Dragon Heart CHAPTER 1

Yeah, I know, the title is silly and I don't really care lol. I wrote this for the Fairytale contest on the DantexNero club on DA. There are 2 chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Also, this is DantexNero just in case you didn't get that :3 Enjoy!


Nero grumbled profanity as he struggled against his bindings. His hands were tied behind his back, both to each other and also to the stake that his back was pressed tightly against. His demonic arm had the strength to rip the ropes apart but his left hand couldn't pull as hard in the other direction and he could feel rope burn setting in painfully on his human flesh.

The prisoner was trying really hard not to listen to the old man ranting in front of him, but the longer he wheezed on the harder it was to do so. Instead he decided to focus on what brought him here-to his current situation. It was his demon blood, obviously, but more accurately it was the fact that his right arm was a devil's arm. Demons were despised in Fortuna, but there was good reason for their hatred. It seemed like the city was under siege by the creatures constantly, and one especially pesky phoenix that had harassed the city since the days of Sparda.

The Order of the Sword were the knights that protected the walls. It was the Order that Nero himself was a part of…or at least he had been until this morning. Nero was arguably the best knight the city had. Not in terms of leadership or responsibility as those weren't his fortes, but no one could get the upper hand on the young man in a fight. Even Credo, the Captain of the Order and his older brother had trouble dueling with him.

It appeared that hadn't saved him however as here he was about to be offered up to a dragon-a demon in and of itself, but no one in Fortuna seemed to understand this and trying to explain it was blasphemy. The Fortunian people worshiped dragons like divine beings because Sparda was a dragon and it was said that all dragons were of his blood. Nero thought it was crazy but there was no talking to them.

Nero had been hiding his demonic appendage successfully for almost a year now, claiming it an injury and keeping it tightly wrapped up whenever he was out. His mistake had come only one day ago. The bandages on his arm needed changed after they became torn by some roughhousing with his favorite sparring partner. He was in his own room unwrapping the bandages when his sister had entered, catching him off guard. There was no way to miss the freakish glowing arm and she'd panicked. Credo was away though so Nero had gotten the chance to stop her from running off before he could calm her down. He wanted to keep it between them. He was still him, still human.

Then there was this morning…

Nero's eyes fluttered open as he felt his arms roughly grabbed and he was yanked out of bed. He struggled, the strength of his right arm threw off one attacker before shoving the other away. They were both men from the Order and he recognized them both. He didn't have time to question what the hell they were doing in his room before he felt the bandages torn off his arm and quickly moved to try to hide it between his chest and other arm as he whirled to see who else was after him.

His mouth went dry when he saw his brother, his face twisted in disgust as he threw the bandages to the ground.

"Credo, wait-it's not what you think-" The words died in his throat as the other two men in the room turned their swords to his neck and Credo produced some rope. It wasn't worth it to fight, he was the best the Order had, but he couldn't kill these guys even if they would end his own life in the blink of an eye. Besides that his weapons, both his sword Red Queen and his modified crossbow Blue Rose were out of reach. He could try to grab for them but they would slit his throat before the weapons would be any use.

So he was tied up and hauled to headquarters. It was humiliating. The entire city saw him, saw his arm and assumed he was evil. They screamed at him and some people even spit at him. Being locked alone in a cell was probably the biggest reprieve of his day. At least there was no one there to judge him, but then again, there was no one there to talk to, to distract him. He was alone with his thoughts.

Nero was drawn back from his memories as he realized his Holiness was finishing up his long-winded spiel, and drawing attention back to him.

"It is because of this," rasped Sanctus, making a sweeping gesture with his arm toward Nero, "that we must remain ever vigilant! Even those around us... could be demons."

Nero let out a humorless laugh. "I'm the demon here, huh? Tell me then what is it I did that was so bad?"

"You are a demon. You cannot deny that you wield demonic power. All the proof needed is in your arm."

He scoffed. "I haven't done anything."

"Then you have nothing to fear from the dragon."

Nero bared his teeth in anger. "Yeah, the dragon. If he doesn't eat me you'll still just leave me out here to get devoured by wolves, or freeze, or starve to death," he snapped. "You want to know something? If I'm the demon here then I don't want to be human."

There was a collective gasp from the crowd and a choked sob from a woman-not just any woman either. Kyrie. He'd trusted her, he'd believed in her not to betray him and she'd turned him in. He couldn't form any pity for her. For all she knew she'd condemned him to death.

That wasn't how it was going to play out but she didn't know that. No one but Nero did. How did he know the dragon wasn't going to eat him? Simple. He knew the dragon and…they were dating…kind of. He wasn't precisely sure what to call their relationship but the dragon wasn't going to eat him…not in the flesh tearing way anyway.

Knowing that he wasn't going to die didn't improve his mood by much however. He was a damn knight for the city. He protected them from demons and the fact they'd turned on him at the drop of a hat was enraging. He had a demonic arm, yes but that didn't change who he was. It didn't make him any less human. It didn't make him inherently evil.

They couldn't understand though. How could they? Demons were evil. Only Sparda-who was technically a dragon type demon-was an angel. They elevated a demon to a holy entity but killed any other demons as apparently Sparda and other dragons were the only possible exceptions to the rule.

The Fortunian people all left in a crowd with Sanctus leading the way. Like a group of sheep, Nero mused to himself. He refused to curse and scream at them or to even look at them. Instead he turned his attentions to the coming twilight. The sun's warm red glow caused a rainbow of light in the cloudless sky as it competed with the inky indigo creeping in from the east sparkling with stars like dewdrops on a fallen leaf. Twilight was the end of one day, but inevitably the birth of another would come. It felt symbolic in a way. Even when he got free he couldn't ever return to Fortuna.

He didn't know how long it was going to take the dragon to show up, he usually came looking for him after nightfall though, when he wouldn't be easily spotted. Nero was fairly determined that he didn't want to be tied up when he appeared. He thrashed, clawed and fought with all his might against the ropes until his shoulders, arms and wrists were screaming with fatigue and he had to give up.

He let out a long sigh as he tilted his head back against the post, looking up at the sliver of moon that was available. The stars were actually rather beautiful this far from the city, no light to dim their glimmering brilliance.

He tilted his head back down again as he heard a flapping noise, one that was entirely familiar to him. The dragon landed gracefully, his body more serpentine than one might expect. He was covered in bright red scales, except for his belly which was black, and the ebony horns that were on the top of his head. The wings protruding from his back were ebony as well and thick enough to use as a shield if the situation required. There was a mane that started on the top of his head that ran all the way down to his bladed tail that was white in hue.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? I thought only virgins got sacrificed at the stake," the dragon teased, his mouth didn't move as he spoke because he didn't need it to in his current form, but his lips were curved in a grin.

"Oh can it and get me outta here, would ya?" he muttered angrily, he was really not in the mood to be taunted.

"Hey, just 'cause the people who did this are assholes is no reason to take it out on me," he said, dipping his head down so their blue eyes met.

Nero let out a sigh of defeat and felt a slight smirk quirk his lips as his partner butted his head against his cheek in a comforting gesture.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sore, tired and pissed off so could you let me out of these ropes? Please?" he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, I even get a please? How could I say no to that? You're gonna owe me though," he stated as he twisted his body around. Nero pulled his wrists apart to hold the ropes taut as the dragon's tail slashed forward and sliced the rope clean through. A second later an arm was around him, keeping his knees from buckling and collapsing to the ground.

Nero let his arms wrap around the man's neck. "Thanks Dante," he whispered into his throat before letting go. He tried to back away but the other man wouldn't let him, his arm around his waist like a steel cable. Nero didn't struggle, he was too tired.

"I'm sorry," the older male said sincerely, getting a slight nod in response. "…You want me torch the place for you?"

That got a smile. "Not before I get my stuff."

"That's the spirit!" He ruffled the young man's hair and Nero swat his hand away. "So what happened?"

"Got careless. Kyrie saw my arm."

Dante grimaced and hissed in a breath through his teeth .

"Yeah, I know. I tried to explain. I got her to calm down and told her not to tell anyone, but of course she told Credo…" he sighed and made a face like there was a bitter taste in his mouth. "They tied me up while I was still sleeping and hauled me in this morning."

Dante's gloved hand caressed his cheek and he leaned into the touch. It was crazy to his mind that the one person he could trust wasn't part of his family-not even part of his city. A person he'd only known for a few months, but seemed able to accept everything about him. It was what he wanted, and it was what he needed as well.

"I need to go back one more time and get my stuff, but I have to be careful."

"We better wait until later. Let's go home for now," he suggested nuzzling the young man's hair. Nero knew he was talking about his place, though it piqued his interest that he called it 'home' when he was referring to both of them. Of course, that seemed the logical choice; for Nero to stay with him. He had a few times before, so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go home," he whispered.


Every dragon collected treasure, however every dragon had a different opinion on what treasure was. Some liked silver and gold and all that glittered and some preferred pieces of art or even rocks. Whatever the case, anyone would find out what a dragon collected if they managed to get far enough into their lair.

Nero had been to Dante's den many times, but each time, if he cared to look, he found a new devil arm, or other weapon that his counterpart had accumulated. Dante loved weapons. That was how the two of them originally got to talking. The dragon was intrigued by Red Queen and Blue Rose and wanted to add them to his massive collection.

Nero's answer was a resounding 'no' with some more colorful language sprinkled in to show the disinterest he had in such a plan. Therefore Dante suggested he show how good he was at using such weapons. Nero heartily agreed to the spar.

The dragon won their fight, but found the young man enough of a challenge to be entertaining, and offered to spar with him again sometime.

Nero, with his pride stinging, had agreed immediately. After that they met once a week for months while the young knight was out on patrol. Through the meetings they learned about one another, their lives, problems and joys. They gradually became more than sparring partners. The two connected in a way they never had with anyone else. They were both half-devils, the differential in strength between them was only because Dante was older and had more time to accumulate power.

Nero could feel himself relaxing as he walked further into the cave Dante called home. After being expelled from Fortuna it was the only place he could feel safe now. The place was lit and warmed by alcoves where a red fire burned that didn't produce smoke. The 'treasure' room was enormous, lined and piled with weaponry. They always stopped there first, the dragon's icy eyes flicking around and taking a quick inventory before he darted into another tunnel.

A dragon's lair was built like a labyrinth, and Dante's was no different on that front. The first few times Nero had come he had had to stick right at his partner's side or risk getting lost in the maze. He could find his way around fairly easily now, especially to the place he assumed that Dante had taken off to-the bedroom-or chamber more accurately since the place didn't really have 'rooms.'

He followed at a slow pace, taking his time to look around, letting the fingers of his devil bringer trace the alcoves in the walls, a flame reaching out to lick at his digits once in awhile. The heat didn't hurt him through the armor, which seemed strange since if someone touched it he could feel the warmth of their skin. He'd always wondered a bit about it but figured being fire retardant came from the strange appendage just like his amplified healing, strength and speed.

His left wrist had healed from the rope burn and his muscles had stopped being so sore, which was a relief at the same time it just reminded him of how burnt out he was in every other way, mentally and emotionally. The physical pain gave him something to focus on away from the idea that his own brother and sister had betrayed him, claimed him a demon and were prepared to leave him for dead.

He sighed sadly, so lost in thought he didn't even notice as Dante slipped up behind him until his arms wrapped around him, pulling him back into his chest.

"Dante-"

"Stop worrying about what they think. You are the way you are. Having demon blood doesn't make you bad and it doesn't make you good. It's actions that decide that and if they're too thick to see that then that's their problem."

Nero shook his head and disentangled himself from the embrace. "I know, but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm just…tired," he said as he started again down the hallway.

Dante gently grabbed his demonic arm before he could get away completely. The motion caught his attention and he quirked an eyebrow.

"I want to talk to you about something," he admitted. He hated seeing the young spitfire so down. He thought he'd almost prefer it if he were angry.

"Yeah, okay…" he said slowly, perplexed.

"I know what kind of demon you are," he stated.

Nero's puzzled expression stayed firmly in place. "You do? Well…why haven't you told me before?"

"I thought it might be better if you found out on your own, like I did."

"What made you change your mind?"

"You. I just don't want you to be so hard on yourself…so down. Fortuna made the mistake, not you. You're a dragon, just like me, Nero."

His blue eyes looked up sharply at first confused, then relieved then, suddenly, disbelieving. "Don't lie to me."

"I ain't lyin' kid. No reason to,"

Nero met his icy gaze head on, searching for any sign of weakness. Any sign that he wasn't being entirely truthful, but could find none. "I can't be," he said finally.

"And why can't you?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, searching for words. "I can't…I can't turn into a dragon like you can. I can't be a dragon." As much as he would like to be. He hated himself for it, but he still wanted to be accepted-or if not accepted, he at least wanted the people of Fortuna to know that they were wrong about him.

"Is that the problem?" Dante smirked.

"Well, yeah. It's kinda a major one," he pointed out flatly.

"It's because you haven't unlocked it yet. Unleashing your devil side isn't fun, quite the opposite actually."

"What do you have to do?"

"Well, you have to reach the verge of death," he explained as he scratched the back of his head, before continuing haltingly. "Where the only thing that's keeping you alive is that little bit of demonic power you've tapped into before…and you realize that it's bigger…a lot bigger than you thought it was. You can't reach it unless you really want it…unless you have something you really need to live for. Then it…just happens, it's all yours, but…" he trailed off, searching for words to explain.

"But what?"

"That's where it's dangerous. That moment is where you see…where you realize if you control the demonic power, or it controls you."

His eyes widened slightly. Well…that was terrifying. He didn't particularly like the amount of influence his demonic instincts were having already-and getting more of that?

"Heh," he nervously scratched his nose. "I don't think I'm really ready for any more of that."

He smirked. "Probably not, but when the time comes I'm sure you'll handle it just fine," the older male commented as he kissed his forehead


Later that night…

Nero let the darkness mask him as he carefully slipped between the guards on patrol of the Fortunian wall. He used to be on said patrols so he knew where the gaps were. That was the hardest part of his trip back to the city. There was a strict curfew so there was no one out this late-or, this early to be more accurate. The streets were his, though he still kept away from the unlit street lamps as he made his way to his old home.

It was early in the morning by this point and a few animals in their pens were awake, he had to make an effort to avoid them as well. His demonic energy especially seemed to rile up animals and they'd make a lot of noise if he wasn't careful.

The lights were out at home, just as he'd expected. He moved around to the back of the house and used his bringer to launch himself up onto the windowsill of his old room. He tried to pull the shutters open but quickly realized that it had been locked. He never locked his window so Kyrie or Credo must have…

He jumped down and went to the garden near the back of the lawn, rolling one of the stones to retrieve the spare key for the house. It would be more dangerous to go in through the door, but he'd never get away with breaking through the shutters.

He quietly unlocked the door and stepped inside. His heart wretched as the need to call out, wanting to announce his presence with an 'I'm home.' He bit his tongue and closed the door, locking it behind him and leaving the key on a small table. He'd probably go back out through the window rather than walk all the way back through the house.

He walked into the living area, rolling his steps as to mute them. He took the stairs two at a time, careful to skip the squeaky one three from the top. His room was the furthest back of course so he had to be careful as he tiptoed down the hall past Kyrie's room, then Credo's. His heart lunged into his throat when he heard a shuffle from his brother's room, letting out a slow breath of relief when all returned to silence.

The door to his old room was left open a crack, allowing him to avoid the noise of turning the knob. When he looked inside however he saw that his room had been taken apart completely. His clothes were all torn out of the closet, presumably filling the bags laying on the floor. The bed was stripped, everything he'd had on the walls were taken down.

'Well they didn't waste any time,' he thought bitterly. 'Then again, maybe they felt guilty so they couldn't bear the thought that all my worldly possessions were two doors down.'

Nero didn't need a lot of his stuff, mostly clothes and of course his weapons. He didn't spot Red Queen or Blue Rose right off the bat and he really hoped they were here somewhere and the Order hadn't confiscated them. It was one thing to break into his old house-he knew this place like the back of his hand, it was a completely different matter to break into headquarters. They were armed and guarded to the teeth and he hadn't done many patrols there.

Nero quietly went through a few of the bags, throwing things he wanted to take with him into another bag. He'd still been unable to find his weapons, but he wasn't too worried yet. They were probably in one of the bags so he continued looking.

He paused when he heard a noise, like someone entering the room-he hadn't closed the door behind him so it very well could have been someone coming in without him really noticing! He whirled around and felt white-hot pain flare through his chest. He screamed and felt blood spattering his lips, filling his mouth as he grabbed the blade; his blade, Red Queen. He looked up at Credo's face, it held nothing but hate and contempt for the 'demon' that was suppose to be his brother. It was like he thought Nero had a choice in the matter.


Some of you have already read the rest of this scene as part of chapter 85 of Ebony and Ivory Queens, but this is about the mid point of the entire story so I just split it this way. Hope you guys liked it :3 Until next time!

Ja ne!

~Bitbyboth May 27, 2013