Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Picks up with Vergil, Rachel, Nero, and Eva.
Eva huffed and Vergil smirked as he carried her up the driveway. "Papa, I thought we were going out for ice cream!"
"Afterwards, philia." Vergil said softly as Eva pouted and rested her chin on his shoulder as he carried her. Rachel and Nero walked ahead of them and Rachel was talking animatedly to Nero.
"Isn't it lovely?" Rachel asked as Nero looked down at his mother.
"It'll need work by the looks of it." Nero stated as he opened the rusty gate.
"It has good bones." Rachel smiled and they finally walked up to the car and knocked lightly on the window. "Hi, we're the Sparda family, here to see the cottage."
The woman got out of the car and looked at them and saw that there was no car. "Where did you park?" She asked.
"Just over there somewhere." Rachel waved her hand in the direction of the small county. "We love to walk."
"It's a forty-minute walk to town." The woman said as she looked down at Rachel's boots with heels to give her some height.
"We love walking." Rachel said again. "Can we see inside?"
"I'm Alicia, by the way." She said to the other three. "You three must be related, all with that white hair." The woman stared at them and pushed her glasses up her nose.
"This is my Papa and that is my Daddy." Eva smiled and pointed to the two men and then back to herself, "I'm Eva."
"Oh, that is lovely name." The woman said and looked to Rachel, "Your daughter is lovely."
"Granddaughter. I just look really good for my age." Rachel laughed. The woman muttered about surgeons or really good face cream that she needed to find.
She led them inside and nervously looked at them.
"It needs a lot of work mom." Nero sighed heavily reiterating his sentiments from minutes earlier. Vergil felt Eva squirm in his arms to get a look around, and he let her down. She sneezed from the dust moments later and he picked her up again.
"It's dusty." Eva sniffed and Rachel handed her a tissue. "Thank you, Nana." She said as wiped her nose.
"This lovely home is about a century old. It has a stable that was renovated by the last owner, he was a horse breeder. He let the home fall into disrepair though." Alicia said as she moved them further into the house to look at the kitchen. She did the usual tour and Nero kept looking at his mom as she smiled.
"Can we see the stable and garden?" Rachel asked eagerly once they got to the attic space, Nero the only one who wanted to braving going up with her. Eva hugged Vergil's neck and refused to go up the creaky steps.
"I don't like those stairs, Papa." Eva squeaked out.
"Hm, they are quite old." Vergil assured her. Eva bowed her head down and looked at the stairs and shook her head.
"Mom, we've seen enough. This will take months to fix." Nero grunted.
"It has so much potential. The stable and garden are its greatest features." Alicia quickly said and they descended the steps, which had Eva cringing again.
"Papa, those stairs are scary!" Eva whined and Vergil looked as Nero and Rachel came down. Rachel still smiling and Nero grumbling.
"This is the garden." Alicia said as she led them outside the backdoor. Vergil stopped in his tracks and looked at the space. I see why she likes it. He looked back at Rachel and Nero also looked at the garden.
It was unkept, but the potential for so much more. The garden had terraced levels and was quite large with a large square in the centre with stone brick laid down, which also needed repair. An old broken table in the centre.
"Papa, I want down." Eva said and Vergil put her down for her to run toward a bed of flowers that were dead. "Nana, can you fix these?"
"If Papa lets me have the house." Rachel cooed gently up at Vergil with a wink and then went to Eva and knelt down beside the girl. "These were tulips."
"Tulips." Eva smiled at her, "What would you grow?"
"Some herbs and some vegetables, maybe even some flowers…" some healing plants. Vergil mused knowing that Rachel had found the perfect garden and Eva was helping to sell it.
"Damn, she's got Eva on her side." Nero huffed quietly beside his father. Vergil nodded but smiled softly and Nero groaned, "And you too, you never smile. This is a six-month job, dad. You okay with that?"
Vergil nodded and stared at Rachel with Eva. "She is quite pleased." He then walked over to Alicia who fidgeted under his gaze, "I wish to see the stable."
"Oh right, of course. Just be careful on the path." Alicia took a right at the end of the garden. They walked a couple hundred metres and saw the stable in good shape.
"So, what happened to the horses?" Nero asked as they approached it. Eva now on his back.
"They are still there. They come with the house. I'm the niece of the original owner. I live in the city with my family, so I hired someone closer to come feed them and take care of them. Are you familiar with horses?" Alicia asked.
"We had a few around home, they were more wild than anything." Nero said. "I caught one though one time, he liked the apple slices in my pocket."
"They love sugar cubes too!" Alicia smiled, "These horses are extremely calm and tame."
"Rachel, they may not react well to our energies." Vergil whispered in her ear from behind. Rachel nodded but kept walking.
"We had horses before Nero was born, when we lived near Red Grave City." Rachel said lightly, "Must be instinct to calm a wild horse." She winked at Nero.
"I didn't know that." Eva said with a laugh.
"Yes, when your Papa was young. His mother loved horses." Rachel said softly and looked over her shoulder at Vergil, carefully gauging his interest going to the stable. His eyes scanned around the stable, looking pleased with the structure and maintenance.
They entered the stable and a few horses nickered nervously. Alicia looked at them and back to the horses, "Sorry, they seem to be a bit jittery."
"Mom." Nero said softly and Rachel smiled. She waited until Alicia was further in and looked back at her family.
"Just tame them." Rachel winked, "Eva come with Nana." Eva jumped off her father's back and took Rachel's hand.
"What does she mean by that?" Nero asked scratching the side of nose.
"The horses sense our demonic energy. Be kind to them and they will settle down. Horses seemed to like Sparda." Vergil said and walked with Nero over to a large black stallion.
"Oh, maybe not him! He's our slightly temperamental guy, his name is Pius. I think it was a joke, though. He is tame but still has a personality all his own." Alicia said as she ran over and handed them some sugar cubes.
Pius nickered and stamped his feet.
"We will see what we can do." Vergil said and held out a sugar cube in his palm. Pius shook his head and stared down at Vergil and Nero. Alicia sighed and walked over to Rachel and Eva who were having an easier time, less demonic energy over there, Vergil mused. The chestnut horse seemed to make fast friends with Eva as Rachel lifted her onto her hip to pat the horse's face.
"Pius, come here." Vergil spoke softly. Pius shook his mane and stamped his feet.
"We should just sell this one. The other horses seem to be calmer." Nero huffed.
"He's clearly the stud. He brings in the money." Vergil said, side glancing at Nero.
"Ew." Nero made a face and Vergil rolled his eyes. Vergil then looked up at the horse.
"Perhaps Sparda's method rather than Mother's." Vergil mused aloud and bowed his head and turned his body slightly to the side. He faced Nero and raised an eyebrow. "Copy me, let's earn his trust."
"This is ridiculous." Nero huffed once more before letting one sugar cube rest in his palm. He faced his father and they both slightly bowed their heads. Nero was surprised when he felt Pius carefully lick his palm.
"Don't look up yet, wait until he nudges your hand for more. Then we will reward him another while looking at him." Vergil softly spoke and Nero nodded. A moment later, Pius huffed and nuzzled his fingers. Both looked up and Nero smiled and put another cube in his hand, this time slowly stroking Pius' face as he ate the sugar cube from his palm.
"Good, boy." Nero said as he stepped back, and Vergil did the same. Pius pressed his nose closer to Vergil and nickered softly.
"You will behave now that you have the promises of sweets." Vergil rubbed Pius' neck and smacked his shoulder softly. The horse rested his head on Vergil's shoulder.
"Wow, you are really good with horses. He hates most people." Alicia came up behind them. Vergil stroked the horse's neck a few more times and then stepped back, giving him one more sugar cube.
"We'll take the place." Vergil stated without looking back at Eva who squealed in delight and Rachel laughing lightly.
"She totally got you suckered on the horses." Nero laughed as they walked back toward the cottage.
"You were tricked too. You liked Pius as much as I did." Vergil said as Eva walked ahead with Rachel holding her hand.
"Yeah, I like his attitude." Nero chuckled as shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Papa! Ice cream! You promised me!" Eva shouted back with a grin at Vergil. Vergil nodded and Eva skipped alongside Rachel.
Nero watched his father watching his mother and his daughter. His icy blue eyes looked warm and softer at them. Eva laughing and Rachel easily lifting her up onto her hip as the path became more treacherous. Nero wondered if his father would have looked at him like that as a kid, being carried by his mom. Love and adoration. Do you love me father?
He felt a twinge of jealously for his daughter. His father, from what he gathered from his mom and 'V', had gone through so much shit in his life, as did Dante and his mom too, that it was good to know that his father could still be human after all of the darkness.
Nero felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to his father. "Come on, before the princess gets upset that she doesn't have her treat."
Nero scoffed. "Eva isn't that much of a spoiled princess is she?" He asked.
His father laughed for a brief moment. "Your mother is the princess. She has been wanting to try the new ice cream parlour in town."
"Wait…is she the one who got Dante hooked onto strawberry sundaes?!" Nero looked at his mother and Eva now in the garden. Alicia running into the house and coming back out quickly with a brief case. Eva danced with Rachel as she giggled up at her nana. Rachel holding Eva's hands as they swayed on the spot.
"Yes. Your mother believes ice cream was the best invention of mankind." His father said with a smirk as they walked up the steps.
Nero walked up to his mom and stared at her. "Yes, philia?" Rachel smiled.
"You are the reason Dante is addicted to strawberry sundaes!" He glared at her.
Rachel laughed as Eva then demanded strawberry sundaes. Rachel and Vergil telling her that she could have whatever she wanted.
"You two are spoiling her!" Nero complained as Eva clapped her hands happily as her grandparents signed the paperwork to have a credit check and began the preliminary paperwork.
"You can have whatever treat you want too." Rachel smiled at him.
"Daddy, get a sundae too!" Eva grabbed his hand and he lifted her up. He nodded, giving up.
If you enjoyed it, let me know. I always appreciated feedback.