WARNING: This chapter gets graphic in one section.

Kirsch slowly rose up to his feet, trying to avoid the blood that was moving out towards his feet. He stepped over the body and stood next to Carmilla. "What the fuck did you give my mother?" He asked, obviously furious and afraid. "Look, I'm not doctor. I was just asked to deliver it."

Stop asking questions, dammit. Carmilla thought to herself. "We should head back-"

"And leave her body?! What the hell is wrong with you? We're burying her!"

"Kirsch, is that really necessary?" His jaw dropped at her words. "Being with the knights made you cruel," He muttered before he left the small house. His words caused her to wince. Cruel..? What did I do that was cruel? I just protected him!

She followed him outside to see him with a shovel, digging a small hole beside the house. A woman and a man, who Carmilla guessed were married, approached them. "Is everything alright..? We heard shouting." Kirsch looked over at them.

"Yeah… everything's fine. My mother just passed away is all. The medicine we brought…" He looked over at Carmilla and then back to the couple. "... it didn't work." They both frowned. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Kirsch. She was a wonderful woman," The woman said softly. Kirsch nodded and continue to dig the grave. "Yeah… she was."

Once he was done digging the grave, he went back inside and wrapped her body in the bed sheets, along with the decapitated head. He carried the bundle outside and gently lowered it into the hole. He stared down at the covered up body. "May peace be with you in the afterlife, Mama," He whispered as he began tossing the dirt back into the hole.

They trotted their horses back into the castle walls. It was now night and the streets of the town were completely empty. They rode up to the stables and dismounted their steads, leading them back into their rightful stalls. Carmilla glanced at his arm. "You should really get your arm wrapped up." He glanced down at the arm that had somehow been bitten into. "Probably… I still have no idea how a liquid could turn a frail old woman into an inhuman beast."

"I'll tell the Queen that it was a failure. I'm sure she'll be very sorry for your loss." Kirsch scoffed. "I know the Queen will care… unlike some people." She knew he was referring to her. "I did what I thought was right! She would've killed you-"

"It has nothing to do with that, Charles! You should learn how to show at least a small amount of empathy!" Kirsch spat back and stomped out of the stables.

Carmilla strode into the throne room to see Laura was still sitting on her throne, answering letters. She looked up and let out a long yawn. "Oh, Carmilla. You're back! How did it-" She trailed off when she noticed droplets of blood on her armor. "Oh god. Was someone hurt? Did bandits attack you?" Laura stood up and began to ask frantically. "No, no. We're fine. Well, Kirsch got bitten."

"By what?" Laura asked in a worried tone as she made her way closer to Carmilla. "By his mother… She died as we were giving her my blood, and it turned her into a vampire." Laura blinked. "Why was that a bad thing? She could've been immortal then-"

"Laura, you seem to forget we have a different appetite, and it involves human blood. She tried to kill Kirsch." Laura's eyes widened. "So… his mother is dead?" Carmilla nodded. "Oh god, no… this is all my fault! I insisted you do this and I didn't even think of the consequences! I should have never asked you to go."

"Princess, it's not your fault. You were just trying to help-"

"And now his mother is dead and he had to see her as a monster!" Carmilla winced. "Ouch," She muttered. "Wait no! I didn't mean that-"

"Yeah, I get it. I'm a cruel monster." She stalked off to the Queen's quarters.

Laura walked into the room to see Carmilla undoing the straps of her armor. "Carmilla…? Are you alright? I didn't mean that you were a monster. I could never think of you like-"

"Kirsch said I was cruel." Laura blinked. "What? Why would he say that?"

"Because that's what I am, Laura! I'm cruel!" Laura frowned. "You're not cruel, Carmilla. What's gotten into you?"

"I am cruel! You know that horrible Black Knight you hate so much? Well that's me!"

Laura's eye widened, "Don't you dare compare yourself to that monster," She warned her. Carmilla grunted in frustration before she turned to the wall and punched a hole clean through the stone. "Laura you don't understand. I am the legend. Those stories are about me!" Laura took a step back. The last time that she had seen Carmilla in a blind rage, she had killed her father, not to mention Laura lost her babies. "Carmilla. Calm down." She ordered, hoping that Carmilla didn't hear the shake in her tone. Carmilla did though, and she looked up to Laura. "See? You're scared of me because you know it's true." Laura shook her head. "You're a good person, Carmilla."

"No, I'm not! You think I am because you're a silly little girl who developed feelings for me." Carmilla stepped toward Laura and took her shoulders between her gloved hands. "I killed your family. I killed Kirsch's mother and felt nothing. I have killed hundreds of innocent people. Even though I've done all that though, I don't want to hurt you. Not more than I already have." She leaned forward and kissed Laura's forehead, and before Laura could protest Carmilla was walking out of the room.

Laura walked after her, feeling anger bubble up inside of her from the knight's words, "Fine! Walk away, it's what you're best at. Don't come back either!" Carmilla kept walking, and Laura kept following, saying hateful things that Carmilla chose to block out. Carmilla got to the front door of the castle and threw it open. She walked down the dirt road, and she didn't take notice to the fact that there was no footsteps behind her until she looked up and saw that the sky was dark and the stars were shining above her.

Through all of her years people had come and gone. Buildings were torn apart and new ones were made in their place, but the one constant that Carmilla knew was the stars. She longed to one day be among the stars, but she knew she never would be.

Back at the castle Laura was still fuming. How dare that stupid knight, she thought. She better come back soon! She was pacing back and forth, waiting for Carmilla to come back so she could give her a piece of her mind. She noticed that the sun was down now, and the lone candle in her room was no longer enough light. She grabbed the candle and walked around the room, holding it up to other candles to light them. When she was satisfied with the lighting, she returned the candle back to its original place. She better come back soon…

Soon after that, and after a lot of pacing, she finally sat on her bed. There was a knock at her door. She walked over to it, thinking it would be Carmilla on the other side. "I thought I told you not to-" She stopped when she opened the door and saw Perry standing there with a tray of food. "My lady you didn't come down for supper so I thought I would bring you a plate." She said as Laura stepped to the side for her. "Were you expecting someone else?" Laura shook her head. "Apparently not," she said with a far off tone in her voice.

She sat on her bed and ate her pigeon* pie in silence, occasionally looking out of her window, hoping to see the knight return any minute. Hours ticked by, and there was still no sign of Carmilla. Laura tried everything to keep herself occupied. She read, she picked at her nails, she even tried to stand on her tippy toes to touch the chandelier. Which to her dismay, she could not reach.

It was the wee hours of the morning when she finally laid in bed, deciding that Carmilla would show up soon, and she might as well get some sleep before the discussion they needed to have. She laid there in her bed, staring at the wall in front of her. As much as she didn't want to think about it, her mind drifted to what Carmilla had said earlier. I am the legend. It rang in her ears, and echoed off the walls of her brain. She remembers the first time the Black Knight was brought up between them. The old lady in the market called Carmilla the Black Knight and said she'd be the death of Laura and her baby. The baby part, as much as Laura didn't want to admit this, was true. Had Carmilla not went into a blind rage that day, her father and William would be alive. She would still be a princess and would be soon giving birth to what she now knew were twins.

The other way of looking at that incident was that she would still be a princess. Her father would still be the man that ordered her to be raped, and William would still be allowed to walk the halls a free man. Not that this was a very rare occurrence in the kingdom, but she never imagined it happening to her. Did Carmilla do her a service? Or was what she said earlier true, and Laura was just a silly girl in love? In love?! She thought alarmed. She knew she had feelings for Carmilla, but this was the first time she put any labels on it. Could she really be in love with someone who just openly admitted to being a cold blooded killer? Killing hundreds of people?

She supposed that she could, based on the fact that she thought it didn't seem so bad, which had to be a very unhealthy way to think. Carmilla was a murderer, but Laura found herself wondering what her reasons were, rather then assuming there was none at all. There had to be a reason.

Laura fell asleep that night with new things she wanted to say to Carmilla. No longer did she want to yell and scream at her but rather sit her down and try to understand her. If the things they say are true about the Black Knight… about Carmilla, then she needed to have answers.

Laura was saddened to see that she had spent the entire night without Carmilla, something that hasn't happened since she was locked away in the dungeon. She was slow putting on her dress for the day, slow with walking down to the throne room, and slow with dealing with the villagers that came to see her about their problems. She didn't miss the way her handmaidens were looking around for Carmilla. Occasionally whispering to each other "Where's Charles?" and "Isn't he supposed to be on guard?"

After a while Kirsch entered the room, walking lethargically and holding onto his right arm. He came up the steps to the throne then stood next to it, much like Carmilla would. Laura gave him a curious glance. "Hello Kirsch. What seems to be the problem with your arm?" He looked down to Laura and began to speak, but collapsed to his knees. He took in a sharp breath, holding his arm close to his body. Laura was at his side in an instant and calling for help. "Someone get a doctor! Kirsch, sweety, are you okay?" She said putting a hand on his back, hoping that he could feel the comfort she was trying to give, even through his armor. He just wheezed a bit before he slumped into her lap.

Within a few minutes a couple knights were lifting him and carrying him off to the infirmary. Laura followed closely behind. "What's going on with him?" She asked frantically as he was laid down on the doctor's wooden table. The doctor ignored her question and quickly removed his armor pieces. It was clear that his right arm was wounded, because the linen of his shirt was stained with blood on his forearm. The doctor used a knife to cut his shirt off completely, and Laura was horrified to see that his whole forearm was red and bubbling. The bubbles were a gross greenish color, and the red under it was angry and festering. "I've never seen anything like this before," The doctor muttered under his breath. He looked up to Laura, then spoke to one of the men still lingering in the room, "Take the Queen somewhere else. Keep a watchful eye over her." The knight nodded and moved to escort Laura but she was having none of it, "What are you going to do to him?" The doctor sighed and looked down at the infected wound. "We may have to take his arm." Kirsch, though he seemed to be very out of it, shook his head slightly and whispered out, "Please. Don't." Laura ran her fingers through his hair, ignoring the fact that his forehead and scalp were very sweaty. "We will do everything we can to save your arm Kirsch, won't we, doctor?" The doctor simply nodded, not trying to disappoint his Queen. Laura then let herself be escorted back to the throne room, and back to answering letters. Something she was quickly starting to dispise.

Camilla, wherever you are… please come back.

Meanwhile Carmilla was in a forest in her cat form chasing after a rabbit. She let the tiny animal think it was getting away before she pounced, grabbing it by its neck and shaking her head. She heard the neck snap between her teeth, then she placed the rabbit down and started in on her small feast. Her ear twitched back at the sound of a twig snapping behind her. She stood completely still, listening to all the things around her. She picked up on breathing, human breathing. Slowly, she turned her head to get a better look at the person and wasn't surprised in the least to see a drunk old man looking at her. No matter that it was early afternoon, the man was drunk out of his mind. "You're a pretty big cat," He said matter of factly. She analyzed him, and when she realized he wasn't a threat, she turned her body to face him, then sat down.

He stumbled forward and was going to pet her, but she snarled at him. She had never let a human touch her cat willingly, and this drunk old man was no exception. He laughed then suddenly fell face first into the dirt asleep. Odd, Carmilla thought to herself. She looked up and realized she must not have wandered too far off from the Castle. She sniffed into the air, smelling the nearest village, about a fifteen minute walk from where she is. She trotted over to the bush that she hid her armor and clothes in, then shrank and shifted back to her human form. She put on her clothes and armor then set off to the nearest village, assuming that her time away from the castle had been enough. She knew Laura didn't mean it when she said to never come back.

The human cared about her too much to mean it.

"What do you mean you can't fix his arm?! You've barely tried anything!"

"Well… we've never seen anything like it. It could be extremely contagious as well, my Queen. The best solution would be to remove it."

"We're not removing his arm!" She protested. "My Queen, you may be putting everyone in the castle and the Queen's guard at risk. It's the only way."

"No, I'm getting a second opinion. Doctor LaFontaine!" She called. A short redhead walked into the room, wearing a long black coat. "Who is this? I've never met them before," The doctor said. "This is LaFontaine, a skilled doctor who's from the North of Silas. I requested to meet them after I heard a rumor about their work. I thought they'd be a good asset." LaFontaine walked over to the side of Kirsch's bed. "Hm… quite fascinating." They lifted up his arm, causing him to groan. "Oh! Sorry," They apologized and laughed nervously. LaFontaine lowered his arm and picked up a knife. They slowly sliced open one of the green bubbles on his skin, causing some pus to ooze out. Kirsch screamed out in pain. "Oh, god! Fuck!"

"The pustules have pus in them. I should probably drain them. Never seen green ones though. How'd he get these again?"

"He was um… he was bitten."

"By what?" LaFontaine asked, looking back at the Queen. She looked at the male doctor that was standing beside her and motioned for him to leave the room. His mouth twitched as if he wanted to protest, but he left the room. Once he was gone, Laura spoke, "He was bitten by a person. They were apparently acting very hostile and bit him." They nodded and looked back at Kirsch's arm. "Hm… quite interesting. This is amazing, really." They were looking over the gross section of Kirsch's arm like it was a beautiful painting. "So do you think he'll need to have his arm removed?"

"No, I think we should drain it. It'll be bloody and gross. He probably won't be able to use his arm for a while. I'd remove it if it got infected."

"It's not infected now…?" Laura asked, very confused. "Well, I actually can't tell. It may already be infected, but we'll just have to see what happens."

"You don't seem very worried, Doctor LaFontaine-"

"Please, your majesty, just call me LaFontaine. Or LaF. Either works for me. Now, I'd suggest you leave for this part. It's probably going to get a little . . . gross," They suggested as they grabbed a cloth and tied it around their mouth. "Oh, uh . . . alright." She left the infirmary and as she shut the door, she heard Kirsch screaming in agony.

Carmilla, why are you still not here?

"Oh, fucking hell! Just stop please!" Kirsch pleaded. LaFontaine had to tied Kirsch's right arm down in order to clean out the strange wound. "There's just one more spot I gotta get." They sliced open the last pustule, letting the pus drain into a bucket they had place under his arm. "Shit!" He shouted, trying to break free. "There we go. That should be all of them." They grabbed another cloth and dipped it in a bucket of clean water. They then strained the cloth out over the bloody mess on Kirsch's forearm. "You have… no mercy at all."

"I can't. I'm a doctor. Do you want some rum?"

"Oh, fuck, please," Kirsch replied. LaFontaine left the infirmary for a moment and returned with a bottle of the alcoholic beverage. They popped off the cork and immediately poured some of it onto his arm. He left out another scream of agony. "Not on my arm, son of bitch!"

"That will help clean it out. Now you can drink some." They held out the bottle, and Kirsch snatched it away with his free hand. He chugged down the liquid, ignoring the burning sensation in his throat. "So, a person bit you?" They asked as they sat down and began to bandage up his arm. "Yeah. We went to my home village to give my mother some medicine… turned her into some… beast."

"Medicine? Do you know what it was?" LaFontaine asked curiously. "No clue. Charles just said it was from the doctor." This caused them to raise an eyebrow. "The doctor knew about this medicine?"

"Yeah. Is that odd?" Seemed like he was clueless about the whole trip, thought LaFontaine. "There. Your arm is done." They cut the restraints with a knife. Kirsch sat up, releasing a long sigh of relief. "No practice for you though. I'd take at least a moon off."

"A whole moon?! That's way too long-"

"Doctor's orders. I'm sure Queen Laura will understand." Kirsch groaned. "Fine.."

Laura stood outside the front castle doors, waiting for Carmilla to show. Please be okay.. She pleaded in her mind. If anything had happened to her, she wouldn't know what to do. Then, she saw a figure approaching the castle. "Carmilla…?" She whispered. It was her. Laura would recognize that black armor anywhere. "Charles!" She shouted and began to run towards her. Before Laura could reach the knight, she collapsed onto the ground, blood seeping out of her side. Laura's eyes widened and she hastened her pace. She was by Carmilla's side within a few moments and examining her. "Carmilla? What happened?" She saw that there was a knife sticking out of one of the side panels of Carmilla's armor. "Oh god," She said, her voice shaking. She looked up to see a few of her Queen's guard members running towards them. "Help him!"

Carmilla was lifted up by one of the guards, her body limp. Laura rushed into the castle and down the long halls to the infirmary right alongside them, all the while praying that Carmilla was alright. The guardsmen dropped her onto the wooden table that Kirsch was on earlier that morning, and LaFontaine walked out from the back room. "What happened?" They asked with wide eyes. Laura looked at them with tears in her own, "I don't know! He was gone for a while, and I saw him walking up the drive. He collapsed, there's a knife in his side, under his armor plate." She said pointing with a shaky finger. LaFontaine dismissed the men that had brought Carmilla into the room, letting Laura stay. They could tell that this knight meant something to the Queen. "Who is she?" LaFontaine asked. Laura looked up at them quickly and was lost for words. "W-what? HE is Charles, my personal guard." LaFontaine smirked, "My Queen, forgive me for saying, but this dirt beard isn't convincing enough for me." They said gesturing to the smudges of dirt on Carmilla's face that had normally fooled everyone.

Right at that moment Carmilla sprang to life and made a gurgling noise, before she leaned over and spit out blood. She went back to her laying position seemingly passed out again. "Do something," Laura commanded. LaF bent down by the knife and examined it, before reaching up and simply tugging it out of Carmilla's body. Laura screamed at the gesture and just about sobbed when she saw the size of the blade. It must have been about the size of a man's boot

"That's odd," LaFontaine spoke. "What is?" Laura asked in a shaky tone when she composed herself. "Well the blade seems to be made with…" They trailed off. "Made with what?" Laura was growing impatient.

"Silver."