"For the darkness
Has broken our homes
All that we wished for
Like fools on a rope
I can feel it
The desperate control
A burning passion
When love takes it's toll
Yet souls have a reason
And I won't let go!"
-'Resurrect the Sun' by Black Veil Brides
XXX
What had she done? What the fuck had she done? Mother was right, she was a monster. She had killed one of the two people she had ever loved on this god forsaken Earth. There was no silver lining, no answers; Carmilla was a monster and she had to accept that now.
Carmilla didn't think she was capable of killing a loved one, or rather she forgot that she could. It was so easy once you stopped thinking, to push your hand out and make a fist, gripping at anything that used to beat. Letting yourself go, feeling the thrill of blood so close to you, enveloping your hand in such a way you could only feel power from it.
Carmilla sat with Elle's body for hours, all thoughts of Laura pushed to the side for the moment. She was different now, she had killed someone, a person she knew, a woman she loved. She couldn't just go back out there and fight, not when she didn't know what she was fighting for anymore. Herself? For Laura? Does she still hate her mother for making her believe she was a monster, or encouraging her to become one? Or has she hated her ever since she had ripped away her life, her family, her home and turned her into this? Someone who couldn't even bare to love themselves. How could she love another when she couldn't love herself? Or did she hate what she was so much that she loved it?
It had been a long time since she let herself go, since she had allowed the monster to break through and take over. Carmilla was tired of fighting it, of fighting herself. Maybe she should let it happen. Be the vampire her mother expected her to be. Be the creature she had tucked away for so long.
The sound of the front door opening caused Carmilla's head to snap up, eyes red with sadness, with anger. The look though shifted to rage, darkening with blood lust.
Will strolled in, his whistling paused when he saw Carmilla in a heap on the floor with Elle's bloody corpse. "Oh thank god, wasn't sure I could spend another decade with her." he said in mock relief.
Carmilla stood slowly, letting Elle's body drop to the floor like a limp rag doll. She licked her fingers before looking down at herself. She was covered head to toe in blood. "Where's puppy bro?" she asked casually, stepping over the body.
Will raised a brow at her carelessness. Who was this and what have they done with his sister? "He's in class."
"Drop him." Carmilla said as she began ascending the stairs.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. He's not even into guys William, you're wasting your time. Think of all of the men you can have once I'm in charge."
Will scoffed, "When you're in charge?"
Carmilla shrugged, she figured she could be just as good, possibly even better then her mother. That old bat needed to go anyways.
"Yes, I'm going to kill our mother."
William began to chuckle darkly, "And how are you going to do that? She'll know what you are up to before you even begin to formulate a plan. Even just speaking of it now, aloud is proof enough of just how careless you are."
Carmilla rolled her eyes, she didn't have time for this, to have people standing in her way of what she wanted. She wanted power, control; something mother never let her have. She gripped Will's shoulder hard, she didn't give him time to struggle, instead she looked him right in the eye and said, "You don't want this, you don't want any of this. The feelings, the heartbreak, always coming second best to me. Slate it William, slate all of it."
Will froze, his eyes clouding over before clearing. His posture had now changed, he stood taller, no longer slouching. His chin jutted out more as if he was standing to attention, and maybe he was. Carmilla didn't care. What she did care about was that he was no longer going to be a problem for her. He was hers. Will had been slated.
She smirked up at him, smoothing a hand down his chest before dropping them at her sides. "Now run along, go let that poor human boy go, and then go find mother. I'll be there shortly." First, she needed to shower.
XXX
Danny paced the floor in front of Perry's dorm room. She had been waiting for what seemed like forever when really it had only been minutes. LaF was talking to JP about what could be options to look for Laura.
"Hey Danny, you called?"
She whirled around to meet kind and concerned eyes. "Kirsch, yeah uh I'm just waiting for LaFontaine and Perry to find something we can use."
Kirsch nodded, his baseball bat that she had instructed him to bring in one hand while the other was shoved into his pocket. She couldn't help but find him endearing. She shook her head, now was so not the time. She needed to find her dumb ass ex-girlfriend before she got herself killed.
"Where's Will?" she asked bitterly.
Kirsch raised a brow, confused. "Oh, he and I are just buds. He said something like new orders or whatever, I'm not sure."
Danny could care less about Will, but what Kirsch had said caught her attention. "What do you mean orders?"
Kirsch shrugged, "Not sure, he did seem off though, like he wasn't himself."
Danny tried to shrug it off, but something about it just didn't sit right with her. When she thought about it, Carmilla never came back either. Her eyes widened, they needed to go now.
LaF and Perry burst out of the dorm room. "The Lustig building!" LaFontaine shouted before they all began to run down the hallway towards the front entrance.
XXX
Laura lolled her head to the side. She couldn't tell whether she had her eyes open or not, either way it was dark and musty. She was laying on something soft, but her entire body was sore. She couldn't remember how she had gotten there.
She raised her hands above her head to stretch and bumped into something solid, a wall. She bunched her brows together before pushing out with her bare feet and hitting another wall. It was smooth and cold, like a polished wood. The air was damp and she coughed when she breathed it in, dust filling her lungs.
Outside of this box she was in, she could hear nothing.
The last thing she could remember was getting into bed with Carmilla. Her sweet Carmilla, the one only a handful of people have seen.
Little did she know that that Carmilla was gone.
XXX
Carmilla entered the Lustig with ease, William at her heels.
The old building was barely standing, an old theater that hadn't been used in at least thirty years. If anything the university only kept it for posterity's sake.
Posterity, it made Carmilla think of Laura. How she always wanted to film them together, take pictures of her. It was as if Laura herself didn't think they would last. She had been right in every way she had been wrong.
Ripped and burned chairs all faced the stage. All ghosts of past visitors and drama students all facing towards a single coffin. One that was being banged on repeatedly.
Carmilla growled, how dare her mother do this. Put the only woman she now cared about in the same situation she had put her in, the very same coffin that haunted her nightmares every single night since.
Mother was no where in sight, and Carmilla knew this to be a trap but she couldn't help but feel herself beginning to cave, to cringe in fear. That coffin was a warning, it meant that if she didn't back down and stand along side her mother, that would be her final resting place. And Laura was now inside it, beating away at it until her hands were bloody; she could smell it.
She inched closer to the stage, climbing onto it and stared down at the coffin. Ten years she had spent in there, if it wasn't so dark Laura would be able to see the scratch marks, the dried blood from nails being broken and hands cut. She was grateful that it was dark, no one else deserved what she had gone through.
"Ah, there you are."
Carmilla froze, her shoulders scrunched up near her ears. The image was that much like one of a child getting their hand caught in the cookie jar. "Mother."
Mother stepped out from behind the shadows cloaked by old curtains covered in moth holes and layers of dust. "I was wondering when you would be showing up. Didn't think you'd make me wait as long as you did." she began, her heels clacking along the dull floorboards.
Carmilla fought the urge to flinch as she grew closer. She needed to be one step ahead of her if she was going to go through with this.
"What, nothing to say?" Mother asked, amusement clear in her tone.
Carmilla went to speak when the door to the Lustig opened with a bang.
"Where is she?!" Danny bellowed, storming in with trident raised high.
Carmilla closed her eyes, clenching her jaw.
Mother chuckled darkly, "What is this Mircalla? Did you call on the Scooby gang to help you get your little ragamuffin back?"
Carmilla opened her eyes, turning to look out at the theater where all of Laura's friends stood, stupidly ready to fight a fight they all knew they would not win. Laura had stopped trying to get out of the coffin. If Carmilla listened hard enough, she could hear her breathing heavily at what has been said.
Danny was glaring daggers at Carmilla.
Carmilla raised her hand in pause, to try and tell the humans that they shouldn't even try and charge the stage. Mother would kill all of them.
Will stood to the side, much closer to mother then he was a minute ago.
"Pipe down wolf, adults are speaking." Mother addressed Danny a moment later before looking at Will, "Hello Darling, you seem different, did Mircalla finally give you a blank slate? Such a shame, you were always my beautiful soldier."
Carmilla felt herself digging her nails into her palms. Of course mother would know. She always knew.
"Think you were ahead of me did you?" She asked after looking over at Carmilla.
Carmilla gulped, trying not to look scared. She may have slated Will, and she may have pushed Elle's death away like it was nothing, but she still was very much afraid of her mother. Very much afraid of what she was turning into, and very much afraid of what was going to become of this moment. Was she going to make it out of this alive, was Laura? Was anyone in this room besides mother going to see tomorrow?
Mother shook her head, "You should know better by now. Wasn't your time in that very casket over there enough?"
Carmilla stood her ground, she couldn't help but feel liable for every beating heart in the room.
"I'd hate to have to put you back in your place Mircalla, but my patience is wearing thin." Mother continued, stopping to tower over her. "Laura dies today, you allow this to happen and you will never have to worry about my threat again, but if you choose to fight this, your life will end just as your immortal life had begun, alone."
Carmilla shook her head, chuckling lightly. This was all so ridiculous. What was she doing being afraid? It was two against one, unless the humans decided they didn't hate her as much as they hated mother. They could take her.
Will moved closer.
"William, unless you want to share a grave with your sister, I would advise you not to move any further." Mother said, not even bothering to turn.
Will froze, a war of emotions on his face.
Carmilla rolled her eyes, turning her back on mother and looking out towards the humans. They were all looking at her, LaFontaine nodding their head in a silent agreement, they had her back.
When she turned back around mother was looking at her curiously, "I always found your fascination with life a bit concerning, but this truly is retched. Now stop being foolish and retrieve your precious human."
Carmilla timidly nodded, walking around the woman she had spent over three hundred years fearing, and over towards the box that she had feared for a third of it.
Her breath came out shaky as she neared the box, that's all it was, a box; and she walked towards it like it was a walk of shame. She crouched down beside it, and with shaky hands pried the lid off.
Laura must have passed out from lack of oxygen as Carmilla reached in and scooped her up into her arms, cradling her close as she lifted her out of the casket and carried her over to her mother.
Mother stared at Laura, smiling. This was her ticket to ultimate power. "Perfect, now just lay her down on the floor before us."
Carmilla did as she was told.
When she stood back up, mother nodded at her with approval. "That's my girl."
Carmilla's lip twitched upwards from the approval, hitting a nerve buried deep inside her.
Carmilla looked back down at Laura's friends. She was shocked to say the least that they had stayed put.
She turned back to her mother who was once again smiling knowingly at her. "I want you to do it."
Carmilla's eyes widened, what? "You want me to do what exactly?"
Mother rolled her eyes, "Mircalla, don't be dense. I want you to sacrifice Miss Hollis' body to the light."
Meaning she wanted Carmilla to kill her.
Carmilla nodded, lowering herself to kneel beside Laura, and felt tears well up in her eyes. She heard scuffling from between the seats.
Danny had attempted to charge the stage, but LaF had stopped her before she got too far. They whispered something in her ear, causing her to let up for the moment.
"LaFontaine, call your dog off before I put it down." Mother said before turning back to Carmilla. "I'm not going to wait forever Mircalla."
A simple statement that hefted the weight of Carmilla's life expectancy.
Carmilla looked down at Laura, frowning. She looked peaceful, as if she was only sleeping. Carmilla couldn't do this. Her voice quivered before evening out, "I'm sorry mother, but I can't let you do this."
Will ran past her in a flash of color, pushing mother backwards, and sending her off of the stage, giving Carmilla just enough time to lean down and whisper, "I'm so sorry." She bit into Laura's neck, warm blood running over her tongue. She tried not to enjoy it, but she was her ambrosia. She closed her eyes, trying to will the tears away. This was selfish, but it was the only way Laura would make it, the only way Carmilla would be able to keep her alive.
Ironic that the only way to spare Laura's life was by ending it.
There was screaming and yelling surrounding her, the ground beneath them pulsating. She drank faster, holding Laura closer and taking her in. Every ridge and curve of her body, her smell, the slow and steady rise and fall of her chest. All of this would eventually disappear after time. Carmilla wanted to remember.
She felt Laura's heartbeat begin to soften and falter, as she let up, licking her lips before wiping the excess blood away with the back of her hand. There was the sound of someone hitting the floor and more yelling. She needed to make this quick. Carmilla bit into her wrist, pressing the opened wound onto Laura's mouth and tilted her head back so that her blood would slide down her throat and work it's magic. She pressed a final kiss to Laura's head before lowering her back onto the stage floor, praying in a God she didn't believe in and to all its deities that her Laura would make it through this.
She stood shakily, her knees wobbling. She was stronger now with almost all of Laura's blood inside her, pumping through her veins, racing down into every joint. She could do this, she had to.
Turning back to look off of the stage, LaFontaine had been hit in the head and Perry was trying to stop the flow of blood with her sweater pressed to their temple.
Carmilla growled, jumping off of the stage. Danny and Will had mother by her arms, holding her in place as she struggled. With the light hungry, she was losing her strength. It would die out and her with it if Carmilla didn't get a chance to do it herself.
Kirsch was standing beside Perry, hands on his knees. He had a big gash through the front of his shirt where mother had no doubt swiped at him with her claws.
Carmilla only had eyes for her mother though, walking at an agonizingly slow pace to take it all in, she finally came to a stand still in front of her.
On her knees, looking up, pinned down by both a werewolf and a vampire, mother looked up at her precious diamond for what would be the last time. Never did she have to look up at her before, it gave Carmilla the last bit of courage she needed.
"All of this because of some girl, some human? You are willing to kill your own flesh and blood for a romance that will no doubt peter out before the end of the century." Mother mocked. She knew she was going to die, it was always in the back of her head that Carmilla could be stronger then her if she wanted to be. That was always why she made a point to have her weak, broody, and unloved.
Carmilla shook her head, "That might be true, but you won't be here to see it." she moved in closer, lowering down onto her knees in front of her mother. "You always made sure that I thought of love as a poison, you never expressed it towards me in anyway unless hate was laced with it, but what you didn't expect was for me to finally come to peace with myself. I know who I am, and I know what I'm capable of. I'm no longer scared." Carmilla was crying again, small tears trickling down her face.
"I want you to know though that I forgive you, not because it'll help you find peace, but because nothing would piss you off more than to know that your precious diamond is happy, and not thinking about you." Carmilla finished before thrusting out with her hand, ripping through flesh and cloth once more, feeling the dark inky blood drip from her fingers as she ripped the long since silent heart from her creator's chest. It was a dark purple, almost entirely solid, the organ tough and long dead.
She could hear mother's breaths shallow and infrequent, yet she continued to stare down at her heart, memorized. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she squeezed, the heart quickly turning to pulp in her hand. She let it slip through her fingers, dropping it at her feet as she stood. It was done, mother was dead, and she was now taking her place.
XXX
"William, make sure that the girls know that they don't have to dance unless they want to. There will be no more sacrifices for us, the light is dead." Carmilla said as she left her office.
Will nodded, "As you wish, Mistress."
It had been a total of two days since mother had died. Carmilla took her place, dumping and burning all of her old belongings and taking her office as her own. She couldn't stomach the thought of being called mother though, after all there could only be one. Instead she took to the name Mistress.
Laura hadn't woken yet. She lay in a bed in one of the many rooms on the third floor. Carmilla sat with her every night and read aloud, hoping that her voice would bring her back to her, but it was wishful thinking. Carmilla was no Romeo, and Styria was definitely not Verona.
If it weren't for the quiet and sluggish beat of Laura's heart that matched the rhythm of Carmilla's, she would have figured the change hadn't worked.
Now it was only a matter of waiting. Carmilla couldn't help but picture the future, an eternity with Laura. Would she love her until her undead heart collapsed, or would Carmilla have to slate her just to keep her around? Carmilla hoped for the former.
She read for awhile that night, much longer than she normally did, but she was restless. It was hard to sleep in an empty bed after being accompanied for a while. It felt different, wrong, cold.
She was just about ready to call it a night and head to her room when she could've sworn she heard the sheets on the bed rustle. When she looked over at Laura's unconscious body though, she was laying just like she had been since she had been laid there. She stared at her for another few moments, not wanting to miss her if she finally woke.
She waited ten minutes before figuring that she was beginning to hear things, she wanted it so bad she was imagining it, but a gasp brought her back. Laura sat up in bed, eyes wide and staring right at her.
Carmilla wasn't sure what to do but stare. She couldn't move, she wanted this for so long that she ached. She was just about to ask if Laura was alright when she cut her off.
"Wow, I'm really hungry."
XXX
AN: There's gonna be one more chapter and then this story will be put to rest! It was a whole lot of fun to write and all of your reviews were much appreciated.
-Marissa