Laura

Laura is a servant of the vampire Carmilla. She poses as an inoffensive damsel in distress, but when attacked she will drop the facade and retaliate by employing martial arts.

Origins


Laura is a reference to the character of the same name, and one of the two main protagonists, of the novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, of which she is the narrator. She is the vampire countess's latest target.

Carmilla, obsessed with the young human, wishes to transform Laura into a vampire so they may be together eternally. Laura does not share Carmilla's feelings, and is somewhat embarrassed and intimidated by Carmilla's attentions. This is also where the cat-like appearance gets its inspiration from: in the novel, it is implied that Carmilla would transform into a giant cat when she fed on Laura.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Laura's original appearance happens during the Camilla boss fight in Rondo of Blood. When the player enters the vampiress' chamber, they initially encounter Laura wearing a long, red dress and posing as an innocent victim. Her intentions are soon discovered not to be friendly, however, and during the first phase of the fight she will be pacing back and forth, grabbing the hero whenever they come too close to her and restraining them in place while draining their supply of Hearts.

Once Camilla has been defeated, attacking Laura will make her throw off her dress and reveal a black leotard underneath with black boots that go up to her knees, and also fashioning cat-like ornaments on her hair (removed in Dracula X Chronicles), in an allusion to Konami Lady, a mascot character from Konami. From here on, she will start attacking the player with flying kicks.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Laura appears as a common enemy in Portrait of Ruin, no longer around her vampire mistress, Carmilla. When first encountered, she is seen sitting in a chair. As the player approaches, she stands up and says: "Here I am!", after which she runs at the player. If she manages to touch them while wearing the red dress, she will grab them and start draining their HP.

If attacked, she will shed her dress and reveal her true form. After the dress is gone, she attacks with martial arts moves. She jumps and flips around a lot, so the best weapon choice would be one that traces a large arc, like a great sword or an axe.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
In Dracula X Chronicles, besides repeating her role from Rondo of Blood during Carmilla's boss fight, Laura also takes the guise of Annette in the Clock Tower in order to trick the player into thinking she is the real one, since she resides in the same room where Annette was rescued in the original game. When the player approaches her, she will stand up and interact in the same way as she did in the boss battle from Stage 4'.

Encountering Laura in the Clock Tower automatically traduces in the player having to confront a vampirized Annette later in the game, thus preventing them the opportunity of getting the good ending since a Key is required in order to unlock any of the two cells in the level, the one where Laura awaits or the one where the real Annette is being held prisoner. The key will be lost the first time it has been used.

Trivia

 * Laura bears a slight resemblance to another Konami character: Konami Lady from the game Konami Wai Wai World, both in overall outfit style and fighting methods.