Hello all, and welcome to my first Hellsing fanfic. I'd just like to start by saying that I don't own Hellsing; I only own the OC's ;) Also, as this is my first story for this fandom, I may or may not get things like characterization right immediately, so if you lovely readers have any comments, questions, critiques, suggestions, or complaints, please tell me. I am completely open to constructive criticism. Anyway, let us begin...

Rome, 1985

The storm had cut the power in the orphanage. The children's bedtime routine had to be performed via candlelight, much to the nuns' annoyance: Monitoring a group of children changing, brushing their teeth, and washing their faces in the dark was harder than it seemed. Nevertheless, the orphans were eventually herded into bed, and when the nuns had bade them goodnight, the firelight provided the perfect ambiance for a scary story.

The children sat huddled together, some sitting two or three in a bed, watching the show play out before them: Circling dangerously about their room was a vampire. She looked about ten, but she was actually one hundred and fifty-four and a half exactly. She was dressed in second-hand pyjamas, but the long sheet tied around her neck served perfectly as a cape. She resembled a normal child, but when she screwed up her freckled face and barred her teeth, she looked like a true monster.

"I ahm thee master of thee night," she drawled in a cartoon-ish Romanian accent. "I am thee undead, and I'f come to suck your blood!"

"You don't scare us!" a six year old boy shouted from his bed, though his nervous grin told the vampire otherwise. She skipped over to the boy's bed, her cape fluttering with each movement, and she leaned over the brass footboard. He giggled and raised his blanket up to his nose.

"Ees that so, Giovanni?" she growled, though a smile was beginning to break the surface of her face. "I would not say such things eef I were you- I am fery powerful…"

"Not here, you're not!" a nine year old girl chirped from across the room. She pointed to the eastern wall, where a simple wooden crucifix hung. "Vampires can't do anything when there are crosses around!"

Slowly, the vampire turned away from Giovanni and sauntered over to the little girl. The other children snickered and hushed each other with each heavy step the monster took.

"You ah mistaken, Lucia," she said. "That cross ees wooden- Only silver can stop me."

Lucia shook her head and inched away from the approaching creature. "It's not true!"

"Ah, but eet ees!" the vampire insisted. She bent her knees and raised her hands above her head. "Now then… I ahm thirsty!"

And the vampire jumped onto Lucia before anyone could move. In a flurry of blankets, pillows, and flickering firelight, the children screamed and laughed. Lucia was the loudest- The vampire had opted to tickle her instead of biting her. The bystanders wasted no time in jumping onto the fiend and attempting to pry her off of Lucia, only to become victims of merciless tickling themselves.

The confusion and hilarity was so great in the bedroom, that the children almost did not hear the door burst open. However, the lantern shining harsh, white light into the room caught their attention immediately.

"What is this?" a heavily accented voice demanded. "What is going on here?"

The screams of mirth turned into screams of fright as the boys and girls rushed to their respective beds. They dove under their covers and hid their heads under pillows, as if to pretend they had been ignoring the bedlam all along. Some brave souls kept their heads up, though, and watched as a tall, blonde, bespectacled priest strode into the room and made straight for Lucia's bed. The light from his lantern illuminated the figure of a cowering, disheveled little girl in hand-me-down pyjamas and a sheet tied around her neck. She gazed up into the priest's face with a sort of hopeless guilt, as if she knew it was useless trying to deny her part in this.

"Maria," the clergyman said sternly. "What have you been up to?"

The girl swallowed and murmured, "I was… just telling a story, Father Anderson."

"D'you know what time it is, child?"

"N-No, Father."

"Maria doesn't need sleep! Vampires don't sleep at night!" Giovanni piped up from under his pillow, unaware that the time for joking was over.

Father Alexander Anderson inclined his head and eyed the girl seriously. "Is that so?" he muttered. "In that case, come with me, little draculina. You're not too fearsome for a talking-to yet."

Sighing, Maria untied the sheet and let it slip down to the floor. She got off Lucia's bed and followed Anderson out of the dormitory, refusing to meet her friends' eyes. The children had fallen deathly silent and many looked away from her.

The priest led her down the dark, empty corridor, where the echo of their footsteps sounded louder than the thunder outside. Maria tried to swallow down her fear, but to no avail. It was dark, stormy, and she was alone with her guardian, who looked less than pleased with her. When Anderson stopped by the large, bay window and set his lantern down, the girl braced herself.

"Don't look so frightened," Anderson said, frowning down at her. "I'm not going to cane you."

At this, Maria relaxed some. "I'm sorry for causing a commotion, Father."

He shook his head and glanced out the window. "I know you are, but that's not why I wanted to speak to you."

Anderson knelt down and looked at Maria straight in the eyes. His expression frightened her: She had never seen him look so serious before, and the harsh light of the lantern reflecting off his glasses made him look even more ominous.

"You mustn't go running round telling horror stories like you do," Anderson told her. "In fact, you shouldn't even be pretending to be something as monstrous as a vampire. They're hellish creatures that have abandoned God, and He in turn has abandoned them."

Maria frowned. "But, Father, it's just for fun. I'm not really a vampire."

"It doesn't matter, Maria," her guardian insisted through clenched teeth. "Scripture is very clear on what differentiates holy and unholy beings: "Be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat". Vampires disobey this command, it won't do for a good Catholic to be imitating such a monster. Do you understand?"

The thunder rolled outside, and Maria shuddered. She glanced out the window and saw the storm clouds rolling over the green hillsides and down towards Vatican City. For a fearful moment, she thought it was a manifestation of God's anger.

"I'm sorry," she stammered. "Have I sinned greatly?"

Anderson cupped her chin and turned her head away from the window. When Maria saw that he was smiling, she immediately felt better, as if she had just gotten off a merry-go-round before she could get sick.

"Yes, but you didnae know any better," he said gently. The clergyman straightened and ruffled her hair. "Now, go back to bed, and don't be riling up any of the wee ones. Ask the Lord for His forgiveness, and go to sleep."

Maria smiled up at her guardian, though deep down, she was disappointed with herself. She did not want to admit to Father Anderson that stories of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and zombies thrilled her. She was frightened that if he knew how tales of horror enthralled her, he would get angrier with her. Worse yet, she feared God was already displeased with her fascination with the dark and macabre. Would either the Lord or Anderson understand?

The little girl did not voice these concerns, though. She merely said, "Yes, Father" and turned around on her toes. Anderson walked her back to the dormitory, holding the lantern above their heads. When Maria reached the door, she did not open it immediately. She froze at the passageway, her hand resting on doorknob and her head bowed.

"What is it, Maria?" Anderson prompted, worried this was going to turn into an all-night lecture.

"Father…" She glanced up at him over her shoulder, her green eyes twice as big as they usually were. "Do vampires really exist?"

He blinked, taken aback by the question. The girl certainly harboured an interest in demonic creatures, but he had not expected her to ask him this outright. Hoping this was nothing more than a childish thought, he offered her a gentle smile.

"I'm not sure. Depends on who you'd ask," he answered lightly before opening the door for her. Shooing her inside, he said, "To bed with you now. Goodnight and God bless."

With that, Anderson shut the door, leaving Maria to hide under her covers and pray in the all-consuming darkness.

Thanks for reading! More on the way...