Lady Dhampir
Chapter 191

For a little while, the two women remained silent.

Milena had gone back to filing that endless mountain of paperwork, reading reports and filling grids, doing some calculations at time, but her quill only seldom froze. She only stopped to let Dinah adjust the cushion behind her, or to drink more of her honey tea. Across the desk, Philomenie was frowning while reading her book, as usual when she was deeply absorbed in it. The Queen was soon offered a cushion too, but she barely seemed to notice the maids' movements around her. Sometimes, Milena took a break to observe her sister-in-law. Philomenie had gotten plumpier from her pregnancy, but it made her look even younger and prettier somehow. Her blue eyes had gotten an extra spark of life, and her long blond hair was shiny, taken care of every day by her little army of maids. Milena had long suspected that Ellias had handed some lies about his wife's pregnancy, and thus, she wondered how far along Philomenie really was. The Queen herself seemed unsure, but the Saint had said she was due in a few weeks... Compared to her, Milena was definitely showing more, her belly growing faster and bigger. She wondered often if they had really made such a mistake in calculating their pregnancies, or if their bodies were just that different. After all, there were no records of a Dhampir's pregnancy, so even she had no idea what to expect at all... Perhaps her pregnancy would be as short as her mother's, and her belly was just growing accordingly. She had tried to talk about it with her dad, but he had already told her all he knew. Milena mindlessly caressed her belly again. She had always taken pride in her physique, her beauty, and now, she found herself happy to witness her belly growing in strange proportions. She didn't mind the purple marks that had appeared on her skin either, or how swollen she'd feel at times. Instead, she liked to imagine how her husband would react to it, once he'd see all those changes in her...

"...You are smiling," suddenly whispered Philomenie, smiling herself.

"It happens, sometimes," chuckled Milena.

"I know. It's just... When we were younger, you always looked annoyed at everything, and so... cold."

"Says the lady who was busy smiling and pleasing everyone..."

"It hasn't really left me," sighed Philomenie. "It's like a stupid habit of mine, I always smile without thinking at people, even if my cheeks hurt. But... I think it's a way of convincing myself. In that other book, the author said that people who smile can convince themselves they are smiling for a good reason, even if they are not. I understand that. Sometimes, I f****d myself to smile even when I didn't want to, and it always felt a bit better."

"...I think the author wasn't a vampire. Vampires can't smile like humans do... They are always afraid they'll scare people, so they don't associate a smile to happiness. It's more of a threat... It is a strange reflex that has entered their subconscious. I may have picked it up from my family."

"Now that you mention it, your smiles are very... faint."

Milena chuckled. Indeed, she had a habit of closing her mouth when she smiled, while Philomenie didn't hesitate to show her shiny white teeth... It was a strange reflection to have, but even in their simplest habits, their upbringing showed up. The Queen suddenly frowned, her blue eyes staring outside again.

"...Have you heard about the rumors?" She asked in a whisper. "About the vampires...?"

Milena's hand froze, and she raised her eyes from her paper, visibly upset. Of course she had heard, and she didn't like what she had heard. Philomenie grimaced, uneasy.

"I know it may sound so silly, but... I'm worried people are getting scared for real..."

"Those rumors are nothing but lies, Lady Philomenie, and we both know it. What we should focus on is replaceing who is spreading them. We already know who would benefit from such calumnies."

"I know Lady Milena, but... it's hard to stop when it's coming from the front. I sent two of my most trusted maids to ask downtown again, this week. They say people are really worried, and the rumors are spreading fast. Several servants have even left their service in noble houses." "This is ridiculous," hissed Milena.

She was mad. Not at her sister-in-law, but about how powerless she was to stop those stupid rumors that were growing and spreading too fast. They were planting the seeds of doubt in people's minds, and Milena hated that. She just didn't know how to stop it, as she didn't have the power to stop letters coming from the battlefront directly into families. They were probably fake, but how to stop it and prove it? She couldn't input a control on the mail flowing to the Kingdom. Most families were using private mail birds, and people would be suspicious if the Grand Princess suddenly tried to control the flow of information in such an obvious way.

"...Don't you think... There could be some truth to it?" Whispered Philomenie.

"What do you mean?"

"Vampires attacking humans... We have both witnessed it before. What if this is happening again?"

Milena frowned. She hated the idea, for it would mean another, bigger issue again. Another Wendigo, or another White one. Perhaps more than one, even, which was definitely a much scarier idea.

"... Let's just try to suppress those rumors," said Milena. "Pay no attention to them, and if needed, just put the emphasis on the work of our Army. We need more union from our people, not both kinds suddenly falling apart or the people getting scared of their neighbor."

"I understand," nodded Philomenie. "How frustrating... We should be picking names and knitting blankets, not worrying about such scary and depressing things."

Milena chuckled.

"Picking names already?"

"I feel like I need to make this baby the realest possible already," sighed Philomenie. "His Majesty absolutely wants a boy for some reason, but I don't really care... As long as the baby is healthy. I am worried it may not be growing much....How about you?" "My brother is setting up everything for me in the De Crescent Manor. I want my child to be born there."

"Not here?"

"If my husband won't be back in time, I want my father and brother by my side at least."

"I understand... I wish Philip would come back soon too. If he's..."

Before the Queen could end her sentence, someone knocked on the door, and entered without waiting for permission, which was a good enough clue on the rude character walking in. "I'm looking for two heavy ladies?" Chuckled the Saint, walking in.

"So rude!" Pouted Philomenie. "Saint, you can't say that out loud..."

"Oh, calm down," he chuckled while putting a quick kiss on her head. "There's no one else who would dare to approach the Dragon's tower in broad daylight. Good Morning, Princess."

He sat on the sofa, putting his feet up in a very crude and rude manner. At first, those manners of his would infuriate Milena, but she had grown used to it by now. t's favorite hobby was to irk the nobles in the Royal Castle, so there was no better choice but to play, actually, along with that terrible attitude of his, or not pay attention at all.

"So, you two are holding a tea party and not inviting me?" He asked, putting his hands behind his head. "Or is her Majesty hiding from his Majesty? Again?"

"If you dare dirty my carpet and furniture with your ugly shoes, I hope it's because you have the answer to my question?" Retorted Milena.

"You could be nicer to someone who saved your life, your Highness. Even pregnant you're not even half funny..."

"Don't start bickering, you two, please..." Muttered Philomenie.

t rolled his eyes, and pushed his white hair out of his face, although he had recently cut it short. His eyes were just as golden as Blanche's, which intrigued Milena.

"If they are trying to breed another White One, the Church didn't feel the need to let me know," he sighed. "It turns out they are not fond of us mingling with you..."

His eyes went down, and Milena knew he wasn't trying to peek at her belly, but at Blanche, sleeping on her lap. t had been very curious about the young shapeshifter for a while, but each time he tried to approach her, Blanche would hiss or growl, and run away. "... We haven't been able to confirm anything about murders perpetrated by vampires, so it might be a false alarm," sighed Milena.

"Or a red one. They managed to create me and the Oracle in a few decades' span. Doesn't that mean they got the formula pretty right by now?"

"If they did, they wouldn't have let the Wendigos escape."

"Oh, please. We all know the Queen was more or less a warning, and I bet that bitch Oracle poisoned her herself. The Church was using her as a muppet until she went rogue. If only we could put our hands on that witch... You still have no idea where she could be, your Highness?" "None," lied Milena.

t grimaced. Neither Milena or him trusted each other, but it was pretty obvious by now.

"...You're still not going to let me study our little friend?" Asked the Saint, pointing at Blanche.

This time, the cat perked up her ears and hissed in his direction.

"See? She understands when we talk! I'm sure there's more to her than you're telling us."

"...Or she just hates you."

The two of them kept glaring at each other, but even Philomenie sighed. She was used to this. Milena was very protective of her pet, and the Saint was too curious about it. Eventually, the man sighed, and Blanche quietly hopped on the desk to sit on it, her golden eyes on him.

"Whatever... It's not like the Church has time to deal with you anyway. They have a ton of internal issues thanks to the King acting so reckless. His Royal Pain in the arse is probably giving them white hair... Oh, note the irony. Things are different from when his mommy was there. They are probably regretting her now..."

"Saint!" Protested Philomenie, vexed by his words.

Milena thought he was probably partially right, although she hardly believed the Church would truly be that worried about the King... If anything the unrest in the Kingdom served their ambitions. The more unrest there was, the more people would turn to the Church and their faith to seek refuge in.

"It can't be helped," he shrugged. "It's true that things are not going well. The weather is getting worse than ever, the supplies of food have been diminished by the war. We have less people to hunt, work in the mills or in the fields that are still cultivable. The lands in the South are getting trapped by the snow. Plus, the less humans they are, the harder it will be for vampires too. But if there are less vampires..."

The humans would be less pressured. Milena put down her quill, and massaged her temples. They ought to replace a solution quickly. She couldn't do anything against the weather or to urge the end of the War, but inside the Kingdom, there ought to be something she could do. Milena was scared the rumors would become true if humans stopped trusting vampires and, ironically, stopped feeding those they feared the most. The coexistence of both species heavily relied on their mutual trust, and right now, this trust was put to great danger by a King acting recklessly.

"... We could use some good news from the battlefield," sighed Philomenie. "I'm so scared every day when I open the Royal Mail. I don't want to see more of those terrible lists of dead people. I'm so terrified to think I'll see Philip's name in there someday..." "A Royal Baby popping out would be a nice piece of news too..." Whispered the Saint.

"Oh, don't you start too Saint," sighed Philomenie. "I have enough of my husband being obsessed with my pregnancy already..."

"He just wants to use that kid to assert his Royal b**t on this throne of his," scoffed the Saint. "Everyone already speculates that the baby is not his."

"Who else would the father be!" Protested Philomenie, upset. "Seriously, people are horrible to speculate such things..."

Milena glanced towards the Saint, well aware of the secondary character at the center of those rumors. There was nothing that could be done about a man that was always stuck to the Queen being suspected. Milena knew enough of her sister-in-law's character not to doubt her, but she also suspected the Saint himself was satisfied about those rumors. Not only did it piss the real Father of the baby off, which entertained him so much, but it also kept Philomenie's enemies at bay, for everyone was waiting to see if the baby would have green or golden eyes...

"...Why don't you ask the Church to confirm you cannot have children?" Milena asked the Saint, curious to see how he'd answer.

He grimaced.

"I think you may have forgotten, your Highness, the Church isn't fond of me since I saved a certain purple-eyed lady at the top of their hit list. They know my alliance is only with the Queen, which might bring some unpleasant memories to them, considering what happened the last time a White One actually got close to a Queen..."

"They are still hoping to have some control over you though. You're their creation, and they gave you that power."

"I told you, it's a freaking lottery. I could also have gotten the same ability as the Oracle, and it probably annoys them enough that I didn't. All they know about their precious Holy Ones is that we do not like having our memories wiped out, we are quick to get attached to our Master and betray our Creators. So, I'll bet I'm more of a huge thorn in their feet than in a position to ask favors, at the moment. It's too bad we can't ask the Oracle for more..."

He said those last words while staring at Milena and raising an eyebrow, clearly hinting at something. As usual, the Grand Princess ignored it. The Queen, however, had caught on this, and sighed.

"Alright, I have heard enough already; I'm going to leave now, the less I know the better. I'm already such a poor liar, I don't know how you guys do this..."

"One day you'll be able to lie too," chuckled the Saint. "I mean, without making that strange movement with your nose..."

"Actually, you should leave too, Saint," said Milena, slowly standing up from her seat.

"Why do you always kick me out five minutes after I come in..."

Blanche hissed, and jumped down from the desk, shape-shifting into a large wolf instead to growl at the Saint.

"...and why does she hate me! Stop growling!"

In fact, Blanche was like this at any man who got close to her mistress, but Milena wouldn't say this. Hence, she let the Queen and the Saint leave her Office, and stretched a bit while Dinah grabbed her an extra coat. Milena couldn't hide her belly anymore, but with the coat on her shoulders, the illusion would still work somehow.

"Where are you going, my Lady?"

"To the Royal Library. I want to see if I didn't miss something... Dinah, go and call Briseis ahead to let her know to meet me there, please."

"Yes, my Lady."

Dinah left first, and Blanche, as soon as the door was closed, shape-shifted into her human form.

"What is it?" Asked Milena, surprised.

"Saint liar."

"I already knew that. I lied too."

"He hates Millie. Only likes his mistress."

"Just like another White One we know, don't you think?"

Blanche frowned. She could tell when Milena was making fun of her now. Still, she wasn't taking her human appearance, for the first time in weeks, for nothing.

"Millie okay?" She asked.

"...I am just worried," she sighed. "The fact that I have been left alone makes me feel like the Church is waiting to see... To see what will become of me. They probably already know I am pregnant, so they are waiting to see if my baby is like me... If Dhampir aren't as rare as we initially thought, I may be pregnant with one. I have almost come to hope not, Blanche. If my baby is a Dhampir, the Church will hunt them just like they hunted me. That's why I want to give birth in the Manor. I know my Father and Raphael will protect me. No one was able to kidnap me while I was in the Manor..."

"Don't worry, Blanche will protect Tiny one too."

"...Thank you, Blanche."

Blanche turned back into a cat again, and came to rub her body against Milena's legs. The Grand Princess smiled, and opened her arms, Blanche jumping right in. Milena walked out of her office, her heart a bit heavier. The more she learned about the White Ones, the Dhampirs and the Wendigos, the more she felt like she ought to replace the solution Silvra and her brothers had left, or missed about three centuries ago...