Lady Dhampir
Chapter 249

"Alexis!"

Milena personally went to pull her up, with Olivia and Raphael's help. She was completely passed out and didn't even move when they tried to sit her up. After checking her for a short while, it seemed like the vampire woman had passed out from exhaustion, but most of the blood on her clothes didn't come from her injuries. It wasn't her own blood. From what they could see at a glance, she had a few injuries and deep cuts, but none of those seemed really life-threatening, except perhaps for the one on her flank. When Milena checked, it looked like a bullet had scratched her, or perhaps a large blade. She couldn't tell; the wound was ugly and half-covered by Alexis' clothes. At the very least, they made sure they couldn't replace any bite marks, which was what Milena was most worried about. Once they were sure she didn't have any injury that needed urgent care, they put the young woman on Raphael's horse to ride back with him.

Getting back on Black Bella, Milena glanced around again. Had Alexis fired at the same Wendigo as them? She couldn't be sure. The creature hadn't had any bullet wounds when it had attacked them... They got back on their horses, and turned around, silently agreeing to ride the hell out of this forest as soon as possible. Milena's heart was beating fast. So this hadn't all been in vain, after all. Alexis De Carseus was alive. She was in a terrible state and unconscious, but she was positive the young vampire was alive, and would survive, too. She needed quite a lot of medical care, but once she was healed, they'd finally get an answer as to what had happened to her division, and possibly, the rest of the Army. As long as they made it back to the Castle safely...

For a while, everyone tried to contain their horse's speed and not be too noisy while riding back, still very cautious of their surroundings. Their eyes kept going around, checking every tree as well as the bushes. Their mounts couldn't go very fast with the thickness of the snow, anyway; they wanted to go quickly and silently but they still had to watch out, for it would be a terrible time to trip and fall...

Suddenly, Blanche barked. The sound was so sudden, it scared the horses and their riders alike. Milena was the fastest to react. She pulled Black Bella's reins, making her horse pitch up and turn away in one movement. g*n in hand, she began firing as soon as she spotted the quick movement between the trees. That thing was moving too fast to be a human or a vampire. She shot relentlessly, even switching guns once again, but the wendigo was on them before she could kill it. That thing let out a horrible long screech, chilling to the bones, and jumped on Raphael's servant, ferociously attacking him.

This time, Raphael reacted first. He jumped down from his horse, sword in hand, and stabbed it through the creature's torso. While it was impaled, the wendigo let out another one of its appalling screams, and wriggled around the blade, trying to free itself in a violent panic. It shook its arms and long claw-like nails around, scratching Raphael, who let go of his sword, holding his injured arm. The wendigo seemed to understand the weapon was attached to its master, and jumped on Raphael next, all fangs out. Milena saw her brother fall back, the creature on top of him, and a terrible fight ensued in the snow. She prepared her g*n, but she was terrified, frozen by fear. She could fire and hit her brother, or not fire and risk Raphael dying in such a horrible way. She was frozen by this impossible choice, her finger trembling on the trigger for what seemed like an eternity. She could hear her brother struggling and grunting under the creature. The sounds of fabric and skin alike being savagely ripped was just horrible. Raphael's furious grunts turned into painful pleas, and the screams of someone panicked. Milena made up her mind right after his first scream. She fired, aiming high enough to potentially hit the Wendigo, but not her brother.

The first shot hit the creature's shoulder, pushing it a bit off its victim, and the second blasted it off of Raphael for good. Milena didn't stop firing, all shots aimed at the wendigo while Raphael laid down. As soon as her barrel was empty again, Blanche jumped next, and the knights rushed to pull Raphael away, two of them attacking the Wendigo to defend their master.

Blanche finally tore the head off of that thing's body, and Milena rushed over, using the stock of her long-range g*n like a hammer to beat that thing's head. It might not have been necessary, but at least, now she was sure that wretched thing wouldn't bite again... She was out of breath, but her brother's groans didn't leave her time to rest. Leaving Blanche to growl at the dead creature, Milena turned around and ran to her brother. "Raphael! Raphael, are you alright?"

"Yeah... Ugh... f**k, that hurts..."

He was in a better state than Milena had feared. The layers of his clothes had apparently protected him somewhat, although long parts were ripped open. He had multiple wounds made by the creature's claws, and a large, deep, and terrible bite mark on his neck. It was as if that thing had literally tried to eat him, biting a full chunk off. Her blood went cold. If that thing had bitten Raphael...

"...Everyone back off," she said coldly.

The knights obeyed, a bit confused but well-trained enough to know when to recognize important orders. Raphael sighed, and laid down in the snow with a grimace. "Ha..."

"How do you feel?" Asked Milena, worried.

"Weird. Since that thing bit me, I feel like there's... I don't know. I feel f*****g sick. I might pass out."

"Don't pass out yet. Raphael, stay awake."

"I-I'll try..."

Milena grabbed her knife, and sliced her hand. The De Crescent Knights exchanged glances, utterly confused, but she didn't have time to explain to them.

"I know it's going to be gross, but drink that," she said to Raphael.

"Are you kidding? I can't drink my sister's-!"

Before he could protest anymore, she put her cut against his lips, forcing him to drink it. Raphael glared in confusion, but the blood went into his throat anyway, and Milena made sure he swallowed.

"We don't have any other Dhampir at our disposal," she groaned. "And I don't want the risk of you turning into one of them... I can't be sure it will work, but at least..."

She ought to try something. If it had saved Rayan, perhaps it would work to prevent her brother from turning, too. The little they knew about Wendigos and how they were created was still not enough to make her sure about anything she did, but this was better than doing nothing. At the very least, her blood wouldn't kill Raphael. She glanced to the side, at his dead servant. That thing had gone for the vampires first... Were they trained? Or craving vampire blood...? Everything was too confusing, and this place was way too dangerous to stay in longer.

"Get ready to leave," she ordered the Knights.

They obeyed, only too happy to hear that. They transferred Lady Alexis to ride with one of the knights, and Milena attached Raphael's horse to hers so she'd know if he was about to fall off. He was conscious enough to ride, but he seemed to be struggling to stay awake. He wasn't even bothered by her blood dripping off his lips. Milena got back on Black Bella, not caring any longer about that wendigo's body. The knights had quickly put Raphael's servant's body on its horse, but they didn't have time to wrap it or anything, everyone eager to leave, the Grand Princess most of all. She didn't want to spend a minute more here in that cursed forest.

The horses resumed their course quickly, no one saying a single word. They rode as if an army of wendigos was chasing them. Perhaps they weren't too far off from the truth, but it turned out no other attacked them, in the end. When they made it to the border, the riders about as out of breath as their mounts, they all let out long sighs of relief. Raphael looked a bit more awake, but his complexion wasn't good. The pain was making him grimace.

They were greeted by more Royal Guards who had gathered meanwhile. Milena frowned. They had been gone for an hour or so, perhaps less. What was going on? As soon as she stopped, the guards' captain ran to her.

"Lady De Crescent! Your presence is immediately requested at the Castle by His Majesty!"

"We're fine, thanks," grunted Raphael, bitter. "Thank you for asking, you spineless snitches!"

The guards shrank a bit under the vampire's furious stares, and the De Crescent knights' dark expressions. In fact, they hadn't even noticed that two men from Milena's party hadn't come out of the forest with them. However, they did take notice of Alexis, still passed out and in a dire state in front of the Knight.

"T-That's the Eighth Division's C-Commander..."

"I don't see you running to get help," hissed Milena, her purple eyes more murderous than any weapon.

A few of the knights ran towards the Castle to get help as asked, but it was now futile. The Grand Princess took Black Bella past the line of Royal Guards, leading her group to the Castle herself. She was still high on adrenaline from their trip to the forest, and ready to stomp over anyone who dared to block her path.

They rode to the Castle's courtyard, where Milena got down first, and helped get Alexis down.

"Are you sure...?" Muttered her brother.

"This is also my house. And it's the quickest way to get her treated."

Raphael nodded, and was about to get down from his horse, but he lost his balance in a strange way, and almost fell into one of the knight's arms.

"M-My Lord, are you alright?"

"Ah... yeah, yeah... I think I just... need to lay down a bit."

Milena was a bit more worried about Raphael than she was about Alexis. The latter could be treated normally, but what if her brother was... infected? She hesitated, and turned to the Knight that was helping Raphael stand.

"Get him home first."

"Really? But, my Lady..."

"I'll be there right away. Let my sister-in-law and Digory know about the situation, and tell them to have Raphael observed by only our family doctor, and no one else. Have the Sevira sisters come as quickly as possible, too. Give them that thing we brought back. We finally have something for them to work on..."

The knight nodded, and two of them helped Raphael get back on the horse, flanking him to escort him back. Milena waited until those three were out of sight to go inside the Royal Castle with Lady Alexis. By then, servants had arrived to help carry the Eighth Division Commander inside, and Milena caught a break, letting out a long sigh.

From the glares they were getting, their appearance must be miserable. Milena could see her clothes covered in blood, and her knights in a similar state. They were all bitter, some even still glancing at the Emerald Forest. She hated it, too, but at the moment, the smell of leather, sweat, and blood was much less annoying than what they had seen and experienced in that forest.

"Where is he?" She almost growled at the Royal Butler running down from the stairs.

"H-His Majesty is in the Ceremonial Hall, my Lady..."

"Take Lady De Carseus to the Royal Doctors immediately, and make sure no one else gets in."

"B-But my Lady, the protocol..."

Milena ignored him, and turned to one of her surviving knights.

"Go with her, and make sure my orders are obeyed. No one else but me approaches her. Make sure her family is notified immediately."

"Yes, my Lady."

The knight left, following Alexis who was hurriedly taken by the servants towards the Castle's Infirmary. Milena was confident the Commander would survive her wounds, but she didn't trust anyone in this Castle. She would have taken Alexis to the Manor if she could, but sadly, her relationships with the De Carseus Family weren't good enough for that, she had to entrust their heiress to a middle ground...

With only one knight left and Olivia following her, Milena angrily climbed the stairs. Her gruesome appearance was enough to terrorize the servants into staying away. The Grand Princess was leaving a trail of blood and wet mud behind her, but her furious purple eyes were even scarier. She was glad no skirt was in her way, because she wouldn't have tolerated anything or anyone standing in her way right now.

Milena opened the doors of the Ceremonial Hall wide, making the small crowd inside jump. They all turned their heads to her, most opening their mouths and eyes wide at the Princess' appearance. Ellias looked the most shocked. The King was holding some large plan, and almost dropped it, throwing it in the Royal Butler's hands next to him to turn to his sister-in-law.

"What the hell..."

"I just came back from the Emerald Forest," hissed Milena. "We have a problem, Your Highness."

She had said this in such a hostile way that everyone else took a step away from the King, not to get in the crossfire. At Milena's feet, Blanche was growling aggressively too, and Ellias' eyes quickly went to the white wolf before going back to her mistress. "I had given orders," he said. "No one was to enter the Emerald Forest..."

"Because you knew how close the Wendigos were?"

Her question sent shudders down the audience's backs. There were a few servants and nobles assembled here. For whatever reason these human nobles had been gathered there behind the King, they were now regretting coming to the Royal Castle that morning. They exchanged shocked glances. Those Nobles were low-ranked, but all part of Ellias' faction. Milena could easily guess he was trying to gather more supporters, and those had to be his latest trail of greedy suckups. Aristocrats looking for the smallest crumb of power to rise above their birth situation.

The King sighed, glancing at his followers.

"Despite your appeal for defying my orders, Grand Princess, it doesn't give you the right to-"

"Did you, or did you not, know the Wendigos were already almost at the Emerald Forest's border?"

Her words shocked the audience, even the King himself. The nobles began muttering between themselves, visibly shocked and panicked. Milena had chosen her words carefully. The Castle was one of the first buildings close to that border, and if the Wendigos got out of there, they would attack here first; it explained a lot. Not only the number of soldiers placed right at the border of the forest, but also why Ellias had pulled men away from the streets to protect the Castle. No, perhaps the attacks in the streets and those in the forests weren't unrelated...

"....So you knew," she said with a smirk. "Of course, you knew. You knew, and you did nothing. You pretended like it was all fine, as usual. We have an army of Wendigos waiting to attack at the border and you did nothing but conceal it!" "Silence!" He shouted.

Ellias turned to the nobles, glaring at them. They were eager for more power, but they were also very curious to hear anything that could be helpful to them. Milena didn't care in the slightest if those men spread rumors about their King's incompetence. No, in fact, she would even be glad if they could all scram and not serve Ellias. He didn't need any more blind followers ready to follow his every whim.

"...Leave us."

Milena didn't prevent him from scattering the group. She had more important things in mind than petty politics.

They waited for all the nobles to have left the room, glaring at each other for all the time it took until the door was closed behind the last one of them. Once it was done, Ellias let out a long sigh.

"I had said not to go. But I guess you don't even pretend to not hear your King's orders anymore, do you?"

"You knew there were Wendigos waiting to attack anyone venturing into that forest and worse, our army trying to come back, and you did nothing about it!"

"I had received reports!" He shouted. "... Why do you think I haven't authorized a hunt in weeks? Why would I post so many men near the border? Of course, I damn knew! But what do you want me to do? The army is with your dear Rayan! I can't send one man after another to hunt those wretched things! Who knows how many there are, or if there's even anyone to save!"

"I brought back Alexis De Carseus."

Ellias' expression sank.

"...The Commander..."

"The vampire heiress you so blatantly tried to sink along with her family made it back. Had I not been out in the woods with my people, she wouldn't have made it back. And she wasn't even that deep in the forest, Ellias. It took me less than two hours to replace her, and I wasn't even looking for her! Do you have any idea how many people may have died because you refused to even try and save them!"

"How would I!" He shouted back. "I can't trust anyone anymore! How the f**k would I know what my brother's latest crazy and noble idea is when no one in the military Council will even look me in the eye!"

"So you've just decided to pretend not to know?"

Milena's ironic tone didn't escape him. He glared back at her, putting his hands on his hips.

"You do not understand. Milena, my position as King..."

"What? You're going to complain, again?" Milena interrupted him. "Aren't you past this already? You wanted this, Ellias, you wanted it enough to send your own twin to war. We've had this conversation already. Find another excuse if you must, but don't give me your plea again."

He did not appreciate the Princess' tone. He closed his fist, glaring at her.

"I'm done with you lecturing me, Lady De Crescent. You're only good at pointing out my flaws, but where have you been for the past weeks? Holed up in your father's residence, only taking care of what brings you money or power without a concern for your fellow citizens!"

"... Don't you lecture me about what I did or did not do for my people, Ellias."

"It's Your Majesty."

"Then it's Grand Princess for you, Your Majesty," she retorted. "And we can go on like this all night, but if you're not going to announce the tragedy upon us to the Council, I will."

"You can't do that! Do you have any idea what kind of panic you'll create!"

"You were lecturing me just seconds ago about what I don't do," scoffed Milena. "You wanted me back in the Council, and working your messy politics? Well, be careful what you wish for...Your Majesty."

She turned around, preparing to leave the room.

"Milena!" He roared furiously.

She ignored him, walking out.