Empty Shell
Disclaimer: Don't own HP, Carmilla, or The Runelords
A/N: The Runelords is a series of fantasy novels where peasants can give their attributes to rulers or the rich in exchange for protection. They can give simple things like sight, hearing, or even smell. They are called endowments. Others are more difficult, like stamina and metabolism. Touch is the oddest though; a person can't tell if something is hurting them or not, and are incapable of feeling emotion. I decided Carmilla gave her endowment of touch to someone else.
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"I feel no love…no pain…no sorrow. I am…hollow."- Count Dracula, Van Helsing.
Countess Mircalla Karnstein stared out into the starry night from her perch on the Astronomy Tower. She was sitting at the tip of the spire, her long red dress swaying in the cool breeze. Of course she couldn't feel the breeze or how refreshing it was since the day had been blistering hot.
She had never felt anything in her life.
The Countess' endowment of Touch had been taken when she was born. It was the perfect idea in its own right; a ruler who had no ties, no hidden agenda or bias. Unfortunately, the plan had backfired in her parents' face.
Being emotionless meant Millacara had no sense of duty to her subjects. She didn't care if the city was at war or peace; since she couldn't care at all. Getting married was out of the question; she could never be in love and no one would want her anyways. So her parents had decided to do the only diplomatic thing they could think of; kill her off.
Being turned into a vampire had been extremely easy.
Carmilla hadn't even felt it when the ancient vampire had bit her neck. She hadn't fallen in love with him either, just let him lead her into a darkened alley. What was the point of life if one could not feel? This question was still unanswered.
Of course, she had been dead for over a millennia.
Helping with the construction of a magical school was no solace either. Sure, the Four Founders had left her the Forbidden Forest to dwell in, but that was not refuge. She felt no attachment to the community; it was just a job to do. She was living in a limbo; a detached being floating in a sea of feeling.
"It's nearly dinner," a voice said from the window to the Astronomy Tower. "Are you going to be joining us Countess?"
"I will be a moment," was Carmilla's reply. "Start without me if you wish."
"Okay then," the voice of Godric Griffindor said as he left for the Great Hall. "Don't catch cold now."
Milla wished she could catch one. Snag it, hold it, and keep it all to herself. To feel something, anything, be it pain or happiness, it would be better than this. Something worth living for.
As Carmilla strode down the steep slope of the spire, she wondered if she would ever feel anything.
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A few centuries later, Carmilla felt something for the first time. It was a tear cast by an injured young man she had just saved. It was so simple, so beautiful; she swore she would always protect the boy who gave her the ability to feel.
His name was Severus Snape.