Lady Dhampir
Chapter 56

handful of people following after them, most likely family members.

A long, heavy silence followed the Queen's words. The two girls exchanged glances and, without a word, left it was an awkward scene. A lot of people around had heard the Queen yelling at them, and silently watched them cross the whole room. They spotted a Milena was stunned. Never would she have imagined the Queen would come to her defense... However, the Queen coldly turned to Philomenie and her.

"You two Ladies, come with me."

The two young duchesses glanced at each other, the same surprised look on their faces. Even Milena's entourage was wondering what was the Queen going to do, taking the two girls away...

Of course, they had no choice but to follow her. Under every guest's stare, the Queen took the two young Ladies to her own personal resting room, away from curious eyes and ears. Only her personal maids had followed, as discreet as her own shadow. She shut the door behind her and turned to the two girls. Milena and Philomenie alike wondered if they should say hing, but before they did, the Queen's glare prevented them from even daring to open their mouths.

"What were you two thinking!" She yelled.

the Queen lose her composure like this, but her ruby eyes seemed absolutely furious. She turned to Milena.

Milena was shocked, not only to see the Queen lose it, but also to scold them personally. Never had s "How dare you make a scene during a Royal Event? Don't you know better! Of all people, Lady de Cres ever would I have expected such a spectacle from you! Fighting with those two girls like children! And those words you used? I expected a more elegant behavior from you! I do not care how you settle your disagreements with your peers, but this better never happen again during a public event!" "I'm very sorry, your Highness," said Milena, bowing.

Indeed, now that the Queen was scolding her, she regretted it. Milena had cooled down a bit and realized her mistake. She shouldn't have confronted those girls in such a crowded and public place. It would have been better to solve things later, at least not during a Royal Ball, where everyone was observing them. She even had gotten her family involved...

"And you, Lady de Winter," said the Queen, turning to Philomenie.

Philomenie went white. Somehow, even Milena was surprised to see the Queen looked madder at her than she was at Milena. So far, she had thought that Philomenie had managed to remain unscathed during this quarrel, but it wasn't was the Queen's face was saying.

ing able to control your own followers is just the worst!"

"Are you so desperate to show off your shortcomings, Lady de Winter? I can overlook many things, but Milena suddenly understood what had made the Queen so mad. If they picked the families that shoul event. Milena, for example, could have easily prevented her own friends from gossiping about her riva Whether Philomenie had spread that rumor herself or not, her biggest mistake had been not to contro "As the future Duchesses of this Kingdom, I really expect better from you too! Just because of your lineage, don't you think one second I'll go easy on you, on the contrary! You Ladies better be perfect during this bridal selection week, because you just exhausted my patience with you!"

ort them, they should be able to control those people as they wanted. In any case, they were supposed to be their mouths, eyes, and ears in any place or least ask them to keep a low profile. All of her friends knew exactly how to follow Milena's train of thought, and would never act without her consent.

de girls earlier. She had made the Queen lose her time to control a childish quarrel by not being able to do so.

The Queen took a deep breath, regaining her composure with impressive speed. Very elegantly, she smoothed some invisible fold on her dress before addressing them again, in a calm but cold voice.

"I hope you two keep in mind that there are twelve candidates selected, not three. I want the best wives possible for my sons. Not the noblest, the wealthiest or the most popular. I will not give in to any kind of favoritism. Are we clear?" "Yes, your Highness," both girls answered in unison.

"Fine. Then, I hope to see you two as agreeable and pleasant as possible for the rest of this Ball, and I don't want any other scandal tonight. The two of you better settle anything you have to settle here before showing up again."

Without adding anything, she turned her heels and left. Milena realized she was still holding her breath and took a few seconds to relax. She was still in shock. Never had she imagined she would be scolded by her majesty herself... She felt defeated. "Lady De Crescent, I'm sincerely sorry..."

"Are you really?" Coldly said Milena.

"I swear, I didn't think those discussions with my friends could be harmful to you in any way! I genuinely admire you, and as they started talking about it, I was interested, because of you..."

"If you are so obsessed with me, why don't you think twice before saying anything! Nothing is ever your fault, Lady de Winter, but as you can see, it's still both of our problem to deal with! Isn't it easy to never take part in anything, and when judgment comes, act so innocent? I honestly don't care about what part you had to play in this! What I more worried about is you never seem to control anything at all! And it infuriates me to think I'll have to compete against someone like you!"

Philomenie was speechless and once again, on the verge of tears. Milena, however, had decided to make her intentions clear once and for all. She was tired of seeing Philomenie play nice and innocent every time. It was high time she realized she wouldn't always get away with it.

"I... I'm so sorry her Majesty scolded you too..." she mumbled.

"Her Majesty scolded me because I made a mistake, she was absolutely right in every point and I realize that. You, however, needed a serious wake-up call from whatever dream you constantly seem to live in! This isn't just about dolling ourselves up, idly sipping tea and playing princesses, the fate of this whole Kingdom will be at stake! Can you take responsibility for it? There won't be anyone to clean up after you if you mess up this time! You won't be able to get away with "I don't know" or "it wasn't me"! Whether it's you or your people, it is for you to deal with!"

With those words, Milena left her there. She remembered the Queen's words, but she had no intention to make peace with Philomenie in the current state of things. She had enough to deal with already, she had no time for petty games.

She honestly couldn't tell if Philomenie was as clueless as she pretended to be or a formidable actress, but at the moment, Milena had decided she didn't care. The Queen had clearly stated she would have eleven rivals from the next day on. Milena had already spent way too much time dealing with one of them to her taste.

Milena returned to her friends and family, who had been anxiously waiting for her to return. As promised to the Queen, she kept a smile on and calmly explained in a few words what had happened behind closed doors, and told them that matter was closed. Eugenie and her friends were still a bit upset, but Milena said she'd deal with the girls who had spread those rumors about her at a later time.

For now, she was most preoccupied with showing her best and most ladylike behavior to the Queen. Hence, she politely discussed with several people at the party, danced a bit more, and kept the mask on for as long as needed. Her brothers made sure to stay nearby in any case, but nothing more happened that night. Even the Princes Ellias and Rayan didn't appear to talk to her again, staying busy with other people, as if their mother had given instructions. Philomenie had come out of the room a bit later than her, with red eyes, but just like Milena, she had obviously understood the message that the drama was over for tonight...

Raphael was worried, much later that night.

They had been back from the Ball for two hours now, but according to her worried maids, Milena wasn't in her room. It was very late in the night almost time for sunrise, a time his younger sister would usually be deep asleep in her bed. Blanche was nowhere to be found around her favorite spots in the De Crescent Manor either, so he assumed she was with her mistress.

Her brother Raphael probably was the one who knew Milena best and started looking around her favorite spots in the house. She couldn't be outside in their mother's garden, not with the current temperature outside, which was impossible even for vampires. He inspected her office, the library, the kitchens, her favorite salons, even asked their grandmother, but Milena was nowhere to be found. Only much later did he replace Milena, in one room he hadn't opened in a very long time.

Their late mother's office.

This room had previously been closed, as no one dared to touch a thing after her death, and the Duke couldn't bear its sight, but, a few years prior, Raphael had secretly taken Milena here. It was now a dusty old room, with a little library and an office, a few personal items of their mother, and some dried roses here and there. No one else but the two of them dared to come there. It was the only place in the Manor they would be sure to not be bothered...

Milena was there, curled up on the sofa, wolf-Blanche sleeping next to her. Raphael let out a little sigh of relief. At first, it seemed as if she was absorbed in reading an enormous volume, but she wasn't turning any pages. "Millie?" he softly called her.

Milena wasn't gifted with a hearing as good as her vampire brother. She hadn't even noticed him coming. She raised her head from her book, looking a bit tired. "Raphael..."

She was wearing her nightgown, and her black hair was undone, falling on her shoulder. It was completely different than the gorgeous young lady from earlier that night. Milena looked much younger and more innocent like this, especially as she was curled up under a thick blanket.

He smiled and came to sit by her side. She only had a little candle up by her side, to help her read in this darkness. Raphael didn't need it of course.

"So? Which story keeps you awake instead of sleeping at such an hour?"

"It's not really a story," confessed Milena. "I was... re-reading one of Princess Silvra's letters she sent her brother." "What kind of letter?"

"She's... encouraging him. It's in the months after King Silvius took the throne. He was full of doubts about his abilities to rule and help their people. The siblings were split for a while, and she sent him some letters to support him and help him stay confident... I like re-reading her words. It gives me some courage."

Raphael nodded slowly. Milena rarely let her weakness show. Only in such times, when she was alone and the rest of the world was silent, didn't she let her vulnerability escape her a little.

"Is it... About tonight's events? It was probably very upsetting for you..."

"Yes, a little bit. But, you know... In such times, I'm happy I have someone to look up to. She's... like my own heroine. Princess Silvra isn't very known for what she did, but she was of tremendous support for the King, for their people. I admire her a lot. Sometimes, I like to think that maybe she was a bit like me, doing her best to replace her place in this world..."

Raphael smiled and caressed his younger sister's hair, while she returned to reading the letter once again.

"When those girls earlier brought Lady Silvra up... It made me mad. I hated that they bad mouthed my heroine much more than them talking about me. I lost it because of that. I... I felt like it was unfair, to just talk about her as a woman who died without a husband or children, when she was so much more than that..."

"There's something about our society," sighed Raphael, "that grooms us to think that we cannot be taken seriously if we don't check all the society's boxes... If we don't follow the norm. I know I've given up on that long ago. It doesn't really matter what others think or thought of Princess Silvra, Millie. If she lived and died happy with what she accomplished... I think it was worth not satisfying other people's expectations of her."

Milena slowly nodded, taking her brothers' words deeply. She slowly closed her book, taking a deep breath.

"I want... I want to be someone like Princess Silvra. I want to be useful to my people, devoted and caring. I want to remain someone brave, not someone who obeys the rules..." "Mom would be proud to hear you speak like that. I know if anyone can do it, can change this society, it's you, Millie."

Raphael kissed her forehead gently.

"And who knows, maybe in three hundred years, there will be another Dhampir little lady to read old dusty books about you instead of going to sleep!"