The Dhampirs' Fate

"That means... There has been at least another one, right?" Said Rayan. "You're much older than Milena. Even if her blood was used to conceive... the latest Holy Ones, you were the result of another transfusion from another Dhampir, right?"

Ora turned towards Milena, ignoring his question.

"Do you know what that means, Milena?"

The young Princess frowned.

"You think my blood was used to create... Blanche and… the Saint," she whispered with a dry throat.

The mere thought made her want to throw up. Milena was disgusted. Her blood was used... She was used like a lab rat, an experiment to create those Holy creatures.

"Wait. You think Milena is..." Said Rayan, baffled.

"It makes sense," whispered Milena, turning towards him. "Blanche appeared out of nowhere right before my father found me. Moreover, I was injured a while ago, right? I lost a lot of blood in that incident. Who knows if they didn't want to scrape it off that forest floor, or swapped the nurses in some way to collect it? The other wendigos appeared right after that, too. What if they tried to create more Holy Ones, but just don’t have the right knowledge yet? Hence, only the Saint was a success, but the others..."

Even that thought was terrifying. They could have acted anytime, anywhere. Milena couldn't even fathom how exactly those people had gotten to her blood, and in enough quantity to produce the Saint, too. Even if not much of her blood was needed, it was disgusting. Just, absolutely disgusting.

"Milena?"

Rayan calling out to her made her realize she was breathing loudly and erratically. Milena nodded, trying to control herself. She walked to the closest seat and sat down so she wouldn't pass out. This was a big revelation, although she had somewhat come to suspect this much already. Everything was simply falling back into place together. Still, she didn't like hearing it.

She took deep breaths, trying to get back to the core of things, to what really mattered.

"What about my mother?" She asked. "If they wanted me and my blood, they didn't need to kill her."

"...Probably not," sighed Ora. "The truth is... Although Lyriana knew of the threat that was weighing over you, she had her own conflicts to manage. She had a lot of pressure coming from all sides, including her own family."

"My mother was sick of the De Boreal House," said Rayan.

"Yes, she was. Her older brother, the current Duke, had never been good to her, so to speak. She knew she was merely a tool used by the men in her family to acquire more power, and she hadn't even gotten the King's love even after years of marriage. It took a while for her to conceive, but at least, your birth was somewhat of salvation for her. Still, she couldn't be happy. I was by her side every day, I know. I caused some of that... sadness in her heart."

"Why? Because of your relationship with my Father?"

This time, Ora glared back at him.

"No. I... Nothing should have happened with your father while your mother was alive. We had become somewhat close, but... Rowena happened as a result of a one-time mistake. One time only. However, I think Lyriana was... Near-sighted about her relationship with your father. No, your mother was sad because of the Prophecy I had made for you and your brother."

Milena was surprised. So it was about the twins' prophecies? She glanced at Rayan, but his expression stayed the same. He really didn't seem to care about hearing his own... Yet, Milena was more curious than he was. She had been dying to know for a while, so she could at least ease that worry in her heart. She turned back to Ora, careful.

"Those Prophecies you refused to tell us about?"

"Oh, I still do. I swore to Lyriana I'd never reveal those prophecies to anyone, and I won't. I don't think it would be a good thing, either. It wouldn't even change anything, it would only... pass this sadness to you."

Milena's heart missed a beat. 

This meant those prophecies definitely contained some bad omen. Why else would Ora imply it would eventually make her sad? Still, Milena wanted to hear it. It was like that fateful curiosity that couldn't be ignored now that she knew there were prophecies about her husband and his brother. It seemed even more important she knew with that war that was coming closer and closer... 

She glanced at Rayan, but seeing him not flinching, she decided not to ask again. Not now, at least. As Ora had said, it may even make things worse, and that was one reason she'd keep herself from it.

"Anyway. Lyriana wasn't doing well. She knew you were the target of those people, Milena, but she couldn't reveal the truth to your mother. It would have put her own son in danger."

"...Ellias?" Asked Rayan.

The Oracle slowly shook her head.

"No, you, Prince Rayan. Why would these people try to injure your brother? He is their best shot at getting a good grip on the Kingdom. You are the threat to them, you always were. This is how they kept manipulating Lyriana. They would threaten to hurt you any time Milena survived one of their attempts. Each time, it drove your mother to another edge. She was truly helpless."

Milena was baffled. She would have never suspected the ever so strong Queen Lyriana could have been in such a position, stuck between protecting her son and her best friend's daughter. She exchanged a glance with Rayan. If this was all true, then their fates had been intertwined in the worst way possible since long ago...

"...what about you?" Asked Milena. "You were a witness to everything, couldn't you have acted to protect her somehow?"

"I didn't know everything. Unlike what most people think I wasn't the person Lyriana could trust blindly... Your mother isolated herself a lot, and barely trusted anyone, including her husband or myself. She had been raised in an environment where she couldn't trust anyone, and she lived that way until her death, Prince Rayan. If anything, she kept me close to protect me too. She knew how I could be a valuable asset in threatening her enemies' position, and she wouldn't have let me out of her sight. A position which was quite suitable for me, I'd say. However, it was sad she couldn't do the same for your mother, Lady Milena. She tried, though, in her own... roundabout way."

Milena frowned, but Rayan found the answer before her, his expression changing.

"When she... forbade Lady Elizia from visiting the Royal Castle?"

Ora slowly nodded.

"Unfortunately, she couldn't properly warn her friend. Banishing her from here was a bit extreme, but it was the only way Lyriana could keep Elizia a little safer. She knew she had too many enemies here, and they would eventually get to the Duchess if she kept coming. Although I do not believe her jealousy was faked either, it was also her main excuse for keeping you and your mother out of harm's way."

Milena was once again shocked by what she was hearing.

From what she had learned from Rayan about their childhood, she had always seen Lyriana as a bitter woman, consumed by jealousy and resentment. Her fights with the King and Lady Elizia were so often... Who would have thought she was merely trying to protect her? It felt so wrong that she had no other way to. Of course, she could have told the truth, but Milena couldn't blame her. Her position was too complicated, especially if her own child's life was on the line. All she could hope for was that Elizia and Milena would stay home... From what Milena had understood, her mother didn't have many friends aside from the Queen. Even with her own family, she had barely kept in touch, as the House de Hyacinth was rather far from the De Crescent Manor. Moreover, there weren't many female women of her age and status, and even so, they would have needed to be human to have the same schedule as Lady De Crescent... The Queen was the only woman who matched all these, and although she was a vampire, was awake for some of the day.

Milena was so sad, thinking about how what could have been a wonderful friendship, had ended in blood and betrayal. Her own mother had died so brutally...

"How did you come to learn of it, then?" Asked Rayan, lowering his sword a little.

"Lyriana was strong," said Ora. "But your mother wasn't unbreakable. After your... injury happened, she blamed herself a lot."

"...It was an accident," said Rayan, frowning, looking confused. "I fell asleep of exhaustion and..."

"Did you?"

Milena's eyes grew wide in horror as she realized what Ora's expression meant. 

It wasn't an accident. Rayan having fallen asleep on his desk, so deeply he didn't even feel his own face caught on fire... She couldn't believe it. Was that another threat towards Lyriana? These people had dared to inflict such a thing on a Prince! Even Rayan looked shocked now. Milena couldn't handle this many emotions. She couldn't believe it. How many assassination attempts had they survived since their childhood? And how much had their mothers suffered while trying to protect them!

"That night, Lyriana broke down and told me everything," Ora continued. "I already had my suspicions due to her behavior with you, but... Only then did I really know everything. And after that..."

She went silent, but Milena couldn't bear to wait. Not after everything they had already been told.

"W-what happened that day?" She asked, trying to hold back her tears. "To me, and to my mother?"

The Oracle sighed.

"Lady Lyriana was fighting with the King, trying to convince him to keep you and Lady Elizia away from the Castle. We heard the gunshot... Everyone ran in, to find the young Prince unconscious, the window broken wide, and your mother... Lady Elizia dead... I had no idea what to do. The King sent his men out right away to find you, and your father was warned as well, of course. Lyriana was crazy with worry for Rayan, so she asked me to join the search party in her stead. I left with two of her men..."

"But Milena was never found," said Rayan, his eyes glowing with a crimson fire.

"No, we did find her."

A silence followed her words.

Milena and Rayan exchanged a glance, both shocked. She had been found? How? And why wasn't she returned to her family right away? She had been missing for seven years!

Furious, Rayan brought his sword closer to Ora's throat, making her step back cautiously again. Still, he didn't stop until her back hit the wall, and the tip of his blade was on her neck, a drop of blood pearling out of her flesh.

"Talk," he hissed. "I really hope you have a good reason to explain why Milena wasn't returned to her family right away!"

Milena had no intention of stopping him, she could understand his anger perfectly. She was so angry and sad, all of her body was shaking with a new fever. The Oracle had no idea of the pain her family and Rayan had gone through. She had gone missing for seven years, in a Kingdom stuck in the snow and the cold. She shouldn't even have survived!

"...I know," said Ora, very calmly. "We followed the assassin's tracks for a long while with the King's men. At some point, the groups began splitting ways as we found different possible leads, different tracks. I naturally went with the Queen's men, following the least... promising of these paths."

"And you found me," whispered Milena.

"Yes, Princess. We captured your assassin, and I found you. You were so young, but when I touched your hand, your Prophecy came to me."

"So that's how you knew my Prophecy before," gasped Milena. "You... You said you didn't need to touch someone's hand to get it, but the truth was, you knew because you had already touched me long before that?"

"Yes. It's an unfortunate thing to confess, but I do tend to find myself in situations that need for me to lie a lot..."

Milena chuckled nervously, but there certainly was no joy. That explained a lot... How the Oracle seemed to know her from before, and that full incident when Milena had heard her own prophecy in the middle of the hallway, with no memories of having ever touched Ora before... How could she have remembered? She was way too young back then!

"You recognized me," suddenly said the Oracle. "I guess I hung out enough around the Royal Family that you'd recognized me. You said Ora several times, calling out to me. However, I had just seen your Prophecy, and... I hesitated."

"What the hell did you do?" Hissed Rayan, furious.

The Oracle turned her eyes to him, looking very serious this time.

"...I knew that if I brought Lady Milena back to the Royal Castle, she'd never be safe. It would be the same nightmare all over again, but... without Lady Elizia to protect you, this time."

Milena couldn't even put her feelings into words, at that very moment.

Her tears had begun falling, and she didn't realize. She was just hit hard by the truth. She could imagine it, almost remember it. The worst part was, as this was already all over, she knew the Oracle had somehow made the right decision, maybe buying her some time. Those seven years... but what had been lost, all this time?

"I hid you, and took you to a nearby Orphanage. I have to confess, it was a quick and rushed decision, only based on the fact that you would survive to live your Prophecy. I did not know how you would possibly survive, I just knew Milena De Crescent was fated to leave until... until the Dark Crown would rise at dawn. Which meant, at least until one of the Princes was crowned. Probably."

"You had no damn right to make that decision," suddenly said Milena, through her tears. "That was a stupid bet. You took me from my family. If you knew I'd survive, why the hell didn't you think I'd survive if I stayed with my own family!"

"At the price of how many more lives, Princess Milena?" Retorted Ora. "Lady Elizia was already dead, her blood still hot when I found you. I had witnessed her murder with my own eyes, and I knew how many more threats were hanging on your life. How could I predict how many more would die to protect you?"

Milena couldn't retort anything to that. She was devastated, angry, sad and torn. But she had just enough sense left to know that Ora wasn't speaking completely wrong.

"It was no easy decision, I swear," resumed the Oracle. "I had seen you many, many times as a baby, and I was to abandon a child whose mom had just been killed! However, if I had brought you back to the Castle, what would have happened? Prince Rayan had been spared only because Lyriana was involved. What if, the next time, you were with one of your brothers? Or with the Duke, or someone else? How many more people do you think they would have been reluctant to kill, when they didn't care about shooting at the Duchess De Crescent herself on the Royal Castle's grounds!"

Milena couldn't stop her frantic sobbing. The truth was painful. All those years alone in the streets came back to her, as if she was going through all of it again. She couldn't forget, she'd never forget. The hunger, the cold, the loneliness. How scared and lonely she was. Even if her memories weren't perfect, the trauma was still there. Even when her family had found her, it had taken weeks for her to be able to live normally again.

"That was not your decision to make," hissed Rayan, furious. "You had no idea what would have happened if Milena was returned to the Duke. You made a selfish bet to get rid of her for my mother's sake!"

"And yours, Prince Rayan!" Retorted Ora. "Did you forget? You were also another target! Your mother had merely exchanged the price of your life for Lady Milena's, and if..."

"That was not your decision to make!" Yelled Rayan. "My mother was a selfish bitch, if she had an ounce of dignity she would have stopped bowing to those people and told my father! The De Crescent would have protected Milena, and Lady Elizia would be alive!"

"You're not a child anymore," retorted Ora. "You know things don't work that way. Do you think you can escape death just like that? Do you know how many times you were poisoned since you were born? People won't simply stop threatening your lives just because your Father or the Duke asked them to! Do you think they are stupid enough to not cover their tracks? Do you think they are reckless enough to get caught? There are some demons you just can't fight by playing fair, and you know that already!"

Rayan lowered his sword a little, surprised that this woman would shout back at him. Ora was visibly scared, but now she was also angry. She took a deep breath and turned to Milena once more.

"I truly believe that I saved your life, that night. I saved you and your family for a few years. These people won't stop, Lady Milena. They want you, and your blood."