Mercy continued-
"Concentrate!"
Dante jumped at the fierce tone of Griffon's voice, moments before blood flooded his vision from the sharp taloned blow across his brow. The wound healed in seconds though the sting lingered longer across the fourteen-year-olds forehead. "Ow!"
He looked up into the hard golden eyes of his teacher, "Sorry."
"I should think so." the eagle demon agreed, "Why Lord Mundus continues to waste his resources on you I do not know." Griffon turned back to the map in front of Dante's desk, the long brown hair of his weaker form swinging behind him alongside the large feathered cape that was all that remained of his wings.
Dante rubbed his arm across his face to clear it of his blood, staining the finely tailored sleeve of his shirt as he did so. "Me neither." he mumbled.
Unfortunately Griffon heard, "Ungrateful brat!" he planted his hands heavily in front of his student, glaring at Dante amidst piles of books and scrolls. "You take Lord Mundus' kindness for granted? Do you forget that he spared both yours and your brothers lives when most clamoured for your blood?! Especially since your father was-"
"The greatest traitor." Dante finished the often heard lecture for him, "I know. I know, I'm sorry Griffon, I don't mean to be ungrateful but this stuff is boring!" he protested, "I'd rather be out weapons training right now."
Griffon shook his head in exasperation, "It is true that your skills are more suited to the sword young one but skill in combat is not enough. This is what raises you above the lower beasts and humans, your intelligence. I will not allow you to squander it just so you can swing a sword about."
Dante huffed and folded his arms, "Fine, let's get it over with then."
"Hm, try not to sound too enthusiastic little nestling." The eagle shook his head in exasperation before stepping back to the front and continuing his lecture.
Dante fought to listen to the demon Lords words, he really did, but it was so dull he found his mind wandering. It hadn't always been so bad, back when he and Vergil would learn together. Back then Vergil would help him grasp these concepts, not because he wasn't intelligent enough, it was just like something in his mind refused to absorb the information unless it was pounded into him. But since the twins had reached their twelfth year they had been separated for lessons, while one learned to fight with Phantom the other suffered Griffon's long lectures on history and military tactics.
Dante quite enjoyed his lessons with Phantom, the lava spider's teaching methods appealed to him immensely. Namely teaching them the rudimentary basics of the weapons and then throwing them in with some lower class demons and letting them figure the rest out themselves. It allowed for the twins to develop their own styles and tactics, which both excelled at.
He bet Vergil was enjoying himself right now, though Vergil also enjoyed these lectures too. Idly he poked along their bond, only to receive a wave of annoyance before being shut out for his trouble.
Damn.
By the time the minutes had crawled by to his release he was almost visibly shaking with anticipation.
"Very well Master Dante." Griffon sighed. "You may leave, just try to come tomorrow with a better attitude."
Keep dreaming, Dante replied mentally, pushing himself to his feet and scattering paper everywhere. Before he got to the door though he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, Griffon's eyes peered intently at him.
"Remember young one, you will see our Lord soon, I do not want to hear that you have disappointed him." Talons dug into his shoulder warningly before he was sent out into the hallway.
"No, don't want that." Dante rubbed his shoulder ruefully before hurrying to his and Vergil's quarters.
----
"You got in trouble again." Vergil observed the moment he saw his twin walk into their spacious quarters.
Dante grinned at him without guilt, "Obviously." In a second he had bounded over to press close to his twin. "Why do you care?"
"I don't." Vergil grunted, shrugging him off to sit on their bed, he brushed back his hair from his eyes. "Mundus will though."
"Lord Mundus Vergil, remember?" Dante said mockingly, bouncing onto the bed that was piled high with blankets and pillows. "That's dis-re-spect-ful!" he emphasised every syllable emphatically.
"Shut your mouth." Vergil growled, clamping his hand over Dante's mouth. "You'll get more than a berating from Griffon if you carry on." He yanked his hand away a moment later after Dante sunk his teeth into the pale flesh.
"Relax brother," Dante shook his head, licking his lips, "You're acting like he can hear us in here."
Vergil growled and sucked on his hand a moment until the wound healed over, "Maybe he can you idiot."
"Eh?"
Vergil narrowed his eyes before sighing and before Dante could voice any protest had seized him roughly about the neck and dragged him under the pile of blankets. Once he was sure he had himself and his brother safely buried beneath layers of cloth he pressed his head close to his other half's.
"Have you never thought Dante…" he whispered after his brother stopped squirming, "About just who we are?"
Dante frowned in the darkness, "What do you mean? I know who we are."
"No Dante." Vergil said patiently, "About whose blood runs through our veins, we are Sparda's children."
"I know that." Dante muttered after a moment, "We're always being reminded about it, usually during a 'Mundus' generosity' speech. The spawn of the traitor."
"Why do you think we're alive?"
"I don't know." Dante answered after a moment of thought.
Vergil nodded, "If you were a military leader who had almost died at the hands of your enemy would you leave a potential threat like us alive?"
He frowned, "I… don't know, probably not."
"What if you thought you could bend them to your will?" Vergil prodded, "Make them serve you?"
Dante let out an audible sigh, "That's why we're alive, so long as we're useful to him he'll keep us around."
"Exactly," Vergil nodded, though the gesture was lost here in the dark. "Now do you see why you shouldn't be mouthing off like that? Even when we're alone there may be eyes and ears watching us."
"I know Verge, I'm not stupid." Dante muttered, "I just hate having to be so obedient all the time, I don't like learning all this stuff. It's so dull."
"Would you rather be dead than bored?" Vergil asked harshly.
"Of course not!" Dante elbowed him under the covers, whether on purpose or by accident was hard to tell in these close quarters.
"Then quit acting like this okay? I don't want to lose you." Vergil said in a rare moment of honest verbal affection. "You're the only person I can trust."
Dante smiled, his pearly whites a faint grey in the gloom, "Don't be silly Vergil, I won't ever leave you. We're twins aren't we? We'll always be together."
"I hope so." Vergil smiled back, wrapping a possessive arm around his twin. "We're slaves Dante, it's never spoken outright, but that's what we are. Birds in a golden cage."
"Maybe we should escape then." Dante said with characteristic plainness, causing Vergil to chuckle sombrely. "Fly away."
"Maybe. Someday." He pressed their foreheads together.
"Definitely." Dante insisted before pressing a light kiss to Vergil's lips. "I'm pretty comfy Verge, want to sleep before dinnertime?"
"As you like." He answered indulgently, kissing Dante in return before the two rearranged limbs in their makeshift nest, settling down in the warmth and comforting darkness of their mountain of blankets.
----
Mundus nodded approvingly at the twins as they kneeled before him days later. They'd answered all his questions appropriately and from what Griffon and Phantom had reported to him they progressed in exactly the manner he'd envisioned from the day he took them into his possession.
Except perhaps the younger could use some encouragement in his studies, but the news of his potential prowess in battle was enough to stay Mundus' hand for now.
"Well done, both of you exceed my expectations." he purred in a lilting tone, placing one hand on each of their bowed heads.
He observed with pleasure the matching black clothes except for the waving patterns across their shoulders, only there to distinguish one from the other. He'd outfitted them straight away in this colour, barring them from the red and blue they had been clad in before.
He also noted that the elder had worn his silver hair down akin to his brother, once he had come forward in Mundus' presence with it brushed back. Mundus had been quick to express his displeasure at the style.
He was going to make sure neither became a replica of their thrice-cursed sire.
"Soon I will have armour forged for you." He said, knowing that blue eyes were now watching him he painted a smile on his face. "Then when you reach your maturity I will send you forth into the human world to prepare the way for me, this is what your lives have been in preparation for."
An added bonus, he had thought he would have to wait until his power completely returned to him before he could invade the human world, but with the surprisingly quick growth rate of Sparda's children that day was brought suddenly nearer. With them he would unlock the gateway that Sparda had sealed and take the human world into his grasp once more. This time there would be no one to stop him.
"Do you understand?" he asked them calmly, sitting upon his throne.
"Yes my Lord." They answered in perfect unison.
He gestured, "Then you may go, continue to work hard in your training."
"Yes my Lord."
Mundus grinned evilly as he watched them leave, things were definitely improving.
Mercy in the second chapter of these little drabbles is by far my favourite that I've written in 'Moments'. It was such a dark AU I wanted to do something more. So I did obviously. Makes me feel pretty sad for the twins.
I do like the idea of Phantom and Griffon being the twin's teachers; if I were Mundus I'd use my best minions to watch them too.