Lady Dhampir
Chapter 277

Milena ran down the stairs, unable to process what she had just witnessed. Everything had happened them get into a defensive position between the King and Anton laying on the floor. She threw herself "Dad! Dad, look at me, please... Dad!" "I'm... fine."

t. Her heart was beating like a violent drum in her ears, she was completely shocked. The De Crescent Knights' shouts didn't even get to her. She only saw her father, her instincts immediately taking over to cover the bullet wound with her hands.

No, he wasn't. First, she had never seen her Father bleed or lying down with such a pale color on his face. Milena did her very best to calm herself down, but his blood was cold under her trembling fingers, and it was too much. Luckily, the bullet didn't reach his heart, but it was close enough. Did it hit a lung? Milena could feel her tears soaking her hands as muc r father's blood. Next to her, Blanche landed softly as a wolf, still furiously growling at the guards. If it wasn't for her, perhaps he'd be dead by now. She had arrived just in time to scratch Ellias' hand, moving him from what would've been an arm's length shot Duke's heart.The one place where vampires were the most vulnerable. "You're not fine," she cried. "s**t, you're losing too much blood... Digory! Digory, call the doctor!" She vaguely saw their butler, standing at the top of the stairs where she'd been seconds before with a Milena turned her head the other way, her raven curls flying around her as she glared with all her mig such a thing.

"You... what the f**k is wrong with you, Ellias! How dare you!" She shouted.

"... It's you or me, Milena," he muttered.

"You just shot my Dad!"

ed expression, before he rushed out of her field of vision. It didn't matter.

e King. There were knights between them, but it didn't matter. She could glare at him between two shoulders. She couldn't believe he had the guts to do

"The Duke De Crescent will perhaps finally learn his place. It's time the old wolf stopped disobeying hiking and growling on his own... it won't matter soon," he scoffed. "...The Duke got in my way, thus he got shot. I did what I had to do. This is how things should be... they all did, didn't they. They are ready to get rid of me, all this to protect you... to protect his wif Milena froze.

"....This isn't about my mother," she muttered. "It's about Rayan, isn't it?" Ellias' gaze suddenly got harder and colder.

e power than ever and my husband is on his way back. You are terrified. You all are terrified." r either. As long as I take you, everything will be over and solved!"

"That's why you're running out of time," Milena said, a vicious smile appearing on her lips. "...I'm holdi "No, he's not," Ellias retorted. "He's not coming back and there won't be any of that! There won't be a "Oh, you wish, Ellias. But this is much bigger than just me or you. All of the vampires will know what's going on. As soon as word gets out that you dared to shoot my father, they will riot. Every single vampire in the Kingdom will come at you, and bring you and your allies down."

"...I doubt that," he muttered. "Your father will die for opposing the law and that is your fault. I had no intention to harm him, but since you refused to be taken in..."

"Can you even hear yourself!" She shouted. "You're ready to murder my father just to capture me! What did they tell you? That capturing me would end all of this? You're wrong! It won't end until you back down! I'm never undoing or ending what has been done, because that's all you're doing! You wanted the end of the Society of Vampires, you wanted to kick the vampires out of the Council. I only showed you the reality of your mistakes, Ellias. You never had the f*****g guts to see your wrongs, until somebody shoved it in your face!"

He suddenly raised his g*n at her again, making the knights tighten the ranks between them. Milena couldn't see him anymore, but she was pretty sure that weapon was still pointed right at her, ignoring the men in-between. Blanche, too, got to her other side to furiously growl at who was targeting her. The Royal Guards also got into a fighting position.

Milena was at a loss for words. She had never imagined things would get so bad, so quickly. No, she hadn't imagined Ellias would have the guts to really fire at her dad. She had never thought Anton would be the first victim in this. She looked down at her father, at a loss. "Dad..." She cried silently.

"Don't let him take you," muttered her father. "...Go, Milena. Leave with Blanche."

Milena slowly shook her head. There was no way she was going to run away. Not when her Father had just been shot, perhaps mortally wounded. Not when Raphael had just woken up, and was at risk too. Plus, how could she and Blanche escape? There would be deaths and her friend could be shot all the same while trying to leave.

She grabbed her father's sword instead and let her shawl fall off of her shoulders as she slowly got up. The long piece of dark fabric gently fell to cover her father instead. The servants saw an opportunity to run in and help the Duke, two of them dragging him away. Milena exchanged a glance with him, before turning around. The servants knew what to do with their master and she knew what to do with the intruders. The De Crescent knights were only steps away from the Royal Guards, ready to fight. The only reason they hadn't shed blood yet was that both their masters were in a condition to give the order to attack, but they hadn't.

Milena slowly got up, finally seeing Ellias' face again past her knights. Her eyes were now red in sadness and anger, and glaring back at the King. Whatever had happened to him would never be enough to explain or forgive what he had just done to her father. She wouldn't forgive. As the Grand Princess stood tall, Ellias just now discovered the fighting apparel she had been wearing this whole time, hidden under her shawl, the dark metal of her shoulder blades shining. Ellias' expression visibly sunk at the discovery of her armor, ready for battle. Perhaps he had hoped she'd give up upon seeing her father injured, but he had been gravely mistaken. Milena was never one to back off from a fight, true to her word. "You've gone way too far" she muttered, furious.

"My thoughts exactly....I'm done letting you manipulate me, Milena."

"Manipulating you? Look at you! I've done nothing but resist you and those trying to pull your strings from the very beginning! You let those wretched people do this to you! Ellias, have you even looked at yourself!"

"I'm looking at you right now," he hissed. "and you're just acting like you're so much better than everyone else, Milena De Crescent. You think you can overpower everyone, but you won't succeed. I am the King and if I say you are under arrest, you are!" "Sure," Milena retorted. "You're a child, Ellias. A child they let play with toy soldiers, a paper crown and a wooden chair for a throne. You accused me of being more powerful than you, but I'm not the one who let others take everything I had away from me. The vampires obey me because they know I won't stand for the bullshit you and your people are trying to put them through. They know I have remained true to my name and my beliefs since the beginning! But you...? You chose to rely on the wrong people, and you gave them way too much leeway, Ellias. You accuse me of overpowering you, but none of it would have been true if you hadn't subverted our Society in your quest for recognition. The Church used you, and now, you're the one caught in the snowstorm!" "Enough!"

He raised his arm, but he didn't even get to aim. Blanche jumped out of nowhere violently biting his hand. The King screamed in pain and let go of the g*n, his hand now covered in blood. The Royal Guards ran to try and protect their King, but Blanche was too quick. From a wolf, she shape-shifted in a blink into a bird and flew out of the little crowd, while they gathered around Ellias.

Milena however, didn't wait. Everything was going to be about quick decision making now. She swung her sword, slicing the closest Royal Guard's back in one clean line. The man yelled in pain and the De Crescent Knights began attacking right after that. The Royal Guards that had been busy with trying to protect their King were completely disorganized because of Blanche's surprise attack. Most of them didn't have time to turn around and protect themselves, giving a large advantage to Milena's knights. The Grand Princess herself didn't hold back. She had to burst her anger through violence and Ellias' men were the perfect targets for that. She'd had enough. If the Civil War had to start right here, in her house, at least she'd defend it and push those trespassers out of there. "Go and light the signal!" She shouted at some of the servants that were standing at the back.

"Yes, my Lady!"

The servants ran out to help however they could, some of them still busy trying to drag the Duke out of harm's way. There would be no one to get to him now, though.

Milena's knights were inflicting a cruel defeat to Ellias and his men, who were struggling to both protect their King and their lives. The De Crescent Knights were focused on attacking the knights, but not the King himself. Their main concern was to avenge their master and protect Milena, making sure no sword could even graze the Grand Princess. Even without the anger from the House De Crescent's side, the outcome of the battle was already clear; Blanche's attack had made a decisive impact on the Royal Guards' priorities, and they were already trying to retreat.

"Grand Princess Milena De Crescent!" Shouted their Captain. "Your refusal to cooperate as well as your pet's attack on His Majesty is high treason!"

"Fine!" She retorted. "So be it! I betray my King and his rotten principles! I betray all of you who have betrayed your own Kingdom and your people already! I betray a man who betrayed me, his brother, his principles and himself long ago!"

Just at that moment, the De Crescent knights happened to create a unique opening to the King, and Milena used it. She swung her sword and a large, long cut appeared on the King's torso. It wasn't deep, but the blood flew anyway, and Ellias himself looked down on his injury, shocked.

"You...." He hissed, looking up at Milena.

"Get. Out."

She kicked him right in the torso, with her full strength, projecting him past the entrance doors, to eat the snow outside. The King landed with a muffled sound, and all of the Royal Guards froze up immediately, turning their heads in shock, to find their monarch lying on his stomach steps behind them.

"Your Majesty!"

While some kept fighting the knights, most ran out to help him.

"Get them out," said Milena, taking a step back. "Send them out of the Domain. I don't care for the Guards, but keep the King alive." "Yes, my Lady!"

It was just a matter of time before the doors of the Manor were tightly closed again, knights inside and out to keep the Royal Guards out. Milena doubted they would attempt a second entrance just yet, though. The state of the King was a priority and though the injuries she and Blanche had caused him were unlikely to be life-threatening, they'd drag him back to the Castle anyway to get healed before they came back a second time with reinforcements. Milena easily saw why they had come in such small numbers, the first time; Ellias had hoped to do a quick operation of taking her as a prisoner, before anyone else could react. Either he had underestimated the reaction from her father or thought she'd comply right away. Or had he actually waited for such a thing to happen, to place the blame of the upcoming war on her. Either way, things were done now, and strangely, Milena didn't hold a single regret. She knew she had made the only and right decision for herself, her family and her people.

She turned her back to the doors leaving the knights to protect it. She ran inside the Manor to where her father had been taken. They couldn't possibly take him up the stairs, so the servants had taken the Duke to the closest salon. He was laid to rest on one of the sofas. The doctors hadn't arrived yet, but the maids were doing their best to keep the blood from flowing. The staff was running in and out of the room, trying to hear the orders yelled by Digory.

"Dad, Dad are you alright?" Milena cried as soon as she got by his side.

Her father nodded, although his eyes were closed and frowning. He seemed to be in pain, groaning regularly. Milena barely dared to glance at the injury. She knew the bullet had hit a dangerous place... She felt cold sweat dripping down her nape. "He will come back," grunted her father.

"I know, Dad, don't worry. I'll be ready. We lit the signal for our allies. Don't worry about anything, alright. I got this."

He nodded faintly, but Milena could tell he was having a hard time breathing. She exchanged a worried look with Digory, but she could tell the butler was as restless as herself, fidgeting with his hands. Milena took a deep breath, trying to control herself, and put a quick kiss on her dad's forehead, holding his hand. She didn't care about the military preparations right now, she just wanted to stay by his side until the doctor arrived...

"Father."

She turned her head shocked, and found Raphael at the entrance of the room. He was standing alone, still in his dark silk pajamas, an eerie vision with his dark gold eyes and long white hair. All of the servants in the room froze, completely shocked to see the young master awake and walking. Behind him, Olivia could be spotted in the corridor, visibly panicked and trying to mutter some apology to her mistress. Milena had completely forgotten about her brother for a few minutes. She blinked twice, and slowly stood back up, at a loss what to do.

"Raphael..."

"Father was hurt?"

The way he said "father" felt somewhat odd. Then, Milena realized her brother had Blanche right by his side. Was he using her memories to get back his own? Blanche always heard Milena call Anton "Father", so that was probably how he was always referred to, in her thoughts. Raphael stepped forward, in the middle of the completely confused servants. She wondered how many of them had grasped what was going on... Digory reacted first, as usual. He grabbed a blanket, and ran to Raphael's side, speaking calmly to him. "Yes, Young Master. I'm very sorry you have to witness this upon your awakening, but the doctor is coming soon to take care of him. The situation of the Manor is quite urgent, at the moment, so we are a bit busy, but is there anything the young master needs? Food, drink, blood? Are you cold?"

Raphael slowly shook his head, with the expression of someone trying to remember who Digory was. Still, the butler showed impeccable self-control, gently putting the blanket in his hands anyway and gesturing for Olivia to come in. Then he accompanied Raphael to come next to Milena, judging he could endure their father's state.

Raphael's new golden eyes went over their father's body with a dark expression.

"...I'm so sorry," he muttered.

"Raphael, that's not your fault," said Milena. "...Dad? Dad, Raphael is up. He's fine."

Her father briefly opened his eyes, glancing at his son. Then, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Of course he's fine," he said.

His words were followed by a mean cough, though, breaking Milena's heart.

Luckily, the family doctor suddenly barged in. He had visibly been dragged out of his bed, seeing how his clothes were a mess and his hair even more so. Digory immediately briefed him on what had happened, next to Milena, Raphael seemed to listen to that part, too. She turned to him, taking his hand, worried.

"Raphael, are you alright? You should have stayed upstairs..."

"...You're going to war."

Milena remained quiet for a second, until it hit her. Their hands. She immediately let go, remembering her brother's new talent. However, it wouldn't change much. She sighed, silently getting mad at herself for pushing him away like that and grabbing his hand again, more confidently this time.

"Yes," she said, looking him right in the eyes. "I am. Father is injured, so he has to stay in the Manor, but we will protect him. Raphael, this place is about to become a battlefield. We have signaled for our allies to gather, and... things are going to get messy, I don't want you in the midst of this. You understand?"

He stared at her, for a long while, without saying a word. Everyone in the room was doing what they could, to help her or the Duke, but right now Milena was concerned about Raphael. It was like having a child in her hands, someone who had just been reborn minutes ago. He blinked, and faintly nodded after a while, although there was fear in his eyes.

"But... What about the other?"

"What?"

"The other one. I still hear them..."

Milena sighed, exchanging a glance with Blanche. The wolf seemed to have no idea either, as she simply walked to stand by her mistress' side.

"I-I don't know, Raphael. But can it wait?"

He didn't answer, but his eyes went to their father. No matter how much he had forgotten, he could probably tell their father's situation wasn't good right now. He slowly nodded, and quietly stepped back. Digory immediately stepped in to help him to the couch opposite to the one their father was lying on.

Milena turned to the Doctor, her heart beating like crazy. Why was everything happening so fast, right now...

"How is he?" She asked. "You can heal this, right?"

The doctor grimaced.

"I'm sorry, my Lady. It touched his highness' lung, and there's blood getting in, which will give him a lot of trouble breathing..."

"Can you operate and save him, or not?"

Her cold tone doubled with her shaking voice made the Doctor look even more sorry.

"...I will try my very best, my Lady. Can I have a room made ready, please."

"Immediately. Digory, get everything the doctor needs!"

She put a quick kiss on her dad's forehead.

"Hold on a bit longer, Dad. I'll take care of everything."

She then turned around, glancing at her brother.

"Raphael, come with me. Maybe your new gift will be helpful..."