The doorbell rang, and their mother left the kitchen to open it and greet whom ever stood on the porch. But instead, the door was slammed shut and their mother came rushing back to them. "Boys, go out and play for a while, I will call you when supper is ready."
The face of their mother was stern and pale, as if she'd just seen a ghost. Vergil took his baby brother by the hand and led him out into the yard where he helped Dante up on one of the swings. Dante let his brother lead him, while he kept looking back to their house. He blinked a few times, then looked at Vergil when he just got onto that swing. "Did you just see her face?" He asked quietly, hardly moving. He seemed to worry about their mum, as he did oh so often.
"She's fine." Vergil said through clenched teeth as he pushed his brother on the swing. Truth was, he HAD seen the look on her face, and he was worried too. Who ever had just rang on their door, hadn't been a pleasant surprise for their mother. "She never... forced us out like that... I'm afraid that something might happen... Shouldn't we... go back?" Dante turned his head, facing Vergil with almost wet eyes. "I... I FEEL that something's wrong!" Vergil stopped the swing, then walked around it so he could meet his brother.
"Nothing is wrong, Dante. I promise." He saw the look of fear and sadness, and his brother's pain and hugged him. "She just got surprised, that's all." Dante clang to his brother, resting his chin onto his shoulder, his almost glowing blue eyes halfway closed. "But... If you were surprised... wouldn't you have another look on your face? Didn't she just seem afraid? I..."
He fell silent, wrapping his arms around his brother. "Swear that everything's okay, I beg you!" Vergil nuzzled his brother's hair, the soft scent of dirt and spices calming his nerves. "I promise you, Dante." He said, smiling reassuringly. His brother looked like he was about to start crying. "Don't cry, Dante. You know I hate it."
"But I..." Dante bit his lower lip, blinking violently for a few times, then swallowed hard. "I can't help it Vergy...!" Whether he wanted to or not, hot tears started to run down his cheeks, leaving glittering tracks on his pale skin. Vergil bit his lip. He'd always let Dante believe that the crying gave him a headache, but the complete opposite was true. His heart ached when his brother cried, and that was the last thing he needed right now. He placed a gentle kiss on his brother's forehead. "It'll be okay, Dante. That's a promise."
Dante clenched his fists, to rub them over his eyes in order to wipe away his tears. Quite difficult though, as the bad feeling he had just remained. "You think she's just cooking our favourite meal and does want to surprise us?" He asked hopefully, looking into his brother's eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure she is." Vergil said with a gentle smile, drying away the remaining tears off his brother's cheeks. "I'm sure she's planning a big, lovely dinner for us, don't you think?"
"Isn't it our birthday tomorrow? Maybe she just... wants to get the presents or just hide them! Or she's baking the cake?" Dante tried to smile, his arms wrapped around his brother again. He didn't really believe in his words, but speaking them felt somehow good, and it started to MAKE him believe in them. "Yeah, maybe that was someone bringing a present, and she was afraid that we would see what it was?" Vergil smiled, glad that Dante was once again calm.
"Do you want me to push you on the swing a bit more?" He asked softly. Dante nodded, releasing his brother of his embrace. "I'd appreciate that." He agreed, giving him a soft smile again, that now seemed a little more serious. Vergil went back behind his brother and began to push him on the swing again. Even if he was still a child, he was strong, and he loved the gentle happy noises escaping his brother. Dante couldn't help it but to chuckle slightly. He loved being pushed on the swing, and he loved it even more if his beloved twin-brother was the one doing that for him.
"What do you think it would be like, if we were grown-ups?" He asked then, all of a sudden, turning his head to watch the other one again. Vergil frowned. "Why do you ask?" He certainly had no idea, but he himself had been thinking of it quite much these recent days. "Well... won't we have wives and children too one day? What about us then? We won't share the same house forever, will we?" He held his eyes settled upon Vergil, while he lifted one hand to chew his thumb.
"W-Well... I don't know. I guess that's right." Vergil said thoughtfully. The mere thought of being separated from his brother hurt so badly he just wanted to repress it. "How come you are wondering, Dante?"
"It's just... I... I don't know... maybe it's just this day... or us becoming seven tomorrow..." He eased his gaze on his brother, watching some other kids playing hide and seek instead. "We're becoming older, yes, but it's a long time until we have to worry about parting, Dante." A really, really long time, Vergil hoped. Quite honestly, he never wanted to be without his twin brother. The younger one nodded again.
"Yeah... I guess... you're right... but if we separate, then we must visit each other regularly, promise?" He reached out one hand, for Vergil to clap in while he smiled warmly. Vergil just smiled, shaking his head, and touched his brother's hand. "And we'll have to live close to each other, so we could visit daily, if we wanted. Something like next door would do it." Oh yes, next door would more than do. It was the only thing he could approve of other than sharing the same house.
"That's it! Settled then!" Dante laughed, holding his brother's hand for a short time. "You know, I never want to be without you, I will never leave you. We'll always be together then!" Vergil smiled again, helping his brother down and pulling him into a tight hug. "Yeah. Always you and me." He buried his nose in the other's hair, kissing the boy's temple. "And one day... I'll finally beat you in chess! You'll see!" Dante stated in excitement, then squeaked quietly when his brother kissed him next to his ear.
"Stop, or I'll revenge that!" He muttered softly, wrapping his arms around the older again. Vergil laughed. "In your dreams, dearest brother. And we both know that I would kick your ass if you tried anything, so you can just as well-" His sentence was broken off by a woman's scream coming from the house, sending chills down the boy's spine. The sound was filled with pain and fear.
Dante looked at his elder twin, slightly shocked. "Mom will kill you for those bad words, you know that!" Suddenly he jerked away then, watching his brother's face. "D...did you... j...just hear that...?" He asked, his eyes widened. "Wasn't... wasn't that just... Mommy's voice...?" Dante was about to cry again, when he grabbed Vergil's hand to pull the other one with him.
"No! DANTE!" Vergil roared, forcing the boy to stop, forcing him to calm down and meet his eyes. "Dante. Stay exactly where you are. Do not move a single muscle until I get back here or call you, do you understand me?"
"B...but...!" He had to step back quickly, otherwise he'd have fallen to the ground. The younger twin turned around, gazing into his brother's direction, his light blue eyes filled with tears and full of fear. "Where are you going, Vergil? You... you can't leave me here, please... let me come with you!"
"Dante, I'm coming back, but you have to trust me!" Vergil cried, running into the direction of their house. He tore the back door open, darting into the kitchen. He slipped out on something and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground, stars dancing before his eyes from hitting his head on the floor. "M-Mother?!" He called, sitting up. His fingers were resting in something warm and slightly sticky. He looked at his hands, and screamed.
--
The younger twin was left outside on the yard, tripping from one foot onto the other, just to be doing at least ANYTHING. He glared into the direction, Vergil just ran off, struggling down the urge to follow him immediately. "Please, hurry...!" He mumbled to himself, and finally managed to sit down on a bench, when he heard his beloved brother screaming. Instantly he jumped off again and also ran to their house. The back door was still open, so he slipped in, finding his brother on the floor, sitting in a puddle of blood. "V...Ver...gil...! W...what... happened here... whe... where's Mommy?!" He cried out, watching all that blood in disbelief.
Vergil immediately darted up, tearing the boy to his chest. "Don't look. Just d-don't look. We're going to... We're going to leave. You're going to walk right out that door, and you won't look back, okay? Think you can do that, yes?" How he managed to say anything was still a wonder, but he turned his brother around when the boy whispered a quiet "okay". Vergil took his twin's hand and pushed him gently out the door as he glanced back. On the floor, right by the stove, shielded from Dante's eyes, their beloved mother laid. Her mouth open in a soundless scream, and her eyes wide open, staring motionless at them.
The boy let his brother take care of him, like he always did, but his face went pale in shock. "What happened...? Please brother, tell me what happened... There was blood... so much blood, everywhere! You're all covered with it! I... I..." He grabbed Vergil's shirt, clenching his small fists around the cloth and stared at the elder one. Vergil pushed his twin away from himself. "D-Dante... She's dead." He whispered quietly, as if afraid to speak the words in case he might realise that what he'd just seen wasn't a lie. Their mother, their only living parent, was dead. Killed. Murdered. Slaughtered...
His younger twin gasped, then looked at his brother in pure disbelief. "N...no... That... that just can't be! She... was all right when we left! She can't be dead! You... must be wrong! And... It's not fair to make fun of me that way! Tell me that you lied... Tell me Vergil!" He could feel his eyes filling with tears again, until they ran down his cheeks.
All that blood - Dante refused to believe what he just heard. "You're a liar Vergil! Tell the truth, I warn you! Mommy did tell us not to lie!" He cried out, then fell onto his bottom, his head held up to the other one. Vergil just looked at his twin with an expression of pure despair and sorrow, then he collapsed onto his knees in front of his younger brother. "S-She was... covered in blood... I am... covered in her... Blood?" He looked at his hands and clothes, panic crawling up on his already trembling body. "D-Dante... I'm not lying... All this blood... It's hers."
Dante couldn't say a word. His face went paler than pale, his eyes widened. He took some deep breaths, but it felt as if someone was strangling him. "V...Ver...gil..." he squeezed out, crawling up to his brother on both hands and feet. "B...but... why...? H...how... was that supposed to happen? I... I don't get it... W...what shall we do now...? Our... dear Mommy!" He started to cry even more, tears running down like small waterfalls. "Vergil... we... we're alone now!" The younger tried to grab his twin's shirt again, his hand instantly covering with blood too, his face a mask of untamed fear and agony.
Vergil just stared out in empty spaces as his brother clang to him. When Dante began to cry harder, sobs wrecking his body, Vergil wrapped his arms around his younger twin brother. He didn't say anything, but buried his face in the other's hair, tears running down his cheeks in streams. Dante was right. They were all alone. "Dante... You're never alone." He whispered, brushing his lips against the boy's eyebrow. "I'll never leave you. I'll always protect you." The younger buried his face on Vergil's shoulder, which also was covered with blood. "But Mommy... she knew...! She sent us away to protect us... while we should have protected her!" He whimpered, tightening his grip a little bit, while his body was trembling noticeable.
"We... were weak, Vergil... we... failed! We both... share the blood of our father, and we deplorably failed! This is all unfair! We... we should..." No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to speak only a single word more. He felt like suffocating, his voice hoarse and broken. Vergil just caressed his brother's back. "Hush. It's... It's going to be fine... Everything's going to be fine!" His voice was barely audible, less than a whisper, but he held his brother close, determinate to not show off his own fear in case it would scare the younger even more. "Listen to me, we... We have to find someone. Someone who will help us, yeah? A-And get something to eat, you look starving."
"I don't... want anything..." His twin managed to whisper, but did not move at all. "We'll have to stay close to each other... We only have each other left... If I loose you too... I'm gonna die..." Still sobbing Dante lifted his head, looking into his brother's eyes through a haze of tears. "W...where shall... we go?" He wasn't even sure if he could walk at all, his body felt like it was all made of pudding, and his heart seemed to ache, although it had not been hurt physically. "I... I can't bear this...!" Dante cried again, covering his small face with both hands. Vergil jerked as if someone had struck him across his young face. He'd never seen his brother like this before, and it scared him. "N-NO!" He cried, shaking the boy's small body. "You're NOT going to die, you hear me?! You're NOT going to leave me here! P-Promise! Promise me Dante!" Vergil begged, tears running down his cheeks. "I love you too much. I can't loose you too!"
Dante looked at his brother in shock. It took him quite a while to understand what was going on. Then he crossed his arms around his brother's back, holding him real tight. "Did... you even listen to what I've said? I will NEVER leave you, heard it? NEVER! And I don't ever want to loose you! I love you too... so much... I didn't know what to do if I was without you... I... I need you... more than ever..." He sniffled, slightly shaking his head. He still didn't get all this, but Vergil was right, they had to find someone to help them. What else could they do, just being kids?
Vergil sighed in relief and drew his brother to his chest, holding him desperately. "T-The police... We h-have to call the police..." He managed to choke out with a voice that sounded much to old and raspy to be his. He doubted his ability to stand, yet alone help Dante, but somehow he managed to rise and draw the boy up with him. He stumbled out of their back yard with an arm tightly around Dante's waist.
They had to find someone. Anyone that could help them. The younger nodded not noticeable, then struggled to come to his feet only to be drawn up by his brother. They wouldn't be able to move too fast, as Dante's feet didn't want to carry him any longer. He got hold of Vergil's shirt in order to remain standing, his eyes still widened and his skin paler than ever before. He tried to look out for someone as hard as he could, and they were lucky, if one could say so in that situation. A woman was taking her dog for a walk; they almost ran into her.
She caught a glimpse of the boys and stopped immediately. The stranger looked down on them, her face clearly terrified. "What the hell...!" She gasped, noticing that they were all covered with blood. "P-Please!" Vergil begged, concentrating on holding his brother up as well as to remain standing. "We need help!" The woman stared at them as if dumbfounded. "W-What happened?" She finally managed to gasp out. "O-Our mom... She's dead... She was killed... I found her on the kitchen floor." She kept staring at both twins in disbelief, raising an eyebrow, the other one following.
"What did you just say...? Your mom... was killed...?!" She didn't really know if that was some kind of odd Halloween joke, but then, by looking into the children's eyes she could tell that they were serious. "Where do you live? We need to call the police if you speak the truth. You shouldn't have touched anything, but never mind that right now..." She pulled the leash of her dog nearer to herself, as it was getting excited by the smell of blood that lay around them, then dragged her cell-phone out of her pocket.
"I-I d-didn't! I slipped out... B-But I didn't..." The woman just patted Vergil on his silvery head and dialed 911. The police had already arrived when Vergil had lead the woman to where they lived, Dante clinging desperately to his brother who could do nothing but to drag the boy along. The twins were placed in a police car as the ambulance and the police did their duties. Vergil just petted Dante's hair as the boy laid with his head in his older brother's lap, crying softly.
"Where are they taking us...?" The younger managed to ask after a few moments of silent crying, turning his head a little to look up to his brother, his eyes reddened already. "I want to go home Vergil... I don't want to stay here or somewhere else... I..." He buried his face in Vergil's lap again, his tiny hands clenched to fists. "We have no choice, Dante." Vergil said, his voice cold and uncaring. "It's just us now." He placed a gentle hand on his twin's back. "I don't know where they're taking us. Foster home. Orphanage. Mental hospital. I do not know."
Dante whimpered silently, trying to calm down a little bit, but nothing would help. They had lost their dear mother, and the last time they saw her she looked all terrified. Whenever he tried to recall her face, he got exactly that picture, what made him cry even more. Finally he lifted his head, using his sleeve to dry his nose, clinging to his brother again afterwards. "I... can't remember her face..." He whispered weakly, looking down on his knees. "I mean... before... we saw her the last time... I just can't remember...!" He shivered heavily, biting his lower lip. "And wherever they gonna take us... we have to stay together...!"
Vergil smiled then, his face gentle, caring and kind. "You're in shock." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Once you've slept and eaten some. It'll be there. I promise you. And I'm never going to let them take you away from me!" He said, pushing the boy up sitting and embraced him. "What ever happens, we're not parting. Not yet. Not ever."
Although it seemed like forever, only minutes passed until the cop that the car belonged to came back. He took a seat beyond the steering wheel and started the car after he made sure that the boys were all right. They were taken to an orphanage and one of the police's men was kind enough to get a few things packed for them. Both were taken to the bathroom first, to wash off the blood, then were introduced to their new home. The building itself was clean and friendly, although the twins didn't give a single glance to anything. Neither the numerous toys, nor the other kids that seemed painfully happy to them.
How could one even think of laughing that just lost his dear mother?
They didn't understand. Yet, they had to share their room with eight other children, but it was more a sleeping chamber than anything else. The kids used to play in the yard or in one of the other rooms of the house. Dante and Vergil got some dinner, but they could hardly eat, then they were sent to bed. Off course the younger couldn't find any sleep, especially not alone. He stood up again, tiptoeing to his brother's bed, which was right next to his. He climbed in, sneaking under the blankets to cling to him again. With his head rested upon Vergil's chest and sobbing quietly he finally managed to let exhaustion overwhelm him.
Vergil gently stroke his back, his eyes remaining open for much longer than Dante's did. But he remained silent, trying to be even stronger for his little brother. He needed him now, much more than before, and he promised to be there for him and to never let him down, and so would he. He couldn't afford to cry like a baby, as he was the older one and had to take care of Dante now. All those thoughts were running through the elder twin's head, until tiredness finally caught him and he fell asleep, his arms wrapped around the other boy.