Beatrice is five and she thinks Dante's a stupid-head. He keeps throwing mud at her and pulling her pretty braid. Even though Mommy and Mr. Sparda told her that she's a month older than both Dante and Vergil, and even though Ms. Eva says she's taller than Dante, he still says mean stupid things.
"You can't fight demons! You're a girl!" Dante insists, waving his wooden sword around.
"Ya-huh, I can! Mommy says she fought demons, so there!" Beatrice counters. Dante huffs and pushes her in the mud, glaring at a tree not far from them. Beatrice blinks, looking down at her mud covered hands and skirt. A lump forms in her throat, bubbling up as a hiccup, as her vision blurs and her nose starts to run. She wobbles up and sniffles, clenching her mud covered hands and staring at her once pretty blue dress.
"Bea?" Dante asks guiltily. Beatrice hiccups again, before turning and running, ignoring Dante's yells and apologies. She run and runs, across the big yard that hides Mr. Sparda and Ms. Eva's house from the road. She runs even when her chest starts to burn and her legs start to stumble. She runs until she sees Vergil under a tree, with a book that Mommy started to read her on his lap.
"Vergil!" Beatrice exclaims, only to trip and fall just in front of him. Vergil looks up quickly, closing the book and setting it to the side. He hurries over to Beatrice and helps her up.
"What's the matter, Beatrice? Why are you covered in mud?" Vergil asks with a frown, looking at her dress and hands. Beatrice sniffs softly, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. While Vergil is nice to her, he would get in really big fights with Dante and then all of the adults would get angry. It wasn't Vergil's fault that Dante was a meanie, he shouldn't get in trouble with the adults because of Dante.
"It's not important," she says, not meeting Vergil's eyes. She sees Vergil frown, but he nods and takes her hand, picking up the book as they walk to the house. Once they reach the house, they see Dante standing on the porch with a red face and tear streaks on his face, a stern looking Mr. Sparda, a concerned looking Ms. Eva, and a tired looking Mommy. Vergil didn't let go of her hand, even when the adults spot them and seem to relax. Mommy walks out and scoops both of them up, quickly turning and striding back into the house, ignoring the mud on Beatrice's dress.
"Mommy?" Beatrice asks, Vergil looking at Mommy in confusion. Mommy doesn't answer, instead, she sets both of them on the couch. Beatrice looks up at her Mommy as Mr. Sparda set Dante on the couch beside Vergil.
"Do you remember what we told you about demons?" Mr. Sparda asks them. The three share looks before nodding at Mr. Sparda. Mommy paces past the sofa to look out the window, growling, "We don't have time for this, Sparda. We're exposed."
"Calm down, Lailah. We're safe for now," Mr. Sparda says, glancing at Mommy before turning back to them. He then begins to explain, "Those demons we told you about are on this plane and they are looking for Ms. Lilium and myself. We all need to be careful for now, do I make myself clear?" Beatrice and the twins nod in understanding, Beatrice picking off drying mud from her hands. Mr. Sparda rises and nods at Mommy, who scoops Beatrice up and leaves the house silently. Beatrice peeks over her Mommy's shoulder, waving at Dante and Vergil as the boys watch them leave from the window. Dante waves back while Vergil smiles shyly.
Beatrice jolts awake, gasping for air under her covers. Peeking out from her covers, she sees nothing out of place in her room. Reaching further under covers, she fishes out her flashlight and book, flicking the flashlight on to get a better look at her room. Once she realizes that nothing is in her room, Beatrice slips out of bed with her flashlight and walks softly to the door. Grasping the knob, she slowly opens the door of her room and slips down the hall, to her mother's room. Carefully opening the door and pointing her flashlight at the floor, Beatrice whispers, "Mommy?"
"Sweetheart, it's not morning yet. Go back to bed, you can open your birthday presents in the morning," Mommy sighs. Beatrice looks back into the hallway nervously as a loud creak echoes from on the porch. Mommy sits up at the sound as the house goes silent except for the big clock ticking in the hallway. The wind picks up outside, making loud noises. Mommy slides out of bed, grabbing two knives and making them disappear with her Grace.
"Bea, stay here," Mommy whispers, gently taking Beatrice's flashlight from her and starting toward the living room. Beatrice nods, curling on herself as the wind makes the trees shake and moan outside the window. The house continues its silence as Mommy's footsteps fade further into the house. The clock ticks and ticks and ticks, making Beatrice nervous. Suddenly, the clock lets out a loud ringing noise at the same time a loud splintering sound comes from the front of the house. Beatrice tenses as the clock lets out eleven more loud rings and her Mommy yells. As the last ring fades, Mommy appears from around the corner, cut up and bruised. She drops to her knees in front of Beatrice, handing her a bag and the flashlight.
"Climb out my window and run. Run to Ms. Eva's house, and no matter what happens, don't come back until it's light out. Do you understand?" Mommy asks. Beatrice nods rapidly, following Mommy as she opens the window. Loud noises come from the front of the house, catching Mommy's attention.
"Get out of here, Beatrice. Remember, I love you, okay?" Mommy tells her, smiling sadly. Beatrice smiles back and replies, "I love you too, Mommy," before climbing out the window. Once she lands on the grass outside, Beatrice runs. Runs past the other houses with the lights turning on, past the adults exiting their houses to see what was happening at the other house. She runs into the woods, past tree after tree, on the path then off the path then back on again. Beatrice runs even as her chest hurts and her legs hurt and her feet hurt and feel sticky and she can hear Mommy scream. Beatrice runs until a familiar house come into view, then she runs up the steps and pounds her fists on the door. A moment later, Ms. Eva opens the door and looks down at Beatrice in confused concern.
"Beatrice? What are you doing here? Where is Lilium?" Ms. Eva asks. Beatrice opens her mouth to answer, only for coughs to escape her mouth. Ms. Eva ushers her in, a worried frown on her pretty face.
Morning arrives with news. At exactly 12am, Mommy was attacked and killed in their home. The police arrive at Ms. Eva's house, insisting that they question Beatrice about the intruders while Ms. Eva refuses to let them even see her. Beatrice knows this because Dante snuck into the guest room she was hiding in and told her.
"Mom will make them leave soon," Dante insists, sitting beside the cocoon Beatrice constructed around herself and patting at where he thinks her head is. Beatrice sniffles in response, leaning against Dante's shoulder for comfort. Vergil enters the room with a book and more blankets, getting a snort from Dante.
"I think she's covered enough, Verge," Dante snarks. Beatrice peeks out of her cocoon and smiles as Vergil scrunches up his nose at Dante.
"I brought them in incase either you or I got cold," Vergil says. Dante rolls his eyes, replying with, "No, you didn't. You brought them in for Bea to hide in." Vergil scowls at Dante as his ears burn bright red, showing how correct his twin is in his accusation. Beatrice giggles softly, poking her head out entirely to watch the twins argue. The door to the room opens as Ms. Eva enters with a sigh.
"Boys, behave," she orders, causing both boys to blush and look at the ground. She smiles at them fondly before turning to Beatrice.
"The police would like to speak with you soon, Bea. You can choose when to tell them," Ms. Eva offers kindly. Beatrice blinks and nods, curling further into her cocoon without hiding her head again. Ms. Eva picks up the bag Mommy had given her and some brightly wrapped boxes from the corner of the room.
"I know you're still sad, but how about you open your birthday presents," Ms. Eva offers. Beatrice eyes the presents warily before squirming out of her cocoon and reaching for the bag. Carefully pulling the bag open, Beatrice hesitantly reaches into the bag. She grasps a flat box as her knuckles brush against a thicker box. Pulling the box out, she looks the box over before opening it. Inside sits a silver locket on a thin chain.
"Oh, isn't that pretty," Ms. Eva coos. Dante leans over and sticks his tongue out at it in disgust.
"It's so girly," he complains. Vergil punches Dante's arm while Ms. Eva sighs in amusement.
"It's for Beatrice, not you," Ms. Eva explains, shaking her head as Beatrice opens the locket. Within the locket is a picture of Mommy and Beatrice at the park, smiling at the camera, and a note in Mommy's hand writing. The note makes Beatrice start to cry again. It reads simply, 'Happy sixth birthday, Baby girl.'
MWAHAHAHA~! I am an awful person for doing this to my poor little girl. Um, a few notes that I didn't mention in chapter 1.
Lailah is actually named after the Angel of Conception of Jewish legend, while her human name, Lilium, is a reference to the Lily which symbolizes faith, hope, purity, and innocence. I thought it fit an angel, despite the irony of her not being "pure" and being the angel of conception.
Beatrice is a reference to Dante's Divine Comedy. She was a woman the poet fell in love with and, in his poem, lead him from Hell to Heaven. She plays a larger roll in Purgatorio and Paradisio, than in Inferno.
The next part should be up soon-ish, so have patience.