Sooo this is going to be a one-shot placed after chapter 19 season 2. I thought it had so much potential for drama and to present the infamous giraffe-print shirt, but then chapter 20 happened and went all "Yeah, Carmilla's dying…Ok, forget it. She's fine now. The end."
Tuesday night I imagined this story going in an entire different direction so, here it is.
Note: I will mention verbaine (the poisonous herb that is used to hurt and weaken vampires in the series Vampire Diaries) so bear with me.
–Ok, Lolita. Is time for you to make yourself useful–, said Maddie while dragging a limp Carmilla.
–Oh my God, Carm! What happened?!–, Laura just registered blood, blood staining her ex's chest and then she saw Maddie holding a wooden arrow. The older vampire dragged Carmilla to the room and laid her on the bed while she squirmed in pain.
–I told her that we should run away, but she kept making excuses. Until the wanna be amazons caught up with us in the woods. The tall red-head, that annoying friend of yours, tried to stop them from firing, but they didn't listen. When the Summers turned against her and threatened to kill her too, my stupid little sister decided to play the hero... again.
–Is Danny okay?–, before Maddie could rip her tongue out for such a rude question a voice answered.
–I'm fine, Laura. Carmilla turned into a panther and dragged me a couple of meters but then…– Danny stopped where she was when Maddie hissed at her.
–She got shot, because of you!
The vampire had never seemed so scared and threatening. Laura could feel her rage and impotence, but she didn't quite understand why. Vampires could heal. Of course she was worried about Carmilla, but she just needed some blood and then rest. But the short ragged breaths of the girl on the bed made her lose confidence in those thoughts.
Laf, Perry and JP had arrived alarmed by the shouts downstairs and found Maddie choking Danny, while Laura struggled with all her might for her to let go of the redhead's throat.
–What did they use?!–
–Stop, pl-please– Danny tried to free herself.
–I drew the retched thing out of her, but she's not recovering. The wound is not healing. Those arrows aren't ordinary, so TELL ME WHAT ARE THEY MADE OF!
–I suspect that they used some kind of poison, madame–, JP interrupted so that Maddie would let go of Danny. She dropped to the ground coughing.
–I don't know anything about poison. They were also trying to kill me, remember? Whatever they are using, Vordenberg must have given it to them.
Carmilla let out a loud cry of pain and arched her back. Laura couldn't restrain herself from going to her and try to calm her down. The purple T-shirt was a mess and Carmilla kept bleeding faintly. Dark veins crawled from the injury towards her neck and shoulder as if the flesh was giving away and dying.
The vampire felt cold fingers stroke her hair and hold her hand. Someone dripped some blood in her mouth and she did her best to swallow. The taste was foul, but her brain told her to keep drinking or else she would die. She felt them drawing away the blood bag while they helped her to lie down on her back again. She opened her eyes to the familiar smell around her and tried to understand what she was seeing. Laura was there, as beautiful as ever. The dark hair girl wanted to run away and avoid that girl because being with her was too much. But the pain shot through her chest and she couldn't stop a broken whimper to escape her lips. She greeted her teeth and ripped the sheets of the bed with her free hand. Somehow, she managed not to crush Laura's fingers that were holding her other hand.
–Carm, it's okay. JP is going through his memories to figure out what poison they used.
–Poison? I-I should have known… Vordenberg has always…being a sneaky bast…–, but before she could even finish her sentence she turned on her side and threw up on the floor. The blood splashed Laura's shoes and ruined the carpet. The little girl held her and yelled back to JP.
–She's too weak. We need to do something, NOW!–
–Forget about the adequate antidote, how do we get the poison out of her body?!–, Maddie questioned JP with fierce eyes and desperation. An arrow to the heart was nothing to be taken slightly, but this was something she had never experienced. She should have never underestimated Vordenberg's vampire hunting skills.
–Heat. She needs heat–, Laf first intervention left everyone looking clueless. –The body's natural self-defense is the fever. Whenever something is off, the body heats itself and tries to kill whatever is causing the damage. But since Carmilla is not a normal human being… I don't even know if she can get a fever.
–So what do you suggest?– asked Danny trying to be useful.
–Cauterization.
–Of what, Laf?–, Laura was losing her cool while Carmilla kept shuffling around in pain, restless. –The venom is all over her chest. We can't just put a heated blade through her heart and wish for the best!–
–I won't let you turn her into a human torch!–, yelled Maddie.
–No one said anything about lighting her on fire. Jesus, who do you think I am?–, they felt offended by the blank looks on everyone's faces.
–We could use verbaine–, suggested JP.
–Are you out of your mind?–, said the older vampire. –We're trying to save her, not kill her!
–Verbaine is known for its stinging and burning properties when in contact with vampiric creatures. It will create the heat we need to get rid of the poison. Applied in small doses it will be effective.
–She'll suffer–, Maddie said in disbelief.
–But she'll heal. It's our only chance–, JP turned to Laura who was rolling over an almost unconscious Carmilla.
–Fine, do it.
Laf and JP left the room and went to their lab to fetch the necessary ingredients. Perry looked out of place as ever, but watched over Laura after Maddie push her away from the bed. Danny looked down and apologized, if it wasn't for her Carmilla would be fine. The older vampire ignored her while talking softly in her sister's ear in another language. After a few minutes, Laf and JP came back with a bottle of a light yellow liquid, gauze and some pipets. They approached the suffering girl and let a little drop fall over Carmilla's chest. The liquid generated enough heat for the flesh to burn. The vampire's pain was so evident that she held herself on her good arm and growled violently at Laf. She looked dangerous.
–We'll need to hold her still–, Maddie said while grabbing Carmilla by the shoulders and pinning her to the bed. JP took hold of her hips and Danny did her best to keep her from kicking.
–Wh-what are you doing?!–, the vampire asked in disbelief.
–Darling, hold still–, Carmilla squirmed away from Laf in panic.
–Maddie, please…don't do this. Maddie…Maddie, PLEASE!– she screamed again when the redhead poured a larger amount of verbaine over her wound.
Carmilla screamed in pain, asking them to stop, begging them to let go of her; while her sister kept telling her that it was almost over. Laura couldn't take the sight of the girl suffering so much. She held a hand over her mouth trying to control her sobs, but it was too painful to watch. She had never wanted Carmilla to get hurt, she didn't even know someone could endure so much pain without dying or going insane in the process.
–Sweetie, it's okay. She'll be fine, you'll see–, Perry held Laura hiding the view of the struggling vampire.
After what felt like ages, Laf stopped the procedure when all the dark veins in Carmilla's chest had disappeared. It worked. The verbaine had dug through the flesh neutralizing the poison and allowing the vampire's body to finally heal itself. The girl's ragged breaths and tears proved that Carmilla had survived the experiment. Maddie kissed her forehead, but the younger girl turned her back to her. She curled on her side protectively, afraid of them. Her most basic instincts had hit her and the animalistic part of her told her to retreat and play dead.
–Thank you–, Maddie stood up and walked to the door. When questioned she answered –I'll keep watch outside. I don't want any surprises tonight–, and she left. Danny offered her help and even though Maddie didn't openly accept it, she didn't send her back once the girl caught up with her.
–We'll give you some privacy–, Perry said as a goodbye and took JP and Laf with her.
Once alone, Laura waited a few minutes before approaching Carmilla. She wasn't sure if she wanted her company, but seeing her like that, curled up and trembling made her feel anxious. She finally steped in and sat down on bed. The vampire tried to appear even smaller by hugging herself protectively.
–Carm? Are you alright?–, Laura mentally hit herself. –Sorry, stupid question.
Without thinking it, Carmilla rolled over and scooped closer to Laura so she could hide her face right by her waist. She thought she wasn't allowed to look for comfort in her, not after how she had treated her, but she was so exhausted that she ignored that fact for a minute. Carmilla couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Laura slide and lie in bed next to her. The blonde faced her ex and stroked her cheek with her thumb. She washed away the last tears feeling guilty.
–Is this okay?–, she asked timidly. Laura's physical longing for Carmilla was still there, but she felt as if she was stepping over some limits. In response, the dark haired girl buried her face on her chest and held her with a little desperation. Her breathing was still uneven and everything hurt, so the warmth of Laura and her fresh smell helped her calm down. Carmilla listened to her heartbeat, a very quick one, and remembered how much she had missed it.
Laura understood that the closeness that Carmilla searched was solely driven by her vulnerability, but she held her tightly nevertheless.
–Get some sleep, Carm. You'll feel better in the morning.
The girl snuggled in Laura's neck and relaxed. She was truly exhausted and even though she wanted to stay awake and listen to that fluttery heartbeat, her body decided to shut down.
Sometime through the night, Laura started to feel cold. When she tried to pat for the covers she felt the empty bed. Alarmed she sat down and called for Carmilla.
–Cupcake, relax. I'm right here–, the girl answered while tugging some clothes in her duffel bag. When she saw the pained look in Laura's eyes she stoped what she was doing and went to sit by her side.
–You don't need to leave, you know?
–Actually I have. As far as Vordenberg knows, I'm dead. So better turn that in our favour. Maddie is waiting outside.
–Carm, I…–, Laura decided against saying anything else. They had broken up, and her ex had every right to move on and find somewhere safe to go. After all, she had turned Silas into a mythological version of the hunger games.
–Laura, I wanted to apologize for my behavior.
–You mean being gross and sabotaging my SNN emissions?
–Yeah, I have to admit that was fun–, she smirked even though Laura didn't find it amusing. –I'm sorry I disappointed you–, Carmilla seemed genuinely sad. The blonde understood what she referred to.
–Yeah, well. It wasn't fair for me to try and turn you into Batgirl. I'm sorry too.
–It's just… I can't be your heroine, L. I tried but…You're young and naïve and I love that about you. You're so full of hope. But after you've been around as long as I have you realize that fighting is a lost cause. There will always be another bad guy or another evil plot ruining human lives…
–And there will always be people like me that try to foolishly fix the world.
–That too. You'll do great, creampuff. But this is not for me. I'm tired of trying so hard just to see everything go back to square one.
–I get it. You don't need to justify yourself, Carm. I respect that. I just wanted you to know that too.
–I love you, Laura. You're an amazing woman and I know that you'll find your heroine someday. I'm even willing to let you try it again with Xena–, Laura laughed at the joke even though she didn't feel like it. Carmilla was actually leaving, for good. She wasn't leaving her like before... she was going to look for a new life and they had to say a proper goodbye.
–Thank you, Carm. For showing me why life is worth fighting for. Thank you for saving me and my friends without asking–. She choked and the finally admitted to herself and confessed. –I love you too, Carmilla Karnstein. Please, never forget that.
–You'll always be in my heart, cupcake–, the vampire hugged Laura.
–Will I ever see you again?
–We'll be in touch. I'll make sure to watch all your stupid videos. Maybe, if I see it fit, I'll come back and save your ass once again–, Carmilla joked quietly. –I need to go now–, she let go of Laura and wiped her tears with her thumbs. She kissed her softly and rested their foreheads together for one last time. –You be good now, okay? And try not to get yourself killed.
–Yeah, you too–, Laura smiled playing with one of Carmilla's locks of hair,
–I promise I'll be in my best behavior.
The vampire got up, finished packing her things and walked to the door. She turned and smiled sadly.
–I'll tell them that you'll miss them–, Laura said from the bed.
–Don't push it, sundance–, she turned to the door and waved.