Le Danse du Crepsule
Chapter 2- A Tale of Two Letters
Integra woke again, alone and safely in her own room. The morning sun glared brightly through the blinds illuminating the space. Integra lay on top of her four-poster bed, surrounded by a plethora of overstuffed, deep green pillows. All the scratches from the night before had disappeared but Integra's head throbbed dully. It was hard to believe that anything out of the ordinary had occurred in the face of such overwhelming normalcy. Still, Integra was sure that something was different, though she couldn't place what. She pulled herself into an upright position, then winced as the room danced and spun around her. One hand rose to hold her head and something slipped off of Integra's shoulder. Integra turned her head and caught a flash of red that she quickly discovered to be Alucard's coat. The thought of Alucard without his coat was strange to Integra; she had only seen him without it very rarely, only once or twice.
Integra gingerly swung her legs over the side of the bed. Another wave of dizziness washed over her, and she waited for it to pass. As she waited Integra let her eyes wander over the furniture in the room. One tall dresser and a short, long dresser with a mirror rested against the wall immediately in front of her, though there were very little on top of either dresser. A few delicate sculptures rested atop the taller dresser, while a large jewelry box, three bottles of perfume and a few of her father's possessions occupied the space on the top of the long dresser. Very little in the room had changed since she had taken her role as the head of the Hellsing organization. What little changes there were, had been made by Walter. He had added a personal computer to her desk, a sleek shiny piece that was supposed to be reserved for social matters, but she hardly ever used it. Integra preferred old-fashioned letter writing to e-mail, and she had no use for the machine. It sat, gathering dust on the desk, having never been turned on. Walter had also taken the liberty of installing a surround-sound stereo, which he had stocked with copies of Integra's favorite CDs. The desk and the stereo took up the wall opposite the bed, and Integra stood, waited a few minutes to regain her balance, and then padded gently over to the stereo. She considered her choices and eventually selected one. She pulled it from its plastic prison and placed it into the CD tray. Integra pressed play and the sound of violins poured from the speakers, swelling and breaking, the sound crashing over Integra in waves.
Integra turned and headed for her walk-in closet. In seconds she had selected a hunter green pantsuit, with a pressed white shirt and blue scarf. She carried the clothes out into the bedroom and laid them out on the bed. From her dresser she withdrew a pair of plain white no-frills underwear and a plain white bra, which joined the other clothes on her bed. Her clothes all laid out, Integra headed to the bathroom where she immediately stripped down. The stone floor was warm under her feet when Integra stepped off of the rug. A soft white towel was pulled from the closet, along with bottles of lavender vanilla shampoo and conditioner. She set the towel down on the counter and the shampoo and conditioner on a shelf in the bathtub. Integra pushed the bathroom door closed before she spun the taps to release a steaming deluge of water into the bathtub. She watched the water level climb as the steam filled the room. When the tub was full she spun the taps back to their original position. She slipped into the hot water feet first, inch-by-inch allowing herself to slowly adjust to the steaming liquid, her skin flushing from the heat. The water eased the tension in her shoulders and Integra felt herself relax.
After the water had cooled a bit Integra slid further into the tub and dipped her head into the warm water. The clumps of blood in her hair began to dissolve into the water, dying it a thin red color. Integra pushed herself back out of the water and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. A good-sized puddle in her hand, Integra rubbed the gel through her hair, scrubbed at her scalp and pulled at clumps of matted, dried blood. When she was satisfied that she had scoured every particle of filth from her hair she piled the mop of limp, soapy strands atop her head and drained the water from the tub. She waited for all the water to flow out before she stepped from the basin and towards the shower, bringing the bottle of conditioner with her. The spray of water warmed quickly and Integra turned to let the water rinse the suds from her hair. She conditioned her long hair, rinsed it, and quickly cleaned the rest of her body.
As the water cascaded down her body, Integra reviewed the events of the night before. They had received a tip that there were two small groups of chipped vampires preparing to fight over territory. Integra had ordered Alucard and Victoria to neutralize the larger of the groups and she herself had led a group of hired mercenaries to neutralize the smaller group of vampires. At first everything had gone well enough, the mercenaries had quickly overpowered the ghouls that had been roaming around, but as they moved deeper, into the building's basement, everything had gone to hell. They had been ambushed by huge numbers of ghouls, more than Integra could count. The thick concrete walls had prevented the thermal scans from registering the ghouls. Most of Integra's group of mercenaries took deep wounds; Integra and the two remaining soldiers had done what was necessary before moving into the tunnels that burrowed outward from the basement.
Each of the three had gone alone into the tunnels, spreading out to cover more ground. Integra's tunnels had rapidly dead-ended; as she was heading back she heard the screams. When she arrived it was already too late and her bullets did very little to stop the advancing group of vampires. They captured her, carrying her deep within the labyrinthine tunnels that twisted beneath London. The four vampires had taken turns drawing razors, broken glass and knives over her skin until they realized that Integra was not going to give them any information. They had locked her in the small room, leaving her to bleed to death while they rethought their plans. After that, Integra remembered little of what happened until she woke in a red silk bed. The stream of water had grown cold, pulling her from her thoughts and Integra rinsed herself off once more before ceasing the water flow and stepping out of the stall. The fluffy white towel absorbed most of the water on her skin when she wrapped it around herself, and another towel pulled from the closet was swiftly wrapped around her hair. By the time her body was dry Integra had retrieved her hairdryer and was doing her best to insure that her hair dried straight.
After what seemed like an eternity, Integra returned to her bedroom and began to dress. On went the practical bra and panties, the crisp white shirt, the perfectly pressed pants and the fitted jacket. Her hair she tied back with a single black ribbon at the nape of her neck. When she was dressed she stood next to her bed inspecting the jacket that still rested on the pillows. On a whim Integra climbed unto the bed and pulled Alucard's jacket to her. She held the rough material to her face and inhaled softly. It smelled of earth and rain, and something darker, a mix of scents that could only be unique to Alucard. Her hands delved greedily into the many pockets as she watched in astonishment, turning them inside out, tracing the seams to find any clue about her servant, savior, protector. The search seemed to yield nothing, but finally, hidden deep within one of the inner pockets Integra's fingers brushed against the torn edges of a piece of paper. Integra withdrew it and inspected first one side then the other. In a sprawling, heavy hand someone had written a message on one side. After a moment Integra was able to decipher the text, "Master, I have left instructions with Walter to allow you to sleep. I have matters to attend to, keep my jacket warm for me." The note was signed with a scrawl and a wax seal, and Integra found it difficult to read the note without imagining Alucard's smirk. But, a tiny voice nagged, Alucard had never left her a note before. Why would he leave her a note this time? Integra's mind supplied question after question. What matters did he have to attend to during the day? Would he tell her if she ordered him to? Did she even want to know? How could she trust him to tell her the truth? He was difficult if not impossible to control, and even when she gave a direct order he would follow it, but in his own way. Alucard might be Hellsing's greatest asset, but he was by no means tame.
Integra pushed all thoughts of Alucard from her mind; it would do no good to let herself linger on such pointless things. She climbed off the bed and spread the jacket out on the bed. Cream-colored socks covered her feet followed by sensible black shoes. Integra switched off the stereo and left her bedroom, the door closing with a soft click behind her. The walk to her office was uneventful and Integra saw no one in the halls. She entered her office to find that Walter had separated all of the mail into three piles: Business; Leisure; and Urgent: Reply Immediately. Integra noted that there were six or seven envelopes in the Business pile, three in the leisure, and one pristine white envelop filed under Urgent. Integra glared at the envelop for a moment, it could wait until she had at least gone through the business mail. The next two hours sped by in a blur as Integra rifled through the mail and reviewed and signed a stack of papers Walter had left for her.
Finally she sat back in her chair and stretched, eyeing the white envelope warily. Integra knew that she couldn't put it off any longer. Her hand landed softly on the smooth paper, lingering for a moment before slitting open the envelop with a letter-opener. Inside was a cream colored card covered in a lilting golden script. Integra had barely glanced at the message on the card before she was up and moving into action. The moment she had seen that neat copperplate writing Integra had known exactly what the card was about. Integra left her office, shouting "Walter! It's bloody time for this again. Get the car ready," as she passed by Walter's office. He stepped out into the hallway behind her, watching her shout orders at everyone in her way. Walter quickly fell into step behind her, he had known what was coming the second he had seen the envelope, and had prepared for it. "The car is waiting, Sir Integra, but I do believe that you do not really have to go." Integra turned to look at him. They had this discussion every year, nothing changed. "If I did not have the family honor to uphold, I wouldn't attend every year. I certainly do not enjoy sitting with all those spinsters, listening to their trivial gossip. Balls, pffft! I have no time for such trivialities. But I must." Integra sounded resigned. "Call my tailor and tell them to be ready to see me. I shall be needing a new dress." And with that she spun on her heel and left the house.