Roxy suppressed a tremble as she stood before the vampire who would soon be her matriarch. She had already briefly visited Karnstein Manor once before when picking Valeria up for their date, but now she was standing in the sleeping chamber of the clan's leader! It was all more than a little overwhelming for a girl who, until recently, was convinced that vampires were a myth.
Matriarch Carmilla was a regal woman with ivory skin and long, dark hair. She smiled welcomingly at Valeria. "Welcome, my daughter. Who might these be? Friends of yours?" Her expression suddenly grew serious. "A assume they already know what they are."
"Yes, Matriarch," said Valeria. "In fact, one of them is a vampire."
"I'm sensing a story here," said Carmilla's consort, Mircalla, a golden-haired vampiress with kind, vivacious eyes.
"There is," said Valeria. "This is my new girlfriend Roxanne Weiss, or Roxy for short, and her sister Wilhelmina Weiss, but most people call her Will."
Carmilla frowned warily. "Are they related to Jonathan Weiss, the heir of the Harker monster hunters?"
"Yes," Valeria admitted, "but Roxy was never part of that. Will may be a monster hunter, but Roxy's totally fine with us."
"And one of us," Mircalla mused, intrigued. "Please, enlighten us."
"We had a date at Inferno together," Valeria explained. "Obyzouth, the bottle girl, invited us into a supply room for a little orgy, and we stupidly accepted. Well, you know how Obyzouth is. She really liked the taste of Roxy's life force and overfed so hard that poor Roxy nearly died. She would have died if I hadn't turned her into a vampire. I'm sorry that I couldn't bring her to you to have it done with the proper ceremonies, but I was honor-bound to save her life."
"Indeed you were," Carmilla agreed. "Normally, this would be a dire offense, but I will never choose tradition over protecting life or unlife. You did well."
Valeria smiled. "Thank you, my matriarch."
"Does she wish to join Clan von Karnstein?" asked Carmilla.
"She does indeed, my matriarch," Valeria nodded.
Carmilla looked Roxy in the eye. "Will you be able to move into Karnstein Manor, Roxy Weiss?"
"I think so," said Roxy. "My sister has her own place, and I live there when I'm not living in my college's dorms. My family are monster hunters, so they know you guys exist. They may not like my decision, but I think they'll honor it."
"I can't speak for my mom and grandpa," said Will, "but I promise I will."
"Good," said Carmilla. "In that case, you can move in immediately once you're initiated, Roxy. My clan and I will make the necessary arrangements, and we should be ready to perform your initiation ceremony tomorrow night. There, you'll swear loyalty to Mother Night and to me, and I will bestow you with your new name."
"Sounds great," Roxy smiled. "I can't wait to join your clan... and to be with Val forever." The fledgeling vampire squeezed her soulmate's chilly hand tightly.