Lady Dhampir
Chapter 18

"Promise me not to shoot."

"I won't."

"Milena, I'm serious. It is only for your own protection."

She looked at her brother, who indeed, looked very serious. The young Duchess had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Her fingers on her g*n, she caressed the cold metal.

"I promise... Unless it's absolutely necessary."

Lucian sighed. He knew Milena's stubborn character by heart, but he couldn't help but be worried about his sister. This hunt was no small or trivial event. Once again, many noble families had come to watch, since the two Princes would take part. That was probably also why Milena had been extremely careful about her appearance that day. The young dhampir had now blossomed into an elegant, refined young Lady. With her lustrous black hair and her dark dress, however, Milena always seemed austere. Compared to the other young ladies, who were proudly harboring very colored dresses and original patterns, Milena preferred darker tones and leather corsets.

"Do you really think the supremacists will make a move?" She asked Valentin, who was sitting next to her.

"The Palace's intel reported so, or at least, chances were high. A hunt is a perfect opportunity to get rid of someone...."

"...and pass it off as an accident," muttered Milena.

"Millie, don't get involved," insisted Lucian.

But she ignored him and stood up. As if the natural disasters of this Ice Age weren't enough, they had to face threats from all sides... The supremacists were a radical party of people who hoped for the vampires to take total control of the Kingdom. They thought of the vampires as a superior species and that humans should be given fewer rights and hunted freely. Extremists.

Milena left the House De Crescent's tent, followed by Dinah, Olivia, and Ruby. Those three were her closest and most trusted servants.

"My Lady, you might be in danger too," whispered Ruby.

Even if she was posing as a maid, Ruby was more of a bodyguard. She was even trained to be an assassin, though Milena hoped she never needed to make use of her talents... "As always," sighed Milena.

She had been a target since the day she was born. Because she was born in a powerful family and one of the most probable contenders to be future Queen. Moreover, since she was a dhampir, neither side really trusted her. The vampires thought she was too human, and the humans saw her as a defective vampire. Not only was she a former lost child but she had to work twice as hard for people to trust her and to stay alive.

"Milena!"

Her cousin Helena happily walked towards her, smiling. Helena had fallen very sick a few months before and was still very thin. Her dress looked too big on her, and her maid was following her very closely too. "Good Evening, cousin. How are you?"

"Much better, thanks. I'm so glad I could come. My father was very against it, but since my brothers are participating in the hunt, I really wanted to come."

Helena's older brothers, Gabriel and Aymeric De Hycinth, were both hunters and very good ones at that. They often competed with Lucian and Raphael on their family property to see who was better.

"Aymeric wants to use this occasion to propose, too, so I hope he gets a big prize!"

It was common for noblemen to give their hunting trophies to women they cherished on official events like these. Aside from Valentin who gave most of his to his fiancee, Milena usually received Raphael and Lucian's. She was actually wearing a black fur wrapped on top of her skirt, a warm one she had gotten from the previous hunting event.

"Do you think Prince Ellias will give you some of his...?" Asked Helena in a whisper.

Milena blushed a little. Her friendship with the human Prince had slowly developed over the years. They only saw each other at every event they could attend and never hung out just the two of them, but they exchanged letters weekly. It was always a formal tone but their strong friendship was obvious in each word they sent to each other. Milena looked forward to Ellias' letters the most.

"I don't know, cousin. You know I don't like to make assumptions," simply answered Milena.

Helena didn't dare to ask any further. Somehow, Milena often intimidated her more than any vampire she knew. Her cousin's purple eyes seemed like they could dig into one's soul. Plus, she herself had feelings for Prince Ellias, too. How could she not? They watched him arrive from afar, on a black horse. Prince Ellias had grown into a handsome, bright young bachelor. Even some of the married ladies couldn't help but fawn over his gentle green eyes. Plus, aside from his perfect appearance, he was known to be hard- working, smart and humble. Despite his young age, he already attended most of the court's sessions along with his parents and had a good military rank as a Commander.

He went to salute his friends first, young men of the nobility. Milena decided to walk away a bit, as she hated the crowd surrounding him. Going from one tent to another, they met up with Chartiana De Pristin and Briseis d'Artsein, two baronesses that Milena got along with since a few months ago. The House De Pristin was one of the most modest aristocratic houses and had only received this title a few years ago. It was obvious looking at Chartiana. The young vampire lady was a bit awkward and shy and mimicked every one of Milena's moves. Briseis, on the other hand, was very calm and impassive.

"Young Duchess, will your brothers all take part?" Asked Chartiana.

"Only Raphael stayed home. Lucian will definitely take part."

Chartiana immediately blushed and looked down. Her crush on Milena's brother was obvious to everyone but the main interest and Milena found Chartiana's innocence terribly cute.

"My father said you can let us know if the bu....bullets are to your liking," she added to change the subject.

Milena simply nodded. Recently, Chartiana's family had started manufacturing weapons on top of their ancestral wood production, to try and protect themselves from the wood shortage. They notably procured the House De Crescent, and that's how Milena and Chartiana had met when she had come with her father to present the latest products.

"Won't Her Majesty attend?" Asked Helena, looking around.

"Most likely not. The Queen doesn't like hunting," replied Briseis. "It's a bit unusual, though. The very first royal hunt was organized by the 23rd Queen of our Kingdom, to amuse nobles and promote outdoor events."

The House d'Artsein was known as the kingdom's "librarians". They were Royal Archivists, Royal Librarians or Scripts for generations. Briseis was one of Milena's favorite friends to discuss books with, especially because they preferred military or history books over romance and fiction stories that were favored among their peers. If Milena and Briseis started talking about books, everyone else in the room would soon feel incredibly bored. But it wasn't just because Briseis was a walking history book that Milena had asked her to come to the royal hunt.

"Anything new?" She asked in a low voice so no one could hear them.

Briseis shook her head.

"No, my Lady. But the Palace's intel can be trusted. The chances for an attack on His Highness today are extremely high. According to my father, his security was increased on purpose by Her Highness..."

Milena expected so. Ellias was definitely the one person The Supremacists wanted to get rid of, so there would be no competition for the crown and his twin Prince Rayan, as a vampire, would become the King. They knew the Supremacists were among the vampire aristocrats, but whom? Milena suspected most of the Marquess Hugstein and Vardeilst, who both had lost a lot of money due to the King's stricter politics. Of course, there were many more possibilities, like Baron Verheim, Lady Winserr or the House De Grastt, or even some vampire servants, but those two were the ones who had recently lost a lot and were present at the hunt.

"You look so serious, young Duchess."

Milena turned around, to face Ellias. She didn't even realize he had already made his way to her. Along with her friends, she bowed immediately and smiled.

"I'm always serious, your Highness. Aren't you focused on the hunt?"

"I am! But I heard you are not to take part?"

"I'm afraid not, my family was against it."

Ellias seemed a bit disappointed.

"That's too bad, I had hoped we could compete a bit."

"Do not joke like this, your Highness, I'm probably no match for you."

"Modest as usual, Milena! I guess I'll just have to beat your brother to it, then! Any prize you'd like?"

Milena blushed, a bit surprised he was so blunt to ask her about it. She could feel her friends' intense stare on her and fought to remain composed.

"I won't dare to be so demanding, your Highness. Anything you will bring back would be my honor to receive."

Ellias laughed.

"You're making it hard, Duchess! All right, I'll do my best!"

He left, leaving Milena troubled. Helena sighed.

"I really have no chance against you, cousin. He barely looked at us..."

"What do you think His Highness will bring, my Lady? Maybe a bear?"

Milena chuckled.

"I

I hope not, it would be a nightmare to bring back!"

"Why don't you just hunt it yourself?"

To Milena's surprise, Rachael De Nova had suddenly come to face their group, followed by her own friends, the vampire Ladies Astra De Verheim and Verona De Narcissus. All of them were hostile to Milena, though they wouldn't dare to make a scene here. Milena decided to ignore Rachael's question.

"Good Evening, Lady De Nova. You look stunning in this hunting gear. Is it from House De Laurens?"

Rachael frowned. Indeed, she was the only woman present wearing pants instead of a proper skirt, though her long jacket and cape hid some of it. The leather sheaths on her thighs, however, made her weapons clearly apparent. The young Duchess De Nova was starting to build herself a reputation as one of the most brilliant aspiring officers of the King's army and a bright military tactician too. Milena had read her thesis on military traps and escape routes recently and found it was brilliant. "Don't change the subject, De Crescent. Why aren't you hunting along with your brothers?"

"I simply do not desire to do so, Lady De Nova."

"We both know you are skilled enough for that, so why are you still playing the good girl part? Are you perhaps afraid I'll humiliate you, as the best hunter?"

"Or maybe I'm afraid I'll get shot if I get in your way?" Replied Milena.

Rachael smirked.

"What, scared I'll assassinate you?"

Milena chuckled. She took a second before answering back.

"Oh, you've misunderstood me. I meant you would shoot me accidentally. I never thought you might be able to shoot me intentionally, Lady De Nova." Rachael became whiter with anger. Milena was hinting she was such a bad hunter she would hurt someone by mistake! She hissed, showing her fangs. "Have fun all you want, De Crescent, I'll prove that I'm the better shot!" She claimed before turning back.

She left fuming, but Lady Verona stayed behind, glaring at Milena. She opened her mouth to say something, but Milena spoke to her first.

"Don't embarrass yourself, Lady De Narcissus."

Those simple words were enough to keep the Countess from saying a word. She closed her mouth like a fish and ran away. Helena laughed faintly next to her.

"As ruthless as ever, Milena."

"She asked for it, didn't she? Rachael would be bored if she didn't have someone to bicker with..."

"Do you really think you're the better shot?" Asked Briseis, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not. She's probably much better. It was just too good of an opportunity to tease her."

Her friends chuckled.

"You really have a terrible personality!" Said Chartiana.

"Thanks... Let's go now, I don't want to miss the start of..."

But when she turned around, Milena was suddenly faced with Prince Rayan. As always, he was wearing a tight black leather outfit and only had a g*n with him, no servant and no guard. He smiled at her, a creepy vampire smile that let his fangs become noticeable. Helena gasped, a bit scared.

"Lady De Crescent. What a nice occasion to see you."

"Your Highness," saluted Milena without any warmth.

Of all people, the one she wanted to see the least... Prince Rayan smirked and suddenly glared at her friends.

"How about you leave us alone? That's an order."

Unable to say anything else, Helena, Briseis, and Chartiana left promptly. Milena was annoyed. She didn't want to see the prince that day.

"Anything you wanted to see me privately for, Your Highness?" She asked in a cold tone.

"No. I just like to annoy you, I think. And my brother, of course."

Milena sighed. Just like she had developed a friendship with Prince Ellias, her relationship with Prince Rayan, on the other hand, had gotten worse. He took pleasure in annoying her and Milena even suspected he stole some of her letters to Ellias. "Are you aware, The Supremacists are just dying to kill Ellias?" He asked.

She was surprised to hear him talk about it so openly.

"I am. That makes me wonder what your Highness thinks about this."

"Oh, like everyone else. They have great ambitions and shitty ideas on how to do things. The only thing they're good at is covering their tracks."

"Don't you have a common objective, though? For your Highness to become the crown prince?"

"I do want my father's throne. Ellias is too much of an insufferable optimist to handle the job, and frankly, he's an annoying attention whore."

Milena closed her eyes for a second, trying to keep her calm and ignore Rayan's bad attitude. He was always like that anyway, painfully honest...

"But I don't need The Supremacists to do so. They have the backbone of a slumdog and are just begging for scraps. I don't need such pitiful and archaic people. I'd rather get rid of them myself, Duchess."

"What do you intend to do, then?"

"I'll just be the best at everything. The smartest, too."

"I'll watch you try," sighed Milena.

"What about you, Duchess?" Asked the prince with a smile. "Have you taken sides yet? It's a given, with your position. I just wonder which side the dhampir freak will take..."

When Rayan smiled, his burn scar got even more wrinkled and his fangs were exposed, making him scarier than anything. His smirks made people deeply uncomfortable and he knew it.

Milena, however, wasn't shaken by such a thing. She had seen many scarier things before.

"I'll do my best to support The King."

Her answer was vague on purpose. She could be talking about their father or either of the princes and they both knew it. Rayan clicked his tongue.

"I do like one thing about you, Duchess. You may play the Lady, but you're just like me. A snake in disguise."

"If you are done insulting me, your Highness, I think the hunt is about to start."