Author's Note: For those who wanted an extra chapter to wrap up loose ends. Enjoy. ^^

Disclaimer: No money made from any version of Hellsing, Dracula, or The Little Mermaid.

The sound of laughter and singing drew first the servants, then the master and mistress out of the castle.

Now we can walk!

Now we can run!

Now we can stay all day in the sun!

They emerged to the sight of Captain Bernadotte, still tall and dressed in coarse fabrics that hung off his skin like a scarecrow, and still so weak from his illness that he threatened to buckle in on himself with every step. Despite his weakness and wobbliness, he was laughing and swinging Seras around. She was as ethereally beautiful as they remembered, but even more so for one reason: she was smiling. Her sea-blue eyes were shining and her smile was as radiant as the sun. She had been so unhappy for so long that most of them could only remember seeing her look beautiful but sad, wistful, and forlorn.

Captain Bernadotte wobbled and nearly collapsed, leaning on Seras for support—then they both laughed.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him joyfully, and playfully pushed his hat up with her hands.

Wandering free…

Just you and me…

And I can be…

Part of your world!

Walter and Carlotta ran up to them, and Seras smiled and embraced them as family.

Her smile receeded when the Count and Countess approached, and she suddenly looked shy and timid. Seeing her look nervous, Captain Bernadotte twined his fingers with hers, and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She smiled up at him, then timidly approached her old master and mistress.

Neither he nor she spoke.

Finally, Countess Integra embraced her. "Seras Victoria! We are so pleased to see you."

Seras tensed when the countess embraced her like a sister. Even though she no longer pined for his heart, she could still remember how the countess had been her rival in love not too long ago.

Integra withdrew and brushed her hair out of her eyes affectionately. "We thought you had perished."

"I-I didn't," Seras squeaked.

What was wrong with her? She'd longed for a voice to speak to them for so long, but now that she had it she was almost afraid to speak. They'd known her as a mute for so long, and now they could hear her voice for the first time, and judge her every word. What could she say?

She was made even more nervous by the fact that her master neither smiled nor spoke.

Integra nodded, and backed up so she was once again standing beside her husband.

He just stared at Seras very intently for a long time. Finally, she felt compelled to speak.

"Hi! It's really good to see you again, master," she said.

Still, his lips still didn't move. Noticing something on them, Seras said, "Um, you seem to have grown a moustache, master."

Still, he was silent.

She traced her finger over her upper lip. "The… mustache."

Finally, he stepped forward and reached out a hand. Seras gasped and closed her eyes. She then opened her eyes to find her master affectionately petting her head, like she was a child, or a small dog.

His eyes were filled with warmth and loving kindness, and his smile was one of the few she'd ever seen that was without cockiness or arrogance. Pure love and affection radiated from his every feature.

"Yes, Seras," he smiled, and his accent had never been so deep, rich, or lovely to her. "My Seras Victoria."

Seras smiled and stood up straight, and she and her master regarded each other with mutual, confident affection.

Captain Bernadotte coughed. "Perhaps we shall move this inside, shall we? It's getting hot."

"I agree," Countess Integra said, "I'll have Walter make us some tea."

In the tea room, where the Count and Seras had once had their tea together for so many months, but were now joined by two new people they were in love with, they all sat awkwardly while Seras stared at the table.

"I've prepared it just the way you like it," Walter said, smiling, as he handed her her cup.

"Thank you," she said with genuine warmth and gratitude.

"I've seen to it that Louis is making your favorite now," Carlotta said, "Stuffed crab!"

Seras smiled, remembering how she'd once wondered why they bothered to stuff the crab when crabs were already stuffed into their shells. "Thank you," she said with equal gratitude.

"So tell us," Integra said. "How did you… how did you get to be the way you are?"

Seras clutched the tablecloth. "I was afraid you'd ask that," she said.

She proceeded to tell them her whole story from under the sea, at least the parts that seemed relevant to her. She left out the parts about her mooning over the Count like a star-struck little girl—making it sound like she was just mildly interested in him from a distance, and wished to join the human world as her main motivation. She also avoided using terms like "mermaid" and "merpeople," because she was still half-convinced they would think her stupid for saying it, even though they saw her for what she was.

"So you are really…?" Integra asked, unable to bring herself to say it out loud.

"Yes," Seras said. "I am… from a race of people who live below the sea…"

She looked so distressed that Pip twined his fingers with hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze. Seras smiled at him very tenderly, and drew strength from his support. Integra's sharp eyes pierced their held hands, but otherwise she said nothing.

"It was stupid, I know," she said quietly, "Making a deal with a sea witch like that…"

"Oh, mon cher," Pip said tenderly, "If you hadn't, then you never would have joined us."

"Ah… oh…"

The men were uncharacteristically quiet now, which confused Seras greatly. Usually in mixed company the men tended to dominate the conversation, while well-trained "ladies of breeding" rarely spoke except when spoken to, or chimed in with an agreement or a question. She didn't know it, but they'd spent so long wondering what mute Seras would sound like and what she would say if she could talk, that they latched onto her every word now. Captain Bernadotte had that absent adoring smile most men wore when they were listening to the woman they loved, and the Count just absorbed everything she said without giving a hint as to his true feelings or thoughts.

Seras, who was used to listening to people talk around her, was mildly confused and perturbed by the uncharacteristic silence, and was just talking to fill the silence.

"So you really are…?" Integra asked, but could not bring even herself to say it out loud.

"Yes," Seras said. "I am… from a race of people who live below the sea."

"And you always have been?"

"Yes, from my father and mother before me." Thinking about them made her sad, so Seras said, "When I was little, my mother told me so much of the world beyond the sea. When she did… when the ocean took her from me… I didn't want to live in the sea anymore. I wanted to go to the surface, where the sun and the moon shined and the birds sang all the time. I wanted…"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Integra asked, before her husband could utter the same.

Seras looked like a fish grilled upon the flames, and she shrank back from the heat of their stairs. "I thought that… I was told a human's gaze was agony for a mermaid…"

The men snorted, Integra scoffed.

"Agony?"

"We looked at you every day before."

"It's not like that!" Seras exclaimed, cheeks flushed. "I mean, I was told that when a human looks upon you and sees you for what you really are, the gaze is smoldering from a mermaid, and you feel like your blood is being boiled alive, and your skin scorched at the same time. I was told a human's gaze would bring nothing but a smoldering death. I didn't want that…"

The Count snorted, speaking up for the first time. "Then whoever told you this lied to you."

Seras gulped. "Master…"

"I guessed you were as much the morning you came to me. I saw there was a newness about you—the way you walked, the way you moved, tilted your head, all as if they were the first movements of a newborn child. I said as much to Captain Bernadotte, and Walter. I said, 'If she were born this morning, I would be surprised if she were as old.'"

"Yes, you did say that, Sir," Walter said.

Seras was dumbfounded. He knew… he guessed what she was? As early as that?

"Then why didn't you say anything?!" she blurted out, her eyes as big as plates.

The Count shrugged. "I was waiting for you to tell me yourself, when you were ready." He looked into her eyes from beneath his bangs, and his eye pierced hers. "Evidently, you never were."

Seras felt completely deflated. If she were underwater, she would drift softly to the sea bottom, and rest there like a strand of kelp. He knew…? He knew…?!

"It was your song that brought me from the brink," the Count said. " 'The song of the sea…' "

"I heard it too," Lady Integra said. "T'was your song that brought me from my school down to the beach. If it were not for you, we would never have met. He would have been drowned, and I would never have found love…"

She folded her hands in his, and smiled kindly at Seras. "We owe our happiness to you."

Even though her heart no longer longed for the Count's, it could not help feeling a little wounded hearing that. Like an old bruise that was still healing, but was just struck anew. It could no longer hurt her as it did before, but it still stung. A lifetime of longing and regret that could have been hers had she just confessed when she could sailed by her in the blink of an eye, off to a distant future that would never come to pass.

Captain Bernadotte laughed. "Don't tell me you are upset to hear that?!" He grinned, half-joking.

"N-no!" Seras said. "It's not that, it just hurts knowing you're not the one."

"Tell me about it," Pip grinned, flicking his cinnamon stick away. "I waited months for you to notice me."

Seras flushed. "You-you noticed me?"

He burst out laughing. Long and loud, but still loving and good-natured. When he finally got a hold of himself, he grinned and rubbed his cheek against her forehead. " 'Did I notice her,' she asks? Does a frog not notice a princess who comes to his well? Does a giant not smell the smell of an Englishman that has entered his castle? Does a wolf…"

"Please refrain from using any more analogies," Lady Integra said primly.

He laughed. "Ay, ay, man!"

"But," Seras cried, clinging to him as though for dear life, like his words were the air she needed to breathe life. "But how?"

His smile softened, and his eyes filled with love—although his disposition was still mischievous.

"Did you think I did not notice the little mermaid who climbed the side of our merry little boat," he said, eye twinkling.

Seras suddenly felt hot and red all over, and she had trouble breathing. Oh, this… not this…

Vaguely, she could hear the Count sound annoyed that there was information he was not in on, and he demanded to know what mermaid on the deck.

While Seras struggled to keep her breathing calm and even, Captain Bernadotte explained how, the night of the fireworks display the Count had hoped to woo Integra with, he had felt a whim to look over the deck and chanced to spy what looked like a pale little girl with large blue eyes and a shimmering fish's tail squeak and let go of the bulwarks and fall into the water. He had wondered if he had been seeing things, and knew better than to tell the Count or the crew since most of them would never believe him. Apart from the kooky old man, most of them didn't truly believe in merpeople.

"Besides," he grinned, leaning back to wink at Seras, "Most of my crew would like to mock me because of that gypsy prophecy, 'A mermaid will sing for thee.'"

Seras grinned, and closed her eyes.

"Will you not sing for us now?" Lady Integra said.

Seras balked.

"She just got her voice back, let her recover," the men said.

Seras felt both relieved not to perform when she was not ready, and disappointed that she could not show off.

"So, wait," she asked Mr. Bernadotte. "You really knew it was me the whole time? Exactly me?"

"Eh, not exactly," he said carelessly, pulling out a cigarette to smoke, but ceasing when he saw Integra glare at him.

"But I suspected, for a long time. There was that little moon nymph who fell from the side of the ship. Then, when the ship went down in flames, I too was tangled in some cargo that would have dragged me down. Then there was the little girl who glided in the water, silent as a specter, who cut my bonds and pulled me to the surface so that I might breathe."

His mischievous eyes caught hers. "I would have believed her to be a ghost, had I not felt her firm grasp on me."

Seras flushed furiously. So he had seen her. She had gone around helping random humans drowning in her haste to get to the Count, but she had hardly stopped to notice them. For her, it was a single moment in time, cutting a man loose and then pushing him up to the surface. Not only did it floor her to k now that that man was Captain Bernadotte (she had not even noticed before), but that while she had forgotten he had remembered, and he had been grateful and loved her for it since.

'Small world after all,' she thought.

She forced herself to look up, and met his smile.

He laced his fingers around hers again. "Whoever knew the little river nymph who hid in the bushes when she brought the dogs barking would be sitting with us now, reminiscing all the ways she saved our lives?"

Seras was started, especially by the Count and Countess' reaction.

Countess Integra was unusually reverent. "It seems we all owe you our lives."

"N-no! That's not necessary!" Seras exclaimed. "That is—I just want to be part of your world. That's it. That's all I want. I don't want anything else.

Pip grinned, and laced his fingers around hers again. "Not even to be with me."

"No! Of course I want to be with you!" Seras cried, and she addressed the Count and Countess. "I want to marry Mr. Bernadotte."

Their eyes widened. They were silent for the first time in their lives.

Captain Bernadotte laughed and laughed. "That is an unusual marriage proposal."

"It's true!" Seras cried, turning to look up at him, earnestly. "You're the only one I want. You've been so kind to me for so long. When I was ready to give up on the world, I…" she did not want to look back at the state of misery she felt during the Count and Countess' courtship and wedding preparations. "I just want to be with you. See the world. Travel, if you're able. I want to see anything and everything this world of yours has to offer, if you would see it with me. I…"

"I do," he said fondly, and leaned down to kiss her.

When his lips met hers, it felt like a wedding vow all its own, and Seras' heart melted, and she felt herself a changed girl from head to heel.

Countess Integra scowled and tutted. "Ah! Ah! None of that!"

They pulled away from each other with a bit of difficulty, hearts still a glow from the loving gesture they just shared.

Integra cleared her throat sternly. "Now, I know you are very… eager to be re-acquainted, but there will be plenty of time for later. In the meantime, I'm sure you'll want plenty of rest. We'll have your old room ready to move back into."

"Actually, I don't want to move back," Seras said.

The ease of her words shocked even her.

"I'm sorry, but, master…" she took a deep breath, and looked him in the eyes. "You were my whole world for so long, but I was only a small part of yours. I don't want to stay in here doing what you want for the rest of my life. I want to see the world—truly—and I want to be with someone who loves me as much as I… as I love him…"

She looked down. It felt stupid to say that out loud.

Captain Bernadotte twined his fingers in hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze, and she looked up at him, so full of joy she felt she could cry.

Alucard's own eyes filled with pain, and a bit of jealousy. He saw that the way she looked at Captain Bernadotte was the way she used to look at him, and she would never look at him that way anymore. While Integra would always be first and foremost in his heart, in his own way he had genuinely loved Seras (if just as a daughter or a ward, rather than a wife or lover), and seeing her love someone else, want to be with someone else, more than him was painful. While he would never admit it, he would also miss her when she was gone.

However, he was not so cruel as to deny the one thing that gave her happiness when she told him so openly.

"Very well," he said, leaning back in his chair, and hiding his eyes behind his dark, curly bangs.

"Surely, you can't be serious!" Integra exclaimed.

"If it is what she desires, then she shall have it," the Count said in a strained voice.

"But she's too young, husband! She is only—"

"I'm old enough to know what I want," Seras said, a little peevishly. "We mermaids come of age when we're fifteen—"

"Be that as it may, you are still a child—"

"You were still a child when you married my master," Seras said.

"That was different! I had Come Out. And I am older than you. I—"

"Your father and grandfather objected to you marrying the Count," Seras said. "They told me so all the time. They even tried to take away your inheritance if you didn't obey them, but here you are, married to my master."

The Count laughed then, a roaring laugh. "She has a sharp tongue, this one!"

"Don't tell me you approve?!" Integra cried.

"To be honest, master, I don't need your approval," Seras said, looking at both of them. "Or either of yours. I'm old enough to do what I want, and since you know I am not human I am not bound to your rules. If I want to go off and see the world, I may. And, to be honest, I've already wasted enough of my life living in the dark that I don't want to stay there anymore."

Everyone was quiet. Even when contrary, her voice was enough to put them in something of a trance.

Seras said, "Humans live for such a short time. We mermaids live to be three hundred years, or more," to their looks of utter shock, she cut in, "It's true, we do. I've given up my long life to be with you all, and I want to make the most of it, for as long as I can. I love Mr. Bernadotte—he makes me happy, and he treats me right. I love being near him, and I love seeing the world with him. I just want to be with him and see as much of your world as I can before I die, and move onto the next life. I'm not asking anything else. I just want that. Please? Can I have it?"

She meant their approval, because she wanted it even if she didn't need it.

Captain Bernadotte smiled so tenderly, and reached over and kissed her, causing her heart to burst.

Countess Integra waved them away. "Eh! Eh! None of that!" She took a deep breath. "Very well. You shall be married."

Pip and Seras grinned.

"But if you're going to be married, we're going to do it properly. No eloping, no rushed ceremonies. Is that clear?"

Seras would have been happier eloping with Mr. Bernadotte, since she loved him so much and wanted to be with him as soon as possible. Her near brush with death at the hands of Zorin, twice, and her own reduced lifespan as a human made her eager to live her life to the fullest and not delay with anything she knew would make her happy. She had spent over a year waiting patiently for her master to love her back so her life could begin—and before that she had waited her whole life to be old enough to visit the surface—and now she was done with waiting. She wanted to go and pursue what made her happy.

However, she was still very fond of the Count and Countess. Part of her still felt like their ward, like their family, even though she was technically no longer beholden to them. She wanted to do one last thing to make them happy, and part on good terms.

The Count himself said, "Please, Seras. Allow an old man this small joy before saying good bye to his ward forever."

Seras sighed, and agreed.

Wedding preparations took a few weeks, which made Seras nervous. Since weddings were considered a woman's affair, and both Seras and Integra had no other female relatives, Countess Integra took care of all the wedding preparations. She often insisted on "doing things right," as she called them, and ordered a lot of "frills" that Seras did not think necessary.

First they needed to have Seras measured and have a dress made for her, which took many days—especially because Countess Integra insisted on having lace, pearls, embroidery, and yards of fabric added to the dress that Seras felt she did not need. Then they had to have flowers ordered, because all proper weddings had flowers, but since it was late summer and Seras would not wait, it would be difficult finding the right flowers in bloom. Of course they all had to be white. Thankfully there was a new breed of white roses that bloomed year-round, so this would do. And then they had to have doilies made for the tables in which the guests would sit during the reception, and Seras didn't even want to hear about the caterer, the cake, the band, or the guest list, or…

"I don't want any guests," Seras said.

"This is a wedding! Surely you'll want guests?" Integra responded.

"There's no one I want to invite!" Seras cried. "The only people I knew on land were you, the Count, the servants—maybe your family—just invite your father and grandfather and the whole castle! I don't care."

"Mr. Bernadotte will have people he wants to invite," Lady Integra said.

"Then let him!" Seras cried, "What do I care?"

Half the reason they were waiting so long was he was telling old crew members he was getting married, and they needed to wait for them to sail over to attend their former Captain's wedding.

"But surely you have some family you'd want to invite?"

"I don't have any family!" Seras exclaimed, "I don't…"

Then she thought of loved ones she knew would want to attend. "I have someone."

The only things Seras put her foot down about were having the wedding ceremony out at sea, and being able to invite one particular guest in person. Integra fought her to the death on the former, since she felt a wedding was only proper if it was done in a church, under God, administered by a priest.

"Then bring him on the ship with us, I don't care."

"Miss Victoria, that is not the way things are done."

"Then do them differently," Seras said.

Countess Integra nearly swelled like a bullfrog. "Young lady—!"

"Don't even start with me!" Seras retorted. "We're only doing it this way because it's what YOU want. This wedding is for YOU! Not me. I don't care about any of these frills. I just want to be married to Mr. Bernadotte. That's it. That's all I want."

"Young lady!"

"No! And then you ask me if I have any family or friends I want to invite, and I tell you, and now you're telling me they can't come to the wedding?"

"They can attend the reception afterwards…"

"Then why invite them at all, then? I don't know if you've noticed, but a fish cannot flop happily on deck. If they're just going to float in the water and watch us eat, then there's no purpose in inviting them!"

"There is a purpose! It's…"

" 'To do things the right way.' I know, I know. Why can't we do things the way I want, for once?"

Eventually Integra's father and grandfather, who were much wiser in such matters, convinced her to make this small concession to make the little mermaid happy.

Captain Bernadotte, for his part, loved the wit and sass Seras displayed in defending the type of wedding she wanted. Her kindness in going ahead with a traditional wedding ceremony so as to make her human family happy moved him, but her liveliness and insolence in sassing Integra every step of the way endeared him to no end.

He often laughed and kissed her, and held her tight whenever they were together. He was growing stronger every day, which he claimed was partly due to having his love in his arms again. Seras often scowled but blushed cutely at this, which made him laugh and kiss her cheek, or her nose. Anything to make her blush.

Whenever they were alone (well, relatively, since they always had at least one servant nearby as a chaperone, and they were only allowed to meet in parlours or outdoors), he would lace his arms tightly around her waist, and kiss her, and huskily murmur in her ear that he couldn't wait to have her all to himself during their honeymoon.

His husky murmurs awoke something womanly within Seras that she did not even know present, and she often blushed—feeling both trilled and relaxed at the same time—and leaned her head into his neck or shoulder, deeply inhaling his deep, musky scent.

Of course, Walter or Carlotta or one of the other servants was always nearby to say, "Ah! Ah! None of that!"

She was very nervous when the Count and Countess said they could not see each other until the wedding. Captain Bernadotte had smiled his crooked smile, kissed her one more time on the lips, and reassured her that it would be fine. "See you at the wedding," he said.

She often went to bed alone, anxious that she might not see him again.

The wedding preparations were not all bad, though. When her dress was made and the tailor just wanted to make a few final adjustments, Seras audibly gasped when she saw herself in the mirror. She looked so beautiful, even to her own eyes; with crisp white fabric that brought made her look youthful, lace sleeves and neckline, pearls laced into her gown, mother-of-pearl blue embroidery that brought out the color of her eyes, and many yards of fabric that made her look far curvier than usual, but in a good way.

Seras never thought of herself as pretty, since she had grown up plump and short-haired among mermaids who admired slim figures and long hair.

Her eyes watered seeing herself in the mirror, and she felt so grateful that she could look so beautiful for Captain Bernadotte on their wedding day.

Countess Integra smiled fondly, and stroked her arm. "This dress you're wearing is out of fashion, but I thought it would look best on you. We can't buy it at any shop doors, which is why I had it professionally made. I hope you like it."

Sobbing, Seras nodded the affirmative. It made her happy to know that someone cared about her enough to do something so nice for her, even if she was bad at showing it.

The only other thing they fought about was who would be her "maid of honor." Seras didn't care about any of that sort of thing, but relented when she learned Mr. Bernadotte would have his first mate as his "best man." Seras wondered if the Count might not be hurt, but he was to walk her down the aisle since he was the closest thing she had to a father, or guardian. They had all just assumed Seras would want Countess Integra to be her matron of honor.

"Absolutely not," Seras said, a little too bluntly. "I already have one."

This, quite naturally, caused a huge stir and many hard feelings that even stubborn Seras felt obliged to apologize for later. For the second time in wedding preparations, Countess Integra was obliged to compromise on tradition by letting Seras have two "maids of honor," herself and Seras' first choice.

Invitations were dispatched for those who needed them, though these were thankfully few since most wedding guests lived within the castle, and knew Seras' secret. The nobles who had been invited to the Count and Countess' wedding were absolutely not invited as far as Seras was concerned, and she was relieved to find the Count and Countess agreed. Thankfully, Seras' transformation had occurred so early in the morning, and most of the guests were still drunk or hung over from heavy drinking and merry-making the night before, and the storm had come so swiftly and ended so abruptly, that most of them had gone back to bed and passed off what they saw as a collective dream (which they blamed on the same foreign wine they drank) or an illusion from the storm.

Captain Bernadotte's old crew were invited, as was Integra's father and grandfather (the latter of which embraced Seras warmly and congratulated her sincerely for her happy occasion), Walter and Carlotta, and all the servants in the castle (much to the Count's and Integra's consternation).

Seras was a little satisfied to see that the fancy invitation cards that Integra had pain-stakingly put together drooped when they touched the water, and Seras had to invite her guests through other means.

Seras arrived in person to invite her preferred maid of honor. She entered the small shop by the sea with some apprehension, remembering that the last two (and only two) times she had been here, she had been so unhappy. But now it was not loneliness that drove her—but gratitude for the two times the shop's owner had shown her kindness when she truly needed it, and nudged her in the right direction toward happiness.

She entered the small shop, not knowing how its owner would react. The little sea goddess was just as she remembered; small, sad, ancient, weary, and enigmatic. But now the aura around her was almost lethargic rather than melancholic, and she smiled gently when she saw her.

"I am pleased you have returned, Seras Victoria."

Seras smiled—beamed—and made herself at home.

She did not know how Helena (as she called herself) would react to being invited to her wedding, or whether she would even want to go, since something told Seras she did not want to leave her shop.

"I mean, I know you're busy," Seras stumbled along, "B-but you were there when no one else was, and-and I just wanted to thank you for all your—you brought us together when everything else would have kept us apart. And, I mean—that is—would you—would you be willing to attend our wedding, as my maid of honor? I don't know anyone else," and then she mentally kicked herself for adding that last bit.

Helena smiled a small, happy smile that imparted more joy than her face could express.

"I would be honored, Seras Victoria," she said gently.

Unable to control herself, Seras threw her arms around the little shop keeper in a tight bear hug.

She could feel the subdued joy radiating off the little shop keeper, though physically all she did was pat Seras on the shoulder.

The day of the wedding finally arrived. Seras was filled with such turmoil she felt a small storm must be going on inside her belly, and she trembled as the servants put on her dress. Everyone made such a big fuss and to-do about everything that it left her a little calm, though, since she didn't worry about little details the way they did.

She was also happy to see everyone so well-dressed just for her. She saw how handsome her master looked in his black suit and cravat and duster coat, and she wondered if Captain Bernadotte would dress as handsomely. She blushed at the thought. Everyone else was so well-dressed, including her, so it seemed silly that the other half of the wedding couple dressed in his usual coarse, scruffy fabrics.

The thought made her laugh. She could just see him doing that.

They boarded a beautiful three-mast ship like the one she had first seen the Count and Captain in, and she could not help admiring it as they boarded with the wedding train. However, they did not start the wedding ceremony until they were well out to sea. Seras remained in a small cabin until then, so as not to see the groom. "They're really adamant about this tradition," Seras thought, puzzled by it all.

"Let them keep their traditions," Helena said calmly as she went to take her place for the ceremony to start. "This is the last favor you shall impart to the Count, and his Countess, before you are free to live for yourself."

Seras sighed, but was reassured by her wisdom.

Gasps from on deck told Seras that her own wedding guests had arrived, and she was further cheered—and made more nervous by it. She was glad she had talked to them on the shore before the wedding.

Her Count came to fetch her when the ceremony began, to walk her down the alter and pass her off to her new husband. He had never looked so tall, handsome, or… fatherly to her. She marveled at how she could find him so handsome, and yet feel so little attracted to him at the same time. Her heart sang for another, and she could hear its answering melody from near.

Sad and thoughtful was the look he gave her as he bent down to brush a strand of hair from her eyes (he was so tall!), and he seemed very regretful as he said, "This is the last we will see each other like this, Seras Victoria."

"I know," she said, and she couldn't bring herself to regret it as much as he did.

"I know," he said tenderly. But whatever happens in your next life, I want you to know: you were mine. I knew you first, I loved you first. No other man can love you as I have."

Seras was momentarily stunned, and then she shook it off, and smiled, almost pityingly. How could she have ever loved this selfish creature? Oh, there was so much about him to love, she could see that even now, but it was not the same way as before. She'd known he was selfish for a long time now, but at that moment she realized he would never change, and all she could do was smile and shake her head at it all. If he had his way, she would remain by his side forever, although he had his own wife and marital bliss to live for. Once, she would have done anything to make him happy, and now she realized what a fool's errand that was. Securing his happiness meant sacrificing hers, and she was no longer prepared to do it.

She thought of Captain Bernadotte, and how adding to his happiness only increased hers. She thought of how many times he had gone out of his way to make her smile, and it made her heart swell within her chest.

Her master gallantly held out his arm, and she graciously accepted it.

Once, she had convinced herself that she loved the moon just because her master loved it, but now she realized it was the sun she loved. Captain Bernadotte was bright as the sun, and reminded her of it too. Now, she would happily walk out of the moon's shadow to bathe in the sun.

The sun shined over the ship's deck, and made the sea sparkle. The ceremony was a grand one. The entire ship had been decorated with wedding bells and streamers, with those cursed white flowers hung up on every bow and bulwark. Seras herself carried a bouquet of white roses, lilies, and other little white flowers she knew not the name of.

Captain Bernadotte looked even more tall, strong, and handsome than she could imagine. Clean-shaven, his braid freshly washed and braided, and decked in his captain's uniform. He looked at her the way all young women wish to be looked at on their wedding day, and it made her blush. His first mate, sharply dressed beside him, only served to make him look more handsome and dignified by comparison.

Around the aisle they walked, the small party of onlookers consisted of the Count's servants, and Captain Bernadotte's old crew, who were far less reserved. They cheered and whistled, even when the polite English society glared at their faux pas.

But what delighted Seras most was to see Helena stand beside Integra in the maid of honor spot, looking beautiful and serene, as always. Also the siren Rip Van Winkle, who grinned and winked from the center of the wedding band. Most of all, she was thrilled to see Harkonnen and the stage girls. They all grinned and waved at her, and she grinned, waved, and blew kisses as she walked to the end of the aisle, where she saw—

"Schrodinger?!"

He stood in the place of the ring-bearer, wearing a little tuxedo and holding a cushion with the ring box on it. He grinned.

"Surprised to see me? You shouldn't be. I am everywhere und nowhere."

What shocked her wasn't just seeing him, but seeing him on legs. Gone were his body-long fish's tail, his barbels, fin-like ears, claws, and glowing cat's eyes. He looked like—

"You're a little boy!" she said.

"That's right! Didn't you know?" he said. "I am to be the ring-bearer today. I thought it was only fitting that someone you knew do it—not like that flower girl you've never met. But it's okay, I won't do a bad job."

"B-but how did you get here?"

"Same as you!" he grinned. "The Sea King did not want me near his palace anymore, so part of the deal to make you human was to make me human too, so I could join you."

Before Seras could figure out how she felt about that, Shrodinger wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "Now we can be together forever."

Her heart melted at his embrace. Even now, she could not stay mad at him. He had been her closest friend for so many years, and supported her when others dismissed her. Though she had been hurt and furious when she had found out his deal with the Sea Witch (part of her still was—it was a small wound in her heart that she knew would never fully heal), he had redeemed himself when she had seen that he had helped Harkonnen convince the Sea King to make her human. She leaned down and embraced him back.

"Ich liebe dich, Schrodinger," she whispered.

He grinned ear to ear, then licked her cheek. Seras shoved him away. "UGH!"

Captain Bernadotte's guests all laughed and laughed as Seras wiped her cheek and made it to the end of the isle.

Even Pip was grinning in amusement. "So sorry not to tell you, but I thought you'd like to be surprised with your brother at our wedding?"

"Brother? He's not my brother!" Seras said.

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "Your cousin, then."

But before she could correct him, the music changed, and the priest called for silence. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she knew this was it. Schrodinger quickly faded from her mind, and she was instantly aware of Pip standing beside her, looking his best, and her standing beside him, looking her best, and the people all looking at them, expecting the best, and it finally hit her that this was it. They were doing it. This ceremony that she had dreamed of doing for so long, she was now about to undergo with Pip, the man she loved, and they would be together, forever—for the rest of their life, and beyond.

She barely heard the ramblings of the priests, she was so nervous. It all felt like a dream—a happy dream, but a dream none the less. She was afraid of being woken up.

It was all so formal and official. Captain Bernadotte was French, and therefore he was Roman Catholic like the Van Helsings. So, like the Count and Countess' wedding, Seras had to go through the Catholic ceremony again. There was a lot of chanting in a language she did not know (Latin), flicking her and Pip in Holy Water, and the priest having them repeat their vows to each other after him. It was all a little more pomp and formal than Seras would have liked. But then, it also made it all feel more official, and it made Seras but thrilled and terrified that they were doing this—she was doing this—"the right way."

The only part that felt truly real was the kiss. The moment Seras' lips touched Pip's, she felt her heart soar, like their spirits would twine and fly forever into the heavens.

She was brought back to earth when the Count's two hunting hounds (the same two that brought them together time and time again) jumped up and licked their cheeks. Seras grinned as the crowd cheered (espially Pip's side), and the doves sang and the wedding bells rang. Carlotta burst out crying, and used Walter's cravat as a handkerchief.

The merpeople all cheered too, and Harkonnen and the stage girls all grinned and waved at Seras.

Rip Van Winkle crowed in delight, and ordered the band to play a merry tune to commemorate the occasion.

Seras embraced Helena, who had always been so kind to her when she needed most, and Helena smiled fondly. When it was time to throw the bouquet, Helena caught it, which surprised all the other maidens who would have wanted it.

In order not to leave the merpeople out, Seras threw that same bouquet over her shoulder into her water, but the struggle was more bitter. The girls swarmed the sharks and shoved and slapped at each other to get to it, like crocodiles trying to get a slab of meat. Seras flinched, but then laughed when the girls all had a piece of the bouquet they wanted, and all was well.

While the humans on the ship prepared to mingle and eat food from the buffet, Seras leaned over the bulwark to smile fondly at the closest thing to her father in this life.

Harkonnen raised his hands, and used his magic to have the water carry him up to her eye level. They looked at each other for a moment, and then they embraced. It did not matter to her anymore (as it once did) that he was old and fat and grey, or that he was sweaty and smelled. He had remained dedicated to her wellbeing long past the point she felt she deserved it, and she would be forever grateful to him.

She meant to say thank you, but instead her lips uttered, "I love you Harkonnen."

This seemed to touch him deeply, old and tired as he was, and he embraced her as a daughter. "Your mother would be so proud of you."

She beamed, and was not the least bit humble when her new husband came to meet someone so close to her in her old life. To his credit Pip bowed respectfully, and Harkonnen nodded his head in polite acknowledgement, but it was Seras he cared for most. He did not take his eye off her as he sank back into the waves, and she blew him a kiss as he descended.

But the celebrations were not over yet. Just like the last wedding, there was much music, decorations, feasting, drinking, dancing, and celebrating. While the mermaids could not join them on deck, they danced and swam to the music from the water surrounding the ship.

Seras enjoyed the first dance with Captain Bernadotte, as well as the first slice of cake, and the first song dedicated to the bride and groom.

Presents were, perhaps, the best part. Seras never knew the custom of people getting the bride gifts for her wedding, but a nice table of beautifully wrapped presents stood tall for all to see. Seras' favorite was when the Count led the ginger filly, now a ginger mare, still called "Ginger Snaps," over to Seras. She was so happy she gushed over the pretty filly.

"She is yours, my little foundling," the Count said.

"Oh no, I couldn't-!" she tried to protest.

"You'll need her if you will want to ride around as you explore the world."

"What?" Seras asked blankly.

With a secretive little smile, Pip said, "Do you like this ship we are on, Seras?"

"Yes, very much."

"Then how would you like to live here? Sail the world in this thing?"

"W-what?!"

The Count and Captain chuckled. "Do you remember that ship you first saw us drowning in? That was my ship, the Wild Geese. When it was destroyed in the storm, I had little choice but to go work for some other man's ship, or work for the Count. We had always had it planned that when I served him for a long enough period, I would get my own ship back, and sail the world once more."

He smiled at her, "And now that I have a wife, I can do just that."

Seras was so thrilled she tackle-hugged him, and kissed him deeply.

The look the Count and Countess gave them as they openly gushed over each other at their own wedding was one of mild envy. Those two were not bound by rules of etiquette as these two were. Oh, sure, they had the money to go where they wished, but they would always be bound to the pomp and etiquette surrounding their class. These two, who were not of the nobility, could freely embrace and sail around the world in a ship and never want for anything but each other's company.

Seras, for herself, was delirious with joy. Her husband owned a ship, and they could sail anywhere around the world she wished, so she could see all the human world! The ginger filly she loved so much, no longer whipped or forced to pull heavy loads, but there to ride in the hills and plains whenever she desired? A ship near the water, where she could be near to see her friends and family whenever she wished?

She danced joyously with the party guests, and sashayed and swayed with the melody she heard when she first drew near human vessels.

For the first time, she had no reservations about singing.

I'll tell you a tale of the endless above

And it's 'hey,' to the skyward, my love!

Look out, lass, a human be searching for you

In the mysterious upwards above!

Pip grinned and tipped his hat, acknowledging those lyrics were his.

Seras turned and addressed the Count and Countess, who still sat regal as royalty at her wedding.

I'll sing you a song of the count on the sea

And to his wife whom he serves faithfully

The Countess smirked at these lyrics, as did the Count, who leaned his head against her shoulder to show his devotion.

Up in the mysterious upwards above

As Seras swayed and sashayed, Captain Bernadotte swooped up behind her and caught her in his arms. She squealed and laughed, and spun in his arms several times. He led her in a deep dip, then pulled her up, where she wrapped her arms around his neck, and lifted his hat off his head a second time.

When he pulled away from the kiss, she grinned, and holding his hand she reached her hands up.

Up in the endless skyward above…!

The end.