Where do unicorns go?

By Belldandy-sama

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Chapter one: Stallions shadow

                Delicate be the Bonds of Light

                Seeds of Love grow strong at night.

                Demons appear, then rush away,

                But our love may never fall astray.

                Had we not had to suffer the wrath of dark embrace?

                As pure as the tears upon your face.

                So know your place and dry your tears,

                Draw your sword and face your fears.

                It is known that no love may truly fade and die.

                It is true, of course, that no Devil May Cry.

                It was an exceptionally dark night on the thirteenth of October. The wind howled continuously and the incessant raindrops battered at the window panes as the rumble of thunder could be heard loudly in the distance. Trish Armitage lay down her pen, leant her chin in her hand and gave a deep sigh. It had been five months since they had got back from Mallet Island, yet nothing had happened between them. She tried steadily to think this over. Slaying demons and sealing devils seemed easy work compared to being with Dante. It wasn't like she hated him or anything like that, she knew that no matter what happened she could never bring herself to do that, but she felt uncomfortable and very disappointed with their relationship. Dante often went out very late at night, and she shivered to think of what he might be doing apart from slaying devils; roaming the streets by himself or doing business with a lady of the night that might happen to take his fancy. She wasn't expecting him to be unfaithful; it was just that she wouldn't be angry if she ever found out if he had been. After all, there was nothing to be unfaithful to. Ever since that 'moment' they had on the island, what she had hoped would blossom into a warm intimate relationship had dropped below the freezing point. They had separate rooms, they rarely touched, never kissed and Trish had given up all hope of ever making love with him.

                She had been writing reports for a long time, too long, in fact. It had to be done and Dante wasn't about to do them any time soon, if at all. She jumped as she heard another sharp roll of thunder, it was getting closer. The report was just about finished, just one last sentence… With another sigh she reluctantly picked up the pen and started to write. They could have been done on the computer, but she liked to keep things traditional and always hand wrote hers. Dante rarely wrote reports, when he did they were very short and to the point, but Trish was a fan of detail. She was so engrossed in finishing the last few sentences, she didn't notice Dante walking into the room and closing the door gently behind him. She shivered as he placed his hands over her eyes, "Guess who…?"

"As if I wouldn't know," she took his hands from her eyes, "Good evening Dante."

"Good morning you mean," he nodded towards the clock, "It's past twelve."

"Is it?!" she flinched, "I hadn't noticed. I've been writing since half six."

"You've been working on that report far too long…" he said quietly in her ear, "I think it's about time you stopped for tonight."

"I'm on the last sentence," she replied.

"Finish it tomorrow."

"Please let me finish, you know I still have my research to do."

"Fine, but I'm sitting with you."

"Oh!" she looked at him in surprise, "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I don't mind…" he smiled, slipping into the desk main chair and watching her patiently with his gentle blue-grey eyes as she finished the last sentence and leant back to stretch. He often got a strange pleasure from watching her do that, something he'd never quite been able to figure out. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but that wasn't the only thing he liked about her. Her perfect completion, her gorgeous deep sapphire eyes, the incredible perfect curves of her body. Her soothing gentle voice and they way she moved – utterly captivating. Yet she wasn't the sort of woman he'd just be able to grab and take as they wanted, and a lot of women wanted the part-demon. Maybe it was his unusual silver hair, or his strangely wonderful attitude problem, or maybe it was his demon power luring them in like unicorns to a virgin. Who knows?

                He watched as she walked over to the corner and placed her finally complete report in the desk and pick up a few book from the rather large pile in the corner. Heavy, ancient looking books that were obviously years old. Trish slammed the books on the desk with a heavy sigh, more research needed to be done. It seemed there would be no end to the new species of demon that were appearing in the city. "Dammit."

Dante gave a dark smirk, "Aren't we a good mood tonight?"

"Shaddap Armitage," she snapped; "No I'm not in a good mood! I hate research and I hate it when you get cocky!"

"You know what you need?"

"No!" She growled, opening the first book and flicking though the ancient pages.

"A vacation."

She glared at him for this comment, "We can't go anywhere until we get rid of those monsters and you know it!"

"I know… I know…" he flicked his hand back lazily and ran it through his dusty silver hair; "It was just a suggestion. Just chill a little, okay? All that bad aura can't be good for you y'know…"

"Whatever," she rolled her sapphire eyes, "And when did you start getting all so concerned with my well being?"

He picked up one of the books from the desk and began to flick though it, "I've always been concerned with your wellbeing, it's just that whenever I try and take care of you, then you start getting snappy again… Oh, and then there was that one time that you slapped me for asking if you were okay when you were nearly run over by that dragon-like demon that travelled at a top speed of three miles per hour…"

"I do not get snappy!" She half shouted, rather insulted with his comment.

"Uh- yeah. You do."

"Example?!"

"Now."

Trish fell quiet and slumped back on the desk again, he was right. She had been a little on the edge lately, yet she couldn't think of anything that he, or anyone, had done to make her like that. She scowled, trying to think. "Sorry," she said eventually with a deep sigh; "I don't know why I've been so angry recently. Everything seems to annoy me."

"I noticed."

She went to snap at him again, but gulped it down. "So uh… what did that demon look like again?"

"A pink six legged rabbit with googly eyes and a large grin."

"Dante…" she hissed dangerously.

Dante smirked again, she was so easy to wind up, "Sort of like a large horse, jet black, white mane and tail and eight legs, six and the front and two at the back."

"I don't get it…" Trish sighed.

"Don't get what?"

"If it was a demon, don't you think it would had attacked us? I mean, we saw it after defeating the Grendal right? I don't think it wanted to hurt us."

"It charged right at us."

"Then it swerved to avoid us and disappeared around the corner. We haven't seen it in any of the demon books, I don't personally think it was a demon…"

"Maybe it's a new type?" Dante shrugged. "You never know Hell – it's spawning new breeds all the time. This could be one of them."

Trish sighed and flicked over another page, looking for something… anything… "Maybe… but I think we're looking in the wrong place. Have you got any books about Heavens beasts?"

Dante shook his head, "Nope, I never needed them. I don't get bothered by Heavens creatures. Why would they want to bother me? I wouldn't hurt them."

Trish folded her arms on the desk and leant he head on them with a heavy sigh, "I would do anything - anything - for a glimpse of one of those beasts."

Her silver haired companion snorted in his own amusement, "Why? Seeming you're part demon, it'll probably charge right for you."

"Have you ever seen one?"

"Once…" Dante closed the book he was reading and leant back on the chair with a heavy sigh, "But it was ages ago."

"Tell!" A hint of excitement in her voice.

"Oh goddess… if you insist… it was ages ago, when I was still young and my mother, Eva, was still alive. A unicorn followed her back from the forest once when she was picking berries to make a pie or something."

"A unicorn?!" The blonde's eyes lit up. "You've seen a Unicorn? What did it look like? What happened to it?"

"Whoa, one question at a time, babe," her companion said with dark chuckle; "Yeah I saw it. It was kinda like a large horse – white, cloven hooves, lionish tail, you know – the usuals…

"Wow…" Trish said in amazement. Even though Dante didn't tell it with enthusiasm, she was hooked. A unicorn – the very thought of one made her heart leap. "So, what happened to it?"

"Mother sent it back to the forest where it came from. It didn't want to leave her though, it took a while to convince it to go back."

"I thought unicorns only followed virgin maidens?"

Dante shrugged, "My mother was pure. Anything like that would have followed her, even a unicorn."

"Did you ever see it again?"

"Nope," he shook his head; "I didn't go to far into those forests. Mother told us not to and the horses didn't like it."

"Ooohh… mommy's boy," Trish teased.

"Shut up Trish."

"I wonder were all the unicorns have gone?" she sighed, flicking over yet another page to be disappointed with its contents.

"Yeah, me too," Dante frowned. "Odd. I'll have to look into that. I bet I can pry that information out of the next demon we meet. Demons are frightened of unicorns, so they always keep touched up on their whereabouts so they don't run into one."

He frowned as she sighed impatiently, "There's nothing in this book about eight legged horses! I swear, we're looking in the wrong place!"

"You reckon?" he eyed her as she cast the book aside and pulled out another from the pile before opening it and scanning the text impetuously

"Like I said, I don't think that horse is a demon, I swear it must be a guardian or something."

"Hmmm…" Dante scanned the pages of his own book. "Here's something!"

"Huh?" She looked up.

"Oh, no it's just the demon horses of Mortdrasil, sorry."

                She grunted with irritation and continued researching her own book. They were quiet for a while. Research into demons had to be the worst thing at Devil Never Cry – apart from living with Dante of course – as most of the demons were new breeds. Stuff hadn't been written about them yet, it still had to be discovered.

"So what happened to those Mortdrasil horses anyway?"

Dante looked suspicious, "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged, "Just wondering."

"They were all cast into the pit of eternal remorse by their creator when they turned against her and fought for the goddesses instead."

"Ah."

"Isn't that nice?"

"Lovely."

                Again, another silence, neither too sure of what to say. Trish felt her heart pounding in her chest, she hated moments like this, uncomfortable ones where she could just burst into talking about love at any moment. It was so new to her, this emotion, she really wanted to explore it, too share it, but it seemed Dante was completely out of her reach. She watched him as he ran his hand through his silver streams, his darkish completion contrasting beautifully, his gentle blue-grey eyes patiently scanning the endless information in his book. She knew that she could search the whole world and never find another man like him. He was unique, incredible, holy, yet demonic. Confusing, she frowned. He was also within his grasp, there must be something she could do to turn his attention towards her. Something… anything…

"Dante?"

"Ya?" His eyes met hers and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Do you think that… maybe… one day… we could… um, you know…?"

He frowned, "Eh?"

"I mean I… I just try to… but I can't-…"

"Trish, what are you saying?"

"I think… I think I l-"

She stopped at they heard a massive crash and jumped in fear. Dante just looked out at the window and heaved a heavy sigh. "The wind…" he rolled his eyes. "Well it is kinda late… maybe we should be getting to bed…"

"Yeah…" she sighed, her voice drenched with disappointment. How could he be so naïve? Or maybe he wasn't being naïve, maybe he was secretly laughing at her.

"Have you finished your research?"

"No," she replied.

"Finish it tomorrow."

"Oh Dante…" she placed the book on the desk and heaved another heavy sigh, "It's so late… I'm tired…"

"Go to bed then, take a lie in tomorrow morning."

"I-" She stopped as Dante pushed his arm under her legs, wrapped his other around her shoulders and lifted her off the chair.

"You're so tired Trish," he sighed, "I really think you ought to get some rest."

"Just let me finish."

He shook his silver locks, "Uh-uh. I'll carry you up if you don't go freely."

"But I have to finish this research. Come on Dante, I'm on the last book."

"…" Dante paid no further attention to her pleas and turned to the door, still with her in his arms.

Trish sighed and gave up, after all, she might as well enjoy the moment while she could. He'd never carried her anywhere before. She closed her eyes, then opened them again as they reached the top of the stairs. He opened the door to her room and carried her in, placing her on her bed gently.

"Well goodnight," he turned to leave.

"Wait," she gripped his hand as he turned away.

"??" He looked at her with some confusion.

"I think we should talk."

He sat down next to her, "What about?"

She hesitated, and her strength failed her, "Oh… nothing, never mind."

He accepted this comment and with a single nod of his head left for his own room, "Night Trish."

"Night."

He closed the door gently behind him and she threw herself back onto her bed with a heavy sigh. She had to tell him some time – but every time she got frightened of his reaction and gave up out of pure emotional weakness.

"Dammit!" She growled, slamming her head against the pillow viciously. Ever since those demons had appeared he always seemed to be teasing her, and enjoying it. He was emotional at first, but would then tear away and leave her disappointed.

'Do you like doing this to me Dante?' she thought to herself, 'Do you actually enjoy tormenting me like this?'

                She rolled onto her side and tried to think of something else but her silver haired companion. The pain tugging at her heart was unbearable and sometimes she lusted after her previous life, before Dante came along and she didn't have to deal with any of the heart ache. But then her mind would snap back into reality, there was no turning back and even if there was, why would she want to? There would be no chance with Dante whatsoever then. It made her shiver with the thought.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, regardless of the fact she was still fully dressed. All she wanted was some sort of relief, something that would allow her to stop thinking of Dante.

But even as she slept, he haunted her dreams.

(***)

                Dante sighed as he sat down on his bed. Trish had been so on edge ever since those demons appeared, very unusual for her. He preferred the old Trish, the happy-go-lucky bubbly one with a short temper and a sense of humour. Now it seemed the short temper was the only she kept. Everything else about her had just melted away, and now it seemed she had an obsession with unicorns.

'Not that I can blame her…' he sighed in thought, running his fingers through his dusty hair again. 'They are extremely beautiful.'

Just like Trish.

He pulled off his black top and leant forward, putting his head in his hands. God, he remembered that day, his mother, the unicorn, everything. He had been fascinated with the beast; he'd heard stories, rumours, legends and myths about the fantastic creatures. He used to bury his spirit and soul into every word, every picture that he could find of them. Every story counted, every image would shine in his eyes, but to actually see one, it had been a dream come true.

Yet as he grew and sorrow befallen him, his dreams melted away and the unicorns become nothing more than dusty memories. It was like they didn't matter to him anymore. Like he had stopped believing in them all together.

He adored the beasts, he couldn't help it. Everything about them, from the shining silver horn right down to the last flowing lock of mane was incredible in his eyes. Yet everything was gone now, all his books that had once stored the beautiful pictures and stories were hidden away along with his own illustrations that he had drawn when he was small and his own secret stories about the rolling forests and creatures of myths and magick. Child hood fantasies. Juvenile dreams. Nothing but memories now.

'You're falling for her unicorn act, Dante,' he told himself as he lay back on the bed. 'She must have found out that you used to have a soft touch for unicorns.'

He didn't want to fall in love with Trish, he didn't want to fall in love with everybody. The thought of being eternally bound to somebody was alarming, perhaps even a little frightening.

He snorted at this thought, he afraid of something? As if! But still… the mere thought if it. He shivered.

                The wind continued to howl and batter at the windowpanes unforgivingly. It was a nasty storm still flashing and cracking outside. A thought passed his mind, a thought of Trish.

She was there, grasping his hand tightly, lying next to him, facing him on the bed. He ran his hand up her side and she shivered with arousal, but still did nothing, as if waiting for him to continue. He pulled himself closer still and lifted up her chin to look at him. She was so beautiful… and her lips… so tempting… He leant closer, meaning for their lips to meet. They were so close now… too close…

                Another crack of thunder brought him sharply from his dream and he awoke with a start. It was only a dream after all, and dreams, to him, meant nothing.

He sighed and looked up at his ceiling. He loved that ceiling, he had painted when he first moved in to his tiny shop that had somehow become a major business. He squinted in the feeble light. He remembered painting every tiny detail. A large red dragon twisted itself around the left side of a black background. On the rest of the ceiling, angels, sirens, beautiful woman with long silver hair and in the left hand corner, surely… yes, a unicorn, rearing on it's hind legs, it's neck arched proudly and its horn glistening with silver. It seemed that even as he grew up he couldn't let go of the past, of the unicorn…

He slipped back into his dream state as the scented candles continued to burn around him. It was as though the world stood still as he slipped for once into a peaceful trance. With Trish beside him and a unicorn whispering at him from an undiscovered forest hidden away in the mountains.

"I am the last one. I am the last unicorn."

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End of chapter one

So what did you think guys? Like it? It's my first ever DMC fic, so please be gentle.

Yes, I have an obsession with unicorns, but I can't help it. They're so beautiful. Plus I think it's ironic that a demon should be obsessed with something so pure.

Please review this guys, I might even twist it at a request. If it's not reviewed then I'll remove it work on my Resident Evil instead. So be nice to me. =^-^=

Good Hunting

Belldandy