Lady Dhampir
Chapter 290

"Then... What are you going to do?" She asked.

"What I can," Raelius smiled. "So far, I think only your people know of my being here, so I need to use that time as much as I can before the real fight resumes. First, I want to confirm what happened years back. I can't replace the head of the Church like that, and if I show up, I bet they'll just vanish. So, you're still our best shot at luring them out." "Don't show yourself," Milena nodded. "They killed the Oracle the minute she betrayed them, and they murdered my friends who were working on the remedy, too..."

Raelius chuckled, and brushed his long white hair back.

"Don't worry, Love. I may not be from this era, but this is still the Kingdom I've lived in. I've literally seen this Castle be re-built for my family, and the Capital hasn't changed much either. I know where to go and how to hide and sneak away from people." "...You'd like Lucian," Milena smiled. "The youngest of my three older brothers. He..."

"I know who he is," Rael chuckled. "Raphael and Blanche showed me. He's quite the brat, isn't he?"

"I love him. Thanks to him, my babies were saved, too..."

Milena suddenly felt the urge to cry again, just thinking about her babies. Until now, she hadn't had time to think, to breathe or to reminisce. But, after spending the whole morning chatting with Raelius about everything that had happened so far, she couldn't help but think about her twins again. Had she really made the right choice by sending them away? How could she ever be sure? She was dying to hold them again. She would do anything, absolutely anything, to be sure she'd one day be reunited with her babies. "I'm sure they are fine."

Raelius smiled to her confidently;

"From what I've seen and heard, I can tell you're not alone in this, Love. I am incredibly proud of my kids, for keeping the De Crescent family strong and as close as ever. Your Grandma would be proud."

Milena nodded, wiping her tears. She knew he was talking about Charmilla, but her thoughts went to her own great-grandmother, Maribella. She had already lost her mother, her great-grandmother, Valentin, Sophia, Jeremiah, and now her dad... How many more until this was all over? Milena was trying hard to be strong, but every time, she wanted to beg for everything to just be over already. Sadly, the end would only come when all of their enemies were gone. Or so she really hoped...

"Give me a couple more days," Raelius suddenly whispered. "Two days for me to replace the clues I need, and put the plan in motion. I just need you to hold on a little bit longer, right here, and I will save you. As long as those corrupt bastards think they have you, they will think they've won. Meanwhile, I'll replace a way. ...I will make sure your father's sacrifice wasn't in vain Love."

Milena nodded.

Raelius' last sentence was perhaps the one thing she really needed to hear. That everything done and lost until then would not have been for nothing. That was the only thing she really wanted to be sure of. Moreover, she could see it in his eyes. He was as determined as she was. She was still having a hard time relating to that strange ancestor that had come in her father's stead, but Milena could tell, his love for the House De Crescent was genuine. Whatever had happened between him, his siblings and Charmilla De Crescent, Raelius was determined to clear his name and his past.

With a long sigh, and leaned over, and gently kissed her head, against her hair. Milena was starting to wonder if his obsession with her hair had anything to do with her ancestor...

"I'll be back," he muttered. "This is an antidote to help you resist the d**g, but I only have one dose left, and it won't be fully efficient either. You need to let them think they win this round, Milena."

She understood. She had woken up thanks to a first round of medicine, and the d**g's smoke being kept under that pot, but if Ellias saw her awake and perfectly fine, he'd understand something was off. She had to perfectly balance her state and her acting, take the medicine when needed but also let the d**g affect her. It was a complicated, heart-wrenching situation, but she had no choice but to trust Raelius. She probably wouldn't even have been able to endure it without the medicine, so she was ready to do anything, if it could guarantee her to go through this. The truth was, she was already dying to get out of there.

Milena had expected it would be hard, but feeling so vulnerable was the absolute worst. The mere thought of having to endure two more nights trapped here at Ellias' mercy made her sick. Whether he'd touch her or not was not the question. She just hated everything about this situation. Being so vulnerable, so weak. Milena had spent her whole life getting stronger, tougher, and now, she had to act like a doll under a man's power. She loathed everything about that situation. She would have much rather been tortured, or on a battlefield, where she could endure the pain. The psychological torture of this was much, much worse. As if he could read her heart, Raelius suddenly came to hug her gently. Milena tensed up at first, but the gentle hand of her ancestors on her long curls was starting to feel familiar. She let herself relax, and closed her eyes, hugging him back, knowing it would be their last contact for a little while.

"I'm really sorry to make you endure this a bit longer," he whispered. "But trust me. I'll help you anyway I can. You just need to endure this, and then, we'll take the final battle to them, and roast those bastards. I swear I'm not letting anyone else of my bloodline die at the hands of those rats."

Milena nodded against his shoulders, hoping it would come true. She just couldn't endure another loss... Suddenly, he was gone. She blinked, and looked around the room, but Raelius was gone, and with him, the pot that was covering the d**g. She glared at the device, and took a deep breath, her last breath of fresh air before that thing filled the room again. She put the tray on the floor, between the bed and her, and curled up under the blanket. She closed her eyes, hoping she'd fall back asleep before that horrible thing would get to her head again...

The nightmare was horrible.

It was one of those dreams when she knew she was dreaming, but she still couldn't get out of there. In her dream, Milena was standing in the middle of the Vermillion Lands, her lands, the ground soaked with blood and covered in broken glass. Each step hurt, but on the other end, she could see the bodies of her brothers. All three of them, lying on top of one another, with, at the very bottom, their father. Milena could hear herself scream and cry, but in her nightmare, nothing made a sound. There was only this horrible, cold wind that bit every inch of her skin and made her cry ice-cold tears. That place was a cemetery, with no light, no hope, no joy. She wanted to run towards her family, but each step hurt more than the previous. When she glanced back, a monster with green eyes was following her. She couldn't stop, and every step she made was futile. It was a horrible nightmare.

She woke up in sweat several times, but refused to part with the blanket either way. She knew she had to keep it, as if the rational part of her mind was holding on to the basic survival needs for her. Everything was happening like in a dream, so much she was aware there had to be some reality mixed-up in between. Just, she couldn't tell which was which. She had to live like a soulless creature, surviving on instincts only. She heard voices around her several times, worried people, but it never lasted long. She vaguely remembered feeding herself, and someone trying to bathe her, but nothing was clear. Nothing felt real, or really a dream either. She just couldn't tell either apart, and she wasn't sure she would have wanted to, anyway. Even when she felt she could, she didn't speak. She kept herself from it, as she realized the voices around her weren't familiar. At times, she thought she saw or heard Raelius, but it was so fleeting, she chose absolute mutism as her most reliable shield. Milena's body felt like it was drifting away from her as she lost her strength. She felt like a soulless doll, trapped in time, trapped in a cage of glass. Day and night didn't make much sense anymore. The world was covered in shades of grey, sometimes sparkling white, sometimes oppressively dark. Night was the scariest, and Day was blinding. Milena kept her eyes closed to not see the green gaze across the room. She wished to blind herself, so she wouldn't fear those eyes again. The fear was insinuous, crawling around like a vicious snake ready to bite every time she tried to relax. She couldn't relax.

She couldn't tell when her body began to get used to the d**g. At times, she found herself sitting, mindlessly, just sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes turned towards the window. Numb, expressionless, thoughtless. She couldn't remember waking up and sitting, but there she was. Then, she'd ignore that unsettling feeling, and go back to lying down and sleeping. She learned to live like this, like one would have tamed a wild beast. Bit by bit, she lowered her defenses, learning to make the d**g that presence she refused to fight anymore. The more she fought, the worst it felt. But if she simply tried to act as normal, it wasn't as painful. She could endure it... somehow. Milena felt as if she was leaving her body behind, and hiding in the corner of her own mind. Her memories were seeds for nightmares, so she even tried not to reminisce, not to think at all. If she could, she imagined those eyes were red, instead of green. It was almost comforting, until reality brutally hit her again.

When she felt good enough to, she would stand up, facing that window, and staring outside. She couldn't see the metal bars anymore, just the snow falling, covering everything. She could see the winter garden, far below, with its flickering lights at times. Milena stared, for a very, very long time. It was almost as if she could simply become a statue. Only one thing remained strong; her goal, her plan. She was holding on to it like the last rational part of her mind. She could endure the pain. She could endure the fever, and all those memories she had to let go of. She'd forget everything and everyone if she had to. All she wanted was to get to that goal, to that final part of her plan only she could accomplish. She kept her hand tightly closed, her fist clenched so hard she'd tremble at times. Just for this. All for this. She could endure anything, as long as she could get to this...

"I promised you, didn't I?" He whispered, not hiding his satisfaction.

She stood still, trying to hide her tears from him. She had forgotten she could even cry, but the tears rolling down her cheeks were probably real. Her heart was slowly shattering into pieces, pieces sharp and painful like glass. She didn't want to give in to her pain, or to show it to him, even one bit. She loathed his presence beyond anything. She hated it. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. She wouldn't. Staring at the window like a stubborn statue, she watched the snowfall, slowly covering the winter garden in silence, unable to say a word.

Sturdy arms surrounded her waist, holding her, and he put his head on her shoulder, gently kissing her neck. She shivered upon feeling his cold breath. She hated this. She hated all of this, so much...

"I always said you would be mine..."

No.

Something snapped inside her. As if his words had pushed over a dangerous, bottomless edge. Milena blinked, twice, as if she was suddenly wide awake. She was still completely frozen, but inside, she was back. She saw that window, more clearly than she had seen it in those past few days. Her senses were on high alert, and her skin shivered from the foreign movement against her. He was touching her, as if she was a precious doll. A doll he could manipulate all he liked. He had turned her into this weak, mindless, powerless being he could touch how he liked. A nausea surged in her. Never had she been so disgusted at Ellias before. But this was like the end of a long, long nightmare, and the brutal awakening that followed.

His hands caressed her arms, and he slowly turned around. Upon facing him, she noticed the changes in him. He looked... healthier. Calmer, and somewhat even happier. Then why was there this strange atmosphere around him? Something felt off. The body she had thought to be sturdier was in golden armor. Why was he wearing this...? She tried to think, but her mind was still slow. Milena looked down, forcing her eyes to look down on him. It was hard, but she saw the leather under the armor, the parts where the gold didn't go. He moved, and she looked up at him again. The way he stared at her, with that strange look in his eyes, was unsettling. It reminded her too much of many, many years ago, and a young prince that smiled at her like that, too.

"It took a while," he whispered. "But now, there's finally nothing, no one between us..."

That sad smile on his lips. What was that? It was as if he was the one in a dream. The one caught in his own fantasy, away from reality. He stood dangerously close, looking at her as if anything about this was just normal. Milena clenched her hand even harder, and something warm dripped down between her fingers.

"Milena," he muttered. "Even if tonight is the last night..."

His hand touched her cheek. Disgusting. Milena wanted to slap that hand away, but her arm didn't move. She took deep, slow and controlled breaths. She had to take control back. Why was her body so numb, when her mind was finally so clear?! How long would it take? She couldn't take this any longer. No, not this. Anything but this.

"You and I, as we were always supposed to be. I'm sorry this came down to this. I should have been braver before. We are running out of time, but just for tonight, we are-... What is that?"

He had finally noticed. He frowned, and with a hand still on her arm, he took a step back, glancing down at her hand.

"You're bleeding! What is-"

As if something had suddenly been unlocked, Milena moved. Her bleeding hand opened, revealing the blade, and, in one same movement, she violently stabbed him. She felt the blade dig deep into his flesh, and the blood pouring on her hand. Ellias gasped in shock, and leaned forward, grimacing in pain. He slowly raised his eyes at her, both opened wide in shock.

"M... Milena..."

"That wasn't a dream," she muttered.

She suddenly twisted the blade, and pulled it out, making him groan in pain. He fell back on the cold floor, his trembling hands trying to contain the injury. "... It was my nightmare."

Despite the pain in her hand, Milena held on to the blood-stained blade. Her vision was a bit funny, and her senses were coming back, bit by bit. She looked around the room, replaceing it the same as before. She glanced towards the window. It was the evening. She nodded slowly, for herself. Her eyes went back to Ellias, who was grunting in pain, bleeding on the floor, his hands trying to cover his injury. She gasped, and stepped aside. The plan. She had to follow the plan. He was injured, that was part of the plan. Milena's eyes went to the door. She had to leave... She took one step, then another, towards the door. When her hands met the cold wood, she slowly pushed it. It opened. She chuckled, amused by the door's movement. It was now open... She stepped outside, and the corridor was empty. Milena didn't even look back. She walked, mindlessly, just following the stairs down. She had to leave. She couldn't remember where, or why, but she had to leave now. How long had she been up there? Days? Weeks? Years? She could barely remember a time when she wasn't trapped in that room. However, she knew she had to go somewhere. She just had to.... She had to run away. Her steps accelerated a bit. The floor finally stopped going down, only looking straight in front of her. Her head was spinning a bit. Would she make it? Her hand was painful. Oh, so that was the pain she felt... How strange how even that felt like a forgotten sensation.

"Milena."

No, not him again. She had to run. To escape him, to escape that voice, that silhouette, those steps behind her. She ran faster, panicked; How was he back on his feet already? She could hear the heavy steps behind her, the sounds he made. Panicked, she ran. She wouldn't go back. She'd rather die than go back!

"Milena!"

He suddenly grabbed her arm, and she raised her weapon, ready to defend herself. She sliced his cheek, and he groaned in pain. He grabbed her wrist before she could attack again. She froze, her heart beating like crazy.

"Damn... Don't you think my scar is big enough already?"

She gasped. The armor wasn't gold. His eyes weren't green.

Those eyes were red, and staring at her with a concerned expression, and lips torn by an awful burn scar. "Milena?"

A word came to her mind, just one. A word she had almost forgotten, but that meant an awful lot of relief. "...Rayan."