To Surrender

Elle had fought, and she had raged. For years, she had battled against the dying light of her life. Even after her luck had run out, the very last of her life leaving her body, she continued to struggle. But although she had died, her endurance and perseverance was such that she managed to escape his iron clutches, her own grip stronger even than that of the Reaper himself. Then, after clawing her way from death's door, she crawled back over to life's. She was still screaming, long after her she had taken her last breath, refusing to go down or give up. She would not let go or surrender. She would not die or quit. No matter who, or what, came in her way, Elle continued to move forward, endless and unstoppable. She had trained herself over the decades to be this strong, fierce and persistent, and all of that training was paying off. How else could one little girl, who had once been known for her submissiveness, have survived against death enough to reach limbo and stand a foot away from life once again?

And this was almost made all the funnier by the fact that this dead Elle had been the total opposite in life. In life, she had been kind and gentle, forgiving and understanding, compassionate and caring, selfless and friendly, warm and open, trusting and trusted. In life, Elle had been the epitome of innocence and purity, beloved by all who knew her because she really was one of the most loving and charming souls around. She had been so quick to yield, surrender and compromise, hardly ever standing up for herself or demanding anything. She gave in to every demand she received and seldom tried to fight back for her own desires, considering peace, harmony and unity to outweigh any personal or individual desires she might've possessed. Self-sacrificing was a very good term to describe that Elle, always giving and never taking, no matter the personal cost, just so long as a sense of community and kinship remained. But that had been the Living Elle. When death managed to take her, even though it was only temporary, she had suddenly become just as opposite of that Elle as life was to death.

Now, this Dead Elle had not only lost all of her kind, gentle innocence and purity, but she also had, in a fit of self-grandiose, even declared herself the mightiest soldier to ever live, for none before her had ever been quite strong enough to defy death, but she had. She no longer yielded or submitted to anyone or anything and compromise was a word that no longer existed in her vernacular. There was only victory, winners or losers. There was no in between and there was certainly no surrender. But how could there be? When one combatted death, no equivocations could be made and nothing came without a price. This was a lesson Elle had learned all too well and to surrender was to lose all. This idea was one the girl had come to view as a core concept to her identity after she had escaped death.

But even though she had escaped death, she had not yet reentered life. She was still in that limbo stage. But not one to be deterred by anything anymore, the young woman wasted no time in hatching a plan that would help her take that last step from this existence into her old one. The very first idea had been to infiltrate the dreams of a girl named Laura Hollis, who was currently dating her ex, Carmilla Karnstein. Laura and Elle had a special connection, bonded through the trials and tribulations associating with Carmilla always brought around. Sure, Laura didn't know just how deeply that she and Elle were linked, but Laura's own ignorance was of little concern to the bitter and vengeful spirit. All that mattered was that Laura was going to be a very big part of Elle's master plan, and if Elle needed Laura, Elle would have her! With no regret or remorse, the ghost girl managed to force her way, through dreams, into Laura's head, taunting and tormenting her, goading her to come to her schloss.

"I will never give up, I will never let go. No matter where you go or what you do, I will always be here and you will submit to me!" Elle whispered to the sleeping Laura Hollis, her voice curling and hissing around her victim's mind like a snake. Laura twitched in her sleep but was totally powerless to remove Elle from her head. Instead, she could only lie there, still stuck in a sleep state, as Elle continued to taunt her. "I will never surrender, I will never stop. Until you and Carmilla have both paid for your sins, I will never ever let you leave!" she continued to whisper to the sleeping woman, filling her dreams with her own memories of those days when she would creep through the halls of her schloss, Carmilla's dark and mysterious figure trailing ever behind her, no matter how many corners she turned or doors she fled through... "I will never surrender!"