But that wasn’t of importance now. He couldn’t believe his eyes, seeing this new Carmilla, having turned into a monster that only looked beautiful on the outside. The way she lay in the bathtub, enjoying it, was as if she was devoid of all heart and soul. She didn’t care about the girls she killed. She didn’t even flinch or feel sorry for them. She loved killing them, feeding on their youth and bathing in their elixir of life.
Loki tried to avoid staring too long at the horrible scene. He imagined there were dead girls—now old—lying on the floor somewhere and he was grateful he didn’t see them or he’d have ended up screaming and he didn’t want his presence to manifest itself in the dream. This newly turned Queen would be more than happy to kill him and Snow White in this dream. His eyes caught silhouettes of the poor girls on the floor, and his brain refused to comprehend. It was just a dream, he told himself. He’d wake up with Snow White when the Waker’s sand finished falling, and they’d both be both alright.
“My mother started breaking the spells she had created on the borders to occupy my father with the exhausting war against vampires. It diverted the locals from digging deeper into the mystery of the disappearing young women, focusing on the war instead. They thought the disappearances were caused by the few vampires sneaking into the kingdom.”
The Queen stood up in the tub. The servants covered her body with a white robe with pearls sewn into it. She pulled it closer with her chin up, sniffing the scent of blood and steam, feeling the power of youth running in her veins. A servant handed her the crown and she put it on her head before the servant started braiding it into her hair again. Another servant rolled her favorite mirror back into the bathhouse. The Queen stared at herself in it. Although her lips dripped with blood and her body was covered in it the mirror deceived her with the most beautiful reflection. The Queen’s mouth curved slowly into a victorious smile. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall,” she said slowly.
“It’s Mary, Mary, on the wall, my Queen,” Bloody Mary said happily.
“Who is the fairest of them all?” the Queen of Sorrow asked again.
“Finally, she could see her reflection in the mirror and indulge in her vanity,” Snow White narrated as Loki watched. “And of course, no matter how I sucked on her energy, she’d become immune as long as she was one of them and slayed more girls.”
“Horrible,” Loki said. “I just can’t believe this is the Carmilla who sacrificed everything for you and Angel.”
“She needed more blood, more girls, and another bloodbath. Like people addicted to drugs, she was addicted to her beauty and youth in the mirror. Sometimes, I think it was the only way for her to forget her evil nature. What good was immortality if it was without youth and beauty?”
“You my majesty are the fairest of them all,” Bloody Mary said.
“Her cravings grew stronger and stronger,” Snow White continued. “And there were side effects of bathing in blood. The more she repeated the bloodbaths the more her skin and health deteriorated in the absence of the ceremonies. One bloodbath would gift her with three days—a week at most—of prosperous health and exceptional beauty. Then it was time for another bloodbath or she would grow older, faster than before.
“Did she try to hurt you?” Loki asked, holding her tighter.
“Not then,” Snow White said. “She became selfish, and her bloodbaths killed her true heart. She didn’t realize she had become a killer. Black holes filled her heart day by day, a step closer to turning her into the likes of my immortal grandfather, Night Sorrow. She denied my father her blood, claiming she had become weakened by the process and being tired of it; that he had to respect her wishes and find a another way to feed himself. She wanted him weakened and hesitant of his love for her and his need for her blood. And he was so busy with the war that he didn’t see the big picture or her terrible plans. And of course, she had little time for me. She grew more distant, looking at me in strange ways and avoiding conversation. I think she was trying to find a way to fight her cravings, but was worried about her sudden aging whenever she stopped the bloodbaths. And then…”
“And then what?” Loki gasped.