Well, it was a little behind schedule, but here's the end of "My Bloody Valentine". I'll see you in December for the Christmas episode! Please fave, follow, comment, send me your credit card info-what? Who said that? Just kidding, heh heh heh heh heh...


"You're insane," Red breathed.

"Perhaps so," Carmilla allowed. "But for the past 150 years, I've been all alone."

"Bullshit. Your mother's been with you, taking care of you, feed the staff and tourists to you."

"It's not the same!" Carmilla exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "Do I not deserve love? Why must I be alone?" The vampire looked at the portrait. "My Laura...we should have been forever. So I turned her. So we could live and love for eternity. But she was...horrified with what she had become. So she walked into the sunlight." Carmilla pointed to the double doors leading to the balcony. "Right out there...she burst into ash."

"I'm sorry," said Red. "Truly I am. But this is wrong. You can't control life and death. And you can't turn people into vampires without their consent!"

"I'm the one of the oldest beings in this world," said Carmilla. "I'll do as I like."

Red's face suddenly went to stone. "Oh, you shouldn't have said that. Because you have no idea who you're dealing with."

"It doesn't matter who you are," said Carmilla. "It only matters who you will become."

"You'll never get what you want," Red growled.

"Fine," said Carmilla, scowling. "If you won't go willingly..." She smirked as her eyes turned crimson, and her incisors became lethally elongated. "Then I'll just have to make you."

Red's irises changed as well, and she bared her own fangs. "Let's dance." She hissed.

The women lunged at each other at the same time, tackling each other to the ground. Red ended up on top, and she punched Carmilla in the face several times. Carmilla snarled and twisted, rolling to where she was atop the other woman. "You're weak," she said, sneering, as she held the Red Lady down by the wrists. "You haven't fed all day. You should have drank when I offered."

"I'm not as weak as you think," Red said with a grim smirk. "Like I said...you have no idea who you're dealing with."

Suddenly a bright gold zap of electricity from the Red Lady's hands smack into Carmilla, blowing her back. Carmilla landed across the room with a shriek.

The Red Lady jumped to her feet with vampiric agility and stalked over to her, forming a fireball in her open palm. She stalked over to Carmilla and raised her hand, ready to set her alight. But then she hesitated.

Carmilla shivered, staring up at Red in terror. "What are you?" she whispered.

"I...am the Red Lady."

"I'm sorry," squeaked Carmilla, cowering away. "Please...forgive me. Don't hurt me."

Red glared down at her for another moment, then let the fireball fizzle out. She lowered her arm. "My friend and I are leaving here, Carmilla. Be grateful I don't do anything more."

Carmilla nodded meekly.

Red turned to Joe and started untying his ropes. Carmilla's expression of fear curled into a sneer as she grabbed a heavy wooden carving.

"Red Lady, look out!" Joe yelled.

Red whirled out around as Carmilla struck her in the head with the carving. Red saw stars and collapsed on the floor.

"Red Lady!" Joe cried again.

Carmilla dragged the Red Lady across the floor by her wrists over to the spot under the portrait of the Lady Laura. She bound the Red Lady's hands and feet with more rope. "Now the ritual can begin." She pulled out a dagger and slice Joe across the palm of his hand. Joe gasped in pain. Carmilla wrapped her hand in a silk scarf, picked up a silver goblet, and collected Joe's blood. The vampiress smiled wickedly. "Virgin blood. Told you you'd come in handy for the ritual."

She then took the goblet over to the still prone Red Lady and began sprinkling the blood in a ring around the Red Lady's body. "I call upon Osiris...Hades...the Morrigan...and all those who have dominion over the dead. I offer sacrifice. The life of this woman...for the spirit of Laura Hollis to be returned to be. A life for a life...a fair trade."

"Red Lady, wake up!" Joe exclaimed across the room.

At the sound of her companion's cries, Red was awoken from her stupor. She shook her head. "Carmilla! Listen to me! You can't do this!

"Aphrodite, Frigga, Parvati...mothers of love! I beg you to help the soul of my beloved find me!" Carmilla cried. "Though I am a daughter of night, through her, I will know light!"

"I know it hurts," Red said, wriggling against her bonds. "Believe me, I know. You were right, I have lost someone. Someone as dear to me as your Laura was to you...it breaks my heart everyday to wake up and remember she's dead." Tears began to leak down Red's cheeks. "To know that I'm the reason she's gone. To know that I have the power to go back and save her, but that I never can. Because the dead have to stay dead. It's the natural order, Carmilla! It's not fair, and it hurts so much, but we don't to control life and death! We don't get to bargain with fate. We can only move forward, and try to survive the pain."

A tear rolled down Carmilla's cheek too, and for a moment, Red thought she might have gotten through to her. But then Carmilla scowled and let the silver bowl dump the rest of Joe's blood on Red's head, anointing her. "BRING HER TO ME!" Carmilla shouted.

Red's eyes turned completely white. "LAURA HOLLIS, COME FORTH AND LIVE AGAIN!" Carmilla cried.

Red convulsed on the floor. "Red Lady!" Joe yelled.

Finally the Red Lady fell still. "Laura? My love?" Carmilla whispered, sinking her knees. She propped the Red Lady up into a sitting position. "Laura," the vampire whispered again, cupping the Red Lady's face in her hands.

The Red Lady blinked slowly. She looked into the other woman's eyes. "Carmilla," she said in a soft Irish accent.

"Oh, my love, it is you!" Carmilla sobbed, embracing her tightly. "You don't know how long I've missed you."

"I knew, Millie," Red-Laura-whispered. "Don't you know I've been watching over you?"

"I knew you didn't really want to leave me," said Carmilla, stroking her blood soaked hair. "You just were taken by shock when I turned you. But it doesn't matter. You live again."

"This is not life, Millie," said Laura. "This is perverted. This body doesn't belong to me and we both know it."

"It does now. The host is dead."

"The host is still here," Laura said. "The Red Lady is still alive. I'm using her body to speak to you. I'm not staying."

"But you must," gasped Carmilla, gripping her hand, as if it could prevent her lover's soul from leaving. "Don't you see? We belong together. You can't leave me alone again."

"We were together," said Laura. "But then you turned me. I wouldn't live as a monster, not even for you, Carmilla."

Carmilla looked crushed.

"Millie...you have to let these people go. I don't want to come back. I don't want this body if it means the death of an innocent person. You have to let the Red Lady and the boy go...and me."

"But..." Carmilla wept a bit more. "We were supposed to be forever."

Laura smiled faintly. "And we will be." She leaned forward and softly kissed the vampire's cheek.

Carmilla sat stunned. Then a look of realization passed over her, and she nodded.

Laura smiled a bit brighter. Then her eyes closed and her shoulders seized, and the Red Lady let out a breath. She blinked several times. "She's gone," she said in her normal American accent. "Laura was here."

"She always was," said Carmilla, rising to her feet. She turned to look at the doors to the balcony where Laura had let herself burn in the sun. "I see that now...I see everything." She began to walk across the room."

The Red Lady's eyes widened as she realized what Carmilla was about to do. She scrambled to free herself from the ropes. "Carmilla, wait-"

"I'm sorry, Red Lady. Mr. MacDonwald. For everything. But perhaps this will make it right." Carmilla grasped the handles of the doors. "Laura...I'm coming."

She threw open the doors and the afternoon sun shone down on her for a moment, before she burst into dust.

"Carmilla!" Red, now free, dashed across the room, but it was too late. The sun shone harmlessly on the Red Lady's now human skin.

"She's gone?" said Joe.

"Yeah," said Red. "She's gone...maybe she's right. Maybe it is for the best."

Suddenly, Joe gasped. "Liam! My friend from the village! He's still down in the cellar!"

Red rushed to untie Joe, and they dashed down to the basement. Joe threw open the lid of the coffin. Liam was still lying in there. He rigidly turned his head to look at them, the paralytic still at work in his system. "Skirt boy! You're alive?" he said in disbelief.

"The vampire's dead, Liam," said Joe with a grin as the Red Lady helped the other ginger out of the coffin. "An' the Red Lady here is alrigh'."

"Then the scourge on our village is gone," said Liam with a weary, relieved smile. He reached up and squeezed Joe's bicep. "Thanks to you, hero."

Red raised an eyebrow, amused.

"No, Flood filth," said a growling voice, and everyone turned to see Mrs. Smythe standing in the doorway to the cellar, glaring at them, enraged at her daughter's death. "The scourge is only beginning. The deal you struck with my daughter is broken. Now you will all pay for her life in blood!" She extended her fangs and hissed, about to lunge for all them, but suddenly she gasped as the point of a stake shot through her chest, right through her heart. She burst into dust, the stake clattering to the ground.

Marietta smiled triumphantly from the door. "Flood girls always know to carry a stake with them. Just in case." She looked down at the dust on the ground. "I never liked that old bitch," she said.


The St. Lily Festival was in full swing when Red, Joe, Liam, and Marietta made it back into town. Red looked around at all the people milling about among the stands. The vendor woman who they'd met before caught her eye and waved happily. "Looks like your tourist shortage is over," said Red.

"Aye," said Liam. "Without the she-demon's shadow to darken our doorways, Madracanis will return to its former glory."

"Then our work here is done," said Red. "That means Joe and I should be hitting the road."

"Oh, won't you stay and enjoy the festival, just for a bit?" Marietta asked.

Red looked at Joe. "Do you want to?"

Joe looked around. "Sure!" he said eagerly.

Red smiled. "I don't make a habit of sticking around one place for too long...but I think I'll make an exception this time."

So they stayed for the rest of the day, past sunset. Red gazed as the orange ball disappeared over the horizon and was glad it wasn't taken away from her.

When it was over and the stands were closing up, Joe bounded up to the Red Lady. "Lookee what our friend from the charm stand gave me," he said, showing her a little green silk drawstring bag.

Red peeped inside. "Garlic?"

Joe shrugged. "Never know when it might come in handy." He and the Red Lady laughed.

"Joe!" Liam called, running up to them. "You're off then?"

"Aye, I think we are."

"Well...if you're ever in the area again..." Liam handed Joe a slip of paper.

Joe looked at the digits written on it. "What's this?"

"Er...my phone number?"

"Oh! Right! The telephone! O' course." Joe laughed nervously. "I know all about those, being from this century an' all."

"Very convincing," Red muttered.

Liam gave him a strange look, but laughed. "You're very interesting, Joe MacDonwald." He winked and began to walk away. "Feicfidh mé ar ball thú."

After Liam was gone, Red nudged Joe in the side. "So, I see you made a friend."

"Aye, Liam's a lad! It's too bad we're leavin' out o' here, he an' I could be great pals."

Red paused. "Joe...you do know he actually didn't give you his number to just be friends, right?"

"Ummm...you mean, he wants to be best friends?" Joe asked, blinking with innocent confusion.

Red's eyebrows shot up. "Wait. So...you thought that Carmilla and Laura were close friends?"

"Well, o' course! What else would they be?" said Joe. He honestly wasn't getting it.

"Wowwwwww," said Red slowly. "You are reeeeeally sheltered." She turned and began walking away.

"Bu' wait, Red Lady," said Joe, running up beside her. "You never did say-how did Carmilla turn ye into a vampire?"

"Oh, uh...I guess it was..." Red's eyes flicked over to the reader. "Something I ate."