Alucard could have easily avoided Hope's strike to his head but let it slide, as he always did.  If he wasn't a vampire of his word, he could easily have turned on Hellsing long ago.  And if he'd so chosen, nothing could have stopped him.  But then again, he'd been having much more fun the past century or so than he'd had in a long time.<br/><br/>"Of course not, my master.  But a dog should know her place."   He stepped backward, vanishing as abruptly as he appeared; leaving only the sound of his mocking laughter behind.<br/><br/>Alucard reappeared in the main kitchen, something which rarely startled anyone.   He had already decided that an early morning snack was in order before he would get some rest.   He grinned over his shoulder at the head cook, opening the refrigerator that was reserved for his (and only his) use.  He averaged 3 or 4 packets of blood a day; real blood, not the synthetic stuff which was quite common.  Only once had someone tried to slip him the synthetic, something that said individual became very sorry for.  Okay, he hadn't (quite) killed said person but he'd certainly earned the scaring of his life; which Alucard had been more than happy to deliver.<br/><br/>Actually, he hadn't deliberately killed anyone on the staff in years.  In fact, since the time of Integra's father; when an overly curious delivery boy had the misfortune of poking him while he'd been sleeping.   Disturbing Alucard in general when he was either sleeping or not wanting to be disturbed was a risk to life (often) and limb (rarely).<br/><br/>He selected one of the packets from the silver appliance then vanished once again to his personal chambers, also unchanged in decades.  He settled hat and glasses onto the table next to the empty wine glass, then settled into his chair to enjoy his snack.   After the delicious snack, he closed his eyes and settled in for a nice nap before the day's carnage would certainly require his attention.<br/><br/>And besides, Seras would be home when she returned.   He was rather looking forward to the competition of the bigger breasts.