"Woe to the vanquished" – Livy

The wineglass hurtled through the air and shattered violently against the darkened stonework holding her captive. Lenore couldn't take it anymore. The death of Carmilla, the realization of all she merely had been to Carmilla, her new life as a prisoner in a gilded cage, her overall life as a vampire. All of it. "Therefore," she exclaimed with all of her pent-up frustration, "having been shown what I really am, having found that I have been living a lie, here I sit, in a cage, like a dangerous animal."

Hector, her own former captive turned lover, sat with her and listened. He was the reason that Isaac, the new king of Styria castle, had spared her at all after his lightning conquest. Of course, he was thus in a way also the reason for her imprisonment. As was his style, he attempted to cheer her up. It was for naught though. "I'm not going to sit in a cage, Hector…" Lenore stated. "Not even with you." In that moment, she stood up and made up her mind. The question was not if or when, but how. "I'm sorry for everything you went through. I'm sorry I can't be here to help you through whatever comes next…" She trailed off and looked out the window. It was almost dawn. She found her answer. "But I refuse to exist like this… And I want to see what's so special about the sun you keep talking about."

Sun… Vampire… Hector grabbed Lenore's hand. "Lenore, don't!" he pleaded quietly.

Lenore pulled away. "Hector, it's fine. It's what I want to do." She turned and walked towards the door, towards the sun that would burn her tortured immortality to ash and free her at last.

Hector stood in silence. His first instinct was to stop her, but deep down, he understood her plight, her yearning. He looked at his own, severed ring finger, where the ring of his own captivity once sat. Looking away, he prepared to bid his old slave master, his new love, farewell.

Just as he was about to give voice to his consent – not that he thought it mattered anyway – a half-formed thought streaked across his mind. No! He stepped towards Lenore with renewed urgency. "Lenore, wait."

"Hector –"

"Lenore!" Hector repeated, somehow finding it in him to cut her off. She looked back at him with a hint of pained exasperation. He could see in her eyes not just the hurt of recent events, but the accumulation of two hundred years of carefully concealed sorrow, loss, and even a twinge of self-loathing, all roiling together at once. The odds were long, and he only had one chance. "I – I know you need to be free," he said, "and I can't stop you if this is what you truly want. But please, hear what I have to say first: Right now, your skill as a diplomat matters more than ever before. Not for my sake or humanity's sake, but vampire-kind."

His vampiric partner looked at him with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

"I – I know, this must sound strange," Hector stammered. He was not one for speeches. "Just the other day, you wondered what place humanity and peacemaking would have in Carmilla's vampire-ruled vision for the world. But now, the situation is reversed. No major vampiric powers remain on this continent to serve as a bulwark for your people's wellbeing. Humanity and its church stand ascendant. And both of us know what mortal humans are capable of, right?"

"Of course, I do. And your kind have even less room mercy for my kin than for they do for one another," She gazed skeptically at Hector and slightly began to move away, unsure how his words were even supposed to change her mind. "This does not provide any particular comfort, Hector."

"No, tha – that's not my point though!" he blurted frantically as Lenore gradually resumed her path towards the door. "Yes, If the church's inquisition so ruthlessly goes against other humans on charges of heresy, imagine how they will treat your fellow vampires if no one remains in their way. But there is still someone who could stand in their way… You."

This gave Lenore pause. She turned to fully face Hector.

He continued, heart now racing. "If you can just use that diplomatic cunning and silver tongue of yours, there may still be a way for vampires to find some form of sanctuary on this continent. Just because a war is lost, doesn't mean that the vanquished must inevitably die. You, and the negotiating table, are what could make the difference some settled form of coexistence for vampires with man, or no existence at all." Hector took a moment to catch up with his own racing mind. "If you no longer live," he concluded bluntly, "all of your kin may die."

"But Hector", Lenore responded with melancholy, "What can I do? I'm Isaac's prisoner. I'd come to the table from a position of great weakness. How many of our lives could I even save?" By now, the sun had just peaked above the mountains, bathing the room in gentle glow. She looked back towards door, and the rays of light beckoning to her through the cracks.

Hector sighed and closed his eyes, thinking. "I don't know how it would look," he finally said, "or how it may come about. Yet if there is anyone who can find a way for our peoples to coexist, it is you. As for Isaac, his rule is more precarious than he realizes. Think about the problems awaiting him." He paused again, knowing this was a delicate topic. "I know Carmilla's death is still fresh, but if we can make it through the next few weeks, he may yet be our best hope. I will talk with him. He will need allies, and that may be all the leverage we need."

Lenore grimaced. Her eyes darted between Hector and the window. "Okay, it needn't be with him!" he backtracked, "But the point remains. There are ways work around him. He'll have no reason to chain you forever. Please." He leaned closer towards Lenore. "Think about Striga and Morana, should they still be alive. Think about all those who attended to you, who fought for you and are still alive, wondering what will fate befall them. Do they not deserve at least the same consideration that you gave humanity when the situation was reversed? Lenore, I love you and am counting on you, but more importantly, so are they."

The gears turned in Lenore's mind, but part of her still held doubts. "There are some who say that our lives don't deserve life, that we are unholy, selfish parasites… I don't know anymore…"

"They are wrong!" Hector responded emphatically. "Mankind has shed far more of its own blood than all the vampires in the world combined, and those people who would claim what you just said are among the chief perpetrators. If need be, animal blood can sustain vampires." He clasped both of her hands, looking directly into her. "Lenore, please. Give life another chance. Not for my sake, but for that of all of those like you. Give it at least a month. The sunrise will still be there if all truly is lost. Can you promise me?"

Silence. Lenore's face trembled. She knew he was correct. There were still vampires – Styrian vampires – out there. Vampires who, unless someone intervened, would likely eventually meet a horrible fate with the inquisition, vampire hunters, or merciless mobs of human commoners. Vampires who would yearn for the safety Lenore's imprisonment offered.

Finally, she nodded. "You are right. I promise, Hector, I promise," Lenore choked. "At least a month." The two of them embraced. Had she still the physical capacity, she would have cried on his shoulder. Lenore silently berated herself for having so nearly abandoned her fellow vampires for her own personal escape, and tried to channel this feeling into a determination to help them in this uncertain, hostile world.

Already though, in that hug, Lenore's analytical mind also kicked back in after sitting so long in traumatized silence. Still wrapped around Hector, she started thinking through the regional state of affairs, gaming out scenarios, and trying to plot out strategies viable with the limited cards in her hand.

Hope inwardly dimmed.

This is a bit of an experimental fanfiction on my part, a "what if" story if you will. The director's decision to have Lenore commit suicide, though well executed artistically, always bothered me as a moment of wasted potential that also carried with it disturbing implications for the broader setting, specifically regarding the possibility of vampire genocide.

This story will also be available on Ao3.