Lady Dhampir
Chapter 24

Milena stared at him, speechless. How could he be so cunning and be proud of it! She shook her head.

"I don't think so, Your Highness. I did not ask for this remedy, you brought it yourself. I didn't even know of its existence before today!"

"But you used it," said the Prince. "Do you know my mother only has about six of those precious potions? Well, five now that you drank one." "Don't tell me you're the one who actually spread the rumors about this..."

Rayan shrugged, but the smirk she could guess under his mask was enough. Damn, she hated him at that moment! He and his mischievous schemes!

"Even assuming that I would be responsible for using this... healing potion. Why would I owe you a debt? Nothing says it did save my life."

Rayan chuckled. He didn't expect anything less from Milena. After years of bickering any time they had met, he knew perfectly how smart the young Duchess was. She wouldn't give in without a fight first.

"Three bullets. One in the abdomen, one in your arm, one in your stomach," he counted, pointing it each time. "I did a bit of investigation first. You should have lost the use of your right hand and wrist, and from the other shots, you had a fifty-fifty chance to survive your internal hemorrhage. Not to mention, you happily opened your wounds and altered your own healing process to prove your innocence. Quite impressive and bold, I must say."

"You do know you could have spared me all that and proved my innocence yourself, don't you?" replied Milena, annoyed. "You saw the scene, you were there."

"I saw you lying in a pool of blood over a dead body, that's all. That wasn't your best day, Duchess."

"Don't play with me, Prince Rayan. You knew. You said it yourself, it was between me and your brother; you couldn't save us both..."

Rayan's eyes took on an enigmatic shade at that moment. He smiled weakly.

"Yeah. And maybe I picked the wrong one..."

Milena frowned. What did he mean by that? Did he regret saving her? Or...

"Anyway, this was also good for you, wasn't it? You earned brownie points with the Queen while proving your innocence, didn't you? And impressed a few nobles, too."

"I did not appreciate that part," hissed Milena.

"But the facts are there. You know my mother was impressed, and so was the whole assembly back there. The nobles saw you, you're the talk of the Capital these days. I bet your brothers didn't tell you that, did they? The young Duchess De Crescent framed, proves her innocence in a heroic display of courage..."

"What's that?"

"The latest newspapers, front page. They didn't manage to get your portrait, but really, who cares? Congrats, your fame rose up."

"So did my enemies," sighed Milena.

She didn't expect that. No wonder her brothers and father kept it from her. She had suspected something like this when the newspapers weren't given to her as usual. Of course, it probably raised the number of her enemies by a ton; not only the Baron's allies who had pretended to abandon him, but now people also knew Lady De Crescent was an open enemy of the Supremacists... and a serious contender to the Queen's throne.

Milena was even starting to suspect the Queen had orchestrated her own "mistake" just to give her that poisoned gift. If it had been anyone else, they would have been sent straight to the hospital, but because the Queen had acted "unfairly" to Milena, she had received those lands...

"What a wonderful world," said Rayan with a smile.

Milena sighed. She had another problem besides the Queen's conspiracies to handle. One annoying, wandering Prince. Blanche jumped in her arms, in her cat form, hissing at the Prince.

"Anyway, what do you want?"

"You agree to your debt?"

"I agree to listen to your idiotic request for now. I'll think about it afterward."

"Fair enough. I didn't think you would agree to it easily, anyway. I like a challenge."

"Spill it, Your Highness."

"Go on a date with me."

Milena stayed silent for a while, doubting her own ears. Had she heard right? A date? Had he gone insane now? After years of hating and arguing with each other every time they met, now he wanted to go on a date, a few months before the bridal choice? "Are you in your right mind, Your Highness?" She asked.

"Couldn't be better."

"Then why would you want to go on a date with me?"

"For fun. To be honest, I'm curious to see what it's like to actually meet with the Lady De Crescent without the full escort and annoying crowd of giggling damsels trailing behind. Not that I'm not appreciating our current exchange, but the time and place are not the best."

Milena paused for a moment. She didn't trust Prince Rayan at all. He had to have an ulterior motive, there always was one, for everything he did. Several, even.

"Would it happen to have anything to do with my sudden rise in popularity, Your Highness?" She sighed.

Prince Rayan chuckled. Sometimes, that young woman was really too smart for her own good...

"Perhaps. Or maybe I'm just genuinely interested, Lady De Crescent. Moreover, I'm sorry to tell you, you're not the first choice for popularity, these days. I only said yours rose a little, not that it got any better than Lady De Nova or Lady De Winter." Milena already knew that.

It couldn't be helped. As a Dhampir, she was already starting with a handicap against her rivals. The Humans supported Lady De Winter, while the Vampires would rally behind Rachael De Nova. But Milena was a Dhampir and as such, not the first choice for any of the noble factions. She had to work extra hard to earn any trust from each camp.

"Do you want to be Queen, Lady De Crescent?"

Milena sighed. She felt like that one question was the one everyone wanted to ask her since she was born...

"My current title is enough. All I want is to protect my family, our lands and our people. If I'm given higher responsibilities, I will naturally do the same."

"|

I guess the House De Crescent is as close as the rumors say," whispered the Prince.

Among the nobles' houses, it wasn't unusual to see feuds between siblings or branches of the same family. In that stance, Milena's family was among the luckiest ones. Because most of her family was Vampires, they had only managed to keep one branch, and her brothers very rarely argued. Raphael had no desire to succeed their Father, and the age gap between Lucian and Valentin was too deep to allow any rivalry between them either; unlike the twin Princes, who had been competing and compared in everything since birth.

"Could it be, you're doing this to annoy Prince Ellias?" Asked Milena.

This time, Prince Rayan lost his smirk. That's how she knew she was right. Milena had suspected an ulterior motive from the start, but she wouldn't have guessed it was sibling rivalry...

"Really, Your Highness? Shouldn't you think about whom Her Highness would most like you to hang out with instead of focusing on me?"

"Do you think I need to earn brownie points with my own mother? Please. I've spent the last fifteen years of my life doing that, why would I give it an extra effort now?"

Milena didn't believe him. There was too much involved in the choice of the Prince's fiancées to ignore the Queen's will. Picking their bride would allow each Prince to show what kind of future they were looking forward to. Of course, Rayan was supposed to marry a Human noblewoman and Ellias a Vampire lady, but Milena was the only young lady the brothers could dispute about.

Moreover, Ellias' interest in Milena wasn't a secret. The two of them had become close enough for their entourage to notice.

"How about this? If I make sure you get a date with my brother as well, wouldn't that seem fair to you?"

"How so?" asked Milena, surprised.

"Our Mother suggested for us to take two of the Duchesses on a date, the other day. To test our affinity, she said. You know very well how our dearest mother is, she would never suggest something she doesn't intend to have done. Hence, I suspect Ellias will soon ask you on a date as well, won't he?"

Milena felt a bit unsure. Would Ellias pick her openly? She believed so, but if by any chance, he took two other ladies and ignored her, it would be such an embarrassment for her! Especially after she had talked about this with Prince Rayan... To her surprise, the Prince suddenly chuckled.

"Is Lady De Crescent having doubts about the perfect Prince Ellias? Do you think he won't invite you? ...Is that why you're so afraid of a date with me?"

"Fine! I'll agree to that date with you!"

His smirk annoyed her to the highest degree, and Milena had enough of this little game. A simple date with Prince Rayan wouldn't kill her after all. Ellias would certainly understand, as well. "Great... When will you be discharged?"

"I think I'll be resting at home for a while," sighed Milena, exhausted. "Please be mindful of my condition."

"Of course. I was thinking of a hunt, but you've probably had enough for now?"

She would have given anything to take that stupid grin off of his face at that moment. How could one man be so cynical... But Prince Rayan soon shook his head.

"Don't make that face; I may be teasing you, but I promise I'll keep my end of the deal, Duchess. Actually, I bet my brother will be twice as eager to ask you out once he knows I will, too."

So, she was still the object of the two brothers' rivalry, anyhow... Milena didn't care much, however. Even if her feelings were on the line, it still served her family's interests for her to get closer to Prince Ellias.

Suddenly, right when she was about to say something, a ruckus happened at the other end of the corridor. Rayan stepped closer to her to conceal his presence, as many guards came running towards the room where the decoy for Prince Ellias was.

Milena's breath stopped, as they both couldn't afford to be found now. A Duchess and a Prince talking alone in the middle of the night would be the base for endless rumors! Especially with their respective outfits!

"I guess it's time for me to go..." whispered Prince Rayan.

Meanwhile, Milena was desperately trying to ignore the very short and indecent distance between them, looking elsewhere and keeping her cat close to her chest.

"Good night, young lady. Be careful of assassins."

"You're the one I should be wary of," she sighed.

Prince Rayan chuckled, and the next second, he was gone, probably off to check the room his brother was supposed to rest in. Milena sighed, and turned around, ready to go back to her room quickly before anyone found her where she wasn't supposed to be. Walking quickly but silently, she found her way back to her room in no time but stopped right in front.

The door was opened. She hadn't left it open.

"Blanche,"she whispered.

The cat jumped from her arms to shapeshift into snow leopard, walking in front of her, growling and showing her fangs. Who had come to her room? A nurse would have signaled her disappearance right away. Did Raphael try to visit her? Milena grabbed the little knife hidden under her robe, holding it, ready to strike as soon as she saw an enemy. But it was too quiet... "Madam, they are gone," whispered Ruby's voice.

Even so, Milena proceeded with extreme caution to get to her room, just in case. She slowly pushed the door, entering with Blanche. But indeed, her hospital bedroom was empty.

However, her sheets had been savagely torn apart, and a knife had been planted on her cushion.

"Shit... Ruby, call the guards!"

Seemed like Prince Ellias wasn't the only one who had escaped a new assassination attempt that night.