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samuraiter ([personal profile] samuraiter) wrote in [community profile] femslashficlets2016-11-17 09:10 pm

FIC: Fangs [Age of Ishtaria – Carmilla / Vlad (Mature)]

Title: Fangs
Fandom: Age of Ishtaria
Pairing: Carmilla / Vlad
Rating: Mature
Prompt: 085 – Blood
Word Count: 840
Summary: A meeting of the two most famous Vampires in literature..

* Note: Because this is Age of Ishtaria, Vlad is canonically female. It is possible to see both her and Carmilla on the Wikia for the game – the main page is linked above.

* * * *

Four times, the circle of black magic on the floor of the Nightmare Rift had disgorged monsters. Four times, Carmilla and her lessers – in her opinion – had defeated them. But the circle had continued to spin, and it had brought forth the Overseer, the one her Knight of Ishtaria had been seeking to add to her coterie of heroes for the sake of gaining a real advantage in the Union Wars that continued to rage across all of Ishtaria.

If her Knight had been using her head, though, she might have realized that one did not go into the Nightmare Rift unless one had every confidence that one could overpower its Overseer. And she had come in search of one of the strongest among them.

Carmilla stood by and observed as the others attacked the Overseer, only to be cast aside by a spear that flashed as red as blood as it danced through their ranks. Her Knight looked up at her, uncertain as to whether or not to beseech her to join the combat and try to overpower the enemy, but Carmilla had always been the one to make the decisions. After all, she had allowed her Knight to keep her life despite being too strong for her to control, and she did not hesitate to remind her of that act of mercy.

Flamberge landed on the floor in front of her, blinking her eyes as if she still expected to be on her feet, her sword of fire at the ready, but her speed, impressive as it could be, had no meaning in the face of the Overseer that had so quickly repelled her blade.

Carmilla walked past Flamberge, saying to her, as if scolding a small child, "You be the one to defend our Knight. Allow me to handle this situation, if you please." And yet she did not call up her magic. She simply stood in front of the Overseer as the other heroes pulled back to treat their wounds and surround their Knight to keep her safe. And she called to her: "How long has it been, Vlad, since you and I fought? Years? Centuries?"

"Impossible to reckon," the Overseer – Vlad, indeed – replied, recognition blossoming in blue-green eyes that otherwise seemed as cold and impassive as the stars in the night sky, "but I have not forgotten, Carmilla. Well met." She sneered. "And do you mean to fight me here, too, as these others have tried to do? I might enjoy that distraction."

"That you might," Carmilla admitted, "but my Knight has come into this place to recruit you, not destroy you. Alas, to do that, she needs to overpower you, but that does not seem to be in the cards tonight. Thus, I must ask you if you are willing to strike a bargain. Will you hear me out, or should I expect to come up against that spear of blood you always carry?" Her tone sounded playful, but she had no mirth in her eyes.

"I am listening," Vlad said. "Come and speak to me." The light of the circle dimmed, and Carmilla stepped into it. There, none of the others could hear them talking. "I am, of course, willing to lend you a little of my time if you have a fair trade to offer."

"You could use a little time outside this gods-forsaken cavern, admit it," Carmilla chided her. "What say you and I pay my Knight a visit and drink deep of her, hmm?"

"Another one not strong enough to handle you? A pity." Vlad did not smile, as a general rule, but the gleam in her eyes betrayed her mirth. "A virgin sacrifice, perhaps?"

"Ah, yes, very much so." Carmilla nodded once, smiling evenly. "You and I can fix that, though. It would be my honor and pleasure to sup from the same table as you."

"You are too kind, milady," Vlad said, inclining her head as a show of respect. "In return, I shall journey by your side for three days. After that, I must return here." No sadness in her face, since she denied herself that emotion, but a shadow seemed to pass across her. "You and I never have enough time to talk of the things we have seen over the centuries. Perhaps that can be changed for us, one of these days?"

"Perhaps," Carmilla said, "but, until then, why not live in the moment?" She extended one lace-wrapped hand for Vlad to shake. "For those three days, at least."

"Why not, indeed?" Vlad accepted that hand, kissing the back of it instead of shaking it.

The young Knight of Ishtaria did not realize how far she had overstepped herself until she departed the Nightmare Rift and pitched camp. That night, two white-haired shadows appeared in her tent as if the darkness itself had spawned them, and she swiftly learned that Vampires, over the hundreds of years of their lives, had developed a deep understanding of not only pain, but also pleasure and the blurry space between.

END.