Lady Dhampir
Chapter 250

A servant ran to catch her as she left the Ceremonial Room.

"Your Highness, your Knight sends me to let you know Lady De Carseus is fine. She will be alright, and she is already awake." "Good. Please go and see if the Duke De Crescent is still here."

"I will, Your Highness."

As soon as the servant had left, Milena immediately took the opposite direction, going down to the infirmary. She had given up on any hope of Ellias finally taking responsibility, so she knew she'd have to stick around for a while. More than she had wished, but she didn't have much of a choice. The situation was much worse than she thought. However, Alexis' testimony would be essential for the next steps. Milena had only seen three wendigos in a very short time. Who knew how long the Marquess had survived facing many more of them?

Milena entered the infirmary, still hot and high from the fights in the forest and her argument with the King. She was so annoyed about his lack of action, she was ready to do anything to keep herself moving. Barging inside the infirmary, she terrorized half the servants away with one glare. It was still early in the morning, but this place was buzzing with people, for some unknown reason. Milena doubted half of them were medical staff or even concerned for the young vampire marquess, more likely curious servants who had come here after hearing about the events. Her knight was doing his best at guarding the curtain blocking their view to the bed Alexis laid in, but her arrival finally was what made them scatter like frightened mice.

"How is she?" She asked the Royal Doctor who immediately came up to her.

"Extremely brave, I would say, Your Highness. The Marquess shows extreme signs of exhaustion, hypothermia and malnourishment, but she will be fine. We've begun inspecting most of her injuries, none appear to be life-threatening. We have also ordered for some fresh blood to be brought to the Lady as soon as possible."

"Make sure whoever provides the blood is reliable," immediately said Milena. "I don't want her poisoned when she just got back."

"...Understood, Your Highness."

"What of her family?" Milena asked, turning to the Knight.

The man quickly bowed.

"Someone was dispatched immediately to the mansion De Carseus, my Lady, just as you instructed."

"Good. Thank you."

The Knight bowed and stepped aside, while Milena and the doctor walked past the curtain.

"She just regained consciousness, but we thought we shall wait for the Grand Princess. We only asked her health-related questions, Your Highness. But she said she wants to speak to you and only you." Milena sighed, and approached the bed. "Lady Alexis?"

The vampire opened her eyes, as if she had just dozed off. Her red eyes immediately went to Milena. She still had deep dark pockets under them, but she looked a lot more relaxed. Two servants were busy cutting her clothes off from her, and washing her body parts the doctors weren't trying to examine or heal.

She had lost a lot of weight since Milena had last seen her, and her red eyes had never looked so old. Her hair had been braided, but it was now full of dry blood and mud. The young Marquess looked much older than she was. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just came back from Hell, Your Highness," scoffed Alexis. "But I won't complain. To think I survived is still... hard to believe, for now."

"You're safe," said Milena.

"Am I?" Alexis retorted. "My Lady, didn't you see what's in those woods?"

Milena sighed. She glanced at the doctors, who got the message instantly. They bowed, and all of the medical staff left, leaving only Milena and her party with Alexis. The Marquess shook her head.

"I'm sorry for speaking so rudely to the Grand Princess. But I never thought I'd get out of those woods alive. I spent... days, hiding and fighting for my survival."

"Can you tell me what happened from the start?" Asked Milena, taking a seat next to the bed. "The last official piece of information we got was that you and the seventh and ninth Division Commanders were supposed to be heading back first. That the war was won..."

"What about the non-official one?"

Although Alexis' tone was aggressive, Milena knew it was not by a fit of personal anger against her. That woman was tired, angry and legitimately frustrated.

"We learned recently there was something going on in the woods," muttered Milena. "And certainly not by the official means..."

"So His Majesty has once again been ignoring the truths that don't make his crown shinier. The Commander in Chief sent letters as soon as he knew, I'm sure of that. We tried, too, as soon as the survivors of our scouting units let us know what was going on. We waited for so long for an answer, anything to tell us His Majesty was sending help or going to do something from this side to help us get home!"

Milena felt incredibly frustrated too. As much as her heart was happy to hear even the smallest piece of news regarding her husband, she couldn't help but share Alexis' anger. So many deaths may have been avoided if the King had discussed the situation with the Military Council and done something to help the Divisions cross the Emerald Forest to get back.

"I'm so sorry," muttered Milena.

Alexis' eyes suddenly went down on Milena's stomach, and she frowned.

"... Is it true? Did my Lady conceive my Commander's... heirs?"

Milena very faintly nodded. She didn't want to lie to Alexis, and it wouldn't mean much to hide the babies' birth now. All of her enemies already knew they had been born, and most probably believed they had survived and were hidden somewhere. In any case, letting the vampire heiress know of this might play in her favor. Alexis let out a long sigh of relief.

"So there's still another destiny possible, after all."

"Lady Alexis, it's too soon to say such a thing. The King..."

"A King that left me and my men to die is not my King," coldly retorted Alexis. "My apologies, Your Highness, but I will never forgive that. I just can't. In the names of all of my men I lost just to get here, I can't possibly call this man my monarch ever again." Milena was shocked, but she could understand Alexis' feelings. She had seen her men die, and waited for days in such a dangerous place. Milena had only been there for less than an hour or two. She couldn't imagine someone trying to survive there for days, with no idea when they'd receive help, how far they were from home or even if they'd ever make it back.

She slowly nodded.

"I understand, but... The situation here is tense, for now. Could you please tell me exactly what happened, what you know? What happened to the Divisions...?"

"It's probably as you can guess, my Lady," grimaced Alexis, trying to change positions. "The Commander-in-Chief sent my unit and the other two home first... We did win the war against the Giants. We sent the last ones of them back in the mountains, and those we found even avoided us. Somehow, they learned to fear our soldiers, and avoided any fights with us. In any case, they were headed away from the Capital and our Kingdom, so the Commander-in-Chief declared the War was over and there was no need to pursue them any further. He was more worried about returning the army as soon as possible to the Kingdom, so he declared the first Divisions should be sent home."

Milena felt even prouder of her husband. Of course Rayan would have known and predicted the shift in power from sending so many men and women away from the Capital. Not only that, but he surely knew how his twin would deepen the conflicts with the vampires. The Wendigo issue was one they could not have predicted, but since they had already personally seen one of those creatures before, he had probably reacted as soon as he had heard of the new killings. Finally, he ought to have known how Milena was in much more danger herself. Sending back the Divisions who had served under him meant sending back people who would ally with Milena or him more than with the King... Alexis was the best proof of that, even if her anger was currently fueled by her experience in the Emerald Forest.

"The first scouting units we sent never came back, so we were unsure what to do," muttered Alexis. "We had heard some of the men that had tried to go home had been attacked, or hadn't made it to the other side, but we took it as isolated cases. We were three whole divisions going back, not isolated groups. After arguing, we decided to head in anyway. I... I regret this decision so much, now."

The female commander's expression fell, and she hid her face in her hands, visibly overridden by guilt and remorse. Milena wasn't sure if she was crying, until she resumed talking, her voice hoarse.

"...They attacked us about three or four days away from the Capital," she muttered. "They didn't hunt in groups, but some men were attacked and killed in one go. It was like... beasts hunting us down. If we set camp for the night, anyone who was a sentinel had a fifty-fifty chance to make it to the next day. We tried to put up more watchguards, but they were attacked all the same. Those who survived described to us the wendigos so precisely, we knew exactly what was going on. So, we sent some of our men back to warn the Commander-in-Chief, and we decided to keep going. I didn't think we would be facing much worse as we went on. I just thought... We'd end up reaching the border, no matter how many men were left."

She lowered her hands. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were red, and she shook her head, a knot in her throat.

"I didn't... I didn't realize what I was doing to my own men. When... Our numbers began decreasing faster, we began to realize both humans and vampires were targeted, but also that the number of our enemies seemed to increase. At first, we believed they were located closer to the border, and we even feared for what was going on here, in the Capital. Until I began to realize... There weren't more because of our location. There were more because we were letting them create more as we went."

Milena felt terrible for the young woman. While trying to save her soldiers, Alexis had no idea she was condemning more of them to be eaten or turned into wendigos. The wendigos that were already there had probably targeted the vampires, and eaten the humans when they couldn't grab one, getting themselves stronger and increasing their numbers. Slowly, all three divisions had been turned into the enemy, and unfortunately, it had taken too long for them to realize.

"We couldn't go back," muttered Alexis. "When we realized, it was already too late to turn back. We agreed to keep going, stay close, and whoever could make it to the border would inform the rest. Sadly, it turned into... what you saw." "...Do you know if all of your men were..."

"I have no idea," muttered Alexis. "We were scattered by the last attack I witnessed, and after that, I understood I had to hide if I didn't want to suffer the same fate. We all had agreed on it, too. Whoever survived had to focus on reaching the Capital, no matter what. There was just no alternative."

Milena felt terribly sorry, listening to the Marquess. It was a nightmare scenario. If they had gone fast enough, perhaps they would have saved more of them, but it would have also made them easier targets. Their numbers weren't a strength, either, as the wendigos could target the group and isolate someone to turn them, one by one. There really was no solution. It was a miracle Alexis had even made it...

"We tried to kill as many of them as we could," groaned Alexis. "It turns out, it became easier as our number decreased."

"Did you learn some useful things?"

"I did, My Lady," she said with a scary smile. "I have become quite the expert at hunting down those wretched things... I may even have killed more if I hadn't lost all of my supplies and had to save the ammunition I had left..." Milena patted Alexis' shoulder very gently.

"...You did your best, Lady De Carseus. I'm sure the Commander-in-Chief would be proud."

"Those words are of no comfort for the loss of my men, Lady Milena. I have failed them as their commander. If you want to offer me some real comfort, allow me to avenge them."

Milena's blood chilled. Alexis turned her eyes towards the Grand Princess. The red irises were glowing with anger, but Alexis was smart enough to understand what would come next. She had already guessed Milena's next move.

"...You're going to put up something to clear our forest of those things, aren't you my Lady?" Said Alexis. "I want to be part of it. You have to include me. As soon as I'm healed, I want to head back into the forest and avenge each of my men. I won't rest until I'm sure those wretched things are burnt down and sent back to the hell they came from."

Milena hesitated. She didn't doubt a single second Alexis' will for revenge, but right now, they had to be extremely cautious. If she wanted to really put up something to go against whatever was going on in the Emerald Forest, she'd have to reaffirm her position at the Council, and face the King once again. Putting up a military unit, no matter how small, would come with a lot of issues...

"Rest for now, Lady De Carseus," she muttered. "I hear you, and I will do my best so we can avenge your soldiers, and bring the rest of our army home, as safely as we can. I promise I'll do what I can."

Alexis slowly nodded. Milena's words seemed a bit comforting to her, and her anger slowly was replaced by the extreme tiredness she was going through. She had probably barely slept and eaten for many days and nights, too busy trying to survive... Milena slowly stood up, gently grasping the female commander's arm, and turned to the Doctor.

"Do your best. Don't let anyone but the medical staff near Lady De Carseus."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Milena instructed her Knight to stay with Alexis, and left, Olivia following her. She knew the situation was unacceptable, for anyone. Only one woman had come back from the war. One Commander, and at what price? Milena walked through the corridors, without a specific destination in mind, just going back to the core of the castle while she thought long and hard. At some point, she glared at the Emerald Forest she could see from behind a window. That place that was once used for fun and hunting was now the most frightful and dangerous place in the Kingdom.

"...Olivia, replace a salon in which I can get ready, and if my father is still in the Royal Castle....I will attend today's Morning Council."

Olivia bowed, and quickly grabbed one of the maids to ask.

"My Lady will need to prepare and change," she said. "Find us a quiet room for her to get ready. We need to have breakfast and fresh blood. Have someone also bring a first aid kit, and new clothes."

"No," Milena retorted.

"My Lady?"

"... Don't bring new clothes. I will wear this. It's perfect to make those politicians react. If they like drama this much, I will feed them some until they throw up."

Olivia grimaced. Her lady sometimes had an unpleasant love for dramatic entrances and gruesome scenes... Right now, her appearance was far less than acceptable for any kind of official event. Not only was she wearing a hunting ensemble, but there was blood all over Milena's clothes, a foul smell following. The Grand Princess looked down at her stained gloves. There was still the large cut from where her brother had drunk her blood. She wished she could be by Raphael's side to check on his condition, but right now, she would be much more useful here. All the blood on her was still fresh, and no vampire nor human could possibly ignore this much blood... Yes, this would be perfect.

"Just redo my hair and makeup, Olivia," she said with a scary smile. "We're not savages, after all..."

Her maid sighed. If it was up to her, she would have never let Milena go anywhere in this appearance. The Grand Duchess looked like she had just come out of a s******** scene, which wasn't too far from the truth... Although, perhaps the worst part of the s******** would happen at the morning Council.