Step 3: Earn their trust – be deceiving

A group of children was gathered in some kind of common room, nineteen in total.

There was a certain tension in the air; some nervously twiddled their thumbs, some stared out of the window and flinched whenever a sound was made, others tried to ease their inner turmoil with intently biting at their almost no longer existing nails and one kid simply looked blankly at the wall, eyes wide open and completely empty. And finally, there were the ones who trembled and held on to the thing next to them, most of them ended up hugging each other, for support.

They were all still in a shock after the events that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours and the traumata some of them experienced already in their life didn't help.

The news that there were two new staff members had left everyone more confused than they already were and they were now awaiting the arrival of the newcomers with suspiciousness.

Whispers could be heard, but died down immediately when the sound of nearing footsteps joined the whispering. Heads turned, the door opened and a blond woman, no older than eighteen, maybe nineteen stepped in.

Was that her? She looked really unprofessional, she looked different from what they were accustomed to, she did not fit in. Short, spiky hair, and blue child-like eyes. What was her name? Where did she come from? She was pretty. Why did she come now of all times? Was she a threat?

Even though they kept silent, there seemed to be a mutual understanding between the children. They would keep an eye on her, for sure. She was different, they could sense it.

The kids now focused on the second person that entered a room and this stranger's appearance sort of satisfied them. He was a typical 'old' Englishman, he reminded them of Wammy, his looks were way less unsettling than his female companion's and they matched the ones of the other caretakers. Yes, he was more to their liking than the girl.

Finally, the leader of the orphanage joined them and some were about to greet him, but they remembered the new arriver's presence and thus proceeded to simply stare at the strangers.

Seras regarded the group with sympathy and pity, but also a bit of irritation.

The way they eyed her with well-hidden distrust and superiority only added to her nervousness. They clearly disapproved of her, or at least were already suspicious. It wasn't that those thoughts were showing on the children's faces, it was the aura that surrounded them and as a vampire, the blonde was painfully aware of it.

A few moments of awkward silence passed in which the orphans' eyes followed Walter's and her every movement. She tried not fidget, but the analytical gazes that lay upon her were worse than when adults, mostly possible employers, observed her.

"As Roger has already informed you, we have two new staff members. If you may..?" Wammy gestured them to introduce themselves and when the old retainer next to her gave her an encouraging smile, she took a step forward.

She repeated the information that had been in the file she'd received and tried to sound as cheery and joyous as she could muster.

And she felt like a hypocrite.

"Mary, why aren't you eating?" inquired the small brunette curiously. She had tilted her head to the side, a mischievous glint in her eyes, an almost invisible smirk on her lips, and she seemed to be almost mocking the former bobby.

Walter, who was seated at a nearby table and had been engaged in a conversation with the other teachers, glanced at the vampiress worryingly.

To make a good impression on the children, Seras (Mary, no longer Seras, he corrected himself) had agreed to dine with the kids. The problem was that a vampire's stomach was no longer capable of holding anything else than blood or other liquids. Food upset the organ, for it couldn't digest it anymore, and the vampire it belonged to was bound to throw up. As the vampire grows older and is more experienced, they can drink anything without as much as a moment of hesitation, but Seras was incredibly young for a vampire and was only able to 'eat' blood.

The old man casted his eyes downward and looked at his bowl of tomato soup. Wait...Tomato soup?

"Yes, Miss Jones, why aren't you? It's delicious, so there is no reason why you couldn't or shouldn't eat it" he said, turning his head to look over his shoulder, hoping she'd gotten the hint. The blond woman blinked a couple of times and replied nervously "I was just lost in thought, hehe! The new environment and all, it's a little confusing for me!" She rubbed the back of her neck.

She hesitatingly lifted the spoon to her lips and swallowed the food. Her face lit up und she eagerly continued to eat for the first time in a long while. The girl (who seemed like a spy, sent by the other orphans) sitting beside the draculina gaped. "Whoa, you're really hungry, aren't you? It's like you haven't eaten in YEARS!"

Smirking, the Hellsing butler averted his attention to his own meal.

The little girl had hit the mark. And telling from the child's slightly satisfied expression, Seras had apparently just passed a test.

She sighed contently after setting down her spoon for the first time. God, that'd been one good soup, she thought, even though she'd never been a huge fan of the red fruit/vegetable.

T, as she had introduced herself, got up from her seat with her braided ponytail swishing behind her at the motion, and took her by the hand. "Please, Mary. I would like to talk to you! You see, all the other women working here are so old, so I don't know any younger females other than my friends here!"The brunette seemed genuinely interested, so Seras, though suspicious, accepted the girl's invitation and allowed her to guide her away from the table to the girl's dorm, if one could say so.

She noticed that soon three other girls accompanied them. They appeared to be in a better mood than this afternoon, but they still kept a distance between themselves and the draculina and recoiled whenever Victoria looked at them.

The small group's leader reached for the handle of one of the doors, opened it and rushed inside. She flung herself at one of the two beds, but quickly made room for the only adult to sit down.

The blonde did what was expected from her and took in the environment. There was a big desk underneath a window and it was being almost crushed under the weight of books, papers, cups filled with countless pens and pencils and some things wrapped up in bubble wrap. Other than that, there was just a wardrobe.

The other girls sat down on the other bed and once again studied Seras from head to toe. They didn't even try to hide it, unlike the first time, and the woman was relieved when T started bombarding her with questions.

After a while, the dreaded question came, and though she had prepared herself for this one, she still felt incredibly uncomfortable when replying.

"Ma~ry, why did you decide to come here? Surely, for a woman your age and with so much energy, there must've been loads of job offers or at least opportunities, right? Why did you turn them down?" Her grey eyes were slightly narrowed and all humor or happiness had left her gaze. The blonde swallowed and said "Well, you see... I was an orphan myself..." Okay, not a lie. "...and I still remember that I used to hate the old people taking care of us and that they weren't exceptionally supporting. I was looking for a job that could help me helping others and such, but I had to realise soon that what I was looking for AND suited me was hard to find. Luckily, I have some connections and through those, I found out that Wammy's House was in need of staff, and I applied for the job immediately. And here I am!" She finished her story with a wide, slightly strained grin and flashed the girls a peace sign. God, she felt awful for tricking them like this. They already had troubles trusting others and she took advantage of their need for security and someone they could turn to and deceived them.

T seemed satisfied, judging by her slightly more relaxed stance. Her friends (or roommates) didn't show much of a reaction to Sera's little story and one even yawned. The vampire saw this as an opportunity to leave this hell.

"Ahahaha, it's quite late already! I didn't even notice how exhausted I am until now! I think it's best when I go to bed and you should do so too. G'Night! See you tomorrow morning, right? You could show me around a little more!"

And with those words, the draculina darted outside the room and to her own one. She couldn't do this! She couldn't! 'Alright Seras, calm down...' she chanted silently and allowed herself to relax. She had to remind herself why she was doing this. Those kids were most likely in danger and as long as they didn't find out she was using them, everything was fine, right? Besides, what would her master think if she couldn't even earn the trust of little children?

As a fledgling, Seras had a natural urge to prove herself as worthy to her creator Alucard. Every newly turned vampire had. And this was the enough to keep her going. For now.

Feeling a little better, she got ready for the night and stared longingly at the moon that shone through her window. It felt weird to go to sleep while it was night, seeing as she had just become accustomed to living as a creature of the night. Not long and Alucard would awake from his sleep...

FINISHED AT LAST. For some reason, it was hard to write that last part and I'm still not satisfied with it, but I'm just so happy that it's done now *-* Next chapter, we'll get to see what Alucard tries to entertain himself with while being confined in his room and the children at the hospital will return!

Thanks to everyone supporting me and who continue to read this!