Lenny Bruce is not afraid...
Jun. 23rd, 2005 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodsong1Hellsing does not belong to me. Rowan does. And boy, is she in for it.
Integral shivered, yawned, and blinked her eyes open. A figure stood in a sliver of moonlight streaming through a gap in her curtains. As she watched, the figure took a drag from a cigarette. Integral found her glasses and put them on. The figure condensed into Rowan, staring up at the sky and smoking.
"What time is it?" Integral asked softly.
"Just after three am." Rowan turned and smiled at Integral. The knight could see the cigarette had the flattened shape of hand-rolling and it didn't smell right. She sniffed.
"Cloves?"
"Ground and mixed with mugwort leaves. My own special blend." Rowan stubbed out the cigarette in one of Integral's ashtrays and approached the bed. Her hair looked silver in the faint light, but her eyes were shadowed. "May I ask you a personal question, Sir Hellsing?"
"Yes." Integral sat up and smoothed out the covers. Rowan made herself comfortable next to Integral, curling her legs up and keeping her boots off the quilt. Integral had a sudden feeling of hushed expectancy. Two women about to share secrets in the moonlight.
"How long have you had Alucard in your...service?"
"Seven years." Integral turned to face Rowan. "I found him downstairs, in the dungeons, and...woke him up."
"And the sigils on his gloves? Who put those there?"
"My great-grandfather. He was the one who bound Alucard to my family line."
"How?"
"Magic. And blood." Integral dropped her eyes.
"Blood woke him. Your blood." Rowan's statement made Integral shiver.
"Yes. I had been shot. He...rescued me and pledged his services." Integral looked up at Rowan. Her face was half-shadowed, one blue-green eye glowing in the moonlight, the other dark. "Why do you ask?"
"It's strange. I've never been in this house before. What I knew about you were only whispers over pints and teacups. Yet, when I walked in this afternoon, I felt him. I knew exactly where he was, even when it was only shadows. I wasn't surprised when he appeared beside me." Rowan shivered this time, looking into Integral's eyes only for a moment before turning away and staring at Walter.
"Has he bothered you?" Integral asked, getting annoyed. Rowan shook her head, reaching behind her. A long knife appeared in her hand.
"He tried to intimidate me in the kitchen. I knew he was there the whole time and...I teased him. Then, when he got too close, I drew this on him." She laid the blade on the quilt between them. Integral looked at it. It was the length of a mein gauche, a parrying blade, but the hilt was almost the same length as the blade, solid oak with a rubber cap. The crosspiece and blade glowed faintly. Integral picked it up. It felt well balanced.
"Silver?"
"Silver plated Spanish steel. The crosspiece is pure silver. The cap comes off to reveal a point." Integral pushed off the cap. Sure enough, the oak had been sharpened into a stake. Looking closely, she saw the blade was inscribed.
"In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Santi Amen." Integral gaped at Rowan. The apothecary turned her head slowly and looked back at the knight. Tears were forming in her blue-green eyes.
"I had that specially made while in college. It cost me a lot and I keep it on me at all times. Now tell me, Sir Integral Hellsing. Why would I, a simple apothecary who never believed in monsters, have a vampire hunter weapon?"
Integral shivered, yawned, and blinked her eyes open. A figure stood in a sliver of moonlight streaming through a gap in her curtains. As she watched, the figure took a drag from a cigarette. Integral found her glasses and put them on. The figure condensed into Rowan, staring up at the sky and smoking.
"What time is it?" Integral asked softly.
"Just after three am." Rowan turned and smiled at Integral. The knight could see the cigarette had the flattened shape of hand-rolling and it didn't smell right. She sniffed.
"Cloves?"
"Ground and mixed with mugwort leaves. My own special blend." Rowan stubbed out the cigarette in one of Integral's ashtrays and approached the bed. Her hair looked silver in the faint light, but her eyes were shadowed. "May I ask you a personal question, Sir Hellsing?"
"Yes." Integral sat up and smoothed out the covers. Rowan made herself comfortable next to Integral, curling her legs up and keeping her boots off the quilt. Integral had a sudden feeling of hushed expectancy. Two women about to share secrets in the moonlight.
"How long have you had Alucard in your...service?"
"Seven years." Integral turned to face Rowan. "I found him downstairs, in the dungeons, and...woke him up."
"And the sigils on his gloves? Who put those there?"
"My great-grandfather. He was the one who bound Alucard to my family line."
"How?"
"Magic. And blood." Integral dropped her eyes.
"Blood woke him. Your blood." Rowan's statement made Integral shiver.
"Yes. I had been shot. He...rescued me and pledged his services." Integral looked up at Rowan. Her face was half-shadowed, one blue-green eye glowing in the moonlight, the other dark. "Why do you ask?"
"It's strange. I've never been in this house before. What I knew about you were only whispers over pints and teacups. Yet, when I walked in this afternoon, I felt him. I knew exactly where he was, even when it was only shadows. I wasn't surprised when he appeared beside me." Rowan shivered this time, looking into Integral's eyes only for a moment before turning away and staring at Walter.
"Has he bothered you?" Integral asked, getting annoyed. Rowan shook her head, reaching behind her. A long knife appeared in her hand.
"He tried to intimidate me in the kitchen. I knew he was there the whole time and...I teased him. Then, when he got too close, I drew this on him." She laid the blade on the quilt between them. Integral looked at it. It was the length of a mein gauche, a parrying blade, but the hilt was almost the same length as the blade, solid oak with a rubber cap. The crosspiece and blade glowed faintly. Integral picked it up. It felt well balanced.
"Silver?"
"Silver plated Spanish steel. The crosspiece is pure silver. The cap comes off to reveal a point." Integral pushed off the cap. Sure enough, the oak had been sharpened into a stake. Looking closely, she saw the blade was inscribed.
"In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Santi Amen." Integral gaped at Rowan. The apothecary turned her head slowly and looked back at the knight. Tears were forming in her blue-green eyes.
"I had that specially made while in college. It cost me a lot and I keep it on me at all times. Now tell me, Sir Integral Hellsing. Why would I, a simple apothecary who never believed in monsters, have a vampire hunter weapon?"
