How Time Flies By

“Enter.”

Seras gulped and did as she was told, finding him yet again standing and drinking his wine. The only difference was, at least this time he wore his white shirt.

“Good, you didn’t keep me waiting.” He placed the empty chalice on his table and motioned for her to come closer.

She finally took notice to her surroundings. He had lit more candles then he had yesterday, and the other chalice was full. “Master what-”

“Instead of questioning me on the what, I think the real question would be ‘why’,” he said as he handed her the other glass.

“Well then why is there more light than yesterday, and why a glass for me. Why are you doing this?”

“You interest me Seras.”

She choked on her wine. “What?”

“You heard me perfectly well.” He grinned at her and popped open two buttons on his shirt to expose his neck. “Seras, tell me, will you refuse my offer this time?”

“Master…”

“If you do, then we really can be on first name terms.”

“Did you-”

“Yes, while the mental link is open, I can catch on to a few things in your head still.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “So answer me. Will you refuse this time?”

She hesitated before shaking her head. “No, I won’t.”

Alucard moved to sit on his chair and motioned for her again. Once she was close enough, he pulled her to straddle his waist.

“Is… freedom my reward, Master?”

“Part of it. You’ll figure the other part out after.”

Now curious, she grazed his neck with her fangs before sinking them into his skin, causing him to gasp and buck slightly under her. “Seras…” he murmured into her ear, coaxing her to continue with a few strokes of her hair.

She groaned at his taste. If people hopped up on adrenaline were sweet, he was an entire candy factory existing solely to create cavities. /Why is your blood so sweet? No other vampire has been this good./

/Since when have you sucked on other blood-suckers’ necks?/

/Targets backed me into a corner, and tooth and nail were my only weapons. Blood tends to end up on you./

/Enough, I’m getting weak./

Reluctantly, she withdrew. It was only then she noticed the hard bulge she was sitting on and blushed. “Is that what happens when you’re drained?”

“Only when the one draining you is someone you care about,” he smiled, seeing her blush deepen. “So here’s the next part of your reward, Seras. It is up to you to say yes, or deny me. Do you wish to remain by my side through eternity, not as a servant, but as my equal in power; my No-Life Queen?”

There was no other way to describe Seras’s feelings apart from shock, doubt, and a sheer “what the fuck”. “Ma- Alucard, you aren’t serious, are you? This is… something really huge, and different from you.”

“You stated before I was different, now you know why. I doubted you had grown in this short amount of time, but you proved me wrong on a few levels. You’ve become my equal, and now that you’re free, you harbor the same amount of power I carry.”

“Well I was sired by your blood, I guess it took my initiative to unlock the powers that came with it.”

“That it did. Now stop with your games and answer me.”

She opened her mouth to answer, when a knock sounded from the door. “Miss Victoria, Mr. Alucard,” William, the replacement butler said from behind the iron door, “Miss Integra has found a mission for you and requests you pack up and ship out immediately. Head upstairs as soon as possible.”

They waited to hear receding footsteps and he looked back at her. “We do not move until you answer.”

“Even at the wrath of Sir Integra?”

“Even then.” He narrowed his eyes. “Seras I need to know now.”

“Then yes.”

The laughter that sounded in his room startled her for a second before she caught her composure again.

“What, was I supposed to say no? Don’t tell me you tricked me into embarrassing myself you bloody-”

He cut her off with a scorching kiss that made her melt. /No, you answered correctly. But, the ritual will have to wait until we have time alone./

/Ritual?/

/Yes, ritual. It is not as simple as saying yes, like a proposal, there is more to this that just that. We feed from one another, lighting the fire that will drive us further. Apart from that knowledge, I’m just as naïve as you./

They pulled apart. “You? Naïve? I don’t believe it,” she said with teasing eyes.

“Well look at me, how many wives do you think I’ve had like this? How many do you think looked passed the monster like you did?”

“I can’t answer that. I’m not you.”

“None. So I’m going into this as blind as you are. I just know the basics and how to go about it. Now before Integra finds a reason to castrate me, let’s go upstairs.”

“Couldn’t you just grow it back?”

“No, I have no more souls to regenerate from, remember? I need to start my collection from scratch again.”

“Oh, well then yes, let’s go.” She slid off him, causing a moan to escape from his lips. “Ma- Alucard? Are you alright?”

He gnashed his teeth together. “I will be. Head up without me, tell her I need a few seconds.”

She nodded and left to their Master’s office where she found Integra lighting up another cigar. “I’m amazed those things haven’t killed you yet, Master.”

“You have no need to call me that now that your real master is home.”

“Well, the thing is…”

“I am no longer her owner,” Alucard answered as he ported in beside her. “So whatever she calls you is irrelevant to me.”

“Did you-” Integra started, but was cut off.

“No. Your summons made it incomplete.”

“Then excuse me for the intrusion, but this is important. A sudden uprising in activity in a village to the east of here. You two are needed to exterminate the ghouls in Terra, your mission: search and destroy.”

“Mission accepted, Master,” Seras said and ported to her room to gather things together.

Alucard was about to leave himself when Integra cleared her throat.

“Housing will be a problem, there are no cabins or anything around there. The only source of shelter would be a cave close to a stream and watering hole, so says reports of a scout.”

“It will not be a problem.”

“Alucard, has she answered you?”

“Yes, she has.”

“And?”

“Well that’s what you interrupted. I decided to not proceed, lest entice your wrath upon the two of us. The ritual should not be disrupted once started, and knowing your patience, I do not want to be the cause of many deaths upon this plot of land.”

Integra folded her hands and rested her chin on them. “Just keep your promise and do not hurt her.”

He bowed. “As I said, I will treat my wife with the respect she deserves.” With that, he stepped through a portal that led him to the front door to wait for his former protégé.

Integra sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m getting too old for this.”