Midian Evolution

Well fed, almost sleepy, I staggered off toward the library. It didn’t surprise me to find Walter there. Pleased, I shut the door and leaned on it. He didn’t notice me, so I took a moment to observe my friend.

Walter, though well aged, had a distinct air of danger and competence. Even at rest he projected a casual sort of menace, like Alucard. However, whereas Master radiated whimsical danger, Walter’s general air promised only efficiency. He’d slaughter or nurture with equal expertise. His duty and/or ethics dictated which way he tilted. Not a creature of chaos, Walter.

My master demoralized a victim by his absolute, monstrous inhumanity. Walter intimidated by making that same, cruel aptitude a matter of logic and precision.

Walter brushed a lock of his raven hair from his face in order to see the pages before him better. He had no silver hairs marring the perfect dark on his head. His near-violet eyes took in the words before him with ardent and pure focus.

Integra was a fortunate woman. I didn’t care how old Walter was; he seemed downright gorgeous to me merely by merit of aptitude. I didn’t feel attracted to him, but I appreciated his mature masculinity.

I didn’t ever want to see him die. It hurt me to know he would fall to dust while I, who had fewer years and less worth, would endure. That sudden pang made me appreciate my master’s isolation. Seeing so many fall to age and the grave…

He turned his head. His eyes slanted with sly knowledge, taking me in. “Miss Victoria,” he murmured. “Friend Seras, what can I do for you?”

I came forward and hugged him, momentarily displacing his stoic mien. He needed some affection, I just sensed it. “Maybe nothing, maybe everything,” I said, plopping down in the nearest chair. “You’re getting married in three days, Walt. Are you ready?”

Walter snickered. “Is any man ever ready?” he asked, sounding utterly defeatist. “No, I’m not ready. I’m scared to death and not ashamed of it.” He put his book back on the shelf and sat opposite me. “I’m so old, dear friend. So old.” He took his spectacle off, rubbed it on his sleeve before seating it firmly back over his left eye. “And, I’m marrying a beautiful, passionate lady who deserves so much more than me.”

That rubbed me the wrong way. I frowned at him. “Walter, you’re awesome,” I protested. “You’re smart, and such an accomplished killer. I appreciate it; surely Integra does, too.”

Walter grinned, tucking his head down for a moment. “Miss Victoria, dear,” he murmured. “Age welcomes age.”

I didn’t understand. Narrowing my attention entirely upon him, I fell silent for a moment. “Walter,” I said after a few minutes. “You’re so strong. Won’t you believe the rest of us think so?”

The saddest, sweetest smile stained Walter’s lips. “If you had only known me before,” he breathed. “I was nine times the opponent I am now. Even your master couldn’t have defeated me.”

I believed him.

Reaching out, I covered his spare, half-gloved hand with mine. “Walter, you’re amazing,” I said. “If I wasn’t so in love with the hell-spawn in the cellar, I’d go after you.”

Walter seemed to suppress a smile. Looking away, his lips twitched. “Such a sweet, young girl,” he said. “I truly like you, Seras. You’re the most real person I’ve ever met, and so beautifully honest.” He patted my hand gently, even tenderly. “You go ahead and care for the hell-spawn in the cellar; he needs the devotion of a real woman even more than I do.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “But, Walter, you do know you deserve it, too, don’t you? You merit love.”

“Do I?” Walter drew back a little. The oddest little smile graced his thin lips. “I’m not so certain.” He grabbed a book, opening it. “Here for light reading or for something more specific?”

I twirled a loose pencil, making spin round and round on the slick surface of the aged wooden table. “I’m here for both,” I admitted. “I want to know about the significance of my tattoo, and I want to find some books on learning Romanian.”

Walter seemed to gather himself. He looked left and right by turns, appearing to assemble his thoughts. “The tattoo is purely Dracul,” he said after a moment, rising to grab a book and open it. He thumped the volume down before me. “Your master branded you, and quite efficiently. He wants you known as his property.”

I looked at the black ink sigil, seeing an emblem almost exactly the same as my tattoo.

Master’s property. I’d swallowed much of his blood last night, which made me a No-Life Queen. Yet, as he’d suspected, I didn’t feel any differently towards him. I still felt the master-and-servant dynamic.

“Master didn’t mind it when I insisted he get a tattoo to match,” I murmured. “I wonder if he still has it.”

Walter’s eyes took on a shady gleam. “Miss Victoria, you and Alucard have a bond that grows stronger very steadily.” He put a book in my hands. “I know Sir Integra wants to speak with you about your wardrobe, but I’m going to make an excuse for you. I think you should go to your master and talk to him about your connection.”

“I think you’re right,” I confessed. I took the heavy volume, walking for the door.

“You can tell me anything, you know,” Walter said just as I reached the threshold.

I paused to smile back at him. “Yeah, I know.”

I went to my chambers and sat on the bed, opening the book. “Sotie,” I muttered, flipping through the index. Finding the page, I quickly spied the word and followed the dotted line to the English translation.

Wife.

I stared at the translation until my eyes burned. Then, I got mad.

I knew damn good and well how he treated “wives.” Those three in his castle he’d thrown around, kicked, threatened and generally made miserable. Oh, he’d fed them apparently, which he probably thought was the height of generosity.

Slamming the book to my table, I got up and marched into my master’s room. He sat exactly where I’d left him, drinking on a bag of medical blood. Advancing upon him, I felt the urge to throttle his pretty neck. “You never proposed to me,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “Just calling me your wife doesn’t make it true. And, furthermore, I’m not the same as those…women you fed the baby to.”

Alucard’s lips moved for an infuriatingly superior smile. “You never proposed to me, either, Seras,” he answered. “But, did I ever claim you were in the category of those women?” He drained the bag of blood and reached a long arm out for another. “At this point, sotie, proposing to one another is useless. We’re quite stuck with each other.” He dropped his leg and put both feet flat on the stone floor. “Stop glaring at me like a fish-wife. Come here.”

“If I get in your lap, I won’t be able to stop myself from strangling you,” I huffed, struggling against the automatic move to obey him.

“Like it would damage me,” he scoffed, crooking his finger. “Don’t make me repeat myself, sotia mea.”

Oh, if only he wasn’t so beautiful and powerful, maybe I could resist! I got in his lap, sitting stiffly and crossing my arms.

He wrapped an arm around my waist. “Of course you aren’t like those females I kept,” he said, offering me the half-finished blood bag. “I never instructed them, never taught them anything except how to stay wet for my cock.”

I covered my eyes. “Master,” I protested.

“Take your hands away from your face, Seras,” he said firmly. “If you have the boldness to hump me in your bathtub, you can hear the more colorful English slang. I’ve gone past my amusement at your delicate sensibilities.”

I did as he asked, before he could make it an order. Still, looking at him was difficult.

“Better,” he said. “Your innocence is a double-edged sword, to me. I enjoy it most of the time, because I can’t even remember what it was to be innocent. I lost any lingering naivety at the age of eleven, when Sultan Mehmed the Second’s bastard son, Omoh, began his regular and vigorous sodomizing of my unwilling person.” He paused to sip blood, ignoring my shocked silence.

“You’re angry about nothing,” he continued. “I could never think of you as something to use and discard. Firstly, I made you a Midian at your behest. Secondly, you’re a smart and engaging little female. I enjoy you.” He finished the rest of the blood and tossed the empty down. “We could call each other anything we like; nothing will remove our link.”

I looked into those gorgeous, gold and red eyes. “And, the nature of our connection, master?” I asked quietly.

He smiled. “I don’t know, Seras. You initiated it. You control almost every part of it, actually.”

I gaped at him. “I do not!” What a ridiculous thing to say. He was the master, not me. I was the fledgling.

“Yes, you do, sotie.” He took my hand and placed it over his beating heart. “I didn’t do this; you did.”