Lady Dhampir
Chapter 265

"You have to be joking!" Shouted Milena, furious.

She wasn't the only one. Dozens of voices rose in protest of this sudden arrest. However, the fact that the King himself had come for the arrest of a single man flanked by a dozen royal guards, spoke volumes about how serious he really was. Milena glanced at Henry, and he was stunned as well, although his more than dark expression seemed to indicate that he wasn't completely surprised by what was going on.

Grabbing the front of her dress, Milena furiously got down from the stage, crossing the crowd easily, to get to Henry's side, and in the King's way. Ellias visibly took a deep breath, upset by her arrival, but Milena knew this was his own mistake. He knew what he was going to be facing by doing that in the middle of her banquet. A banquet full of vampires too.

"Your Majesty," groaned the Duke De Nova. "I believe the Society of Vampires was deemed as a solved issue after the arrest and beheading of Lord Alban De Carseus. How come you still have issues with this, and with the Duke De Boreal this time? Or is it that any vampire Leader will be worth your blade's need for vampire blood?"

A cold chill went down Milena's spine. The Duke De Nova was truly furious, but he was also a calculating man; he wanted to make use of this scene for his own interests. He meant to show the audience that Ellias was arresting yet another vampire. He was purposely deepening the gap between his side and the King's...

"New elements have been brought to my attention," said Ellias, so little impressed it was even surprising. "The Society of Vampires is yet again involved with anti-royal sentiment, and proof has been brought to the Council that none other than the Duke De Boreal himself partook in such propaganda."

"I have never seen those proofs at any Council," hissed Milena.

"We held an emergency one," retorted Arseus de Winter, with a sneer. "Sadly, the Grand Princess was unavailable at the time. It was rather quick too. There was no need for you to attend..."

"This is ridiculous," suddenly claimed Philomenie's voice behind them. "... How can you hold a Council with most of the Council absent? This is..."

Ellias glared at his wife, who closed her fists in response. Everyone in the room slowly realized what was going on. This explained why Ellias had brought up so many guards; he was expecting resistance, not from Henry but from the crowd. Milena stepped forward again, placing herself between the King and Henry, who still hadn't said a word.

"I am sure a second Council will invalidate whichever proof you have," she hissed, a clear warning in her voice.

"Sadly, there will be no need to hold a second one," chuckled Arseus. "The proof we got is..."

"I was not talking to you, Duke," Milena shouted back at him; "I am asking His Majesty since when can the King one-sidedly hold a Council, be judge and jury!"

Her voice echoed in the Banquet Hall, some people even taking a step back in surprise. However, many agreed to the Grand Princess' anger, nodding their heads and glaring the King's way. This was an unprecedented fight over power; the King wasn't supposed to do such a thing, yet he was taking this right for himself, and the Duke De Winter was spitting nonsense to back him up too. Let alone the vampires in the room, even the human guests were staring at each other, completely baffled by the situation.

"... The House De Winter and the Church both brought frightening elements to my attention," calmly said Ellias. "The Duke De Boreal has been orchestrating the creation and manipulation of anti-royal rumors to rally vampire allies, with false claims such as the Church and Royal Family being responsible for the creation of Wendigos."

Milena was rendered speechless....So that was it. The Church had decided to pose as a victim to get rid of one of their enemies, Henry De Boreal. He probably wasn't their main target, but Henry had been so desperate for allies, and to rally the vampires, that he had been carelessly spreading his opinions. Milena didn't even need to see those proofs; whether they were real or not, many would believe that Henry had propagated such claims. The vampires, even those not involved in the Society, probably had similar thoughts, and there was no way the human nobles hadn't caught a whiff of the Society of Vampires' ideas as well. Although the Organization had been known under the worst circumstances, its objectives had been made clear, and in everyone's minds, the Society of Vampires was still strongly attached to the Supremacist cause. Milena was beyond mad; the Church had decided to use the lack of proof to twist the truth into a false accusation, and get rid of whoever was at the other end. She had no doubt they had targeted Henry specifically; he was one of the easiest vampire nobles to attack, and one of those they could get rid of without shocking too much of the public opinion. It was exactly as Milena feared; Henry's wavering position had made him the perfect target for them. "If there's an accusation, there should be a trial!" Shouted the Duke De Nova. "How come the Duke De Boreal is arrested for a political opinion? Since when does the Church get to use the Royal Power instead of having to justify their acts, Your Majesty!" "There has been no proof of the Duke De Boreal's claims to be true," coldly retorted Ellias. "Meanwhile there has been proof of the Duke conspiring to spread an anti-Royal sentiment. Hence, we shall arrest him for treason against the crown, and he will be sentenced within a delay of three days, possibly facing the death penalty."

Ellias stepped forward, all the royal guards ready to follow him, but this time, Milena very clearly stepped in their way. She was simply standing there, with all her might, fierce and determined, but her bravery was gathering all the eyes on her. That woman was able to stop over a dozen men, and make them hesitate, her purple eyes glaring keeping them at a distance.

"No," she said.

"Grand Princess, once again, do not obstruct this arrest," Ellias warned her, closing his fists. "You're risking your own arrest for obstructing justice..." "That is not what I would call Justice, Your Majesty. First, why are you assisted by the Duke De Winter?"

All eyes went to Arseus, who suddenly stopped smirking, visibly well aware of what Milena was about to unleash on him.

"He's just become a regular senior member of the Council, yet he gets to make the arrest with Your Majesty? What for, exactly? To enjoy the show? Or is it that the Duke is in such a cohort with the Church that they sent their favorite dog to check on your actions too?" Both Ellias and Arseus went white in the face of such insults, and made in front of such a large audience too. No one had missed what the Grand Princess had said.

"If you truly think this arrest had to be so urgent, why not request the Duke's presence at the said Council? If it is such an emergency, why was no one notified of an emergency gathering? I may be busy, but I am sure every last person in this Castle knew where I was for the past two days. How many empty seats witnessed such a ridiculous Council? Or is it that Your Majesty was in such a hurry that you just had to make a scene in the middle of a Banquet? What are you afraid of? For the Duke to flee, perhaps?" "Enough, Grand Princess!" Shouted Ellias. "This arrest has nothing to do with you! Step out of the way immediately!"

"Why should it? You barged into my Banquet Hall to arrest one of my Guests. I don't think suspicions of p********a request the military force you wouldn't even use on a serial killer!"

Annoyed, Ellias glanced back at the dozen knights that were accompanying him. Even he knew that was excessive; only one or two pairs of those men would have been enough to arrest the Duke, but they had feared so much an open conflict that they had purposely brought out more. Milena's claim was true, but also meant to gather everyone's attention on the ridicule of the situation. "....This is only to be expected of a King who fears vampires so much."

The Duke De Nova's voice meant nothing good. Many eyes went to him, including Milena's glare. Yet, the old vampire was visibly relishing this moment, looking down at the King as if he was a pathetic man putting on a predictable play. He crossed his arms, but his voice carried far and loud across the room.

"His Majesty fears us vampires more than he does the Wendigos! First, Alban De Carseus, now Henry De Boreal. The man who sent his own twin brother to war, and most of the young, promising vampires of the Kingdom to their deaths! He knew our numbers were dwindling, yet he made no exception, sending as many vampires as he did humans, when he knew we're already on a one vampire for every five humans ratio!"

The Duke De Nova's words were starting to really have people get agitated around the room. Milena frowned, a bit nervous as well. The Duke De Nova's target wasn't Henry's freedom at all; he had never even tried to befriend him, or partner up. That man was stuck to his Supremacist ideas, and wouldn't share his position with anyone. However, now, he was definitely seeing this whole ordeal as a unique opportunity. A lot of the noble vampires were in the room, and paying close attention, outraged by Henry's arrest. To him, this was a perfect opportunity to tip the balance a bit further towards him; vampires shocked by this whole situation were antagonizing the King even further, and putting him as an enemy. To Milena though, this was one of the worst possible situations. If more of the wavering vampires went to the Duke De Nova's side, they would truly be on the verge of a civil war. She just couldn't let such a thing happen.

"Drop this," she hissed at Ellias. "This is not the time nor the place to do such a thing, Your Majesty. Your charges are baseless, and you know it. If you let the Church have such power now, there won't be any backing down."

"Do not imply that anyone has any power over me," he hissed. "I am the King, and this is my decision to punish one of my subjects who dared to speak against me. The Council supports my decision too."

"And how many of the bastards who attended that fake Council of yours were bought out by the Church?" Milena retorted. "What did they promise you in exchange? A new dog?"

Her purple eyes went to Arseus, who did not appreciate the insult. He stepped forward, ignoring Ellias' attempt to stop him.

"I think the Grand Princess should watch her mouth more closely if she doesn't want to be the next person arrested for outrageous beliefs," he groaned.

"Did I say anything that wasn't true?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "You should watch it, Duke De Winter. No master appreciates a yappy mongrel who can't even bite..."

He slapped her.

The slap resonated so loud, everyone in the room jumped in utter shock. Milena's head turned to the side, her raven curls flying, and for a second, she kept her face hidden under a curtain of dark hair, completely still in the shocked silence that ensued. The very clear click of a g*n broke the silence, and the next second, a bang resonated, something flying above everyone's heads. Most of the guests lowered their heads or dived to the ground, suddenly prepared for a gunfight to explode. None of that happened though. Instead, the few people who hadn't moved, either too slow or too experienced, got a clear shot of the whole scene; the Duke De Crescent, standing tall with his arm extended and the end his g*n very clearly pointed towards the King, two Dukes and his daughter. Milena slowly stood back up, to discover, at the same time as he did, Arseus' bloodied wrist, with no more hand attached to it.

His scream resonated throughout the Banquet Hall, but it was interrupted by another violent slap. He had gone so weak in his knees that he fell to the ground from Milena's slap, still groaning and making terrible sounds from the pain. Milena took off and threw her glove at him, as if she was disgusted at the dirty piece of clothing.

"Next time, it's your head," she hissed.

Then, she lifted her eyes to Ellias. The King was stunned, staring down at the Duke screaming in pain, in complete shock. A lot of the audience was slowly starting to realize what had happened, and despite the danger avoided, had carefully gotten further away from the De Crescent Family members.

"For the record, the Duke De Winter attacked me first."

"Your father just shot him!" Retorted Ellias, outraged.

His green eyes kept going to Milena's cheek, though. He was visibly as distraught by Arseus slapping her as he was by his partner being shot at in front of the audience, and the b****y scene that had ensued.

"He should be lucky he only lost a hand," hissed Milena. "A man hitting a member of the Royal Family should face a trial. Even quicker than a man accused of p********a, don't you think? Shouldn't you run and hold such a quick Council for him too, Your Majesty?" Ellias was red with anger, but Milena was just as furious. She was fed up with the Church's shadow hovering over Ellias' nonsensical actions, and even more infuriated by how Arseus had dared to touch her. If her Father hadn't interveined first, she might have truly killed him, which would have given Ellias the perfect excuse to throw her in jail too...

"...somebody lift him up," hissed Ellias.

After a hesitation, two of the guards ran to grab Arseus and help him up. He was still groaning in pain and holding his wrist, barely able to stand at all. When stood up though, his furious eyes went to Milena, and his face was distorted by anger. "You... You swine! You'll pay for this! I'll ruin you, you vampire whore! I'll kill you myself."

"Come and try," hissed Milena, purposely showing her fangs as a warning.

"Enough!" Shouted Ellias. "Take the Duke away! And Henry De Boreal too! He's still standing trial, and the charges against him still stand! Duke De Crescent, Grand Princess De Crescent, you'll both be answering for your actions soon!"

"So it begins," said the Duke De Nova, a wry smile on his lips. "Hear this, brother and sister vampires. His Majesty is only starting with the Duchy Houses! Soon he'll replace excuses to wipe us all, and let the Church use us as their Wendigo dogs for their own purposes!" "De Nova, shut up!" Shouted Milena's Father.

It was too late. A lot of vampires were staring at the scene with horror, shaken up by the whole event. The Duke De Nova's words were like a poison that had been thrown into the air and couldn't be taken back; now, the vampires that had been ready to side with Henry were truly about to turn to his side. Milena clenched her fist, and with a glare, defied the royal knights that were still hesitant to approach; the Duke hadn't lowered his g*n, and the pool of blood between them and the Princess made them hesitate. "Milena, move!" Shouted Ellias.

"Ellias!"

To his surprise, Philomenie appeared by Milena's side, even slightly protecting her with her body. The Queen coming forward was a surprise to all, but a blessing for Milena. Philomenie still represented the humans, and half of the Royal Family. If even she stood in Ellias' way, there was still a way to avoid a Civil War.

"What are you doing!" She shouted. "Both you and my brother! Have you gone insane? To arrest a Duke in front of everyone, and attack Lady Milena!"

"You too, stay out of this!" Yelled Ellias, furious at his wife. "Don't you have enough with being useless, you have to stand in my way now too! And to stand on her side!"

"On her side?" Scoffed Philomenie, outraged. "Do you even hear yourself? You have both gone mad!"

She wasn't moving one bit, even more fiercely ready to stand her ground against her husband. Milena put a hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder. She couldn't help but pray that Philomenie wouldn't put herself at risk too much. Who knew what would become of her if both Ellias and the Church decided she had become too much of an obstacle... Unlike Milena, she didn't have her family to rely on.

"You're going to pay for this, Philomenie," hissed Ellias. "Step aside before I really do something I'll regret."

"Oh, I know a lot about regrets," retorted his wife, tears in her eyes. "I regret letting things become like this at all!"

"...Guards, arrest the Duke De Boreal, right this instant," Ellias muttered. "If anyone tries to stop you, you have permission to shoot them down."

A cold silence spread throughout the room. Philomenie's expression fell; he was dead serious. Milena's eyes went to the guards, who seemed speechless at the orders themselves. Next to her, Blanche began growling, ready to fight if needed. She glanced to the side. The Duke De Nova still had that smirk on, body facing forward, ready to get involved too... He would definitely kill Ellias. Philomenie was standing in front of her; she probably wouldn't be killed, but she could get badly wounded. Milena slightly pressed Philomenie's shoulder, pulling her sister-in-law behind her to face Ellias.

"Milena, I warn you..."

"I use my right to Immunity for the Duke Henry De Boreal," Milena said before he could add anything. "As per my right as Grand Princess, I give him the Immunity for his crime."

Ellias' expression fell, and the guards lowered their spears, confused. The situation was de escalated in the blink of an eye with her words. Everyone in the room knew what that meant. After a short silence of shock, a sinister and shaky laugh rose in the room, from behind Ellias.

Arseus glared at Milena, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Sucks for you, Princess... Next time, it'll be your turn."