A Ghost of a Chance

As Good As You'll Get

"Uhm, hi, Carmilla," Laura says shyly, clearly trying not to freak out. The picture of the portrait is still up on her laptop screen. "So... you're not Mircalla Karnstein?"

"I am and I'm not."

"Gee, can you vague that up for me?" Laura asks, crossing her arms with a huff.

Carmilla chuckles. "I was born Mircalla Karnstein. You heard about my murder and how the entire estate got torn apart and sold off bit by bit, including the possessions. It didn't feel like this was my home anymore, so I changed my name to Carmilla. Haven't gone by Mircalla for a very long time, hon."

Laura nods. "Makes sense."

Carmilla narrows her eyes at Laura. "You seem oddly okay with having a conversation with a centuries-old ghost."

Laura shrugs. "I mean, it's not like you kept your presence here a secret." She gestures at all the fallen objects around her, obviously annoyed. "You've been moving my stuff, stealing my things, hitting me with stuff..."

"Ah, that last part's been an accident," Carmilla admits. "I've never made the house shake before you came here. New territory for me."

"Oh, but you're proud of moving my stuff and stealing my things?" Laura asks, her voice getting increasingly shrill.

Carmilla snickers. "Quite so, cupcake."

"And that's it? You've been around for almost four centuries and your main hobby is stealing people's things?" Laura frowns.

"You do realize I've been watching your every move since you've moved in, right? I know you're investigating the rash of dead girls that have lived here over the years," Carmilla states bluntly.

Laura swallows hard. "You expect me to believe that you've been killing girls for hundreds of years?"

"It's the truth," Carmilla sighs. "Every twenty years I lure as many girls as I can to be slaughtered." She does a curtsy and a bow. "You have your monster."

"I refuse to believe you're a monster," Laura says immediately.

Carmilla scoffs. This was certainly not the reply she was expecting, but she now has no intention of letting Laura become a victim. Chasing her away is the only option. "Believe what you want."

Laura shakes her head. "I want your side of the story. And then let me decide for myself if you're really a monster."

Carmilla lets out an exasperated sigh. "You're a stubborn, obstinate little thing, you know that?"

Laura nods proudly.

Carmilla shrugs and sits down on a chair next to her. "Where should I begin?"

Laura puffs out her cheeks adorably. "You were born here. Tragically murdered in a revolt in 1698 during a ball. Then what?"

"I woke up in the house to find out my body had already been removed from the premises," Carmilla continues. "Found out I was able to move through objects. The next group of people moved in and I decided to start killing the girls. If I couldn't live a full life, then why should they?"

Laura looks a bit taken aback, which is the effect Carmilla wants. Since she hasn't been able to scare Laura by traditional spook tactics, then she might as well give her the monster she's looking for, even if it's through lies.

The shock in Laura's eyes is quickly erased with a newfound determination. "No."

"No?" Carmilla asks, amused.