I know, I know—long time no see! I'm thrilled to see how many followers I've accrued in my absence! That makes me all the more sorry for making everyone wait so long. The honest truth is that I don't think I'll ever be able to update on a more frequent basis, but if you continue to have a bit of patience with me, I will slowly but surely post new chapters.

I greatly appreciate everyone's reviews, and I hope y'all continue to submit them! I want to address one in particular: PreparedForZombies asked whether or not there will be "a greater time-skip to when Seras is older." The answer: yes! I'm not sure how I will handle the transition as of yet, but this story will contain two parts. The first part is child Seras's interaction with the orphanage and the Hellsing family, and the latter part is my own version of the series when Seras is eighteen/nineteen. Feel free to inquire about anything, and I will be more than happy to answer!

Note: I should have stated this from the beginning, but here it is. For many reasons, I am a firm believer that "Victoria" is our heroine's surname rather than "Seras," so it will always be that way in my stories. Also, I like the thought of "Seras Victoria" literally translating to "to be victorious," which is something I believe to be essential to her character—as well as purposely done by Hirano.

Follow Me into the Darkness

Chapter 3

Ghosts of the Past

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The late afternoon sunlight flooded the hallway through every opened classroom doorway. After rolling up her sleeves hesitantly, Seras narrowed her eyes in disgust and scrutinized the area in all its dirty, unbridled glory. A bucket filled with soapy water rested patiently by her feet. She clutched her savior, which at the moment was a large mop, firmly in her grasp.

Only two days of chores had passed, and already her body ached in protest. The girl didn't dare to imagine what the remaining fifty-seven days of her "community service" would entail. Her mum had always taught her to look on the bright side of any situation, but for once she just couldn't bring herself to care. Sometimes the brewing anger and resentment she kept bottled up deep inside had an ugly way of snuffing out the more optimistic side of life.

Wasn't her pain actually a token of accomplishment? While everyone else lazed about doing nothing, she pushed herself to her limit—working her arms, working her legs, and sustaining her endurance. All the same, none of these thoughts changed the fact that she was trapped serving a punishment when she hadn't done anything wrong. But even if she was accountable, she stood there single-handedly when other kids should have been sentenced to suffer with her.

Grimacing, Seras exhaled slowly and refocused her attention on the task at hand. While the swelling around her eye had lessened, sharp jolts of pain erupted from the unsightly bruise when she least expected it, feeding a nearly indomitable headache. Throwing negativity into the mix only made the throbbing worse.

After rotating and cracking her wrists, the blonde lifted one foot behind her back until the heel pressed up against her butt. She held that position for a few seconds before repeating the same process with her other foot. To her dismay, stretching did little to alleviate her knotted thighs, but the brief warm-up was better than nothing.

"I know I'm in better shape than this..." she muttered disappointedly to herself.

Seras dipped her mop in the bucket and began the tedious trek from one side of the building to the opposite, noting all the grime she wiped away. Though she knew much dirtier places existed, she figured the top-rated orphanage in London could have invested in a better cleaning service. But, in the end, it was of no importance to her. How Mr. Addison handled his funds was his own business, and she was definitely not going to be stuck living there forever. One day she would be in control of her very own residence, one that she could call home and would actually want to clean and support.

A gentle smile graced the girl's features as she remembered the warmness of her parents' house. Oddly enough, there was once a time in her life when chores had been somewhat enjoyable. They were by no means the epitome of fun but had shaped family moments she'd always carry in her heart.

Seras had been a few weeks shy of six when she first confided in her dad about her wish to become a police officer and to follow in his footsteps. Flattered by her determination, he had devoted a portion of his spare time to teach her little things about the trade whenever she inquired. Although she was a tomboy at heart, her mum had initially worried about her "only baby girl" pursuing such a dangerous career, but Mrs. Victoria was nothing if not a loving and supportive woman. Once she had witnessed the fire within her daughter's eyes, she had become all the more proud.

That was how it came to be that on one weekend morning while Seras was eating her breakfast, her dad had motivated her to help out with the housework. She never admitted this to him, but he had been a master of persuasion. Perhaps she was just too easily satisfied, or maybe he really had known her all too well.

"Did you know that you can turn housework into a good workout?" his amiable and soothingly familiar voice pervaded her mind. "You want to do well at the police academy someday, don't you? Watching television all day won't help you keep in shape!" She could never forget the way he had paused to wink at her when she had given him all of her attention. "Besides, summer is coming up! I can arrange for you to spend the day at work with me once a week, and—"

Seras hadn't even given Mr. Victoria a chance to finish his proposal. Once she had received a list of possible chores, the girl had agreed to lug a full laundry basket around the house, to take charge over some of the vacuuming, and to assist in washing both the car and the house exterior. She had repeated those tasks for the following eight months, never failing to seize the right opportunity to spray her dad with the hose or to initiate a game of hide-and-seek with her mum, until their deaths had indefinitely interrupted life as she knew it.

As the first line of tears began to roll down her cheeks, the blonde plummeted back into reality and reluctantly cast those memories from her mind. She wondered if there would ever come a time when she'd be able to reminisce about her parents without crying in the process.

Peeking into one of the classrooms, Seras glanced at the clock and discovered that two hours had passed since her mind wandered off. She rounded another corner and tackled the final stretch of hallway leading up to the boys' dormitory. Every tile she passed gleamed with renewed life and reflected her toil even though her movements had grown rushed and sloppy from fatigue.

The girl collapsed against the wall once she was finished, her almost infinite supply of energy depleted. Her arms felt heavy as lead as she reached into her pocket to extract the granola bars she had smuggled earlier that morning to eat as a snack. After placating her growling stomach, she picked at the clammy shirt that clung to her skin and allowed her hands to drop lifelessly in her lap.

"Oi...at least I don't have to clean the boy's bathroom," she said aloud with a halfhearted giggle, but her attempt at humor did not bring her comfort while she mulled over the following day's chores.

Her head sagged forward, causing sweat to trail down from her hair. The salty liquid traced over her battered eye and earned her an anguished hiss in response. Shutting her eyes, Seras only meant to rest for a moment, but her exhausted body told her otherwise. Before she grasped what was happening, she unwittingly delved into sleep. And because she had made the mistake of summoning her parents to the forefront of her thoughts, they glided past her defenses and into her dreams like restless ghosts while more sinister forces shadowed a little further beneath the surface...

Seras lounged on the sofa, resting her head leisurely against her dad's arm. Watching her cartoon, she fidgeted with the remote control while her dad read his newspaper quietly beside her. Although she treasured his company in any form, the young girl did not find consolation in the stillness that particular morning. Disconcerted, she averted her sight from her show to the coffee table. The light from the television screen danced along the glass pane. She gazed blankly at the flickers of light, a frown adorning her lips.

"What are you thinking about?"

Startled by the unexpected break in silence, Seras twisted her head to see her dad examining her diligently. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied, embarrassed. "Really. You've just been working so much lately, and I miss spending time with you."

Mr. Victoria folded his newspaper and tossed the periodical aside. "Is that all? I do apologize, Seras," he confessed, rotating his body so that he was facing her. The girl smiled when he placed his hand affectionately on the top of her head. "The case I'm working on has been taking up a lot of people's time, and honestly it's been frustrating and confusing for us all. Why—I know! I finally have a weekend off coming up. Why don't you go ask your mum about having a picnic at the park?"

Seras hopped to her feet in a flash, fists clenched together in exuberance. "Oh! You really mean it, Daddy?"

He chuckled at her bubbling excitement and nodded. "Yes, sweetheart, I really mean it. I could use the fresh air!"

"Yes!" the blonde exclaimed, punching the air in triumph. Without another word, she dashed into the adjacent kitchen and skidded to a halt. "Mum! Hey, Mum! Can we—Mummy? Hello...?"

A wave of fear surged through her veins so swiftly that she thought she might vomit. The kitchen door had been swung open, and its glass inserts lay shattered about the floor. Her mum was no longer by the sink like she originally believed, but the faucet ran at full blast. Water spilled over the edge and cascaded down the cabinets like an unbefitting waterfall.

"Dad!" Seras yelled for help, backing up in the direction of the living room.

"Your mummy and daddy are not here, brat," a stranger's voice answered her plea from behind.

Panic kicked her heart into overdrive, chilling her blood and immobilizing her muscles. Large hands dug into her back and sent her crashing to the floor face first. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, she used the stinging numbness of her busted lips to regain her senses. Peeking over her shoulder, she spotted a man dressed in a brown suit blocking the doorway. He grinned maliciously at her but made no more attempts to touch her. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the inside of the door frame, blocking her escape.

Seras crawled a few steps away from the intruder before pushing herself upright. At the same time, a second man entered the house through the side entrance, effectively trapping her within the kitchen. This trespasser was more frightening in appearance, conveying a more dangerous and thuggish aura than his cohort. His movements were slow and ragged as he advanced upon her, much like a walking corpse. A silver fork dangled from his eye, and blood oozed carelessly down half his face.

"You!" she hissed, glaring at the true monster responsible for destroying her life. His repulsive face and the scraggly yellow hair that framed it were forever seared in her memory. "You...you..."

The girl's rage skyrocketed to a new plateau, unraveling the knot of fear that constricted her insides. Reminiscent of a bull, she lowered her head and recklessly charged toward the murderer. Before she could use her momentum to headbutt his stomach, the hoodlum chortled in amusement and slammed his fist into her left cheek. The blonde fell backwards and slid across the drenched ground until her body bounced off of the cabinets. Water gushed down her face and blinded her as she strained to sit up.

"Little bitch, I'm gonna to make you pay for what you did to my face!"

Squinting through irritated eyes, Seras barely made out his figure looming above her. The murderer wedged his filthy hand into her hair, dragging her along the wooden boards. She flailed her arms and legs erratically in the air, seeking to maim any region of his body that she struck. Once she realized that he was not going to release her so easily, she curled her body into a tight, protective ball.

"Wake up, kid!"

The dreamscape oscillated and froze in the span of a heartbeat before resuming. She sat up in utter disarray, discovering that not only was she stationary, but she was unmistakably alone. Signs of a break-in remained intact as a testimony to her sanity, but the house had grown eerily quiet and devoid of life. "What—"

"Kid, I'm not telling you a—"

Seras woke with a start, coughing and spitting up water. She wiped her forearm frantically across her eyes until the orphanage's lackluster scenery gradually filled her vision. A bucket thudded against the tile, spinning and rattling violently before coming to a complete halt. Reality crushed against her senses like a tidal wave, and the blonde lifted her head, regarding the mob of kids gathered around her warily.

"You were crying in your sleep; did you know?" Liam questioned. "What a loser."

Muffled laughter ignited in the background. Rising carefully so as not to trip, Seras mentally counted at least twelve kids among the group. She dusted off her clothes listlessly, for she was too soaked to make any difference. "Full house today, huh?" she retorted, knitting her brows in anger. "What do you want, Liam?"

"Tsk tsk, there you go with your attitude. I just thought I'd be nice and drop by to make sure you were making progress, and it's a good thing I did because here you are sleeping on the job. What if a teacher had found you instead of me? I saved your sorry ass."

Annoyance contorted the girl's face. "Is that so?" Tilting her head to one side, she stepped forward so that only a thin layer of air separated her from Liam. "You know what would be really nice? If you were to man up and take charge over some of the chores you should've been given. But since that won't be happening, I'll settle with you leaving me the fuck alone."

"What? You ungrateful brat!" Liam seethed before clenching his jaw.

Any other time he would have punched her without a second thought, the girl mused, but he just stood there stiff as a board. Seras felt the hostility radiating off the teen's body in dense waves, but she detected a new stream of emotions that nested behind his tightened features, an unwelcome glimmer that divulged fright and uncertainty.

"You seem a little distracted. What's wrong?" Seras challenged, flashing a knowing grin. "You're not still scared of what you probably told Mr. Addison was my imagination, are you?"

Those words were all it took to make Liam react on instinct. With a low growl, he aimed a blow at her face, but Seras easily maneuvered her smaller body to the right, driving her own fist straight into his gut. The boy sank to his knees and wrapped his arms around his abdomen, gasping for air that could not reach him.

"Liam!" Madison's voice rose above the ruckus. She forged a pathway through the crowd of bystanders and rushed to the boy's side. When she grabbed his arm to help him up, however, he pushed her aside without a word, knocking her off balance.

Letting out a shocked cry, the teen girl tumbled to the ground and landed hard on her side. Soapy water smeared her clothes as she writhed about trying to sit upright. She gaped at the boy who was supposed to be her friend, lips quivering in disbelief. "I was just trying—"

"Don't touch me!" Liam interrupted venomously. "I don't need your help!"

Raising a brow, Seras put her hands on her hips and shook her head disapprovingly. "I hate to break it to you, mate, but you've barely been out of the infirmary for a day. I don't think you're up to fighting just yet. Maybe you should act like a normal person and...you know, chill out somewhere and relax."

"Shut your mouth, bitch!" a new voice warned. "No one asked for your opinion!"

Seras's eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to confront the others she had forgotten were there. Three boys from Liam's inner circle had already dispersed from the crowd and were charging at her. Before she could adjust her stance, the closest boy tackled her to the ground, pinning her down. Stars danced across her vision in a dizzying array as she tried to focus on her opponents. Someone's hand tugged at her hair while another poked a thumb into her bruised eye. The blonde cried out in pain, flicking her head from side to side until she was able to clamp down on the assaulting finger with her teeth. To her satisfaction, a string of curses greeted her ears.

"Quit it!" Liam bellowed over the chaos. Everyone froze to gape at him in silence, even Seras who looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head.

The fifteen-year-old stood shakily on his feet, pressing his hand against his chest as though something hidden behind his shirt troubled him. The foul look on his face was clearly directed at Seras, but he did not join the brawl. Instead, he continued to shock everyone by turning his back from the scene. "We've wasted enough time here, guys. Let's go."

"What? That's it?" Madison protested. She sprang to her feet with a huff, adjusting her skirt and sweeping clumps of dark brown hair away from her face.

Zach, who was nowhere near the skirmish, draped an arm around her waist in an attempt to mollify the teen girl's escalating ire. The gang of kids shuffled uneasily behind Liam, evidently concerned about why the older boy was suddenly backing down. The three boys fighting Seras withdrew, a mutual expression of guilt marking their faces as they followed suit. In the midst of confusion, they shared a secretive look of understanding with Zach before eyeing the back of Liam's bandaged head.

"What's the matter with all of you?" Madison persisted. "I thought you guys said the bitch was a nutcase?"

"Drop it, Maddi," Zach said quietly, pulling her along with him down the hall.

Seras hoisted herself to her feet and watched the retreating group until everybody vanished behind the stairway next to the dormitory doors. With a despondent sigh, she bent over to lift the now empty bucket. Centimeters from grabbing the handle, however, she paused suddenly as all the muscles in her body tensed. Although she was supposedly alone once again, she could sense the presence of someone watching her. "Who's there?" she asked threateningly, her skin tingling with irrefutable awareness.

The blonde straightened in time to see two shadows scurrying along the opposite wall behind her before Ava and Sammy's heads peeked out from around the corner. Seras visibly relaxed upon spotting the silent duo, gawking at the pair in bewilderment as they advanced a few paces closer.

Moments passed in silence until Ava finally nudged Sammy forward. The young boy dashed to Seras while Ava stood on the lookout, appearing anxious as if of getting caught. With wobbly hands, Sammy smiled uncertainly and held out a package wrapped in napkins. The blonde accepted the offering and untied the paper to reveal a tiny loaf of bread, an apple, and a block of cheese. Having long forgotten the joy of pleasant surprises, she looked from Sammy to Ava incredulously.

The redhead abandoned her post and approached the scene. She paused directly behind Sammy, resting her hands on his shoulders with a gentle squeeze. "You missed dinner," she murmured, so quietly that Seras had to strain her ears to understand.

A genuine smile lit up Seras's face, her blue eyes twinkling even brighter with glee. She secured the food within the napkins and ruffled Sammy's hair playfully. "Thanks, kiddo." Though she found his bashful grin endearing, the perpetual loner knew her moment had ended when she turned to Ava. "I really do appreciate it, and you don't have to worry. The others will never know you were here."

"I'm sorry," Ava muttered ruefully.

"Don't be," Seras responded, a deep-seated sorrow overtaking her former elation. "I know how these things work. Maybe...if some of the others leave this place before us, we might actually get a chance to become friends?"

Having accomplished what she intended, Ava fell into silence once more. She lowered her head as she pulled Sammy back in the direction they came, but the waves of hair that tumbled around her face could not hide the curious smile she flashed. After one final glance around the area, the silent duo waved goodbye and hurried off, slipping away without a trace.

The sky was fully dark by the time Seras snuck into the front yard for an evening escape. She drew her jacket tightly around her torso, protecting the package of food she concealed underneath the fabric. Turning briefly, she peered hard at the building. Satisfied that no one was standing near a window, she jogged down the long driveway and veered off into the tiny patch of woods that dwelt on either side.

The further she distanced herself from the orphanage, the greater her sense of freedom grew. The crisp air that seeped through her clothing felt wonderful and did not aggravate her sore muscles at all. Careful not to stray too far, Seras halted in front of her favorite tree, a thick, gnarly tree just close enough to the rest of society for her to hear cars passing along neighboring roads.

Getting into position, the blonde dug her shoes into the distorted trunk and pulled her body a few steps up the tree until she reached the lowest branch. She ascended another two branches before settling on her usual perch about fifteen feet above the ground.

Once she was seated comfortably, Seras arranged her meal gingerly on her lap. Stuffing as much as she could into her mouth, she gazed up at the sky, thankful that she would not have to go to bed hungry or have to risk pillaging the pantries after curfew. The night was a peaceful one, washing away the lingering gloom from her ordeals earlier in the day. Still, the sound of traffic in the distance, barely out of arm's reach, never failed to reawaken her longing for a real home away from her prison. Crumbling up the empty napkins, the girl sighed and diverted her mind by tracing patterns in the stars as they peeked through gaps in the trees.

"A beautiful night, don't you think?"

The sudden interruption shattered Seras's concentration. She shifted her eyes to the ground immediately, trying to locate the owner of the rich voice that sent shivers slithering down her spine. Unfortunately, she transferred too much of her weight in the process and only caught a blur of red as she somersaulted sideways out of the tree. The girl clenched her eyes shut in alarm, crisscrossing her arms in front of her face. But just when she thought she was going to crash against the dirt, she felt a hand wrap around her ankle, and her body bobbled to a stop in midair.

Seras blinked away her dizziness, focusing on the man who had probably just saved her from a few unnecessary breaks and bruises.

"Good evening, little one," he said, amused. The man's lips stretched into a mischievous grin. "What business does a young girl have in a place like this…alone?"

The blonde was nothing but dead weight, dangling awkwardly like a sack of potatoes. Her rescuer continued to hold her at eye level, though, seemingly with no intention of letting her down. The man's countenance was entirely relaxed, supporting her as if she was nothing but a sheet of paper. Seras had nothing else to do but stare into his face, studying the tinted glasses that masked his eyes. Familiarity tugged at the shadows of her memory, and the intensity of his gaze made her squirm.

"...Ummmm...I...I'm sorry, sir, but do I know you?"