Deep in the woods, there was a small cottage surrounded by dead trees. There wasn't a single shred of sunlight in sight. The cottage was where a middle aged woman resided. She was dressed in a black robe, looming over a cauldron and was slowly stirring her brew. An almost sticky looking black substance bubbled inside of the iron cauldron, sticking to the spoon she stirred it with. After a few moments, she walked across the room to retrieve a burlap sack. She threw it over her shoulder and walked back over to the cauldron. She opened up the sack and began chanting under her breath. She held the bag upside down, letting chucks of a human body fall into the black goo she had created. It almost seemed like the black goo was dragging the limbs down into it like it had a life. She began stirring it around once more, still chanting under her breath. Her chanting began to grow louder and louder until she was shouting. As her voice rose, the bubbling became more intense. A human body began to emerge from the black substance, covering its skin from head to toe. He let out a gasp as he stood up, the jelly-like liquid sliding off of his naked body. "Hello, my child." He looked at the woman, somewhat confused. "Where… where am I?"

"You're in my home. Do you know who you are?" She asked, a grin forming on her face. He looked down at his hands and felt his chest, as if he was searching for something. "I'm… William… and how the hell am I alive?"

Laura woke from her sleep facing Carmilla, with her face pressed into her collar bone. She smiled at the feeling of Carmilla's arms wrapped around her naked body. Images of the previous night came back to her, and her smile grew larger. Carmilla had taken such care of her, being mindful of her fears and being gentle. She softly kissed Carmilla's collarbone, trying not to wake her. She studied the vampire's face, mapping it and committing it to memory.

Carmilla snored lightly which made Laura giggle. The giggle woke Carmilla with a start. "Huh?" She mumbled, looking around. One of her eyes was crusted shut and the other was wide and blurry. "What's wrong?" She rubbed her crusty eye and opened it, looking to Laura and scanning over her face and visible part of her body. When she deemed Laura fine she settled back down, bringing the human into her chest. "We need to get up, sleepyhead," Laura said with a loving smile. "No," Carmilla grumbled and buried her head into Laura's hair. "Yes, we need to see how Kirsch's procedure went-"

Then the door opened, which caused both of them to look at the door in horror. It was too late to hide or run! Someone was about to find out. "Oh, there you two are," LaFontaine said as they barged into the room, seemingly unphased by the fact they were both naked in bed. "I managed to find Kirsch a new arm. I'm about to try putting it on him." They grinned from ear to ear. "Isn't this exciting? I've never attached someone's limb to another body." They left the room, leaving the two confused and surprised.

They walked down into the infirmary to see that LaF did infact have a random man's arm. It was placed on a table with a white cloth underneath it. It was definitely from a corpse that had been buried not too long ago because it had fresh dirt on it. "Where… did you get that arm?" Laura asked, somewhat not wanting to know how LaFontaine obtained the severed arm. "Oh, uh… from the graveyard." LaF made a guilty smile at the Queen. "I know disturbing graves is against the law and all, but… I felt it was for the good of our knights. Just imagine! If this works, we could replace served or amputated limbs-"

"Just put the damn arm on me," Kirsch muttered. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. Anyone would be able to tell that he had been to hell and back. "Right! I hope the bleeding has stopped," They mumbled as they began to unwrap Kirsch's arm. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped, but the wound looked grotesque. Perry quickly retrieved the bloody rags to throw them away. LaFontaine placed the arm up to the stump that was left of Kirsch's right? arm. "Oh, this is a left arm…" LaFontaine began. "What?! How the hell did you-"

"Oh, it was just a joke. Have a sense of humor, Kirsch." Kirsch gritted his teeth. Laura could tell that he was getting fed up with the doctor, but she couldn't really blame him. She's be pretty irritable too if she had her arm sawed off. LaF began to sew the arm onto the stump, attaching it perfectly. Then they reached into their rune and pulled out a small stone. They held it over the arm and muttered, "Laguz." The stone once again began to glow and small orbs of light escaped from LaFontaine's hand. They surrounded the stitched up area of the arm. The doctor kept chanting under their breath until all of the light was gone. "Is that it?" Carmilla asked, looking a bit skeptical. "I believe so." The fingertips of the hand slowly wiggled and Kirsch gave a tired smile. "I can wiggle the fingers."

"Try raising your arm up!" LaFontaine exclaimed eagerly. Kirsch slowly lifted up the new arm, that was slightly darker than his actual skin tone. Laura doubted he cared about that though. "It worked!" Kirsch exclaimed, his smile growing. LaFontaine looked even more excited than Kirsch. "Perry, we did it!" They shouted as they pulled Perry into a hug. "Well, you did most of the work. I just cleaned up," Perry replied, hesitantly hugging the doctor back. She seemed quite frightened by what she had just experienced. "I'd recommend taking it slow though," Laura suggested. "Oh!" Perry gasped out. Everyone turned their attention to her. "Queen Laura we will need your help planning your birthday banquet next week."

Laura paled at the reminder of her birthday celebration coming up. "I completely forgot! Thank you for reminding me Perry." She turned to LaFontaine and gave them a wide smile. "You continue to baffle me with your practice but in the best way. Thank you for saving Kirsch's arm. I've become quite fond of him," She said, sending a wink Kirsch's way, who blushed when he saw the action.

Laura hooked her arm through Perry's, and the two began chit chatting as they exited the infirmary, leaving behind Carmilla, Kirsch, and LaFontaine. "Birthday banquet?" The knight asked, confused. She had long forgotten the human tradition of birthday celebrations. She had even forgotten her own birthday over the years, though if she thought hard enough she was sure she would remember. Kirsch sat up with a nod. "Yes Queen Laura's birthday is next week."

Carmilla nodded then slowly made her way out of the infirmary and followed after Laura and Perry, who made their way to the ball room. For the second time since Carmilla had been to the castle, she watched as people bustled around getting things prepared for the banquet. Workers were bringing in wooden tables and placing them around the outskirts of the ballroom and maids were placing white table runners over the top of them. She caught up with Laura and Perry just in time to hear Perry happily say, "Your nineteenth birthday will be fantastic Queen Laura!"

Laura smiled and nodded, then looked behind her to see Carmilla approaching. "Charles, what do you think of everything so far?" She asked with a wide smile. Carmilla gave her a small smile back and nodded a bit. "It looks almost as lovely as you my Queen," She said with a smirk. Laura blushed and swatted at her chest plate with the back of her hand and turned towards Perry with a guilty smile. "If I may be so bold, you two should be more careful about your private affairs," Perry chastised with a frown. Laura immediately straightened and nodded, turning to Carmilla and giving her a small scowl. The knight only shrugged, the ever present smirk still gracing her lips. "Well if you two will follow me, there's much to discuss," Perry said walking ahead of the Queen and her knight. Carmilla nodded and took a step forward just to be held back by Laura. The Queen looked around then stood on her tip toes to whisper in Carmilla's ear, "I think subtly flew right out the window." She giggled then kissed Carmilla on the cheek and walked towards Perry, who seemingly did not notice the two's absence.

Carmilla looked around and gave a cold glare to anyone who might have seen the interaction between herself and the Queen. She straightened up and placed her hand on her swords hilt, sending a prayer up to the Gods that she can show at least some restraint.

The next few days passed by in a whirlwind. Laura would come into her chambers later than usual, and it was all she could do to get out of her dress before she fell asleep right where she stood. Carmilla found herself tucking the Queen into bed more often than not. She tried to pretend like this whole birthday thing wasn't bothering her, but the more it set in that Laura's body was growing older then Carmilla's, the more she started to internally panic. In a few years Laura would no longer want Carmilla. She would be an older woman looking for someone who was the same age, not a child. And there was no way that Carmilla was turning Laura. Not after all the things that poor Kirsch has been through. The knight was partially glad that she saw what dying with vampire blood in your system does to a person. When Kirsch's mom turned, she was no longer the lady she was before but a monster.

Carmilla huffed at her own thoughts then looked over scared she might have woken Laura. She laid in silence next to the Queen's sleeping body, an arm behind her head for support. She knew she was a monster too but not as dangerous as Kirsch's mom seemed to be. That wasn't entirely true either though. Carmilla was more dangerous. The only thing that came with age was self-control. Somewhat, she thought sadly as she snuck another glance at the Queen. She put Laura through so much pain, and yet the Queen still wanted her. Why? She questioned.

Before she could think any further Laura twitched and mumbled something that sounded a lot like, "Help." Carmilla looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and noticed the pout on the humans lips. She twitched again, this time her balled up fist jerking out and nearly hitting Carmilla. Shocked, the knight gently shook her, trying to wake her from her dream. Laura stilled for a moment but was still not awake. The knight shook her head in confusion. She was about to go back to her thoughts when Laura shot upright with a scream, tears running down her face. Carmilla was up in an instant and had the Queen wrapped securely in her arms. "Hey Laura, Laura it's okay," Carmilla cooed. She felt Laura shake with a sob as she wrapped her arms around the vampire's neck and cried into her chest. "Please don't leave me," She mumbled into the fabric of Carmilla's undershirt.

Carmilla shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere princess," She murmured sweetly and placed a kiss on the crown of Laura's head. "I dreamed someone killed you." Laura looked up at her with watery eyes. Carmilla furrowed her brow and began to rub circles on the Queen's back.

"I can't be killed, you know that." Laura shook her head, "That's not true!" She exclaimed with a pained look. "Someone stabbed you with silver and you were dying. The worst part is you don't even remember who. What would have happened had you not come home?"

Home

The word echoed in Carmilla's ears. Her facial expression softened and she brought Laura closer to her chest and hugged her there. "I'll be more careful from now on. It was foolish of me to act the way I did that day anyways. Let's not think about all of that right now okay? You have a birthday to plan for, and I have armor to polish and people to yell at."

Laura giggled, because indeed Carmilla had done a lot of yelling the past few days. If the men weren't placing something in the right spot, she would yell at them until they did. If the women weren't making something that "reflected the Queen's essence", she was yelling. Laura found it amusing but still found little ways to distract the knight from her crusade to make everything perfect.

"Laura! You need to get up! The banquet is-" Perry swung the door open, revealing the image of a bare naked Laura straddling Carmilla. She stood there for a moment, speechless. Slowly, she stepped back and shut the door. Laura's face turned into a bright red and she quickly threw herself off of Carmilla. "She knows!" She shoved Carmilla off the bed, causing her to grunt in annoyance. "Oh god! What are we going to do?!"

"I don't remember you freaking out this bad over the doctor seeing us."

"But I wasn't- Just put some trousers on!" Laura exclaimed as she threw Carmilla's under pants at her.

The two of them walked out of the room to see Perry standing outside of the door. She turned to them with an almost angry glint in her eyes. "I will pretend… that this never happened," She muttered, causing Laura to blush once again. "Now… go eat. Get ready for the banquet," Perry ordered before stomping off. "We're doomed," Laura mumbled. "Stop acting like that, Laura. Perry wanted us to be a couple."

"She did?!"

"Well… she wanted me to like you back."

"Perry knew?!" Carmilla chuckled. "Well, you didn't do the best job hiding it, Princess."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Laura exclaimed all flustered. Carmilla leaned down closer to her, her face much closer to Laura's. Laura looked down a little, blushing in embarrassment. "It was too cute. I didn't want you to stop. Also… " She placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head up. "After the banquet, I think you should finish riding me like you were." Laura's face was now the same shade of red that a tomato was. "G-go get ready!" Carmilla smirked and moved away from her. "I'll see you at the banquet, Princess~" She walked off and gave Laura a small wave.

As the banquet came closer to its starting time, more and more people filled up the castle. Laura realized that this was the first time she'd be hosting a party in the castle that was now hers. She hadn't held a big event since her coronation, so she was extremely nervous. Are they going to like it? Will they even have fun? Is my hair messed up? Laura's mind raced until she saw Carmilla walk out wearing a long, red cloak lined with soft white fur. Under it, she wore a black tunic and dark trousers. Her heart skipped a beat. It was rare to see Carmilla out of her armour, and she pulled off the clothing very well. She still had her sword by her waist though, just incase something were to happen. She approached Laura and smiled. "Lovely banquet, cupcake," She cooed in her ear. "Do you think so? I thought it was a bit overdid."

"Maybe just a little."

"Hey!" Carmilla chuckled. "I'm teasing, love. It's great." Laura let out a small sigh of relief.

"We better take a seat," She said nervously before finding a seat at the end of the table. Carmilla took the one closest to her and watched as everyone took their seats. Once the table was filled up, she stood up, raised her champagne flute, and tapped it with her fork. The ringing sound caused everyone's heads to turn towards her, eyes all waiting. "Um… welcome to my home! I'm glad you all could arrive for this very special occasion. It's nice to see some familiar faces," She began, her heart beating quickly. "I've never been very good with toasts or speeches but uh… enjoy the food! But don't eat too much. There is dancing afterwards." Laura quickly sat back down once she was done. "Uh… Princess?" Carmilla leaned over, whispering to her. "You alright there?"

"I hate making toasts-" Then she saw a man stand up with his glass. "I'd like to say a few words." Oh no… oh no no. Laura thought. "Oh, alright," She replied, trying not to seem freaked out. "This probably isn't an appropriate time but… you may remember me. I was at your coronation. I am Prince Edward."

"Yes, I remember you," Laura replied, wondering where this was going. He stepped out from behind the table and began to approach her. Carmilla began to rise up, but Laura grabbed her arm, signaling for her to remain seated. "Ever since that day, I grew very fond of you. I knew that you probably wouldn't accept me though. You're a magnificent Queen. But when I heard that you had declined all these proposals from Kings with large kingdoms, I decided I may have a chance," He continued. The Prince dug in his pocket and retrieved a small ring. The ring had a silver band and a beautiful sparkly emerald, much like the one she always wore around her neck. "Queen Laura, would you become my bride?" He asked, holding the ring out for her. "I um… I don't know what to say," Laura mumbled.

She wanted to sink into her seat and vanish. This was not good. Carmilla's horrified look didn't make things better either. "That's fine. You can take as much time as you need," Edward said and placed the ring on the table. "I-I can't accept. I'm…" She began and looked around, seeing everyone's shocked looks. "I am already spoken for," She replied. Everyone at the table gasped, and she was sure she heard the sound of a fork hitting a dinner plate. Prince Edward looked baffled. "Oh, I… I didn't know." Laura felt sorry for the poor boy. He made such a grand speech and now she made a fool out of him. "No one knew… I hadn't announced it yet."

"Well who are you going to marry?!" A voice exclaimed from the end of the table. Then everyone began demanding to know the man's name.

"Does he have a large kingdom?"

"Is he a King?"

"Is he here?!"

"He's…" Laura began, looking around frantically to see if something in the room could give her an idea on what to say. "He's Charles," She spat out.

"Wait, what?" Carmilla looked up at her, just as stunned as everyone else. "You know!" She laughed nervously, smacking Carmilla's arm playfully. "A knight?!" A woman exclaimed. "Don't you know how bad this will make the kingdom look? Not to mention it's illegal."

"I… I was married to William! How is this any different?!" Laura protested. "It's not like we agreed with your father's actions, but you gave him no choice after you decided to bed with him!" The woman argued. Laura rose from her seat and slammed and hands against the table, causing the silverware to clatter against the plate. Beside her, Carmilla flinched.

She swung out her arm and pointed to the door. "Get the hell out of my castle!" She shouted. Everyone grew silent. The woman let out a snort, rose from the table, and exited the castle. Several others followed in suit. "Would anyone else like to leave?" She growled. The few people that were left slowly shook their heads and remained seated. Prince Edward still stood there, looking quite shocked at the events that had just unfolded before him. "I'll just um…" He began as he picked up the ring and shoved it back into his pocket. "I'll take that back then," He finished before he headed towards the castle doors. Laura lowered back down in her seat and held her head. "You can all leave," Laura muttered. The few people left hesitantly got up from the table and left.

"Laura… you realize what you just did right?" Carmilla asked, a pang of anger in her voice. "It means we have to get married now."

"I know Carmilla!" She snapped. Carmilla flinched again at the Queen's aggressive tone. "Why would you do this Laura?" The Queen sighed in frustration. "It was the first thing I thought of. Is the prospect of marrying me so terrible?" She looked towards Carmilla with watery eyes. The knight stood from her seat and sighed. "I'm not ready for marriage, Laura." She lowered her voice and muttered, "Not to mention I can't age."

Laura groaned when she remembered that Carmilla could not age. People would soon wonder why the knight never looked older than eighteen and even more attention would be paid to her if she were to marry Laura.

Marrying Laura would, technically speaking, make Carmilla… King of Silas.