Lady Dhampir
Chapter 69

The next morning, Milena made sure to be up early, and inform Bella and the De Iris sisters about her little fight with Valentina the previous day. All of them were shocked by how daring the young Countess had been, but they understood that this matter was for Milena to take care of by herself. Of course, Milena had said nothing about Blanche to any of them. Her friend had insisted on coming, though she was, as usual these days, making herself as tiny as a mouse, quite literally, in one of Milena's pockets. This was a particularly cold day outside, and everyone had added an extra layer of fur to their dresses, even the vampires. The young duchess was anxious to meet the Oracle. She wondered why the Queen was so unkeen to let her meet the Oracle, and if she would try to hinder their meeting... Milena soon found out that, in a way, she did. This time again, the breakfast was set in a half-veranda room, which was a bit of a cruel choice for such a cold morning. The human candidates were a bit white and their cheeks a bit pinkier than normal as they walked in and politely saluted Queen Lyriana. However, even as she bowed, Milena couldn't take her eyes of the Oracle. She was sitting right next to the Queen, in a large, fur-covered purple dress. Once again, the Oracle certainly stood out among them. The setting of the little tables was clear about the fact that there would be no personal discussion with the Oracle on one to one like Milena had hoped. This was most definitely the Queen's choice. That way, she needed to be careful of her words, and couldn't simply ask anything in front of her eleven rivals. This was truly not the best way Milena had envisioned this meeting, but she had no choice. She would have to make do...

The only thing that reassured Milena a bit was that the Oracle, too, was looking right at her. Her big eyes were certainly focused on Milena only, almost ignoring the other candidates politely greeting her until Philomenie came up, and she focused on her instead. Milena had some time to observe the Oracle while all the candidates arrived and took place. First, and this was still very intriguing to her, the Oracle never acted like she was inferior to anyone but the Queen. She didn't bow, didn't stand. She remained seated, though once again, it looked like she was in a wheelchair. Milena wondered how bad her legs were... She had only seen the Oracle stand once, and with much difficulty. What had caused that...?

The one thing even more intriguing about the Oracle was that she hadn't changed since the last time Milena had seen her. More precisely, she hadn't aged. It confused her. While Milena was now seventeen, the Oracle looked younger than her, when they looked of a similar age a few years before. Thinking about it, Blanche seemed to age very slowly too. Though her real age was unknown, Milena had noticed that her human form was growing at a slow pace, and Blanche nor the Oracle still didn't look like adults yet. Even vampires aged faster than that. Through their exceptional skin made them look healthier and younger than humans, they were still aging year by year. So, how come Blanche and the Oracle were so different...?

"As you can see, Ladies, we have a guest this morning. As promised to the Ladies de Crescent and de Winter, my dear friend the Oracle is among us today."

"Your Highness?" Asked Verona, looking confused. "I believe we are still missing a guest..."

"Oh. I apologize. It seems like Lady Chorea de Zinnia had some urgent matter, and left us early. She will no longer take part in the Bridal Selection."

Everyone was shocked by the news. Just like that, overnight, one of them had been eliminated. Even Milena hadn't seen that coming, exchanging glances with Bella and the sisters. Rachael looked like someone had just slapped her. Chorea's elimination was a huge hit for her, she had just lost a supporter... Even if it was clear that the Family de Zinnia would support Rachael as a future Queen anyway, it was still bad to have an eliminated candidate among her friends. The Queen could have just kept all the candidates present until the end. Expelling one of them was not a small matter.

After thinking a bit, Milena realized this was meant to punish two people, not just one. While Chorea's attitude at the previous dinner, trying to take her rivals down and mock Milena and Princess Silvra, had most certainly triggered it, Rachael's stubbornness in defying the Queen may have been the final blow. While she couldn't kick out any of the Duchesses, Queen Lyriana could certainly harm their positions by kicking their supporters. Milena took a deep breath. The Competition had suddenly taken a very sharp turn... At the vampires' table, with only one of her friends left, Rachael looked furious, her fist closed. She was clearly at a disadvantage now. While Philomenie and Milena each had three supporters, each sitting at their table, Rachael being alone with her friend Verona was obvious. Milena shivered. Queen Lyriana would be as cold and calculating as ever...

"Well, time for breakfast, ladies. I hope you had a great night!"

A strange silence persisted as the servants served the tea or fresh blood. This time, Milena decided to request some blood as the servant was pouring some for Bella. She had taken into account Rachael's advice to make her position clear. She couldn't be treated like a human, Milena was a dhampir. She ate food and drank blood, and it was time she rectified that in the Castle's staff's mind. If he was surprised, the servant showed nothing and simply obeyed. Milena noticed the Queen had seen their interaction but had said nothing about it. Could it be this was another test for her, too? To see if she'd assert her position or struggle to fit the mold as a human?

Milena enjoyed her blood to the last drop. Now that the Queen was starting to reveal her true colors, Milena would play the game her way, too. She was the first one to speak after a couple of bites in her apple pie.

"How have you been, Oracle? I believe we haven't seen each other in quite a while."

"I have been well, young Lady Milena," replied the Oracle with a gentle smile. "I am happy to see you so beautiful and healthy as well."

The fact that she called Milena by her first name surprised everyone. Moreover, she seemed to address her as if Milena had been the youngest one, not the other way around. They had to be very smart about that conversation, to get it where Milena wanted without upsetting the Queen... "Thank you for your kind compliment, Lady Ora."

Once again, everyone was surprised, but Milena remembered vividly their little meeting, even if it was years ago. The Oracle had insisted on calling her Ora, and... hinted that they had met before. This all linked up to Blanche's memories, the ones Milena couldn't remember.

Just as she wondered if the Oracle was going to help her solve some of the mystery, the white-haired woman gently nodded.

"I remember the day we met as if it was yesterday, Lady Milena," she said. "I believe you have found the answers to some of your questions?"

"I have, indeed."

She was referring to Blanche. Milena had asked who was the wanderer back then, unaware of Blanche's human identity. Once that nickname had been revealed, and her past with it, it was easy to understand that the Oracle, too, knew very well who the wanderer was. Which led to the next question, though.

"I have become more curious about the past than the future because of those answers, though," she said.

All the candidates and the Queen were trying to follow the exchange between the two, but Milena and the Oracle were very careful with their words. For example, the Queen probably thought the day they had first meet that the Oracle was referring to was that party Milena remembered, however, it was actually one she couldn't remember when she was locked up in a cage with Blanche... The Oracle, too, was quite witted with her words.

"I think the future will unfold in its own time, Lady Milena. However, some prefer to reflect on the past, learn from their mistakes to improve their results. Failures are not always wasted, but they might be... pathing the way to the result you want to achieve." Milena's heart was beating like crazy, but she did her best to put on a polite smile, and nod.

"I'm humbled by your wise advice, Lady Ora. I will make sure to reflect on those mistakes."

"Well, aren't you giving some very wise advice, Oracle?" Said the Queen, staring at the two of them suspiciously.

"It is my humble duty to guide the younger, bright minds," replied the Oracle.

Milena understood it would be too risky to add anything else now, with the Queen already aware that something was going on. However, it was hard to control her hands' shaking under the table. The Oracle had given her the clues she needed, the clues that might link everything together! Milena had never wanted to see Prince Ellias as much as in that very moment, to share her discoveries with him. Even with Prince Rayan! Why couldn't they have that idea to come to visit her one day later?

Meanwhile, some of the Ladies had found a way to chat about other things, some of them looking a bit uncomfortable in the Oracle's presence. Surely, she wasn't like any of them. Her skin was even whiter than the vampires', and her brown eyes were shimmering with strange gold shades under the sunlight.

Finally, Philomenie found her time to raise her voice and talk to the Oracle. Milena had been waiting to see why she was so eager to talk to her, too, and listened.

"Dear Oracle, my very good friend the Saint looks a lot like you. I was wondering if you two have some kind of connection?"

"I wonder why you would think so, Lady de Winter?" politely asked the Oracle.

Milena was a bit surprised. Was she playing dumb on purpose? Or could it be she was giving another clue...? Now that she thought about it, Blanche had never said she knew the Saint... Could it be they had never met that man? There was something really odd in the Oracle's reaction. Truth was, from what Milena had heard, the Saint had only appeared a few weeks before, in Philomenie's family. The Duchess de Winter had never been in a situation like Blanche and Milena had met, so how did she meet the Saint...? "I thought... Since you look alike... You would know? My friend is an orphan, and very curious to know about his family. I hope I am not being rude, but I somehow hoped you would know something. I have never met anyone who looks like you or my friend. You both have silver hair, white skin, and holy power. This sounds a bit too much like a coincidence..."

The gears of Milena's brains were working like crazy. She was so focused on putting the pieces of the puzzle together, she almost held her breath. Just like Blanche, the Saint had no idea where he came from. Milena felt like an i***t for not asking Philomenie earlier. A theory was growing in her mind, a crazy theory that would make a lot of sense, and at the same time, be very scary.

"It's too bad if you don't know..."

"May I ask what your friend remembers, Lady de Winter?"

"I am not sure. He was found by the Church, and taken to our family's hospital to be taken care of. My poor friend can't remember anything before meeting the Church... Once we discovered he had Holy Power, my family decided to take custody, to protect him." Milena snickered. Taking custody of someone with a holy power was no charity, it was just a way to take a hold of its power. If the Saint was as helpless as he really had pretended, Philomenie's family had hit the Jackpot. However, Milena didn't believe that one cent. Either the Saint or the Church, they had done exactly what they wanted, and put their little pieces were they wanted.

Milena suddenly realized that, next to the Oracle, the Queen had gone even whiter than before. She had probably understood, too, what was really going on behind Philomenie's innocent questions. The Saint appearing in Philomenie's family Hospital, of all places, was no coincidence. Someone was definitely pulling the strings behind the scenes, like a chess player putting his pawns exactly where he needed them. The question was, who was behind all of this?

Judging by the Queen's face, Milena could at least get rid of one suspect. Not only the Queen had realized exactly the same thing as her, but it was now clear that she had no idea. She would have been Milena's first suspect otherwise. However, no one could put such a surprised face on, or look so worried. Which made Milena think that, even if the Queen was not behind the Saint's appearance, she knew about whoever was behind this.

And her Majesty had been left out in the dark to the profit of the Family de Winter.