Lady Dhampir
Chapter 118

"You shouldn't think too much about those Prophecies, Milena. We already have more pressing matters at hand, and it's not like you to focus on things you can't control."

"I hate things I can't control," she whispered.

Rayan had taken her to sit on her bed, with Blanche already curled up in her corner of the mattress behind them. He was genuinely worried about her getting too tired, but Milena wasn't done thinking about all of this. She just couldn't. Ever since she had heard the Prophecy, the King's death was worrying her.

"What will happen if his Majesty dies while both of you are at war?"

"The Senate will take over while a new regent is chosen, or one of us comes back alive first."

"If both of you leave. You know each side won't risk losing their Prince to war..."

"There aren't many matters that could prevent us from going," noted Rayan. Milena shook her head.

"If they know the King is sick, really sick, then the Senate will insist that one of you stays back. It was already a matter on the table, anyway. To pick the future King before the War to avoid that situation exactly. The only issue is that both parties are stuck into pushing you or Ellias onto that seat and the War won't wait for a decision to be taken..."

"Milena."

He gently grabbed her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. One could read all of the young Duchess' anxiety in her gleaming purple irises. Yet, the Prince gently smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her. It was a very soft kiss, only pressing his lips against her for a couple of seconds. A bit surprised, Milena had no choice but to think about something else, and look at him in surprise. She hadn't even realized how close they were naturally seating until then...

When their lips parted, she was pouting a bit, but at least, this had given her a little warmth she needed right now.

"What are you doing..."

"Distracting my fiancé from all that overthinking.

"It's not overthinking," she retorted. "Rayan, we need to think about this. I don't want you to be sent to war. If you're the one sent, ..."

"You will do great in the Royal Castle anyway, and I'll do my best to come back to my wife as fast as I can. We both already know you'll make a much better queen than De Winter."

"I wish the Senate thought the same and would just name you crown Prince already."

Her fiancé chuckled, and put his arm around her shoulder, bringing her even closer, gently kissing her forehead. Milena sighed, but she accepted to leave her head lean on his shoulder for a little bit. She had never thought the two of them would grow so close in such a short time, but for once, it was nice to have someone she could fully rely on. She still had in mind Valentin's betrayal, and it was another weight on her heart.

"We are not the popular choice," said Rayan. "So we have to be the best despite that."

"You're saying this as if you have a plan already?"

"Maybe I do."

Milena suddenly sat back up, frowning again. The Prince chuckled to see her so surprised, but she didn't feel like laughing now.

"You have a plan?" She asked.

Rayan sighed, shaking his head.

"I do, but none that I will share with you tonight. Milena, please, stop thinking and worrying for a second. You're supposed to go to bed and for once, I'd like to see you sleep."

The young Duchess squinted her eyes, suspicious of his words. True, the last time they had seen each other while Milena was in bed, he certainly wasn't really concerned about her lack of sleep. However, tonight, he had stayed long, and was insisting for her to finally rest. She sighed, and he stood up with a smile, letting her get into bed. She sighed.

"I must really look terrible for you to be so well-behaved," she sighed.

"I do have work afterward, and I intend to be a gentleman until the wedding."

"Until the wedding?" She repeated with a little smile.

"Until the wedding."

Milena chuckled. Which clearly meant he was not going to be a gentleman anymore after that. For a few seconds, she could foresee their married life a bit. Very busy on each side, but they'd definitely find each other for support when they needed it, and in the intimacy of their bedroom, Rayan would go back to his cunning and playful self again.

The young Duchess lied down on the pillows with a long sigh. Indeed, she was tired. It had been one crazy evening, and she'd probably dream of game tables, white fur, and strange prophecies that night... If she ever dreamed. To her surprise, Rayan suddenly came down to her bed, lying down next to her. She frowned with a little pout.

"What happened to the gentleman?"

"The gentleman is still dressed, as you can see, and only very innocently worried about his Lady. I'll stay here until you sleep."

Milena raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. Didn't he have work at the Royal Castle? It may have been late for her, but for her vampire Prince, it was probably somewhere in his office that he should be, working at whatever paperwork or secret project he had going on at that time... However, she didn't feel like pushing him away. Indeed, after all the emotions that day, a bit of comfort was welcomed.

Milena turned to be on her flank, facing Rayan. There were only a few inches between them, but it felt like miles apart. She didn't like that. She wasn't too used to the idea of getting intimate yet, but the shameful part of intimate could always come later. Then, the young Duchess moved to be a bit closer to him. The young Prince was a bit surprised, but he silently wrapped his arm around her waist without commenting, for once. It was rare for Milena to let her guard down and let him approach without saying anything or pouting. Yet, lately, something had definitely changed in their relationship. In a way, their betrothal had sealed the deal.

However, what had really been the turning point was their past together.

She couldn't remember it, but Rayan had many fond memories to himself of the young, innocent Milena. She was adorably cute back then, with full cheeks and big eyes. Now, she already had the features of a young woman. Sometimes, he wished she could enjoy her teenage years a bit more, but this wasn't the kind of world they lived in. Nobles couldn't breathe easily, let alone a young dhampir Duchess.

Milena had closed her eyes now, slowly dozing off. She wasn't asleep yet, he could tell, but her breathing was slowing down. He raised his hand a little to caress the tips of her hair. When she was younger too, her hair was very long for her age. Her mother liked to leave it that way, and take time to brush it. It would soothe the young Duchess to sleep easily. Remembering that, the Prince smiled, gently brushing the long silky black hair with his fingers.

At the end of the bed, Blanche had her eyes half-open, watching the couple. Rayan had noticed her, but he didn't care much about his lady's pet. Sure, he was curious about the way the Oracle and Milena had mentioned Blanche as if she was... human, earlier. He stared at the silver wolf behind Milena's shoulder, too. As long as she was no threat, he didn't care much about that creature.

Rayan stayed like this for a while, waiting for when Milena would really be sleeping. She was slow to fall asleep, and he could see she was still thinking about earlier because of the slight frowning that would appear between her eyebrows from time to time. He sighed a bit. His little princess was really thinking too much. He could understand that. He was just the same, he couldn't trust people.

He had seen too many people die when he was young. The image of that bullet going through her mother's head was still engraved in his mind. He couldn't possibly describe it to Milena, not anywhere close to what he had experienced. That was a trauma she didn't need to share with him. A shiver went through the Prince's body. It wasn't cold, but anger. He could remember the little body he had desperately hold on to, before passing out. The pain on his head, still symbolized by a little scar at the back of his head. He had taken too long to wake up, and he was too weak and useless at that time.

Milena's disappearance had turned him into a young man walking for revenge, and when she had finally come back... He just wasn't ready to accept it. He had been focused on avenging her for so long, it was hard to admit she wasn't dead. That it was really his Milena. He had gone to see her multiple times, between those library shelves, stealing those visions of her reading like some thief. There was this crawling fear that she would disappear again. At the hunt, it had struck him. Seeing her stand so tall and proud, despite all the blood she was losing, and confronting her enemy, it was like another arrow to his heart.

His Milena was back. Not the sweet child he had once lost, but the proud woman he could desire as a young man. Things had changed. He was not going to lose her, not a second time. Even if she had to die, he'd bring her back, no matter the cost.

In a sense, Rayan knew he was much worse than his brother. Ellias had no idea what jealousy truly was. His vampire twin had put so many schemes on track, for so long, just to make sure Milena would be his and no one else. He had allied himself to many people and made more enemies. It was easy but dangerous. As the vampire Prince, he only had to maneuver his pawns at the right timing, in the right direction. To some people, he was just the lazy and ugly half of the future of the Kingdom, but in the shadows, he was a devil at work. Maybe he was a villain in that story, to steal the Princess from the perfect Prince, but he wouldn't have let her to Ellias, not even if his twin brother was as perfect as he tried to appear. And he wasn't.

When Milena's breath finally softened, he smiled in relief. It really took her a while to fall asleep.

Cautious not to wake her up, he slowly sat back up, keeping an eye on her. She was beautiful even in her sleep... He wanted to give her another kiss, but it may wake her up, and it didn't want to risk that. Plus, he was saving all the kisses he wanted to give his lady for later. He stood up, silent as a shadow, and looked around the room. It was his first time being inside this room, although he had seen those windows from the outside many times... It reflected Milena's personality. A small wardrobe for a young noble lady her age, but a large bookshelf, full of old books she had probably read twice each already. For those to be kept in her room meant they ought to be her favorites... Taking his time, the Prince walked over to check the titles out. He was aware of the golden eyes following his every move, and he didn't really care. He tilted his head to read some of the titles. She really had a thing for History... Some were probably for her personal research, but there were fewer Study Books than he thought.

He turned over. Once again, her desk was fuller than her vanity one. It was about to crumble under all the papers and files on it... Rayan went to approach it, but suddenly, a silver shadow ran past him to stand in front of it. Blanche wasn't growling, but she showed her fangs, just as efficient as a warning. The Prince raised an eyebrow.

"So you're definitely smarter than I thought..." He whispered, so low she had to read his lips.

He observed her some more. He had always been curious about that creature. Clearly, she could shape-shift at will, a very curious ability. He was even surprised Milena hadn't tried to dissect her or at least study her blood, but instead, she was protecting Blanche as if it was her deepest secret.

The Prince crouched down to get to her height, which surprised Blanche.

"I hope you won't betray her too," he whispered. "It looks like trust is hard to keep even inside the House De Crescent... Like that maid."

This time, Blanche stopped growling. To Rayan's surprise, she suddenly started shape-shifting, making him take a step back. Not only she was changing form in front of him, but she was standing up, taking a human appearance. Not even he could hide his surprise. That was one thing to have that theory in mind, but definitely different to see it for himself.

Even while having a human appearance, Blanche clearly kept some of her animalistic traits. First, her skin wasn't exactly that of a human. She had bundles of fur on some spots, like her shoulders, elbows or ankles. Her arms were arched strangely too, reminiscing of a bird's way to keep their wings closed against their body. She even had a few scales here and there too, in random spaces, as if her body had trouble mimicking that shape. Moreover, unlike a human woman, she had no actual female traits aside from her face and long hair.

"...Interesting."

"You watch you too, sneaky Prince."

Rayan almost stepped back, even more surprised to hear her speak. It wasn't perfect, and she had a very strange voice, like nothing he'd heard before. As if she was speaking with a non-human throat. Blanche's golden eyes were gleaming in the dark. Neither of them needed light to see each other, and they were standing rather close. Blanche showed her teeth again, or rather her fangs as if she was about to growl.

"I should watch myself?" He repeated, with a smirk.

"I protect Millie. You danger."

"She would be in danger anyway. I'm protecting her more than you know."

"Blanche know. Guards stink."

They were speaking extremely softly, and the room was vast enough that no sound was reaching Milena's bed. She had no idea those two were chatting a few steps away, drown in her deep sleep.

The vampire prince squinted his eyes. If Blanche had noticed the bodyguards he had put to protect his fiancé, either they were doing a poor job, or the shape-shifter was doing a terrific job herself.

"What is your aim?" He asked. "Are you only caring for your safety, like the Oracle?"

"No. I protect Millie. Ora liar. Blanche not liar. Blanche friend."

"I see..."

"Blanche Millie best friend. Most important."

"You have some humor for someone with such shitty grammar," said the Prince, losing his smile. "Fine, then, I guess I'll have to make peace with you... For Milena's sake. However, you better not betray her. I don't care if she has to keep her best friend has her next coat." "You watch you. Don't like you. You liar."

"Everybody lies. You'd have to lie too if you talked more."

"No, silence good. You talk too much."

The Prince chuckled.

"If I could hide as a wolf, I'd shut up more, I promise. Now. Are we friends?"

"Not friends. Blanche don't like you."

"I get it, I get it. I meant do we agree to tolerate each other from now on, for Milena's sake?"

"I bite you if you hurt Millie," Blanche retorted, still glaring at him.

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior. If you make yourself useful as well."

"Not dog!"

"You're already a guard dog. Do you think everything will be fine from now on if you just sit around and observe? You saw Milena's expression earlier, when we mentioned my death or hers. She'd think about it in a loop and not sleep a wink if no one told her when to stop. This is why you and I have to work together, in the shadows."

"Why you? Don't like you."

Rayan rolled his eyes. She understood what he said, but it was like talking with someone deaf. She understood fast, but he ought to explain for a long time.

"We both care about Milena, and from now one, she'll have more and more enemies. Don't tell me you never witnessed how many people her assassin had to get rid of until now." Blanche frowned, but he was right.

"I understands."

"Good. I don't want to fight with you, and to be honest, I'll be fine if this is our only discussion ever. However, I need to know whom I can trust around her. I understand you're really her... friend, aside from being her pet." Blanche showed her fangs again, as a warning about his words. Rayan ignored that, and sighed, turning to look at Milena, who had just rolled in her sleep.

"...Why Blanche? You not buy Ruby? Or maid?"

"You're the one by her side all the time. Moreover..."

He turned to Blanche again, with a solemn expression this time.

"I need to know someone will be there if I'm not by her side anymore."