So this happened. Oops. It was supposed to be a lot longer. But finals are calling and I couldn't spend any more time here cuz I'd fail. 11000 words is pretty good I think. There's some gore in here but nothing too over the top I hope. All Danny centered, except for the end. And I've fallen hopelessly more in love with Danny after writing this. But yeah. Here's something to pass the time before the actual finale arrives. Thanks guys, this is unbeta-ed and rushed so I could post it before the last episode comes out.
Cheers!
Danny Lawrence was numb. They had won. They had actually won. But at what cost? All around her, people- friends, classmates, acquaintances, slowly regain their bearings and pick themselves up, tending to the wounded and the dead. She felt her silver bow, now smattered with blood, slip out of her hands and hit the ground with a muted thud. Danny Lawrence was numb. Her heart still thudded violently in her chest, her lungs expanded painfully with each breath, and the cut across her face stung.
But none of that mattered because Danny Lawrence was numb. Danny Lawrence was numb because Carmilla Karnstein was dead.
Laura sat, mere metres away, Carmilla's head in her lap, the vampire's dark curls flowing over her knees. "No no no no no! You stupid vampire! You're not allowed to die! I told you to run and hide! I told you!" Each syllable seemed to rise in volume and in pitch, until Laura gave an anguished wail that shook Danny right down to her bones.
Instinctively, Danny's pupils dilated and turned a bright purple, her fangs slid out of their hiding places and she could feel her nails lengthen. Danny gasped and clutched her head in her hands. Deep breaths, in and out, in and out. Hearing one of her own, one of her friends, one of the people that she loved, make such a gut-wrenching sound- it overwhelmed her usual control over her inner wolf. All she wanted to do was anything, and everything that would fix this mess. Anything to stop that sound.
Finally, she felt the fangs slide back and her nails recede, her vision dimmed, returning to that of a normal human's and her breathing evened out. Adrenaline coursed through her body and honestly, it was the only thing keeping her going. Carefully, she picked her way past the Dean's fallen army: a fledgling vampire here with a stake through his heart, a grotesque bull creature there with its severed head several metres away from its neck stump. The ground all around them was scorched black from the fierce light.
The fierce light that Carmilla, after spearing her mother through the chest with the golden Blade of Hastur, stabbed in the heart. The light let out this inhuman wail and grew impossibly brighter. An explosion rocked the earth, throwing the vampire clear of the chasm where the light resided. And that's where the vampire lay, completely still.
By the time she reached Laura, the girl was hunched over Carmilla's battered body, the vampire's shirt clenched tightly in her fist as she sobbed silently. Slowly, Danny sank to her knees next to Laura. "Laura? Baby, I'm sorry. Come here," Danny gingerly placed an arm around the blonde's shaking form and Laura let herself be pulled into a half-embrace.
Things were a little weird between them. They had a brief moment before the battle really began, right after Danny had freed the girls and Kirsch. Danny can't remember much of it, everything is basically just a blur now. But she recalls a lot of apologizing, on both of their parts and a few awkward grins. She also recalls a brief "good luck kiss" being pressed into the corner of her lips and promises of "we'll talk about this later, with Carmilla". But that means nothing now, especially now that Carmilla is dead and Laura is soaking her shirt with her tears.
"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Danny pressed her lips gently into Laura's tousled hair and rubbed small circles into her back with her thumb.
Danny said nothing, for a Lit TA with an English major, words should come pretty easily. But at such a time, all words seemed to fail her. So they sat there, for who knows how long, until Danny lost all feeling in her legs and the adrenaline wore off. Still she stayed, arm curled protectively around Laura; she was pretty sure that her arm was the only thing keeping Laura upright. Carmilla's limp, colder-than-usual body lay across their laps. Laura cradled Carmilla's head, all while making incoherent sobbing noises.
Night fell, and the air turned chill. Danny sighed and stared up at the dark skies. Not a star in sight, like the skies could sense Carmilla's demise. A sliver of moonlight peeked out from behind the dense cloud cover and dimly illuminated the area. The other students had left, carrying their makeshift weapons, the wounded, and the rare corpse. They all had the sense to leave their fallen saviour, fearless leader and fiery champion alone. Questions would be asked later, but for now, grieving would do for now.
The redhead shivered and felt a blanket drape over her shoulders. Surprised, she looked up into the warm eyes of Perry, who gazed back at her with nothing but concern. A bandaged LaFontaine stood right behind her, one hand holding Perry's hand and the other held Laura's oversized first aid kit.
"Let's get you two patched up," LaFontaine sighed and plopped down on the dusty ground in front of her. Danny barely winced as LaFontaine dabbed gingerly at the gash across her face with an alcohol swab. Perry fussed similarly over the cut on Laura's face, awkwardly hovering off to the side because the smaller woman refused to relinquish her hold on her beloved vampire.
Once the process was over, LaFontaine offered Danny a hand up and eased the tall werewolf to her feet. "Thanks for coming to save me. I know we never got along, but you know. Its the thought that counts right?"
Danny groaned and stretched out her ridiculously stiff body, "What's past is past, I don't hold grudges, not for too long. Besides, if you died, Perry would be beyond upset. I couldn't do that to Perry." There was a long silence as LaFontaine just nodded solemnly.
"Come on Laura," Danny looked down at the younger woman, who was resolutely wrapped around Carmilla. "Laura we have to go back. You need rest."
"I need Carmilla."
"I know, but lets get you cleaned up first. We'll fix everything in the morning," Danny lifted Laura into her arms, cradling her tightly against her chest.
"But what can we fix?"
Danny eased the door of dorm 307 closed. It was close to two in the morning and Laura had just fallen asleep. The redhead had managed to get the journalism major to take a shower and into pajamas without much struggle. But once the lights were out and the two of them were curled up in Laura's bed, then came the tears.
With the yellow pillow under their heads, Carmilla's scent filtered through the space between them, filling the air until Carmilla was all Danny could smell. The mere smell of rust, ink, new books, old books, and cinnamon, all mixed together to make a scent that was so uniquely... Carmilla.
Never in her life had Danny been more glad that Laura was human.
Eventually the tears, the trembling, the cursing, and the whimpering fell to an exhausted silence.
"She asleep?" came the whispered question. LaFontaine stood, leaning exhaustedly on the wall.
"Yeah, like you should be," Danny quipped, rubbing her temples tiredly.
"I thought I'd pop by to check on her at least."
"You thought, or Perry asked?"
"Skor blondies," the bio major shot her a wink, "but in all seriousness. You okay? What're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in there still?"
"I have a plan."
In hindsight, it was a ridiculous plan, based completely off of stories, passing bits of gossip as well as Danny's confidence in her abilities. And to be honest, she had none. But for Carmilla's sake, for Laura's sake, this plan had to work.
Carmilla, she told LaFontaine would be moved to her bedroom in the Summer Society house. She needed LaFontaine's help though. LaFontaine's sole duty was to keep Laura away from there for the time being, while she made sure that Carmilla's body was still intact. Oh, and stock the minifridge in Danny's room with blood, lots of it. Doesn't matter the type. The sisters there would ask no questions as long as the shorter redhead restricted herself to only entering Danny's room. To Laura, she left a simple handwritten note, "Trust me".
Much to Danny's surprise, LaFontaine agreed. There was some squinting and quiet calculations but finally she nodded silently. Danny could only nod back, "If I'm not back in a week, I don't know. I'll leave it to your judgement. And tell Laura, I don't know. Tell her something."
And with that. Danny put her plan into action.
The first stop included a quick detour to the cafeteria, where she broke into the pantry. The dragon ladies that ran the place were slumbering peacefully in the back, smoke rings billowing rhythmically from their nostrils. It wasn't hard, multiple late night pie cravings had made her an expert at it. This part was probably the only part where Danny was absolutely sure of herself.
From the pantry, she swiped a jar of jam. Then she returned to where the Lustig Building used to be.
The area looked exactly the same as she left it. The Dean's minions were rapidly decaying though, leaving behind bloodied imprints and silhouettes of their fallen forms against the blackened earth. But Carmilla was still there. Her body, broken and small, lying still in the midst of it all. Danny set the jam down beside her and sat down. She stared at the fallen figure. Earlier, she was so caught up in Laura's grief that she never really got a moment to herself, to let herself grieve. Someone needed to be a strong pillar of support for Laura.
"I hated you," she whispered to the prone form, "I still hate you. But not for the same reasons." She took a shuddering breath, tears streaming freely down her face, "I hated you because I felt like you were taking Laura away from me. I hated you because we were so alike but not at the same time. I hated you because you could flaunt who you are, who you were with such grace and pride. And I had to hide everything."
"I hate you because you made Laura cry." From the corner of her eye, Danny saw a brief flash of light, followed by a soft scraping sound. So the rumours were true. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves. "I'm doing this because I hate you. And you deserve more than this, Laura deserves more than this. If you don't like heroic crap then don't play hero." The last part was more to herself than anyone else. "Someone's gotta do it."
So she stood up, uncapped the jar of jam and emptied it onto the ground. Strawberry jam looked disgustingly similar to minion blood, who knew? Silently, Danny made her way across the wreckage, her hunting instincts kicking in as she zeroed in on where she saw that flash of light. Her vision grew sharper as her eyes took on that vibrant purple and her fangs slid out. She was in her element, ears pricked for any sound, fangs bared at any sign of movement. She was a natural born hunter, and this was what she was made for.
A pile of rubble shifted slightly to her left and she cocked her head, smirking. Gotcha. Now hopefully the second part of those rumours were true. Without any hesitation she pounced, jar and lid in her outstretched hands. Her efforts were not without reward.
Inside the jar sat a tiny, baby Lophiiforme. It wasn't very bright now, about the equivalent of an old incandescent bulb, and definitely not as scary looking when it was stuck in a strawberry jam jar. "I don't think you belong here little guy," Danny gave the jar a light tap, only to watch amusedly as the creature tried to break through the glass. "Hey! Settle down!"
She tucked the jar under her arm, ready to grab Carmilla to execute the next part of her plan when a metallic clang caught her attention. At her feet lay a charred Blade of Hastur, the gleaming gold was now a jet black, shining eerily bright in the dim moonlight. Her eyes narrowed at it, mind whirring. Then with a sigh, she kicked it into the air with her foot and picked it out of the air. A light devouring blade could never hurt.
From there, it was only a short trip to the Summer Society house with Carmilla, a baby devouring light creature in a jar, and some legendary sword in her arms.
Danny took one last glance around her room. She had packed everything that she would need into her olive green backpack with Summer Society emblazoned on the front. Everything else that didn't fit sat on her desk. Some water, a small first aid kit, an extra sweater, and the jar with the Lophiiforme went into the bag. A quiver crammed full of silver arrows and her silver bow sat gleaming, cleaned of all gore, before her. The Blade of Hastur was propped up on the bed, where she had placed Carmilla's body.
She paused and retrieved from her closet, a worn red flannel shirt. It wasn't hers, it was Laura's. Her eyes watered at the memory of it.
After that fight that they had all those weeks ago, the one that felt much too close to a break up but couldn't actually be one because they were never actually together in the first place, Carmilla visited her.
"What," Danny spat, clearly angered that this bloodsucker had the nerve to show up at her door. "Have you come to rub it in that you won? That Laura's all yours now?"
"Down puppy," Carmilla sniped back, and shouldered her way into the room.
Danny bristled, "What. Do. You. Want."
"I bring a present," Carmilla made herself at home on Danny's bed, crossing her legs underneath her.
"What?" Danny was confused and surprised.
"I figured that the cupcake is probably gonna give you the cold shoulder for the next while until she simmers down. And knowing how stubborn you lycans are, I figured you would do the same," Carmilla picked up a thick book from Danny's night table and thumbed through it idly. "Hmm, never took you for a Poe girl, he was always so dramatic."
"Cut that out! What are you saying? You didn't come here just to insult my taste in literature," Danny snatched her worn book away from the raven haired girl.
"Here, I figured you might want this," Carmilla pulled a red flannel shirt from behind her and threw it at Danny. Shocked, Danny let the shirt hit her in the face and was instantly overwhelmed by the scent of vanilla, cocoa and strawberries.
"Laura," she breathed.
"Yeah, as much as the cupcake doesn't want to admit it, she needs you. She'll come around. But until she does, let that hold you over," Carmilla smirked as Danny gaped at her, still dumbfounded. "I kinda like you better when you're silent."
"Shut up," Danny glared at her begrudgingly.
"Anyways, lemme know when it stops," Carmilla shot her a wink and poofed out of the room in cloud of black smoke.
At first, Danny didn't know what Carmilla meant by "when it stops". When the fight was over? But after a week of sleeping with the shirt, Danny realized. When the shirt stopped smelling like Laura. When that happened, she stopped by room 307 right after Laura left for her first class of the day. Carmilla would still be curled up in the covers, unimpressed when Danny came scrambling in and thrust the shirt at her. Grumbling, she would put the shirt on. "What? It can't exactly mysteriously appear in the laundry after its been missing for a week."
Then a few days after, the shirt would reappear in Danny's room, draped over the back of her chair, smelling strongly of Laura, with lingering traces of Carmilla mixed in. And that became routine. She didn't know what came over Carmilla initiate something like this, but she was grateful that it happened. So she took it upon herself to keep Carmilla's fridge well stocked. Two bags of O negative every five days. Danny would never admit it, but the two bags were usually her own blood. It just happened she was an O negative, and she felt bad about taking blood from the blood bank all the time. And werewolves healed fast. Carmilla didn't seem to notice anyways.
Fondly, she slipped the red flannel shirt on. The shirt was ridiculously large on Laura, but fit the redhead's taller frame perfectly. Out of habit, she brought the sleeves up to her nose and inhaled, vanilla, cocoa and a hint of rust. Everything that had become so familiar to her in this past month.
"Alright you stupid vampire, I'm coming for you."
The way Danny saw it, there was only one way for her to get to the underworld. "Danny? What brings you here? The moon is not full yet."
"Artemis, my lady," Danny knelt respectfully before the gleaming silver goddess. "I have a favour to ask of you."
This intrigued the goddess and she rose to her feet, "Of course Danny."
The Summer Society was composed of werewolves, but not just any werewolves. They were also a pack of Artemis' hunting hounds. Her favourite hunting hounds, which Danny was the Alpha of, so naturally Danny was a little bit of a favourite, not that she would ever tell. Artemis would hunt with them, every full moon, help get as much wolf out of their system as possible, it was a win-win situation. The goddess of the hunt was used to being asked for favours by her hounds. They were trivial, minor things, like curing of an illness or some advice on one thing or another. But Danny had never asked her for anything before. Even the silver bow and and arrows, which Danny so cherished, were simply gifts.
"I need a way to the underworld," this was a surprise.
Artemis stared at Danny for a long time, thinking. And for a second, Danny thought that she would say no but the goddess let out a breath. Perhaps she saw something in the lycan that Danny had not realized she possessed. "Very well. But I am limited to providing you a way there. Coming back is all up to you," she waved her hand and a glowing purple portal appeared. "This will take you right up to the gates, I can not take you any further than that. Remember Danny, you are not of that world. Remember the story of Demeter."
Danny nodded solemnly and got to her feet. She was going to come back with Carmilla, or not at all.
"Oh, and one last thing. You are the Alpha here. But where you will go, you will meet many other Alphas. Lycan's are not that high up on the chain. But I have faith in you that you will be able to stand firm. And send my greetings to my dusty old uncle."
"Thank-you," Danny whispered. With one last look at the goddess, she let herself be swallowed up by the portal.
So the underworld was not what all the books and stories made it out to be. It wasn't really all that dark. But that could just be because there was a lot of fire. You could hear the screams and the cries as people met their fate. A menacing set of gargantuan, black gates were open and streams of people, no not people, souls, poured in. In the midst of it all lay Cerberus. The biggest anything that Danny had ever seen, easily the size of two football fields. Its fur was a whitish-grey, and its eyes a menacing red. It lay with its middle head on its paws, watching the souls as they passed by. The other two heads were up and alert.
Danny approached cautiously, she had heard many different accounts about Cerberus and she had no intention of becoming its lunch any time soon. Maybe she could just blend in with all the other souls and sneak her way in.
"Human," a booming voice made her stop in her tracks. "No..." Danny could feel the air tugging at her as Cerberus sniffed the air. "Lycan. What does Artemis want?"
The redhead turned slowly, to realize Cerberus was a lot closer than she thought. The middle head was up now, cocked to the side as it scrutinized her. Maybe she could make a break for it. So she did, before the giant beast could respond, she was off sprinting towards the gate, through all the souls trying to get in. Cerberus watched her, bemused. She was not the first living person to attempt to get in, for one reason or another. But she was getting a lot further than anyone else.
Danny ducked as a dark red blur came flying at her from the left. Hellhounds, she realized and continued to run, leaping over another one that tried to cut her off. She couldn't stand and fight, she had to keep running. The ground trembled with the force of many sets of paws scrambling after this living creature. They knew not of why she wanted to be here, but they knew they had one job.
That's when a jet black blur skidded in front of her, much larger than the other hellhounds. "SIT," Cerberus' voice boomed again and all motion stopped. Danny found that even she could not help herself but fall to her knees. So this is what Artemis meant by meeting other Alphas. Cerberus was definitely an Alpha, and way above her as well. All around her, the hellhounds had stopped what they were doing and sat, panting.
Danny felt the ground shake as the three headed hound got up from its spot and pad over.
"Good, now lycan. You should know what happens to intruders, although I do not understand why Artemis sent you," the beast had recognized the portal. They didn't get voluntary visitors very often, especially ones that came by portal.
"Stand firm," a voice reminded her gently. "You have one chance."
"I came to rescue someone," Danny replied defiantly, staring up at the middle head. She struggled to get up, but the she had been issued a command by an Alpha, and every fibre in her being wanted to obey.
"There is no rescuing the dead. They are dead," Cerberus looked down at her boredly.
"I would be dead if she hadn't died. I owe her my life, I have to at least try," Danny growled, struggling to move her legs.
"And what? Throw away the life that she saved?" Cerberus chuckled darkly.
"You don't understand. I have to!" Danny roared, suddenly surging to her feet. "Laura needs her, I'm scared of what might happen to Laura if I can't bring Carmilla back. I know what would happen and I can't do that to Laura. Not beautiful, sweet, caring Laura. She was willing to sacrifice everything for some girls she barely knew, and Carmilla was willing to sacrifice everything for Laura. What did I do? Nothing. This is the least I can do."
Cerberus regarded her blankly, he had no interest in human affairs, lycan or not. But she was able to break his hold on her. That was intriguing, he would allow this, just to see how far it would go, "Follow your heart pup, or your nose. Which ever you feel is right."
Confused, Danny wandered through the gates and officially into the underworld. "Take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints," she reminded herself sternly. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck here forever.
While she was glad that Cerberus had let her in, she had a feeling that he would not be the hardest obstacle to overcome. With a sigh, she checked to make sure that the her bow, quiver, sword and bag were still there before heading off.
The faint scent of rust with subtle, earthy undertones lingered in the air, definitely Carmilla. Danny sniffed the inside of her shirt just to make sure. Yep, the vampire was... she took another sniff, towards the east. Now Cerberus had not provided a map of any sort, and her time was running short, eventually other inhabitants would realize that she was alive. The most direct route was probably the best route.
So east she went, avoiding the paths and roads, opting to make her way through rather dense underbrush. It was kinda like the forest at Silas, but not nearly as green. She was pretty sure that the reds of the canopy was fire. Her thoughts wandered back to Silas, back to Laura, what she could be doing now, if she was even awake yet. How long did Danny have before Laura realized that she wasn't there? The memory of a tearful, grieving Laura made Danny's heart twist painfully and she pushed it away. Instead she focused on her surroundings, tuning her senses in with the area, ignoring how many steps she took and how much time had passed. She needed to make it to Carmilla, or Laura's heartache would be for nothing.
Eventually the fiery forest ended, thick brambles gave way to boulders, and packed dirt became gravel. A mountain range. Carmilla's scent lead her right to a mountain range. It was too late for her to turn back and try to find another way around. She'd just have to go over. Squinting, she gauged the approximate heights of each mountain. If she was to go over, she'd at least pick the shortest one. If it was short enough, she might climb to the top, just to get a sense of where she was, and where she needed to head to next.
Mind set, she moved quickly across the rocky ground. There wasn't much cover here, the boulders weren't nearly large enough to duck behind. The mountain was a lot steeper than she thought, boy was she ever glad she took that rock climbing course back in her second year. Unfortunately, she didn't think to pack a rope. Mountain climbing really wasn't at the top of her list of things that she had thought she'd encounter.
But, she did have that sword. Frowning, she unsheathed it as she leapt across the rocks nimbly, ever heading upwards. Since she was already dragging its dead weight with her, she might as well put it to some use. With a grin, she hefted it into the rock face, watching with some satisfaction as the blade sank into the rock like an anchor would into the ocean. Then she leapt up and grabbed it, using her momentum to swing herself further up and bring the blade with her. Since she seemed to be redefining the whole definition of possible by even being in the underworld, reinventing mountain climbing seemed like a good idea too.
Nearly two hours later, an exhausted Danny was nearly across the mountain. She could see a forest at the base of the mountain. But this one wasn't on fire, it was just...dead. The trees were black and twisted together, resembling claws that reached out for her. But even though she could see the forest, it seemed that no matter how she climbed, it never got closer.
Her knees were bruised and bloody, having fallen over from sheer exhaustion multiple times. Her hand were dirty and equally as bloody, from picking herself up each time. The whole swinging from the sword was fun for the first hour. Then just swinging the sword became a herculean effort, one that took up way more energy than Danny had. So she resorted back to the good old fashioned way of scrambling up the rocks on all fours.
Was all this effort and pain really worth it? Danny pulled a water bottle from her bag and brought it to her lips, only to realize that it was empty, she had already finished it a few falls back. Look, you're running out of water. It seemed that being in the underworld was really taking a toll on her. What did that vampire ever do for you to deserve all this. Resolutely, Danny squared her shoulders and continued the journey, she'd take another drink when she reached the bottom of the mountain. Traipsing through Hell just to bring back some bloodsucker. Her water needed to be rationed. Just one foot in front of the other.
The next thing she was actually conscious of was the feeling of falling, and landing flat on her back. "Owwww," she groaned, feeling her bow dig into her shoulder blade. Just lay here. Take a break. Take a nap. Danny shrugged, she could definitely use a nap. Yeah, that's right. Relax. Why put yourself through all this pain and misery? You're always such a baby when it comes to pain. Remember that time you tried to do a roundoff and almost dislocated your shoulder? Yeah, why do that? Just rest up. The bloodsucker can wait.
Danny nodded, the bloodsucker could- wait a minute. Bloodsucker? No, Carmilla. Carmilla, Carmilla could not wait. Carmilla could not wait, because Laura was waiting. And making Laura wait any more than she needed to was far more painful than any physical pain. The underworld was definitely doing weird things to her. Growling, Danny picked herself up, she had wasted too much time here. She needed to double her speed at least.
The wolf inside her rose to the surface and she felt the physical changes take place. Now she'd have to keep a tight hold on the wolf, a full transformation probably wasn't wise here, but just enough of the wolf to make her faster and stronger. The rest of the mountain passed by in a blur. Her natural healing factor kicked in and eventually all her cuts and scrapes faded away. The forest was finally in reach, it was a lot more menacing now that she was no longer above it.
But there, at the bottom of the mountain, what was that? A person? Semi-wolf Danny paused and watched as the person painstakingly pushed a boulder in front of them, up the mountain. Sisyphus. She stared at the figure, things finally clicking into place. That's why the mountain seemed so difficult to climb, that's why it seemed so never ending. It wasn't just some underworld mountain, it was Sisyphus' mountain. And she had unknowingly fallen into his punishment as well.
Hopefully that was the last surprise, Danny prayed as she took off at a full sprint towards the forest. The instant that she stepped into the forest though, she froze. The wolf in her did not like it here, at all. It may be a forest, but it was not a forest that she was used to. There was absolutely no light, if it weren't for her heightened senses, she wouldn't even be able to tell there was a forest.
The darkness was so thick, it almost had a physical presence like it was pressing down on her, suffocating. The trees were all twisted together, making it nearly impossible to tell where one branch started an another one ended. And the silence. Oh it was eerily silent, devoid of any of the familiar sounds of a forest: the rustle of leaves, the chirp of birds, the movement of animals. All there was was a subtle draft, just enough to make the trees creak painfully in the background.
Danny swallowed and drew her bow with an arrow already cocked. Very few things truly frightened her, and this definitely made it to the top of her list. Cautiously, she moved forwards, one foot in front of the next. Each step was silent, a hunter's prowl. Ironic, because she had this feeling that she was the one being hunted.
There was a rustle to her left, and she whirled around to face it. It was an unnatural rustle. The trees were all barren, no leaves to rustle. It sounded more like...cloth. No, fur. No... hair. "Show yourself!" Danny demanded, her voice cracking, eyes straining. No response. Maybe she was imagining things, the dark was getting to her. The faster she got out of here, the better it would be.
Her silent prowl became more of a hushed jog, sacrificing her silence for some speed. Just follow the Carmilla's scent, she reminded herself firmly. But there was just this gnawing feeling that something was watching her and she was not used to being the prey in a forest. Another rustle, to her right this time. This time though, she let loose the arrow in the bow, watching it fly straight and true into the darkness. The arrow whistled as it sped through the air and then... nothing. Danny's brow furrowed, she had been expecting something, anything; metal hitting wood, or even flesh.
But there was nothing.
Except, what was that? Movement! Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure emerging from the darkened trees. The figure was unclear, even to her heightened senses. There was no time to waste with whoever this was. She frowned and drew another arrow.
Until the figure stepped out from behind the warren foliage.
Danny suddenly wished her eyesight wasn't heightened.
Laura, Laura Hollis. Beautiful, brilliant, clever Laura Hollis stepped out from behind the tree. She wore the same clothes that Danny had left her in, an old pair of sweats and an worn band t-shirt. Her hair still shone in the darkness. But her expression was pained; mouth open in a silent cry and eyes glazed over, empty. That's when Danny saw the arrow. Her arrow. Her silver arrow sticking out of Laura's stomach like some kinda of a flag post on a piece of land. Defeated, it said. You've won, I have nothing left. Take my life too.
The image was seared into her mind forever.
"Laura?" Danny asked in disbelief, shock evident in her voice. What was she doing here? How did she follow her? LaFontaine was supposed to be watching her. The werewolf rushed forwards, tossing her weapon to the side to catch the falling blonde. "Oh babe, why are you here?" Danny placed a palm around the arrow wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.
Since becoming a werewolf, the scent of blood had become a normality of sorts. It was part of the hunt, it was food, it was satiating. But now, the scent of blood made her sick, threatened to make her throw up.
"Why?" Laura asked softly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you. I just- just thought you were something else you know. I meant to tell you that I was going to go get Carmilla but I didn't want you to worry. And this was my fault, I shouldn't have reacted like that..." Danny rambled off, voice getting higher and higher.
"I k-know," Laura said weakly, reaching a hand up slowly.
"You know what?" Danny bit out, trying to stop her eyes from watering.
"I k-know this is your fault. Everything is your fault. I know what you really are" Hate dripped from every syllable.
Danny recoiled as if she had been slapped, scrambling backwards away from Laura, letting the younger woman fall to the ground with a painful thud.
"I know what you really are," Laura's voice was disembodied, floating all around. Each word was like a slap to the face.
"Stop! Go away!" Danny screamed, she closed her eyes and buried her head in her hands.
"Monster. Why are you here?" Laura's voice got louder and louder
"Murderer. You should've died instead of Carmilla," it was a shriek now and Danny scrabbled forwards, blindly reaching for her bow, anything to keep her grounded, keep the voice away.
"You don't deserve a happy ending. You don't deserve love. You aren't even capable of love. Just another savage beast."
"You're wrong!" Danny cried out, lashing out with her bow, swing it wildly as the world swam before her. She didn't know what was going on, what was happening, where she was anymore. "You're wrong..."
"If we're wrong, then why did you kill us?" it was LaFontaine.
Danny opened her eyes instantly. Her friends: LaFontaine, Perry, Kirsch, her Summer Society sisters, they were all standing before her. Each person's expression mirrored Laura's. Laura, she stood at the front of the group, one hand clutching the arrow, the other hand outstretched.
"Why Danny? You were an honorary bro!" now Kirsch.
But it wasn't just their pained expressions. Each one had been pierced by a gleaming, silver arrow. "What? Impossible!" There was a metallic clang as the bow slid out of her hand. She stared down at it. She had recalled picking it up, but she never fired an arrow. Hesitantly, she reached back towards her quiver to check.
Her hand met thin air.
"You killed us. You're no better than the Dean," Perry.
Danny sank to her knees, despair over whelming her as she fell forwards. Everything that she had tried so hard to not succumb to. Her efforts were futile after all. Her face pressed into the collar of the shirt, the cold ground sent a shiver through her body, the stench of blood pouring into all of her senses. She stifled a sob, and a wave of warmth washed over her.
A moment of clarity. Vanilla, chocolate, ink, rust. Danny's head snapped up and stared at the crowd who were looking down at her with such venom. "You're not real," she breathed. Beyond the smell of blood, there was no scent. Perry didn't smell like artificial lemon cleaners and bleach. LaFontaine didn't smell like gasoline and chemicals. Kirsch didn't smell like Old Spice and day-old fish. They smelled like...nothing.
"You're not real!" Danny repeated, scrambling up to her feet in triumph. Quickly, before they could do anything else, she gathered up her things and took of sprinting. Backpack, check. Beat up old sword, check. Bow, check. Arrows? As she reached back to swing her bow back over her shoulder, her hand brushed against something soft. Surprised, Danny almost tripped over the roots of a tree. Her arrows, they were there!
"Well, well, well. So you've gotten past my Night Mares," Danny skidded to a halt.
Another dark figure, this time he was cloaked. Kinda looked like the Grim Reaper actually.
"Who are you?" Danny growled, she really wasn't in the mood for this.
"Why, don't you think with all these Night Mares, there'd be a rider?" and hundreds of pairs of red eyes blinked to life.
Danny gasped, they were all horses. Phantom horses. Black as the darkness itself and triple the size of any horse that Danny had ever seen. They glided silently over the ground, their tails rustling and manes flaring behind them.
"Not everybody survives my Night Mares. They usually die, bodies give out from fear. You're something else. But nobody gets past the rider," there was the swish of his cloak and he was gone.
The Night Mares stood there, staring at her, unmoving. Well, they seemed harmless now. She took a step forwards, they glided back. She took another step forwards, they glided back again. Were they afraid of her? She rushed forwards and the Night Mares scattered, disappearing into the darkness.
Good, they were one less thing she had to worry about, and she resumed sprinting.
"Why are you doing this?" he was back, whispering in her ear. Danny swatted at the air around her, as if a fly had just buzzed by.
"So you want to bring her back. But why? Because you love the other one?" Danny ignored him and leapt over a fallen tree.
"If you love her, go buy her a diamond ring. Foolish wolf, don't bring back her dead lover." His voice was taunting now, jeering, laughing.
"They weren't lovers!" Danny growled in reply.
"Not yet, am I right?" he continued. "What kind of a masochist are you. The girl I love's almost lover is dead. Instead of jumping at the chance of being there to comfort her and be the big hero, I'm here trying to bring back my competition."
"I hate heroic crap, Carmilla's the hero. Not me," Danny started to run faster, her surroundings quickly becoming a blur.
"If you don't call this heroic crap, then I don't know what is," he materialised now, flying in tight circles around her. It made her want to throw up.
"Shut up," she muttered, ducking under a low branch, hoping that it would catch him off guard. It didn't, the branch passed through him without any resistance whatsoever.
"Then why are you doing this? Why? Why put yourself through all this torture just for some girl? You love her? You really love her? Or do you like the idea of her, the chase. Naive freshman, you want to be the cool Lit TA don't you? After all's said and done, you'll move on to someone else. And that bloodsucker, such a pain in the neck. How rude and uncultured. Always in your way. Isn't it better now that she's gone?"
"I said shut up!" Danny stopped suddenly in her tracks and whirled around to look at him defiantly. "I love Laura okay? And I would do anything for her. Anything. And don't talk that way about Carmilla. She's a thousand times better than you could ever be. And I, well I, I love her too." There it was out. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of her chest, or more accurately, heart.
"Did I touch a nerve there? You say you love her. But you love her as well. But have you ever said it to them? They don't know now do they. Ungrateful bunch you lot are. They don't know you love them. You've never said it now have you?"
"What? Well, I made it kinda obvious to Laura that I at least liked her. But nothing explicit. And I'm sure Carmilla knows, she's always been good at reading people." Danny chewed her lip as she thought about it. "But I'm done talking to you," and she was off again.
"But I'm not done with you. What if you die here, dear Danny. Then you won't ever be able to tell either of them. You ought to turn back now, at least you'll be able to tell one. There's no telling where the other one went down here. The underworld is a vast place, and that bloodsucker had many sins to atone for," the voice chuckled darkly. "Why risk it all?"
"Love makes us fools. I'm coming back with Carmilla, and nothing you say will persuade me otherwise!" Danny shot back, still defiant. Just stick to the plan, everything will be fine.
"Love made you the fool. Fine, lets say you bring her back. Have you thought about then what?"
"Then what?"
"Oh you fool. What happens when these two lovers are reunited. Did you hope for some happy ending? One that included you? You did, didn't you. Maybe you're the naive one," he was louder than ever, buzzing incessantly everywhere.
"They wouldn't do that to me!"
"They wouldn't? Or they shouldn't? Let me tell you what will happen. They'll kiss and they'll make up. And you will be left with the scars of this journey. You will carry this baggage for all of time. Maybe you'll get a thank-you card, but it'll feel more like a stab in the back. Maybe you'll get to be their kids' godmother, it'll feel like you're babysitting the devil himself. Maybe you'll be fortunate and die young instead, never needing to see the anguish you will have created for yourself. Save yourself the pain. Stop fighting me..."
Danny look around her wildly, she hadn't noticed, but the cloak, his cloak was already half-draped around her shoulders. The darkness had intensified, she couldn't see anything anymore, even with her heightened abilities. Snarling, she tried to rip the cloak off of her, but for every handful that she tore off, another wave replaced it. She was drowning in this darkness.
"I would let them."
The darkness paused, "What?"
"I would bring Carmilla back just to see Laura smile again. I would bring her back because I love Laura and seeing her happy, that's worth any price. I'd bring Carmilla back because I love Carmilla. She's a lot like me, more than I originally thought. She's been through way worse than me and if anybody deserves a happy ending, its her. And if just the two of them got together, I would be happy because they'd be happy. Love will have its sacrifices. My happiness is a small price to pay for their happiness." Danny smiled at the thought of Laura sitting at her desk, jabbering away excitedly to her webcam and Carmilla, lazily lounging on the bed with a small smirk on her face.
"You fool," and she was suffocating, the dark forcing its way down her throat.
No, she couldn't fall here. Carmilla. Laura. They were waiting. With inhuman strength she tore through the darkness, pressing forwards blindly. One foot in front of the other. Run Danny, run. That's what she did best. She ran from and for everything. She had the medals to prove it, and the scars.
Then she was falling, out of the darkness. The cold ground gave way to soft grasses, the darkness to the gentle light of the stars. Her face was wet, she was crying, her sight watery. But she never hit the ground. Something soft caught her. Black, not the same black as the darkness, but a muted black. Like, a t-shirt.
Danny looked up, Carmilla. She'd never thought she'd see that beautiful, pale face again. "I love you," she sputtered out instantly. "I love you, I love you, I love you and I'm sorry that I never got to say it earlier."
"Danny? Danny? You love me? Never mind that, what are you doing here. Where's Laura? Is she okay? Wait, do you still have a heartbeat?"
And suddenly Carmilla was just talking too much for Danny's tastes, so Danny cupped Carmilla's cheeks and brought their lips together. It was like jumping into a cool lake on a hot summer's day; refreshing. It washed away all the traces of darkness that still lingered. At first it was a chaste kiss, and Danny was about to pull back from Carmilla's unresponsive body when wiry arms tightened around her neck, pulling her closer.
Tongues tangled and danced together, mouths were explored, both desperately trying to memorise the other. From the sharp fangs to the dip in the back and then the swollen lips. At last, they broke apart. Danny's need for air become to great and the burn in her lungs reminded her that even werewolves needed to breathe.
"Well, that was unexpected," Carmilla smirked at her, bodies still pressed against each other.
"Please just tell me you love me," Danny begged desperately, hoping that this was not another cruel trick.
Carmilla sighed and rolled her eyes, "Didn't that kiss tell you anything?" Danny stared at her, dumbfounded. "Yes, I love you too, jolly giant," Carmilla smirked and gave her another quick peck. "But pleasantries aside. Why are you here?"
"I'm here to bring you back to Laura," Danny smiled, and flopped exhaustedly into the grass, taking Carmilla with her.
"Back to Laura? I don't know if you've noticed. But I am dead. Like actually dead. There's no going back," Carmilla rolled over onto her back so she could look up at the stars.
"Trust me, I've got a plan. I've made it this far haven't I?"
"This is the stupidest plan you've ever had, despite its apparent success," there's the old snarky Carmilla.
"Don't worry, I've got this. Now come on. Laura's waiting for you," Danny sat up, and got to her feet.
"I think Laura's waiting for you. You're the one who's taking a field trip here," Carmilla stared at the offered hand disinterestedly. "Besides, I'm unworthy of a light as pure as her."
"Oh please, stop being so dramatic. Laura's definitely waiting for you. And unworthy? Have you seen where you are?" Danny gestured at the acres of green grasses and the blankets of stars above them.
"What?" Carmilla stared at her, confused.
"Oh don't tell me you don't know," Danny searched Carmilla's face for some sign that she was kidding but she found none. "You're in the Elysium Fields."
Realisation spread over Carmilla's face and her eyes widened in surprised. "No way..."
"You could say that you've been redeemed. Now come on, the love of your life is waiting for you," Danny raised her eyebrows pointedly at the vampire.
"The love of my life? Did you make me say that I loved you so that you could refer to yourself in third-person like that?" Carmilla narrowed her eyes at her.
"What are you talking about, I'm talking about Laura! You love her right?" Danny stared at the raven-haired girl suspiciously now.
"I- I do," Carmilla said slowly. "But she likes you."
"Uh, no she doesn't. Have you seen the way she looks at you?"
"Have you seen the way she looks at you?"
"Just come back with me! I bet you that she likes you." Danny knew that Carmilla couldn't resist a good bet at least.
"I bet you that she likes you," Carmilla retorted.
"Okay, if she likes me, then you win. But if she likes you, then I win." There was a long pause. "Come back, for me?"
"Fine," Carmilla took the long offered hand and hauled herself to her feet. For a moment the two of them just looked at each other, one smiling unabashedly, the other allow a small smile to creep onto her face. At long last, things were feeling normal again.
However, their happy reunion was interrupted by barking and the distinct sounds of running. Carmilla turned just in time to see a pack of dark blurs bound out of the forest that Danny had come stumbling out of. "Hellhounds, they're after you, Danny," Carmilla scanned the ground for a weapon. There was none, just grass, grass, and more grass. And what looked suspiciously like the Blade of Hastur, sheathed next to Danny's backpack, except it was black. Carmilla snatched out from its spot and brandished it in front of her, battle-ready.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Danny laid her hand over top of Carmilla's hands on the hilt of the sword. "No, this is good. We surrender! We surrender, just take us to Lord Hades please."
"What? Danny!" Carmilla looked at the redhead like she had just lost her mind. "What are you doing?" she hissed as she reluctantly let Danny resheath the sword.
"All part of my plan. Just trust me, okay babe?" Danny winked teasingly and took Carmilla's hand. "We'll go with you peacefully!"
The hall that the Lord of Death actually resided in was a lot less gloomy than Danny expected. The two of them were escorted in by the pack of hellhounds, who snarled every time either of them made a sudden movement. Carmilla tugged at their joined hands, prompting Danny to keep moving forwards. Neither of them had bothered to release the other's hand, and neither of them really wanted to.
The hall was all dark purples and blues with beautiful tapestries hanging from every wall. Various vines crept up the stone pillars but they gave it a sense of regality rather than disuse. The floors were composed of some reflective black stone, obsidian, Danny surmised. There were no chains or mould, or cobwebs or skeletons. If she hadn't known better, she would have never guessed that this is where the Lord of Death resided in.
Speaking of Hades, the god sat on a blue-grey throne at the end of the hall. He was a wiry man, with a sharp chin and prominent cheek bones. His hair was dark, lighter than the stone floor, but darker than the night. His eyes were of a similar colour and Danny had to forcefully tear her gaze away from those starless eyes lest she be sucked in.
"A lycan, and a lost soul," Hades got up, and walked down the steps before his throne. And Danny thought she was tall, Hades was at least seven feet tall. But perhaps that was a godly thing, certainly his presence and power made him seem bigger. "What is your business in the underworld, mortal."
Danny's hand tightened around Carmilla's in response and Carmilla gave her a comforting squeeze. The redhead took a deep breath, "I want to make a trade."
Carmilla's head turned so fast that Danny was sure she was gonna get whiplash. The vampire stared at Danny, shocked, "Danny, no! My life is not worth yours!"
Danny sighed and let go of Carmilla's hand to bat at her shoulder lightly. "Stop being dramatic."
"And what makes you think I would even want your life for hers?" Hades rubbed his chin thoughtfully. This was not the first time he had seen this happen.
"Exactly Danny. I know you mean well. But I can not allow you to do this," Carmilla glared at the werewolf, her hands on her hips. Of all the harebrained ideas that Danny had, this was her idea?
"Why does everyone think that I'm trading my life for yours?" Danny cried out, exasperated. "This, this is what I'm gonna trade." Danny reached into her backpack and pulled out the long forgotten jam jar. The jam had been licked clean and a hungry little blob of light whirled around inside the jar.
"The Lophiiforme?" Carmilla stared at the demonic creature that she defeated. Why would Hades want that wretched thing?
"Yeah, I heard from my lady, Artemis, that a few uh... creatures had gone missing from the underworld. I figured this one was one of them," Danny shrugged and held the jar up to the god's face.
"Lophy?" Hades breathed down at the creature in wonder. "You look thin! They must not have taken care of you well!"
Danny wiggled the jar emphatically in the god's face. "This little guy for Carmilla. Deal or no deal?"
"You go first," Danny rolled her eyes, for a badass vampire, she was really quite a scaredy cat.
After all the shenanigans in the underworld, Hades had created a portal for them that took the right into the forest behind the Summer Society house. Danny had never been so glad to see the oversize, wooden cabin house in her life. From there, it was a matter of transferring Carmilla's soul, a delightful little pink floating ball, back into her body.
Then as Carmilla was getting used to her undead-undead body, Danny opened the her mini fridge and found that yes, LaFontaine had kept her side of the bargain and the fridge was crammed full of blood bags. She tossed four at Carmilla's face, who tore into them ravenously. Danny flinched at the scent of the metallic liquid, the scent brought back the darkness, images of Laura with the silver arrow in her stomach.
"Danny? You okay?" Carmilla tossed the empties into the nearby trashcan. The redhead was staring at the blood bags with a panicked look on her face. "Danny?" She laid a hand gently on the werewolf's shoulder.
The touch pulled Danny back to reality and she shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "I'm fine. Are you good?"
"Yeah, I'm okay for now," Carmilla struggled to her feet, and stretched. "Let's go."
Which brought them to the door of 307. Danny took a deep breath, her heart pounding. For someone who had just been to the underworld and back, facing Laura scared her a heck of a lot more. Silently, she eased the door open. The lights were off, curtains drawn with a few beams of sunlight scattered through the cracks.
"Laura?" Danny called out softly, "Laura?" She entered the room quietly, noticing the quivering lump on Carmilla's bed. "Laura, I'm back."
The lump shifted and red rimmed eyes peered at them over the blanket. Then Laura was a whirlwind of tears and anger. "Danny Lawrence! Where have you been? You've been gone for a week! No goodbye, no explanation! Just some stupid note, "Trust me." Trust you?" Laura threw a crumpled and tear stained paper at her, which Danny recognised as the note that she had left on Laura's desk when she left.
"Laura..." Carmilla stepped out from behind Danny's larger frame.
Laura's eyes widened and her mind spun furiously, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. "Carm?" she took a step towards the vampire, slowly as if she might scare her away. "You're alive?" she reached a hand towards Carmilla's face and Carmilla intercepted the hand, intertwining her their fingers. "You stupid, stupid vampire!" Laura fell sobbing into Carmilla's arms. "I'm sorry for all the things that I said to you when I was angry. I should've never told you run and hide. You weren't supposed to die! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Laura, cupcake. Its okay. I should be the one that's sorry. I should've never lied to you. I'm sorry," Carmilla pressed her lips gently against Laura's hair. There was a brief pause as they just stood there, holding each other. "I love you," Laura stared up into Carmilla's eyes and saw nothing but genuine concern and love. She never expected that the vampire would be the first to confess her love.
For a second Carmilla thought she had gotten it wrong, that Laura didn't return her feelings. But Laura stretched up, ever so slightly to press their lips together and Carmilla felt like her entire body come alive. It was like she had taken a swig of hot chocolate with a dash of brandy. The feeling warmed her, from the inside out, right down to her bones. It was like kissing the sun, having beams of sunlight poured straight into your soul. And if Laura was the sun, Danny was definitely the moon.
When Carmilla kissed Danny, it wasn't warm like this. Ironic, because Danny was physically warmer than Laura. But Danny was like that breath of fresh air after being underwater for so long. Kissing Danny cleared her head but at the same time made her see stars. There was something so different about each woman and Carmilla honestly didn't know who she preferred.
From across the room Danny watched with a small smile. Her heart leapt in her chest when the two of them finally kissed. Star-crossed lovers, reunited at last. It didn't seem like they were going to stop any time soon and standing here watching them kiss was getting kinda awkward. Quietly, she edged towards the door but Carmilla managed to catch her gaze. Laura was still wrapped up in Carmilla's arms, fervently kissing the vampire like her life depended on it but Carmilla was staring at Danny.
"I win," Danny mouthed at Carmilla from across the room and flashed her a thumbs up. While this was not her happy ending, Danny had come to terms with this ending. Love would have its sacrifices, and the look of sheer happiness on Laura's face as well as Carmilla's made any sacrifice worthwhile.
Carmilla finally was the one to break the kiss, resting her forehead on Laura's gently. The dark-haired girl didn't say anything but nudged Laura gently towards Danny, reminding her of the werewolf's presence.
Laura slowly turned around with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I mean. Its just you know." she chuckled softly. And Danny realised that there was nothing that she wouldn't do to hear that sound for the rest of her life.
"I understand. I would've done the same if I were in your shoes," Danny smiled softly down at the shorter girl. "But I'm exhausted, I think I'm gonna hit the shower and then go to bed. I'll see you in class tomorrow?" she placed her hand on the door knob, ready to leave.
"Wait!" Danny turned from the door, confused. "Wait, just. Wait. I know that this might be weird. But I love Carmilla. But I love you too. And I know that's weird and I just wanted to thank-" Laura never got to finish her sentence because Carmilla gave her a sharp shove, sending her sprawling into Danny. "And oh," Laura was surprised at their sudden proximity now. Danny was leaning against the door and Laura's full weight against her.
"I love you too," Danny whispered, a full blown grin threatening to overwhelm her face and Laura simply pulled her face downwards for a kiss.
Danny Lawrence was numb.
Or more accurately, Danny Lawrence's legs were numb because there was a vampire sprawled languidly over her lap, a heavy philosophical text in her hand. It had been a month since Carmilla had been brought back. And that month was simply a whirlwind. Danny had all but moved into dorm 307. The two beds had been pushed together so that all three of them could sleep together without any one of them falling off. Her clothes had become so mixed into Laura and Carmilla's wardrobe that she didn't even try separating it again.
While the story had circulated around that Danny was the one to go to hell to bring back Carmilla, making Carmilla truly, the roommate from hell, Danny made sure to give a rather, watered down version of events. She was pretty sure Carmilla and Laura knew that she was hiding something, but was glad when they didn't press her.
Life was perfect. Silas had returned to normal, or as normal as Silas could be. There were still accidents, courtesy of the Alchemy club, the carnivorous swim team and the dragon kitchen ladies. But nothing too life-threatening. The three of them spent their days in as much of each other's company as they could. Between classes, papers and exams, they still went out for breakfast every morning, coffee dates every other day and spent pretty much most evenings curled up in bed together.
This was the happy ending that Danny could only have hoped for before.
"Where's the cupcake?" Carmilla drawled lazily, not even bothering to look up as she turned another page of the book she must have read at least a thousand times.
"Getting food," Danny sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of Carmilla's face. Since Carmilla had sacrificed her life to save Laura, and then Danny had basically nearly done the same thing to bring Carmilla back, Laura took it upon herself to do all the little things for the two most important people in her life. She could sacrifice too, she had declared. So Laura did the laundry, and cleaned a little bit and ran errands all the time, even when Carmilla and Danny insisted that they could do those things themselves. But Laura gave them the puppy dog eyes and the pout, and the "You two bring happiness and light to my life, at least let me do this for you guys" line.
They were powerless against the little blonde.
"You know, they tested me in the underworld. Which I'm incredibly thankful for because I found myself in the darkness. The rider. He wanted to know what I would've done had you and Laura chose just each other," Danny swallowed thickly, she didn't know why she was saying this now. Carmilla looked up at her with nothing but love in her eyes and set her book aside. Slowly, Carmilla sat up and took Danny into her arms, laying them back on the bed. There was a reason why Danny didn't talk about what happened in that forest. They only ever heard bits and pieces when Danny had a nightmare, which wasn't all that often now. But they happened almost every night at first.
"I told him. I would have done nothing. I would've let you two be because that's how much I realised I love you two. I would've sacrificed my happiness for yours, because-" Danny's voice broke and she sobbed into Carmilla's shoulder. "Because I love you."
"And we love you too," a second voice, more timid than Danny or Carmilla had ever heard. Laura had returned with her boxes of takeout and overheard Danny's confession as she was coming in. "Danny you don't have to sacrifice anything for us anymore. You did it. I'm here. We're here. And we know. We love you," Laura got into the bed as well, kicking off her shoes as she did. The blonde curled herself around Danny's back, effectively spooning her. Her hand reached out automatically and Carmilla's met hers halfway, interlocking their fingers.
Takeout forgotten, they remained in bed for the rest of the evening, just cuddling and being content in the moment.
"I love you."