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There was a kitten following her.
And Carmilla was getting married.
The two weren’t particularly connected but keeping an eye out for the kitten was a good way to distract herself from reality.
Laura had first spotted it at breakfast, watching a tiny black kitten scamper out of Perry’s way as she brought Laura’s breakfast. Laura had waved it off, sometimes strays got in. But then she’d seen the same cat when she’d returned her morning ride, a black puffball lurking in the rafters as she forced the groom to let her take care of her own horse.
Now it was back. Once a week her afternoons were spent watching her father answer requests from his people and Laura had insisted that she be allowed to join. A princess needs to know her people. The King thought it was too dangerous. She wanted three days a week. He wanted none. Carmilla had forced them to compromise at one.
Back when she was still here. Every summer. Best friends. Princess and Countess.
Except this summer.
Because of some girl.
Elle. Apparently. Because Laura hadn’t even met her. Just heard about her from Carmilla’s letters over the winter. Some other Princess from a faraway kingdom who had swept her best friend off her feet.
She was going to marry some other Princess and be whisked away to who knows where and how was that fair.
Laura shook her head. Focus. From her perch next to her father’s throne, she had a view of the whole room. Including the black kitten that had simply stared at her for nearly two hours from it’s perch behind an unobservant guard’s feet.
Laura breathed easier when it trotted off into some dark corner. Her father was tolerant of the strays but not in his throne room.
Still, when she woke up the next morning, it was a little surprising to find it sitting on her chest.
When she opened her eyes, the darkness told her that it wasn’t near time for her to be up. Her eyes crossed as she took in the light weight on her sternum. A fuzzy kitten was kneading at her neck. She gasped and snatched it, sitting up.
The kitten yowled in protest, wiggling against her fingers.
“Shhhhhhh,” Laura pleaded, “you do not want Perry to find you in here. That would not end well.”
The kitten didn’t seem to care, continuing to squirm as though she’d trapped it behind iron bars.
“Shhhhhhh,” Laura repeated. Her thumbs moved slowly, stroking up and down the tiny back. The fur was incredibly soft under her skin, tickling between her fingers, “I’m not going to hurt you buddy. You just scared me and now I need you to shush.”
She kept stroking, watching as the kitten’s movements slowly faded away until it hung limply in her hands. For a moment, she thought she heard a purr but it was gone before she could verify the noise. Laura settled back into bed, flipping the kitten around so she could see it’s face.
It’s tiny cute face. She couldn’t help the smiled, “You are so adorable, aren’t you.”
The kitten’s face morphed into something that looked seriously pissed. It squinted at her and flicked an ear. Wiggling again and bared tiny white teeth at her.
She tapped it’s nose and it looked particularly offended, “None of that, grumpy face.”
The kitten was cute. She didn’t care what it thought. It was barely bigger than her hand, coal black, with the tiniest tail and paws that Laura immediately wanted to stroke. And there was just so much personality in it’s face, the deep brown eyes staring out at her easily conveying the kitten’s mood. Almost eerily well.
She let it wiggle out of her hands, watching carefully in case it bolted. She was relieved when it sat right on her collar bone, giving her a haughty look as they stared at each other.
Slowly she reached out and scratched it on the head. It flicked an ear, as though it wanted her to think it was indifferent but the subtle pressing against her fingers said otherwise. The kitten’s eyes closing as it arched.
When her hand slid down to its chin, the kitten seemed to catch itself. It moved away from her hand, paused, and then started nuzzling at her neck. Laura giggled, the soft fur tickling as the kitten pressed up towards her jaw.
It kept going, rubbing it’s head across her chin until it was pressed against her lips. The tips of the kitten’s ears grazing the skin on either side of her mouth. Laura didn’t even have to think about it. It was so small and so cute and so soft.
She pressed a quick kiss to the top of it’s head.
And suddenly her mouth wasn’t full of soft kitten fur but equally soft black locks. And the weight on her chest grew significantly. The hair pulled back from her face and Laura almost screamed. Almost. The smell was too familiar, too immediately calming for her to scream.
Carmilla was straddling her chest where the kitten had been. Slowly, she rolled her shoulders, legs still bracketing Laura’s sides, “Took you long enough, Princess.”
Laura froze. That was not possible. So so so not possible. Her hands grabbed at Carmilla’s sides, squeezing lightly as though she was about to slip away from her. But she was here. And real. Here.
Laura shot up, forcing Carmilla to slide back into her lap, “Carmilla! I. What? How are you here? You’re supposed to be like a thousand miles away getting married.” Her fingers squeezed Carmilla’s side a little tighter, “And the cat. The kitten? Was that you? There was a cute kitten and now there’s you and…” Laura’s eyes bulged slightly, “were you the kitten? You totally were the kitten. That’s the only thing that makes sense because there was the kitten and it was following me all day and it was right here and then it disappeared and now you’re here and how did that happen.” Laura raised her chin and narrowed her eyes, “explain.”
Carmilla frowned, “I’m not cute.”
“What?” That threw Laura, “Really? That’s what you’re taking out of this. The fact that I called you cute?” Not to mention, it was an accurate description. In either form.
“Not cute.” Carmilla repeated.
“You. Were. A. Cat.” Laura said, “who cares if you were cute or not?”
Carmilla mumbled something that vaguely sounded like ‘I do.’
Laura plunged on, “Literally a human as a cat. How in the world did that happen? LIke I know magic is a thing but seriously, not something I ever thought would just coming slamming me in the face. And I’m still not entirely sure that this isn’t some kind of weird dream because there was a cat and now there’s you and you’re here and you’re not...” the words getting married stuck to Laura’s tongue, “and you’re not not-here. And yupp, this definitely has to be a dream. Perry was right. I’ve eaten too much sugar and it’s backfiring.”
Fingers tweaked the end of her nose, pulling slightly and cutting off the words, “Still think I’m a dream cupcake?” Carmilla’s hand dropped to her waist, settling in the groove of her hip.
Laura bunched the offended facial feature, “You know I can have you killed for injuring your future Queen.”
“I’m doing you a favour, cupcake,” Carmilla smirked, “that button nose could use a few inches. Makes for better statues.”
Laura stuck out her tongue.
“Ah, yes,” Carmilla said, “There’s the mature monarch I remember.”
Remember. The word brought Laura back to the situation at hand. A word that implied she’d nearly been forgotten.
“Cat, Carmilla,” Laura said, “Seriously, explain.”
There was silence. Laura’s eyes tracked her best friends face, arms winding around Carmilla’s back to pull her closer the longer Laura watched. It was impressively impassive. To most. But to Laura there was hurt written all over Carmilla’s features as her friend stared off at nothing. Hurt pulling the corners of her mouth down and aging the colour of her eyes and causing the quiver in her chin.
Laura was suddenly extremely thankful that she had an army at her disposal. This was anything but okay.
She swept her thumb in circles on the small of Carmilla’s back, only now noting the odd clothes Carmilla was wearing. Peasant's clothes. Dirt falling onto her sheets. Laura didn’t care.
Not when something inside Carmilla looked like it was cracking.
“Carm,” she said softly.
Carmilla head turned slowly away from the wall, her eyes locking on Laura’s. Carmilla’s hand gripped a little tighter at her hips. Laura held her eyes, watching the hurt flicker out of them, slowly replaced with something else. And Carmilla breathed, perhaps fully for the first time since she’d appeared in Laura’s bed. A large exhale that easily danced over Laura’s face and reminded her just how close they were together.
Carmilla’s legs straddling her hips. Hands on her waist. Laura’s arms encircling Carmilla. Nearly nose to nose. Stomach’s pressed together.
This was a very thin nightgown.
She should tell Carmilla to move.
She dismissed the idea before it even fully took form. This would never happen again. Might as well preserve the memory. Reality easily beating the daydream.
“What happened?” Laura asked. She had a kingdom and an army and a big pile of gold in the basement. She would make this better.
Carmilla eyes snapped away from hers, just as they looked like they were healing. “Well,” Carmilla said. The voice was too light. “I certainly can’t recommend ever getting help from a witch.”
“A witch.” Laura’s arms drew back and she jammed her hands under the sheets where Carmilla couldn’t see the clench of her fists even as everything in her screamed to pull Carmila to her chest. Carmilla couldn’t know. Carmilla could never know. Carmilla was still here. She was fine. The witch hadn’t taken her. She was here. On Laura’s lap. Warm and real and maybe a kitten but here.
So she she schooled her voice, “A witch! Carm! You went to a witch. That’s insane. You know that witches are crafty and have double meanings. Didn’t your Mom ever tell you that? It’s like rule one. Witches are will trick you and take everything.”
“I know,” the words were soft. Carmilla looking down as her arms retreated from Laura’s waist to cross in front of her chest.
Of course she did. Of course she knew. She’d just been a cat.
Laura stared at her, helplessly. Battling the urge to pull her close, “So, just, why?”
“Elle”
“Oh.” Laura couldn’t stop the small noise.
Carmilla choked out something between a laugh and a sob, “I was stupid. Blinded. I knew better and I still let myself…”
Laura didn’t want to fight herself anymore. Her hands raced out, grabbing Carmilla and pulling her down into the embrace. She didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to hear about what Carmilla would do for her Princess Elle. But Carmilla was hurting. That would not stand.
Carmilla’s head settled in the crook of her neck.
“I’m sorry,” Laura said.
Carmilla didn’t respond.
They sat for a while. Darkness watching over them in the bedroom as Carmilla hunched into Laura, no noise but for their breathing and a soft hum from Laura’s lips as she rocked them softly back and forth. It was nice. Even as terrible as it was, it was nice. To pretend. Just for a moment.
But there was still a question lingering.
“You didn’t,” Laura said at last, “actually ask the witch to turn you into a cat, did you? Because I’m a little lost as to how that relates to anything.”
She felt rather than saw Carmilla smile into her neck, “No Princess,” the sarcastic tone made Laura smile too, “it was my deepest wish to be transformed into a tiny fluffball.”
“Then why?”
Carmilla shrugged, “they said that there would be a price. A physical manifestation of the separation.” Laura frowned at the word, “I guess the cat was it.”
“But you’re not a cat now,” Laura said, “that’s not the most menacing price if it just wears off.”
Carmilla looked vaguely guilty about something.
Laura tilted her head, “Unless it didn’t just wear off?”
Carmilla mumbled something into her chest. Laura rolled her eyes and yanked Carmilla up to head height, “Carm?”
Carmilla took a breath and shot Laura a smirk, “Well, you did kiss me. Isn’t that how the stories go?”
Laura’s brain blanked. You kissed me. Stories. Fairytales. You kissed me. True Love’s…
She just stared at Carmilla. The same set of words swirling in her head. She saw Carmilla frown, apparently perturbed by Laura’s silence.
“That was part of it,” Carmilla said, the smirk dropped away and even through her haze Laura could see something vulnerable in Carmilla’s eyes, “There’s always a loophole. The witch said a kiss from my princess and the price would be resolved.”
My Princess. Carmilla’s princess. Princess as in technically ruler princess or, more, as in…
“Princess Hollis!” the door flung open and Perry was standing in the doorway. All pinched lips and raging curls, “it is 4 in the morning and all I can hear is voices and”
Perry drew up short when she caught the sight in the room, mouth flapping for a moment. “and Countess Karnstein.”
Carmilla gave her a small wave.
Perry took a deep breath, “I’m going to turn around, walk out with the Countess and pretend I didn’t see all,” she waved a hand, “this.”
Then Laura remembered that she was only wearing a nightdress and had Carmilla literally draped over her body, in bed, at night, with Carmilla looking like she just climbed in the window, when she was supposed to be getting married.
To someone else.
Who was also a Princess.
My Princess. Oh.
Laura’s face flamed even as Carmilla jumped back from Laura. She slowly got off the bed, tossed her hair, and gave Perry a wink.
“Carm!” Laura moaned, “Perry,” she said, “we weren’t. We didn’t. Carmilla’s just here to visit.”
“Of course, she is,” Perry said. Laura wondered if any of them believed it, “I do wish you’d have sent word though. I would have prepared a room. Regardless,” she gestured to Carmilla, “come along, Countess.”
The two left, Carmilla’s eyes following her until the door closed.
Laura slumped into the pillows.
Carmilla went to a witch, was cursed, turned into a kitten, followed her around all day and then literally turned back into a human in front of her and all Laura could think about was stupid Princess Elle. She groaned, slapping a pillow across her face.
But even that couldn’t smother the tiny bit of hope flickering. She had turned Carmilla back. She had broken the curse. Maybe, just maybe, that meant something.
Laura fell asleep with a smile on her lips and smell of Carmilla on her sheets.
But morning always brings new revelations. Perry had run into her room, screeching that Carmilla had disappeared. Laura had sprinted through the hallways and burst into Carmilla’s usual guest room. Perry babbling behind her before leaving to go check the castle.
Only then had a tiny black kitten crawled out from under the mussed bedsheets, giving a pathetic mew to get her attention.
Laura scooped it up and her heart broke. The technical princess was enough to put the curse on hold but not enough to break it. That required something deeper. Something that she’d always known only went one way, but broke her heart to have confirmed.
Still she kissed the kitten on the head and her arms were full of Carmilla.
Laura forced a laugh, pulling away, “I’m going to have to have a word with this witch. What is the world coming to when the Princess you love trumps your sovereign ruler in the magical hierarchy of Princess powers.”
There was a pause, “Yeah,” Carmilla’s voice was rough. Laura could image the transformation was hard on the vocal cords, “We’re going to have to have a discussion about the definition of ‘mine’.”