Forever Charmed

Something Good

Carmilla orbs into the living room, frowning when it's empty. She heads towards the bedroom and chuckles when she finds Laura curled up in bed, snoring softly, her hair blowing from her breath in the afternoon sunlight.

She kneels next to Laura's side and presses a kiss against Laura's cheek. "Psst. Cutie."

Laura cracks one eye open and closes it again. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," she mumbles.

"Right back atcha," Carmilla comments, watching in amusement as Laura stretches with a yawn. Laura rolls over a bit so there's room for Carmilla on the bed, as well.

Carmilla grins and wraps her arms around Laura, pulling her flush against her.

Laura lets out a squeal and giggles, rubbing her face into Carmilla's shoulder. "Someone's feeling snuggly."

Carmilla hums in reply and they stay like this for a while, enjoying the silence.

Which Laura obviously has to break.

"So... what did the Elders say?" Laura asks.

Carmilla sighs. "According to their weird math, and the amount of good beings reported missing from Magic School... Vordenberg should almost have the numbers he needs to match what you'd give Lophiiformes."

Laura swallows hard. "Carm... Look, I spoke to your mother, and she says that after the ritual, souls move on to the happy place. The good place. Not condemned to torture in Hell, or anything." Laura tries to keep her tone light. "So... I-I know you don't want to hear this, but... I think it's time to release your Mother and––"

"No," Carmilla interrupts. She untangles herself from Laura and pulls back, staring her in the eyes. "We still have time. We're not sacrificing you."

Laura sits up, biting her lip. "Carm..."

"No." Carmilla stands and shakes her head. "No." She orbs out, leaving Laura to flop back down on the bed with a groan.

~*~

"I don't know what you want me to tell you," Mattie says after letting Carmilla ramble for a while. "Time is running out. Mother and Laura need to do the sacrifice to save us all. I think we'd all rather have a few thousand demons hanging around being nuisances, than for Hell to break loose for all of eternity."

Carmilla drops her head into her hands. "It's just... It's too soon. I just found Laura and I feel like half of our time was spent with us focused on this sacrifice and not enough time was spent with us being together."

Mattie stares at Carmilla with an unreadable expression for a few moments before she lets out a long exasperated exhale. "Oh, god." She reaches around her neck and removes a locket, holding it out for Carmilla.

"Why are you giving me your heart locket?" Carmilla asks.

Mattie rolls her eyes and puts it on Carmilla. "I wear it as a reminder of what I've lost. But maybe it'll do more than that for you."

Carmilla hesitantly takes it, still looking puzzled.

"It helps you remember the good parts of your relationship easier and more vividly. Shrouds the bad memories and lets you focus on the positive," Mattie explains. "Got it from some old Zen monk centuries ago."

"But why did the monk think you needed it?" Carmilla asks. Mattie had never spoken about her past before and, outside of her dealings with the Dean, Carmilla didn't know much about her other activities.