Lady Dhampir
Chapter 128

"Oh, My Lady you're so beautiful..."

"Dinah, please control yourself," hissed Olivia, annoyed at her. "But..."

Milena ignored them, glancing at her reflection in the large mirror. She had seen herself wearing that dress about half a dozen times by now, but she still had to agree with Dinah. She had never been as beautiful as now.

While Yasina was running round the little pedestal with her assistants to make the final touches, getting grumpy about Milena's weight loss or a fallen bead, the future Princess could look at herself and take the right measure of the situation. She was in her wedding dress already. For the real thing this time. It had been a good idea to come back right before her wedding. She had gotten enough time to rest properly, make up her mind, and regain all the energy she needed against her enemies. They were already whispering about the Duchess De Crescent's return. The rumors were growing every day and going around so fast, even she had heard a few already.

Of course, a lot of people had found an excuse to criticize her. She was called heartless for holding her wedding only ten days after the ArchDuchess' funeral. Some were saying she should have stepped down after the Manor's attack. Others were whispering about tensions within the House De Crescent, saying the future Princess was about to cut all ties with her siblings and they hadn't talked to each other in days.

This last rumor was the most stupid one of all, Milena had spent the previous evening by Raphael's side at the hospital and she had breakfast with Valentin and her Father this very morning. Lucian was even waiting outside the dressing room at this very moment, acting as a guard for his sister's security.

Not only the House De Crescent had concurred on not pushing this wedding back any further, but they had even insisted to hold it as quickly as possible. Even then, those who knew that last piece of information were wondering if the Duchess wasn't being kicked out. Milena found this a bit funny. Her enemies were just desperate to try and pull her down by any means. But now she was standing above all those rumors, her dignity as untouchable as if she was a Queen already.

"This is definitely my masterpiece," said Yasina, her eyes beaming with pride. "My Boutiques will be crowded with orders after this is put into light. Do you know I even put that dress in a safe for weeks? All my rivals are going to die from jealousy and start copying me tomorrow! But hell no, I am the one and only designer of this De Crescent's Bridal dress!"

"The only one, are you sure?" Chuckled Milena, raising an eyebrow. "Yasina, aren't you forgetting something?"

The Baroness' expression fell and she sighed.

"Alright, maybe not the only one but still! I turned that old thing into one hell of a masterpiece, Lady Milena. You can't take that away from me." Milena smiled once again, amused by her friend. Indeed, the dress was beautiful but much more than that, it meant a lot for Milena to wear it today.

It was her mother's own bridal dress. Somehow, it had felt natural for Milena to make this request of Yasina. She had never cared much for fashion but for her wedding, she had insisted on wearing this dress at any cost. There were few occasions where Milena could feel close to her mother and this was one she didn't want to let pass. Her friend had tried to make her change her mind a couple of times, arguing that the dress was completely out of trend, made for a different body type, and even the colors had somewhat faded already. Moreover, it was considered a commoner's thing to re-use old clothing, as unlike nobles they couldn't afford to buy new clothes every week or month. If a noblewoman wore the same dress twice in public events, rumors would soon arise about their House going bankrupt. Every ball gown was only worn once before being sent back to the designers to live a second life as a normal dress. Having a bridal dress of all things to be re-used was totally unheard of.

Yet, nothing had made Milena budge. She wanted that dress not any other. Thankfully, Yasina was never one to back away from a challenge. Now, she was even almost bragging as if it had been her idea to bring old dresses back up to date. Milena was ready to bet everything in her safe that recycling old dresses was going to be the new trend in a matter of weeks...

Still, she had to admit her friend's talent had truly shone in that dress. Milena loved every aspect of it and even more that Yasina had managed to include at the last minute a tribute to Maribella.

Like all human bridal dresses, her mother's dress was white, but it had faded into more of an off-white with time. Yasina had taken advantage of that detail and included it in her color palette. She had redesigned the dress's original shape too. From the original innocent A-line skirt, she had re-sewn some parts to fit Milena's hips line, and shaped it into a very long train below her knees. Though the front was cut to stop right before her toes so she wouldn't risk stepping on it, the back was extremely long almost as long as the dress itself. Although it wasn't as heavy as the top.

The Baroness de Citrin had transformed the previous strapless top into a gorgeous V-line with cap sleeves that fitted Milena's cleavage and wide shoulders. Moreover, the top was embroidered with raspberry red silk threads, and the sleeves itself were only made of those embroideries and muslin, showing her skin in little bits. The weight from the top actually came from the dozens and dozens of little beads on it, that made the whole dress shine. To separate the red and white top from the skirt, Yasina had settled on a large high-waisted belt of red silk, once again accentuating Milena's flat stomach before her hips. The silk once again covered in beads, not just little beads but petal-shaped glass, that were spreading all around her belt. While some appeared among the smaller beads on the top, some of the fake petals were spread on the white skirt the contrast making it look like a flower had elegantly lost its petals on Milena's skirt.

It wasn't a traditional wedding dress by any means, but both the bride and her designer were absolutely fine with that. This would be the first time a dress appeared, not being entirely white or black. Milena wasn't a vampire or a human, she was a dhampir. Having a dress as unique as herself was almost a given.

"Oh, damn."

Milena frowned, glancing in the mirror at her younger brother who had just let himself in and was staring at her in awe.

"Lucian, your language."

"Sorry Millie, but you're... damn. Prince or not I hope his Highness treats you right, because he is going to make a lot of men jealous..."

Milena chuckled. It was Lucian's normal way of making a compliment. He walked up to her with a bright smile, perhaps the first in a few days. He sighed.

"It suits you really well, Millie. Raphael is going to cry for sure... You didn't put any black on your dress?"

"What for?"

"You know, the... vampire part."

Milena chuckled, and shook her head.

"No. I already have a vampire husband, what more vampire part do I need."

"...True."

Lucian chuckled. He didn't really care about customs, but he knew people were going to dissect every move of his younger sister to find faults in it. Maybe Milena wearing a red and white dress would be a good call, but maybe it was going to give their enemies more to gossip about. He only cared as long as she was happy anyway. Having her wear their mother's dress was a gorgeous blessing in itself.

"I wish mother could see you," he sighed. "Grandmother, too. She probably would have refused to come to the wedding because she hates crowds, but she wouldn't have missed this."

Milena nodded, having the very same feeling. Maribella hated appearing in crowds, even for family events. She probably did not care much for things such as weddings either. Yet Milena felt a little knot in her throat. She wasn't only missing her mother today, but the great-grandmother she had known almost her whole life as well. With her mentor gone, she truly felt lonely this time... And yet somewhat ready, as if she had just graduated from being an apprentice to her own master. It was as if she ought to be ready to stand alone on stage. There was a bit of that actually.

"What about Father?" She asked.

"He said he will make his way to see you as soon as he can. Aren't you tired? Digory said you had to wake up at dawn to get ready..."

"It's alright. I got plenty of rest these last few days."

Milena was telling the truth. Although she had only slept a few hours that night, she didn't feel tired. She had that little spark of excitement in her stomach and was starting to get nervous. Her wedding had been pushed back, and now that she was getting ready for the real thing it was hitting her all at once. She was about to marry Rayan, the vampire Prince and become a Princess.

Her heart accelerated a little as all those thoughts crossed her mind. She had thought she was ready for a long time, but sometimes standing over the edge made the gap look deeper. Milena took a deep breath, trying to adjust to her belt's tightness but it was still better than the usual corsets. She really hoped that a large belt trend would take roots and grow fast at the court...

"Do we know if His Highness will be able to attend?" Asked Yasina, sweeping the bottom of the dress for the hundredth time.

"It looks like it, I've heard the Castle's servants have all been running around..."

Milena hadn't seen the King since his attack, the night of the fire. She had only heard from her friends that although he was considerably weak, the King had resumed work three days ago. Milena was still worried about the Oracle's words, though. If she believed her, His Highness didn't have much time left...

"Milena, are you alright?" Asked Lucian, frowning.

Their eyes met and she erased all her worries from her mind, nodding.

"Yes, sorry I was just... thinking about Raphael," she lied.

"Oh, don't worry. His spot is getting prepared too. I heard he made a big fuss at the Hospital because he wanted to be there at any cost. He said he was going to stand in the front row even if it killed him!"

Milena grimaced.

"That's a bit..."

"Don't worry. Our older brother intervened. So, the compromise is that he will be in the front row but in one of those special chairs. So he doesn't actually, you know, stand up and really kill himself." Milena smiled. It was indeed very like Raphael to say such a thing.

They had no news from the Oracle or Rowena. Milena had sent Dinah to enquire again that very morning, but it was as if Ora and her daughter had vanished from the Capital. Those two were well hidden. Milena knew Raphael was probably worried sick about his adoptive daughter. The news about Rowena's blood relation to the Oracle had caused him a great shock, but at the moment he just wanted to be sure the young girl was alright.

Milena was doing her best to send people to look for them, but she had to be cautious too. She wasn't the only one looking and it looked like the search had turned into a race about who would put their hands on them first...

"Lady Yasina, would you mind giving me a few minutes with my sister?" Asked Lucian.

The Baroness frowned a bit, glancing at Milena.

"But, her makeup isn't done yet, and the veil..."

"We still have time," declared Milena.

They were a couple of hours ahead of the actual wedding and although the first guests were probably on their way already, they still had time before the actual ceremony. Nobles simply thought arriving first was a way to show their support to the future prince and princess, or fake it. "Alright," sighed Yasina. "But no ruffling the dress. And Blanche, if you approach, I'm shaving your fur!"

Although she couldn't know the white wolf could actually understand her, Milena tried hard to repress her laugh. Blanche barely moved her ears, more focused on her nap on an enormous cushion in one corner of the room.

Yasina finally left the room, Olivia and Dinah as well after a glance from Lucian. Once the door was closed behind them, Milena turned to her brother worried.

"What is it? Is everything fine?"

"Why do you think something is not fine because I want to talk to my sister in private?"

"Because you never do!"

Lucian rolled his eyes and searched through his jacket, before handing her a little box. Milena frowned and took it.

"Father wanted to give this to you himself, but he probably would have been a bit late so... It was finished this morning."

Milena opened the box and almost began crying immediately.

Although it didn't look like before, this was definitely Maribella's brooch. She would have recognized the shapes of those opal gemstones anywhere. However, it wasn't a brooch anymore. The large white flower had been split into three parts, one half and two quarters, and the rhombus gemstones' positions had been changed to look like thin fans, or feathers.

"But..."

"Father said she would have wanted you to have it Millie. She is not going to use it where she is... We paid a jeweler to modify the shape, so people wouldn't gossip about you taking our great-grandmother's jewelry or something; You can have it back into a flower later, I guess..."

Milena nodded, unable to say any words.

She loved that brooch too, mostly because of the story behind it. According to Maribella it was an Edelweiss, one of the rarest flowers in the world. The Archduchess had seen one in her childhood, that her father had brought back from an expedition to the North in the mountains. He had gifted it to his daughter but it had faded and died in a few days, making her sad. She had never forgotten that flower, and while many men had courted her during what she called her glory days, or her teenage years the King's brother had won her heart by having that brooch made. He had heard the story of the Edelweiss flower and that brooch was made by a jeweler, especially for the young Duchess. Milena silently promised her great-grandmother she would have it put back in its original appearance as soon as possible.

"Thank you, Lucian."

"You should thank Father. I'm not really into jewelry, but I do know how to make my sister happy..."

While Milena was staring at him confused, the young Duke smiled and walked to the door to open it. Rayan snuck in with a little smile, exchanging a complice glance with Lucian. Milena was shocked.

"Your Highness... H-how..."

"Your brother and I agree on the fact that some traditions are ridiculous," said the Prince with a smile walking up to her.

"See you later, Milena," whispered Lucian with a little wink, leaving the room.

Left alone with her prince she hadn't seen in days, Milena was overwhelmed with emotions. She let Rayan walk towards the little pedestal she was standing on.

The Prince looked gorgeous in that outfit as black as ink, and Milena could recognize another one of Yasina's designs. If she wasn't wearing a heavy dress and holding on to her dignity, Milena may have run to him. Instead, she let him cross all the way to her, not moving an inch from where she was. She could feel and hear her heart thumping in her chest.

"Good Morning, my beautiful bride..." He whispered, gently taking her hand to intertwine her fingers with his.

"What are you doing here..." Milena muttered, blushing uncontrollably.

Was it because she hadn't seen him in a while? She could barely contain her emotions or control her shyness in front of him. Rayan was looking at her from a couple of inches below, looking terribly attractive. He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers and her engagement ring.

"I just couldn't wait to be in front of a lot of strangers to see my fiancée again. ... Not wearing your rubies yet?" He asked with a little smile.

"I'm not... done getting ready."

"Mh, I guess I'm going to fall all over again in a couple of hours then."

Despite knowing he was playing on purpose, Milena blushed again. She leaned in, not to kiss him but to hug him. The prince was a bit surprised but certainly didn't refuse her embrace. He gently hugged her, caressing her back. The dress was actually a backless one, his hand feeling her skin with a light and agreeable surprise.

"How are you?" He asked softly.

"I'm alright."

It was the truth, even more so now that she had seen her fiancé. Thinking about her dress and the fit Yasina wouldn't miss throwing if they damaged it in any way she stood back, still holding on to her fiancé's shoulders. He gently caressed her hair and she could tell he was trying to see if she was lying or not, but she really wasn't.

"Aren't people going to worry you're here and not... wherever else my Prince is supposed to be?"

"I enjoy playing hide-and-sneak," said Rayan with a little wink.

Milena could only imagine his poor staff looking for him everywhere from wherever he had run from.

"Thank you for sneaking in here, then," she chuckled.

"You're most welcome, my Lady."