Sacred Lineage

More setup, this time by me with technical phone assistance from Dan on his lunch break. Do not be alarmed, there\'ll be more gratuitous violence in the next chapter.

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The knock on the door reminded her that she had other things besides trying to sort mission reports tonight. Walter entered, and the look that he gave her made her feel like a guilty child.

“I was just going to get dressed,” she said.

“Like mother like daughter,” he responded with a laugh.

“I suppose I should wear the whole costume?” she asked with a sigh.

“Yes, Miss Deirdre, the whole costume would be appropriate.”

She sighed again. She had been really hoping to wear that new grey suit, but she supposed that the Hellsing dress uniform would inspire more respect. Not only that, but it would please her mother. Deirdre didn’t go out of her way to please many people, and generally, she didn’t worry too much about pleasing her mother. (This was mostly because she did what she was supposed to.) Tonight, however, things were different. Deirdre wanted to be sure that her mother was satisfied with her looks, and her representation of the Hellsing family.

She padded quickly to her room, and began to dress. First the underclothing and the boot-sheaths along with two fiendishly sharp boot-knives, then the white shirt with the button-down collar and tie. She wore the Hellsing Arms on her tie, rather than Protestant Crosses, she was destined to be a holy knight of the Order of Hellsing, but she wasn’t going to be ruled by the Anglican Church. She had a more “Templaristic” view of how things should be run. Just because she killed undead for a living didn’t mean that she had to scrape and bow for the Priests.

Next she donned her shoulder harness and slipped in the Glock 23c. A smaller sized .40 caliber pistol with a ported barrel that was easier for a smaller female hand to hold, the Glock had very little recoil due to the ported barrel. Less recoil meant less difficulty with aiming, and Deirdre was an excellent shot with any pistol, with this one she was exceptional.

She pulled on the jacket, and buttoned it, then put on the sword belt. Movement out of the corner of her eye alerted her to someone else’s presence.

“Alucard?” The tone of her voice indicated some surprise. She’d assumed he’d be with Integral.

“I thought I would be your squire. You want everything straight and perfect tonight.”

He was correct, although she hadn’t expected him to come and help her with it. He was ever unpredictable, though, and she knew by now that the only things that one could consistently expect from Alucard were loyalty to Hellsing and the unexpected.

He held out his hands, and she laid the sword-belt in them. He knelt in front of her and carefully buckled the belt, making sure that the sword lay perfectly over her left hip so that it would draw properly.

“Well, Princess,” he said, “You look lovely enough to break hearts tonight.”

“Don’t expect me to kiss any frogs,” she said, smiling.

“I’d be horrified if you did.” He sounded serious, but she rather thought he was teasing her.

“How’s Mother?” she asked, knowing that he would know by now how today’s hospital trip went.

“She’s fine right now.” He responded, “but I suppose she’ll be talking to you about it soon. Not tonight, though. Tonight is your night, and I suspect that you will have plenty on your mind.”

She seethed a minute, and Alucard watched the dark flames in her eyes. He was her daughter, if not by blood, by soul. She had learned well from Walter, Integral, and himself. He stood, then leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Sir Deirdre, I am very proud of you.”

Tears came to her eyes, and she suppressed them with an iron will. She was not going to cry because Alucard said he was proud. She wasn’t!

She hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest until she regained control. She was surprised to note that he was holding her as well; she hadn’t expected such solicitous behavior from him.

“Thank you,” she finally managed, extracting herself from the embrace.

He looked at her proudly, as proud as if she was his own child. “You’re welcome. Now get down the stairs before Walter comes and gets you, and beats you with a spatula into the car.”

She had to smile at that, it made such a vivid mental picture.

She got into the car. Not surprisingly, her mother was already there, and Walter was driving. Surprisingly, Alucard and Seras got into the car with them. She looked at Integral questioningly.
“Your family is coming to see you knighted.” Integral said, smiling at her daughter.

Deirdre smiled. “I am glad you are all coming.”

No one mentioned the need for added security, or any of the myriad other reasons that Walter and the Vampires might be coming. Indeed, by the time that they arrived at Buckingham Palace, Alucard and Seras appeared to be regular Hellsing soldiers, and unremarkable other than as bodyguards. Deirdre had known that shape-changing was a vampiric skill, but hadn’t ever seen it before in practice. She wondered if they could change into anyone they liked, and thought that if they could, this was a skill that could be…has been…used by Hellsing before. She realized that this had been done before, that Alucard usually went as himself because it inspired fear. If stealth were called for, he could go as anyone he desired to be.

Before very long they were there. She was escorted inside with much fanfare, and the entire event seemed like it was intended to be long and boring. She suffered through. It seemed like a million years before the King presented “Sir Deirdre Mab Hellsing, Knight of the Church of England.” She was relieved that it was over. A surreptitious look at the clock told her she’d been in this awful charade for two and a half hours. A whim made her think of Captain Marcus Tourville, and wonder if he’d slept through the entire thing. She was sure he had. In fact, she was rather envious. She rather thought she’d have been able to sleep through the entire thing, and she was the guest of honour!

The knighting was followed by a formal dinner, in which Deirdre sat at her mother’s left and Alucard was on her own left. The dinner was saved from total boredom by Alucard’s continuing mental commentary on the different courtiers and what animals they resembled. She choked on her wine twice. Her mother, who may or may not have been listening to the same running commentary, was good to slap her on the back when this happened.

Finally, it was time for the dancing. Deirdre danced with Alucard first, then with different members of the roundtable. She was really starting to get worn out when she found herself dancing with the Earl of Claire.

“Well, Sir Hellsing, what a pleasure.” He said.

“Thank you.” She replied. She’d been enduring this all night.

“As one of your mother’s closest colleagues, I want to tender my congratulations.” He said, smiling. “I’d also like to introduce you to my son, Lord St. Ives.”

“Greetings.” Said Deirdre. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Charmed.” Said Lord St. Ives, the son of the Earl of Claire.

”I’ll just leave you young people alone to get to know each other,” said the Earl of Claire.
The conversation went relatively well. Deirdre found out that the young man’s given name was Arthur, that he was well-mannered, and that he was quite charming.

Arthur, for his part, found that it wasn’t going to be easy to bully Deirdre Mab Hellsing. In fact, it was going to be difficult. His current plan of action was going to have to change a bit. He was going to have to get inside her defenses and woo her. Unfortunately, this required patience, a virtue that he hadn’t managed to acquire much of in his short life. Fortunately, he had been assured by his Father that Deirdre Mab Hellsing was completely a chaste virgin, who had no experience whatsoever with men other than vampires, who weren’t exactly courting her (he thought) and the elderly butler, Walter.

By the end of the evening, she had agreed to see him one evening the next week. He was elated that it was going to be this easy to court her. It was a bonus that she was lovely, although her features were too strong for her to be considered classically beautiful. Once he broke her spirit and controlled Hellsing…once the plan was in place and working, then he could do more as he liked. For now, however, he would play the courtier. He chafed against the restrictions, he wanted to be himself and break her quickly, but—

His train of thought was interrupted by a Hellsing employee that came to collect the newly made Sir Deirdre: “Excuse me, Sir Hellsing, but there has been a call…” his voice trailed off, the situation sounded important.

“Of course, Officer.” Deirdre was afraid to use a less generic term. Alucard wasn’t technically supposed to be at things like this. Although he hadn’t specifically been excluded, he hadn’t exactly gotten an engraved invitation from the royal family, either.

It’s not as if I don’t have the right by blood, he thought at her, amused.

True enough, she thought back at him, taking his arm as they left the Great Hall.

The ride home was a relief. It was finally quiet, and things had settled to the point where she could actually think about everything. She was going to ask her mother about the hospital, but then remembered that Alucard had said that they could talk after tonight. Technically, it wasn’t tonight anymore, but tomorrow at 3 o’clock in the morning, but Deirdre wasn’t about to take chances.

Integral dozed most of the way home, her head on Alucard’s shoulder. Deirdre chatted quietly with Seras, asking her if she’d enjoyed herself (which she had) and if she’d learned anything (which she also had.)

Sadly, Seras told her, the pressure of so many minds kept them from learning much, so many people were thinking so many things that very little of import was learned, but they had a couple of good ideas on people to keep an eye on, and so forth.

That conversation quickly turned slightly girly, as the younger women discussed what other people had worn, and whether or not it suited them. This quickly degenerated into a discussion of the things Alucard had said about the nobles at the dinner table, and both of them were giggling almost uncontrollably by the time that they got home.

Deirdre was grateful tonight, though, that she ended the evening in bed, alone. She was exhausted by the entire ordeal, and was asleep in a few minutes.

The next few weeks went by quickly. Deirdre learned the next morning about her mother’s disease, and Integral informed her that in six months she’d be the head of the Hellsing organization. Integral was planning to retire then, if she was still alive. The doctor had said she had anywhere from six months to two years, and Integral would remain on as a consultant, but not take part in the day-to-day operations of Hellsing.

The Captians complained briefly about the addition of Captain Marcus Tourville. Integral sent them to Deirdre when they complained, and Deirdre referred them to Captain Tourville’s record of never having lost a man (or woman for that matter) in the field. Three missions later, they stopped coming, having seen for themselves how effective the wiry Captain’s unit was in close combat. In fact, two of the Captains were asking Integral if they could form close combat units ‘like Captain Tourville’s,” and were told that it was being taken under consideration at this time.

Also, during this time, Deirdre continued to see Lord St. Ives. After six dates, she was becoming concerned. Things were too perfect, and she had started to look for the hook underneath the bait. In her experience, limited though it was, love never came without strings attached. They might be strings of responsibility, or honor, or duty, they might be strings that came with either good or bad effects, but this seemed to be perfect, and Deirdre was suspicious.

She was thinking about it in the office, pacing back and forth, trying to decide whom she could breach the subject with. Integral was understandably dealing with her own problems when she wasn’t dealing with Hellsing’s problems, and Deirdre didn’t really want to bother her with the need for advice. Walter was busy, Alucard asleep, and Seras, although she seemed to be experienced enough, still seemed to be somewhat innocent. Deirdre wondered if that was an act, or if the thought of having Alucard rip someone’s arms off for disrespecting his ‘daughter’ was what kept that guise of innocence around Seras.

There was a knock on the door. Those knocks came at the most importune moments.

“Come.” She said.

It was Captain Tourville. They’d become friends of an odd sort over the past few weeks. She was impressed by his competence, and he by hers. They understood each other on a gut level, and for this reason, they got along. He was as much like Alucard in his sensibilities and morals, but Deirdre got along well with Alucard as well. She remembered briefly the first time that she’d gone to Marcus’ apartments for something. No one had bothered to inform her that he usually walked around unclothed, and she’d seen rather more of him than she had expected. She colored slightly at the memory, but smiled.

“Greetings, Captain,” she said politely, “Is there something you need?”

“Yes, Sir Deirdre. I need some more equipment, my unit has progressed to the point that they all need short swords of some type. They have chosen, and I would like to turn in their order.”

“Very well.” Deirdre said. She didn’t mind when people really needed things, and this unit did need the swords. It was when she was bombarded for orders of stupid things that she got irritated. That was generally one of the other Captains though, this one was very prudent in what he asked for.

“Captain Tourville,” she continued, after taking the piece of paper from him, “there is something I would like to talk to you about if you don’t mind? It’s of a personal nature.”

Providence had brought him along at just the right moment. It was early afternoon, the chance of them getting interrupted by vampires was relatively slim.

“Shoot.” Said Marcus, curious about what she’d have to say.

Realizing that ‘shoot’ was a Yankee colloquialism for ‘certainly, I’d be happy to help you out Sir Deirdre,” and not a request, she began to explain the problem.

“Well, Captain, it’s like this. As you know, I’ve been seeing Lord St. Ives for the last few weeks.”

Marcus nodded, but didn’t say anything yet.

“At first, I was really enjoying myself. He did everything the way I wanted. Everything my way. He brought flowers, he brought candy, he’s gone everywhere and done everything I wanted to do or see…”

He waited, there wasn’t anything to say yet, and he was about to get a window into this woman’s mind that he was sure that very few people ever got to see.

“Honestly, I keep wondering where the hook under the bait is. Everything has been too perfect, and well…it seems like he wants to marry me for love. I expect that he will propose soon, thinking that I am so firmly in love that I can’t see what’s happening, and although marrying for love would be nice,” here there was a little bit of longing in her voice, “I understand my duty. Love has nothing to do with my duty, Captain Tourville. The best I was ever hoping for is to find someone that I could like and respect. Love hasn’t ever really entered the equation. Love and duty rarely mix.”
“I think the part that has me the most worried is that I thought at the beginning that I was in love, but now I know that I am not. I am suspicious of his motives, though.”

Marcus thought about this for a few minutes, not giving an instant answer. Part of this was because he wanted to think through the situation, but another part of him was wondering what the man did want. The obvious answer was frightening, but possible. Any of the several other answers that he came up with were also possible, though.

She was glad that he didn’t just give her a pat reassurance. It was nice to be taken seriously.

“I would guess, Sir Deirdre, that you are correct. There is a hook under this bait. I also suspect that you already know what it is that he is after. There are several options.”

“First of all, he might simply be after power. Hellsing appears on the surface to answer to no one, and have it’s own private little army that can do anything it wants whenever it wants to do it. In addition to that, you have two vampires who are capable of almost anything. That’s a lot of power for one person to control.”

“Alternatively, he might really be in love. Unfortunately, my research into his character shows that is probably not the case.”

Deirdre was pretty sure she’d seen through the ‘love’ façade, but she wasn’t completely positive. She didn’t want to be right about thinking that there was something wrong with the situation, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong indeed.

“I have a date with him tonight, and he’s intimated that he is going to ask me to marry him. I have been strongly encouraged by the King and the Roundtable to marry as soon as possible and get myself with an heir. I know that Mother did things her own way, and I may do the same, but it seems like I should at least make an attempt to do things the ‘old fashioned way.’ I don’t like this first candidate they’ve put forward though. Looking back, I have been uncomfortable the whole time, ever since I met the Earl of Claire at the ceremony, and was introduced to his son.”

“Intuition is often correct.” Marcus said, nodding. “If you feel that something is going very wrong, than it most probably is.”

He thought for a moment.

“Would you like for me to be your driver tonight? Certainly Alucard or Seras could do it, but they are much more noticeable than I am. I blend in better, and I will be right there on hand to help you if anything goes south.”

She thought about that for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes, Captain Tourville, I think that would be a very good idea, indeed.”