Chapter Text
Five hundred years. Five hundred years of war boiled down to this.
You sat outside of the meeting hall on a stone bench, hands cupping your nose, eyes up to the ceiling. The meeting had been concluded not but five minutes ago; the Queen and her council were still inside shaking hands. You, however, opted to give everyone a curt farewell before excusing yourself.
You were only the general of the kingdom’s army. No one to be missed following the conclusion of an affair that you were more physically entangled with than diplomatically, mostly there for security.
You clenched your teeth on and off involuntarily. All your efforts were for not. You had tried to get the Queen to see reason, but she would not. Perhaps the passing of the king had weakened her resolve.
With the conclusion of the war, these things had become certain:
The brutal dictator, the Demon King Mundus, had been overthrown by a group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries, their leader being the ex-general of said dictator, Sparda. Once Sparda eliminated said dictator, he was “elected” to become the new king, hence immediately contacting your own kingdom’s council to host a meeting to negotiate peace terms. Then, agreeing to this meeting, the council alongside the Queen came and consulted with the newly crowned king and, rather than recognizing them as an independent kingdom, chose to wed their most viable suitors, the Queen and Sparda’s son Vergil to conjoin the two kingdoms.
Two kingdoms which currently hated one another. Not just because of the war, but because of the cultural, nationalist, and nativist sentiments held by the people on both sides of the war that you found yourself just as privy to as anyone else. Forcing the assimilation of the two kingdoms was like opening an umbrella indoors. Something bad was bound to happen.
Of course, Sparda and the Queen agreed to the terms that both sides presented alongside the wedding arrangement as well, meaning that the ramifications of this meeting would likely go into effect much sooner than you and many others would hope for. For whatever reason, Sparda and the Queen seem to be of the opinion that these amendments will be put into place without error. You’d be the judge of that. You’ll be standing front and center when the first reports of revolt get called in.
You could only imagine the public reaction when they learn the agreements that had been made this day upon return to the castle.
As you moped, waiting for your ride home’s exit from the hall, a figure you hadn’t noticed before appeared on the opposite wall. His form sagged against the marbled construct, taking a stance you knew all too well from seeing it across the battlefield.
“Not a fan of the decision’s made today?”
You don’t respond, not because you don’t want to, but because you felt like you shouldn’t. In your mind, you were still enemies. On top of that, his observation made you realize how obvious you were making it that this resolution upset you.
“I for one think it's a grand idea.” He pushed himself off the wall with a huff, meandering over to you. “What’s your name? Seeing as we’ll be working together from now on.”
You stifled a laugh. “Get your information elsewhere. Besides, it's not like you’ll be needing to use it if I can help it.”
♥
It had been weeks since you last saw him. Weeks too few.
Apparently, the Queen and Sparda were determined to hold this wedding very soon to aid in the conjoining of the two kingdoms. This of course would be fine had it not brought him closer to you in the process. You could deal with demons inhabiting the kingdom, sure---you’d have to deal with them anyways---but not if they were going to be in your personal space.
Your eye twitched as you watched him lounge casually at your desk, flipping through paperwork as if he owned the place.
“You have a lovely name, by the way. No idea why you wouldn’t tell me when saying it makes such a sweet melody. Rather selfish, if you ask me.” He didn’t even bother to glance up at you, pissing you off even more.
You stormed up to him, snatching your paperwork from his hands. “It's none of your business, that’s why!”
“You told me to get my information elsewhere.” He innocently gazed up at you, yet his lips curved up into a smirk that served only to infuriate you more.
You almost laughed at that. If he expected you not only to work with him, but to put up with whatever this was, he was out of his mind. He may only be a half-demon but a demon he was no less. And you had no sympathy for demons.
He took notice of your hysterical expression, frowning in turn. Your hand swiped down your jaw, fixing your face.
“Well,” He swung his legs off from your desk. “I’ll be taking my leave.”
You cocked your head to the side.
“I’m clearly not wanted, so I’ll go.”
“No one’s forcing you to leave.” You remarked, but made no move to stop him.
“And no one’s forcing me to stay,” He whispered your name in your ear as he walked past, finishing his sentence.
The door clicked shut surprisingly softly behind him. Silence hung in the air for a while after he left, you yourself remaining still. You weren’t upset with him leaving, in fact it made things easier for you. With a slightly guilty, self-satisfied sigh, you got to work.
♥
You would be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little nervous to meet the very same human woman who was allegedly in her right mind when she decided to aid Sparda in overthrowing the Demon King Mundus.
In some ways, she was exactly as you’d expect her to be. In others, not so much. She was toned, her arms and legs clearly firm with muscles from having to keep up with demons. She carried around a massive weapon that you could only describe as a canon with a bayonet attached to it that you could only imagine the weight of.
For the life of you, you couldn’t understand why such a woman would employ herself under demons.
Thinking back, you remember the early days of your knighthood. The name Lady, or rather Mary, her true name, was thrown around after she rejected being drafted into the military. All for some “foolish revenge plot”, so you heard from every whisper throughout every corridor. That was years ago, however. But so was the beginning of this war.
You tensed, shoulders squaring as you saw her turn the corner. You had been put off ever since demons had been allowed to freely enter the kingdom. Noticeably more skitterish and easy to spook. You despised the feeling.
This woman, however, was human, which allowed your muscles to relax once you realized it was her in your presence.
“Lady,” You nodded to her with a single dip of your chin.
“Ah, there you are. I heard you wanted to see me?” She seemed calm. Almost at ease. Though putting an end to a five hundred year long war would do that to a person. At least, if you were agreeable with the kind now let free to roam this previously human dominated kingdom.
“If we're going to be working together, we should at least get to know each other in company.” You replied kindly. Something you couldn’t spare Dante. Between her and Dante, you were more welcome to working with her.
She hummed in agreement at which you began walking, chatting idly about the things you saw surrounding you to feel her out. You found her to be a most like-minded ally, aside from the ascertained tolerance for demons.
“How is it that you can possibly stand Dante’s presence? He is quite insufferable.” You commented, finding it an appropriate time to figure out how she came to cherish one so...him.
“I don’t.” She replied plainly.
You laughed, partly a polite habit and partly because you found the remark to be quite humorous. However, you knew exactly why she responded the way she did. She was simply using a light jest to distract from actually answering the question.
Lady wasn’t comfortable with you quite yet
♥
On your way back inside from your stroll with Lady along the grounds, your ears perked up at the sound of two voices in the distance. You slowed your pace, silencing the clicking of your boots against the tile floor as you crept forward.
You weren’t exactly hiding, putting yourself in a position where you could easily be seen by anyone else without drawing any suspicion that you were listening in uninvited. However, you were concealed from the two before you.
The scene you witnessed was...unexpected.
Sparda caressed Trish’s cheek, hands trembling. He seemed oddly...infatuated. You had never seen a demon show such emotion.
“It truly is incredible.” You could barely hear him; his voice just above a whisper.
Trish didn’t respond, allowing him to do with her as he pleased.
“You look---sound---”
Trish gazed up at him. “You needn’t say it.”
“I tried not to speak on it during out battle with the Demon King Mundus, but now---”
They went back and forth like this for a couple of minutes. You knew all too well of what Sparda was referring to when he spoke of Trish so fondly. His ex-spouse who she resembled so much.
For whatever reason you felt a pinch in your chest seeing him reunite with someone with the face of his late wife. Yes, Trish looked human enough, but you knew what hid beneath that fleshy disguise. You couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad for Sparda. After all, he was also a demon.
Eva’s story though...It was told as a precautionary tale to young, rebellious teens to encourage them not to become intertwined with demon-kind. Something you had been privy to when you came of age. That story would certainly be told differently now that humans and demons were meant to be assimilating. You wondered how long it would take for the children of your age to forget that tale in the wake of their new demonic neighbors.
By the time you had freed yourself from your thoughts, Sparda was gone, leaving Trish alone in the hall. She stared absently forward which would have concerned you if you cared for demons any.
You decided now would be as good a time as any to take your leave. Just as you relinquished yourself from your perch, Trish took notice of you.
Her head shot your direction. Quick, animalistic, predatorial.
You had to physically stop yourself from shuddering, but goosebumps still rose on your skin.
“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced yet.” Her tone wasn’t sweet, but lilted in a way that made you think she meant it to. Calculated. Trying to mimic something human.
Your pause at her unexpectedly catching you off guard didn’t go unnoticed. She was about to say something about it, but you beat her to the punch.
“Excuse my rudeness,” You attempted the save. One you thought in your head she would see right through. Not because it was obvious, but because she was so aware. “I hadn’t expected to meet you so soon. You only just arrived, after all. I haven’t even prepared a proper greeting.”
That much was true. If you had successfully fled to your chambers as originally intended, by tomorrow-eve you would have at least a semblance of a well-thought-out welcome. One that would effectively prove your distaste for all things demon without making you sound like a horrible person. That much had been proven with your surprise visit from Dante that morning.
“Should I wait on it?” See? Trish was a cat, toying with its food.
“Perhaps.” She effectively backed you in a corner with five simple words.
“Then I should look forward to it.”
You breathed out a sigh of relief as she granted you mercy, seeing herself past you, toward the direction you had initially come from.
Trish was a sign to relinquish yourself to your room, which you did with haste.