The Catholic Princess

Section Five: Daddy's Little Ray Of Sunshine

Monday, June 4th, 2012- The Vatican, Rome, Italy

~Anderson~

I am fuming, absolutely furious, and Maxwell has officially lost his damn mind. 

" No, I won't let you do this, Maxwell, absolutely not!" 

" It's not your choice, it's hers, and as far as I'm concerned, she is an adult, she can serve Iscariot in some manner!" 

" No! She is not to ever go into the field! Make her work for the orphanage, but for the love of God, please, do not mentally scar my daughter! She is far too kind and lady like to fight like I can! She is a saint! I won't have my order's blood on her hands! I won't do it, damn it!"

" And I understand that, Anderson, but she is 23! She needs to serve like the good catholic you say she is! I swear if she doesn't serve, then it was a mistake on my part for letting you fucking raise her!" 

I froze, my blood going cold, no differently than when I went on a mission.  I was sitting in Maxwell's office at the Iscariot Headquarters, and I was ready to kill my boss.

" Excuse you? Did you just say that you regret saving that child's life?"

" Anderson, I said you could raise her, mostly because I had hopes she'd take your place. You are getting old, teacher, and you can't do this job forever. How old are you now? 47? 50? You are close to retirement age. I've made up my mind. These are your orders. You will train Skye to be a holy soldier, so when she turns 25, she can take the Regenerator Gene, and become the next weapon of God." 

" Maxwell, as her father, as a man who knows she won't survive the surgery, please! Don't do this! She has a medical condition that makes it hard for her to even be a candidate. Let Heinkel do it! She is more than able to do this, and she already has field training!" 

" What medical condition does she have?" 

" She has an overactive metabolism, meaning she could eat for 3 of me, and gain absolutely no weight from it. She has always been anorexic skinny, so much so, I can't count the number of times her bones have been broken due to lack of nourishment. She has dizzy spells because of it, and her body just can't do physical labor like mine can. I've watched her eat my weight in food and mere moments later have a dizzy fit from low blood sugar. I never wanted Iscariot for her. She just can't do the job."

" And for how long has she had this condition?" 

" She has been like this since I adopted her, hell, it was the reason I did! I knew she wouldn't be adopted because of it, most kids don't if they come with a handicap. We had a connection, and I still remember showing her the adoption form. She was so happy, her smile was warm and shining like the sun."

" Now the title ' Daddy's little ray of sunshine' makes sense. Alright fine, she can do secretary work, but this means she has to be around Hellsing and Alucard. Can you handle that?" 

" I'm always your security for those, so I see no problem with it. She loves to do paperwork. Hell, she does all of the orphanages paperwork along side me. She's been working there since she was 16. Just don't put her in the field, don't make her a Magdalene."

Maxwell grunted, pulling out and putting away forms as he filled them. I knew Skye wouldn't survive even 3 minutes in the field. She has a very weak stomach to violence, and hates it when I talk about missions with her. She can barely stomach the sight of a paper cut. I taught her how to use a knife for protection, just in case, but she hates to use it, often forgetting she has the damn thing with her. 

Maxwell gave a sigh, and any rage from our fight was gone. 

" Skye is a 23 year old woman, Anderson, not a scared 6 year old. I've seen the graceful young lady bloom right before my eyes like everyone else, and you have to admit, she grew up pretty. Folks think she's my little sister nowadays." 

" I know. It's a blessing and a bloody curse. On one hand, she is the picture perfect model of poise and grace, but on the other hand, she draws in men like flies to honey and I am so done with fighting them all off." 

" Has she ever even had a relationship outside of the paternal one she has with you?" 

" No. She is still as pure and innocent as the day I first saw her." 

" Have you ever wondered if she's ready for such a relationship?" 

I colapse into a chair and sigh, my age pressing on me as it did often enough nowadays.

" I have, and I know she'd pick a good God fearing man, but I worry about her safety. She's been by my side everyday of her life since she was 6."

" I think she is more than ready to spread her wings, Anderson. You can't Father Hen her forever." 

I sigh deeply, running a hand over my face, removing my glasses to rub my eyes.

" I know, I just don't want to see her get hurt." 

" Getting hurt is a part of God's lessons in Life. You coddle her far to much for it to be healthy."

" Now you sound like the Sisters and Mother Margret." 

" Because we all agree! Give the girl some room to breathe." 

" Fine. I know she'll have to run errands with her new job. I'll get on the plane home, and tell her the news. If she gets mad about it, you'll hear it from her." 

" I am more than ready for the backlash." 

I chuckle, knowing full well he isn't. Something many people seem to forget about me is I do have a very foul mouth, and sadly, Skye picked up on it. She can curse me out as well as any Scottish fisherman could. I also knew she only did hardcore swearing when she was absolutely pissed, and I've only seen it twice, and both times I was on the receiving end because I didn't call after a mission to tell her I was alive and well.

I walked to the car, and drove to the airport, knowing full well that Skye isn't going to be happy about this new development.