Lady Dhampir
Chapter 244

"My precious little princess," she sang gently. "The most beautiful, gentle and kind-hearted little princess. You'll grow up to be so strong, my baby..."

The young Queen kept gently rocking the baby girl in her arms, a smile on her lips. Her baby girl was only two days old, but she was already staring at her mom with her two little blue gems, her cute mouth in a little "o". She was small, and preciously wrapped in a long baby dress, the white lace going down below her mother's arm. She had a little hood with flowers Philomenie had personally embroidered on it covering the first little layer of her blonde hair.

"Your Highness, have you had breakfast yet? You could rest a bit more, the Princess didn't let you sleep much last night."

"I'm fine, thank you," said Philomenie. "I'll have my breakfast in my salon, please. I want to stay with her..."

Fatigue meant nothing to Philomenie. She had happily stayed by her daughter's side for the two previous nights, trying to sleep along with her and waking up the second the baby started crying to take care of her and feed her. In her eyes, it wasn't tiring at all; since everyone was leaving her alone during the day anyway, she could catch some sleep at the same time Maelie was taking her naps.

"You received more presents for the Princess, Your Highness," said the Royal Butler that was standing at the entrance of her bedroom. "Most of the Noble families have sent their congratulations for the Princess' birth, now."

"Oh, thank you. Can you prepare all their letters for me, and a list of the gifts? I would like to send a personal thank-you note as soon as possible."

"....I believe His Majesty wanted to take care of the replies, Your Highness."

"I want to send some in the Queen's name anyway. Is that fine?"

The butler sighed very subtly, but nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness. I will ask His Majesty to have the letters sent your way as soon as possible, Your Highness. The presents will also be ready for you to review very soon, Your Highness. They have been assembled in one of the halls. Since there have been a lot, we figured Your Highness would like to pick some herself for the Princess to use."

"Really? That's nice of the noble families," said Philomenie. "I believe I heard some of them have been financially troubled... It must have been hard to replace presents with the current state of the shops, too. We should at least send them a personal thank-you note." "... Understood, Your Highness. I'm sure they will be grateful for the Queen's kind attention."

Philomenie smiled back, and the butler bowed before leaving the room, leaving her alone with the maids; it was always the same these days, it seemed. Those almost pitiful looks they gave her. It was no secret in the Royal Castle that the King had barely visited his wife and daughter since the birth. God only knew what he was up to... Philomenie sighed, a bit disheartened after all. She turned her eyes back to her baby girl.

"I hope some sunshine will do us good later, hm?" She then turned to one of the maids. "Could you prepare the stroller for us, please?"

The maids exchanged a look, visibly a bit uneasy.

"... My apologies, Your Highness, but there are... orders against the Princess going out, for her safety."

"It's alright, I only wanted to go into the Castle's gardens."

"His Majesty's orders apply to anywhere outside of the Queen's apartments, Your Highness."

Philomenie froze. Her apartments only? It didn't make sense. Even if she was with a newborn, and some people could possibly target her life, it still shouldn't have been so serious as to prevent them from even moving within the castle... She had seen all the new guards- how could she have missed them!

"... My baby needs some fresh air," she muttered. "Maelie has been almost exclusively in this room since her birth!"

"It's for the Princess' safety, my lady. I apologize, those are the King's orders."

Philomenie hated it. She hated how a man that was so unbothered to visit his newborn daughter could be so controlling over her so-called security. Even her ladies-in-waiting and family had only been able to come and visit her once, when she should have been showing her newborn baby to the whole Kingdom! Kings usually threw parties for their children's births, but this Castle was just as gloomy as it was weeks ago. She knew it was partially because of the war and all the heavy issues the country was going through at the moment that they couldn't hold any grand celebrations, but still, shouldn't a princess' birth have been a bit happier?

She put the baby in her bassinet, and after a quick, gentle kiss on her baby's forehead, the Queen stood back up, glaring at the maids.

"I am taking her to the Queen's garden," she declared. "Regardless of what my husband thinks, that garden still belongs to me, and is considered the Queen's private property. This way, you won't be disobeying either him or me."

Once again, the maids remained mute, but exchanged unsure looks between themselves, visibly at a loss what to do.

"I-I see, my lady. Then, allow us to let His Majesty know first..."

Philomenie was shocked. Weren't they supposed to be her maids! How could they report her movements to the King despite what she had just said!

"Why would you report to him when I'm staying in the vicinity of my apartments?"

"F-For security reasons..."

"There shouldn't be a need to increase the security, even if we did have enough guards for it!" Philomenie shouted. "This is my Castle, and my child! The Queen is in charge of all the staff of the Royal Castle, as the customs would have it. If one of you goes behind my back to warn my husband, they will be fired!"

Philomenie almost regretted her words as soon as she had said them, but instead of taking them back, she stubbornly closed her fists, observing the maids' reactions. Milena would have been proud of her. She was still a novice at exerting her authority, but when it came to her newborn daughter, she felt like she had turned into the fierce stag that represented her family. The queen waited for their answer, but all of the young women had gone mute. First, they were not used to the Queen getting mad at all, and secondly, all of them were terrified to lose their position. Any job with a substantial income was rare in the Kingdom at the moment, and after being fired from the Royal Castle, they wouldn't be able to replace better anywhere else. There was a tacit rule that no noble family would employ a servant that had been fired from another house, friend or foe, much less those who had been fired from the Royal Castle, of all places.

However, it was clear the King was at least as terrifying as his wife in those young women's minds, rendering them mute right now. They were f****d to pick between their masters, which one to disobey. Sadly for them, even the kind Queen had run out of patience. All the maids she was used to had been swapped for these young women, whom she didn't trust.

"I said, prepare the stroller," she coldly said.

Two of the maids left quickly, leaving her with just one of them, who almost ran to prepare her salon next door. Philomenie sighed, and brushed her long blonde hair back. She wasn't exhausted because of her baby these days, but because of her husband's coldness. She could barely get a glimpse of Ellias these days, and when she did, he always looked unhappy, or annoyed. He would barely talk to her, or always pretended there was some urgent matter. Even worse, Philomenie had spotted him from the windows, spending time in, very different company than her own. Not only her family members like her father and maternal uncle, but even her brother seemed to spend more time chatting with his brother-in-law than with his baby niece and his sister. She had only gotten to see her ladies-in-waiting for a short while. Even worse, she was sure she had seen her friend Valentina's carriage leave a bit too long after she had visited her...

She chased those dark thoughts away from her mind, and after checking on Maelie once more, she went to her vanity, starting to prepare herself a bit to go out. She could comb her long hair by herself now, and do her basic makeup alone as well. She picked one of her most humble dresses too, a cream one but with embroideries she thought would match her baby's cute outfit. Once she was ready, Philomenie checked herself in the mirror, doing a little twirl to see herself, satisfied. She was still a bit tired, and certainly not as young-looking as she once was, but she thought she wore motherhood well. She smiled at her reflection, a bit proud of her own courage these days.

"Philomenie!"

The bedroom's doors were banged wide open, and the King's furious shouting made her jump. The baby, shocked and scared too, began crying loudly in her crib. "E-Ellias," she said, her heart beating like crazy.

He furiously walked up to her, and Philomenie unconsciously stepped back, genuinely scared. She had never seen him so infuriated, and certainly not towards her. All of her joy and brave feelings from earlier melted like snow under the rain... "I-If it's about our stroll, I just wanted to take her to the gardens..." She muttered, with trouble breathing.

"What stroll?" He shouted, furious. "Do you think I give a damn about your strolls? I just came back from the Morning Council! If you had bothered to do your duties as Queen, for once, you'd know what a load of s**t I just had to go through, and without you! Your damn family wasn't anywhere to help, either!"

Philomenie went white. The Morning Council? She couldn't understand why he was so furious at her about this all of a sudden, he had never seemed to care about her attending or not! She had gone quite a number of times, doing her best to keep up and actually participate more and more. Recently, she had even attended many meetings Milena had missed, so many she felt like she could at least do as much as her sister-in-law, and even introduce some of her ideas! The senators did seem to have learned to respect her, too. However, because she had given birth to Maelie, she had missed just a couple of them... She couldn't understand why Ellias was blaming her all of a sudden, and it was even more terrifying.

"I d-don't understand," she said without a small voice. "W-wasn't my brother there...?"

"No, he wasn't! That bastard Arseus probably ran like a dog with his tail between his legs as soon as he saw the Duke's carriage! Not only can they not even be here to clean up their damn mess, but I had to stand alone against the damn Duke all morning long! This damn old wolf was like a mad dog and chose to scare half the Council! Not a single one of my allies spoke up while I had to sit and be insulted for a whole f*****g hour!"

Without him mentioning him, Philomenie could easily grasp which Duke had the power to both scare her brother away and castigate the King himself... On top of being scared by her husband's wrath, she was suddenly worried. What could have happened to the De Crescents for the Duke to be suddenly so furious and reckless? The Duke De Crescent hadn't attended a Council in ages, and his daughter just happened to be home!

"...Oh, God, did something happen to Milena?" She asked, her heart dropping.

Philomenie had miscalculated her husband's anger. When he turned two furious green eyes towards her, she realized she shouldn't have mentioned her sister-in-law, or acted concerned. His anger visibly tripled, and he furiously stepped forward again, making her step back closer to the wall.

"You think you can f*****g afford to care about her?" He hissed. "That vixen Milena is f*****g sending her father against me! Do you think she gives a damn about us? She acts like a victim and sends the Duke to humiliate me in front of the whole Morning Council, and you are worried about that damn witch? Who's side are you on! I'm! Your! Husband!"

The cries of the baby got louder, as if to compete with her father's shouting, and Philomenie glanced worriedly towards the bassinet. She was trying hard to keep calm, but she was scared and worried for real, and her heart wouldn't settle down. Her blue eyes went back to Ellias, trying to be careful this time, but her mouth was dry, and she felt cold for no reason.

"I... It's not that I don't care about you," she muttered. "I just... I don't understand what happened. Why... Why the Duke De Crescent would be mad at... at my family... If it's about Milena..."

She was trying hard to repress her tears, and kept repeating to herself to calm down, and not be scared. Ellias was her baby's father. Even if he was mad, he'd never do something he'd regret... However, looking at him now, she wasn't so sure. Her body kept urging her to retreat, her instincts trying to protect her. Maelie's cries were making the scene even scarier. She just wanted him to leave, and to run to hold her daughter.

"They went behind my back to attack her, and now she claims she miscarried because of them! This lying witch! There's no way that's true! We already know she sent her children before that! She's only making a show out of it to get the Council's sympathy! Her father had gone quiet for so long, and now he reappears out of the blue to blame me for everything in the De Winters' stead? f**k no!"

"My... My family... did what?"

Philomenie was shocked. They wouldn't have done such a horrible thing! Her family were strong believers. She couldn't believe they would have done such an abominable thing as to target babies, or a pregnant woman! She stepped back again, feeling her world crumble under her feet. Her parents' and brother's face came to mind, and suddenly, she couldn't see them the same anymore.

"It can't be," she muttered.

"It's a lie," said Ellias, confused about what she was saying, lost in his own thinking. "Milena and her family would never have been so quiet if this was true. She definitely had those bastards!"

"They are your nephews!" Philomenie suddenly shouted back, unable to hold it. "You can't call them that, Ellias! Do you even realize what you're saying!"

He turned his angry eyes to her again, pissed.

"There you go again," he hissed. "Acting like a damn saint. Wake up, Philomenie! This isn't a fairytale we're in, this is reality! Stop putting Milena on a f*****g pedestal and b****y realize what's going on! She's playing you! You think she cares? She lied to you, too! She probably gave birth days ago! Why do you think she'd hide that from you, if you're her so-called friend? I bet she wouldn't blink twice if your daughter died, so why should you care about her children!"

Philomenie was stunned, and her heart in a wreck. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she didn't want to. The furious monster in front of her was scary, and insane, miles away from the sweet Ellias she knew. She shook her head, hardly repressing her tears any more. Ellias kept shaking his head, furious.

"She thinks she can send her father to scare me. Ha! The De Winters should never have gone behind my back. God knows what she will do next to take revenge! Next time, they'd better be there to bite the bullet!"

"They'd never do that," muttered Philomenie, shaking her head. "My family would never do such a horrid thing, I don't believe it...I need to see my brother."

She was about to step forward, but Ellias suddenly punched the wall, right next to her. It wasn't in her direction, but he was clearly blocking the way to the door. Terrified, Philomenie covered her mouth, a couple of tears escaping her eyes. "You're not going anywhere," he said between his clenched teeth. "You're staying right where you are, Philomenie, and you're going to tell me exactly what you know."

Her heart panicked once again.

"I... I don't understand..."

"Milena. You spent quite enough time with her, didn't you? ... You ought to know something. About her children."

"No", she shook her head. "No, no, Ellias, I don't know anything."

"Are you lying to me?" He furrowed his brows. "You're lying to me? For Milena?"

"I-I'm not. I really don't know anything."

"She visited you so many times. When she almost miscarried, too. Don't act so ignorant; it won't work this time. It's about damn time you side with me, Philomenie. I'm the one you're married to, so stop favoring them!" "I don't know!" She cried. "Ellias, I don't know anything!"

"You're not going anywhere," he said. "Neither you nor our daughter are going anywhere until you answer me correctly. I let you see Milena for so long, now you should have something useful to give me.... Where would she take them?"

Philomenie went whiter. She shook her head, and covered her mouth again, scared. She kept furiously shaking her head, and crying, completely helpless. Ellias' calm and cold tone was even more terrifying. She couldn't move away; she had no idea what to do. She just wanted him to stop, and leave.

"Where would she take her children, Philomenie? Tell me. It ought to be somewhere she thinks she can hide them from me. With one of her ladies-in-waiting? In the Glass Lands? They don't have any other relatives in the Capital, and she wouldn't send them too far either. It must be some place she has some power over. Milena can't stand not controlling things."

Philomenie's heartbeat wouldn't calm down. She tried to control her breathing, and close her eyes, shaking her head stubbornly. He couldn't replace out. She wouldn't give in, not when one or two innocent children's lives were at stake...

"It can't be at another vampire's place, she wouldn't trust them. Her brother's in-laws would be an all too obvious choice.. It has to be somewhere only the De Crescents know, and I have no control over."

Her blood was ringing in her head, making her a bit dizzy. She had to open her fingers a little to let her breathing through, or she'd really pass out. Maelie's cries weren't stopping. Her shoulder touched the wall, and she couldn't retreat anymore. "Some place she owns, like the Vermeil Manor... Or one of my brother's lands... Or the White Palace."

Philomenie stopped breathing. She couldn't even control her face that suddenly went white, her lips almost purple. She opened her eyes, and glanced at him, realizing her mistake too late.

A smile appeared on Ellias' lips.

"...Finally. Thank you, my dear wife."