Forever Charmed

Epi(c)logue

The video starts, with Laura's tongue sticking out as she centers it and makes sure the lighting is good.

"Oh, oops. Accidentally started recording already," Laura giggles.

There's a sigh off-screen before Carmilla walks past her, dragging a dolly with boxes on it. "Uh huh. Sure, Hollis. You're probably just stalling helping me unpack."

Laura's mouth drops open. "Excuse you, who's the one who loaded all these boxes onto the dolly while you sat there mumbling, 'well, it's not my stuff, cutie?'"

Carmilla chuckles on the other side of the room. "I mean, it's not."

"I'm highly offended," Laura grumbles.

Carmilla appears behind her and places a kiss on the top of her head. "You're so short, you're not highly anything."

"You're only an inch taller than me," Laura sighs with a scowl.

Carmilla opens her mouth, but Laura already knows what she's about to say.

"It's an important inch," they say together, Laura saying it a less amused manner.

Carmilla laughs. "I think you've caught my grumpiness, cupcake."

"I just hope I don't catch your uselessness," Laura teases, her scowl finally breaking as she smiles and leans up to give Carmilla a kiss on the lips.

Carmilla grins and gives her a kiss back. She settles into the spot beside Laura and Laura adjusts the frame so both of them are centered.

"Well, you've already started recording. Might as well keep going?" Carmilla suggests.

"What happened to, 'posterity can bite me?'" Laura imitates Carmilla jokingly.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. "Ah, shut up and speak, creampuff."

Laura giggles with a nod and looks into the camera. "Hi, Magic School peeps! Well, it's been a few months since the whole ritual thing. Carm and I are moving into the small house across the street from the Coven. That way, we can have our own privacy, but we're close enough to still help out, and I still get access to the Nexus underneath their house."

"And there's a big sign outside that reads 'if your hair is red, knock or you'll be dead," Carmilla states proudly.

"Yeeeeah... I'm still not sure if that's an actual curse or not," Laura points out. Carmilla shrugs.

"Anyway. In case you missed it, the Elders confirmed what Lili–– uhm, the Dean said. With Vordenberg's sacrifice, the gates of Hell will remain closed for centuries. Carm and I went to the alternate reality and gave Alternate Carmilla and Mattie info on how we closed the gates here, so Alt Carm went to whatever was left of the Elders to try and get Clarke's soul out to talk to Vordie."

Laura looks at Carmilla, who gives her a small encouraging smile to continue.

"It didn't work right away, but she eventually got him to see reason. Now they've gotta wait for when the ritual can be done again, and he's gonna give himself up to close the gates. The main problem being that between other-Me's sacrifice, and the entire army of people Vordenberg gave up, it's gonna take a while. But... it's something. And, heck, if he changes his mind, I'll probably be strong enough to use my powers on him. I mean, I don't want to, but I can. I guess."

"You're rambling, buttercup," Carmilla points out gently.

"Right! Sorry," Laura says, blushing. "Magic School has asked me to start teaching a new course for part of the semester on the ethics of using powers. Before, we were taught to use our powers to defend ourselves no matter what. And to protect innocents, of course. But this part of the morals course is meant to teach students that maybe magic shouldn't be your go-to. Maybe there are other courses of action that will make you an even better witch, because it means you won't get complacent or reliant on your powers. It means you'll learn to use your wits and trust yourself and those around you."