Lady Dhampir
Chapter 287

Milena was beyond furious, and revolted. How dare he do such a despicable thing! She was prepared for t*****e, humiliation, anything but this! She immediately ripped some fabric off her dress, making herself a temporary mask. Sadly, that would be nowhere near enough. She glanced towards the window. Although there were cracks, she could tell the blown glass was thick. Not only that, but even if she managed to break some, it would take too long, and that thing wouldn't go through the tight metal bars behind. Ellias had sealed this room so that Blanche wouldn't be able to come in, and Milena wouldn't be able to get that thing out either! She tried to think quickly. This thing was still a gas-based d**g. If she could contain it somehow... She grabbed the thin blanket she had struggled so much to put up on the window, and ripped it off, throwing it over the little device. It was probably a bit late as she could tell the room was already covered in thin smoke, but at least, it would keep whatever was left inside. She wrapped the thing tightly inside, rolling it up like a ball, and pushed it against the door, hoping some of it would get underneath the opening. Then, Milena slowly backed away.

After all that effort, she could feel her headache getting worse. In her hurry, she had moved around too much, and the effects were already starting to show. She felt dizzy, and her vision was getting blurry. What kind of d**g was this? She couldn't recognize that smell, but she knew new drugs were coming into the black market every day to entertain the nobles and feed evil schemes. What had Ellias possibly planned for her? If he was only trying to tame her, he could have simply cut off one or two of her limbs. If he wanted to keep her from speaking, there were more violent and efficient ways, too. Unless he was hoping to have her unable to focus during her trial? ... No, Milena doubted they would even bother to fake a trial. Judging by how quickly and irrational the attack on the Manor De Crescent had been, she could tell her enemies were no longer bothered to play by the rules.

Was this his way of retaliating? Making her addicted to whatever that d**g was? The headache was starting to get overwhelming. She stumbled back, retreating until she felt the cold stone wall behind her. She was cornered between the bed and the wall, and felt her senses going numb. She had been drugged a couple of times before, for her training, but that thing was horribly potent. She tried to force herself to calm down. Trying to fight the effects would only make things worse, most likely. If Ellias had left her with that thing, he probably wouldn't be back anytime soon. She could only hope she had managed to contain it, and it would stop soon. She only had to hold on. Whatever happened to her, things would move on outside, she had to believe in her allies, in her own plan. Slowly, she moved closer to the window, lying down against the floor. The air would be fresher there. She couldn't feel the cold anymore, but the gentle winds she could feel coming from above were helping her calm down a bit. She couldn't give in to panic now. The worst scenario would have her hurt herself. Ellias couldn't kill her yet, and he was probably afraid she'd try and commit suicide. This d**g was his only way of harming her... She had to calm down, and wait for it to pass.

Milena couldn't tell if she had lost consciousness, or slept. Her head felt incredibly heavy all the same. She opened her eyes, replaceing herself in the same position she remembered putting herself in, curled up under the window. She felt absolutely horrible, sweating and hot and cold at the same time. She wanted to throw up, or evacuate her ill-being one way or another, but she couldn't. In fact, she could barely stand on her arms as she tried to lift herself up. She realized she was trembling, and her vision blurry. The room seemed the same, just a bit more grey. She tried to glance up, and see the color of the sky, but it still looked like daylight. She took a deep breath, and leaned back down again, closing her eyes again.

When she woke up next, it was darker in the room. Dusk, most likely. This time, her head felt heavy, but her fingers were numb, and she could definitely feel the cold. In fact, a thin white cloud came out of her mouth every time she exhaled. Milena suddenly remembered her situation. She couldn't stay like that. If she caught a cold and died, it would be too stupid. Fighting against her numb and frozen limbs, she struggled to move away from the wall. Some of her hair was almost stuck against the cold, frozen stone, and she ripped it with a grimace. Then, she crawled back to the bed, just steps away. That distance felt way too far, but she still f****d herself to get there, and climb up on the bed. She had never felt so pathetic, and yet so determined; She refused to die and give in, and she refused to just lay down. Even if her body failed her, she refused to give up.

"Mommy."

The voice took her by surprise. She looked around the room, but nothing seemed to have changed.

"Mommy."

A chill went down her spine. She shook her head, mad at herself. She couldn't give in. Her babies were too young to speak, she knew her mind was giving in to that d**g. Hallucinations. She had them before, so she knew how it felt. A part of her knew how to recognize them, ignore them. However, another part of her wanted to cry and rush to her babies.

"....You abandoned us."

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears coming. She wanted to go back to sleep, now. However, sleep wouldn't come. Instead, the voice kept harassing her, continuously. "Mommy, why did you abandon us?"

"I didn't," she muttered. "I had to save you..."

"-who are you talking to?"

Milena shivered, and sat up in the room, nervous. She couldn't even tell for sure if that voice was real or not, but she had that feeling. She felt watched, and not alone. She retreated to the end of the bed frame, nervously glancing around the room. She wished it wasn't so dark, and her vision was better. She wished she wasn't still under the drugs' effects, and her mind clearer. She glared at the darkest corner of her prison.

"... Leave me alone," she hissed.

They didn't respond, making her even more annoyed. Perhaps she was glaring at a ghost, or perhaps they felt like they didn't need to reveal their presence. Milena hated it. Not being fully sure or not. That presence was sending chills down her nape, and making her feel restless. She grabbed the blade hidden in her sleeve, ready for anything.

".... only came to watch you. I won't do anything to you."

"I said get out," she hissed, trying to sound as normal as she could.

They didn't answer, making her feel even madder. She really hoped she was hallucinating this. She had a feeling she knew that voice, but she couldn't tell for certain. She hated that. If she had been in her normal state, this would have been the usual mind game, which she could have won easily. But she wasn't. Instead, Milena felt f****d into a corner like prey watching out for the hunter, ready to bite back. She almost considered injuring herself, like slicing her hand to clear the fog on her mind a bit, but she was still able to consider that she'd be revealing one of her weapons as well. It was horrible. On one hand, she doubted her own mind, and on the other, she had to try and do what she could to make reasonable decisions. The smallest mistake could have huge consequences later. Right now, she was holding on to the facts she knew for certain. She was still trapped, probably watched, and she needed her weapons. Whether that presence was real or not, she couldn't be sure, but it wasn't worth revealing her assets, unless she felt attacked. Then, she couldn't guarantee she would keep them concealed;

However, whoever it was wasn't moving. That person was perfectly still, and, as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and blurriness, Milena was starting to recognize a silhouette. The frame was still shifting strangely whenever she blinked, so she couldn't even believe her own eyes for sure. However, the more she stared, the more she had a feeling someone was there, and staring at her. Someone with... green eyes. She glared, disgusted. "...Get out," she muttered again, hearing her own voice incredibly hoarse.

"It's impressive you can still hold on," muttered that person. "You're always stronger than I think."

She heard something rummaging. The d**g! He was touching the sheet she had covered it with, taking it off. Milena grimaced. The smell suddenly got stronger, and she groaned.

"I'll be taking that, just in case you thought about covering it again... I would have given you an extra blanket, but it looks like I really can't trust you with anything, Milena. As usual... I will see you later."

She heard him sigh, and leave, the door slamming behind him. She screamed.

It was a scream of anger, despair, misery. She had already barely held on with that thing covered, but now, that horrible smell was filling the whole room! She didn't even dare to move. Milena refused to move a muscle. She decided she'd endure it. No matter how many hallucinations, no matter the voices she heard, she refused to give in to that thing. She'd rather die than go insane.

The next hours were an absolute nightmare. Hundreds of hallucinations harassed her, in a semi-unconscious state that left her completely restless. She couldn't escape by sleeping, and her brain wouldn't let her catch a break. Milena heard herself cry, scream and beg for mercy. She felt pain in all of her limbs, and that headache as if her head was splitting into two. She felt as if her whole body was falling apart. Never had she felt so much pain.

Worse was that voice, those green eyes that came to harass her, several times. Every time, she felt him, staring in that corner, every time the same. She couldn't tell if it was real or not. She hated it, she hated that fear his presence instigated in her. She hated not being able to tell what was real or not. Every time she thought sleep might finally greet her, offer her some relief, a voice or a vision would haunt her again. Perhaps she was refusing to fall asleep herself, trying to remain awake in case the green eyes approached. Milena just couldn't give up. No matter the pain, the madness, she'd never let him approach her. She would never give in to him.

Milena felt gentle strokes on her hair waking her up. It took her a second to realize, and grab the wrist, with a furious look in her purple eyes.

"Don't touch me."

Her voice only came out as a faint, hoarse sound, but it was enough. She heard a chuckle, and suddenly, two red eyes appeared in front of her. Her heart sunk. It had to be another hallucination, right? "Feisty," he chuckled.

...It wasn't Rayan. She felt the disappointment hurt her like a knife stabbing her heart. Moreover, as she blinked and the fog dissipated in front of her eyes, she recognized that white hair. The man smiled at her, and as she let go of his wrist, caressed her hair some

more.

"Oh, my poor baby. They got you real bad, didn't they?"

"...Who are you?" She muttered.

"We'll get to that part later, Love. For now, I need you to get better first."

While Milena wondered if she wasn't hallucinating again, the man gently helped her sit up. It was dark in the room, and this time, she didn't feel that presence. However, she also realized that the room didn't smell as strongly as before... What had happened to that d**g?

The stranger sat her up as if she was a fragile child, seated behind her and hugging her. Milena felt strange. She hadn't been that close with any man in so long. However, there was no ambiguity in his gestures. He put a gentle hand over her forehead. "As expected, you have a fever, too... Ha, those ruffians. I can't believe what the hell they did to this place..."

"How... did you... get here..."

"It's my thing, Love. I'm The Traveler. I jump and hop, here I am... Come on, eat this."

She had no idea what he was feeding her, but she didn't resist him. It was strangely sweet in her mouth, and yet bitter too. She hated it, but she was hungrier than she had thought, and managed to swallow several bits he fed her. "...Good girl."

"Can you get me... out?"

"Oh, I really wish I could, Love, but no. Trust me, I'd take you out of here this second if I could take you with me."

Milena sighed, and leaned against his shoulder.

"Why are you here then?"

"To help you out, Love....How do you feel?"

"...sick."

She heard him groan.

"No wonder, that s**t is quite strong. It took us a bit to come up with an antidote, too... Don't worry, just rest a bit. This will help you sleep and get over the effects of the drug."

Milena already felt a lot better. She had no idea where this man had come from, nor why he was there to help her, but his cold hand on her forehead was incredibly nice. Not only that, but she could tell he was enveloping her body and keeping her warm, too. Her headache was gradually lessening.

"...That vicious little rat," he muttered. "I had to go back and forth five times until he f*****g left... Thank God he didn't see me."

"I'm... tired," Milena muttered.

"I bet you are. Don't worry, Love, I'm staying with you. Just rest."

He finally moved, helping her lie back down on the bed. The wood was still as hard as before under her, but she felt something warm and heavy like a cape covering her. The man from the blood pool sat on the floor, his eyes at the same height as her. He gently took her hand.

"Why are you... helping me?"

He tilted his head.

"Your brother... Raphael. That boy told me a very interesting story. I did some research of my own too, of course, to confirm a few things. It seems like some of my seeds did take root after all."

Milena frowned, confused, but the man enigmatically smiled, and caressed her hair some more. She was trying to gather the bits and pieces from before she felt so unwell, to make sense out of this man's presence.

"You're really... Princess Silvra's brother? The one who... died?"

"I wouldn't say I did die," he chuckled. "But yeah. Silvra was my sister... I thought you looked a lot like her, but it's your eyes. If I really look at you... You look more like Charmilla."

"She's my ancestor," Milena muttered, holding on to the few facts she knew for sure.

"...She was my fiancé," he muttered.

Milena frowned, confused. She knew her genealogical tree pretty much by heart, and she couldn't remember seeing this man in it. She actually couldn't remember the name of Princess Silvra's younger brother who had been killed, but she knew Charmilla had married another man, from a lower-ranked family... and given birth to her one and only son shortly after. While Milena, still feeling unwell from the d**g's effect, was trying to wrap her mind around those events, the man put his chin down on the bed, smiling at her. "My little Princess," he smiled.

"What is... your name?" She asked.

"You can call me Grandpa!"

"...I want to know your name."

His smile melted a bit, and she saw him sigh faintly. He caressed her black hair some more.

"...Raelius. Prince Raelius Archein De Solar."

"...Raelius," she repeated in a whisper.

"It's Grandpa to you."

"It's a bit similar... My husband's name is Rayan," Milena muttered, starting to feel better, and slid into a peaceful sleep.

"Yeah, your brother told me that. He sounds like a handful, that boy."

Milena smiled.

"I miss him. ...And our babies."

"It's alright, Love. Grandpa will help you end all of this mess soon. My big brother would be mad, too... To see how low our Kingdom has fallen. It's about time we punish those bastards." "We still need to... replace who they are."

His expression darkened, and he tightened his hand around hers.

"Don't worry. I've a bit of an idea of which bastard is behind all this... Just get some sleep, Love. When you wake up, we'll get ready to counterattack."