Lady Dhampir
Chapter 64

Milena had been curious ever since she had met the Oracle. That woman, if it could be called like a hu

eing, had such extraordinary powers, yet it didn't seem like anyone dared to ask anything about her. At first, Milena had thought that the main reason was

that, basically, her power of premonition couldn't be verified so easily. However, the Queen obviously trusted it, and even relied on it. Milena would never forget that face of fear on the woman who had her future predicted, almost unveiling some future betrayal. She hadn't forgotten about her own prediction, either. Most of those sentences still didn't make any sense to her. Only the first ones did she somehow figure out. The daughter who broke her chains could easily be a reference to that dark part of her past were she was treated like merchandise. However, she hadn't broken any chains by herself... Could it have anoth aphorical reference? The one thing she was most sure of was the Wanderer name referring to Blanche... After they talked about her origins, and she een given.

compared her own prophecy with Philomenie's, she realized this was probably another name Blanche The second and third parts of her prophecy were so much darker, though... With sunrise, the roses will burn, but in darkness the heart mends. Break the balance and the fence, the dark crown shall rise at dawn... Because of that mention of a crown, Milena knew her destiny would be tightly bound to the Royal Fam

too much about things she couldn't solve at once, but that Prophecy was always waiting to torment he could mean several things...

"Lady Milena? What are you thinking about?"

Milena was drawn away from her deep thinking by Ellias' gentle voice. She smiled at him.

"My apologies, Dear Friend. I was just... wondering about Her Highness' relationship with the Oracle." Ellias sighed.

"Indeed, it is quite intriguing. To think my own mother is keeping secrets from me! I guess we all are, t "Do you have secrets yourself, Prince Ellias?" Asked Milena with a little smirk.

"Of course! Oh, nothing too shameful, of course. Yet there are certainly some I wouldn't confess in pub

"Are there any you'd feel comfortable sharing with me then?"

ut why a dark crown? And why would roses burn? Roses were her favorite flower, and that precise part of her Prophecy scared her. Milena didn't like thinking en in the back of her mind. She had spent several sleepless nights trying to figure it out, even looking at her books for some hidden meanings or words that

ne of the flaws of the Royal Family."

Ellias looked at her, a bit surprised, and chuckled. She had taken him a bit by surprise. The Prince shopic his head and scratched his blonde hair.

"Ah, I didn't think you'd be so curious, Lady Milena... Well, one I can confess to you is that I've been training secretly, a lot!"

"Why would you do that?" Asked Milena, genuinely surprised. "Your Highness is already very strong, you have nothing to be ashamed of on the training grounds..." Ellias shook his head.

"You don't understand the pressure of being a Prince and a twin, my dear friend... We discussed several times how jealous I can be of my brother. Sometimes, it makes me feel so embarrassed that Rayan seems to succeed so effortlessly in things that give me the hardest times..."

"Prince Ellias, I never noticed anything you should feel insecure about," said Milena. "His Highness Prince Rayan is indeed very skilled, but everyone knows your endless dedication to our people."

The human prince showed her a bitter smile.

"Sometimes, it's hard to be the good, dedicated Prince, you know. I want to have... absolutely every asset possible to be sure I can be heard. I'm afraid I will never become the King and the leader I want to be if my brother is better than me in any domain. You know, that kind of feeling that... maybe, maybe people would like Rayan better as their King, it's lurking at the back of my mind, sometimes it haunts me. I do want to become King, but this pressure can be suffocating..."

Milena sincerely understood his feelings. She could never be in the Prince's shoes, but maybe she would get a similar feeling, if she became one of the princesses. What if her counterpart is better? More popular, more skilled, or has a better entourage? She had never paid attention to such things before, but after listening to Ellias, that little seed of uncertainty was planted, and it would never leave her now. There was this thing about being a public figure, someone all of the country was staring at, that endless pressure that could make someone go crazy over it.

She felt somehow sorry for him. Being born with a twin was probably one of the worst situations for a Prince... If the King had picked a successor from their birth, if he had chosen the eldest born, or based on their race, things would have been solved. Or maybe not, maybe one of the Princes would have envied the other forever. Yet, this situation was the most stressful one. How could they not be afraid, when the two of them had grown under the public eye for all those nineteen years? When every move, every decision was scrutinized, judged? Though Prince Rayan never seemed to care much about the public opinion, Prince Ellias was different. The fact that he truly cared, and was dedicated to his people, was also the source of his biggest worry. Milena understood that all too well. She gently smiled at him.

"I think that as long as your highness does his best, everyone will understand... Even your brother probably means nothing but to be your best ally. You two have a wonderful relationship, and I sincerely hope it will go on like this for as long as you two shall live, regardless of what happens in the future." Ellias looked relieved after her words, looking satisfied to hear her say that.

"Thank you so much, my Dear Friend. I'm so glad you understand my feelings. All those decisions I'll take in the future, I genuinely hope you'll be there to support them too."

The young duchess felt a wave of pride. Prince Ellias had been a friend since they were children. Of course, he could confide in her, and trust her fully. Milena supported Prince Ellias whole-heartedly, and she was persuaded he would be the better option as the future King. From what she had seen, Prince Rayan didn't have as much dedication for others and was too stubborn to listen to the counselors and Senate opinion most of the time. "Of course, Your Highness. I'll be happy to support you, as your Dear Friend."

Ellias nodded, gently smiling to her.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time. Milena couldn't help but blush sincerely. She understood that gaze on her. Though she had been unsure for a very long time, she was confident now about Prince Ellias' feelings for her. That conversation they had just had, too, was probably his way of confirming her endless support for him. Who was the best support for a future King, other than his Princess?

She wished she could close the distance between them and hug him, at least. However, the young Duchess couldn't forget their positions, or the other people in the room. She had to observe some respect for the customs. It would have been improper of her. Moreover, there were only a few days left until the day of the choosing. She could hold on until then...

Ellias smiled and took a deep breath.

"I have to admit, I'm so anxious... How is it going with your rivals so far? I saw you were quite close with not only the Ladies de Iris, but also Lady de Camellia?" "Yes, I think all of us get along just fine," said Milena.

"That's good to hear! I think the more friends we can make, the better... To be quite honest with you, Lady de Winter as invited me for a tea tomorrow, as well." "Really?" Said Milena, trying hard not to show how flustered she was.

The young Duchess de Crescent was already well aware of Philomenie's feelings for the Prince Ellias. It would have been hard to ignore, Philomenie would blush anytime she talked to him, and try to get his attention when she could... Milena was sometimes jealous of how blunt and transparent her rival was. Compared to always hiding her feelings and keeping the act of being mere friends going on for so long, she wished she could openly show off her feelings for Ellias. Of course, a few friends of hers had understood where her heart was, but all of them were too polite and respectful of her feelings to not say it out loud. Not until Milena's life partner was determined for sure, though.

For a young Lady, to show off her feelings for a man, and then be married off to someone else, was too much of a humiliation. That was a scene Milena had seen too many times, and she didn't want to be one of those girls she had felt sorry for. She had too much pride to ever allow such a thing. Even if the chance was slim, Milena didn't want to leave any bit of opportunity for her enemies to be able to replace a weakness of hers.

"Philomenie is always a nice friend of mine. To be honest, her innocence is quite charming and refreshing. She makes me forget about all the politics. I honestly wonder how a girl like her could turn out with such a naive personality, given her background..." "So do I..."

Milena tried not to let her jealousy show, but she hated the way Ellias was talking about Philomenie, even the way he used her first name as close friends did. She wished she could be like Blanche, shape-shift into some tiny creature and eavesdrop on their exchange... However, she was at least comforted by the fact that Ellias acknowledged how different Philomenie and her were. Even if she sometimes doubted what was Philomenie's real personality, if she wasn't just playing some role, at least the Prince knew Milena was the smarter one.

The young Duchess de Crescent didn't care much about how arrogant that made her sound. She took pride in her wits and anything she could beat her rivals in.

Milena wanted to ask more about what Prince Ellias had to do with Philomenie de Winter, but before she spoke, someone gently knocked at the door. They both turned heads, and Bella de Camellia walked in, bowing politely.

"Good Evening, your Highness. My deepest apologies for interrupting the two of you, but I would like some advice from Lady De Crescent over a private matter before dinner if you don't mind..." Both the Prince and the young Duchess immediately stood up. Ellias smiled politely.

"Of course, Lady de Camellia. I'm sorry for keeping Lady de Crescent busy for so long, your friends must miss you. I need to go anyway before the whole Castle starts looking for a missing Prince!"

They politely exchanged their goodbyes, and Milena watched Ellias go, with a hint of uncertainty in her heart. Somehow, that conversation had given her more worries than she had previously... Bella quickly walked up to her. "Did you really need something?" Asked Milena.

"No, Lady Milena, but the dinner is coming up soon, and I noticed you didn't have time to change yet..."

"Thank you for reminding me, Bella."

"Of course, Lady Milena."

Her new friend accompanied her back to her room, where Milena was satisfied to not replace any prince hiding... Having friends was definitely a valuable asset. If it wasn't for Bella showing up, she might have forgotten the time between the Princes' impromptu visits. Returning to her room, she barely had time to change, tell Blanche what had happened, and run to join her friends and not miss the dinner time with all of the other Candidates and the Queen. She was even more curious to get opportunities to spend more time with her Highness now...