When Carmilla, or Mircalla as she had taken to calling herself again, was finally freed from her bloody coffin, she felt a lassitude, and a languor that weighed upon her all day. She felt herself a changed girl. A strange melancholy was stealing over her, a melancholy that lasted for 70 years more and took away every pleasurable thought she had. She did not smile for anything now. Even the darkness and violence of life left her uncomfortable and apathetic. Her time in the coffin had broken something deep within her, and she was no longer the same girl she used to be. Dim thoughts of death began to open, and an idea that she was slowly sinking into it took gentle, and, somehow, not unwelcome, possession of her. If it was sad, the tone of mind which this induced was also sweet.

In all her centuries as a vampire, Mircalla had never once considered death to be an option for her. Now? Though she still could not visualize herself actively doing anything to end her existence, the idea of everything ending was a common one for her now, and not entirely unwelcome. She had imagined herself dying in variety of ways, though she never did anything to speed or slow the process in anyway. She traveled the world alone in a haze, seeing everything and nothing, like she wasn't even a part of this world anymore. Had it come from spending so long locked up underground? Had it come from her own Mother betraying her and taking Susanna from her despite their deal? But Mircalla had always killed Susanna before! In every chapter of their story, it never ended well. So why did this particular story leave her feeling so... empty and unhappy? Why did it drive her to such loneliness and isolation that she traveled the entire globe and barely spoke to anyone, human or vampire?

For about a decade after her escape, Mircalla continued to travel in this gloomy and lonely haze. It was in the 1950s when Mother found her again, sulking in France. Mother wasted no time in recruiting her again, seeming to have forgotten the punishment she inflicted upon Mircalla.

"Oh! Darling, darling! That is all blood under the bridge now!" Mother waved her arm dramatically, as though trying to swat a fly away. "You and I are together again and I have decided to take mercy upon you this time and I will not return you to your coffin. There you go, is that not something worth a smile?" Mother seemed so proud of herself, but Mircalla couldn't even look at her. Suddenly, Mother's tone became sharp.

"Listen, Mircalla. You weren't supposed to be let out this early! Your punishment was supposed to be at least a century. But seeing as you have escaped and you have had some time to see the light again and to come to terms with your actions and their natural consequences, I will be gentle with you. Come, rejoin me in my service, or return to your coffin..."

Mircalla had not liked either option, finding no joy in seducing idiotic young girls into Mother's hand and certainly fearing the blood coffin, but she knew she had to make a choice, for Mother would make it for her.

"Fine. So be it. Whatever," Mircalla grunted, and their little deal resumed.

The game was the same, even if under a different name. Now, instead of just roaming Styrian grounds for ditzy little idiots, Mircalla hunted a University. Mother had built it around the time she had finished burying Mircalla in that awful little coffin. The university's name was Silas, and it was welcome to people of all kinds from every origin, though young women often received priority. And since Mircalla was Mother's main tool of operation, from the 50s and onward, it became a very queer-friendly school. Mother prioritized pretty young girls who liked other pretty young girls just to make things easier upon Mircalla. But Mircalla still took no pleasure in her job and she began to hate that school with a passion, loathing the day when she had to return to it to do Mother's bidding. Her one condition was that Mother's victim could never be one of Susanna's reincarnations. Mother agreed to those terms, just so long as Mircalla kept up her own end of the bargain, like last time.

Mircalla ended up meeting several of Susanna's reincarnations, both in and out of Silas, but she did not feel anything for them anymore. Every time they would find her, Mircalla would make their life Hell. Although she did end up falling in love with each and every reincarnation, she fought hard not to show it. She was trying to defy the cycle again, actively hating her soulmate instead of loving. It was one last act of desperate rebellion. If Mircalla could not change her fate, or undo what Mother did, or beg God for forgiveness from this curse, then the least she could do was take it out on the one individual she could control: Susanna.

In every reincarnation of Susanna since 1872 Laura, Mircalla had actively worked against her, making her life miserable as a silent statement of rebellion and a way to protect herself from the emotional pain she would be left in when Susanna died again. She picked on every one of Susanna's reincarnations that she did not actively ignore or kill on their first night together, just to get it over with. She did not love Susanna anymore. She hated her. She wanted her dead, blaming her for everything starting from that first vampiric experience down to the blood coffin and Silas University. She wanted Susanna to feel all the pain she had. All of Mircalla's righteous anger and thirst for some kind of justice or vengeance was taken on out these reincarnations because they were all she had, and she did her very best to defy the path laid out for her.

But again, Mircalla could neither run nor hide forever. Try as she may to hate Susanna and defy all of her reincarnations out of a thirst for justice, the curse of love was not so easily removed and fate was determined to create a reincarnation that even Mircalla would be unable to hate. That was part of Mircalla's punishment, her curse, after all, to feel the cruel sting of love that was even crueler than hatred. That new reincarnation was a spritely young dimwit named Laura Hollis, who had come to Silas in the fall semester of 2014. She was Mircalla's latest conquest, to love or to hate. Mother kept up her end of their old bargain and intentionally made Laura's original roommate, Betty, one of her chosen targets. Mircalla easily disposed of her and Mother made Mircalla Laura's new roommate thereafter. Both of them had a cruel sense of humor and irony and both of them agreed upon changing Mircalla's name in Silas' master list.

"Carmilla. I'm your new roommate, sweetheart."

From that very first moment, that very first word, that very first name, Carmilla had been just as determined to make this Susanna miserable as she had to all of the others. She and Laura became fast rivals, Carmilla's sloppiness and general apathy for anyone who wasn't herself driving Laura Hollis mad. Carmilla's habit of partying late and sleeping in, mixed with her petty theft and gluttonous eating habits infuriated Laura, so Carmilla only made sure to amp up the act, intentionally leaving her bed unmade and her clothes, half of which weren't even hers, on the floor. She would sometimes sprinke cookie crumbs all over their dorm while blasting the loudest rock music she owned. The way she saw it, Laura deserved it for all the torment she put Carmilla through. It had not been Laura who was turned into a vampire, cursed to watch her One True Love die and forget her over and over again. It had not been Laura who was locked in a blood-filled coffin, buried underground for 70 years. That stupid little overachiever could get over herself and deal with a few crumbs and some missing shirts. Carmilla had fun tormenting her little soulmate.

Aaaaaannd, now Carmilla was pretty sure she was starting to fall in love with this lackwit. Try as she may, the cycle could not be ignored, and God had finally come up with another reincarnation of Susanna that Carmilla could not resist. Carmilla tried to force herself to hate Laura, but it just didn't work. After watching the girl try and rescue her old roommate, never knowing that Carmilla was responsible for her disappearance in the first place, something stared to change within Carmilla. And it only continued to grow as Laura expanded her search and sought out all of the missing girls, not just her own roommate. This girl, this stupid little Creampuff, was so brave, so driven, that she was actively seeking all of these girls, all of these nobodies, like they actually meant something. She put so much time and effort into saving these missing girls that it actually hurt Carmilla, too, when Laura ended up with nothing. Laura had invested so much energy and passion that to see her lose it all was disheartening, even though Carmilla was the one responsible for the disappearances in the first place.

It was just so beautiful to watch Laura try, like she actually cared about them or that she actually thought she could make a difference. She was so like her original incarnation. She was just as driven, spirited and courageous. It was one of the qualities that had first attracted Carmilla to Laura all the way back in 1696 when they first met. This Laura was so close to the original... If anything, this should've been a big warning sign to Carmilla that this story would end just as badly as before, but it was already too late. Carmilla was unequally and irrevocably in love with Laura... again. Laura's hope, strength and determination had started a fire in a part of Carmilla that she thought had burnt out long ago.

"Why?" Carmilla had asked Laura once in regard to her fruitless search for the missing girls.

"Because we deserve better," Laura had replied, almost angrily. "Hell, even you deserve better!" the girl added. It was supposed to be something of an insult, but it had been the very first time anyone had ever told Carmilla that maybe she deserved a better life than what fate had given her. It had been the first time anyone had ever told Carmilla to fight, instead of run or hide. It had been the first time that anyone had ever inspired hope in her. That might've been the part when Carmilla first started falling in love with Susanna's newest reincarnation.

Of course, the road to their love was marked with all sorts of potholes and bumps, but they did get there eventually and, suddenly, Carmilla had even told Laura about her past life, back in 1872. Of course, it hadn't exactly been a willful choice, Carmilla being bound, gagged and surrounded by wooden stakes and garlic cloves, but it happened anyway. Through "advanced interrogation techniques", Laura and her dimwit squad of gay gingers had weaseled the truth out of Carmilla. It was quite humiliating, but that was Carmilla's whole existence. Though the actual storytelling had been quite strange, and Carmilla wasn't sure whether or not it was more painful, or almost humorous. She was relating a very tragic and personal, private tale to her feisty, fiery little roommate and the girl's first reply was to help Carmilla tell it herself... using sock puppets.

It had been somewhat of a painful experience, telling Laura about what they used to have, but this Laura was just as blissfully unaware as all the others had been, foolishly even creating a puppet show to illustrate Carmilla's story. She had to admit, that was really quite original of her, though it was somewhat offensive and hurtful. Didn't Laura understand how hard of a time 1872 had been? Didn't she understand just how much Carmilla had loved her then? How much both of them had sacrificed only to lose it all anyway? But no, here Laura was, creating her old self and Carmilla out of googly-eyed socks with yarn for hair. Carmilla would've laughed, had she not also been so sad and scared. This Laura was no different than any of the others...

Which meant Carmilla was still going to fall in love with her, even if it wouldn't last.

"Waltzing was fun. It had a... frisson scandal back then," Carmilla shrugged, hardly able to believe that she and Laura were carrying on a normal and friendly conversation like two normal, friendly people instead of bickering.

"How is waltzing scandalous?" Laura sounded incredulous. Carmilla almost laughed. This was definitely a modern girl, a 2014 Laura, if she believed that waltzing was so pure and "un-scandalous".

"Well," the vampire replied, standing slowly and offering an arm to the younger girl. The younger girl took the arm as she rose up as well. The two stood in the starting position to begin a waltz.

"Partners were face to face, chest to chest," Carmilla pulled Laura in close. "And all of that whirling? It may as well have been sex..." she paused to smirk as she spun Laura around. Laura was smiling once their tiny waltz was over. Ahhh, it had been so long since last Carmilla shared a dance like that with her beloved one. The times were different, but the sentiment and memory were not. Good God, she was going soft...

"So, you had some fun?" Laura teased as they finished up their little dorm room dance.

"Maybe once or twice..." Carmilla replied with a smile that was both teasing and sad. Her mind, once again, was lost to a world of waltzes and secret kisses and stolen nights. As much as Carmilla might've hated Susanna for all the pain she had caused, seeing Susanna again always negated all of that anger in favor of love. Love might've been cruel and selfish, but it could still be so beautiful. This love only grew stronger, and even though it was still tinged with anger, bitterness and snarky amusement, it was a very true and genuine love. There were things that no one in the world could get Carmilla to do, yet all Laura had to do was ask and Carmilla would do it. For her. Of course she would. Who else would these gestures of kindness be for except for her long-lost soulmate who had been with her century after century, even if she never remembered?

"Of course I'm doing it for you..." Carmilla had told Laura.

But Susanna/Laura was not the only thing that stayed with Carmilla. The darker aspects of her past had an unfortunate way of creeping up on her as well, so was it any wonder why she would willingly sacrifice a few lackwits for Laura? What did Carmilla care about that Lafontaine person, or crazy Perry or the stupid frat-bro or that psycho-Summer, Xena? What did Carmilla care for anyone except Laura? Didn't Laura understand that Carmilla loved her and her alone? So why was Laura so mad when Carmilla had sacrificed someone else in her place? Carmilla had done this to protect Laura, to give them more time together before they would be torn apart again. Why was Laura so mad at Carmilla for sacrificing one useless, stupid individual to protect their timeless, endless love? This was supposed to be a gesture of love, so why did Laura return it with a gesture of hatred?

Carmilla didn't understand it at all, far too used to a world of selfishness and cruelty, but she understood that this gesture had angered Laura, and now Laura was leading the charge right to Mother's door in order to not only save her replacement sacrifice, but all of the other targets, including the crazy ginger person and the frat bro dude-scort. The thought scared Carmilla like nothing else but, at the same time, that same strange hope Laura had put into her heart a couple months back came shining through again and, as terrified as she was, Carmilla had never been more ready to challenge Mother than at that moment. She even dared to join forces with that red-headed Xena chick and together, the two of them descended down to the lower bowels of Silas in order to join Laura in her rescue mission of Mother's ceremonial targets. Maybe, just maybe, things would go better this time, and Carmilla just might be able to save her soulmate this time around. At least for a little while longer...

Carmilla had not expected to see the old Laura from 1872 during this battle.

"Elle?" she asked, using the little pet nickname she'd given the girl, coming from her first initial.

"Carmilla!" Elle's voice was soundless, but Carmilla could read her lips clearly. Suddenly, the vampire's vision was blurred with tears. How could it be that Susanna's soul had split in two? Why was some of it in Laura while the rest of it was trapped in Elle? Carmilla didn't know. Nor did she care. All she could think of, in that moment, was the portrait and the river, the schloss and Laura's old father. She could see late mornings and even later nights. She could see moonlight on the lake and governesses, chatty and intelligent. She could see kisses and promises. When Carmilla looked upon Elle again after 142 years exactly, she saw so much, and she hated Mother even more now than ever for putting them through this.

Carmilla had no regrets as she lunged towards the source of the evil, the Demon of the Light. She could see Elle in front of her and she could hear Laura behind her. She would end this nightmare once and for all. She would reunite these two pieces of Susanna's soul into one body. If she died, maybe their curse would end, and Susanna would finally get her happy ending, no matter if it was Elle or Laura who got to experience it and matter if Carmilla was part of that happy ending or not. Carmilla didn't care. She didn't care about that, or herself. All that mattered was saving Susanna in the same way Susanna had saved her, through the voice of Laura. Carmilla was going to repay her beloved one and give her back her life, even if it killed Carmilla herself...

Well. Good news. Carmilla was not killed, though she had been incapacitated for over a week after her little stunt. And even better news, she and Laura finally got to share their first kiss. But bad news. Defeating the Demon of the Light had been a very bad mistake. Now all of Silas was on lockdown. It was time to get the heck out of dodge. The fun just never ended for the vampire of Karnstein, did it? She could only hope that Laura would survive this and that their time together would not close too soon. But first things first... Escape Silas! And, oh great, the Floor Dons, two of the three queer gingers, were coming along. To the Styrian mountains. Towards winter break. Yay... Road trip...

AN: So here we go, the third and final chapter that wraps it all up. After escaping the coffin, Mother and Carmilla's deal resumes and Carmilla is given special permission to deal with Susanna's reincarnations as she wishes, so long as she does Mother's other dirty work. And then of course, our 2014 Laura steps onto the scene and shakes up Carmilla's whole world, one last time.

(Strike that "final" part. I'm writing an epilogue because I have to).