Lady Dhampir
Chapter 284

She stumbled back, and felt Raphael grabbing her from behind, holding her before she could fall down. And she probably would have. Not only was the shock from seeing her dad just eaten up like that by a gigantic pool of blood too much, but that horrible hand sticking out was not something she was prepared for. Her father had never given her a hint about what was under that ice, because he had no idea himself. All he had said was that it would help their family in times of trial. How could she know how much of this was true, and not some twisted, forgotten old legend her ancestors had made to be what they hoped for? Either way, she had no trust in that thing. How could something even be alive, after being trapped in a pool of ice and blood for centuries! The thing moved again. The hand that had suddenly jumped out towards the sky slowly went back, before moving again. Even more frightening was that it strangely looked like a Wendigo's hand. Skinny, with arched knuckles and long nails. Milena swallowed her saliva, and extended a hand, trying to keep Raphael behind her. Strangely though, her brother didn't seem as afraid. In fact, while he was holding her waist gently, he was also leaning forward, almost looking curious about that thing. "Millie, that..."

"Stay behind me, Raphael," she muttered with a hoarse voice.

She had an ominous feeling about that creature. It moved again, and this time, the top of a head came out, with very, very long hair. At first glance, Milena was tricked into thinking its hair was red, but she realized it was only blood-soaked. It wasn't red, but white. The rest of a body emerged, very slowly, as if it had to stretch along with each movement. The hand suddenly grabbed one of the remaining blocks of ice nearby, the sharp nails digging in it to get a good grip. Slowly, the upper body pulled itself out of the blood pool, with much grunting. Its other hand came out, with thin shoulders. Milena realized that creature was thin, but tall. Was it really a wendigo? It still looked like it had some flesh on, and it was moving slowly, but normally, not in the spider-like ways a wendigo would have. She finally saw the bottom of the face, pale, but dripping with blood. In fact, the whole body was n***d under the dripping blood. That thing finally pulled itself completely up onto the ice, resting on its knees. The hair was incredibly long, just like its nails. Milena then saw it slowly open its mouth.

It had fangs.

She grabbed Raphael, and brutally f****d him to back off with her, closer to the wall.

"Ha...."

She heard the creature exhale, looking out of breath. Milena didn't dare make a sound. If it was something like a wendigo, it could potentially jump on them at any moment. In this enclosed space, she and Raphael would be as good as dead in minutes... Still, that thing looked exhausted. Its shoulders were moving slowly, as if it was trying to breathe.

Then, it slowly tilted its head back. She heard it sigh, and it wiped its face with its hand, removing some of the blood. Then, it opened its eyes. They were red.

Milena was shocked. Red eyes? With the white hair, she had expected perhaps a White One, or a wendigo, but... red eyes? There was no mistake. That thing suddenly turned its face towards them. It was a male. To her surprise, he glared. "...What the f**k, Sis?" He suddenly groaned.

Milena frowned. ... He had just called her Sis? She watched as the man slowly got back on his feet. Strangely, the ice didn't complain at all under his weight. Was it because he was extremely thin, and n***d, too? When he turned to face them, n***d as a worm, Milena did confirm for herself he was a man...

"... Where is that bastard?" He groaned again. "Where the f**k did he..."

He then frowned, and stepped towards her with a strange grin.

"You... You're not my sister, are you? ...What's your name, Love?

Milena was completely destabilized. Who was that man? No, what even was he? A White One with red eyes? A vampire with white hair? With all that blood still soaking him, it was hard to see his skin's color, and his body was abnormally skinny, too. He chuckled, and glanced down, as if realizing he was n***d too.

"Enjoying the view, aren't we? ...Well, come on now. Where the hell am I, and most importantly, where is my bastard brother?"

"....This is the De Crescent Manor. I'm Milena De Crescent, daughter of the Dukedom De Crescent and Grand Princess of this Kingdom."

"De Crescent?" He repeated, confused. "Like that... wench..."

"Wench?" Frowned Milena.

"Yeah, what was her name? Charmilla?"

Milena was completely lost. There had been several Charmilla De Crescent amongst her ancestors, but that name hadn't been used in decades, not since her great-grand-aunt. They had been named after Charmilla De Crescent, one of her oldest ancestors, a woman who had lived at the time of the Kingdom's founding... His words just didn't make sense.

"Damn it," he groaned. "I can't remember what happened. That bastard got me into one of his f*****g crazy ideas again... Oh, the headache..."

"Where is my Father?" Asked Milena, growing angry. "... Bring him back."

The man raised an amused eyebrow.

"I don't know about your Daddy, Love, but you're probably more my type than he is. And I don't like having some chaperon when I'm busy with a Lady-"

"My Father!" Shouted Milena. "You just grabbed him and pulled him into the blood pool! Bring him back immediately!"

The man frowned, and glanced back at the blood he had just gotten out of, as if just realizing now.

"Oh..."

He seemed confused for a second, tilting his head with a thinking expression. Milena was furious, lost and had no idea how to deal with the strange man. His red eyes were disturbing her, and, even more annoying, was the impression that she had seen him before. She never forgot a face, so how come she just couldn't tell where she had seen his?

"Your brother isn't here."

Raphael's voice took her by surprise. Slowly, her brother stepped ahead of her, while very gently pushing Milena to the side. He spoke very nicely to the strange man, too, as if they knew each other. Raphael walked to the edge of the blood pool, with a smile on his face. While standing in front of her, he was still holding Milena's hand, as if to tell her it was alright. It was the first time she had seen the new Raphael looking so strangely confident, and she had no idea what was going on. Still, he was faintly smiling at the man, as if facing a long-lost acquaintance.

"... Who are you now?" Frowned the man.

"Her older brother, you can call me Raphael."

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds. Raphael's strange calm in front of the bemused man was unsettling. Milena had no idea what to do or say next, she was completely dependent on him right now. Who in the world was that man, what good was he to them? Suddenly, the man moved. He hadn't walked; He had just... moved. In the span of a blink, he had moved from the place he stood at to stand right in front of Raphael, just inches away from him. Milena's breath was taken away....How had he done that? She felt like she had just had a lapse in time, and missed him walking over the distance, but she was sure she hadn't. No, he had literally crossed a ten-steps distance in a blink, without a sound, without a movement. What was that?

"Hi there," he smiled at Raphael.

"Can I take your hand?"

His question seemed to amuse the man.

"You're not my type, sweetheart."

"That's alright."

Raphael opened his hand to him. The man glanced down at it, and, after a hesitation, he took it. Nothing happened, for a few seconds, if not for the two men enigmatically staring at each other. Milena's voice was stuck in her throat. She had no idea what was going on, she could only believe Raphael had the situation in hand... Her brother looking so confident was the only thing that kept her from going insane. Every time she was losing patience, he'd hold her hand a little bit tighter, as if he knew exactly when to calm her down. She waited, her heart beating like crazy. That man wasn't scary, but she had no idea who he was, what he wanted, and why he had taken her father to exchange places with him...

"The Seer," he muttered. "...That was unexpected."

She realized they were somehow done. He let go of her brother's hand, and his red eyes went down on Milena.

"...Princess, uh?"

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Raphael.

His eyes went back to Raphael, and he shrugged.

"Yeah... Well, I'll miss those bastards I guess."

The red-eyed man suddenly sighed, looking annoyed.

"Oh, you kids brought me back at such a shitty time... Oh well, I'll have my fun later, I guess."

He tilted his head, glancing back at Milena again. A faint smirk appeared on his lips.

"I couldn't have f****d a chick that looked that much like my sister, anyway... Even I'm not that gross. Don't worry Love, I'll give you a hand. My brother would be going crazy with the f*****g mess they made up there, and I'm a tad pissed, too, actually. Well, see you soon!"

Just like that, he disappeared. Milena took a couple of seconds to realize. He was gone. In less than a second again, that man had vanished, right under her eyes. It had happened so fast, and without a sound either. She exhaled, as if she had been holding her breath all this time. "Raphael... What just happened?"

She was still in deep shock. They had broken the blood pool, her father was gone, and instead, a strange creature had appeared. She had no idea what was going on.

"Who was that! I don't understand what happened! How did he... vanish?"

"Just like I can read thoughts," Raphael muttered. "He's like me, Millie. Like Blanche."

"B-but his eyes..."

"He's much, much older than us. He's the first White One..."

"The First White One...?"

Raphael nodded. So that explained the vanishing part... Milena still couldn't process everything that had happened. She rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming up.

"Then... He said he'll help us?"

"Yes, he will. I showed him. Don't worry, he's on our side."

"What about Dad?" She insisted. "Can he bring him back? Can he-"

Her eyes suddenly fell on the blood pool. She hadn't realized earlier. The blood hadn't just gone back to being flat and calm because that man had come out of it. The ice was back, and was covering it all again. There was no trace left of that ice having been broken before. It was literally as if nothing had happened. Milena's heart dropped.

"Dad..."

She tried to run to the blood pool, thinking if she broke it again, he'd come back, but Raphael grabbed her just in time to hold her back. She struggled to get out of his grip, fighting him off.

"Raphael, stop it! He's right there! Dad's just under the ice, if we-"

"Millie, he's not coming back....He's not."

She stopped fighting. Milena's arms dropped alongside her body, her eyes still riveted on the pool. Her brother hugged her a bit tighter from behind, gently.

"...I'm sorry, Milena. Dad's not coming back.."

A single tear left her eye. She knew. A part of her already knew all that. She just wasn't ready. She had wanted to say goodbye, but not like this, not so brutally. She felt Raphael gently kiss against her raven curls. "Don't worry, Milena. He's fine. One day, he'll come back, too... Just not for us."

She nodded, defeated. She let her brother hug her, needing his embrace more than ever. She was just glad Raphael was with her... She didn't know how she would have possibly gone through this otherwise. Not after she had lost her dad. Her family, again. She took a deep breath. As the room went quiet, and with Raphael still hugging her, Milena could hear the fight still going on outside. The gunfire, the men shouting. It was like a very, very faraway echo, but she knew she had to go back now. Milena didn't have the time to mourn. She would take the time later, if she was given any. Just, right now was not the time. Her heart was not ready to waste any more time on tears again. She had to do the only thing she could still do, protect those she had left.

She took a deep breath, and turned around in her brother's arms, hugging him strongly, just one time, to get that strength she needed from him.

"...Let's leave this place," she muttered. "Let's lock it, and never, ever come back down here again."

"I understand."

Milena nodded, and they went back, holding hands without looking back. Raphael followed her up the stairs, and they quietly went back to the middle of the Manor. "Millie, that man..."

She took a deep breath, and turned around to face her brother.

"Sorry. I think I have a rough idea who he is now, but... Raphael, we can't trust him."

"But he's-"

"I know. But even if he was in our Manor, we can't just trust somebody like that. The Oracle betrayed us once already, I don't want to risk trusting someone again. Plus, we cannot wait for more help. I need to finish my plan, you understand? Raphael, I need you to stay here, and hide with Blanche and Olivia."

"My Lady!"

Right as she heard her name, Olivia stepped out, glancing at Raphael with a worried expression. Blanche was by her side, as a wolf, looking a bit tired. Those two probably just had come back down from the tower, and like her, had found the room empty. "Blanche, Olivia, take Raphael and leave."

"But, my Lady..."

"Evacuate with the others, you understand? I will be alright, but I need to be sure the three of you are safe."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Frowned Raphael.

Milena sighed.

"...Whether my plan goes well or not, as long as you, Eugenie and Lucian are alive, the House De Crescent will be fine. My children's safety doesn't lie with me anymore, and all my friends are either in hiding or under Philomenie's protection. I have to believe everything will be fine. But, if I want to stop the bloodshed and have a chance to carry out my plan, I have to act now. You understand?"

Her brother slowly nodded. Milena smiled, and caressed his cheek.

"Thank you for staying by my side like this. Just stay safe....Look after the Seer, and-"

"He's not the Seer, Millie, I am."

"Oh....Well, look after him anyway, if he comes back. I think I've had enough trouble with the White Ones for a lifetime..."

She smiled, and put a quick kiss on her brother's cheek. Then, she turned to Blanche, putting one knee down to face her best friend. She knew her enough to tell, even with just her golden eyes, that she was worried. Milena gently petted her. "Blanche, I'll entrust them with you. I know how much we hated being separated from each other, but I promise it will be short... and the last time, I hope. So, just for this time, I'll ask you to do this for me. Alright?"

The wolf suddenly stepped forward, hiding her face against Milena's shoulder, nudging under her arm. Milena smiled, and hugged her back, with a heavy heart. Her purple eyes went up to Olivia, whose eyes were even redder than usual. Her maid didn't say anything, but she bowed, very low, with a sad expression. Milena sighed, and hugged Blanche once more before letting go of the white fur.

She watched the three of them leave the entrance hall quickly. Milena sighed. Her eyes went down on her abdomen, and she covered the bleeding, the pain annoying her a bit.

"...Ruby?"

"I'll be with you until the very end, my Lady."

"I expected nothing less," Milena muttered, a smile on her lips.

Then, she turned around, and the doors were banged open, the morning light suddenly blinding her.

"Former Grand Princess Milena De Crescent! Your rebel army has lost! Under His Majesty Ellias' Command, you're under arrest under the charges of high treason against the Kingdom! Any attempt to resist-"

"I'm not going to resist," Milena retorted with a fierce expression. "If you're going to arrest me, just get this over with already, Captain....I have a long overdue meeting with your King."