Lady Dhampir
Chapter 246

"...Blanche?"

Despite her injury, Milena almost ran down the stairs, holding her tummy with her hand and silently praying this was real. She couldn't have gone any faster even without her heels and stitches. She was right behind Olivia, her vampire maid seemingly just as excited. "Someone spotted her in the forest from afar, but they confirmed it was a silver wolf with golden eyes, and she was definitely coming our way!"

Milena's heart was beating like crazy. She had missed her best friend terribly, she was just dying to see her Blanche again, check if she was fine, and hear any news she could get from her. How long had it been? Ten days? More? She had stopped counting in an attempt to calm her worried heart, but it certainly wasn't enough. The first one to appear who potentially carried news about her babies, too. Her best friend, her sister of her heart, was coming home!

They arrived in the entrance hall, and Milena barely waited for the surprised guards to open the doors. She ran on the Manor's terrace, her deep purple eyes looking all around for Blanche. "Blanche!" She shouted, going down the stairs. "Blan-"

She saw her, the white wolf running her way. An indescriptible feeling invaded Milena's heart. It really was Blanche, her Blanche, with her big golden eyes and silver-white fur. Her giant paws leaving big prints in the snow, and her elegant figure dashing like a bolt under the snowfall.

Milena crouched down despite the pain, and opened her arms just in time to receive her. The large white wolf jumped into her embrace, and she hugged her, like a child would have held their favorite plushie. Milena began crying uncontrollable tears of relief. Finally, she just needed a piece of good news, for once, and she was now hugging one in her arms. As she held her friend around the collar, for a long time, she noticed how Blanche had lost weight. She frowned, and wanted to take a better look at her, but Blanche was acting restless, sniffing around her stomach and growling a bit. She had probably smelled the blood.

"My Lady, we should get back inside," kindly suggested Olivia, putting a heavy fur coat on her shoulders.

"Have them prepare a meal for Blanche. A lot. And a bath later, too. And a warm blanket!" "Yes, my Lady."

They got back inside, Milena and Blanche so stuck against one another they had trouble walking. But the relief was too grand to pass. Quickly, they were taken to one of the reception salons, with a fire lit in the chimney, plenty of blankets and food for Blanche. Milena and Blanche sat on the carpeted floor to stay next to each other, and to the warm fire, but the hungry wolf jumped on the plates first without a second thought, eating everything as if she hadn't eaten in days. The more she looked at her friend, the more Milena suspected it might be the case. She'd never seen Blanche so skinny. She had been gone for only a few days, but it was clear she had shed a lot of weight. Because of the heavy snow outside, perhaps she hadn't been able to hunt properly to feed herself... or she had rushed home. She kept caressing and petting her, as if to make sure she was real. Her fur was covered in little blood and mud stains, and cold. She even had a couple of cuts that made her growl once Milena's fingers found them. Milena sighed, and gently kept caressing her until the silver wolf was done eating.

Then, Blanche crawled under a cover, Milena helping her wrap it around her, and she put her head on Milena's lap. She really looked exhausted, but at least now, she was full and somewhat warm.

"My Lady, your stitches..." Muttered Olivia, worried.

"Olivia, leave the tea here and leave us, please." "...Understood, My Lady."

Despite her reluctance, the Vampire maid obeyed and left, taking everyone in the room with her. Milena let out a long sigh, caressing Blanche between her eyes.

"Blanche, I'm sorry, I know you're tired, but... I need to know. What happened?"

The wolf slowly rolled to the side, changing appearance. Soon enough, it was a young woman who had her head resting on Milena's lap, her golden eyes turned towards the fire. She curled up a little more under the covers, probably missing her fur already, and Milena pulled another blanket over her.

"Attacked us. Millie brother wanted to go as plan said, but didn't. Odd smell appeared, so went. It was a skin with a fake Sofia in it. Smell was wrong. Smell of dead. Blanche didn't trust her so warned Lucian. Lucian did not understand. So attacked. More men appeared to attack babies. Ruby fight too."

"Wait, wait, hold on a minute. A fake Sofia? What are you talking about?"

"It was Sofia but not Sofia. Something strange. Her smell not Sofia, her eyes not Sofia. Smell of death, and eyes odd. Did not know Millie's babies names. All fake."

She began growling, visibly angry at the mere memory. Milena was confused. The Sofia Blanche had killed was... a fake? She had never imagined this, even amongst the wildest scenarios. She would have been ready to believe her nanny had betrayed the House De Crescent, but she hadn't suspected she was a fake. She had seen the body, nothing was amiss... Even the eyes were definitely Sofia's eyes.

"...Sofia was already dead, you say? But... How could you have talked to her then?"

"Dead but not dead."

Milena was getting impatient, but Blanche didn't have the vocabulary to explain everything more in detail. She probably hadn't had much time to discuss it with Lucian either...

"Did Lucian say anything about Sofia?"

"Did not trust Blanche, but I attack first so he saw bad Sofia. Then he attack. More men attack. Won. Ruby hurt." "Ruby was hurt?"

"Ruby alive but Ruby hurt," Blanche nodded. "Coming home too. Blanche faster. Ruby say Blanche don't wait. So Blanche don't wait."

Milena let out a sigh of relief. As long as they were alive, it was fine. Ruby's injury ought to be somewhat serious enough to hold her back, but her bodyguard had probably been more worried about her security and aware of how much her mistress would be dying to get some news, thus she had sent Blanche ahead. Milena let out a long sigh. At least, there was no bad news. She caressed Blanche's head. Knowing that Ruby would be coming back too, she knew it would be easier to interrogate her. "So... Everyone is fine?" She asked.

"Babies fine. Lucian fine. Everything fine. He said go to Millie and tell Millie babies fine. But traitors everywhere. And new white power."

"New pow-..."

Milena gasped. So that's what it was. Or at least, what Lucian suspected. Another White One... Milena bit her lower lip. Even if it was just a speculation for now, it did explain a lot. Why Blanche had to attack Sofia. Why she had smelled death on the old nanny, and not recognized her eyes. She knew Blanche's vision and instincts were unmatched, she trusted her best friend entirely. She would have never attacked the old woman if she wasn't absolutely sure.

"...Thank you for protecting them, Blanche," Milena whispered, caressing the long white hair.

"Babies fine. But Millie hurt. Smell of blood. Who hurt Millie?"

"Ah, that..."

Milena sighed, and while gently petting her, she explained what had happened over the past few days. Blanche was shocked to hear of Jeremiah's death, too. "...Blanche liked him."

"I know. I liked him a lot too... Did the people who attacked you smell of... Jeremiah's blood or something?" "...Not sure. Too fast. Too much blood."

Milena's heart went cold at the idea. Just Blanche, Ruby and Lucian, in a fierce battle to protect their lives and those of her babies. How Maria and Elizio must have been scared... She suddenly felt terribly emotional, near the urge to cry. She missed her babies and husband so much. Because Blanche had come back first, she felt like she was tasting a very faint idea of the happiness she had once lost. Milena shook her head, chasing those tears away.

"Millie not cry. Babies fine. Brother fine."

"I know... Thank you for protecting them, Blanche."

The young white-haired woman nodded, and curled up a bit more against Milena, slowly shifting back into her wolf appearance. For some reason, she wanted to stay in this one, today. Perhaps being a wolf for several days in a row made it easier for her... When Olivia returned, insisting that the doctor take a look at Milena's bandages, the Princess didn't object. Now that she was half-assured her brother and babies had made it fine out of the battle, she was feeling a bit better. She knew Blanche and Ruby wouldn't have left Lucian if they weren't sure he was safe, as far as they could tell... In fact, despite the excitement of Blanche's return, Milena quickly fell asleep with her once the doctor had left.

Several hours passed in the silent salon, and both of them were too tired to even notice when the maids came in to take away the plates emptied by Blanche, and put more wood into the fire. Olivia stayed and sat by their side, quietly pulling back the blanket over her mistress or Blanche's back several times, despite being tired herself. After a while, and when the sun was coming down, Raphael appeared. Addressing Olivia with a quick nod, he walked up to his sister while the maid stood up and left the room quietly. Raphael sighed, and sat by Milena's side, gently caressing Milena's long raven locks until she frowned a bit, and slowly woke up. Next to her, Blanche was still lying against her body, not reacting at all to Raphael's presence and even snoring a bit. "....Raphael?" Milena muttered with a tired voice.

"Yeah. You guys slept for a while, I figured you shouldn't miss dinner too."

"Oh."

Milena stretched her neck a bit, and slowly sat up. After sleeping in luxurious beds for years, she wasn't used to a simple couch shared with a wolf... Her spine made a little c***k when she moved, which made her brother chuckle. As his sister was awake, Raphael moved his hand to pet Blanche's fluffy ears. The wolf's ears barely twitched; if she was awake, she didn't bother to make it known.

"Looks like we got one family member home alive after all," muttered Raphael.

Milena nodded. She stared down at Blanche, relieved her return hadn't all been a dream. She combed her dark hair back, glancing at her brother. From the way he was wearing his bathrobe, and his wet hair, he had probably come here first thing after he woke up and showered. The weather outside showed it was dawn already.

"What did I miss?" She muttered.

"Father still hasn't come back, but to be fair, I'm pretty sure he's busy putting all the Vampires back in their place. I came back around lunch time, but they told me you were with Blanche... I figured you'd want to be alone, so I just went to catch some sleep. I'll have a busy night." "With the Society?"

Raphael nodded.

"Exactly... From what I saw, Father's warning might not be efficient."

"How did it go? With the Council...?"

Raphael scoffed.

"He literally... Blasted the King right where he stood, and called him a lot of things, mostly synonymous of irresponsible, incompetent and self-centered. He spoke against pretty much all of the measures that His Majesty put in place, one by one, and also made it known that anyone who ever tried to touch you would be on our... how did he say it? Our list of undesirables, insects that better stay out from under our boots."

"I don't remember Father being so poetic."

"You bet. I think it did him some good to vent his anger at the Council. I'm not going to lie, he may have antagonized a few, but no one we didn't already disagree with, so..." "The Duke De Nova?"

Raphael grimaced.

"Yeah... But to be honest, I doubt he had any impact on the old Duke. You know how the old vampires are. They are just deaf enough to hear what they want... It's not like that old Duke and Father ever really got along. De Nova was always somewhat jealous of Father's relationship with the previous King. To be honest, the more I see her old man, the more I respect Lady Rachael. I can't even imagine growing up with all those old dodderers. No wonder she has a personality of steel... Anyways. I think her old man is just getting impatient, and I wouldn't blame him completely. His daughter hasn't been home in a while and he's probably trying to show her he can still act like the family leader. I'm afraid he's going to make the wrong choices because of that, though." "Like allying with the supremacists."

"Let's face it, De Nova is probably already on that borderline, Millie. He married his wife to have a child, and everyone knows he got frustrated that she couldn't give him more than a girl. And with everything going on, he might be getting dreams of glory, who knows. He's one of the most powerful vampires around, and there's no vampire amongst the Royals at the moment..." "He might see himself as the future King?"

Her brother shrugged with a sour face.

"I don't know, Millie. It's... a far-fetched theory, as of now. But it might explain why some vampires aren't so supportive of you anymore. Between the fact that your husband's return is delayed, and you've been absent from the public eye." "Rayan will be back soon," said Milena. "And so will I."

"...Are we sure about that? Because I hope he comes back soon. From what I've seen, at least two parties are going to clash soon, Millie, maybe three. The King's relationship to De Winter seemed tense. Father suspects he... may not have known about your attack. If De Winter acted without his consent to attack you, it might mean he's losing his grip over his in-laws."

Milena thought about it for a while. Raphael's words made her remember Philomenie's situation at the Palace. Was that related to Ellias and her family? The more Milena thought about it, the more strange it was... Something was off. She couldn't understand why he was so preoccupied to protect his daughter, when it was clear he had little to no interest in the newborn. Philomenie had been isolated since birth, each visit controlled and the baby had barely seen any faces... Unless it wasn't related to the baby princess, but her mother?

"....Do you still have no news about the Saint?" She asked Raphael.

"No... I tried asking around, but it looks like it's been a few days since he was last seen in the Royal Castle. Apparently, the King isn't too pleased with his absence either."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had a chat with one of the old Senators, they mentioned he had been asking around if anyone knew where he was, as well. It doesn't sound like the Saint vanished, because he had mentioned something about leaving for a few days, but he was gone even before Philomenie's baby was born. I would have thought the King had some suspicions, but..."

Milena didn't think that was what it was, either. Philomenie and the Saint's relationship wasn't like that. Their bond was similar to the one she had with Blanche, and she had never felt anything romantic between those two, only a strong, deep connection. Still, the fact that the Saint wasn't with the Queen nor the King was unexpected. Even more so if even the De Winter family was turning its back on the Monarch.

"Have you seen Henry De Boreal?"

"Briefly, only to convene to meet tonight; It seems to be as Bella said, though. His ambitions are peaceful, but they are still a bit too high for him, I would say. I had never seen him so active at the Senate, either. I think Henry wants to try and offer a new solution by himself, by dissociating himself from the old Supremacists while still listening to their plea. He does still want to sponsor your Institute, though. I think he just wants to help set more routes."

"If that's what it is, it should be fine, then..."

"I have a feeling there's more to it," groaned Raphael. "But I will sort it out tonight. I called the members of the Society, it's time for a roll call and see where everyone is at. I did not like what Lady Bella mentioned, I might as well try and keep tabs on them all." "Make sure you don't antagonize the Society, Raphael. If we lose the vampires' trust now..."

"I know. It's actually all about asking them to rely on us a bit longer."

"If only Rachael was there," muttered Milena. "Or even Lady De Carseus..."

"Milena... They are taking a while to come back."

She nodded. Indeed, it had been too long. They had celebrated the news of a victory a while ago, and yet, the army had yet to show up. According to his own words, Lucian had barely made it out, taking the long way around. What did that mean for the rest of the army? How long would it take them to come? Lucian had come and gone almost a full week ago already... Now, Blanche and Ruby were even coming back to the manor, but there was still no trace of the army. Milena let out a long sigh. "...I will go and see. Olivia, have someone prepare Black Bella for me."

"And here we go again," sighed Raphael. "Should I spare myself the trouble of trying to convince you to stay home?"

"You may."

"Fine!" He agitated his hands. "At least, take Blanche with you, then. But do not go at night, Milena. Not tonight. You rest, and Blanche needs to also. Leave the stables time to pamper your horse, and you can go at dawn if you want. Just not tonight. I already have to deal with a whole council of old stubborn vampires, I don't want to have to worry about you too. Especially since Father isn't even home yet."

On her lap, Blanche suddenly let out a short growl, almost a bark, visibly agreeing with him. Milena chuckled, and nodded.

"....Alright, fine. let's wait until tomorrow morning."

She leaned, and kissed Blanche's muzzle.

"Blanche needs to rest, first."

"Come and eat dinner," sighed her brother. "Then you can tell me extensively about that new crazy plan of yours..."