The next morning Laura woke with two strong arms wrapped very protectively around her. She knew it was Carmilla because of the way their bodies fit together. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was blood. So much blood that had dried and caked onto Carmilla's skin. It was all over her face, her neck, arms and even in her hair. Laura's first reaction was to push the girl away but Carmilla woke up with an alarmed look in her eye, and was immediately reaching for her sword that she had laying in the bed behind her. "No, no Carmilla! It's okay!" Laura assured her. The vampire looked down at her human and sighed, relaxing her tensed muscles and went to bury her face in Laura's neck, but Laura pushed her back.
"First of all you need to take a bath, then you need to let me see where all the wounds are. I can't tell because of all this blood." She said in a soft yet concerned manner. Carmilla stayed silent and nodded. She untangled herself from Laura and stood up in all her naked glory, very stiffly. Laura could visibly see multiple gashes on the vampire's body, some still leaking blood. She looked down at the bed sheets to see that they were soaked in blood, then down at herself to see that she and her wedding dress was also soaked in blood.
She decided the easiest thing to do would be to bathe with Carmilla. "Carm?" She called after the girl. She heard a grunt in response. "I'm going to bathe with you." Another grunt. Is it going to be like this all day? She asked herself. She peeled off her wedding dress, discarding it on the floor then walked into the bathroom. Carmilla had just finished filling the tub up with water when Laura walked in, just as naked as she was. The vampire was in too much pain to care, so she simply just stepped into the tub and beckoned Laura to join her. Laura followed suit and carefully stepped into the tub, then settled down in between her wifes legs.
Carmilla wrapped her arms around Laura's midsection, taking notice to the small swell of her stomach. "How's the baby?" She asked in a very gruff voice, that was a tell tale sign of both her discomfort and her exhaustion. Laura broke her trance from the now blood stained water and looked over her shoulder at Carmilla. "He's just fine." That made Carmilla smile a bit. "What makes you think it's a boy?" She inquired. "I just have a feeling." The vampire accepted this and unwound her arms from around Laura's midsection. She grabbed the sponge that sat on a small table next to the tub and began to lather some soap onto it. Suddenly Laura turned herself around and grabbed the sponge. "Let me."
"Laura." Carmilla said in an exasperated tone.
"Carmilla you're hurt. Please, let me help you." Laura's eyes were giving away just how worried she was for her wife. Carmilla nodded after a few moments and turned around, indicating she wanted Laura to start from the back. Thankfully Carmilla's back wasn't as bad as her front was. This is a good thing, Laura thought, no extra scars to add to the hundreds already here. She scrubbed until she was satisfied with her work, then made a noise with the back of her throat to let Carmilla know to turn around. She did, then Laura started to scrub her arms. The gashes were clear of any extra blood caked around them and she could visibly see them starting to heal. She figured being uncleaned made them stay open, but she wasn't sure. She ran the sponge over Carmilla's chest which had a particularly deep cut near her heart. Laura's own heart started to pound in her chest.
She didn't want to even think about what could have happened, had the man in the hood somehow gotten to her heart. "Who was he?" Laura suddenly asked. Carmilla looked up from where she had been staring off and sighed. "It might be better that you don't know creampuff." She said, her voice still sounding awful. "Who was it Carmilla?" Laura said in an authoritative tone. Poor kid's gonna have one hell of a strict parent, Carmilla thought to herself fondly. Two for that matter.
"It was William, back from the dead and all vamped out." Laura dropped the sponge. "No. It can't be, he's dead. You ripped.." She trailed off. Carmilla nodded, "It can be. My mother raised him apparently. All without the need for his heart, which makes him virtually impossible to kill." Laura looked very seriously into Carmilla's eyes. "You aren't the only one."
"Not anymore it would seem."
"Carm, what are we going to do?"
Carmilla shook her head, "I am going to protect you. That is what I'm going to do. You, my Queen, are going to come up with a way to explain last night to your people." Laura scrunched up her nose. "Protect me? Carmilla you protect me already, how is this any different."
"I'm King now aren't I?"
"Well, yes but-"
"Then I make the rules, and I hereby decree that Carmilla can wear her armor."
Later that morning Laura called for LaFontaine, Perry and Kirsch to join her in the throne room. Laura sat on her throne taking note of an extra one that was placed next to her own. Carmilla's throne, she mused. The three people joining her in the room all gave each other bewildered looks. Kirsch was just about to pipe up when the side door to the throne room was pushed open and a very angry Carmilla stormed in, clad in her black armor. She came to a stop standing next to Laura's throne. "My King, if you don't mind my asking, what are you wearing that for?" Asked Perry. "Because the life of your Queen has been threatened and there is no other person capable of protecting her as well as I can."
Kirsch stayed silent because after what he had witnessed last night, who he now knew as Carmilla, was correct. He watched as the hulking cat flung a man out of the glass window in the ballroom. He guided that same cat as it dragged itself to Laura's room, before it climbed up on the bed and passed out from exhaustion with the tiny human wrapped in its paws. He laid the black sword that belonged to Carmilla behind the cat and exited the room.
Perry took notice to the fact that Charles was for once shaven and he was speaking in an oddly high-pitched tone. "Charles are you well? Your voice is high, should I fetch you some tea?" Carmilla shook her head but smiled at Perry, thankful for the kind offer. "You all need to be aware of something but it cannot go past this room." They all nodded. Laura had a feeling she knew where this was going. "I am not a man named Charles. I am a woman named Carmilla." Perry gasped and a hand flew to her mouth but what shocked her even more then this Carmilla's announcement was that neither LaFontaine nor Kirsch seemed surprised.
"Two of the three of us already knew that Carmilla, what else do you have to say?" LaF spoke, knowing that there was more to be said. "I'm also a vampire." Perry laughed hysterically causing Laura to give her a bewildered look, "Perry are you alright?"
"My Queen, there's no such thing as vampires. You obviously need to have your.. whatever you call her, checked out by LaFontaine here." She said gesturing to the doctor. "Oh, Carmilla is completely sound of mind." LaF gave Perry a nod and smile. "She's claiming to be a vampire LaFontaine that is not sound of mind!"
"Enough!" Laura shouted. All eyes turned shocked towards her, including Carmilla's. "Carmilla is a vampire, she is my personal guard once again, she is your King but above all she is my wife." There was a pause in the room as everyone digested their Queen's words. "You are the only people who are aware in this kingdom. We thought it fit to tell you because you are truthfully our closest friends." Carmilla nodded along with what Laura was saying, feeling slight pride that her once timid Laura was now strong and commanding when she needed to be. She ruled with a soft but firm hand and that's exactly what this kingdom needed. "I need guards watching Laura at all times, at least four." Carmilla spoke directly to Kirsch. The young knight nodded and was already choosing his best men for the job in his head.
"Laura what are you going to tell the people about last night?" Carmilla turned to her wife. "I was going to tell them most of the truth. A man with magic came and-"
"What do you mean a man with magic came?" Perry cut her off, "We had a great time. You two danced, ate cake, then went to bed while everyone else left the castle. The cleanup was hard but I got it done in about an hour." LaF nodded along with this, giving both rulers a bewildered look. "Perry that's not what happened at all." Kirsch said to the woman on his right. "He gave them false memories." Came Carmilla's voice as she plopped down into her throne and rested her elbow on the armrest so that she could prop her head up. Laura shook her head in quiet disbelief that it seemed everyone else had a wonderful memory of her wedding night but her.
"So what do we do now?" Kirsch asked. "We prepare for something like that to happen again. Tell your knights to be waiting in the field around back tomorrow morning at sun up. It's time for some extensive training." Kirsch nodded, completely agreeing with his King. "I am going to retrieve my best men to watch the Queen right now."
"Good. Thank you Kirsch." Carmilla said to the young man. Kirsh nodded then left the room, leaving LaF to ask a question that's been on their mind since Carmilla began speaking. "What do you need of me my King?"
"I will be joining you in the infirmary later to discuss all things you need to know about vampires. You can broaden your study on the subject. I have a feeling having a doctor that knows my situation will benefit me in the future." LaF nodded eagerly. "Of course, I'll go prepare my things now!" They rushed off without another word, going through the side door that led to the infirmary.
"That leaves you Perry." Carmilla spoke softly. "I know this must be hard for you to comprehend and I'm very sorry you had to find out this way, but I need a favor of you." Perry seemed a bit standoffish towards the vampire but one glance at a nodding Laura and Perry turned towards Carmilla. "What can I do for you Carmilla?" She asked sounding a bit miffed. "Laura is pregnant." Perry's eyes widened and she immediately opened her mouth to begin asking a million questions when Carmilla's hand came up to silence her. "The child is mine. Don't ask how, it's a long and embarrassing story. I need your word that you will be with Laura every step of the way." Perry regarded both of the women in front of her with a confused look, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course."
"Good, then I know Laura is in good hands. I am going to bring her to the infirmary with me, so the doctor can examine her. Please join us." Perry nodded in confirmation, "But first I need to prepare dinner!" She said suddenly remembering she left a pot boiling in the kitchen.
Carmilla and Laura both couldn't help a small smile brought on by the woman's antics. "She's going to take a bit to come around, but she will." Laura spoke softly to her. Carmilla looked over to her wife and smiled when she saw one of Laura's hands unconsciously reach up to caress her stomach. "My main concern is you two." She said to her wife. Laura looked over bewildered, "Perry and I?" Carmilla laughed and took Laura's free hand in her own. "You and the child, love." Laura seemed to understand her mistake and giggled "Oh yes, of course. Lucky for us we have you to protect us and lucky for you we both love you very much."
"I love you both much, much more."
A few moons later Carmilla and Laura were in the Royal Gardens walking around. They had decided some fresh air would be good for them. Laura's stomach was rounded out in the most adorable way and the constant smile on Carmilla's face gave away just how happy she was. Laura spun around to look at Carmilla with a smile and a laugh.
Things had been going fantastically since their wedding. The people of Silas seemed to love Charles as their King and loved the fact that their Queen was already pregnant with an heir. Carmilla was still on guard and training her men who watched Laura everyday but other then that things went back to normal.
Being in the gardens now was the first time in awhile that she and Laura had been alone together, other then at night in their bedroom. Even then there was always two men stationed outside of their room. It made being intimate harder, not to mention Carmilla was terrified to hurt the baby. LaFontaine said that was an irrational fear because men slept with their pregnant wives all the time but Carmilla's reasoning was sound. Those men were not hundred years old vampires who had the strength to lift an entire carriage and the horses along with it.
Their wedding night becoming a distant memory proved to be a good thing. The less stress on Laura the better. LaFontaine guessed that Laura was about five moons along now and would benefit from beginning to take it easy. So Carmilla insisted that Laura cut back on her hours in the throne room and that she spend most of her days in the study, reading what she can about childbirth. Even Carmilla picked up a few books on the subject, wrinkling her nose at some of the things the writing suggested would happen.
"Carmilla?" Laura asked in a questioning tone. The vampire shook her head and focused her eyes back in, happy to see her wife's confused smile just inches from her face. "There you are." She said with a smile.
"Here I am cutie."
"I was asking you if you thought this dress was nice?"
Carmilla glanced down at said dress and smiled. It was a soft yellow color, obviously tailor made for Laura's pregnant belly. "Yes it's beautiful love." Carmilla spoke, her voice full of love for the Queen. Laura's smile lit up Carmilla's whole world for a moment before she noticed a puff of black smoke behind her wife. She immediately drew her sword and brought Laura behind her.
A woman stepped out from inside the black smoke and immediately Carmilla was snarling. "What are you doing here?" She all but screamed.
"Now now, is that any way to speak to your mother?" The woman grinned creepily. From behind Carmilla, Laura gasped. Carmilla's mother is the person who cursed her and made her what she is now, Laura thought. "I don't have a mother. Leave here or I will kill you with no hesitation."
"Then why haven't you already?" The woman spoke in a patronizing tone. "You see darling, if you were really going to kill me you would have found me years ago and done so." Carmilla kept her face stoic. "Oh don't be too excited to see me Carmilla."
A/n: Hey guys, how are y'all doing? It's been a while, a lot has changed. I moved in with the girl I told you about before, though we broke up. Now I am moving out after just a short lived two months here. Things are complicated and honestly really shitty. So my gift to you is this chapter, for being so patient, while I live and learn. I love this girl so much guys. "You only know you love her when you let her go", I suppose. She'll always be a bright spot in my life, just from afar now. I'll be okay! Through this heartbreak though, I have found motivation to write again. So I will not make any set dates or promises that I can't keep but I will say be on the lookout for more of 'Iris' here soon! :)