Lady Dhampir
Chapter 258

Milena nodded in agreement, a smile on her lips.

"If only everything could ever go as smoothly as planned," sighed Bella.

"Let's just focus on what we can do for now," said Milena. "I'll leave you here, ladies."

She turned around, leaving her allies there. Things were progressing smoothly, for now. Milena had a gut feeling things would be sorted out. If they could end the Wendigo issue, the Church would lose their power over the vampires, the former balance between the different factions would get back in place, and the Emerald Forest would be cleared soon enough for her husband to come back.

While walking through the Castle, she often couldn't help but glance outside. It was only a matter of time now, before they could be reunited again. "Milena!"

She stopped her steps, her smile fading right away. The King that was coming towards her was at the very bottom of the list of people she had wanted to see there today. Not only that, but he was escorted by the only one who was even lower on her list, the new but ever insufferable Duke De Winter.

"You can't hold your banquet here," grunted Ellias, rushing to her.

"I have the Queen's permission," retorted Milena. "As far as I'm concerned, that's all I need, Your Majesty."

"You can't! Do you have any idea what you're going to provoke?" He hissed. "Synthetic blood? You're enlarging the target on your back!"

"Shouldn't we leave the Princess to do what she wants?" Chuckled Arseus.

Milena frowned. How come those two weren't on the same page, again? While Ellias looked nervous and annoyed, Arseus was staring at her as if she were dancing in the palm of his hand. Something was wrong. The King angrily glanced at the Duke, as if he didn't want him there. However, Arseus was stuck right behind the King, looking amused and confident.

"Let the Duchess hold her Banquet," he chuckled. "After all, it would be all for the sake of the Kingdom, wouldn't it?"

Arseus was now agreeing with her plans? Something was definitely off. Milena frowned, and instead of enduring this, she turned to face the man she probably loathed the most.

"What's on your mind, Duke? You seldom agree with my decisions, and now, you're even opposing His Majesty?"

"Why not?" Chuckled Arseus. "You're working so hard, after all... It would be sad to see all those efforts go to waste! I'm sure you and my sister have..."

"It's Her Majesty," hissed Milena.

His smile disappeared into an annoyed grimace. As expected, he still considered his sister a tool of his family...

"Her Majesty," he shrugged. "Anyways, you ladies probably have something amazing and mind-blowing planned... I can't wait to see it."

Milena frowned. Was he saying this only to make her doubt herself? There was nothing she could see that he could use against her... She glanced at Ellias, but his sullen expression didn't give anything away. What was going on? She took one step back, wary. Since when had the De Winter Duke suddenly grown this much confidence? And to ignore the King, no less? She never thought there would be a day when Ellias would let a man act like this, almost overshadowing him. Judging that the higher threat came from the Duke, Milena turned to him. Although she was confused as to what this horrible man meant, she was not willing to show him she was worried or anything.

"...It's interesting to see you here, Duke?"

She was pretty sure the King and the Duke had seemed to avoid each other lately...

"Why would it be?" Smiled Arseus. "I don't think our dear Grand Princess missed me, did you?"

"I missed the Saint, though."

Milena's words slapped the Duke like a bullet. It seems the mention of the White One had the effect of a shower on the Duke, and he wasn't a good enough actor to hide it.

"I haven't seen him in quite a while," Milena continued. "That is quite strange. I know Her Majesty was fond of him, yet he's been nowhere to be seen for days. He was initially attached to the De Winter family, was he not? How come you haven't searched for his whereabouts, Duke?"

"...Like you said, he was our family's property first," hissed Arseus.

Milena frowned. So her hunch was right. The Saint was at the De Winter Manor, or somewhere they knew. She had thought so since none of them looked worried about the man's disappearance. Since he was entrusted to them by the Church, they should have panicked about him disappearing, but since only Philomenie was saddened, Milena had a feeling they had something to do with this.

"I'm pretty sure Her Majesty's affection bested yours, though," Milena retorted. "It's strange he wasn't even there by her side, for the Princess' birth."

"My sister's whims are a different matter from the Saint's duties."

"Sounds like he didn't have much of a choice."

Arseus made a grimace, and subtly glanced at the King, who had remained quiet all along. Milena let out a faint sigh. So she was right. The Saint had no choice but to stay away from Philomenie, just like Philomenie was carefully kept inside the Royal Castle. There was definitely something going on between Ellias and the De Winter Family. Were they using Philomenie and the Saint as hostages? The Saint was Philomenie's White One, and Milena knew well that if there was anything that could threaten her, he'd obey anything to save her, just like she knew Blanche would never do anything to risk harming her. Philomenie was most likely kept in this golden cage without her own knowledge all along...

Milena's eyes went back to the King, only to replace he was now glaring at her.

"...You should go, Grand Princess," he hissed.

Once again, Milena felt strangely compelled to step back. Something felt... off about those two. Ellias was tenser than usual, and the Duke De Winter was way too confident. Seeing her enemy so satisfied without knowing why made Milena feel insecure, which she hated. Would a wedge between His Majesty and the Duke De Winter be beneficial for her? She could further the gap between them perhaps. The De Winter were the favorite allies of the Church, but Ellias was still the King. If she could split those two powers somehow, perhaps she'd win something even stronger in return... "My Lady?"

She looked behind her shoulder. Bella had come out of the room after her, and noticed Milena and her party standing there with the two men. The Grand Princess and her friend both bowed in one movement to part with the two men, and Milena walked up to Bella, as if they had been meant to meet like this all along. Just as they were about to leave, though, she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting the King.

"....Say hi to Lady De Rosella for me," she muttered, just loud enough for him and the Duke to hear.

Then, she left, putting her arm around Bella to signify they ought to leave. It was only a drop in the ocean, but perhaps learning about the King's mistress would further the gap between him and Arseus. After all, his relationship to Philomenie had been the prime condition to their partnership. Milena didn't care much about what happened to that woman, but the reaction of the De Winter family would speak volumes about the current situation. If they left it alone, it meant they didn't care whom Ellias saw, and they let him get away with it. If anything happened to his mistress, though, that would be proof that the trust between them was indeed broken. Either a warning to the King or a punishment, the fate of his mistress would make his relationship to his in-laws clearer. The two women left the castle, but Milena couldn't shake off that ominous feeling she had. As they were walking down the Royal Castle's courtyard, she turned around, glancing at the window where her office was. She frowned, and silently held Bella's arm a bit tighter, turning to her.

"...Lady Bella, it might be better if you don't come to the Banquet."

"What? You can't take me off the list of guests like this! Did I do anything to upset my Lady? You know how important this business venture is for me as well!"

"I know, and it's not what this is about. I'm just saying you might not physically come there. Act like you will, until the very last minute, but do not come. I have a feeling things won't go according to plan, and I do need someone I can trust out there if that happens." "But... Only half your ladies-in-waiting will be coming, won't they? Isn't that enough?"

"They aren't vampires," Milena whispered. "I also need someone from that side to be out there, just in case. I swear nothing will happen to our partnership, but you're the vampire woman I trust most, outside of my family, and your tactical mind is on par to mine. I know you'll be quick to react and know what to do if anything happens."

"...What of Lady De Carseus?"

"I trust her as well, but she's still recovering, and her personal opinions are clouded by her experience in the Emerald Forest. I won't convince her to sit out of the Banquet, no matter what. Plus, Lady De Carseus has been out of the loop for too long when it comes to the state affairs."

"...I understand," sighed Bella. "As long as it really is as you said..."

"Can you inform Lady Prudence and Lady Briseis of this for me? We should have a back-up plan if needed; let Lady Prudence know the Queen might be held here against her will and as a means to pressure the Saint, and ask Lady Briseis to communicate with the Sevira sisters. She might need to help remotely with their research."

"That last one will be most difficult," frowned Bella, accompanying Milena to her carriage. "You know how the Sevira sisters can get defensive when it comes to their research... They've had an argument with Lady Briseis already, they are afraid the Arsein family might steal their replaceings..."

"Sorry, but Briseis will have to sort this one out. It is too dangerous to only leave one family to handle what might be the salvation of our Kingdom."

"...Or our kind," sighed Bella. "Fine, I'll talk to her, for Your Highness' sake."

"Thank you for all you do, Lady Bella. If I had known earlier how much of a help you'd be..."

"Don't say such things, Lady Milena. I'm happy we are friends and rivals. Women are the best competition to each other. Plus, in times like these, I'm all too aware I need to pick a side and do what has to be done. Lady De Carseus and I talked a lot. Wherever this Kingdom's headed, we will follow your lead." "Thank you."

Bella closed the door to the carriage for her.

"Please, don't get killed on your way home, this time. I won't be there."

Milena shrugged it off with a smile, and her carriage left, leaving Bella behind to turn back into the Castle.

The ride home was silent. While Dinah and Matheus watched the surroundings like hawks, Milena got lost in her thoughts, once again. Why did it feel like when things were going uphill, it was only to fall from a higher place? She was confident in the synthetic blood, in her partners for this enterprise, and in the success of her Banquet. Philomenie was getting bolder too, and backing her silently. Even the vampires that didn't publicly support her had agreed to come to the Banquet, and Milena hoped this would convince the Supremacists to calm down a bit. Henry's silence was worrying, but she knew he was no extremist: he was probably trying to raise his own neutral faction, and wasn't close to working with her, which was better than what she could hope from the Duke De Nova. Milena's father was also doing great at keeping the vampires in check; Rachael's stubborn father wouldn't dare speak his opinions too loudly when the Duke De Crescent was in the room.

Milena couldn't see how her banquet would go wrong. The product couldn't fail, and even if some vampires or business partners backed out, although unlikely, it would be their loss, not hers. So what made Duke De Winter seem so confident? She didn't exclude that he might only have been trying to pressure her, but that bastard wasn't that skilled at manipulating people. What was he doing with the King anyway? Was it about Philomenie? Milena hadn't seen her sister-in-law for a while, but nothing relevant had happened that could have raised any worries... On the contrary, each time she visited the Castle these days, she felt the Queen's influence was steadily growing.

Milena tried to chase those dark thoughts away. She still had many worries already, on the top of her mind. When she stepped down from her carriage and into the De Crescent Manor's courtyard, Digory appeared right away. "...He still hasn't woken up."

Milena knew this would be the first information to greet her, but she was growing desperate. There was no explanation to the state her brother was in, but she still couldn't help but try to look for answers. She had asked almost every reliable doctor she could replace, and spent hours discussing Raphael's state with Eugenie and her father. There was simply no explanation and no one to ask... Or almost no one. But Milena was refusing to ask that woman, of all people, for help.

She naturally went up the stairs, to greet him as usual. She couldn't help but hang onto this ritual of going to see her older brother, as if something would have changed in the meantime. It was hard to believe he had been asleep for so long. He didn't even seem to lose weight, or lack anything. It was as if he had fallen asleep the previous day... Even the Sevira sisters had given up on investigating his case. Right now, creating a cure to the Wendigo venom, using Milena's blood, was their main priority.

Dismissing everyone, Milena stepped into the room. Blanche jumped down from her hiding place in her dress' pocket, shape-shifting into a cat to swiftly climb onto the bed. Lately, it felt like a lot of people had deserted this area of the Castle; There was nothing to do in the room except for some occasional cleaning, and one or two maids were enough. Plus, Milena suspected the current state of Raphael made the staff uneasy.

She sat on the side of the bed, sighing. Probably no one missed Raphael more than her. She grabbed his hand, as cold as usual. It still felt hotter than the norm, for a vampire. As if his fever was not subsiding, but becoming the norm...

"I miss you," she muttered.

Then, just like usual, she went on to tell him about everything that had happened that day. Milena just needed to let it out, and felt like Raphael was still listening, even if it was passively... While she talked, Blanche kept moving on the bed, for some reason. The white cat sniffed Raphael over and over, going up his torso and to his head. With her paw, she began surveying his hair, and, after a while, meowed to get Milena's attention. "Blanche? What is it...?"

She moved to the other side, trying to replace what Blanche was showing her. It didn't take long. Milena frowned, and with her fingers, caressed Raphael's hair. Some strands had turned completely white.

"Oh my g-!"

"My Lady!"

Milena raised her head, surprised by Dinah's voice on the other end of the wall. "Dinah?"

With a pinch in her heart, she left Raphael, and ran to the door, to replace her young maid completely panicked, on the verge of tears.

"What's going on?" Milena asked.

"You have a guest, my Lady, but... It's..."

Milena's heart dropped. What kind of guest was it, that Dinah would be shaken up like this? She tightly closed the door behind her, and ran down the stairs, back to the entrance hall she had arrived through minutes ago. There was only a silhouette there, seated on a chair that had visibly been brought out for them, and Digory handing them a large towel. When their hood came off, Milena's heart dropped.

"...Lilyn?"

"Millie!"

If her friend could have, she would have probably ran to her, but she was in no state to, so Milena closed the distance instead. Lilyn had lost a considerable amount of weight, looking thinner than Milena had ever seen her before; her dress seemed to be floating on her. "Lilyn, what happened? How come you're here...?"

"I'm sorry!" Cried her friend. "Millie, I am so sorry, I know you told me not to come no matter what, but I had no idea what to do! I couldn't understand what was going on, so I came as soon as the King's men left." "Wait, what? The King's men?"

Milena's heart sank. What were Ellias' people doing at her friend's place? How did he know...? She held Lilyn's hands even tighter, panicked.

"Lilyn, please tell me they are safe. Please tell me my babies are fine! They couldn't replace them, right? You hid them, like we decided? Please? The King's men couldn't replace them, right? Don't tell me Ellias has them..." Lilyn shook her head.

"Milena, I don't understand. What's going on? How come the King's men came? They stayed at my house for days, I had no idea what to do..."

"My babies!" Milena shouted, furious. "Where are my babies!"

"I have no idea! Milena, I don't know! Your children never came to my house! I have no idea what happened! They never came!"

Milena fell on her knees.

She thought Lilyn's house would be the safest place. She had thought Ellias would never think of investigating her childhood friend, the pen pal only very few people knew about. She was so sure the twins would be safe there, but... not only had Ellias found this place, but her twins had never gotten there...?

"Damn it..." She cried, furious and panicked. "Damn it... Lucian, what happened?"