Corrupt Bastard

The Royal Knight himself felt bad, putting the handcuffs on the Grand Princess' thin wrists. That woman was incredibly calm, composed and still fierce despite her defeat. It was hard to believe she was getting arrested at all. He himself wasn't too sure about the situation. As a knight, he had to follow orders, but as a citizen of this Kingdom, he could tell something was slightly off about this whole day. The Grand Princess wasn't a criminal, yet he had orders to treat her like one. Under the unexpected lead and command of the Duke De Winter, who had somehow received a shiny new title, he had launched the attack against the very respectable House De Crescent, with the one goal to arrest their daughter, the Grand Princess De Crescent herself. He knew many of his men had been completely baffled by the order. He had asked to confirm it twice himself, although he knew it was a possibility. No one who had followed the recent changes in the Kingdom could ignore how complex, unprecedented and unpredictable the situation was. And it evolved every hour for the worse... Really, nothing made sense anymore. 

The man did his very best to be mindful of the Dhampir Lady while putting on those restraints. He knew he had to make them tight so she wouldn't escape, but he did try not to harm her in any way. In fact, he almost felt like apologizing, although he kept those words behind sealed lips. The Grand Princess herself was quiet, and unreadable. He almost wished she'd get mad and protest or something. He would have almost expected the Grand Princess to pull some grand trick and escape, but not at all. In fact, she was the last woman standing in the empty manor. It felt laughable, how there were eight men to arrest one woman... she didn't even have a single knight by her side! Absolutely everything about this situation felt wrong and, in fact, that guard was almost hoping the Grand Princess had some kind of plan to get out of this situation. He was so reluctant to bring her to the Royal Castle as a prisoner that he might have felt even relieved if some De Crescent knights suddenly attacked them right now.

Yet, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, there was even a deafening silence as he stepped out with the Grand Princess handcuffed. The terrace where the snow silently kept piling was completely quiet. The blood of the soldiers spilled earlier was still staining the ever fresh white coat, but soon it would all be covered again. All of the Grand Princess' army had been killed, injured or arrested. Most of the remaining De Nova and De Crescent Knights were down on their knees, hands up or bound behind their backs, heads down with upset expressions. The icey silence got even more intense as the Royal Guards stepped out with their leader.

"The Grand Princess is under arrest," said the head of the Royal Knights. "Any attempt to resist or revolt again might put her life in danger, and will add to her charges of treason against the Royal Family, and the Kingdom!"

Nothing but silence and a cold wind answered him. There wasn't a single movement in the crowd, making even the Royal Guards posted all around the area very uneasy. Was it really believable that such an army would capitulate so easily as soon as their leaders were arrested? Just like the Grand Princess, the Duke De Nova was heavily guarded in one area. The old vampire had barely resisted, but he had still received an extra pair of handcuffs and was f****d away from his troops as a measure of precaution. The Royal Knight could smell the foul play, but didn't say a word; In fact, the only person who visibly had no issue believing the situation was none other than the new Grand Prince.

"Ha!" He exalted as soon as Milena appeared. "Finally! I expected more of a fight from you, stupid bitch!"

"I expected nothing from you, stupid prick," Milena retorted without batting an eyelash.

Arseus' face got distorted into a grimace again, but he didn't dare approach her. In fact, he was staying at a safe distance from the Grand Princess, his shoulder injury still being treated by one of their army's doctors. It was ridiculous for him to be laying on a stretcher for a single bullet in his shoulder, and whining continually about it, when many soldiers on each side had endured much worse injuries, and weren't even complaining. That man wasn't acting like the commander of the Royal Guards, and didn't even realize how some of those guards were stealing secret glares at him. Many of them were simply bound by their oath to follow and serve the Royal Family, and wondering what was going on, why they had to tolerate this.

"Throw her in the carriage and heavily guard her so she won't escape!" He vociferate. "And she better stay alive! Do not offer her any treatment, just make sure she doesn't bleed to death before we get to the Royal Castle!"

The Head of the Royal Guard glanced at Milena's injury. The blood stain was impressive, but he couldn't actually tell what the injury looked like under the Grand Princess' dark clothes. He could only tell that the Princess didn't look too pale, and nodded. In fact, she was able to walk almost normally, although she seemed to have injured her ankle or something as she was limping a bit. Aside from that, she had the same demeanor as ever, tall and proud as a queen as they crossed the terrace of the Manor. In fact, as they walked in the middle of her troops, and the Royal Guards most expected something to happen, they were shocked to realize that not only absolutely no one did anything to save her, but all the knights lowered their heads when she walked by them. It was clearly meant to be a respectful bow, some lowered their heads as much as possible in front of the Grand Princess. The Royal Guards were speechless, and at a bit of a loss as to what was happening. What kind of army surrendered, and bowed to their leader being made prisoner? This was a heart-wrenching vision of an army who knew they had lost, and were honoring and showing respect to their leader to the very end, as if to say they had no regrets. This would be one of those scenes that should have been painted for generations to see. 

All the Royal Guards lowered their weapons, understanding there would be no more rebellion here. The cleared manor and defeated knights were clearly not preparing for another round, whatever that meant. Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the unique and solemn atmosphere, the so-called new Grand Prince kept urging the Royal Guards to gather the prisoners faster, or hurrying them up in preparing their return.

"When His Majesty hears of my victory over this witch, he will grant me even more rewards!" He exclaimed, excited. "I have put an end to the vampire's revolt, single-handedly!"

Suddenly, his blue eyes went to Milena's face, finding a smirk on her red lips.

"W-what are you making that grin for!"

However, Milena didn't bother to respond. In fact, she very quietly let the guards open the doors of the carriage for her, acting as if she was no prisoner, only heavily escorted. Once she was seated inside, her purple eyes went back to the army outside. She was the only one taken into custody; all of the knights that had fought for her would be arrested or, if they were too injured to save, executed on the spot. Because they had voluntarily admitted defeat and surrendered without resisting, the Court would have to be lenient with them, and at least give them a fair trial... She only hoped her arrest would be enough of a focus for those men to be spared arbitrary executions. 

She looked at the Old Duke De Nova. Despite him being restrained by two pairs of handcuffs, neither of the men guarding him looked serene. He would have to be arrested with his men, and perhaps, judged first for inciting a rebellion against the Royal Family. He was probably going to be considered Milena's number one accomplice as a means to stop the De Nova family from rising any further, and was to be brought to the Royal Castle right after her. She sighed faintly, and the carriage began moving.

The Grand Princess simply lowered her head, closing her eyes in silence. It was almost as if she was silently praying, or trying to get some sleep. The four men guarding her in the carriage were almost relieved she wasn't going to glare at them all the way or something, and none of them spoke, holding their weapons close and watching the surroundings as they left the area. The rest of their army was left behind to finish the arrests, while they had left first to bring the Grand Princess and the Duke. It would have been a silent journey, if not for the Grand Prince De Winter they could still hear complaining about his injury. In fact, the men several times glanced at Milena's bleeding, wondering how could that woman endure such a thing so elegantly, when a grown-up man was making a fuss in the other carriage. Things got even worse as they left the De Crescent Manor, and slowly made their way to the Royal Castle. 

It wasn't so early anymore and, strangely, the streets seemed to be more and more crowded as they reached the main streets of the Capital. In fact, there were a lot more folks than usual on the sidewalks, many of them staring at the Royal Carriages in awe. When they began to recognize the Grand Princess, much to the Guards' embarrassment, citizens began to happily call her name and wave, completely unaware of the situation. All four men were completely at a loss what to do, as the word got around, and the chants got louder in the streets; The news of the Grand Princess' arrest had gotten around in the noble circles, but not among the commoners. A lot of them had no idea that their beloved Dhampir Lady was handcuffed, and taken to the King under an arrest for treason. The four guards kept exchanging glances, or avoiding the eyes of their fellow citizens, ashamed. All the smiling faces and young people happily calling their Grand Princess added to their shame, and that growing feeling that this situation was anything but right.

The carriages were suddenly stopped, but it was still too far from the Castle. The Guards grabbed their weapons, preparing for an attack or something unaware of the reason for this sudden halt. The answer came just seconds later.

"That woman is a traitor!" Shouted Arseus' furious voice. "Stop acclaming her! She betrayed your King and this Kingdom! A wretched woman like her does not deserve praise! She is under arrest for high treason!"

Milena suddenly opened her eyes. This man was even more of an imbecile than she thought.

"A traitor?" Retorted a voice. "Ha! And we have to believe someone like you saying it? What kind of stupid joke is that!"

"I am the Grand Prince Arseus De Winter! First born and Duke of the House De Winter, and I-"

"You're just that corrupt bastard!" A female voice shouted. "Everyone knows you've been overtaxing your own shops like a greedy rat! If it wasn't for the Queen being so generous, the De Winter's people would have us all slaving away for pennies!"

"This bastard tried to assault my niece who worked in their mansion! We should cut off his d**k and his tongue for insulting the Grand Princess, and feed it to the dogs!"

"The Grand Princess was the only one who saved our businesses from ruin! Do you know how much the Merchants' Guild alleviated our loans thanks to her!"

"And the prices of our fish too!"

"Why are they arresting the Grand Princess! She did nothing wrong!"

"I heard there was an attack at the Mansion De Crescent! Don't tell me the King agreed to this!"

"Grand Princess! Grand Princess!"

Milena's name was called repeatedly, and the crowd was getting angrier by the minute. The guard who had a hand on the door of the carriage slowly let go, while another knocked against the front wall to urge the driver to resume the ride. It was obvious that if they stayed any longer, that crowd would turn into an angry mob, and with half the men left at the Mansion, it would soon turn into nothing short of a disaster.

"Stay away!" Shouted Arseus' furious voice. "Or we will shoot, ungrateful mongrels! Peasants! You know nothing of that woman's misdeeds! His Majesty ordered for her arrest, and anyone opposing this will be killed on the spot for opposing a Royal Order!"

Either people got scared or he managed to convince the crowd enough, the carriages quickly resumed moving. The Royal Guards weren't feeling any better from it. Not only the crowd hadn't stopped calling her name, but Milena De Crescent herself was unbearably calm in that situation. She hadn't moved, hadn't said a word and had barely opened her eyes to glance at the crowd. It was as if she had expected this much, or didn't care at all. 

It was a huge relief for the Royal Knights when the carriages finally arrived in the Castle's courtyard, and the gates were closed behind them. They could still hear the angry voices of the people coming from further away, and it only seemed to grow. As angry as they were, no mob of commoners would dare to attack the Royal Castle. Hence, they were able to safely take Milena out of the carriage, and inside the Royal Castle, where the King was waiting.

Overplaying his injury, the Duke De Winter almost ran first into the Hall, holding his shoulder.

"Your Majesty!" He exclaimed. "We won! It was an easy and brilliant victory against the vampire troops! They admitted defeat as soon as we captured the Grand Princess, as expected! I was heavily injured by that wench, but be assured that my bravery was just as-"

"What of the Duke De Nova?" Coldly asked Ellias.

His eyes were so dark, he almost looked like a vampire himself. Milena glanced at her brother-in-law, the one she had been waiting to see all this time; Ellias seemed to be getting worse every hour. His skin was grey, and hanging on his bones. What in the world had they done to him...? 

Completely unaware, Arseus grimaced.

"He is arrested too, of course, but a little group of rebel citizens has made the trip back quite difficult. He will be brought into the Castle soon-"

"I told you to bring both of them!" Shouted Ellias, furious. "Was that too complicated for you! We needed to arrest all the leaders of their army at once! What about the Duke De Crescent! And that bitch De Carseus!"

"W-we couldn't find them," said Arseus, losing his smile. "They probably fled before the fight, Your Highness..."

"Of course they fled, you idiot! They played you!"

"Your Majesty! Do you know how hard I fought for..."

"Oh, shut up! ...We'll discuss this later. Guards, bring the Grand Princess into the cell we have prepared for her. Make sure the guards watching her are the ones we have authorized. Anyone who visits her without being authorized will be killed on the spot, regardless of their identity! Only I get to decide who sees her or not!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, what about her injury-"

"She's fine, just... Take her away!"

Milena and Ellias only exchanged one, single, cold glance. His green eyes met her purple gaze, before she was brutally taken away by the Royal Guards. Then, he directed his glare towards the window; as he could hear it too, the growing anger of his people. A smirk appeared on Milena's face as she was taken upstairs. 

She was escorted up by the same men who had rode in the carriage with her, all completely silent. They kept climbing the stairs, visibly headed for the dungeons... Milena was surprised to be taken there instead of the usual underground cells. Was Ellias worried she might know some secret passage to get out of the Castle? The higher up they were going, the more unfamiliar she was with that area of the Royal Castle. She thought she had seen most of the rooms in the castle by now, but this was truly unexpected. She only had a vague idea of where they were going because of the external image she had of the building; It had to be one of the highest towers, the one overseeing the Winter Garden. She had always thought that was a deserted area, and in fact, there were clear signs few living beings had gone up there in recent years. The place had visibly been cleaned recently, but the stairs and walls still felt incredibly cold and humid, and the windows had been cleaned too, but the cracks were not repaired. There were more and more stairs, and every time they ignored a door, Milena wondered what was behind it, if it was locked.

Finally, they reached a dead end, with a single, large door with two heavy locks on it; She raised an eyebrow. They were really scared that she would get away... This felt way too much. A member of the Royal Family being arrested sure didn't need to receive the royal treatment, but there was still a minimum level of decency to respect for any noble detained. From the cold she could feel coming behind that door, Milena realized she wouldn't be that lucky. 

The guards opened the door and let her step inside. To say the room was bare was an understatement. Milena got a chill right away, and she felt worse as her eyes went around the circular room. There was only one grand, large window of stained glass with metal bars protecting it, and an extra layer of bars even on the inside. But it wasn't meant to stop the cold at all, as there were no curtains, and she could even see cracks in it. The single bed only had one wool blanket, not thick and not even new, and the thinest cushion she had ever seen. Opposite to it, the only pieces of furniture were a wooden chair and a desk, both visibly nailed to the ground. The desk was completely bare, with no paper or quill to write with. There was no chimney, and not even a single candle. Milena was shocked. 

This wasn't a real prison; they had visibly prepared this ice-cold room just for her!