Bright Minds

The young Duchess was furious. The Prince Rayan knew, no matter how, that evil snake knew his brother would be coming here, and had snuck into her bedroom on purpose! No hiding how angry she was, Milena strongly gestured at the window with her finger.

"You get out now!" She hissed, the most quietly she could.

Rayan was obviously hardly repressing his laugh, but there was nothing funny about this. She couldn't be seen alone in a room with a man, let alone with one of the Princes! She was absolutely mortified at the thought of Ellias, of all people, finding her alone in her bedroom with Rayan. Moreover, the vampire Prince crossed his arms, his red eyes full of malice, showing absolutely no intention to leave.

"Lady Milena? Is everything alright?" Asked Ellias from behind the door.

"Just a minute, your Highness!"

Milena kept gesturing furiously at Rayan, but it was obvious he was not going to comply with her. She took a deep breath, while still glaring at him. First, she glanced in the mirror, and put her blouse up, making sure the injury was hidden. It was already almost done healing anyway, but she was scared she would miss a drop of blood that would betray her in front of Prince Ellias... She arranged her hair a bit, checked her dress overall, controlled her blushing and, with one last glare at Rayan, pushed him out of the way to go and slightly open the door.

Behind it, Ellias was standing, perfectly elegant in his white military uniform. Milena smiled to him, gathering her best acting skills.

"Sorry, Your Highness, I was just about to change... I didn't expect to see you here!"

She was almost sweating at the thought that Rayan was right there, behind the door, only a couple of feet away. If the vampire prince wanted to, his presence would be revealed in an instant. He just had to take one step to the side to be in his twin's line of vision. Milena was praying that he wouldn't have the guts, and was merely toying with her nerves, or that he at least had any kind of respect for her, enough not to ruin her reputation. She could easily forget about his clandestine intrusions in her bedroom, but if he spread rumors, she would never forgive him. In front of her, Ellias chuckled, seemingly unaware of her frustration.

"I am truly sorry," he said. "I know how impolite it is of me to come unannounced, but I finally had some time off, and knowing you were so close, I couldn't resist the temptation to come and visit my dear friend... Do you have a moment?"

Milena couldn't help but wish Rayan was a tenth as respectful as his brother... Or ten times busier!

"Of course!" She replied with a wide smile. "Shall we find somewhere comfortable to sit down?"

Milena very purposely slammed the door of her bedroom behind her, surprising Ellias a bit. She hoped the message was clear for Rayan. She was mad, and he'd better not be seen coming out of there by anyone, not even a fly! 

The human Prince didn't seem to have any idea about the scene he had almost walked on. However, as they walked away, Milena had a hard time forgetting about it. She was trying to wipe her memory of this shameful moment with Rayan, but her body was still hot were the vampire prince had bitten her. Milena was terrified at the thought that she might betray her emotions and be discovered...

"How have you been? I hope my mother is not too harsh on you and the other candidates... I know she can be a bit strict and cold at times, but she is not a bad woman."

Milena chuckled politely, acting as composed as she could.

"Of course not. Actually, I think her Highness has been treating us well. I'm glad I get to meet new Ladies, too, some of them are so passionate."

"That is good to hear! I know my Dear Friend has quite a personality, I was afraid you might get yourself in trouble soon," he said with a little wink.

Milena blushed a bit, even more flustered. Sometimes, Ellias was a bit to perceptive about her! 

The Prince guided her to a salon, as he was apparently very familiar with this part of the Castle. It was a small one, but wide enough for the two of them to sit and speak comfortably. He let out a long sigh upon sitting down. Milena tilted her head, a bit curious.

"Are you really tired, your Highness?"

"Just a bit... With the Giants coming near, we have been holding meeting after meeting... Father and Rayan haven't stopped working, either, I barely saw them this week."

Milena felt frustrating that, while Ellias was so tired from overworking, Rayan was making impromptu visits to the princess candidates...

"Is it really worrying?" She asked. "I never thought the Giants would become an issue again in this lifetime..."

Ellias hadn't given her many details during the party, but, judging that even her father was called over, and how busy Ellias had confessed to being recently, it couldn't be a small matter. Was a war going to happen much sooner than they had thought? Milena couldn't help but worry. Their Kingdom was small, and more damaged by the cold and ice each year. If they had to go at war against the Giants now, any loss would be of devastating consequences... In terms of supplies, food, weapons, and men, she wasn't sure this Kingdom could handle it. Even worse, if things went wrong and the fight was pushed all the way to their territory, the Giants could wipe out the tiny bit of land they had tried so hard to protect until then...

The Prince tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"We still have a bit of time to think about our next move, Milena, don't worry.  We are lucky in one thing, the Giants are just so tall, it is easy to estimate their number and how far their are... It gives us plenty of time to prepare for an attack, fortunately. You know we have some of the brightest military strategists, too."

Milena couldn't help but think there was a lot Ellias wasn't telling her. Was he trying to not worry her? Maybe he had some confidential information he couldn't share with her...  He wasn't wrong about having an exceptional military council, she was well aware as her own father was part of it, but bright minds weren't enough to win a war...

Her knowledge of giants was limited to what she had read in history books since her childhood. A regular giant was about twelve times the size of a human, but proportionally more stupid.  Somehow, they were the living proof a giant brain wasn't any good, and that was also why, despite their size, they had never won a fight against the humans. Yet, they kept coming time and time again. She couldn't blame them. Those gigantic creatures were always f****d to the mountains, and the weather there wasn't nearly as easy as theirs. Had the climate gotten even worse up there that the Giants were f****d to get down from their mountains once again? 

Just as she was getting lost in her thoughts, Ellias put his hand on hers, with a gentle smile.

"Are you already lost in your worries, dear friend? Or perhaps coming up with some amazing strategies of your own?"

Milena smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry, Prince Ellias, you know how quick I am to get too rilled up about those kinds of things. I'm alright. But please, do let me know if I can help with anything!"

"Don't worry, Milena, we can handle this! After all, we have been training for a long time in case something like this happens! You know how a lot of young men dream of such thing as a battle to happen for them to prove their worth! I'll be happy to lead them into battle anytime!"

Milena had a hard time not frowning at this sentence. She could clearly remember Lucian, and his dreams of becoming a hero... Could young men truly become heroes on the battlefield, though? There was such a gap between history books, depicting glorious victories, and the actual biographies of such soldiers, shattered and broken by the atrocities of the war... Milena sincerely hoped none of her brothers would ever have to face this, but if war truly happened, they would have no choice but to answer to the call of the army. It would depend on their factions, the needs of the army...

"Does his Majesty think a preventive strategy will be necessary?" She asked. "Shall we start preparing now for lower rations of foods in our rural areas?"

Ellias chuckled.

"Milena, you're too concerned already! Don't worry, my friend, you won't have to worry so much!"

She felt that either Ellias was too optimistic, or the Prince was doing his best to keep her out of this. Well, he was right on one point, if she had to worry about it, she would know sooner or later... Ellias sighed a bit.

"Come on, my dear friend, let's not get into those too deep subject now. You probably have more than enough pressure on your shoulders right now, don't you? Tell me how it is going. Any bickering yet?"

"Is it what your Highness thinks?" Said Milena, acting a bit offended on purpose. "That Ladies do nothing but bicker and argue like children?"

"My apologies, my tongue stepped over the misogynistic line. I can't help it, though, thinking about a dozen of young ladies fighting for my hand is a bit exciting! No, more seriously, Milena, are you alright? I don't like seeing you be put in the middle of those games... We both know you're such a smart woman, my mother is probably just having fun testing you."

Milena nodded, crossing her arms and resting her back a bit. She could sit a bit more comfortably, as it was just Ellias and her in the room. A couple of maids and a servant were standing to the side, as it should be in every salon, but she still couldn't act too familiar, just in case there would be some curious ears around.

"It is alright. You know I like making some new friends..."

"What about Philomenie?"

Milena couldn't help but frown a bit. She didn't like how Ellias used Philomenie's first name as he did for her.

"What about her, your Highness?"

"Come on, you know you two are the strongest contenders. I'm being curious."

"Why are you curious about Lady de Winter? What about Lady de Nova? Or any of the other countesses?"

Ellias sighed.

"Philomenie de Winter is actually highly supported by the Nobles' faction... I keep being pestered about her, to be honest. I think she is a very sweet Lady, but I wanted your opinion. Her popularity is incredible, but compared to your mind, we both know Philomenie is... probably not on par."

Milena couldn't help but feel a bit proud after hearing this. She stopped frowning and sighed.

"Indeed... She is the perfect young Lady in everyone's eyes. I would say she is certainly a perfect doll, to be more precise. Her popularity with the Church and the Nobles is probably due to their will to put the human Duchess on the Throne. She will probably be the favorite to marry Prince Rayan."

"I heard the exact same thing... The Church supports her wholly, they put the Saint by her side to increase her popularity. I really don't see Rayan choosing her, though."

Milena was about to ask something, notably to know about Ellias' thoughts on picking his future bride to be, but, in the layers of her dress, Blanche suddenly bit her. Milena had to do her best to hide her sudden pain, her lips twitching a bit. She quickly realized what Blanche wanted, and turned to Prince Ellias.

"Do you know more about the Saint?" She asked.

"The Saint? How come you're curious about the Saint?"

"Isn't she... I mean he, from the same... origin as the Oracle? I don't understand why no one asks about this, with such extraordinary powers they have..."

Ellias sighed.

"It's not that no one asks, it's that no one gets to get their answers... My mother is the one who cuts off all questions. She won't even answer mine about the Saint or the Oracle!"

Milena was surprised. The Queen? Queen Lyriana was the one who had answers about the Saint, the Oracle and, possibly, about Blanche's origins...?