

He will knock four times.