A cool breeze came across the courtyard but Marie hardly noticed it. She was too enthralled by the majestic sight of the castle that was towering over her. She stood alone in the area, her allies having moved on into the castle. She had been at the back of the group and preferred to be in the shadows. Dressed in a black long sleeved coat and a white pleaded skirt, as well as a Japanese katana in her left hand, she was dressed to blend into the background.
She walked towards the door that led into the castle itself. She had been processing all the information she had been given moments before. Alucard told her that the castle was a creature of chaos, a living being that could manipulate space to fit its need to protect its master, and then there was Laura. She had beaten everything that had come at her before, creations of a madman that were experienced fighters, had fought monsters, and had escaped unscathed.
Despite the power that Laura showed off, Marie kept a stone expression. Nothing normally fazed her, especially when it came to battle. Though she appeared to be a rather curvy woman in her late teens, she wasn't a beau. She was actually not even human in spite of her appearance.
In fact she was another class of 'creature' entirely, as her previous designation as F11 would call for. Added the fact that Marie had the blood of the mondlicht in her body made her even more of an enigma.
Marie's silver eyes looked up at the castle again. Though the stone walls and magic separated her from knowing for sure, she could sense the power coming from the castle. 'The mondlicht that reside here must be strong…'
Mondlicht was the word she called the vampires. The word was German for moonlight, which was fitting for the race she used to hunt. Images of the various vampires she had killed throughout the centuries went through her mind constantly, making her feel ill.
That was another life, however, and one she would rather not revisit. Being 'adopted' by a vampire family after she had rescued them from one of her former comrades changed her in more ways than one.
Undeterred Marie approached the door and placed her hands on the hard cold wood.
Before she could begin to push she felt a presence coming from behind her and turned. It was unmistakable.
'Someone's here with me…'
But when she finished turning she saw no one in the courtyard. Just a mysterious mist that swirled about in the breeze.
Huffing Marie turned back to the door, her platinum blond hair swaying with her lithe form. "Must be my imagination."
She pushed the doors open, no hesitation this time, and stepped into the darkness that the castle offered.
The doors that led into the castle closed behind the hunter, and for a few moments silence was the only sound in the night…
"What a beautiful woman…"
The words floated on the breeze, carried by the mist that had permeated the courtyard. Now that it was an empty area, the disguise the voice had used was no longer necessary, and with a swirl or motion and a bit of dark magic a woman took form in the mist.
Dressed in an elegant 18th Century indigo colored dress that had a transparent skirt that showed off her shapely legs, the dark color contrasted with her pale white skin and deep blue lips. The large red eyes glowed in the darkness behind the opaque veil that covered her face.
The female vampire took a step forward, her bare feet tapping the ice cold cobblestone ground. Obviously, being a vampire the cold didn't bother the woman and so she walked towards the doors.
At that moment a cloud of bats appeared behind the woman, and a familiar person appeared in their place. "There you are sister."
The woman in indigo didn't face her sister. In fact she was nowhere happy to hear her voice. "Laura, why do you seek me out?"
The older sister in her deep blue dress put her hands on her hips. "Don't talk to me like that, Islea. You know who's in charge here."
"Like I need to be reminded…" said Islea under her breath. If there was one thing that always irked the normally ice cold stoicism of Islea it was her older sister throwing her weight around. Clearing her throat and forcing her irritation to the back of her mind, Islea straightened herself. She thrust her buxom chest outward, the bodice of the dress she wore barely held her in. "You have something to share with me? Otherwise I will be on my way."
"Mother wants the hunters dead. I thought I would add she wants us to handle it ourselves."
"You had the opportunity to do so moments before. Except you just toyed with them and invited them into the grounds. If I were mother I would be very upset with you—"
Laura's eyes narrowed, and the words were smothered with venom. "But you're not, and you're not to question me or my actions. As eldest daughter, I have no need to explain myself to my siblings. You're to do as you're told, how you go about doing it is up to you, just kill the hunters before they can ruin the ritual."
"Were you not my sister I would kill you first…" Speaking in a whisper Islea's expression turned vile, like she had been humiliated. Yet she knew she was stuck in place. Though she was as supernaturally strong, could turn into mist, and was a master hypnotist, Islea knew her power paled next to her sister. Everyone knew who ruled the family, outside Carmilla herself.
That was something none of Carmilla's children ever forgot.
"Very well. I will do my duty, though I would like to make one request of you."
Laura lowered her arms, standing like she had just won a battle without lifting a finger. She waited for what Islea wanted to ask.
"I request that you do not interfere with me again. I do not wish to have you watching me as I go about doing my task."
Islea had tried to sound polite, though it was obvious she held back the urge to make it sound like an order. It was thinly veiled enough, but if Laura had noticed it she didn't respond. Islea caught her sister nodding once, "So long as you kill them, I don't see why I would have to babysit you. Do as you wish, just kill them. In fact, start with that woman that you saw first. She is a good swordswoman, having helped bring down the Wyvern."
She had heard her sister's warning but didn't address it, as Islea had already made up her mind as to what she was going to do. That hunter woman had been in her mind from the moment she had walked through her when she had been in her mist form. The moment she had walked through the mist, Islea felt the woman's strength and resolve and it had been peak high. It didn't help that the woman was drop dead gorgeous, which tickled Islea's soft spot.
As if she could sense her infatuation, Laura's beautiful face turned to disgust. "You really should fix your priorities."
Islea finally gave her sister a sneer, forgetting being careful around Laura, she spoke. "Just because I have a fancy for the opposite sex doesn't mean anything negative."
"I disagree. It's unethical…save for the preferable playtime in bed. You better find a man worthy of mother, lest you end up disowned."
Islea chose to ignore her sister. It wasn't the first time she had done so, nor would it be the last. She had always been regarded as a black sheep because of her sexual orientation to women over men. While her mother had been a bit vocal, she had pretty much given up on trying to convince her daughter to change her way. She was too stubborn to prolong that battle. Laura on the other hand was more keen to speak her mind on anything no matter how trivial.
This time, however, Laura decided not to pursue the subject. "Regardless, I will leave you to your duty. Just make sure you kill her."
With a wave of her arm, Laura's body transformed into a cloud of bats before flying off into the sky towards the highest tower. No doubt she was going to see their mother to report what she had just encountered.
That left Islea to her thoughts, which was just fine with her. She enjoyed the silence for awhile before she vanished into a cloud of mist and went about her plans for Marie.
She looked forward to tasting her.
