Chapter 12

That night is rather brighter than the nights Carmilla has seen her entire life. Back when she was still a human being, she was sought after by handsome young men to ask her for marriage. They were princes, earls, and even dukes but none of them had made her feel contented. 

But not until she met Cecilion, he was an earl from the farthest north of their kingdom. Carmilla's memories of him are still vivid especially their very first meeting during the celebration of  her 18th birthday wherein all bachelors were invited for she is to choose a husband that same night. 

Carmilla just finished dancing her fifth dance of the night and her feet started to feel numb so she decided to sneak out a bit from the party and headed to the nearest bench outside the ballroom. But she never expected to hear such a beautiful music at the garden. She peeked by the fountain and near the beds of red roses stood a man playing his flute. The full moon was lighting him up so romantically that Carmilla slowly walked towards him and admired how good he is at playing the instrument.

"You should be inside, milady," Cecilion said upon noticing her presence. He faced her and showed a small smile. "It's cold here. You'll get sick."

Carmilla did not give much attention on his preaching, instead she sat down by the fountain and tapped the space beside her.

"My feet starts to sore," she said, "I will go back inside after I hear you play another music."

Feeling flattered, Cecilion walked and sat beside her.

"This shall be a gift for you, milady," he said before playing his flute again. Carmilla stared at him as he played like a pro. He looked so graceful and manly, she admits it. His eyelashes are a bit longer than the average, and his lips are red which she shyly looked away from. Just then, she noticed that he looked rather pale compared to a normal person so she asked him.

"Are you feeling cold? Let's go back inside," she said, full of concern, but Cecilion continued to play until he's done with his piece.

"Just like you promised, I finished playing my flute so please go back inside," he told her as if drawing a line between them.

"You should also go inside," Carmilla replied, "I will see you there again and I hope you'll play another music for me."

Cecilion watched her walk away. He felt a bit glad for he was able to have some alone time with a woman like her. But instead of following her back inside, he turned to the opposite direction and disappeared in the darkness.

When the time of choosing her husband was drawing near, Carmilla looked around searching for the man whom she met by the garden. She looked here, then there but no sign of him. Her heart start to feel hurt for she has to choose a husband that night and if that man won't be chosen, it'll be hard for her because she knew that all the bachelors inside the ballroom want nothing from her but the wealth and power that her father holds in their kingdom.

Carmilla panicked as her father announced that the time has finally come for her to be wed to a man she chooses. She felt her cold sweat sweeping throughout her body.

"I have to stop this," she thought and the only way to delay her marriage is for her to escape in the most not obvious way.

She held her head as if she was sick and she pretended to stagger. The butler noticed her and worry had flashed over his face as he approached his master.

"I'm sorry, father," Carmilla said and she pretended to lose her consciousness. She heard a loud commotion when the butler caught her from falling and yelled that she had fainted.

"Bring her to her room and go get the doctor!" her father yelled.

Deep inside, Carmilla felt so happy for she had delayed her marriage at last. When she woke up the next day, her father told her that in three days time, her marriage will be prepared for another delay would make the people worry.

As she stared out her window where she can see the setting sun, Carmilla could not help but think of the man who captured her heart with his music. She is about to close her window and get ready to sleep but she was taken aback when she saw Cecilion on her terrace. With so much glee, she ran towards him and gave her sweetest smile.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she said, "Where have you been?"

"I suppose I have not yet told you my name," he said instead of replying, "I am Cecilion, the vampire earl of the North, will you still long for me now that you know who I am?"

Carmilla saw the red rose on his hand, it was beautiful. She reached out her hand and asked for it.

"You came to give me a rose, right? Then, hand it over," she said. She paid no much attention on what he is, she has heard of a love story between a vampire and a human. And for her, such love is not just true but brave as well for they took the risk of loving each other despite knowing they'll somehow separate in the future.

Cecilion smiled at her and pinned the red rose on her hair.

"The love of a vampire is as immortal as he is. You may live a short life but I'll love you more than you deserve, Carmilla," he said lovingly. From that day on, Cecilion visits her every night and they'd secretly sneak out from Carmilla's room to go and see the town at its quietest time. But on the third night, she told him what her father had planned for her.

"I shall be wed to the duke of the West tomorrow, if I could stop it from happening, i would have done it before. I apologize for saying it just now. I was worried you'd leave me right away," she honestly confessed.

Cecilion caressed her and cupped her cheeks. 

"I know that," he said, "That is why I came here to see you for the past few nights. Your betrothal is inevitable and I hope I could do something to take you from him."

Carmilla, who is desperate to escape from her fate, held his hands and looked at him in the eyes.

"Let's elope," she said but Cecilion's reaction was not what she expected. "You do love me, right? Then, let's elope."

"It won't bring you no good if you come with me," he replied that started to break her heart into pieces. "Someday, I shall come back and hold your hand until my very last breath."

That night, Carmilla lost her consciousness and was brought back to her room. The next day, she was married to the duke of the West just like what her father had planned. She waited by her window every night, hoping that Cecilion  would come and take her away from her abusive husband.

But as the sun rises everyday, her hopes start to shatter. Her husband knew that she feels no affection towards him, thus it made him violent and physically hurt Carmilla whenever he gets the chance. The pain she received everyday became unbearable that she decided to end her life. 

Right on her window where she used to see Cecilion, she slit her wrist with a sharp dagger and even stabbed herself. That same night, she bled to death but she was never declared dead, instead she was claimed to either been kidnapped or had escaped from her brutal husband.

When she woke up, she found herself on a coffin filled with petals of red roses, the same shade of red that Cecilion used to give her before.

"Cecilion!" she cried out because she knew too well that no one else had turned her into a vampire except her one and only lover. 

Carmilla suddenly snaps back to the present when she heard the voice of the abyssal prince. She shakes her head as she tries not to be emotional for the pain she feels is still fresh as if those memories happened just yesterday.

"Your Highness, how was your appointment with the princess?" she asks.

"It did not really turn out good but either way, it is not our loss. I assume you stopped the four warriors from closing the portal back to the abyss," Dyrroth replies.

"They are still stuck inside their fears, Your Highness," Carmilla reports.

"Good, let's go back," her master orders, thus, they all walk back to the portal located at the center of the once old village. Before entering back to the portal, Carmilla looks back with the hope of seeing her lover again but Thamuz speaks up.

"Cecilion won't be back. Focus on your duties as the guardian of the portals until we resolve the war," he tells her.

"Yes," she simply replies. 

As they finally get back in the abyss, the portal closed and there's no trace of it being there. As for the four warriors, they manage to get back to reality and the world of illusion has glitched into the darkness.

"Don't you dare speak any word about what you've seen. One word out and I'll cut your tongue, got that?" Guinevere threatens Granger as she holds him by the collar. Lesley and Gusion are both looking at the two who seemed to have also experience something unfathomable.

When Guinevere feels the stares of the other two, she stands up straight with grace and wears a smile.

"I'm glad to see you unscathed, Gusion," she says.

"Let's waste no more time," Lesley interrupts and heads to the village as fast as she could. The others run after her and upon reaching the old village, there is no sign of the abyssal portal.

"We failed," Lesley sighs as she hangs her rifle back behind her.

"If only I took that silver-haired woman, we could not have been trapped in her schemes," Guinevere grits her teeth in annoyance. 

On a dark corner, Gusion notices something that moved. It happened in a split second but he saw someone quietly observing them. He decides to play dumb about it and walks towards the direction where the figure is currently hiding. He looks at the others and they're all busy looking for clues that would help them find out what really happened in that place. 

He summons his daggers as sneaky as he could for the observer not to notice his advancement. He starts to walk away, trying to distract the attention of his target and with just one snap of his fingers, he catches the spy.

A smirk forms on his lips but he never said a word about what he has seen. He simply shuts his mouth and starts to play pretend as if he did nothing.

"Let's go back, there's nothing here," Granger claims.

"Let's camp for the night. It would tire us much if we go back immediately," Gusion suggests.