Scarlet’s Training I
Returning from her visit at the castle, Carmilla goes to the training grounds next to her mansion where a boy that looks like a sixteen year old is currently running after Scarlet with a spiked club made of iron in hand.
When Scarlet sees her aunt return she stops to wave at her, “Hi auntie! How did it-”
WHAM
Getting hit by the club, Scarlet is launched into a wall, hitting her head, “Hey, what the hell was that Miguel!?”
“Don’t get distracted in the middle of combat, idiot. In real life you don’t get second chances.”
“Fine but this isn’t real life! Or I guess it is but like it’s training! At least let me talk to auntie.”
Carmilla speaks up, “This sounds like a good training opportunity! Miguel, your job is to kill me. Scarlet if he hits me I’m dead, go defend me. If you can’t even protect me for ten minutes I won’t tell you about Rose, as for you Miguel if you hit me I’ll get you that costume you wanted.”
“Really!? Sorry Scarlet but I won’t hold back. Minor boost speed.”
Running towards Carmilla, Miguel readies his club to strike while Scarlet runs to intercept.
“Damn it I won’t make it time!” Scarlet yells as she suddenly picks up speed and begins to glow and right before Miguel hits Carmilla she gets one last burst of speed but still barely misses out and Miguel connects his club.
“Hahaha! I win!”
“Damn it! That was unfair! I was way further away than you!”
Carmilla interrupts, “There is no such thing as fairness on the battlefield. You weren’t fast enough and Rose died, so you won’t hear any stories about her today. Though good job on unlocking your first speed boost. It seems this might be a good way to motivate you. I guess I’ll keep visiting Ruby and my niece a little more often from now on.”
Swaying from side to side, Miguel asks sheepishly, “So…Mama the thing about you getting me-”
“Yep, you won so you can have it.”
“Yes! Wooooooooh!”
“Really? I have to wait to hear about my baby sister and you get happy over some costume?”
“Yes! I have been asking mama for years for it.”
“Seven years to be precise…He’s been nagging me for seven years…”
“What costume is it anyways?” Scarlet asks.
“I’ll show you!”
Running inside, Miguel comes back with a clothing catalog and shows a pink flashy dress with weird accessories to her, “This is the latest of the ‘Love! Love! Moon’ series collection. It’s my favorite character's outfit. I already have the side characters outfits but I was waiting on the main characters release! I heard they are also planning to release a special collection of their sun forms soon!”
“A flashy dress again…At this point you probably own more cute dresses than your sister…Are you sure you don’t just want to get it over with and become female already?”
“Nah, I prefer being male but I also like being cute! Wanna come in, take a bath and try on some of my costumes?”
“Sure.”
“Yay! Let me prepare the tea sets!”
Running inside Miguel disappears and Scarlet says, “He seems really happy about those dresses. Why have him wait seven years for them? It’s not like you lack the money.”
Carmilla sighs, “You know, if he at least wanted normal dresses he can wear outside I wouldn’t be so apprehensive but he never takes them out because he’s afraid that they might get irreparably damaged. If I just keep buying them for him our entire house will be full with clothes he only wears at home. And then there is also all the plushies, the ‘action figures’, the paintings, this boy would need a warehouse to get all the stuff he wants stored.”
“I see, kikikiki…”
“...”
“Hey auntie, can you at least tell me if Rose is doing okay?”
“Nope, Rose died because you couldn’t protect her. Next time you better save her if you want to hear the news.”
“Fine…”
A little later in the evening, after dinner, Emillio, Carmilla's husband, joins her on the balcony. He has short, bright yellow hair and a very kind face. He is already partially undressed but still has his unbuttoned work shirt and suit pants on. If it weren’t for his toned body you could easily mistake him for a normal human officer worker.
“So you finally relented, huh?”
“It was a good way to motivate both him and Scarlet…”
“Right, I’m sure it had nothing to do with you just wanting the nagging to stop.”
“Sigh I just don’t like that a lot of the stuff he’s reading is written by sages.”
“Well, maybe you’ll warm up to it in the future. Your niece is about to be a saintess after all. Maybe she can get him some autographs, hahaha.”
“Speaking of…I was actually able to converse with our niece today.”
“Oh? Were your suspicions correct?”
“No. I was completely off the mark.”
“Oh? That’s rare but I guess it is a good thing in this case.”
“I don’t know…In a way I was hoping to see some malice. It’s better than knowing that that child is just severely traumatized.”
“A broken heart can be healed but a spy will always be a traitor.”
“Sigh…I guess that’s true. Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about regarding her.”
“What is it?”
“Well…Turns out that her father is not only a deadbeat but Carlo nearly beat her to death when they first met. Apparently that’s why he’s staying away right now.”
“What…”
Seemingly holding back a lot of rage, most of Emillio’s skin is covered in yellow scales and some draconic features burst forth.
“I’ll kill him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, darling. You know you couldn’t. I do appreciate that you get so angry on her behalf though.”
“Are you joking!? Of course I am! That’s my niece for fucks sake! How dare that bastard lay a finger on my family!?”
“Pfft That caring side is exactly what I love about you.”
Carmilla then licks his face, which causes him to calm down a little. There are still some scales showing but he is not quite as enraged as before.
“Hasn’t that poor girl gone through enough? I feel like I’ve heard only half the story and she still went through more suffering in that short life of hers than most do in a lifetime.”
“That’s why I wanted to ask you something…I know it’s a big ask but if her dad’s not going to reliably be part of her life-”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there for her. I can’t fully replace her father but I can at least be a male role model in her life. Do you think she likes fishing?”
“Pfft She apparently lived with an abusive fish merchant for a while, so it’s a 50/50 on whether she loves the idea because she has some experience or hates it because she has seen enough fish for a lifetime.”
“I see…So better not lead with that?”
“Probably not, no. Chuckle”