The Mistletoe
Chapter XVII

The following days were, let’s say, strange, not to say embarrassing. During the day, I did my routine tasks, and at night, I tried to communicate with the raven. It’s not like I could actually talk to animals, but I needed a clue, something to help me confront the beast.

Training sessions with Laura’s father made me realize how good I was with weapons, be it firearms or blades. Many hunters were starting to track the beast, but it seemed unbeatable.

One day while chopping wood, I felt Carmilla behind me, staring intently.

“Good afternoon, Miguel. How have you been feeling? I see you work very diligently.”

“Fine,” I said. “It’s the deal I made with Laura’s father. As long as I’m here, I have to help with the chores.”

She let out a slight sigh and asked, “How long do you plan to stay here? Do you have any plans?”

“Umm... I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’ll leave when the beast is gone. Laura’s father is very involved, and he asked me to help, especially because of my firsthand experience with that kind of animal, you know, the one I had when I arrived here and the other one recently. How is Laura?” I asked.

“Much better. She seems to be getting her colors back. The doctor will come, I think in two days, and Laura’s father is much calmer now.”

Then she came towards me and did something utterly bizarre. She touched my cheeks with her hands and then my forehead, as if I had a fever.

“Have you been feeling like Laura lately? Any symptoms?” She asked, looking at me with a slight smile, a worried expression on her face.

“Uh, I don’t think so. I usually have good health. Besides, the illness seemed to only affect girls, right? I haven’t heard any cases related to males.”

There was an incredibly uncomfortable pause, and she didn’t release her hands from my face. I could swear by the way she was looking at me that she was going to bite me or eat me as if I were some kind of fruit or candy. I used that moment to ask her about her relationship with Laura because everything was making me uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to get into trouble or misunderstandings.

“Are... you and Laura... girlfriends? A couple?”

She gave a small smile and finally stopped touching my cheeks. “No, not at all, we’re just friends. I’d never fall in love with anyone.”

“Is she teasing me?” I thought. “I saw them together!” I considered telling her what I saw, but if I did, I’d look like a pervert and have big problems. We’d all have big problems, so I played dumb.

Carmilla furrowed her brow, then smiled mischievously and asked, “Why do you ask? Did you see something?”

“Oh no...!” I thought. “What if she noticed when I peeked through the window? No, God, no, how embarrassing!”

She pinched my cheek, and I said, “You’re quite the sly one, my dear Miguel! Always snooping around, I get it now… I’m not that foolish.” She sat, crossing her legs, and continued. “Let’s say we were... experimenting... nothing more, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. But I ask you not to say anything, please. Poor Laura is very shy, and her father wouldn’t tolerate anything like that, would he?”

As I said, I never judge people, nor do I want to get involved in their affairs, but I needed to know in case there were misunderstandings. The last thing I wanted was to get involved in a situation that would divert me from going back home.

“I promise I won’t say anything, but close the curtains next time,” I joked.

“And why were you out so late? You must be quite good at climbing. Don’t tell me you were spying on poor Laura!” She looked at me with surprised eyes.

“No, no, no, no! It’s not what you think... I wanted to track the wolf, you know, it ended up being crazy, but I was worried it might come back here. Well, in hindsight, it wasn’t the best decision, I guess,” I smiled.

“I believe you,” she said. “Perhaps you felt unwell, and that distracted you. Can I ask you something, between friends?”

“Go ahead,” I affirmed.

“Do you like Laura? I see you’ve formed a very good friendship, and she thinks a lot about you, although she won’t admit it. She always ends up talking about you in our private conversations.”

I felt I needed to take a break before answering such a question; I had to be careful not to put my foot in it.

“No, we’re just friends. I need to focus on what Laura’s father entrusted me with and then return to my travels,” I finally said.

It was clear that I needed to detach myself from the dynamics between Laura and Carmilla because I didn’t know how getting involved would affect the timeline. And as I would eventually return to the present, it would be challenging if I mixed my feelings.

Carmilla gave me another glance after surveying the surroundings and then pondered something.

“I get the impression that I’ve never seen you tired or sweaty. I haven’t seen you sick either.”

“I nearly died at the hands of a wolf, and you say that?” I added.

“Good point,” she affirmed. “Tell me, did you leave a girlfriend back in your land? I’m sure you did.”

“Um... actually... no, I was single when I came here. Let’s say that the work in my land didn’t leave me time for those things,” I explained.

Carmilla’s eyes widened. “You’ve never had a girlfriend! And your first kiss? Any adventures there?”

I shook my head and shrugged.

She stared at me for a moment and said, “I appreciate you confessing that; I feel like we’re closer friends now. But I can’t believe it; don’t lie to me. Don’t you notice that even the maids notice your presence? You confuse me too sometimes, I must admit. I guess you know I’m not interested in boys. But there’s something there, in that face, that confuses me. I’d like to meet your parents; they must be very handsome, almost divine.”

I wanted to smile but held back to not ruin the compliment for her. Maybe she was being sarcastic, but I’ll take it in good faith. It was clear to her that I was interested in Laura, and I didn’t want to admit it, but honestly, Carmilla was making it very difficult for me.

She stood up, took a deep breath, and looked around. Carmilla began to fidget, and she seemed to clench her hands tightly, closing her eyes. I asked her, “Are you okay? Should I take you home?”

She observed me attentively and whispered, “You confuse me…”

Suddenly, she held my face in her hands and started kissing me. I was completely in shock and didn’t know what to do, but a part of me didn’t want to move. I shook myself and finally managed to gently remove her from my face.

She looked at me in shock and said, “I’m s-so sorry... I’ll go see Laura.”

She hurriedly walked out, and I finally managed to catch my breath.

“Was that it? Was that my first kiss?! That was messed up, no, I didn’t want it like that. Why didn’t I react in time? You have the reflexes of a cat to stop a Peuchen’s tail swipe, and you couldn’t move your head in time for this!?” Damn, this was wrong, God, this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It was meant to be something memorable.

After gathering myself, I went to the bathroom and bathed in cold water; I had to clear my mind, and things were getting complicated. Dealing with the beast that haunted the town and being unarmed against the creature was no longer enough; now, I had to deal with this. Things were going to get very, very uncomfortable, and I could sense it.

I lay down on my bed and started reading Don Quixote, which was almost finished, but I couldn’t finish it. I couldn’t concentrate. Carmilla had embedded herself in my brain like some sort of plant that was beginning to sprout and slowly grow in my mind.

“Was this what happened to Laura?” I remembered spending days, seeing Carmilla whispering sweet nothings in her ear and saying provocative things that seemed very cheesy to me, but I began to understand what she probably felt.

What did Carmilla mean by “You confuse me”? Was it me who confused her? She seemed to hate me for it, it was becoming melodramatic; she probably read too many romance novels, but it was ironic that now I seemed to be part of her melodrama.

I looked out the window, trying to remember why I was here, covered myself, and closed my eyes.

I dreamed that I was back in my room; I had my computer by my side, and from a corner, I could see the cat I had seen in the hotel.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” I asked him.

Walking stealthily, as it reached my bed it began to transform, into what looked like a beautiful woman. She slowly approached me, until we were face to face.

I could see her face finally illuminated by the moonlight, it was Carmilla herself. She was whispering things in my ear and trying to pay attention.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she whispered, “What have you done to me?”

She seemed to be trying to do something to my neck, but she got frustrated, aggressive. Then she started kissing me and... “Licking my lips?”

I felt a little dizzy, it was a similar sensation to the Peuchen whistle, but more subtle. She began to suck my lower lip in a rather strange way. “Is this how women kiss?” I thought, but I didn’t move, I was almost paralyzed. Her behavior became more erratic, more wild, like an animal, while she seemed to really work at it, she was trying very hard, then little by little I started to recover and I felt that I could move.

I woke up that morning feeling a bit disoriented but with the same energy as the previous days. I used to have those dreams during adolescence, but I guess the impression from the previous day got stuck in my brain, so I tried not to give it more importance.

I washed my face and started the day with my usual tasks. That day, Carmilla had prepared tea for Laura and me, and she asked us to have breakfast together, to socialize and relax from the tense days the beast had put us through.

Laura already looked much better. Her face had regained its color, and she was in a very good mood, just like Carmilla, who personally served me a cup of tea.

“How did you sleep, Miguel?” asked Laura.

“Fine. I had a pretty weird dream, but nothing out of this world.”

“Oh!” said Laura. “Tell us! Maybe we can interpret it!” She seemed very excited.

Carmilla, who sat between us, seemed focused on her teacup and blew on it.

“Um... It’s nothing important,” I said, feeling really embarrassed to tell them.

“Come on! I’m dying of curiosity,” Laura insisted.

“It’s just that I hardly remember anything...” I said. “Um... I was just dreaming about my homeland, my room, nothing more.”

“Oh, you must miss your family a lot. I imagine you’ll have to leave someday,” Laura said, sounding a bit sad after saying that.

“Let’s enjoy the tea while it’s hot!” Carmilla insisted, emphasizing our cups.

Besides our cups, there were two teapots, one seemed to be for Laura, while the other was shared between Carmilla and me.

“Have you noticed something, Miguel?” Laura smiled at me, then looked at Carmilla.

“Oh!” I said. “You prepared breakfast? Thank you so much, Carmilla, that’s very kind of you!” I thanked her for the gesture.

Laura had given her friend a tender handshake as a sign of gratitude and was very happy that we could share this moment together. There were few times when we could have dinner together, let alone breakfast.

Carmilla only had a teacup, and I attacked what was on the table, while Laura laughed uncontrollably at the way I was eating. I hadn’t realized, but it was the first time I had seen Carmilla up so early, and she seemed more radiant than usual.

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