Carmilla's Arrival at the Schloss

The young lady, Carmilla, was carried into the schloss and put to bed. She was described as extremely beautiful, with a languid grace. Laura was immediately struck by a strange recognition: Carmilla's face was identical to the woman who had visited her in her childhood nightmare. Carmilla, in turn, claimed to have dreamed of Laura twelve years earlier. This mutual recognition created an intense, ambiguous bond between them, mixing attraction with a faint sense of horror. Carmilla's mother, the lady in black velvet, departed hastily, leaving strict instructions that her daughter's identity and origins were to remain secret.