Twisted Thorns

Chapter Eleven

As the morning filtered in through the partially opened curtain, Lizzie awoke to the sound of birds singing. The light fell in such a way that Alucard was not touched by the light. Lizzie looked up at his face. He was asleep, tired from the pacing. "Alucard..." she gently stroked his cheek with a finger. "Wake up, it's nearly morning, the sunlight!" She sat up. A small smile played across his lips, however his eyes remained closed. "The sunlight doesn't harm me, my love." He pulled her down, so she lay half on top of him, half off. He opened his eyes and smiled. "If I died right now, and your beautiful face was the last thing I had seen, I'd die happy." She smiled. Leaning down, she pecked his forehead with her lips, and she felt it crease beneath her. Withdrawing, she looked him in the eyes, and softly kissed his lips.

*alucard pov*
She has me under her spell, the witch. Everything about her! The way her eyes lit up at the smallest thing, the way she laughed with Seras, the way her mouth opened and closed slightly as she slept, everything. As the softness of her lips became more aggressive, her body straining against his, he nearly lost himself. "Elizabeth... please wait." He pulled his lips from hers. She stopped, smirked, and pulled her top above her head, exposing her flesh, her bare chest. She leaned back down to kiss him again.
"Elizabeth, stop." He said sternly. Lizzie sat bolt upright, covering her chest slightly.
"What's the problem? Don't you want me?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. Phaha! Want her? Of course he wanted her! That much would be apparent if she moved her leg slightly.
"No! I do! It's just..." he trailed away. He couldn't just say: 'I have plans to turn you into a creature of the night so we can never be separated again I just haven't asked you yet.' "I don't want to hurt you." She moved off of him, quickly replacing her clothes. "I... I have things to do today." She exited the room, leaving Alucard alone with his thoughts.

Two days later

Lizzie had thrown herself into training alone in the day time. Knife fighting techniques, shooting fast moving targets. She barely made time for anything else. Alucard barely saw her, as she went to her room and closed herself away for the night, claiming to be suffering from a headache of some sort. When he was sure she was asleep, he would check on her. But those precious moments were few and far between. Tonight was one of those nights. Lizzie had awoken at 5 am, when the sun was just peeking over the horizon, and going to bed at 8pm. It was now 2am, and Lizzie was fast asleep. Alucard leant over her, watching as she dreamt. "I am centuries old, I have slain armies upon armies of enemies almost single handedly. I have conquered lands. I have stolen women from their homestead with a single glance. I have committed atrocities people devote their lives to researching. Is that the reason you shut me out?" He shut his eyes, lost in his thoughts. "I love you, My Queen. More than I love myself. My existence is meaningless without you." He sighed a deep sigh, and planted a kiss on her cheek. He materialised a red tulip, leaving it in her hand.

The second week of December had commenced, and all Hellsing staff had been given the coming weeks until January 4th off. All Hellsing staff, beside the year round residents, which included Lizzie. She had taken to waking up in the day time a little earlier, and getting some exploring of the mansion grounds and seemingly ever changing stretches of halls. Pip and Seras had decided to spend a little time together over the holidays, so Lizzie had made a mental note to leave them alone as much as she could. After dinner one evening, she decided to take a detour through a previously unexplored by her part of the mansion. Sure enough, she soon became lost, and in her annoyance, she did not realise the sun had set, and the undead residents of the mansion would be rising from their sleep.

"This place is like a fucking maze." She grumbled, walking through a corridor lined with suits of armour. A huge painting hung across two wall panels. Looking at the picture, the couple looked familiar. It was an old picture, hundreds of years old. Looking closer, she pressed her hand to the side of the painting, and she was on the edge of recognition until the picture gave way! It swung inwards, and revealed a large stone staircase in which she stumbled and fell down. She felt every one of the unforgiving steps. Her vision became fuzzy, and she saw black dots as she started to pass out. "Shit." She said, slipping into darkness.