Lady Dhampir
Chapter 302

Exactly as she had ordered, all the lieutenants gathered. Some might have been a year or two too young for the role according to the De Nova standards, but they weren't hers. Milena trusted that those men had been picked because the others respected them, not thanks to their noble ranks or family's power like was common practice amongst the order of knights of some families. Either way, she quickly greeted all the men and, with all of her troops gathered around her in silence, she re-explained the plan from before. "You all already know the plan. We're going to take back the Castle from the inside," she said. "With Lady De Carseus agitating the Capital and the Vampire Prince returning with the army up north, it is more than likely that whoever has taken control of this place will try to barricade themselves and fight until they can be sure of their victory, and if not, they'll try to find a way out. We won't let them. Our allies outside will ensure they can't win, so our goal is to keep the Castle's gates wide open for the army to come and get them, and prevent anyone from fleeing. Lady De Carseus should be fighting back a good portion of their soldiers now, but our hope is that they will redirect even more of their forces against the army, and neglect the security here. Unfortunately, the White One we just fought against probably already signaled our breakout, so we only have minutes until they come down here to counter-attack."

"What about the Duke, Your Highness?"

"Search for him," Milena immediately said. "Since he wasn't kept in the cells, we have to consider the possibility that he's been killed already, and the lieutenants, too. We shall proceed with the plan exactly as it was planned regardless. I am sorry for the Duke, but we can't get our hopes up just yet. For now, we have to stick to the plan we all agreed on, and pray well find him safe and sound along the way."

The men nodded. Milena was trying to be tactful, but realistic. She knew the Duke De Nova and his men had agreed to her plan, well aware of the consequences, but the reality was often crueler than theories. She knew that for those men, she probably was nothing like the Vampire Elder they respected, so she had to establish right away that she'd be the one they took orders from unless they found him. Many of them were vampires, so they knew she was key to their kind's survival, but they probably had expected a different person to lead them into this attack. Milena, too, felt deeply unsure about the Duke's absence. She could only hope he was alive, and if he wasn't, that he had died an honorable death...

"How do you want us to proceed, Your Highness?" Asked another man. "We lost a lot of men; even if there are less guards, the Castle itself is too vast, and we won't be able to take all of it by ourselves and follow the initial plan...."

"No, we're sticking to the plan. Let's split up carefully," Milena retorted. "Most of you should stay on the ground level and prevent them from closing those doors. The army will need to use the main entrance, so make sure that one stays open, while the others are closed so our enemies won't try to flee. I want a team on the roofs to shoot any suspect who tries to f et people come in, no one comes out. The others will come with me; we will sweep the floors one by one. I need at least two teams."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Do we take prisoners?"

"Only if they surrender immediately. Otherwise, no need to hesitate. Raise your sword first. Any decent fighter will use the first seconds to show their intent to fight back or give up. It is more than likely they already kept the most loyal ones to guard the Castle anyway. Do not harm the servants and unarmed staff. Confine them in an area where they can be watched, but once again, nobody leaves this Castle until our allies arrive."

"Understood."

"Remember, bodies are dangerous. Whether it's our allies or our enemies, the White One will use thengst us. Do not hesitate to get rid of them."

All men nodded as one. Milena didn't have any doubt they'd do anything to spare themselves another nightmare from earlier. Sadly, she had a feeling this wouldn't be their last time witnessing moving corpses... "We're running out of time," she said, a bit louder. "You two, you follow me. Everyone else, focus on the ground floor. Focus on finding weapons first, and ask the servants to lock down the area immediately. Let's go!"

The men loudly cheered in response. Many of them were already pumped up after that first fight against the unknown White One, Milena didn't need to add any fuel to their fire.

They all ran out of the cells, Blanche jumping ahead to guide them in her wolf appearance, Milena and the two new lieutenants she had picked right behind her. As soon as they stepped out of the cells, Milena swung her sword first, getting rid of the first Royal Guards they ran into, Blanche as her main support. The De Nova knights might not have been highly ranked, but they knew exactly what to do. She heard them shout orders and split up effectively to find their weapons. For a while, they all worked together to clear the first two floors of the Castle of its Royal Guards; they barricaded the living areas so no one could hide in them or use their windows to flee, and grabbed weapons where they could find them, most of the time, on the bodies of the Royal Guards they had defeated. Just like Milena had predicted, almost none surrendered.

They kept killing, dismembering the bodies and locking doors. If they met servants, they told them to lock themselves up in the kitchens and, luckily for them, the staff was more cooperative and willing to survive this. Milena even crossed paths with some of the maids from earlier, who all fled like terrified mice towards the kitchens. If they didn't fear her, the terrible ruckus and fights happening all over the area were enough to scare them. In just a few minutes, the Castle had become a fortress about to be overtaken. Milena was glad to be able to focus on fighting for a while. She was definitely out of practice, but a daughter of the Duke De Crescent was always far better trained than any Royal Guard. She easily got rid of her opponents without getting too tired just yet, and Blanche was working in perfect tandem with her. In fact, the teams of men that were supposed to follow her kept a safe distance even after they had returned from finding weapons for themselves.

She wasn't only fighting either. Her strategist mind was working hard to count, analyze what she saw and do some basic math to estimate their chances and the status of the fight. They had emerged from the cells at the right time, as she caught a glimpse of the two battlefields outside from the windows. However, their own progress was too slow. If the Royal Guards had been sent to either of the two fronts outside, it should have been much easier than this to retake control of the Castle, but their progress wasn't as fast as she had anticipated. There were too many Royal Guards still. The battle there was dragging on, and, much to her horror, there were too many opponents for her men to have time to make sure to render the deceased useless for the White One.

"My Lady, they saw through the plan!" shouted one of the other lieutenants, suddenly running up the stairs towards her. "There are more Royal Guards than we thought; they are trying to trap us here!"

"So what? A plan's secrecy isn't the only reason for its success, lieutenant!" Milena grunted, wielding her sword. "First female Knight Carmine De Nova made a list of sixteen reasons a plan would succeed; its secrecy is only one of them! So go back and keep to the plan! That damn door has to stay open at any cost! If you don't want to die, don't let this place bury us!"

That's why she had wished to work with the real lieutenants, not a second choice. Those men were too green, too impressionable and inexperienced. They had expected an easy battle, and were getting more and more afraid as it dragged on. Milena grunted, and got rid of another Royal Guard that had stood in her way. She had to tighten her ranks, or they would become the biggest flaw of her own plan. Another stepped forward to face her, visibly aiming to get rid of this rebellion's leader. He was bold, but it would cost him his life. Milena raised her sword, and struck first, fast and relentlessly. They were on the first floor's corridor, the fights scattered around them. Some of her men were focusing on locking doors and barricading others, but most had swords drawn against Royal Guards, fighting hard for every bit of ground they could win.

"Focus on the ground level," she shouted, loud enough for all her men around to hear. "Keep fighting and protect the main door!"

Either way, reinforcements were on the way. It was a matter of time. She was trying to sneak peeks at the windows around her any chance she got, to evaluate the situation outside. Alexis had lost a lot of ground, and was still further from the Castle than anticipated, but Rayan had just emerged from the Emerald Forest too. His arrival was probably about to turn the tides around, it would only take minutes before the Royal Army turned around to face him head-on. For now, that meant she had to hold on the siege of the Castle by herself for a little while longer. They had anticipated a long fight, and this was the beginning of the end. Once Rayan or Alexis broke through, they'd rush here to support her.

Right now, Milena was leading a one-woman war with a handful of green knights doing their best under a command they were not used to. She knew it wasn't about her getting any victory just yet. She was meant to simply hold onto her position, as long as she could, and prepare the ground for Rayan to bring back the main fight over there.

"Arrest all the nobles you can find in the Castle!" she said. "The King is our priority, but take them alive if you can!"

"My Lady, it seems the King is commanding the troops!" "...What?"

Milena did her best to get rid of her opponent as fast as possible, kicking him into Blanche's legs, and ran to the nearest north-facing window. It was the truth. It took her a second, but she definitely recognized the silhouette of the King's armor, sitting on a tall white horse. He was behind the Royal troops, at a leadership position but far from the front line. Because he even had a helmet, she couldn't even tell if it was really Ellias, but it seemed like it... So he really had gone to battle? It wouldn't be surprising for him to stand far behind his men. Meanwhile, on the other end, she easily recognized Rayan. Unlike his twin, he didn't wear a helmet, but even without that she was sure she would have easily recognized her husband's figure. His black armor had a sinister shadow with the last vivid lights of a red-orange sunset behind him... The darkness of night was about to take over the battlefield.

Sadly, she didn't have time to watch until the two frontlines of the armies collided. She already had her hands full here. Milena kept fighting, shouting orders to her men and, much to her annoyance, she was stuck to the first floors of the Castle. She was trying to evaluate the right moment to go upstairs, but it was clear the Royal Guards were focused on protecting the upper floors while keeping the battle down here. Her anger was only translated further into her furious strikes.

She was like a goddess of war and death unleashed on the battlefield. She was moving through the dark corridors, her blades shining only one second before they struck again, leaving blood trails behind her. She had already distanced herself from even the men supposed to follow her. No one could stop the Princess, moving in her pitch-black silhouette, silent as a shadow and deadly as the reaper itself. The Royal Guards had already understood she was the leader of the Castle's attack, and were desperate to stop her. Those who didn't fall under her sword were trying to sneak past her to join the battle for the door downstairs, but she was standing like a watchwoman protecting the main way to the gates.

There was more than one way, though, so even despite her best efforts, the fight was still raging behind her too. The smartest and least brazen of the Royal Guards were attacking the De Nova knights downstairs instead, or even trying to attack her from behind. Not only Blanche, but Ruby also stepped out of the shadows several times to protect her blind side. The three females were moving like a three-headed beast in the corridor, a monster the Royal Guards were desperate to defeat to break the morale of their knights. However, they realized Milena's goal was not to guard that door, and there were fewer and fewer of them coming at her, and more agreed to rush downstairs in an attempt to regain control of the ground floor. Which meant that after the first wave of duels one after another, not only was Milena able to catch a quick break, but the path ahead of her became clearer and clearer. She couldn't even be sure how many of her men were following; they all had to scatter into the many corridors to carry out her orders. Her best hope was that they all knew what to do and were doing their very best at it. She knew they were still gathering weapons, blocking areas, and looking for the Duke and his lieutenants, but there were many deserted areas. It didn't surprise her; Milena would have also retreated towards the upper floors if the Castle was under a siege she couldn't have fled from. How singular was it that she was already back in this place, for another battle, and spreading blood again...

After a while, she took a deep breath. Finally, she seemed to have reached the end of an aisle, and cleared it of its Royal Guards. She felt nauseous, and more tired than if she had been in her top condition, but that couldn't be helped. She'd recover soon enough. Milena quickly cleaned her blade. So far, she had managed to only use her sword and her dagger, keeping her g*n for emergencies...

"Blanche, Ruby, are you alright?"

Blanche walked up to her, visibly fine. She licked a bit of blood on her front paw, but from what Milena could witness, her friend had done a good job of keeping herself from getting hurt. Ruby, too, appeared next to her, a knee and her head down. "My Lady, this area is clear. There are more upstairs, though. I assume most of our targets have hidden in the private apartments above....I need to warn you, it might not be safe to keep going alone."

Milena sighed. Indeed, she had eventually gotten ahead of the two groups of soldiers that were supposed to follow her. Either they were busy elsewhere or had lost her, she couldn't tell. She hesitated, and walked back to the main corridor, listening to the battles going on around her. She had already realized, but upon walking back to witness some of the fights still going on, and the area from a better point of view, it became obvious. There weren't just more Royal Guards. Some were also rising from the dead to fight some more. She had to praise the De Nova's knight's courage but it was clear there was too much to do, and the more undead they had to fight, the less they could focus on guarding the gates and everything else. It would never end, if they couldn't find the time to get rid of the bodies. In the cells, it had been fine because the battle was all in one place and they could just push the bodies in a cell, but here, it was too scattered. One body forgotten somewhere could turn into a weapon and jump back from the shadows to attack. Milena observed some men who had begun fighting back to back just to not face any unwanted surprises. They were learning fast. At least, they had gotten rid of a lot of the Royal Guards, and slowly, this fight was getting easier on them. After she waited one more minute, still hesitating, Milena saw the two lieutenants meant to follow her earlier reappear. They both looked like they had gone through a rough time, and they had lost some of their men, but their eyes were shining with determination.

"My Lady, we've taken control of the Ground and First Floor. Our men are suppressing the last Royal Guards they could find, and most of the areas that could have been used to escape have been barricaded."

"They are still gathering the bodies to burn them," added the other. "But the teams downstairs should be able to handle it from here on. There's no staff either; they agreed to lock themselves up in the kitchens."

Milena nodded, satisfied. Even without them saying so, she could have guessed half of that from how the ruckus had calmed down, and the number of voices shouting had reduced, too. The smell of blood was saturating the atmosphere; she was almost proud of those vampires for being able to withstand it.

"Well done," she said.

She turned her eyes back to the stairs. It was tempting to take the fight upstairs now that they had conquered the lower floors. They still hadn't found the Duke, either...

"What do we do, my Lady?"

Milena's hand tightened around her sword. If this White One wasn't wreaking havoc here, he was potentially on Rayan's battlefield, or slowing down Alexis. She had a feeling this would come down to her stopping them, or this battle would unnecessarily drag on, causing more lives to be lost. Moreover, the men with her were all visibly eager to find the Duke. Perhaps his survival was also bound to how quickly they could find him...

"... Make sure the others secure the ground floor," she finally said. "They should guard the door, keep it open at any cost, no matter what happens. I'm going up.