Any HC's on where she's from / where she grew up / how she died? Gimmie the lore ♥
yes of course! here's a brief summary of her human life.
carmilla was born as camila herrera on november 4, 1846, in cartagena, colombia. she was born into a prosperous household whose fortunes were built on metal and textile trade. her early years were spent sheltered by privilege and while her upbringing was undoubtedly comfortable, it was heavy with expectation.
by the time carmilla reached her teen years, her family’s fortune had started to waver. a series of unwise investments, accompanied by increasing competition, left their business weakened. thus a marriage was arranged between her and a wealthy arms trader, vicente, a man fifteen years her senior. it was less a union of affection and more a strategic alignment, which she accepted with grace, believing it her duty to protect her family’s interests and future.
the marriage was difficult from the beginning, marked by vicente's growing impatience with her failure to produce an heir. carmilla suffered multiple miscarriages which only served to intensify her internal sense of failure as each loss was met with disappointment from vicente rather than compassion. as a result, her marriage became increasingly isolating.
after several years, carmilla gave birth to ofelia (odette) on april 29, 1873; clarisa (clara) followed on november 5, 1874. while motherhood had never been something she sought, her girls quickly became her reason for enduring every indignity forced upon her. despite the pressure and disappointment from her husband, who viewed their daughters merely as pawns for future alliances, carmilla poured herself into raising them to be strong, capable, and independent.
as her daughters grew, so too did her resentment toward vicente. he treated her as ornamental, entertaining mistresses, dismissing her counsel, and mocking her interest in his trade. because of his disregard for her, she was able to secretly study his business operations. when vicente suddenly died in 1884 from a "mysterious illness", no suspicion fell upon the grieving widow. this allowed her the opportunity to seize control of his enterprise, carmilla proved herself far more capable than he had ever been, under her leadership the company flourished and expanded.
in 1887, she married her second husband, alejandro. her second marriage promised the companionship and affection her first had sorely lacked, and for a while, carmilla believed she’d found the peace and love she’d longed for. but ambition and envy can corrupt even the warmest affection, and alejandro eventually succumbed to temptation offered by a vengeful rival carmilla had once humiliated publicly.
on december 7, 1898, she was betrayed by the one man she allowed herself to trust. carmilla awoke to the sound of her daughters screaming and rushed toward them, only to feel a bullet pierce her spine from behind. she collapsed, her legs instantly paralyzed, fingers grasping toward the cries that went silent before she could reach them. she spent her final moments bleeding out slowly, helpless, consumed by anguish and grief, her final thoughts an apology to her daughters for failing to protect them.
