Lady Dhampir
Chapter 116

"Thank the Heavens you came back quickly, Your Highnesses," said the old doctor. "This kind of burn can get ugly if it gets infected. I've seen people get disabled and lose the use of their hands for less than that." "Is that so," said Rayan, glancing down at his fiancé.

Milena ignored him. Deep down, she was a bit ashamed to have let herself be injured so stupidly, but now, having Rayan and the family doctor scold her on it wasn't helping. The vampire prince had already acted much more worried than necessary upon their return trip, too much for the future princess to handle. She wasn't used to someone other than her siblings or father to care for her so much, and it felt strangely awkward for her fiancé to be the one to agonize over this injury. He had gently held her hand for almost all of the long trip back in the carriage, even with Blanche and Ora staring.

Raphael was standing on the side, too. While waiting for the family doctor to arrive, Milena had already filled him on their replaceings of that night. Just like her fiancé, the second young Duke had been more concerned about her injury than the truth they had uncovered, but he was still stealing glances towards Ora.

The Oracle was seated on the side. The De Crescent servants knew better than to ask questions, but they were still glancing at the odd character in the room. She wasn't saying a thing, waiting quietly for Milena's treatment to be over. Still, everyone else standing there was obviously cautious of her. Blanche, still in the appearance of a large wolf, was guarding Milena more efficiently than any bodyguard, and she wasn't taking her golden eyes off of the Oracle. Rayan, too, would glance at her from time to time despite being focused primarily on Milena.

"I have done my best, my Lady. However, as you already know, your healing is..."

"Dhampir's healing capacity can't be properly measured," said Milena. "I know."

The old doctor nodded with a gentle expression.

"I will be back in two days to check the injury, and one of my assistants will come to change your bandages, too. Please do refrain from anything that might injure your hands more, my Lady, but do move them a lot. Your fingers might become stiff if the skin doesn't heal properly at that location."

The doctor was thanked and brought to a guest room to sleepover, as it was now too late for a human to go back in this cold. Milena frowned, looking down at her bandaged hands. It would be very impractical for the next few days.

"Why is it that you have been very fine for most of your life, yet you manage to injure yourself or be in a deathly situation almost every time we are together?"

"My fiancé tends to be close to deathly threats himself," retorted Milena sulking a bit. "Aren't you happy? With those horrid things on my fingers, I can't take off my engagement ring..."

"You can't put on a new one either, though," frowned Rayan. "I hope this will heal quickly, because we are not pushing back our wedding date."

"Everything will surely be fine with the bride's fingers by then," suddenly said Ora.

All eyes turned to her, and Raphael, mostly, crossed his arms with an upset expression.

"I am not sure it is auspicious to bring the deceased Queen's closest companion in our house," he said, not talking to anyone in particular.

He was hinting at how close she was to someone who had just been assassinated in a very horrid way, but Milena was at least sure the Oracle probably had nothing to do with Lyriana's death. She had just lost her protector. Not only it was probably the last thing she had wanted, but it also explained why she was so willing to be in Milena's good favors... and in the House De Crescent instead of the Palace.

"I understand your concerns, young Duke," said Ora. "However, I wish no harm to anyone here, and I swear I would have done everything I could to prevent Her Highness' death if it had been in my power."

"Which means it wasn't?" Asked Milena, a bit confused.

With her power, Milena had always thought The Oracle could foresee such an event. At least, the Queen had always acted as if she knew a lot about what was to come, but if Ora had remained among her close friends, it made no sense she would have met such an end...

The Oracle looked a bit unsure at first, glancing at the servants in the room. Milena made a gesture for everyone to leave, aside from her vampire maid. She was carrying her night robe and helped Milena put it on, now that she had changed into her nightgown. It was a bit chilly in the room, at least for the Damphir lady, once as soon as she was done with that, Olivia went to take care of the fire.

"You can talk," said Milena, as Ora still had eyes on the maid.

"Unlike what Lyriana wanted her enemies to think, I cannot foresee everything, and certainly not with accuracy. She just happened to be extremely good at interpreting the prophecies." "How accurate are they, then?" Asked Rayan.

"All the Prophecies I have said so far have turned out to be true, one way or another. I believe there is a deep meaning to each prophecy that can be interpreted in many ways. When one thinks he has avoided destiny, it comes back to strike in a different way." Milena frowned. So the Prophecies weren't exactly set in stone, but they had many, many ways to come true. She had already thought so before. Her own Prophecy felt like a riddle, but until then, she had found several possible meanings to some parts of it. She turned to Rayan.

"What is your Prophecy?"

"I never received one," he said.

He turned to the Oracle, raising an eyebrow.

"If one was done, neither my mother nor the Oracle shared it with me."

The Oracle slowly shook her head.

"I'll have to apologize, young prince. There were two prophecies done indeed when you and your twin Prince Ellias were born. However, your mother forbade me from either sharing those with anyone else, including yourself." "Why?" Asked Milena, surprised.

"She was afraid it would... cause more harm than good if anyone or the twins heard of it."

Milena and Rayan exchanged a glance. Why would the Queen decide to hide those prophecies? If she said it would do more harm than good, what was she thinking about? Her son, or the kingdom itself? Milena had a rather bad feeling about this. She turned to Ora, but even before she could utter a word, the woman shook her head.

"My apologies, young Milena, but I intend to keep that promise. I share my regretted Queen's opinion on the matter, that those prophecies should be kept secret. Not all the information my power give me or good to hear, young Lady De Crescent. I have come to believe that sometimes, they bring more damage than if I had kept them to myself."

A moment of silence followed her words. Milena wasn't happy with that. In her opinion, and information not shared was an advantage lost. She was upset and wondering how they could force Ora to talk. However, before saying anything, she glanced at Rayan. Standing next to her, the Prince was rubbing his chin with his fingers, not looking upset at all. Milena sighed and decided to let him have the final word. It was his Prophecy, after all. Instead, she stood up and walked to her vanity desk, grabbing a towel and some water, and walk back to him to gently start wiping the make-up off his face.

The young Duchess did not notice her brother's surprised expression nor Olivia's little smile. The interaction between the young couple was nothing more than her gently wiping Rayan's face for him, but it felt extremely intimate to the people watching. Moreover, Rayan wasn't too surprised, letting Milena take care of it for him as if it was natural. Despite being so close to his future spouse, his eyes were on the Oracle. They looked like a couple who had been married for several years already instead of a new one. "You said you had information you'd be willing to tell us. Why the sudden change?" He asked.

"You are smart, young Prince, you already know the predicament I replace myself in upon your regretted mother's fate."

"I would have guessed you can do fine on your own," Rayan coldly retorted.

"If I gave that impression, I am glad. However, that isn't true, or it won't be so for long. Too many people are aware of my unique capability. I cannot sleep comfortably now that the one person whom I thought could protect me is gone."

"In other words, you want my sister and her future husband's protection," said Raphael.

The Oracle slowly nodded.

Done erasing his makeup, Milena handed the dirty towel to Olivia and frowned, staring at Rayan. He had that vicious smile of his on. She was used to being the one in charge, but Milena thought it would be nice to learn to rely on someone at least as smart and cunning as she was from now on. The vampire Prince probably smiled a lot more, but he was still one of the best strategists of the Kingdom...

"You have to be aware, such protection won't come at a free cost," said the Prince.

"I'm fully aware, Prince Rayan, and ready to dedicate my services to the future Princess."

Milena and Rayan exchanged another glance.

The Oracle wanted to serve her, not the Prince? It was interesting that she wished to keep her protection with a woman. In a way, it was probably better to consolidate Milena's position as Rayan's legitimate fiancé. She was nervous about how many people would say the wrong pick had been made for the vampire Prince, a Dhampir instead of a human, but if the Oracle became her ally, just like Lyriana, no one would be raising more questions...

Rayan was obviously waiting for her answer, but Milena hesitated. Binding herself to the Oracle was no small matter.

"...How did you serve Queen Lyriana?"

"Any Prophecy she asked for, I gave. She wanted me to let her know of any prophecy I uttered, and sometimes she'd have me write them down."

"Did you gave them all?" Asked Raphael.

The Oracle's lips extended into a little smile.

"I gave most of them."

"So you did hide things from her," said Milena. "I expect the complete truth from all of my servants, my Ladies-in-waiting, and everyone else claiming to be my allies."

"You expect the complete truth, but you do not keep them from hiding any secrets from you," retorted Ora.

Milena frowned. Of course, she couldn't expect busy people like her Ladies-in-waiting to give her every detail about their lives and business matters, but from her tone of voice, Ora was hinting at something else.

When the Oracle's eyes slowly slid up to Olivia, who was standing to the side, Milena's anger rose immediately. It wouldn't have been that bad if Olivia's white tone of skin hadn't suddenly gone paler. She stepped back, looking a bit scare of Milena's furious purple eyes on her, dropping the towel she had in her hands.

"My Lady, please don't be mad!" She immediately said, realizing how bad her situation was.

"I'll be much madder than that if you don't explain yourself in the next ten seconds," hissed Milena.

Olivia shook her head, tears brought to her eyes and glancing towards the Oracle. It was obvious she wasn't sure what to say, but now, Milena took that silence for a confession. She would have taken out her dagger, but with a movement of her fingers, she suddenly realized she couldn't. Annoyed, Milena clicked her tongue, but Blanche was quick to react. Stepping in front of Milena, the white wolf turned her growling towards Olivia.

The young maid panicked, seeing the shape-shifter even ready to attack her.

"Who are you working for?" Hissed Milena.

"The House De Crescent!" Screamed Olivia loudly. "I swear, my Lady, I've never worked for anybody but your family! I... I... I just don't report only to you."

Milena frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"W-when I was appointed to become your maid, the young master said I should let him know everything that was going on with you. I swear I never, ever told anyone but the young Duke about my Lady's matters! I swear!"

Milena frowned, glancing at Raphael. However, her second brother looked just as surprised as she was.

Valentin had one of her maids spying on her? Milena was shaken. Even if she knew it could very well only be about her safety, she was still a future Princess, and her brother the future head of the Duchy De Crescent. She really didn't like for her older brother to have Olivia report everything to him. Milena wasn't a weak child anymore, she was a young Lady about to become a candidate to the Queen's position.

She turned towards Olivia, ready to go and get to her, but Rayan held her back gently by the elbow.

"Don't injure your hands more than they already are," he whispered to her.

Although he said that, he was also staring at Olivia with eyes as cold as eyes. The young maid was like pinned by these two, and she got down on her knees.

"I am very sorry, my Lady! Please punish me however you'll see fit, but don't harm yourself!"

Milena thought of a million things she'd like to reply to that, but Rayan and Raphael's presence kept her out of it. She glanced towards the Oracle, who was very quiet the whole time. Milena took a deep breath.

"We will settle this later. Get out."

Olivia nodded pitifully, and left the bedroom running, everyone could hear her cry. Milena turned to the Oracle, and that incident hadn't made her any happier.

"If I have any more spies around me, you better start spelling their names now," she hissed.

"Fortunately for you, Lady De Crescent, the few people who do hide things from you are people with secrets meant for your sake. You have been raised to not trust people, but you've also grown to underestimate the allies you have, including myself."

"I'll believe you're an ally when you are done answering our questions," retorted Milena. "First, your powers. I want a clear explanation of how it works. You weren't walking the first time I met you or struggled to. You seem fine now. I may be mistaken but people's health tends to degrade as they get older, not the other way around."

"You don't seem to age," added Raphael. "Your appearance seems to be the same as when we met you..."

"She has been like that my whole life," said Rayan. "I feel like this is going to be a long night if we are to hear all of your secrets, Oracle."

He pulled a chair for Milena to sit in. It was also a quiet way to have her calm down a bit. Blanche came to sit under her chair, still as a wolf, but she was keeping herself very close, her fur brushing against Milena's legs. The young Duchess put her fingers to brush the silver hair gently, calming herself down.

"I want to know about the Silver Ones," added Milena. "About Blanche, everything you know."

On the side, Raphael was the only one left still standing, looking a bit awkward.

"...Do you want me to leave you, Millie?" He asked.

His position was a bit uncomfortable, figuratively speaking. Especially after Olivia had confessed to working for Valentin like some double agent, he was thinking maybe Milena had lost her trust in her second brother as well. Moreover, he was still part of the Vampire Society. Unlike Rayan, who only used his connections inside the Vampire Society, Raphael was a full-fledged member. On certain terms, he could have been seen as representing a spare organization.

Yet Milena turned to him, her purple eyes expressing no mistrust or anger. She sighed.

"No, please stay. I actually owe a favor to the Vampire Society, so please stay." "But... About Valentin..."

"I will properly settle this with our older brother later, but Raphael, it's a separate matter."

He finally nodded, feeling a bit relieved by those words. He stood next to his sister, his arms crossed, waiting as well for the Oracle to start speaking. However, the white-haired woman had a strange look in her eyes, looking at the trio.

"...I'm not sure of how much of what I really have to say you'll want to hear," she whispered. "Not everything about the coming future is good news or predictable."

"We will judge of that by ourselves," retorted Milena. "I'd rather be prepared for any upcoming hardships than run blindly towards the unknown."

"...Unless you are bound to despair in front of the said hardships."

Milena felt that sentence hit her. What had Ora foreseen, exactly? That sole sentence made her doubt, and the young Duchess turned to her fiancé. However, the red flame in Rayan's eyes wasn't wavering. He felt her trouble, and put a hand on hers, but he had that cunning smile back on his lips. "Spill it."