Lady Dhampir
Chapter 95

Ellias followed Milena, though he had a sour expression on. His Highness was upset, but Milena didn't feel any need to be nice or understanding for him today. It was high time he understood she was not an idiot.

They took a few steps, venturing deeper into the garden, where no servant or maid could hear them, unless someone purposely hid in the bushes. This winter garden was certainly becoming a place of choice for private conversations. Milena felt a little hint of sourness as she remembered the scene she had caught across the window last time she had come there, but that would be a fight for another time. Instead, she breathed calmly, looking at the flowers. Once they were caught somewhere between several bushes of roses and sculpted bushes, she stopped and caressed gently one of the flowers.

"You wanted to talk, Your Highness," she said, not even bothering to turn around and face him. "Let's talk freely now."

"Rayan!" Ellias exploded. "How could you agree to marry my brother! What happened, Milena, why would you even consider saying yes! After everything that happened between us?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," calmly answered Milena.

"Stop playing, Milena! I know you! You don't love Rayan! Why did you agree to marry my brother? Is that a way to punish me, because I didn't choose you? Was that your retribution, are you going to throw your life away on a fit of jealousy? This is your wedding we are talking about!"

Milena felt upset again. His brother, her fit... Throwing her life away by marrying Rayan! Even if he was a Prince, there were limits on how he could insult his own brother, but clearly, Ellias would never understand. She turned to him, trying to remain as composed and dignified as she could.

"You're heavily mistaken on one thing, Prince Ellias. Not everyone and everything revolves around you. I tried to warn you, that I was not one of your pawns, didn't I? You didn't listen, and instead, you want ahead and picked Philomenie. You've made your choice and it didn't include me. Wasting my life away? How can you make such a statement, just because I made a different choice? Did you seriously think I'd obediently stay aside from all this? You are the one who cornered me and closed roads for me. I had to make my own! How dare you blame me for agreeing to marry Rayan!"

For a few seconds, the Prince looked as if she had slapped him. He stared at her with wide eyes, stunned. For a few seconds, Ellias struggled to formulate his sentence, even more so as Milena looked so fierce and would not get swayed by him anymore. "Milena, you can't blame me. I... I really hesitated, I..."

Milena scoffed.

"You want me to believe you hesitated? Perhaps you had remorse, but Prince Ellias, you chose. You picked your wife, no one f****d you. You even fought with the Senate for it, what are you pretending you hesitated for? Why are you getting mad at me now?" "Because you can't marry Rayan!" He yelled.

"You chose all of this by yourself, what do you care whom I marry? Why not?" Coldly retorted Milena.

Ellias looked like he was losing ground. He was desperate, but Milena was already out of reach, her mind was made up. She didn't even look upset or mad like he had thought. The young Duchess looked perfectly fine with their choices, which was even more disturbing. Milena looked proud and composed, while he wasn't. Ellias had not imagined this kind of issue for today. He trembled, and tried to grab her hand, but gave up when she stepped back with a frown.

"I thought you understood me," he muttered. "Milena, I swear to God I don't love Philomenie. I just..."

"You decided to marry a woman you don't love. Then why do you care whether I love Prince Rayan or not?" Retorted Milena." We have made our own choices, didn't we?"

"Because I'm the one you love!" He yelled. "I'm the one, Milena, you can't deny that! Do you think I didn't know? I've always known, and I've always counted on it! That even if we couldn't marry, we could still be together! That you would always be my ally, my utmost support, my Dear Friend!"

The young Duchess sighed. For some reason, she even felt a bit sorry for him.

Ellias had made up all of his plans, calculated everything, and based on what? On her feelings for him. She wasn't even mad at how he had toyed with her. Somehow, she had always known her feelings were reciprocated, but that wasn't enough. Milena wasn't one to take someone's crumbs or wait in someone's shadow. Ellias had always been in the spotlight his whole life, and someone like Philomenie had comforted him with the idea that he ought to have the whole stage for himself. That was completely wrong and selfish. It did not sit well with her.

When Milena spoke, her own calm surprised even herself.

"I am not going to become your mistress, Ellias."

He stayed mute this time, unable to answer to that. Milena kept speaking.

"I don't care anymore about our feelings. No, to be honest, I just couldn't keep loving a man that saw me as nothing but another asset. Even if you had feelings for me, you had no regards for my feelings. You picked a doll wife and expected me to wait in the sidelines. To be your dear friend? More like your loyal servant. That is not love, Prince Ellias. Not in the way you speak or intended to use me."

"It's... politics..."

"No, not the politics excuse, not again. You had a choice this morning. Once again, you betrayed my trust to secure who you thought would be your biggest asset. Actually, you were ready to sacrifice anyone towards your goal to beat Prince Rayan, including Lady De Winter. You used her feelings for you, just like you used mine. Or you intended to. You pushed Philomenie to make more allies, stand out during the bridal selection though she didn't have the skills to, and you fought the whole council to be with her. I've said it, you made your choice."

"Philomenie is..."

"... Unfortunate to be used like this," retorted Milena. "However, it is not my place to warn her, and she will probably grow up a lot once she understands what kind of man you are. All I have to say, it is no longer my problem."

Ellias was making a sour face, his fists clenched. He wasn't glaring at Milena, but the anger in his eyes was barely contained. He wasn't the charming human prince anymore, just a man experimenting an utter defeat, beat by his own ambition. "You... you still betrayed me," he said. "You wanted Rayan..."

Milena took a deep breath. No matter what, it always goes back to the twins' rivalry. Neither of them would probably let go, on any matter.

"I made a bet with Prince Rayan," Milena confessed. "He said I wouldn't be your first choice, but if I was and there was a dispute between the two of you, he'd surrender and marry someone else on the second pick. He was ready to sacrifice our relationship just so I would be with you if you picked me."

She glared at him this time, with her amethyst eyes. She was tired of Ellias trying to get away by putting the blame on others.

"Do not come lecture me about whom betrayed whom," she hissed. "You made your choice, and I made mine. Don't you dare come and tell me whom I can marry or not. I would rather marry someone who respects me than someone who will trample all over my feelings for his ambition."

"Don't act as if you had no choice, Milena!" Retorted Ellias. "You could have said no! You could have retired from the competition if you really felt upset about me!"

Milena scoffed. She tore one of the red roses away for her to take. One by one, she took off each thorn. Then, she slowly started peeling off each petal, watching them fall on the ground one after another.

"I think you misunderstood something, Prince Ellias. My relationship with Prince Rayan is mine alone. It is not your concern to judge what is between us. Either way, His High... No, Rayan knows and understands me better than you do." Ellias scoffed.

"You think so? You're blind, Milena. Rayan is just using you. Did you know him and Aurora had..."

"What is my favorite flower?" Suddenly asked Milena.

The human prince looked baffled by her sudden question. After a few seconds, though, he chuckled nervously, his eyes going down on the flower she was holding.

"The red rose, of course..."

Milena sighed. After taking of its last petal, she let go of the flower, letting it fall at her feet.

"Since I was a child, my favorite had always been the white rose," she said. "However, you once sent me red ones. Many red roses, in the Vermillion Lands; I made a whole garden of it. I was happy to receive roses for you, so I didn't really pay attention. You just always sent me red ones, and in my mind, the red ones became my favorite, just like that..."

Ellias was completely lost. Why was she talking about roses, all of a sudden? However, Milena ignored his troubled expression to turn to the bush of white roses, gently smiling at those, caressing them with the tip of her fingers. She didn't pluck out any, leaving them as they were.

"I wondered when I stopped comparing those. Until I recently heard Philomenie's favorites were white roses. For a very brief second, I thought Ah, me too. Then, I realized I didn't want to share her tastes, so I liked red roses even more." "Milena, what is this nonsense..."

However, the young Duchess ignored him and went on.

"I actually never liked red roses," she answered. "I f****d myself to like them because you thought I did and I didn't want to admit you had made a mistake. Or maybe I simply wanted to make you happy, I'm not sure. Either way, I lied to myself..." "Those are just stupid flowers!" Exclaimed Ellias, annoyed. "Why do you care, I should have sent you white ones instead of red ones, it doesn't matter!"

Milena frowned, stood straight, and glared at him.

"It matters because I changed my tastes for you," she retorted. "I don't want to be a woman who changes to suit a man. I am myself, Prince Ellias, and I do not want to lower myself to fit in a box that would suit your perfect plan!"

She stepped closer, but it was such a mighty stance that the Prince unconsciously stepped back in response.

"I am Duchess Milena De Crescent. I am not going to be someone's shadow, a mistress available to fit your tastes, and your whims like someone else sits on my throne!" Once again, Ellias looked exasperated. He shook his head.

"Milena, enough with your ambition," he said. "Do you realize you are just acting selfishly right now? This is nothing lesser than a child's whim, no, a woman's whim!"

"What is so wrong about me being ambitious, Ellias! It suited you just fine for me to be ambitious as long as you could enjoy the results and the relationships I made! You were fine with the ambitious and cunning Lady Milena, until I was betrothed to your brother. Now that you know I won't serve your interests, you dare call me a whiny woman? How dare you!"

The young Duchess' yelling resonated in the garden. Ellias went a bit white and looked around, nervous. There was no way the servants hadn't heard that, but Milena didn't care. There would be rumors of the young Duchess' dispute with Prince Ellias all over the Castle tomorrow, but now, that was the last of her problems.

She stepped forward once more, getting closer to Prince Ellias. He looked like he had just been slapped harder, and his eyes betrayed the horror and shock in his mind.

"Just you watch," she said. "You cannot use me anymore, I am no longer your Dear Friend. That Milena is gone, Ellias. I am no longer the child who waited for your letters, for your affection. Tonight, I will walk into the Ball Room with my future husband, and you can watch what you missed. You picked Philomenie, you picked your wife and you will live with that because there is no turning back now."

"Rayan won't make you happy, Milena," Ellias hissed. "You'll regret it later..."

"At least, I am not regretting it now," she retorted. "I have a husband who respects me enough to give me a crown and some basic respect, Prince Ellias. I hope Lady De Winter gets that much luck in her marriage."

With that, Milena turned her heels and walked away, satisfied. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She took a deep breath and exhaled in relief, leaving all of her bad feelings behind with Ellias. She wasn't sad or regretful in the latest. She knew in her heart she had done right.

Maybe Prince Ellias was right and she would come to regret her alliance with his twin later. For now, however, she was just satisfied she hadn't acted unreasonably on her feelings. She had followed her heart, and placed her trust in the right man. If she had hoped for Ellias to pick her until the end of the Selection, if she had blindly held on to that, she would be bitterly regretting it right now. She would have no crown, no fiancé and no pride left.

When she emerged from the garden, she found Clorence and Prudence waiting for her, both sisters looking anxious. They almost ran to her as soon as they spotted Milena.

"Lady Milena! Are you alright? We heard some yelling..."

Milena gently smiled at them.

"I just had a little argument with His Highness but please, let's not expand on the matter. I already lost a lot of energy over this. Let's resume that tea, should we?"

The sisters immediately nodded. No matter what Milena and the Prince had fought about, their education as noble ladies kept them from praying any further. The three of them sat down. Milena needed that cup of tea to calm herself after that fight... They spotted Ellias when he left the Winter Garden, sending one glare Milena's way, but neither of them said a word about it, and they all acted as if nothing had happened.

"Lady De Crescent?" A young maid called her. "Some packages have arrived for you."

"Packages?" repeated Milena, a bit confused.

She couldn't see who would have sent her a gift. A congratulatory gift from her family, perhaps? She stood up and, with the sisters coming along with her, followed the maid to a nearby salon, where the servants were waiting.

When the Lady had said packages, Milena had somehow expected little gifts, not two big boxes! She went on to open the first one, which had her family's crest on it. She was left speechless. In a beautiful set with fresh flowers, was a gorgeous jewelry ensemble. Milena recognized it right away, and a wave of emotions came to her. Raphael had shown it to her a long time ago, it was one of their mother's favorites. That set had been stored away after her death... It was a simple but gorgeous one, with nothing but lines of perfectly cut diamonds, and in the middle, a tear-shaped black diamond as the pendant. The assorted earrings and bracelet were included in the set.

All of Milena's negative emotions from earlier melted away as she kept her time contemplating it.

"What a gorgeous piece..." whispered Prudence, amazed.

"Do you want to put it on, Lady Milena?" Suggested her older sister with a gentle voice.

Milena nodded slightly, but she was too emotional to utter a word. With the two young countesses helping her, she changed her jewelry for this set, and it weighed a bit heavier than she thought around her delicate neckline. A young maid immediately brought forward a mirror for her to see. Milena had a strange feeling upon discovering her reflection. Only her jewelry had changed, but somehow, she could see her mother's traits. She had only seen Elizia in a portrait, and couldn't remember her actual face, but now more than ever, Milena felt close to her. Thinking that her mother had worn that jewelry times before made her tear up a little, despite her attempts at keeping it bottled. Clorence smiled and handed her handkerchief without saying a word. "Thanks... What about the other one?" She asked.

The other box was even bigger than the first one, and it had no crest on it. Her family wouldn't have sent something that did not wear their familiar red Crescent moon crest, so she wondered who it was from. Milena turned to the maid with a frown. "This didn't have a letter?"

"No, Your Highness. However, it was inspected before, so please do not worry."

Milena frowned slightly. It should have had at least some security seal on it, yet the box was left like this. It must have been indeed easy to verify... With a little sigh, she finally opened the box, and was face with an enormous bundle of black fur. Milena raised an eyebrow, a bit confused. Wasn't this a bear's skin? She took it out, and it turned out to be a gorgeous woman's cape, entirely made of a gorgeous black bear's skin. It would take an experimented hunter to obtain such a quality in such a perfect condition, and an even more talented tailor to succeed in making this beautiful piece of clothing. The cloak itself was incredibly heavy, and Clorence had to help her for Milena to see it in its entirety. A little card finally fell from it, and Milena bent over to take it. Though there was a horse's head as the seal, she immediately recognized the sharp handwriting.

"Congratulations, Partner," said the card.

The young Duchess chuckled.