Lady Dhampir
Chapter 299

Milena barely glanced at her ancestor's proud expression, she was much too worried about Blanche being hurt. She took the white fox in her hands, and kept turning her over, looking for the injury that the blood came from. She found it, a small cut on her shoulder, not too large, but its location made it so that it would bleed if she moved. Milena ripped some fabric off her short skirt, and tried to bandage it the best she could.

"She's alright," said Raelius.

"She's bleeding," Milena retorted, angry. "Can you take her to the Saint?"

"...That won't work, Love."

"What?"

"Don't you know?" He said, visibly surprised. "He can't heal people like us. His ability just doesn't work on other White Ones..."

Milena was utterly confused. It looked like the rules for the White Ones' power completely differed for their own kind. Some had theirs enhanced, while some were completely blocked. Raelius could carry another White One, and Raphael could hear their thoughts and memories without having to touch them, but the Oracle couldn't read another White One's future, and the Saint couldn't heal them... This was so strange. There was still a lot to learn about their kind. For now, though, she still couldn't help but worry about Blanche. She shook her head, and put the small fox back into Raelius' hands, despite her protesting and biting his fingers.

"Ouch!" He groaned. "What am I supposed to do with the finger-biter!"

"Take her back to the Boreal Manor."

"I told you, the Saint can't..."

"The Saint might not be able to heal her, but Philomenie knows enough to help, at least better than what I can do here."

"She's alright," Raelius insisted. "This injury is just..."

"Even if she is, I'm not," Milena insisted. "Moreover, she won't be able to help me if she's like this. So please, take her to Philomenie, and bring her back to me once her wound is properly taken care of. Please. Grandpa."

He hesitated, but after a second, he rolled his eyes.

"Oh goodness, you sure know how to grab an old man by his feelings. Fine, I'll take her. But please, Love, try not to get yourself killed in the meantime. Alright?"

"I'll be alright," Milena nodded. "See you soon." "See you, Love."

He disappeared again, leaving Milena alone in the food storage room just a second later. She took a deep breath, and let it out, trying to calm herself. Seeing Blanche hurt was the worst thing to her; the shape-shifter was like her sister, her best companion, her best friend. The mere sight of blood on her had almost driven her crazy. She had to calm down. At the very least, Blanche was now taken to safety, and she and Raelius wouldn't be back for a few minutes. Milena couldn't afford to wait for them, sadly. She had to keep

moving; she couldn't tell how fast the servants would spread the word, and even if they didn't, the guards she had killed at the entrance would surely be found soon by their colleagues.

Putting her g*n back into its holster and grabbing her small blade instead, she walked out. To her surprise, the servants barely reacted to her presence. They had seen her come in and recognized her, but as she stepped out of her hideout, no more than a few of them glanced in her direction before resuming their work as usual. Milena was baffled. From the few glances some of them gave her, she realized they had all decided to keep their mouths shut. The chef even gave her a quick nod, as if to show her silent support. It was surprising, and certainly gratifying, but that only gave her a few minutes of rest; she had to stay on the move. The hardest part would be getting to the Royal Library. Sadly, that aisle and the kitchens were quite far from each other, as the architects had probably been worried about the smells from the kitchen inconveniencing visitors and placed them at separate ends of the Castle, away from the living spaces. For Milena, that meant many corridors to cross, alone and trying not to get caught... "E-Excuse me... M-my Lady, do you need our help?"

Milena turned around, surprised to replace a bunch of maids and servants gathered a few steps behind her, looking worried. She didn't know what to say. Were those people aware of the situation, and the risks if they helped her? The Royal Staff was supposedly loyal to Philomenie, but would they go out of their way to help her, too? Milena hesitated. If things had gone according to plan, Blanche would have been the one to help her now... One of the younger ladies stepped forward.

"We just want to help," she nodded, visibly nervous. "My Lady and the Queen have done so much for us. Most of us here know all those accusations have to be wrong..."

Milena suddenly realized they thought she had been framed for the attempt on the King's life. Whatever was going on in the Castle right now, the staff could tell something was off. They had probably seen strangers taking over, resident nobles leaving in a hurry and perhaps even some of their own peers disappearing. Any coup was bound to leave traces, and the people working in the Royal Castle were the very first witnesses of that. In such times, they had to hold onto the people they believed in, like the Queen. They knew Philomenie had also left with Milena's ladies-in-waiting, and even the less educated servants could understand what that meant about their relationship...

She hesitated. So much could change, from then on. The smallest decision could lead to a positive outcome, or a terrible tragedy; she had to weigh her chances, and follow her gut. Milena took a deep breath, and turned around to face them. "...Some of the rumors are true," she said. "I did stab your King."

Surprise appeared on most of their faces, but not as much as she would have thought. Further in the back, the chef crossed his arms, with a serious expression, visibly listening. Many servants exchanged worried glances, more confused than before. If lies could have been the safe way, Milena also felt they would have come with a heavy price to pay. At least, telling the truth was weighing a thicker foundation of trust between her and those people.

"It is also true the Queen left to protect herself and my people against him," she said. "The King isn't the man you once served anymore. Something happened to him, and some people have taken over the power from the shadows; your Queen and I are working to reclaim it."

A long silence followed, no one daring to ask anything else. Many of the servants exchanged long glances, or whispered in a very low voice. Milena heard the King being mentioned a couple of times. It seemed like they were keen to believe her words, not because of her speech, but because it matched what they had noticed themselves over the past few weeks. After a while, the same girl from earlier stepped forward. Despite being amongst the youngest, she had that fierce determination in her eyes. Milena suddenly remembered her. She was one of the maids that used to be by Philomenie's side...

"What do you need, my Lady?"

"...I'm trying to get to the Library," Milena said. "I need to get there as fast as I can, and for the guards' attention to be as far away from there as possible."

The servants exchanged looks.

"Alright," said the chef, stepping forward. "We can try and distract them. They are watching each of our movements too, but is anyone supposed to go to the Library?"

"We just finished washing the curtains for one of the salons next door!" Exclaimed one of the male servants, raising his hand. "It's the closest salon to the Library, and we're supposed to bring those curtains back this afternoon!" "So it won't be suspicious if you go there," nodded the chef.

"Me and the other maids will run upstairs and try to get the guards' attention," said the younger maid, exchanging determined glances with her colleagues. "We're going to make them run left and right, away from the Library!" "...Thank you."

All eyes suddenly went back to the Grand Princess, and many were surprised by her expression. They had rarely seen the purple-eyed woman smile so gently and sincerely. She looked more tired and less polished than they had ever seen her, but, for once, she looked like a sincere, brave young woman. Many smiled in echo to hers, and seemed even more determined to help.

"Come on!" Said the chef. "We only have minutes! Girls, go!"

The maids ran out in a little crowd from the kitchen, scattering inside the Palace, in pairs or little groups of three and four, heading upstairs or in other directions, but away from the Library. Soon enough, just a minute later Milena heard one of them scream about an intruder. The steps of the Royal Guards immediately followed, stomping in the direction the voice had come from. Meanwhile, the servants grabbed the curtains they were meant to take back.

"How should we do this?" Muttered one of them. "We don't usually use baskets or anything to carry those, it'll look suspicious..." "Roll me in."

The two men glanced at Milena, shocked. She sighed.

"Yes, I know, it's unconventional and improper for a lady, but war is war. Roll me in one of those stupid curtains, at least they probably won't notice anything."

In fact, Milena was swallowing her pride to say this. To think the Grand Princess of the Kingdom was going to let servants roll her into a curtain to smuggle her inside the Palace was already silly enough itself, but for Milena, whose pride was unmatched, this was a new low she would never have submitted herself to, if the circumstances had been different. Sadly, there was little time and none left for another solution. Moreover, she happened to be the right size to simply lay on one of those and be rolled in. With a grimace, she walked herself over to the curtain and laid there, trying to not think about the endless rumors that would not fail to appear about how the Grand Princess had rolled herself in a curtain... The two servants exchanged a look, but they eventually bent over and rolled her up. Milena was soon glad to be hidden in the darkness of the fabric, because she had rarely felt so ashamed. Luckily, the curtains were quite large, and there were several of them too, all the same color. She heard the servants argue shortly about the best way to carry them inconspicuously and, soon after, somebody muttered an apology before pulling her up. Milena felt herself be lifted up, and soon enough, they began moving. She tried to hold her breath, and listen for anything around. It was a strange sensation to be trapped inside a thick curtain's fabric; the servants were carrying the curtains at each end, putting her in a horizontal position that was still rather uncomfortable. Milena could barely breathe in there; it was horribly stuffy. Luckily, though, they were walking quite quickly through the corridor. She realized how heavy she probably was, yet the male servants were doing their very best to act as normal. Moreover, there was already a lot going on in the Castle. She could hear people shouting, running, the Royal Guards looking for the intruders and some maids fake crying. From the little Milena could hear, she gathered at least three different stories from the maids, one about some man who had broken into one of the guestrooms, another about arson in a salon, and another about someone who claimed to have seen a large white dog running into an office. While she was surprised the Guards weren't getting mad at the servants, Milena did notice a strong smell of something burnt, and heard the servants mention a bit of smoke as well. They really were working hard...

Suddenly, she heard the noise being cut off, and a door being closed. Milena was put down, and gently unrolled out of the curtain. She coughed, catching her breath with a grimace. This was easily one of the most humiliating and embarrassing experiences of her life, being tossed around in a curtain across the Castle... At the very least, it seemed she had arrived in the promised salon. One of the servants offered a hand to help her up, and she stood, trying to gather the remains of her dignity. It had felt like a long journey there, but she recognized the salon they were in quickly. It was indeed one of the closest ones to the library and, luckily, empty. In fact, it seemed emptier than before. Milena inspected the room, surprised to see some of the art objects and decorations she was sure to have seen before were mysteriously gone... Now she knew how they had paid some of the knights fighting outside. "Thank you," she said to the two servants, dusting off her clothes.

"You're welcome, Your Highness," they bowed. "We will hang the curtains now... We didn't meet too many guards on the way there, so now might be your best chance to get to the Library, with all the commotion."

Milena nodded. She didn't need to be told; she had already decided to not waste a minute there and go, as soon and as fast as she could. There was no way the guards wouldn't notice something was off about the servants suddenly shouting from all sides of the Castle, and the news of the dead men right outside would soon travel back.

"You act as if you've never seen me," she ordered the men, who nodded immediately. "Just resume work, and if they ask, you know nothing."

"Of course!...Good luck, Your Majesty."

Milena nodded, and after verifying all of her weapons were still there and where she could reach them, she quickly ran to the door. Raelius and Blanche should be back any second now, but they were going to land in the storage house and see she wasn't there, so the next meeting point would be the library itself.

Milena quickly peeked outside the door. There were two guards guarding the entrance to the Library, just like usual. Both seemed quite nervous and were chatting about the ruckus going on in other parts of the Castle; neither of them noticed her slightly opening the door. When she suddenly jumped out, they were already too late. She swung her sword with a perfect form her teachers would have praised, and stabbed the first man right in the chest, kicking him against the wall, and spinning around to slice the other's throat, one perfect cut that opened his throat wide with an odd, gruesome sound. Within a handful of seconds, both men were down, and bleeding on the carpet. Milena sighed. She was sorry for them, but if she had given just a second, it could have been her last moment of freedom forever. She quickly opened the doors to the Library, prepared for more guards on the other side.

To her surprise, the area seemed strangely empty. With everything going on outside, and the number of nobles who had deserted the Castle, it made sense that the only ones around were the dedicated scholars, and the Castle staff... She walked up to the first empty aisle, hoping to disappear behind the rows of books. Her appearance was unusual and would clearly stick out if anyone gave her more than two seconds of attention. Moreover, the Library was and had always been incredibly huge. She had to get to the right spot, quickly, and catch up with Briseis' cousin. She had simply given her a section as a point of rendez-vous, and Milena was nervously walking up the aisles. To think this was once one of her favorite places in the Castle, and now, she was sneaking in like a spy or a criminal... Which, technically, she currently was. She sighed, and kept walking, not running but at a quick pace. Luckily, she knew the place like the back of her hand, and there had only been menial changes over the years. She quickly found the area she had been looking for. "Knock knock?"

Milena jumped, and turned around, replaceing Raelius there, Blanche in his hands. The silver-white fox immediately jumped into Milena's arms, her front paw perfectly bandaged. If she hadn't been so focused on being as discreet as possible, Milena would have cried in relief. "Thank God you're alright," she whispered, hugging the small beast in her arms.

"Told you," smiled Raelius. "But there's word going around that you're in here, Love. We did a quick scouting of the Castle, and some people definitely snitched on you..."

"I expected so," Milena nodded.

It would have been strange for none of the servants to talk. Either one had betrayed the rest of the group, still believing they owed more loyalty to the King, or they had been caught and f****d to talk; she had expected this much, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to Milena. "We're almost there," said Milena.

She resumed walking, and soon enough, found a nervous young man standing in between the rows, his face hidden behind a big volume.

"...Sir d'Artsein?" She asked.

The man slapped the book closed, and turned to her.

"Finally," he sighed. "I have been waiting for you, Your Majesty..."