Lady Dhampir
Chapter 92

After what had happened at the dinner, Milena was having a hard time putting her heart at ease. She had let her emotions get the best of her too many times today, but this long week of bridal selection was starting to take its toll on her. She wanted to go home and relax with her brothers instead of having to fight with all these envious girls. She hated their fake smiles, the ambition that overflowed their mouths, and all those words that cut sharper than blades.

Milena had been trained for this her whole life, yet she had enough. Would this be the same if she became a princess or Queen? A constant battle, a thrive to survive? What a cruel world they lived in... The poor struggled to not die of the cold and hunger, while the rich nobles plotted and killed each other instead. Would she have to dirty her hands someday? Walking next to her was the man at the center of all this.

The King had taken her outside, for a stroll in one of the gardens filled with snow. He was human, but the old King seemed to have enough with one big fur coat on his shoulders. He walked at a slow pace with her, and it was a bit of awkward yet peaceful silence between them. A few servants were quietly following, but they might as well have been alone. Solaris was incredibly quiet at night. The cold trapped people in their homes and let the snow befall on all the building in that religious silence... "I hope you can forgive what happened earlier... I let my emotions get the best of me," sighed the King.

"You are not the only one faulty of this, Your Highness," sighed Milena. "I certainly didn't keep my composure as a lady either."

The old man chuckled and shook his head.

"You're a teenage girl, Lady De Crescent. Forget all your titles, you're still young enough to express yourself sometimes. I fear the young generation has to grow way to fast in those hard times."

Milena couldn't have agreed more. It was a conversation she had a few times with her brothers or father. She was acting too old for her age, but Milena couldn't help it. It was part of who she had been raised to be. A young Duchess, taming her emotions and mastering each sentence she spoke. Her education had disappeared for a few seconds earlier, and Milena had let her heart voice out her raw feelings...

"Please pardon my bluntness, Your Highness, but... Do you already know which of your sons you will name as King?" She suddenly asked?

If the King was surprised to hear her ask, her showed nothing of it. Instead, he sighed deeply, as if something heavy was weighing on his shoulders.

"You can be blunt, young Lady, but there is no man in this world that will comfortably tell you which of his sons he prefers. Rayan and Ellias are my pride. They are both accomplished young men, each in their way... It breaks this old man's heart to have my children torn over a crown."

Milena felt a bit sad to hear that. The King wasn't acting his title right now, he was just a father genuinely worried for his sons. He had been blessed with twin boys, but it only made the choice harder. Firstborn were usually chosen as the heirs, but in case of twins, could a few minutes' difference truly seals the fate of a country...? Just then, she realized the King had probably made a hard sacrifice by not picking his heir earlier. He had pushed his sons into a competition for the sake of not being unfair, be this had probably had come at a heavy cost in their relationship...

"How about, young Lady?" Suddenly asked the King. "Which of my sons would you see on the throne?"

Milena stopped walking, a bit surprised by his questions. Somehow, she hadn't thought he would ask such a thing so bluntly. She was a candidate to the title of Princess or Queen, was it alright to ask her that?

It was true that there was no one around. Nothing to keep them from speaking their minds, but nevertheless, he was the King, and she was just the young Duchess of the De Crescent family... Milena hesitated for a while before answering, carefully choosing her words.

"I do not have a definite answer to give you, Your Highness. The Princes are both... remarkable politicians, but I am not yet experimented enough to read them. I am still lacking in many ways. I do think that Prince Ellias is very good at assembling people, while Prince Rayan is good at anticipating the future. I have seen their work at the Senate, and neither of them felt lacking in my opinion. But..." "But?"

Milena bit her lower lip.

"But I think they are both also very ambitious. Their Highnesses are fighting a lot to be named crown prince, and... I wonder how far this rivalry will go."

The King nodded and resumed walking slowly, Milena following him. In her eyes, King Silverius was a wise but very passive King. He had worked hard for the few years of his Reign, but after that, he had left the Senate and the ministers to come up with new laws, and put his sons more in the spotlight. He was older than his Queen, and since he was human, it was pretty sure that he wouldn't survive her. Moreover, with a war coming, he probably had no choice but to hurry things up...

"I thought you would remind me more of your mother," he suddenly said. "I miss her more than I thought."

Milena stopped.

"Your Highness was... close to my mother?"

"Not that close. Anton was my friend. As a Prince and a young Duke, we were raised with the same standards, the same harsh preceptors. We were friends of circumstances, and similar in many ways. I thought we would always be cold politicians, only busy with matters of war as all men should be. Things changed when we got engaged, though. I was betrothed to Lyriana two years before your parents did. Somehow, I regret a lot of things from back then."

Milena was shocked to discover so much from the King's own mouth. She had always known that her father and the King were close allies, as everyone did, but she never knew the Ducal and Royal couples had such a history together. She followed him in silence, curious about their story, waiting for the King to tell her more.

"I kept in mind that this wedding was part of my duty. Lyriana and I were never really compatible. We were both driven by work and ambition back then. I didn't have more time to give my Queen than what was on our prenuptial agreement. I thought it would be fine, but our hearts grew cold with the years. I only realized my mistake when Anton got married to your mother, Lady Elizia..."

Milena couldn't help but feel a bit chocked up. That was a name no one ever pronounced in the Manor. She had to read it to know it. Her father was still silently grieving that loss, and her brothers didn't dare talk about their deceased mother in his presence. Somehow, it was a silent rule that no one in the De Crescent Manor could say that name.

"She was such a tomboy," chuckled the King. "Your father lost a few years of his life span whenever your mother rode a horse or ran away."

"Mother was?" Said Milena, surprised.

"Oh, yes... She knew how to discipline herself in public, but one could tell she hated it. I'm not really sure how Anton fell in love with her, but it was quite funny to observe. The only wait to fluster the ever so stern Duke De Crescent was to mention the Duchess..." "I heard they fell in love after their wedding," said Milena, hoping to know more.

The King smiled and nodded.

"Your father fell head over heels. Elizia gave him the cold shoulder for a while. I don't really know what changed, but suddenly, the Ducal couple became a loving one, and your brother was born soon after."

Milena found herself smiling too. Indeed, Valentin was born in the few years of the marriage of her parents.

"Your mother softened a lot after that, and your family grew... Meanwhile, I felt like I was left behind. For years, your father and I had been so alike, but all of a sudden, he was accessing happiness I had never tasted before, despite being married longer. Your mother tried to advise Lyriana and I a lot... It didn't work much, though."

Milena knew a part of that story. It was rather famous in the nobles' circles that the King and Queen weren't in a good relationship, and the struggle to have children had worsened the situation year after year. In terms of age, the twin Princes were born rather late. It may have explained why the King and Queen had a hard time with each other, considering all of the pressure they were under... Milena kept herself from mentioning that, though. It was a private part of the King's life, and the struggle of giving birth to children was something she would never take lightly.

The King sighed. His relationship with the Queen had turned icy and sour, after many years and despite their sons... It probably wasn't easy. Like earlier, they had different values and struggled to understand each other.

"That's what I hope for my sons," suddenly declared the King. "I don't want them to be trapped in a wedding they wouldn't want... or over politics. My wife and I argued a lot and came up with this idea of a competition as a compromise. Lyriana is very... concerned about their future."

In other words, the Queen had interfered to be sure her sons would marry a nobody, at least. While the King insisted to give them the choice of their future spouse, anyone they could live happily with. Maybe King Silverius would have truly been fine with anyone. He wouldn't let his sons relieve his failure of a marriage... She hadn't thought things were actually like that behind the scenes. Otherwise, Rayan and Ellias would have been betrothed without a word to say in this.

"Your Highness, may I ask... Do you have a preference as to whom your sons should get engaged?"

The King glanced her way, raising an eyebrow, but then, his eyes turned towards the sky with a peaceful expression.

"I do. However, I want to give them a choice. Long ago, I asked myself that question... I was afraid I would do something wrong with their futures. Ellias and Rayan might be different, but they are my precious sons. Soon after they were born, the families De Nova and De Winter each gave birth to a vampire girl and a human one. I thought, ah, so fate as made a choice for them already. But then, Elizia got pregnant once more, and I thought I shall wait and see..."

"But I was born a Dhampir," said Milena.

The King suddenly laughed, but his laugh turned into a cough. A bit worried, Milena gently pat his back, hoping she wasn't being disrespectful this way until he calmed down. Once King Silverius was able to breathe freely again, he nodded, not smiling anymore. "That's right. A little Dhampir girl... I thought it was truly ironic, and that maybe, it was a sign they should be able to choose. After... what happened to Elizia, and you disappeared, I spared no effort to help your father find you. I was shocked to see your family shattered like this. Elizia and Anton had always symbolized that happiness I could never have, but suddenly, everything was gone. I felt powerless. I am glad they found you, dear."

Milena smiled faintly. She could never forget that, despite the fact that she had been lucky to be reunited with her family, her mother would never come back. Her father would never find that happiness again...

The King cleared his throat, and turn to her with a tired expression.

"I only wish that you find happiness like the one your parents once had, Milena De Crescent. I am an old King doing my best for this country, and I want to be a good father to my sons. I consider you my daughter a little bit too, though that is not something I should say in front of anyone else."

Milena felt a bit touched by his words. She had never been able to see the King privately like this before, yet suddenly, she felt close to this old man. He was a King, but he was also just a friend of her family beneath all of this.

He smiled.

"You have your mother's traits, but you have inherited a lot of your father's seriousness. It's okay to let your guard down from time to time, Milena. I hope you and my sons won't make the same mistakes I did."

The King was truly hoping for their happiness. Feeling a bit touched by his words, Milena found nothing to answer to that, but she nodded with a little smile, her heart filled with something warm and gentle. She was feeling much better now. The anger from the dinner had completely vanished now. Maybe it was the fact that they had talked about her mother, or simply the King's gentle words, but her mind was not at ease.

"If only those sons of mine could learn to relax a little and act like boys, too," chuckled the King. "I was not as serious as they are at that age!"

"That's not what the records say, Your Highness. You established twenty-three new amendments within the first three years of your reign, and reformed both the Medical and Military Royal Schools."

The King frowned a bit, shaking his head. They were now going back towards the Royal Castle, but still walking slowly in the snow, making this last a little bit longer.

"Things were simpler in politics then. I just had to threaten a few people and the job would be done! Now you have to spend three days at the Senate to get anything done without risking a riot... Ha! I hope I can retire soon, but with what we have coming, I might grow a few more white hair until that time comes..."

Milena knew he was talking about the war, but she did not dare say it. She wasn't really supposed to know, and she didn't want to spend more time on that subject either. She already hated that perspective, would it occur in a few weeks or a few months. As they walked back, switching their conversation to lighter topics such as the latest trends in fabrics or the price of fur, Milena couldn't help but think over and over about the King's words. Would she be happy with her future husband? As King Silverius said, everything was about politics for Ellias and Rayan. However, both Princes had acted to have her understand they loved her. How much was a facade, and even if it wasn't, how long would it last, with everything going on around them...? Milena walked the old King back inside the Castle, only parting with him once she had accompanied him back to his apartments. The old King seemed delighted about their little stroll, and Milena felt a bit better too. It wasn't even about the advantage of being the one candidate who had spent time on one to one with His Highness. She was just happy about their conversation.

Even long after she had returned to her room, taken a bath, got rid of all her jewelry, makeup, and changed into her nightgown, Milena kept reminiscing each word he had said. Learning more about her parents had given her an incredible feeling of happiness. As if she could taste a glimpse of that happiness Anton and Elizia had shared back in the day. Milena went to bed, trying to imagine the young Ducal couple, happy together, instead of the Bridal Selection that would come the next morning. Finally.

She fell asleep while petting Blanche and seeing a young blonde woman, her vampire husband, and their four young children, together in the Gardens of the De Crescent Manor.