Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ San Graal ❯ Sheba ( Chapter 3 )

The moon hung low in the sky, just above the palm trees that swayed in the cool ocean breeze; a sharp contrast to the desert that lay just beyond the city.

This was Aden, the oasis, the land of Sheba. And in the eyes of the Anglo-Arab child that had stepped out of the dreary London world he had known for the first four years of his life for the first time, the land was magical.

He had promised his father he would not leave his aunt's home while Tariq was with the other grown men celebrating his youngest brother's marriage. Though he was usually a good child, Aiden was bored watching the other children play, for they would not let their Anglican cousin in to their group.

He slipped away while the woman that was supposed to be watching him had to deal with a more pressing concern with one of the babies, heading out in to the evening silence and toward the nearby seashore.

But after some time had passed, for the child was certain a lot of time had gone by- it was already dark and the moon was in the sky, which it had not been when he slipped away from the house- it seemed that these people did not care that he was missing.

Even Father must have forgotten him. . . . .

"Aiden, your nanny has been terrified."

The boy turned, tears welling at the corners of his sapphire eyes as he looked at his father, who was wearing a dark blue suit in a design he had only seen in the "low" sections of London, as Mother called them.

He wanted to run and embrace the man, but he hesitated. Father's suits were tailored perfectly, or military issue, like the ones every other soldier in the Army wore. Something wasn't right. . . .

"Abi, I. . . .didn't mean to scare her. It just wasn't fun listening to all of the gibberish that they spoke about me."

"Aiden, please." Tariq sighed, his now accentless voice barely audible in the quiet night air as he stepped closer to his son, sitting on the low wall that overlooked the sea where the boy had spent the past hour watching the ships come in to the port. "You don't have to use my language if you are uncomfortable with it, but don't insult people just because you are ignorant to their ways."

Father always smelled of cologne and menthol cigarettes, a nice change from Mother, and the child was soon at ease with the man, snuggling close to his side, still watching the ships.

"Sorry Papa. I just, I felt so alone. I was really scared. And Aliyah seemed mad that I didn't understand her when she tried to speak English, but it was just SO bad!" Sapphire eyes twinkled as the boy looked up at his father, a smile spreading across his Cupid's bow lips before he hugged the man around the waist, snuggling close to his chest.

Tariq could only chuckle in response- the boy had not yet grasped the sheer expanse of the world around him, nor had he understood that people could be very different. Now, ask him about a vampire, and he could probably list three ways to destroy them, but in practical knowledge, Aiden Seyed was quite ignorant.

"I want you to remember something Aiden. Do you promise me that no matter what Mother says differently about what I will tell you, you will understand that I speak the truth?"

The boy nodded, sapphire eyes still fixed upon chocolate.

"Religion is going to destroy the world; I am surprised that it has not already. Do not misunderstand- faith in something more than self is good, but to take this faith to the extreme like Mother, my family, Section Thirteen, all of them do, that is when religion is bad."

"But Papa, I-"

An olive finger pressed against the boy's lips, silencing him with the gesture. "Don't become like them, Aiden. Don't let religious pride overshadow the goodness in your heart. But most importantly, do not harm others because they believe something that you do not.

"If that is the only thing I can give you, my son, cling to it for the rest of your life, however long that may be."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The mechanical buzz of the alarm on his nightstand awoke the boy from the blood-induced dream, and with a heavy hand, Aiden silenced the device as he turned to face the window, staring at the purplish haze of dusk as it descended on the land.

How long had it been since he had even thought of his father, let alone dreamed of him? Tariq was not a topic to be discussed anywhere in his mother's house, so he had pushed all memories away, leaving life as a series of events spent with Argetni, and only Argetni.

Stephen had tidied the room by day, an added comfort for the boy as he sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his eyes with the back of his right hand as his left reached for the robe hanging from the back of his desk's chair, slipping the robe over his shoulders.

Ah well, he could enjoy his breakfast in the office and not change from his robe the entire evening while he studied for the academy. Wonderful.

Running a hand through his hair as he stood, Aiden walked from the room to the one immediately next to his own, the master of Hellsing's office. Stephen was already inside; a tray of food in hand as he watched the boy shuffle in stocking-clad feet across the black and white tiled floor, only glancing once at the portrait of his mother that hung upon the wall.

"I'll be fine for the rest of the night. Thank you Stephen."

Setting the tray on the antique desk, Stephen smiled at the comment. "Very well then Sir. If I may draw your attention to the letters delivered here today- two are from the Radclyffe house, one from the Seyed family,"

"No doubt another request for financial assistance."

"Yes sir, and the final one is from the Vatican. I have placed them in the top drawer on the right; feel free to read them at your leisure."

The boy just nodded, picking up the fork to poke at the pieces of fruit that were to be his breakfast. "Thank you Stephen. I will be fine tonight."

With a bow, the servant exited the master's quarters, leaving the boy alone once again.

He wasn't hungry. The damned dream of his father coupled with whatever it was the Seyed family wanted were too much. They had disowned Tariq and Aiden upon the elder's death, just two months after the wedding in Yemen because both were Christian.

That was when Mother officially changed his surname, telling the four year old child that he was never to speak of his father again.

But complaining about the least of the letters was not going to help remedy any past situations. There were more pressing concerns for his time; Madelen, the Section XIII letter, the Academy, Sir Radclyffe, anything but the damnable paternal relatives he tried to forget.

The letters were exactly where Stephen had said, and one by one, the boy spread them across the desk, staring at the penmanship on the front of each. The "Not Bomb" stamp of Iscariot covered most of the return address, but the letter was obviously from a subordinate- he could not recognize the handwriting. Sliding his thumb through the sealed piece, he sighed in relief as he skimmed the composition. Iscariot was just sending a friendly warning that two of their agents would pass through Heathrow on their way to Ireland for a retreat in three days time, and that if he did not wish for a full-scale war between the two factions again, he would keep his vampire away from the agents.

At least some good news was to come today.

The letter addressed to 'Adin Seyed' was immediately deposited in the trash. The paternal family did not deserve more of his time than it already received.

Only two letters remained, one obviously from Sir Radclyffe, and the other obviously from his daughter. Swallowing, he opened the one addressed to Sir Hellsing, carefully reading the announcement of a routine Round Table meeting to be held at Sir Aislan's estate at the end of the month. It would be a social affair to celebrate the induction of Sir Hellsing himself into the order, and all were encouraged to bring their wives or children, for no business was to actually be discussed.

Finally, he moved to the letter addressed to simply "Aiden". Madelen Radclyffe must have stopped by earlier in the day to deliver the message; he could still smell the sweet perfume of the girl upon the envelope.

Carefully, he peeled the envelope's seal back, pulling the lavender stationary from the cream envelope, unfolding the letter slowly.

She was apologizing for the conversation this morning. Perfect. A woman needed to understand her place if she wanted a relationship with a Knight of the Round; both Mother and Father had instilled this belief in him. The girl was too poetic- most of the letter gushed on and on about how she could not wait until he was finally 18 so they could be married. . . .right. Just because her father wanted an arranged marriage between the two families did not mean Aiden or his mother wished for such.

"Tonight?!" Sapphire eyes widened as the words of the postscript were read. "God no!"

Growling, he stood from the desk, hurrying back to his room. He had specifically instructed Maddy to NEVER come onto Hellsing grounds after dark, and that he was not responsible for anything that happened to her if the monsters were patrolling the property. Especially Argetni.

God, if Argetni was lurking around the forest, no one was safe. . . .

He had changed almost in an instant, sporting a dark colored sweater and khaki pants, stepping in to his shoes as he ran for the main entrance.

Her letter stated that she would be in the public stables in the adjacent park, a former piece of Hellsing family property sold to help with the budget crisis nearly fifty years ago. But even those that regularly frequented the stable knew to leave before dark, so Maddy was completely alone with the horses and whatever else happened to be lurking nearby.

He sprinted across the grounds, taking the shortcut through the wooded area that separated the manor from the stables, leaping over brush and fallen trees that were in his path. The forest was no mystery to him- in fact, it was his favorite place to hide from Mother when he was a child.

Out of breath, he arrived at the lighted stable area, leaning over as he panted, eyes momentarily fixing upon the strawberry-haired young woman that stood scratching the neck of a grey pony.

"Maddy. . . .God, you're stupid. . . ."

Grey eyes fixed upon him as the young woman turned from the pony, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at the young Sir Hellsing.

"Nice to see you too Aiden."

His breathing was still labored as he straightened to his full height, looking down at the much shorter girl, eyes filled with contempt. "I've told you thousands of times not to come on to any property owned by my family after dark! Do you want to get yourself killed!?! Huh!?!"

"There's nothing here besides the horses and us Aiden. Don't worry so much." She smiled, walking over to her assumed fiancé, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek as she wrapped her arms around him, loving the warmth of his body. "Besides, your home is too depressing and your mother is an insensitive bitch. I'm beginning to think Devries hates me after what she did last time."

He did not return the signs of affection, only wrapping an arm around her as he rested his chin on top of her head, eyes closed as he breathed in her scent. Of course, that was why he loved her, her scent was maddening, especially now.

"I'll take you home Maddy, but that's all. And don't speak of this again, do you understand?"

The girl pouted, pushing away from him as she turned, wrapping willowy arms tightly around herself. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll go home. I will see you at Sir Aislan's ball, won't I?"

He knew exactly what she was doing- trying to elicit sympathy, to make him agree to whatever her desire was at the moment. Mother did the same thing, but Mother was so much better at it.

No woman should act like Mother, because only she had a viable excuse. She was a bloodthirsty demon, and her base instincts drove her to act in this manner. Madelen should be proper, courtly, a perfect specimen of the female of the species.

So instead of the desired response, the boy's temper flared. Grabbing the girl, he pulled her around, fingers digging in to her arms as he shook her. "STOP IT! I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THIS!"

She could only whimper- neither had realized his strength, nor how short his temper actually was tonight. His hands on her arms were painful, fingernails tearing tracks on her shoulders, and his words only hurt her more.

Madelen Radclyffe did the only thing she could at the moment- cry.

"STOP IT!" Aiden shook her again, causing her to shriek in terror.

"Aiden. . . .I didn't mean it. . . ."

"LIAR!"

The horses stabled immediately nearby shrieked as the girl collapsed on the ground, the clap of flesh upon flesh reverberating in the metal-lined isles. Blood slowly slipped from her nose and mouth; her head lay at an improper angle to her body.

Had he hit her hard enough to kill? No, he couldn't have. Sure, he technically wasn't human, but he didn't have any extraordinary abilities of this magnitude. He could only sense vampires, his dhampiric gift.

The boy-leader of Hellsing trembled as he fell to his knees beside Madelen's crumpled form, petting her hair from her face as he pulled his mobile phone from his pocket, dialing an ambulance, asking them to come immediately.